《Kyou kara Ma no Tsuku Jiyuugyou!》


 Volume 1 - Prologue

    Well, Yuu-chan, about your name, when Mama was standing on a street corner in Boston - I was worrying, "He''s going to be born any minute, what should I do?" But then a super cool fencer in a taxi kindly let me ride with him, and he tried to comfort me by saying, "A child that gets through the summer will grow strong, so giving birth in July is a blessing. In the village I grew up in, July is called Yuuri." And because he had such a refreshingly sweet smile, I immediately decided to make it your name. So Yuu-chan, even though your Papa works at the bank and you''re always grumbling about "interest rates" or "good profits", never think that you''re named after "interest" or "profits"!


    Right, Yuu-chan? You''re Yuuri because you were born in July. Isn''t it cute? Don''t you feel your mama''s love? You''re Yuuri because you were born in July, isn''t it dreamy? Doesn''t it seem like something beautiful from a girl''s manga? Yuuri. Ah, it''s wonderful, I feel sparkly.

 Volume 1 - CH 1

    Since junior high my old enemies, some delinquents, would always call me "Fuuri (Disadvantage)" during fights, so I''ve gotten used to eluding abusive language.


    "Say something Shibuya[1] Yuuri[2] (Advantageous)!"


    "Don''t you mean Harajuku[1] Fuuri[2] (Disadvantageous)"


    I''ve heard that clich¨¦ 50,000 times. By the way, I was born 15 years ago. That''s right, my name is Shibuya Yuuri (Advantageous). Not Yuuri (abundant village) nor Yuuri (gentle pear tree) but Shibuya "Yuuri (Advantageous)". The name of my brother, who is five years older than me, is Shibuya Shouri (Victory). It''s written as Shouri (Victory) and reads as Shouri, and even if it looks a little like "Katsutoshi (to win, same kanji)", it''s not.


    With the fresh leaves of May growing thick, I was in the middle of returning home from school on my bicycle.


    Up until now I''ve looked up to a member of the middle school baseball team, but now I also look up to another senior on the kendo team, so I was talking about becoming a member of the kendo team just five minutes ago before I rode my bicycle away from my friend. I was stepping on the pedals in a good mood, heading through a quiet park near my home, when I happened across a serious scene.


    Collecting money.


    That''s only what the bullies who practice it call it, but it''s really plain old mugging. Today of all days I knew all three of them, the assailants and the victim, from samiddle (the same middle school?), and the one in glasses who was being pushed up against the back wall of the bathrooms, Murata Ken, was in the same class as me in the second and third year of middle school.


    Now wouldn''t be a bad time to leave on my bike, especially since no one''s noticed me. If I pass by quickly, Murata wouldn''t ever know it was me. It''s not like he''s really my friend, and I''ve never really talked to him. Besides, even if I did seem like an ally of justice, no one is looking hopefully or gratefully this way...ah...I slowly stopped my bicycle.


    A-Ah, it''s no good...my eyes met with Murata Ken''s.


    "...What are you doing over there? Perhaps doing something illegal together?"


    And so, I, Shibuya Yuuri, decided to deal with two delinquents, and for what I guess is the 50,000th time I heard, "Well, is it Harajuku Fuuri?!" All thanks to this small-town sense of justice I was born with. Mugging people is a crime, and fighting two on one is unfair by my ethics.


    "We''re just ''collecting money''. Whatever money is in that guy''s wallet, so that''s legitimately collecting money, right?"


    Please, pull out a map and show me, in what country is this legal?


    With navy blue and gray uniforms, the two high school students who had fair hair and matching contacts could have been said to have no nationality[3] at all. They kicked me in the stomach and pinned me roughly against the mortar wall.


    "Now look, our prey ran off because you were talking too much. Well? You''re the banker''s son, so shouldn''t you know how valuable a customer is?!"


    It''s true. Oh, hell! I was going to save Murata Ken, and then he turned around and ran away at full speed. But I''m cute, I''ll look around for assistance. But at 4:30 in the afternoon only grade school students are in the park.


    "Why did you come save that guy? Are you friends? Or is it a secret crush?"


    "Shut up! Ken is my favorite name, and Tsutomu and Ken are my top favorite names."


    Secretly, the teacher whom I admire is named ''Tsutomu'', and my favourite actor in historical dramas is ''Matsudaira Ken''.


    "Ah? It''s your favorite name? Shibuya Yuuri Harajuku Fuuri?!"


    When they started laughing I tried to gain a tactical advantage. I was drawing out my fists and kneeing them when Delinquent A grabbed my hair and pulled me into the dim bathroom.


    "Hey, wait...you...ah, wasn''t this marked as the ladies'' bathroom?!"


    "Is that so? Hunn, well, that''s fine. There''s a lot more stalls, so we can have our privacy. That''s important."


    "That''s right, it''s for our privacy. We want to keep a secret a secret."


    Delinquent B matched his tone to his actions, and he began to look for a wallet from the snatched backpack.[4] The blue strap was cut, causing a mobile phone to tumble out; it began to ring as soon as it hit the wall.


    "...What''s this ringtone, have you heard it?"


    "No. Aah, what is this, it feels like I''ve heard it somewhere...oh, I can''t remember...like something from television. I''d guess from a historical play?"


    "About that, who makes ringtones from historical plays other than the recent ones by Mito Komon? Moreover, isn''t that a professional baseball strap? I don''t believe it, Shibuya Yuuri, what is this about, Shibuya Yuuri?"


    "Shut up! What do you know about the virtues of baseball?! Ah, hey, you..."


    Delinquent B began pulling out money. It was a pair of Souseki-senseis.[5]


    "What is this?! You have to be joking, are you really a banker''s son?! Your father must be hesitant to lend you money because you are, but I thought you''d have more than this. He''s doesn''t want to loan you money,[6] Shibuya-chan."


    "I''m not connected to my parent''s business."


    I didn''t think to tell them, but I usually had about 500 yen[7] in my possession. He gives me change steadily, but it''s barely enough to use at a vending machine, and my savings are gone in the blink of an eye.


    "Ah, ah, think of it as the bank making a special loan to Murata, two blue bills[8] isn''t enough. 20,000 yen at least, 20,000."


    Suddenly his grip on my hair strengthened. Currently there were three light blue doors reserved in the lady''s restroom. I was dragged to the center one, and kneed roughly in the back. The toilets didn''t look like what I''d been told, and a Western-style toilet was in front of me.


    "Hey, no way, you guys...aren''t delinquents of ten years ago, so..."


    "For someone who passed the entrance exams[9] you''re not very quick-witted, so how about we teach you not to have a smart mouth for future reference?"


    Surely they won''t really dunk my face in the toilet. Even if these guys were junior high school delinquents, it''s the year 2000 AD, who uses such old-fashioned bullying?!


    "If you get in our way, should we kill you? Next time it''ll be serious."


    As I feared, my rivals pushed my head towards the toilet. It seems like right now old-fashioned things are back in style.


    I tried to hold up my neck, but I decided I had about 10 seconds to be prepared.


    But a toilet! If I thought about a different type of face-washing vessel the function is the same. The water began to flow over my chin as it was pushed in. I tried to lift my head as a reaction, but the pressure at the back of my head didn''t loosen at all. I gave up, took a deep breath, and stiffened my body.


    After the toilets were modernized, there wasn''t anyone who''d been dunked in the toilets. If that''s true, then I should get in the Guinness Book of World Records. In other words, for just a few dozen seconds, if I closed my eyes and held my breath, even if they push me in, and even if my head is pulled...huh?


    Either Delinquent A or Delinquent B''s hand held me from above as usual. But some other force was sucking me in, like there was a black hole in the middle of the toilet!


    Is this a joke?! What hidden power brand name toilets have! It must be the ultimate secret of a strong cleaner! I couldn''t fight it any longer, and while my head and shoulders and hips were painfully sucked in I, Shibuya Yuuri, thought with a scream:


    Is it possible, this is the first time this has ever happened?!


    For the first time ever, a man was flushed down a toilet?!


    Hey, Papa.


    What is it, Yuuri?


    When we come to Disneyland why do we only go on the "Star Tours"?


    What, you don''t like the Star Tours, Yuuri?


    It''s not that I don''t like it, I love it! But I at least already know all the lines of the "droid" that is the "pilot", how many times have we ridden it?


    That''s great, Yuuri! So you already remember all the lines the pilot droid has? Well then, Yuuri, just to make certain that it''s correct, let''s ride the Star Tours once more! Because someday when you grow up, this will definitely be useful.


    That was certainly useful!


    As my vision began to return faintly, I expressed my gratitude to my father after a long time. Even though he probably never predicted that his son would be flushed down a toilet over ten years ago, riding Star Tours at Disneyland in Tokyo 10 times in rapid succession was certainly useful.


    After whirling down the flushing toilet, the scene I saw in that clear water was just like repeating what I had seen in my childhood. The droid shouted, and then we warped. The light became grainy and the stars were stretched into lines, and distorted, and then shrunk again into normal stars. My body was extended, distorted and then shrunk again...


    Not really.


    I could never really be flushed down a toilet. Besides, my body grew adequately, and I''m about the size of the average freshman.


    I stretched out my arms and legs as much as possible, and triumphantly became spread eagle. The dirt road didn''t go away after a long time. But the sky was nothing but blue. It was the clear blue sky of an area without things like air pollution or depletion of the ozone layer, with clear air and blue sky. When I tilted my head, I saw green on both sides of the road. At my left hand were woods where the trees grew thick, and at my right hand was a meadow stretching in a slope with a private house. The house seemed like it was made of stone, and in the distance animals could vaguely be seen. Goats or...sheep, I guess.


    Because of those bullies, my face was shoved into a toilet and I was dragged into a place that didn''t seem to be inhabited, and I instantly panicked.


    But, where is this? The scenery was entirely unlike modern Japan, and I muttered while sitting up.


    "...The Alps?"


    Like that girl Heidi. Even though I couldn''t figure out how I got transported here.


    As I quietly realized that my uniform was damp I got a seriously bad feeling. When I thought about this moisture carefully, it might be from the public bathroom...I''d better stop thinking so much. Water is water, there''s nothing different about H2O.


    On the other side of the road a young lady carrying a large piece of luggage was walking. Both of her hands were under a wicker basket, but it fell from both hands at the same time. The sound of the fruits that were too large to be called apples tumbling onto the road rose up into the air.


    "Umm....."


    I began speaking and took a deep breath. Her eyes stared in my direction. And mine were looking at her, too. Some words rose in my head.


    A costume player (or cosplayer to abbreviate).


    The length of the long skirt that seemed to be dragging on the ground. The old-fashioned triangular straps tied at her chin. Those blue eyes and dull blonde hair...a foreigner! But why was a foreigner in a long apron dress that seemed like that Heidi girl of the Alps climbing up the hill carrying luggage? As the girl dropped her basket, she pointed in this direction and began screaming something.


    "Ah, umm, excuse me, I''m really sorry if I surprised you. It''s just that I''ve been dumped at this place, you really don''t need to feel like I''ll harm you or threaten you..."


    Her voice substituted for a siren, and one by one people ran out of the stone fairy-tale houses, quickly climbing up the slope. There were men and women and children. All the people were the same.


    "...Every...everyone is cosplaying?"


    No, these people definitely weren''t modern day Japanese people. To begin with, all of them were foreigners. If you look at us Japanese, the natural blonde hair and natural brown hair, natural blue eyes and natural split chin, I could only think they were a different race. Ten or more people gathered around holding useful farming equipment like ploughs or hoes or sickles. When the girl kept screaming, I couldn''t understand the meaning as I watched her, frozen.


    "Wait a minute, really, please wait a minute, I was just dumped here. Umm, what''s a better word for it, eh...abandoned! I was just abandoned here! Ah...ah, I know! I haven''t solved the entire puzzle."


    My brains and tongue rotated in a state of emergency. The houses didn''t look like Japan and the people were cosplaying. All of the factors came together in me.


    "A theme park?!"


    That''s right. Foreigners in cosplay, an outlandish town; if this the type of place was used in two hour suspense dramas, wouldn''t it have to be a theme park?


    "Well, that''s probably it. I''m stupid for not realizing it right away. I was abandoned in a theme park. But, even so, where is this? Is there a a place in Niigata with a Russian atmosphere? Even if that''s true, that''s a long way to be abandoned from where I live...ow, ah, why is everyone in the Russian village, wait, why, rocks, and things?! Ow!"


    Everyone working at the theme park must have been foreigners knowledgeable of Japanese foolishness. Nevertheless, why did they start throwing stones this way while I was frantically explaining?! Even if I didn''t pay the entrance fee, throwing stones and setting up farming tools (they can be used as deadly weapons) is a bit of an over-reaction.


    "Ah, umm, my wallet was taken a little while ago so I didn''t pay the entrance fee, but I''ll definitely do it in the future. If someone will lend me a phone, I''ll do it by the end of today."


    The end of today?


    I was holding my arms over my head as I avoided stones and mud, and I pretended not to see the peasants wielding giant fork-looking spades. I thought as I absentmindedly saw an infant begin to weep with a frightened face while looking at me.


    The infinite blue sky? When I was arguing with the delinquents, wasn''t it past 4 in the afternoon? It''s possible to consider that I was unconscious for 15 hours. But no one found me during that time? Even the theme park''s security? Furthermore, even in the May weather, my uniform was still really wet. What in the world happened to me?! My head is so full of questions it felt like it was weighed to the ground. Even though I''m receiving this unjust stoning, no one is helping me.


    I heard a strong voice give orders, and I lifted up my head a lot. Thankfully, the shower of stones ceased.


    "Who..."


    I was going to ask who it was, but then I saw a man on horseback and my words were stopped. His costume design wasn''t different than the villagers, but the brilliance and texture of his clothes were obviously of a different quality, and he dismounted from his horse with excessive action and took two steps this way.


    American football, this man absolutely must play American football. His arms and chest seemed that way. With dazzling hair and turquoise blue eyes, a fine, long hooked nose even though it inclined to the left a little, he seemed to be a beautiful Caucasian macho man with a split chin. Foreigner-loving Japanese girls would probably form a line asking for photographs in this place, and if necessary they would probably put money in his bikini pants.


    The fault of this particular Caucasian was his huge nostrils on his triangular nose.


    Secretly I think of him as ''Denver Broncos'', that''s the only NFL team that I know. He said a few words to the villagers, and then he knelt down and peered at me.


    "...Umm...seriously, thank you, for calming down everyone..."


    His huge hands, which balanced out his figure, grabbed my head firmly.


    I thought he was going to throw a 90 yard long pass like this. Furthermore he could probably get a touchdown like that. But as he gripped my frontal lobe (no way) he didn''t throw me, and with the power he put in his fingers I couldn''t move for a minute.


    "...Ow..."


    As the pain hit me from five places I unintentionally raised my voice. You might call it shock more than pain. [10]I was more afraid from the shock that he would close his fingers too strongly by mistake than in pain. Finally the man separated his hands. A stream of sound flowed in at the same time. The root from my ear to my brain hurt as if water had gotten in it.


    Wind, trees, cries of the animals, cries of the baby that sounded like an animal, and words.


    Suddenly everyone began speaking Japanese. What, everyone can speak Japanese?! That''s it, they''re workers away from home (and probably taking their families) who came to Japan to work with tourists,[11] so they''re sure to have mastered everyday conversation. If that''s the case, why did they keep speaking Russian (?) until now? What rude people. The beautiful macho man laughed.


    "How is that? Can you understand us now?"


    "Aah, it''s strange to see a foreigner speak fluent Japanese."


    My tension was relieved a little bit when I understood him. At any rate, I needed to understand the situation. To make it easier for them to understand, I tried to ask in a fake foreign accent.


    "And, I''m not sure how I got here, or where or what time it is...ah, but we can find out the time from a clock... Umm...[12] Excuse me, where is this? How can I get back home?"


    "What..."


    Denver Broncos (or otherwise American football guy) put both hands on his waist and looked down at me.


    "Just when this one looked good, this Maou is just an idiot?"


    Idiot?


    "...How can you call an easily hurt young boy an idiot the first time you meet him?"


    My bad habit reared its ugly head. When I was a grade school child, my brain functions became overcharged and a red switch would flip on and off, and I''d begin speaking with terrible vigor. My fourth grade music teacher was impressed that I could ramble until I thought of something to say. She nicknamed me Turkish March. Only she called me that before or after.


    "Certainly my enrollment in a prefectural high school is not really because I surpassed the results of anyone or am someone to be jealous of. Even a child returning to his home country can be persistent, but I was in Boston for half a year after I was born. All the same, I''m not an idiot, what''s with calling me an ''idiot'' all of the sudden? If you look, my father is an elite banker, and my brother is a student at Hitotsubashi."


    I try to cover up my mediocre self by bringing up my family pride.


    "By the way, my mother graduated from Ferris!"


    "Fe...what? Is that a rural aristocrat somewhere?"


    That was the response, and I found myself at a a loss for words. Questions of academic background weren''t effective globally.


    "Even so..."


    Even so, the actors of a theme park shouldn''t call their guests ''idiots''. Basically for people who work in the service industry, customers are gods. Somehow I stood up to preach about typical Japanese economic methods.


    The people playing the villagers yelled abnormally.


    "The demon stood up!"


    "It''s a genuine demon wearing black that stood up hurry and take the children inside!"


    "It''s already useless this village will be burned down like Kentenau twenty years ago."


    "Wait this one is still young and unarmed and if you can get a person with black hair and eyes I hear you can get the power of eternal youth in the country to the west they''re offering a reward."


    "Ah I''ve heard about that too on at least one small island you could buy an eyebrow."


    "Be careful even if he''s unarmed this guy is a demon he should be able to use Majutsu."[13]


    "No Adalbert-sama is with us Adalbert-sama please protect this village please confine us with God''s power so that this demon can''t reach us."


    What are these people saying! I can''t figure out where to put punctuation marks even if they''re speaking Japanese, it''s not entering my head smoothly. Unconsciously I checked my right wrist. It had a solid and clunky G-shock.[14] I don''t know if it''ll work, but if I hit someone with it I might get a little power boost. Wait, how can I hit someone, wait a minute, what am I thinking! But, these guys are looking at me with hostility, and everyone has the right to defend themselves. It''s a state of emergency, no, it might be called an emergency evacuation. So, self-defense should be ok? I''m completely panicking.


    The villagers picked up their dangerous weapons again, sidling up with desperate looks. The guy called Adalbert didn''t have farming tools or stones in his hands. Instead, he was wearing a long sword on his hip. The man that seemed to have a lot of attack power said:


    "Well, settle down all of you. This guy hasn''t learned anything yet. We could persuade him before it''s too late..."


    When my back was turned, I heard the sound of something rhythmic. The sound grew rapidly and everyone was bewildered. I figured it out by listening. The sound of hooves. Several horses kicking the ground as they galloped, a powerful clatter like an earth tremor, the sound of hooves.


    "Yuuri!"


    I looked back as my name was called. A nobleman riding a white horse, coming to save me...


    "...Gah..."


    It''s understandable that with my first impression I finished with "gah". It wasn''t just three knights or noblemen riding white horses, but when I turned my gaze towards the sky a little bit, I saw something outrageous approaching. "Something" flew up there. In fifteen years and nine months, I could never imagine something like that.


    It was a skeleton, tawny brown from age, and it seemed like oil paper attached to a bamboo frame had grown into wings. Moreover it flapped like a shuttlecock, and flew in the sky as if it was natural.


    If you attach wings to a skeleton, it can fly?


    It is wonderful, wonderful and elaborately made. I couldn''t see any piano wire, or hovering devices or propellers that would keep it afloat. I wonder how this device works.


    "Get away from him, Adalbert!"


    The three rescuing knights rode close to the chestnut[15] with star on its forehead, and they seemed to be soldiers with their swords drawn. But then, if I call it a chestnut like the JRA[16] would, the villagers won''t understand. The young man seemed to be the leader, even though I couldn''t see his face his voice controlled the two following people.


    "Don''t draw your swords at the villagers! They aren''t soldiers."


    "But, Your Excellency-"


    "Disperse!"


    The three horses forced their way through the people working as villagers, neighed, and reared up. I covered my mouth from the cloud of dust and coughed miserably. Inside the beige mist, there were blue and orange sparks. Followed by clunking, the sound of metal striking each other heavily, the villagers trying to escape, the confused screams, and the sound of grass.


    Someone grabbed my arms. Slowly the surrounding scene became vague.


    "Von Grantz Adalbert! Why did you approach our border?!"


    "You''re the same as ever, Lord Weller, a hero among cowards!"


    Ah, I get it. It''s like a rule in mock battles, that they can''t fight until they introduce themselves? As I''m was thinking that, my body was slowly lifted off the ground. The dust cleared away from the slope, the cavalry chasing away the villagers, and the young man who jumped off his horse to face the American guy with his sword. When I thought that the ground was becoming distant, I was suddenly turned away from that place and being flown away. My arms hurt from being suspended with my body weight.


    "How am I flying...you''re kidding?!"


    Holding both my arms and transporting me was the skeleton device that was so elaborate that I couldn''t figure it out. The tawny oil-paper wings flapped, chattering and flying forward. Wasn''t it just a skeleton that had wings attached to it? Even if I looked up from right under its spine it was a jawbone and skull with no expression, and dark caves in the eye part of the face looked down.


    "What should I say, thanks."


    Even though I was being abducted, I wanted to at least express my gratitude, and I tried with all my might. It seemed that if it lost strength for even a minute it would fall. The flying skeleton desperately flapped its wings as it clattered. Adalbert made a fleeting glance this way, and remarked as he fought with Lord Weller, who seemed to be the leader of the soldiers.


    "How clever! Using kotsuhi to transport him!"


    "They are loyal to us, and don''t lose themselves to personal grudges."


    "And how about you, Lord Weller? Woah-"


    From what I could see from twisting my neck and looking, Mister Brawns[17] who was called Adalbert, barely avoided the tip of the sword of the leader called Lord Weller.


    "Don''t you think your skills are too good to use for those guys?"


    "Unfortunately, Adalbert,"


    I could only see the Lord Weller''s khaki back and dark brown head. Somehow I knew that he smiled that moment.


    "My love isn''t as single-minded as yours."


    When his subordinates returned from driving away all of the villagers, and they drew their swords out at the same time. Adalbert jumped onto his horse, and called out to me as I moved at the height of the trees.


    "Be patient for a while, I''ll come save you soon!"


    "Save...am I being kidnapped by the good guys or bad guys right now?!"


    Under my eyes, the leader with brown hair stopped the soldiers that were trying to chase their enemy.


    "Stop, don''t chase him too far!"


    "He is alone. I thought we should use his disadvantage, if we can catch up to him now..."


    Lord Weller (I still haven''t seen his face) ordered strictly. So cooool. "Right now our top priority is taking His Majesty''s body to safety."


    Taking His Majesty''s body to safety, does this mean this has turned into like a super-kabuki show? As I was participating in the super original theme park, with the super elaborate attractions, I secretly muttered as His Majesty.


    "...Can you get me down from this super well-made sky ride for the time being?"


    (Translated by Emeryl, originally posted on Onadoru Euphoria. Re-posted with permission.)

 Volume 1 - CH 2

    "Your Majesty!" that man said.


    With long, thick silver hair and violet eyes, his body was about 9 times the length of his head.


    I couldn''t dismount alone, with my butt restrained on the horse''s back, and I didn''t know what to answer. What would be the best answer to being called ''Your Majesty''? Moreover, he was a super beauty at the prime of manhood at around thirty!


    Since I''m lacking vocabulary and my CPU is running especially slow, I can''t adequately describe this man''s beauty. The average high school freshman wasn''t used to being around such beauties often, much less men who clearly weren''t Japanese like this man standing in front of me.


    I clung to Lord Weller''s back for what I would say was the rest of the day. We finally arrived at a small-scale village with wooden buildings after I had my first grueling experience of riding horseback. There were about fifteen houses, and it might be called a neighborhood association[1] more than a village. From a different direction, armed soldiers returned to the entrance one by one from the forest a little further away. The scary thing was that "Fly, skeleton!" had followed our party without fail. I would have never thought it, but maybe he''s the mascot character of this theme park?


    If that''s so then it was bad taste- well, an original innovation.


    The soldiers crossed the center of the village, and when they came to a large (I would only say about 4LDK[2]) house, the door opened forcefully and a man rushed out.


    The moment I saw his face I gave up on saying anything. He was handsome, more handsome, super handsome, and ultra some hand, I mean, handsome.[3] I would say his graceful expression makes his cleverness felt. What a smart-looking incredibly beautiful person! But such a dull expression.


    In addition to being beautiful, his voice was a baritone that vibrated in your stomach. Adalbert from awhile ago was also fairly handsome but this person was so perfect that girls would faint as soon as they laid eyes on him. It wouldn''t only be girls in their late twenties who would faint. Mature women, and older women...well, ladies in general.


    "Conrart, hurry and give His Majesty a hand..."


    "Alright. Your Majesty, lean your body this way, and please dismount slowly, very slowly."


    It seemed like Lord Weller''s name was Conrart. I was finally liberated from the horse, and both of my feet touched the flat ground. I still felt a little unsettled from going up and down.


    "Ah, Your Majesty, thank goodness you''re safe! I, von Christ, have been anxiously waiting for this day when we could meet."


    While he spoke in a dramatic manner, he knelt on the ground. I stepped back, startled. When I moved, suddenly my butt hurt and I smacked my lips, and the beautiful man''s expression changed.


    "Your Majesty, are you hurt somewhere?! Conrart, even though you were with him..."


    "Your bottom hurts, doesn''t it, Your Majesty? Because this is your first time riding a horse."


    Ne, wha. I was puzzled by his sweet smile. But, the beautiful man who introduced himself as von Christ wasn''t smiling.


    "First time?! They don''t teach horse riding in their elementary schools? Why did Shinou send His Majesty to that sort of world..."


    "This isn''t the time to talk about that, G¨¹nter. Von Grantz reached him ahead of me."


    "Adalbert! Your Majesty, did they do anything to you?!"


    "...They threw stones and came towards me with hoes and plows but..."


    "How horrible! Those humans...but, Your Majesty...our language, how..."


    It seemed he wanted to ask how I understood their language. I limply waved my right hand, and tried not to smile.


    "Not at all, you''re all very skilled at Japanese. You don''t have to worry so much about me understanding, or be so modest. I''m surprised by how fluently all the characters that have already appeared can speak. Awesome, bravo, viva the actor spirit! How many years have you been in Japan? Which country are you from?"


    Von Christ (family name) G¨¹nter (name) had a dubious face.


    "Country...I''m..from here."


    "You were born in Japan?!"


    At that time, Lord Weller said something shocking.


    "Your Majesty, this isn''t Japan."


    "Ah, you see, I knew you weren''t born in Japan, right? If that''s the case then this is... huh..."


    What?


    This isn''t Japan?


    Right now, did he just say this isn''t Japan?


    "Then, why is everyone speaking Japanese?"


    "We aren''t."


    At this time, I carefully looked over Lord Weller from the front for the first time. He had the stature of about a nineteen or twenty year old, and unlike the villagers his garments were functional. The khaki leather belt and boots looked like they were influenced by television and movies, and seemed to be a military uniform of a country somewhere.


    He had rather short dark brown hair, and eyes that were hazel with silver speckles. An old scar was left next to his eyebrow. He didn''t just have scars there, but on both his hands and fingers as well. He placed one of those hands on my shoulder, and he purposely gazed down at me.


    "This isn''t Japan, Yuuri. Saying nothing of Japan, this isn''t the world you were born in."


    As I was being informed of something so shocking, I absentmindedly thought about something else. Ah, I understand this man. If someone asked me to to tell them about this guy, I''d probably be able to explain him pretty well for sure.


    That is to say Lord Conrart Weller seemed to be like the person that the audience gives a standing ovation for when he unintentionally strikes a heroic pose in the center court of Wimbledon. But he isn''t blessed like that because of his facial features. When compared to G¨¹nter and Adalbert, he is plain, and he''s probably the type that could do various minor roles in Hollywood. But this person''s expression is the result of the life he''s lived up to now. It wasn''t God''s love or an artist''s mold, but his own lifestyle.


    That''s what I would say about this guy, Conrad. I have a hunch I could tell someone that.


    "Conrad...no, umm, Conrart."


    "Eh? Ah, if you''re used to English, Conrad is easier to pronounce. Some of my friends call me that, too."


    "Have I met you somewhere before?"


    After he thought for a moment, Conrad shook his head.


    "No."


    The man with silver hair and violet eyes was reaching a mature beauty.[4]


    "Anyway, Your Majesty, we can''t talk in a place like this. It''s not a very clean place, but let''s please go inside."


    While he said something selfish about another person''s house, G¨¹nter pushed my back. When I turned my head by chance, the residents of this village seemed to be glued to the cloudy windows of the simple wooden houses, eavesdropping on my situation.


    The room had a warm heat stove, and it was a welcome environment for me since my uniform was still damp. Even though just a bit ago it was May in Japan, where I am now, what month is it here?! I couldn''t tell if it''s west or east from the dirty window, but an orange light from the setting sun was shining in.


    I was half dried from getting flushed down the toilet in the park; if it was a Japanese house I''d quickly take a bath.


    I took off my jacket that felt icky and damp, and stretched out near the fire. G¨¹nter seemed to be moved deeply by that.


    "Your Majesty, do you usually wear black? How wonderful, how wonderfully suiting! Normally only people born as kings or very close to the king wear black. That noble black hair and those black eyes, certainly you are Our Majesty!"


    "...Even if you say that, it''s just a uniform, a schoolboy''s uniform...besides, most Japanese people have black hair and black eyes when they''re born..."


    Though, it changes with the color of the skin according to each stage of life. Like the so-called tanned look that was popular for awhile before Matsuzaki Shigeru. In my case my hair had finally grown out in the middle of my third year of junior high, after[5] I wasn''t a baseball team member. I was just starting to think about cutting it when summer vacation arrived.


    "Uniform? Did you call this jacket a uniform? I see, this must be made by the most skilled craftsman especially for Your Majesty."


    They''re actually mass produced in a factory. It was the most used thing among junior high school and high school boys country-wide in Japan. Moreover, it was a little small for my present size because I''d been wearing it for three years.


    "Your Majesty, you probably think that it''s cold, and even though it seems that way it''s spring in this country."


    Conrad said that and took a position by the door. He seemed to take the role of lookout, folding his arms and resting his head against the wall as his sword leaned. He closed his eyes softly.


    I uselessly moved my chair as close to the fire as possible, which was connected to a table of a rough rustic make that you could only find in folk craft shops in the recesses of the mountains. An unsteady lamp seemed to be in the mountain hut where an electric light would usually be hanging from the ceiling.


    "...Creating minute details up to the season...hat an elaborate attraction..."


    "It''s not an attraction."


    I was corrected by Conrad as his eyes were closed.


    "Even if you tell me that, I can''t believe it! Right now, inside of me, it''s either one: this is an elaborate money absorbing theme park attraction, two: this is one of those surprise shows that''s often on TV, or three: this will all turn out to be a dream. Which is it? Well, pick one. I hope it''s three."


    Conrad didn''t answer, but in front of me G¨¹nter had a worried face, and after he muttered a word that he wasn''t familiar with he turned to me.


    "Teper...surprise..? Please wait Your Majesty, and explain in order. Please be calm, and please do not test me with your foreign words."


    "Ok, I''m calm. So much has happened that even if you say that you''re my mother, I''ll just clap my hands and laugh and call it an American joke." When I raised both my hands and gave up, I sat facing G¨¹nter, and he firmly leaned forward and began to talk.


    "Then I will tell you. Your Majesty, eighteen years ago, Your Majesty''s spirit should have been born in this country. However, because of the post war chaos at that time, or fear that your Majesty''s life might have been targeted internally, Shinou decided to send your soul to another world. So, according to the instructions of Shinou, we took Your Majesty''s noble soul that hadn''t been born yet to Earth. Your mother and your father created Your Majesty'' s body, and you''ve grown up in that world until today. However, while you should have originally been able to grow to adulthood safely in another world, you were summoned due to a situation..."


    "Wait a minute, you''re being too polite for me to understand.[6] Can you be more conversational?!"


    "Please don''t say such an unreasonable thing. Your Majesty is Your Majesty, we are just your vassals."


    "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, my name is Yuuri, Shibuya Yuuri Harajuku Fuuri. I''ve called myself that for a long time. So, here is the development to now?! I was really supposed to be born in this country, but for whatever reason I was born and raised in another world. But because I have things to do, I was summoned here from Japan. Did I get that all right?"


    "How wonderful, you followed it. I admire your intelligence."


    To my despair, G¨¹nter nodded deeply, happy from the bottom of his heart.


    Narnia,[7] I mean, I see, this is the same old story. It''s in innumerable movies, and overused in anime and manga. Even though there''s a variation in quality, it''s in paperbacks and juvenile literature so often that it''s not possible to count anymore. It wasn''t anything original. However, it''s rare for a person to actually be dragged into it. Moreover, to get dragged into it from a public bathroom is extremely rare.


    "And, I was pulled into a tunnel to another world from the bathroom toilet, and was dropped on that mountain path."


    "That''s correct. By our calculations, you should have been able to be summoned inside our borders, and inside of our capital. However, perhaps due to some excess power, you were at a human village on the outskirts of our borders. It''s inexcusable, Your Majesty. Of the people distributed along the borders in case of emergency, it''s good that Conrart arrived in time. This land is part of our territory, so for the time being you don''t have to worry. Please be at ease."


    "Even if you tell me to be at ease, this probably wouldn''t be an easy situation for you guys either. Are you sure I''m the person you''re searching for? When you think about the population of Japan, isn''t it possible you mistook me for someone else? I''m of about average looks and intelligence, and I don''t have any unusual birthmarks-"


    I didn''t have any evidence of any special birthmarks anywhere on my body. If anything I only have a faint scar on my left elbow from when I was a kid.


    "But, umm, G¨¹nter, san, I do have a scar from rubbing against the artificial grass from playing baseball on my left arm. I don''t seem to have any natural marks on my body that are ''proof of being a king''..."


    His intellectual appearance collapsed for a moment and became sweet. If I put it well it''s like an actor answering passionately; if I put it badly it''s like an owner talking about his cat.


    "No, from the moment I first saw you I knew you were Our Majesty, I have no doubts about it! Since you have pure and noble black hair, and clear black eyes that aren''t cloudy, and you were born with such a beautiful color to your body, and furthermore, you were wearing pitch black clothes, I cannot think it''s anyone except you."


    Geh, he said I was beautiful. Beautiful - maybe like him.


    "Besides, it''s even more clear since you''re skilled in our language. What Adalbert did... to you was regrettable but...he drew out Your Majesty''s stored language from the depths of your soul. Every soul has accumulated memories of its various "lives" that it has lived up to then. Of course, usually that door isn''t opened, and people have to learn knowledge in their new "life". However, that man opened that door, and part of your sealed memories have been drawn out forcibly. Using the way of those savage, cowardly, and dishonorable humans!"


    At the rough tone of the explanation, I asked timidly.


    "...That seems rather convenient."


    "Not at all! Though it''s good that only the part of the memory with your language skills was awakened, when I think of if unnecessary memories were revived. There isn''t a person who wants to know all of his soul''s travels."


    There are a lot of people who want to know in Japan. From beside the door, Conrad calmly interjected.


    "But about that thought, we''re able to speak to His Majesty now thanks to that man''s art. It''s useless to worry about it until your veins pop out, Lord von Christ."


    "...In order to teach Your Majesty about advanced noble language, I prepared the textbooks and rulers..."


    His tone seemed sad from the bottom of his heart, but what worried me was what the rulers were for.[8] If they were for underlining text, no problem.


    "At any rate, his stored language is evidence that His Majesty''s soul was the one in this world. My confidence has changed into conviction now."


    "Oh G¨¹nter...I heard that somewhere..."


    Apparently, they didn''t seem to have any doubts because they believed I was "Their Majesty".


    But, usually in this type of scenario, a main character like a hero or savior or prince or princess solves the world''s problems peacefully, and it has a wonderful happy ending. A famous author once said: If the story didn''t have a happy ending it wouldn''t be liked.


    "I get it. Maybe it''s impossible to believe, but in any case in order to finish this, I have to accept your offer, right? If that''s the case then let''s get this over with quickly. What is the mission that I was summoned for? What princess should I rescue? Where''s the dragon I need to slay?"


    "Dragon? A ryuu?![9] We would never slay a ryuu, their kind have been over-hunted by humans and are almost extinct, and we protect them."


    So in this world, dragons are at the top of the red list.[10]


    There were several knocks on the wooden door, and with sword in hand, Conrad cautiously opened the door narrowly. Children that were about ten years old stood there, and they looked up at him and grinned from ear to ear.


    "Yo."


    "Conrad! Will you teach us to throw, we can''t aim well at all."


    "And after that can you teach us how to hit, and how to finish?"


    Though the parents weren''t leaving their houses out of fear of the soldiers, it seemed it wasn''t the same for the children. And to them, it wasn''t Lord Weller or Your Excellency; they just addressed him as someone older.


    "You guys, it''s going to be pitch black soon, and we won''t be able to see anything."


    "It''s still fine!"


    "It''ll still be ok."


    He looked in my direction worriedly, and he left the room after he bowed his head.


    "...If the children like him, he must be a good guy, that person."


    "Yes, he''s the number one soldier of our kingdom. He''s my prize pupil."


    "You''re a teacher, umm, von Christ-san?"


    "Please call me G¨¹nter. Of course, I am a teacher, and I''m also the adviser and assistant to Your Majesty."


    "If you''re a teacher then can you explain this to me briefly? G¨¹nter, what am I supposed to do in this world? What kind of troublesome enemy do I have to defeat so I can go home?"


    "Humans."


    The firewood in the heater crackled and popped.


    "...Humans...then, that is, what kind of person..."


    "It''s not a person, Your Majesty. We will destroy all the humans who are hostile towards our country, and burn their countries. For that reason we need a leader, so Your Majesty''s power as a ruler is necessary."


    Humans, destroy, and burn?


    Destroy humans?!


    I kicked the chair and ran to the back, but fell to the ground on my back. A flustered G¨¹nter rushed over to me.


    "Are you ok, Your Majesty?"


    "Uwah, wait! Did you say we should kill humans, G¨¹nter-san?! If that''s true I''ll be killed too! Because if you look at me I''m an ordinary human, no, wait, even when you say something like that, your face looks a bit human...you''re a human, too."


    "No matter where I look, Your Majesty is a Mazoku[11] like us. No, more than that, you''re a being with noble black hair that should be respected! The chosen spirit was born into your dark body, that only Mazoku kings or people close to them have. However, your hair and eyes are both black, to appear as a human with both black..."


    "Is a what like us?"


    "Mazoku."


    No way.


    "...Then, what am I the king of?"


    "You are the Maou."[12]


    Maou.


    Father, father, look, there''s a "Honyara"[13] over there, I''m scared.


    A Hakushon Dai "Honyara"[14]


    Formerly, Yokohama''s Dai "Honyara"


    Huh, Hama''s Dai "Honyara", I have a feeling there''s something wrong with that answer.


    To start with, what is a "honyara".[15]


    I have a feeling they would curse, attack and kill humans, and be the boss of a terrible demon race.


    Well, that is that, what am I the king of?


    "Pull yourself together, You Majesty, please relax! Get a hold of yourself! You have become our hope, Your Majesty, the twenty-seventh Maou!"


    Aah~, as I thought~, he''s still calling me this Maou~. But twenty-seven is a good number~, 27~.


    My shoulders were gripped and I was shaken roughly. I completely escaped reality from the residue of the shock. But this person, he said that I have to become a demon and beat humans to death. I could never do such a stupid thing, why isn''t the enemy a slime or an evil sorcerer or a devil dragon or a big Maou, and, if I''m the Maou, then, am I on the bad guy''s side in this world?! Then there''s a human hero or savior somewhere, and the last boss that''s going to be defeated in the final dungeon is me?! Damn- if that''s the case I can''t end it by hitting reset two or three times, I''ll fight the hero with all my power! It won''t be possible for him to get to the ending if he''s not level 99, I''ll fight to the end or...hey, I can''t fight to the end, I''ll die, I''m the last boss. When I''m in a pinch I''m usually quick-witted! I''ll panic at the magic attacks of the enemy!


    Aaah~ it''s a lie~, someone please tell me this isn''t true~!


    "It''s not a lie, Your Majesty! You are truly the Maou. Congratulations, from today on you are the Maou!"


    What is there to congratulate?!


    Outside, the sky was turning purple, and the remaining half was orange.


    Only the fire from the lamps that were shaking unreliably leaked from the windows of the houses. The children had cheerful voices, and were moving around with vague smiles.


    "Your Majesty?"


    "Uwah, stop it, don''t call me Your Majesty."


    Conrad was leaning against the wall with his arms folded. Over by 3 steps there were some square pieces of wood, and next to that the ten year old children were standing around. Apparently, judging from the stick they were holding in both hands, it seemed to be a game that''s somewhere in between cricket and baseball. A piece of cloth was wound around the section of the strange, fat bat that was being gripped, there were two fielders behind the pitcher, and furthermore there wasn''t a catcher anywhere.


    "I don''t know the rules of cricket, but who alternates next after one person hits it?"


    "There are no alternates, this village only has five children."


    Another was in the outfield. He was only a shadow because it was evening.


    When the pitcher threw the something that looked like a ball, the batter made a dramatic miss. The ball hit the wall and rolled, Conrad picked it up and threw it back, and it progressed like so.


    "You''ve struck out three times. Howell, take the place on the first base."


    "Was that baseball?"


    But, why would they have baseball in this sword and magic world... The child in the outfield ran up. The five children standing had good physiques and fair hair.


    "Wait, wait, if this is baseball then why isn''t there a catcher? Shouldn''t you squat down?"


    "It''s not fair if an adult joins."


    "No, that''s not a problem, it''s not a problem. Well, let''s see, who is that outfielder. What is your name?"


    "Brandon."


    His voice was irritatingly hoarse, he was definitely in the middle of his voice changing.


    "Well then, Brandon, you be the catcher. Look, squat over there, and catch the balls when they come. Aah, there aren''t any mitts or gloves?!"


    "Your Majesty...no, Yuuri-sama, this is a village of refugees that fled in from the other side of the border. They don''t have a complete set of sports equipment."


    The child shook free from my hand, and looks up at me with a frightened appearance.


    "Your Majesty?! Conrad, did you call this person Your Majesty?! This is the scary person mother told me about?!"


    "Brandon! This person will become our country''s king. He''s far from a scary person, he''s the one who will kindly be defending your village."


    Don''t tell the children something I haven''t even thought about.


    "King?!"


    But the five children gathered...four boys and a girl, knelt in place and covered their faces. Some of the children pressed their foreheads to the ground. I wouldn''t say it looked like great respect.


    "Please forgive us Your Highness, please don''t chop off our heads, or burn down our houses."


    "Howell, you didn''t do anything wrong, so His Majesty has no reason to do such a thing. Look, Ema, raise your head."


    "But the king... my father..."


    As the girl recalled a painful memory, her voice rose and she cried. When several doors opened and mothers called out their names, the children all ran off towards their houses.


    I picked up the ball at my feet. If the ball is this light and that was the pitcher, a mask and mitts might be unnecessary. The ball was a round leather bag softly stuffed with straw and sewn up, so it wasn''t possible for the person who threw it to predict how it would curve.


    "When I was their age, I used to play baseball until it got dark. And when it was night I''d have games and television, and I didn''t have any free time to do homework."


    "Children are like that in any country."


    I stepped on the board that was substituting for home base.


    "Hey, Conrad."


    "Yes?"


    "Is it true that I''m the king? Furthermore, I''m the head Maou scary enough to silence a crying child?"


    "It''s true. I''m not sure whether you''re the head or not, but you are genuinely His Majesty, the twenty-seventh ruler of Shin Makoku."


    "Then..I''ll be chopping off people''s heads too."


    "It''s not like that! I should have said this is a village of refugees. If I remember correctly, the winter six years ago, they were oppressed because of a religious misunderstanding and all the men were executed. The women and children came to the national border seeking protection, and we lent them this land with almost no taxation on the condition that they can''t extend their farmland. It''s the foolish king in the country of humans that they''ve deserted that killed their men and burned down their houses. But then..."


    Conrad bit his lip, and seemed to look down regretfully.


    "...I want you to remember that not all humans are like that. Well, Your Majesty, let''s go inside. When it gets dark the temperature drops quickly. And G¨¹nter will lecture us."


    The stars began to shine. The moon was still low. The light leaking from the windows was dim and unreliable.


    There was nothing else shining. No neon signs or vending machines or convenience stores.


    Where have I ended up?


    "...What kind of trap have I fallen into?"


    "But..this is your world."


    Conrad smiled as he opened the door to the private house. Without any other source of light at dusk, even the light of the indoor lamp was like a searchlight turned sideways.


    "Welcome home, Your Majesty."


    This is the place where your soul should be.


    Ah, what a different culture of food!


    This thing called supper that I was given seemed like the leather of shoes that not even a dog would chew, dry bread that you could hit a nail with it even at normal temperatures, and some dried fruit that might have been better for the teeth if I licked it instead of biting it.


    "This is food we carry for military use, so it''s dry like this."


    G¨¹nter insisted across from me, and I practiced chewing each mouthful thirty times silently. Though I was hungry to death, I wouldn''t be able to swallow the dry meat if it wasn''t chewed thoroughly.


    The number one soldier, Conrad, seemed to be loved by the children, so it seemed like he was at Brandon''s or Howell''s or Ema''s, or one of the other two children''s whose names I didn''t hear, house being treated to a meal.


    "I want to go there too~"


    "You can''t go. The citizens of that village are human, what would you do if some man-made food hurt your body?"


    "I''m a human so it''s ok."


    "No! How can you say that for certain when they planned such evil things? This G¨¹nter cannot let His Majesty''s life be exposed to danger at all!"


    And then, ah, the bedding culture was different!


    Of course, I believed I would be able to borrow the best bedroom in this house from the residents. Because they call me the Maou, it seemed like I should be allowed to rest my tired body on a soft futon. Though, judging from what I''ve seen of the world here, it might be a bed rather than a futon. However, my question was answered by G¨¹nter with a matter-of-fact face.


    "Why? Hey, just a minute, why do I have a sleeping bag, when just a little while ago a soldier went into a room with a soft bed?! Well, am I really a king? Shouldn''t this sleeping bag have been dried properly in the sun before that?"


    "If an insurgent breaks in targeting Your Majesty''s life, the soldier you saw awhile ago is a substitute for you. There is no attack from the window if you''re here, and because Conrart fortified it, the entrance is safe."


    "Your Majesty, tomorrow we''ll be on horseback all day. Please take a long rest tonight and store your energy."


    Even if he says to sleep soundly, there''s not even a window in this cramped, dusty back room that I''ve been shut up in, spread out on this outdoor, tawny sleeping bag with barely any cotton stuffing... The floor is hard and the camping sleeping bag is made especially for tough guys. To make matters worse, it''s my first experience being surrounded by handsome foreign men sleeping. Ah, sleeping like the "character of the river".[16] Even the king of a king game might have more freedom.


    And then, ah, what a different culture of transportation!


    In front of me, with my lack of sleep, five lively chestnut horses were drawn out. The early morning had perfectly clear air, and their snorting was hot and white.


    "Horses again?!"


    I was wearing my stiff school uniform, which had gotten wet and dried. I reached out my hand to the giant animal timidly. I was threatened with a "Uhihin"[17] and I withdrew.


    "But since you''re Mazoku, can''t you use magic freely~?"


    "Magic...you mean Majutsu?"[18]


    "Yeah, that''s right, magic. Why not use it to go to the capital? Or up to the castle? You can go blistering speeds without galloping on a horse, with magic bashu~n and you can skip to the end."


    Like the anywhere door,[19] or bamboo copter, or something convenient like that.


    G¨¹nter cleared his throat unnaturally and said,


    "Your Majesty, Majutsu isn''t for all purposes."


    "Eh? From the television that I saw, witches and wizards only have to shake a staff and anything can be done, almost disregarding science."


    "I don''t know who wrote the play or stage drama ''Terebi'', but that information is needlessly exaggerated. Majutsu is mostly useful for combat, and besides that, look, for extremely important circumstances, like summoning Your Majesty."


    So television is different from reality. When I argued with him, "When you say it simply, it conserves energy." while being rubbed by a snout, Conrad said,


    "Naturally, even if I, who doesn''t have a fragment of magical power, say so, it won''t be persuasive. Well, Your Majesty, will you ride with me or G¨¹nter? The horse-riding experience you mentioned yesterday..."


    "I''ve barely even been on a merry-go-round."


    "That''s right, you''ve only had a little experience on a carousel. It''d take at least three days to reach the capital with such limited experience, so please keep riding behind me. Their burden will increase, but if we switches horses at relay stops they''ll probably hold out."


    "My butt hasn''t even stopped hurting from yesterday yet...eh, how would you know what a carousel is?"


    "Please be prepared. Today your front will probably also hurt."


    The soldiers from earlier greeted them and left one by one. When I look up at the sky, it had the skeleton models just like yesterday. Of course, they''re above us. Are they still the mascot character, what was it called? Kotsumohibimaru? Mr. Calcium?


    "How about Kohhi? Yahoo~, Kohhi~, thank you for carrying me yesterday. I don''t know if you''re the same one, there isn''t much difference."


    I decided his name without permission, and waved my hand quietly. Then, his jaw made a clattering sound, and he repeatedly flapped his wings vigorously. It''s awfully grotesque. I instinctively asked the person in charge of education.


    "Uwah, it''s mad! Is it possible for it to get mad?!"


    "No, it was overcome with emotion when it was addressed by His Majesty''s voice. Because they don''t have the concept of "individuals", if you inform one of them you inform them as a whole. Because it''s easy to communicate with the entire bone tribe, it''s very useful on lookouts and scouts."


    A lot of those words were hard to understand, but was he saying it''s one for everyone, and everyone for one?


    "Well, Your Majesty, we go soon too."


    Conrad held the bridle in his right hand, and held out his left hand to me to pull me up.


    Only the door of one house was narrowly opened, with a frightened villager who had blond hair peeping without showing his face.


    "Ah~ ah!"


    Facing that direction, I called out.


    "What a waste! If you practice with a slightly heavier and harder ball, you''ll become more skilled! And if the bat is cut more smoothly, and if the grip is thinner it should be easier to hit, and besides that..."


    And still after that, don''t they need a catcher?


    "You have to have a catcher, for baseball~!"


    I saw his mother grab him, and she closed the door frantically.


    "I visit this village every now and then."


    I give him some momentum so he can pull me up.


    "Through this heart-breaking experience, the children are doing their best to grow up."


    "Ah."


    I can''t even imagine my father being killed and my house being burnt down.


    G¨¹nter had a discontent look on his face, but he struck the horse''s stomach as he pretended not to look.


    And that was the start of my first day of hell.


    According to the G-shock that continued ticking away gallantly, running six hours from morning continuously, we transferred horses at places called relay spots about two times. At the third relay spot, in a village that was much larger than the villages before, the group tethered the horses to the outside fencing and took a rest at G¨¹nter''s signal.


    "You''ve become very tired, haven''t you? A bit ago your mutterings became incomprehensible, Your Majesty."


    Because it was forced to run with Conrad''s constant encouragement, I remembered the horse''s name. While I was tumbling off of that hazel mare, Nokantei, I begged in a hoarse voice.


    "Help me."


    "Of course. When we''ve run halfway, I''ll do it for you."


    "No, right now."


    "Then for the time being, let''s replenish our calorie intake. In other words, lunch."


    Although I should have descended to the ground, it entirely felt like riding a boat. To make matters worse, although it seemed to be the second month of spring, the sunlight was making me miss my refrigerator.


    "I don''t have an appetite. The nights are cold, noon is hot, and my throat is completely parched from dust, ah-"


    I was presented with the object of my desire, and spontaneously reached out my hand and stopped panicking.


    It looked like a shapeless glass that an amateur made on their first day in the classroom. It was filled with cold water to the edges, and frost and drops of water clung to the outside. This is definitely what I wanted now.


    "...Cold water..."


    "Your Majesty!"


    G¨¹nter came my way at a quick pace. At any rate, he''ll probably tell me not to eat or drink anything that was given to me by humans. But the girl holding out the tray of water to me was about ten year old, and her hair and eyes were violet. Everything other than that was the same color as a human, but, but...


    "Are you a Mazoku?"


    The girl nodded.


    "Yes Your Majesty. If we can help His Majesty with the last drop that we possess, we''ll be happy."


    If that''s true, then it''s fine. She''s a Mazoku, and I''m and the King of the Mazoku. I touched the glass with my fingers. As I thought, it''s painfully cold. The person in charge of education said something.


    "Your Majesty, please wai..."


    The water disappeared from my hands, and when I looked up at my side Conrad had taken the glass and put it to his mouth. After he drank a mouthful he returned it. Shortly he only whispers, "Leave a little."


    When I drank and returned the glass with only a little water left, the girl seemed glad, and she bowed deeply and ran away. The cold sensation in my throat quickly spread to my chest, just like the pain you get in your forehead when you eat shaved ice, and for just an instant my feet stagger. Suddenly my head was clear, and the surrounding greenery looked more vivid.


    "...It seems like I was really thirsty. Like when you get dehydrated from midsummer activities."


    "Being able to give water to His Majesty will definitely be the pride of that girl''s life."


    The man with the nice smile said something like that. But, I know scenes like this from historical plays. Just now he tasted it for poison. For my sake, he taste tested it.


    The man in charge of education approached me with a seemingly shocked face.


    "Your Majesty, even though I''ve told you not to eat anything other than what we''ve brought over and over..."


    "But isn''t this a completely Mazoku village? And hey, the people living here even look like you, and there''s oddly a lot of beautiful men."


    "While that may be true..."


    Conrad unfastened the saddle on Nokantei, and lifted up the water to her like he would to a person.


    "It didn''t taste strange, and in case there was anything at the bottom that didn''t melt, I had him leave the last mouthful. Even His Majesty isn''t slow to understand, he only wanted his first drink to be cold. After that he can endure everything, the water from the water bags or portable food."


    "Conrart, you support the common people too much."


    "So what?"


    Conrad spoke with a knowing face.


    "If we don''t support the people, then who will? Ah, of course..."


    Nokantei chewed on his hair. Happily, and lovingly.


    "If it would help His Majesty, without even mentioning my shoulder, I would give my hand or chest or even my life."


    "...You don''t need to give your chest or life."


    "Don''t say that."


    "Lend me your Majutsu. It''s already a state of emergency for me, so use your magic to skip me there with a bafyu~n. I''ve had enough of horses, I''m already tired of horses."


    "In regards to a bit about magic. At any rate, didn''t I tell you I have no magic power? The top magic user in our country, G¨¹nter, could help you."


    He raised his eyebrows. Kyah~, G¨¹nter-sama''s grieving form was so cool, too.


    "Your Majesty''s magic is several times more powerful than mine. At any rate, even gods are frightened when they speak of the power of the demon king."


    "Wait a minute. I''m a human so I don''t have any magic power or spiritual power."


    "Your, Ma, jes, ty, is, a, Ma, zo, ku!"


    "But I''ve never seen a ghost, or hit the lotto, or seen through a girl''s bikini, or had a 10 yen coin move on a Kokkuri-san..."[20]


    A confession. When I was in the fourth grade, I moved a ten yen coin on a Kokkuri-san myself after school. I was playing it with Nozawa, and he was so scared he cried, so I couldn''t tell him I did it. I''m not sure what was misunderstood, but G¨¹nter showed a smile of admiration.


    "I would guess that''s an advanced ritual of a foreign country? Though I can''t understand its relation to Majutsu because of my ignorance...but it''s fine, Your Majesty. Magic power is the disposition of the soul. Even if you can''t use it now, everything in this world will become as you desire sooner or later."


    Conrad, who doesn''t seem to have any magic power either, gently brushed his favorite horse''s muzzle slowly.


    "Even though I cannot use it, I haven''t felt inconvenienced. Well, that is given a long term view on it. For the time being, though, I''m worried about you riding a horse alone."


    "Alone, me?!"


    Nokantei shook her head excitedly, and drops of leftover water on her nose scattered. This, me?!


    "No, of course, it goes without saying that you won''t be going fast. It''s fine if it''s only after you enter the capital. Won''t it be pathetic if the citizens are disappointed? They demand a strong, sublime, absolute ruler, so you absolutely have to ride a horse alone, or it won''t be an impressive entry into the castle."


    "Uwah...on this one?"


    "No~. The best mare has been prepared~. I''ve raised her beloved daughter up to today, making every effort. Without a doubt she suits Your Majesty''s jet black."


    My dream of a noble riding a white horse was smashed.


    (Translated by Emeryl, originally posted on Onadoru Euphoria. Re-posted with permission.)

 Volume 1 - CH 3

    There were countless lights from the shops lined up, and people bustling around busily and lively. An enormous gate opened up for us, and the guards on the other side stood at attention with serious expressions.


    As his horsed moved forward by my side, G¨¹nter spoke.


    "Welcome home, Your Majesty. This is your, and our country. Long live the great Shinou and his people. Ah, we should never forget the entire world originated from the Mazoku with the power to defeat the Creator and wisdom and courage to prosper for eternity..."


    Is this the national anthem?


    "...kingdom, welcome to the capital."


    He said the name of the country when I was thinking. Conrad whispered to me that to abbreviate, it was Shin Makoku. That''s the only thing I will remember.


    My impression as I entered the capital is very easy to understand by saying "huge Huis Ten Bosch".[1] I could say that the stores and houses, and the residents, from my eyes, it looks like a foreign country. However, I no longer have any doubts that this isn''t a theme park. Such an enormous, elaborate theme park couldn''t exist in Japan. Even if this wasn''t Japan, and even if this is somewhere overseas, where would someone have a motive to go this far to deceive one individual?


    Me, who until yesterday, I was an ordinary high school student.


    Me, who was told that from today on, I am the Maoh.


    The only answer that remains that isn''t deceiving is that this is all a dream.


    "Until I wake up, I can''t do anything but keep associating with people here." You can''t get off a boat until it''s at the harbor, and a baseball game isn''t over until the ninth inning, either. I can keep company with people here until I can see the end mark.


    "What are you saying? Your Majesty, well, let''s go, Conrart and I will ride on both sides of you."


    I see, I''ll go, of course. Nine people in front, and accompanied by the remaining in the back, we progress down the main street in three lines. Citizens are on both sides of me, and they move out of the way and bow deeply to me.


    "Ah, hello. Ah, umm. Ah, hi. Ah, you''re so polite."


    When I express my gratitude honestly one by one, the senior person in charge of education has a shocked face.


    "Your Majesty... Please stop bowing your head to the citizens. Please have more dignity."


    "What are you saying, the greeting is the basis of an interpersonal relationship. That''s the same in any country in the world. It''s a common rule to all nations."


    This town looks prosperous compared to the towns we''ve passed through up to now.


    At least, the places facing the main street.


    As if I''d become an honor student, I looked down from the horse which was walking gracefully. It didn''t seem like the same horse which had shaken off its master, and was feared by him as the black demon a while ago.


    The spanker[2] that was prepared for the king was born a rare jet black, black fur in Japan, called dark fur in this country. It was also heavier and stockier than the racing horses I''ve seen in a paddocks. It is said that it possessed all disposition required to be an army horse. Even if its heart stops, it''ll carry its master and keep running. That''s because it has two hearts. It''s pretty nifty.


    Because it''s easy to remember, I named it "Ao". In the olden days in Japan it was common name for a horse like "Taro" for a human. That often comes out in historical plays. The color of each person''s hair and skin was truly variegated and unreal. Like I''ve heard, there''s certainly no one with black hair. Blond hair, brown hair, silver hair, white hair, red hair, chestnut, orange (I wonder if it''s dyed), purple[3] (I wonder if it''s a trendy hair dye), green (probably chlorophyl)... green?!


    "Hey hey hey hey hey heeey, G¨¹nter!"


    "Yes?"


    "There is a green person there, spaaace, space, space!"[4]


    "Ah, they are a family of healers. Because their blood is a little peculiar, their skin becomes pale, and they possess the unique power to increase patient''s healing. Humans seemed to persecute them two thousands years ago, so they seem to have flowed to this land. We owe the current longevity of our lives to them."


    "Well, well then, what about that purple haired person? That girl awhile back was like that too."


    "They''re a lake side tribe. There are a lot of people born with strong magic, and they''re involved in the training and security of the king''s capital. As you have probably noticed, Your Majesty, I also have the blood of the lake side tribe."


    Violet eyes, I see.


    I sighed on top of the horse.


    "A horse with two hearts, skeleton frames flying in the sky, natural green and purple hair. It''s not possible to come across these things in Japan. It definitely can''t get any further out. Like a girl with bunny ears, or a sexy black panther girl, or a birdman with three eyes."


    I couldn''t help but laugh at my bewilderment from my own imagination, as Conrad winked at the person in charge of education.


    "There is an unbelievable amount of races in this country. G¨¹nter and I have lived long lives, but even the scholars can''t confirm the amount of people. For example, if you limit the counting to person-like individuals there''s about fifty million, but if you count the flying bone race and ground bone race, aquatic races and bird races, it''s impossible to have an accurate number. Furthermore, if you include the souls who live quietly in the forest and mountain areas, that means the Mazoku live in the skies, the earth, the rivers, the woods and everywhere. Your Majesty, the souls who will follow your are scattered all over this country."


    A girl with golden eyes, who was obviously a member of one of those tribes, came scurrying over to the side of Ao, trying to hand me flowers. They were in a bouquet, and their multi-layered pale pink petals were slightly opened. After G¨¹nter received them and did a one round confirmation, he reluctantly presented them to me.


    "These are ordinary decorative flowers. They aren''t poisonous and they aren''t thorny. That young girl probably wanted to pass it to Your Majesty more than to me."


    "That''s not true~. You seem way more popular than me~"


    It''s the very first time I''ve received flowers from a girl, so I was actually feeling pretty good about it.


    Our troops marched forward without incident until we finally reached the true rampart. The gate made a heavy sound as it opened.


    "...Uwah-"


    At that exact moment I swear I could hear the theme music stream inside my head, and the narration of Naoto Ogata.[5] World heritage, ah, world heritage, world heritage. A poem of the wonderfulness of the castle.


    The white stone paving of the road continued for a distance, with flowing waterways on both sides. The water branched off in two directions, going towards the town''s eastern and western sides. When I looked ahead, I could see a castle often seen in European castle stories. It wasn''t the German type of old castles but the large-scale type of country houses of Great Britain; a building with the left and right symmetrical. Being oversized in both width and height, I almost wondered if it was wide-screen. Rich green mountains protected the back, and the waterway started from a tunnel inside the hillside.


    "...Umm, excuse me, I don''t know what I should say anymore."


    "Even if you don''t say anything, here is the Maoh''s castle, ''Blood Pledge Castle''."


    Blood Pledge? There was a group in Japanese history who had the terrible motto, "One person one kill!", but it''s not a very peaceful name. Such a beautifully magnificent castle, maybe it''s better not to hear the origin... Even though I don''t want to hear it, the person in charge of education explains it.


    "It is said that when Shinou selected this land, he promised to not let harm come to the spirit of the land. As a mark of gratitude and friendship, when someone other than the Maoh occupies this castle, the spirit of the land swore to make him atone for his crime with his blood. An oath of blood, in short, "Blood Pledge Castle", obeys only Your Majesty the King. It''s impregnable, no, it''s an absolutely flawless castle."


    "So that doesn''t mean that both the castle and the king stamped a seal with their blood, huh?"


    Conrad seemed to be very happy, and pointed the central path with his chin. Soldiers were standing at attention in rows on both sides for a distance. When I pass by them they''re sure to bow their heads, like a reverse-wave of a stadium. The last time I was in a situation like this was when in an attempt to take a short cut, I ran through the department store. As it had just opened, I was greeted by the store clerks'' welcoming bows, who were standing in rows on both sides.


    From somewhere I can hear a tune that sounds like a mix of Ravel[6] and Elgar.[7] Maybe it''s the national anthem.


    "Judging from this reception, Von Spitzweig''s persuasion seems to have failed."


    He seemed to bite his tongue at that person''s name, who is he? More than that, why does everyone in this country have something like Von or Sir attached to them at the same time? Perhaps, Von is like the "Yama" of Japanese names, with Yamada-san and Yamamoto-san and Yamakawa-san, and is representative of numerous family names? Or... I guess I looked like I wanted to ask, and Conrad explained to me. More and more as I step into the garden, sure enough, I was welcomed to Hell.


    "This country is divided into this area directly controlled by the Maoh, and territories of the ten nobles who obey the Maoh. Von is attached to their surnames. In G¨¹nter''s case, he governs the Kleist region of the ten nobles so he is Lord von Kleist. I added Lord because in an emergency on the battlefield he is the person proceeding me. Basically the nobles are a military rank. Men and women are the same. Those who are prepared to fight will be invited to do so when they''re adults."


    Huh, I just noticed that macho guy I met in the beginning seemed to have Von attached to his name.


    "Lord Stoffel von Spitzweig is the former Maoh''s older brother. He is a man who did as he pleased as the regent. The previous Maoh... She was the top Queen, but she declared her intention to resign and we moved immediately to summon your Majesty. But that guy tried to have her declaration of resignation withdrawn by any means. He will try to persuade your Majesty to try to protect his own position. However, he seems to have failed somehow."


    Huh, Conrad''s name was...


    "Now he''s celebrating the new king''s triumphant entry into the castle, and he''s probably contriving to take in your Majesty."


    For the first time, an expression resembling hatred appeared on the good-natured Lord Weller. But it immediately vanished. In the short amount of time that I exchange the bouquet of flowers to my right hand. I don''t know whether I''m controlling my own feelings or the words G¨¹nter added immediately after that are.


    "I won''t allow that man to do as he pleases anymore. I think Gwendal and Wolfram feel the same way about that."


    "I hope so."


    Did something happen? Although any idiot would notice, I thought so too as I rode on. My right hand holding the flowers got near the deceptively innocent Ao''s ear.


    "Umm, that man called Spitz or Spielberg or something..."


    How many times did he get an Academy Award? I couldn''t even say it was a joke. Suddenly, my horse is a black demon who lost her temper, because the trained V8 engine goes full throttle.


    Even I, the rider, don''t understand what she didn''t like or why she started running wildly. Certainly, I only wouldn''t be safe if I was shaken off. I desperately clung to the horse running quickly down the straight course, while screaming with a "yay" and a shout that doesn''t make it out, I was about to be the only person who reached the front of the castle strangely early.


    The soldiers who were lined up to salute me would never think that the black hurricane that passed in front of the was their new king. From behind I could hear some advice.


    "Your Majesty~, the reins, pull the reins-!"


    "Conrart! As I thought, that horse still didn''t have enough training"


    G¨¹nter''s words were brief, while he pursued me after kicking his horse''s stomach.


    "Don''t cry just from this. She was, trained reliably, but even I, did not, train her, to have, a hover fly, go into, her ear. Your Maajeesty, pull the reiins, squeeze your thiighs!"


    I run wildly through the the gift shops, interfering with things such as customers and shop assistants as they cover their heads, only thinking of going every which way. Ao easily jumped over several places, continuing to press on towards the entrance of the castle. Up to now soldiers were in a long row, but suddenly Ao intruded and ran beside the line in an obstructive place, and she ran through them. Down the center of the nice middle aged, dazed men.


    She jumped over them again. During the short time in the air, I imagine the worst scenario.


    I fall from the horse, and as my head drops I tell Conrad and G¨¹nter that the rest is up to them. What is the rest?! Why does my head drop?!


    Just a little after the closed door of the main entrance, Ao suddenly reared up. I fell! And I hurriedly grabbed not only the reins but her jet black mane, and closed my eyes as I predicted the impact. But, the pain didn''t come even after I waited five seconds.


    "...Stay..."


    And, the second I let my mind drift I fell. I''m sorry to say that this time under me is hard, cold and expensive marble. I learned the hard way that a passive voice is important.


    As I looked upward, I thought absent-mindedly.


    Ao stamped a few times, then brought his face near me. She didn''t seem to remember her fears as her clear eyes ask, "What are you doing, Boss?". Her lips are covered in bubbly drool.


    By my shoulder is someone''s foot. When I moved my gaze a little, there was a face in a high position. What a surprisingly tall person. But if I did call out to that man, he wouldn''t lend a hand to help. Since I''ve come to this world, this is the first time I''ve met an obviously apathetic person. Am I really the Maoh, the master of this castle, is this really my own dream? Then, isn''t it ok if I''m amused more?


    "Your Majesty!"


    I can hear Conrad and G¨¹nter''s voices. And the sound of hooves striking the stone. The man seems to have realized something from the words of the two people. From way above me, a seemingly shocked monologue descends.


    "...His Majesty... This is?"


    What is "this", "this", faster than I could object the Love Theme from the Godfather was streaming through my head. I''ve already decided your theme song. Standing in front of me without lending his hand, as I expected, was a man I couldn''t match in height no matter how many times I was reborn.


    Not just height, but his face, too, I couldn''t match his face.


    His hair was as long as half his body, an undiluted gray that could even be called black, and only a portion was tied behind his back. He squinted with a deep blue eye, and he didn''t seem happy about anything. Whether he seems sullen because the space between his eyebrows and eyes narrowed, or because he is sullen, is something I don''t understand from my short life span. But his sullenness would have girls whining for sure.


    While I''ve been called the Maoh, my face and outward appearance and position haven''t caught up to high school students. At any rate, my appearance and intellect are getting there. I''m not muscular, and my voice isn''t low. To make matters worse, when I played baseball I was a bench warmer for three years.


    The man''s interest was brightened, and he tilted his head to gaze at me. His melancholy was increasingly conspicuous.


    "Your Majesty, are you hurt?!"


    Conrad arrived before him, smoothly getting off the horse and meeting me halfway. Trying to pass him, a group of nice middle-aged men from that I bothered a bit ago run this way. G¨¹nter also jumped off his gray horse, shouting something. I couldn''t believe that I was in the center of everyone.


    "Is that the new Maoh?!"


    His alto voice resounded in an offensive tone.


    As for the super beautiful shape of the fourth person, even I might be able to match his physique physically. It can''t be helped because characteristics like the length of the legs is a racial feature, like height and shoulder width and body weight. Since when did I become someone who only worries about body build. Maybe, because of that day when the second pitcher said, "You, since you''re a small target, it''ll be hard to throw a ball into you".


    Even if our bodies are evenly matched, when I just glanced up, I''ve already been defeated. How can they be this beautiful! Because of them, his face emits an aura. Although it''s likely to seem that way because of his dazzling blond hair. His looks and voice are like an older Vienna chorus boy. His white skin seems transparent, and his irises are an emerald green that make me think of the bottom of a lake, and furthermore he doesn''t have a split chin. He an angel, definitely an angry angel. However, being in this place, he''s also probably a beautiful Mazoku.


    "Gwendal... No, big brother, is that guy planning on ushering in this human of unknown lineage as our king?!"


    When he says "that guy", the super handsome boy, like in shoujo comics, glares sharply at Conrad. I heard the name Gwendal awhile ago, together with something like Wolfgang or Wolfram if I''m not mistaken. If the man with the Love Theme from the Godfather is Gwendal, then the older Vienna chorus boy is probably Wolfram?


    "I can''t put my confidence in such a filthy human! Judging from appearances he doesn''t seem intelligent or dignified, and a man that would be lying around in the road in that area..."


    "Wolfram!"


    It wasn''t Gwendal, the one he called brother, but G¨¹nter suppressed his words.


    "What an awful thing! If his Majesty didn''t have such a large heart, you would be losing your life about now."


    A large heart, me? He seems to be thinking of someone else.


    "Watch your mouth, I can''t allow you to speak of his Majesty in such an awful way, even if you are the crown prince! Stop speaking so unfavorably of Conrart, even for an instant, he''s your older brother."


    Huh.


    As I''m only listening, the character correlation diagram becomes jumbled up for me. The Godfather and older Vienna chorus boy are siblings; and he said Conrad is Wolfram''s older brother.


    Gwendal, Conrart, Wolfram.


    Three Mazoku siblings.


    "...Now way?! You, you don''t look alike!"


    "That is, inexcusable"


    Conrad spoke with a smile as he walked to my side. He had an expression as if he was already used to these kind of things.


    "Each of us have a different father. Well, not looking alike can''t invalidate our blood relationship. Gwendal is my older brother, and Wolfram is my little brother. Perhaps they don''t want to say something like that."


    "You?" I asked inside my head.


    Conrad, what do they think of you?


    But sooner than I could ask the question, everyone''s attention is turned back to me again. You are His Majesty, such are G¨¹nter''s words.


    "The new king, Your Majesty."


    The nice middle aged men rush over. I''ve already gotten used to beautiful forms, so I don''t mind these men''s outwards appearances. Hnn, umm, oh, beautiful for their fifties, older men with dull blond hair and blue eyes. However, in their vicious military training they were taught to conceal the hidden door inside their eyes.


    "I am the former queen''s, Lady Cecille von Spitzweig''s, older brother, Stoffel Von Spitzweig, who worked as a regent for the prosperity of this country. I sincerely welcome Your Majesty''s safe arrival!"


    "Umm, Lord von Spitzweig."


    I spoke in a broken tone on purpose.


    "Between me and your sister, who would you want to be Maoh?"


    "Huh?!"


    Stu~pid. If you can''t respond right away, it just proves you only care about yourself.


    "Hah, of course, Your Majesty the new king. The chance to choose the ruling family would be profitable for all the people of the nation. Your Majesty the new king is entirely our savior, who will create this country''s future, and I hear the owner of a great soul."


    "I think you''re mistaken. I don''t have such a great soul."


    "Such modesty! That jet black hair and dark eyes! Your Majesty is certainly a Mazoku of high standing."


    By the standards of this country, if you have dark hair and eyes, you''re a handsome guy like them! Can I win? In short even though I''m only an average Japanese person, I have the authority of this country''s seed?


    That''s a bit of a lie.


    I only have the authority of a seed if I accomplish something.


    "Where''s the proof?!"


    In a clearly hostile tone, he said exactly what he thought just now. The blonde that looks like an angel; Wolfram.


    "What proof do we have that he''s the genuine article? Until I''ve confirmed that, I''m not going to recognize such a kid as the Maoh!"


    "Kid?! Ah, no, that is, I might not be able to tell the age of a foreigner, but I can guess. But, but that? You look like you''re about the same age as me, no matter how I look at you. If you look older than you are like most American high school kids, maybe you''re even younger than me!"


    "How old?"


    Cocky, he folded his arms as the third son arrogantly asked me. It seems like this person decided it was necessary to ban honorific words.[8]


    "...Fifteen... In two months I''ll be 16..."


    "Hmph."


    "What''s with this ''hmph'', hmph. Then what age are you!? Such an irritating pretty boy, and you''re already acting like an old man"


    "I''m eighty-two."


    "...Yes?"


    Eighty-two? Even so he has clear skin, a full head of hair and youth.


    "Yeah, right!"


    You guys wants me to believe that you have more life experience than my grandfather?!


    The bath of the second day was reserved for my personal use.


    The stone floor of the bathroom was based on a cream color, in the Maoh''s private bath the bathtub is officially seems wide enough to swim in, with water gushing out from five cow''s mouths in the corner. At the edge of the first lane, while sank my body cosily, I thought of myself up to now.


    What now, what will happen, Shibuya Yuuri?!


    I was flushed down a toilet, spit out in a strange theme park like world, had stones thrown at me by the citizens, got called a demon, got called the Maoh, was told to kill humans, was made to ride on a horse until I about died, was greeted by everyone, brought to a castle with a scary name, was called "this is?", was told that he''d refuse to admit I was the Maoh, it was confessed that their real age was five times their appearance, and I had to go inside the castle with the scary name.


    There were two-hundred and fifty-two rooms, three stories high and in one part five stories, the ceiling was impossibly high, and built tough enough that even Godzilla would have a hard time with it.


    The stairs are so long you about lose your breath, there''s about one-hundred and ninety people or more working in the castle, on the other side is a modest stable but an enormous barracks, with four-thousand five-hundred full-time soldiers. In another directions, Gwendal and Wolfram''s personals soldiers are at a lodging right now, brought from their own territories.


    For the time being I was guided to a room the size of a basketball court, a fire was in the fireplace and the floor was paved with fabric and fur. The stone wall was completely concealed by white coating, it looks like picture of Ueno my mother took when I was a grade school student. On the remaining three walls seemed to be tapestries of the national flag. Surprisingly, there''s a decorative plant in the corner of the room.


    "No television, no games, no minidiscs."


    Before that, there''s no electricity or gas, so there''s also no telephone.


    "...The bed... is super huge..."


    The bed was, big. Even though a canopy wasn''t attached, it was big enough for sure that even if a set of quintuplets became junior high school students, they could still rest together on it and be fine.


    A beautiful bathhouse attendant wearing only a loincloth that barely covered his important parts offered to wash my back in the gorgeous gilded tub, which I clearly refused. Because I''m bothered by an inferiority complex.


    I took a light pink liquid from a nearby bottle. It has a good aroma. Maybe this was shampoo. I roughly pour the splashing hot water from the bucket. There is no conditioner! Rather than manly, I''d say I''m acting like a sports guy.[9]


    I firmly washed my body, because I was satisfied with the bath I took on the second day, I wondered at the time if I should take a long bath again. "Huh."


    From the opposite side of the place I entered, the shape of a woman only wearing a bath towel appeared. Not a girl, a woman. It can''t be that this is, a mixed bath?! Wait, G¨¹nter definitely said that this was a private bath. Or is the said girl supposed to service me? There''s not going to be that kind of service. No, because it''s just been common people until now I didn''t know, but perhaps she was a queen or minister or parliamentarian. But wait, wait-! Of all places in this huge pool she''s in the second lane, where even if your body isn''t stretched out in a line---!


    She had golden curly hair down to her hips, a super sexy woman, whose chest was submerged only one meter from me. From steam, or from tension and excitement my eyes get misty, and I can''t see clearly but she''s surprisingly attractive. The measurements under her towel makes blood rush to my eyes and my cheeks and lips turn a lovely shade of pink.


    But she''s a "woman". She''s not in the same generation as a "girl".


    "Oh."


    "Aaaaah, I, I, I, I didn''t hear this was a mixed bath!"


    "No~, it''s fine. This bath is only for your Majesty, the Maoh. I only came in for a little bit out of habit. Don''t mind me, new king, yo, ur, Ma, jes, ty."


    "Uh, ah, that''s a little bad, please don''t come closer."


    "Say, so you''re the new king? How unexpected, to meet you in a place like this."


    Now, my blood is rushing to my head and heart and the lower half of my body, and I couldn''t make a calm decision. Danger danger danger! All the more because I''ve just reached puberty, it''s ten times, or twenty times more dangerous!


    "Ah~ah umm, young lady, no, miss, isn''t it a violation of the rules to suddenly enter the bathtub without rinsing?! And besides that, with a bath towel! Don''t you know it isn''t good manners to put a towel in the water in a public bath?!"


    My voice was almost turned inside-out. It''s not possible to say it like Monomonta.[10]


    "Oh my, I''m sorry. It''s because it''s been a very long time since I''ve taken a bath with men."


    She said that as she gazed at me while I was unable to move.


    "Damn... Cu-cute."


    At that time, with a cry and a scream and a shout that didn''t make it out, I left and began to run.


    Why am I saying "cute", Miss Sexy, and why is Miss Pheromones in the king''s bath, and besides all that, who are you Miss Sexy Queen!


    I ran quickly in the form of only having a towel wrapped around my waist, and leapt into the place that I think I was told was my room, but once again there are young and cute girls there, and they raised their voices without seeming to make any words.


    "What''s the matter, Your Majesty!"


    "What''s wrong Your Majesty!"


    When two people (the self-proclaimed Yuuri faction) came running in, the girl holding a lustrous black cloth trembled in the corner, and while she was made to avert her blank gaze from the new king crouching behind the gigantic bed, she murmured something lowly. My ass was exposed.


    "Your Majesty, Your Majesty."


    "...I like girls, I like girls but if you ask me if I''d like to be seen, I''d rather not be, I''m not really that big or huge."


    When he sent the maid back from the room, Conrad came over to the bed. By that time I had finally regained my composure, stabilizing and prudently wrapping the sheet around my waist again.


    "Oh my, you put your behind away."


    "Is there no privacy in this country?!"


    "Your Majesty, as king you naturally have servants and maids. If you''re surprised by each one..."


    "Are they supposed to even be in my bath and my room?! Then what good does it do to hide this country''s erotic books somewhere?! If I''m going to get picked up by beautiful naked women in the bathroom, where can I run away to and catch my breath?!"


    "A nude woman in the bathroom? Oh..."


    Conrad looked up to the sky as if to say, "My God!"


    "...Come along."


    "I thought this was some kind of service so I was just about to make a small request... Well, first of all, because I''m not a that great of a man, I ran away."


    "I''m glad, I appreciate Your Majesty''s sense of reason."


    "Oh, ooh, Your Maje''y, please try this on."


    The person in charge of education said that as he held a black cloth in front of his nose for awhile. His eyes had become completely teary.


    "What''s wrong all the sudden, hay fever?"


    "E, ejuse me, I''m in an entirely different standpoint than I usually am, and I''m having trouble looking at you... You are too praiseworthy and lovely at the same time... Ah, my apologies! I said something offensive, I should know better, I, I''m flustered!"


    "What''s wrong, G¨¹nter, this doesn''t seem like you?"


    "If it''s hay fever you should rinse out your nose, wash your nose. It makes my older brother feel better."


    In the beat I intended to take off my clothes, my finger touched G¨¹nter''s arm. With incredible speed he drew back to the wall. His face was red as if he had a fever. When he held up the glossy black cloth higher, it seemed to be some sort of underwear.


    "They''re underwear, but black, and glossy."


    A thong. It can be tied on both sides. When I looked back at Conrad, he had his usual face.


    "Why would a man wear a thong?!"


    "Eh? It''s the popular underwear for the time being."


    "No way, then, that person and that person and that person are in a thong?! Even that guy making such a face was in a thong?! It can''t be, you are too?"


    "Ah, no, I prefer something more natural."


    "Bihyaah!"


    When they simultaneously turned their heads, G¨¹nter was holding his nose towards the wall. Was he suffering from cedar pollen as I thought; if he sneezed I''d be certain. His eyes were also drooping heavily, how should I say this, like, he began speaking in a tone like he''d suddenly become an Italian man. Because of his incredible beauty from the start, if he was a girl I''d probably be reeled in by these.


    "Please don''t trouble me by talking like a stubborn old wife, Your Majesty. It''s the same as if I knocked on the door to avoid seeing you take off your underwear...Che... Hah?! What did I just say?!"


    Even though he seems to present an ambiance like a crimson rose, my joke was thrust back to me.


    "P, blease ejuse me! I''ve had, in, in, insolent thoughts!"


    "If you rinse out your nose with a normal saline solution, a normal sal... Insolent, eh, what?"


    "I''ll go cool off my head!"


    I shouted for him to rinse, not cool off, at his fleeing back, but he didn''t seem to hear it. But for the time being the problem is the underwear I''m holding in my fingertips. Since I''m just a kid in the middle of break, I can only think it''s a little embarrassing.


    "But, well, even Japanese have a ''sumo wrestler''s loincloth'' traditionally."


    "That''s true, Your Majesty. Maybe it''ll feel surprisingly good, and can meet a new you."


    I don''t want to meet a new me.


    "At any rate, what in the world is wrong with G¨¹nter? Well, this is my next underwear. Huh."


    As I''m passed clothes one after another that are very similar to my uniform, Conrad brings his face close to me.


    "...Your Majesty, you smell good."


    "Oh, it''s probably the shampoo. There was some pink stuff in the bathroom."


    Who put it there, I don''t know.


    For Shinou''s dinner, it wasn''t a convenient trick to introduce a program, nor a program where the former five-star pitcher of a professional baseball team oozes their knowledge of wine to the guests.


    "Your Majesty, the king, will only be surrounded by close relatives at this noble and special dinner."


    Somehow with his nose crammed with cotton, G¨¹nter is strangely guiding the tension while his chest is held high. With his hair neatly settled behind him, he''s wearing an outfit that resembles priest garments, off-white white a long beautiful gold thread embroidered down the front.


    "Excuse me for being late."


    Conrad returned after changing his clothes in a big hurry, and caught up with short, quick steps. As far as his appearance is concerned, I decided that he was the cosplay king! - this year.


    His clothes were the pure white of a navy officer, an American woman''s yearning. "Ai to Seishun no Tabidachi", originally called "An Officer and a Gentleman, starring Richard Gere. The theme music that everyone has heard is the BGM, refreshingly called an all-American number one hit. Without the hat.


    "For the time being this is full dress."


    The surface of the mountain stretched to the other side of the window, and I saw a light at the summit. The surrounding air was already dark, and the light was stronger than the twinkling stars.


    "Please look closely, that is the holy ground of the Mazoku, the light of Shinou''s shrine. That is where we all come from, the resting place of the great Shinou."


    Putting aside the problem of a ''Mazoku, holy ground?'', I looked at the wavering flame at the summit. Would it be like the temples in Japan? When seen through the eyes of a modern day Japanese person, Shibuya Yuuri, Shinou seemed to be like a god to these people. He probably has a grave there where he left from this world.


    But, I was brought here because of an oracle or the words of Shinou.


    "...I don''t know whether or not I''m a king."


    "Your Majesty, please look over here. This corridor is also an exhibition room, decorated with the gallant figures of all of the successive generations of kings. The portrait of your predecessor and yourself are incomplete."


    Continuing to wander down the corridor, the paintings are so large that you can''t even stretch both arms to each side, and there are twenty pieces. All the drawings are realistic with precise details so small if could make your eyes hurt.


    "It reminds me of when I went to see the Barnes Collection at Ueno."


    "They''re lined up on this side in order of the newest. This is the 24rth Maoh, His Majesty Von Radford Bertrand. He was called the ''Lion King'' by the people and revered."


    "The Lion King? I think there''s a similar nickname somewhere in the world..."


    "This is His Majesty the twenty-third, Jeannot von Karbelnikoff, called a strict ruler. And then His Majesty the twenty-second, Arsenio von Roberski, famous as a powerful military man. His Majesty the twenty-first, Dwayne von Gyllenhaal, the belligerent king, and before him that is His Majesty Davison Henstridge the slaughterer, and Basilio von Rochefort the brutal king..."


    "What''s with these names gradually becoming more terrible? Isn''t there someone more peaceful, like the oil magnate king or the newspaper king or a brand king?"


    "Well... because we don''t have oil or newspapers or brands."


    "The fifteenth Maoh, Her Majesty Grisela Trantinian Yaft, the head-cutter queen. Her Majesty Brittany von Wincott, the bloodshed queen..."


    I''ve seen the national traits of the Mazoku. Some are sitting on a chair with their hands on a dog''s head, and other are leaning against a sword that''s been thrust into the ground. On a horse next to a pole with the severed head of his defeated enemies, this is definitely a painting of a Maoh. There were about three woman, and a king that could only be called a boy by his size.


    But, even though they had different colored hair and eyes, and each one of them were on par with each other in beauty, as we go further back in time they seem to become more and more superhuman. Well, I guess because they basically aren''t human. The clothes are much thicker fantasy colors than the present day Mazoku, and they''re drawn with mantels and armor.


    "They look like they''re from an RPG of ancient times. Ah, of course, this is a world of swords and magic after all. Your modern military uniforms make that more than clear. Oh, this person-"


    "He is the seventh Maoh, His Majesty Forgeas von Voltaire."


    "He looks just like the guy with the Love Theme from the Godfather from a little bit ago!"


    "God... You mean Gwendal? That''s because this is his direct ancestor."


    "Eh?! Then shouldn''t that guy be the next Maoh? If his ancestor was the king, then one of his descendants should succeed him."


    G¨¹nter, like a teacher, tilted his head thoughtfully and replied.


    "Your Majesty, the position of the Maoh isn''t inherited."


    "But there''s no elections? How difficult, what a pain."


    "Oh, right. You''ve grown up in a different world for about fifteen years. Well, you''ll learn little by little, there''s still up to a year before you become Maoh."


    "A year?! I''m supposed to stay here a year?!"


    Conrad looked at me as I asked in return, and the tutor looked astonished.


    "Your Majesty, you''re the king of this country, you''ll be spending the rest of your life here. Why would you question one year?"


    This has become serious. The way things are going I''ll have to repeat a class. Moreover, it''s too early in May to decide to repeat the first year of high school. Now all I can do is accomplish this imposed goal quickly, and head for the goal in a beeline.


    "And this is our founder, who united the Mazoku, who defeated the Creator and established Shin Makoku, the original king, His Majesty Lord Shinou. Glory be to his holy soul!"


    "Huh, this one looks just like that kid. He must be one of his ancestors. Eh, his name was?"


    "I can''t speak his name without authority."


    "You can''t say his name, che, how stingy."


    "Your Majesty!"


    "But isn''t it thanks to this guy that I was brought here and can''t go back? At the word of this guy who should be dead, my soul flew here from a different world? And you can''t even tell me his name, as I thought, stingy."


    "I will tell you later, Your Majesty."


    Conrad''s voice was holding back laughter.


    In the particularly large portrait, he was arranged at the front, a young man with blond hair standing with a naked sword in one hand. Just like Wolfram. But, his eyes are a bright blue like the clear surface of a lake, and somehow, somewhere something was different about him than the future generations of Mazoku. My amateur impression was, "He''s proud, he''s important, he feels like a natural king".


    "...This person is?"


    Only this picture wasn''t one person. In a place a little bit behind, someone that was obviously a different race than the current kings was drawn. He has very ordinary, functional clothes, and he has no sword and no armor. Although his thin smile doesn''t seem to say that he''s a vassal or a retainer, either.


    "He looks a little oriental, doesn''t he?"


    G¨¹nter was very proud as he explained about him. His respect and affection from the bottom of his heart is transmitted to me, when I don''t know him either.


    "The Great Mage has black hair and eyes, and he''s the only person in this world who is of equal status to Shinou. If he wasn''t there, we Mazoku would have been torn apart by the Creator, and we wouldn''t have this land or this country but would have lived as wanderers. Before that, this world may have been destroyed"


    "In a word, he''s an amazing person?"


    "Quite so. Moreover, he''s more beautiful than anyone!"


    "Huh?!"


    Apparently, this group''s aesthetic sense was unfathomable by Japanese. More than likely, the oriental with the calm expression was barely prepared. His intelligence seemed to win over his beauty.


    "This gentleman and Your Majesty look very much alike. All the people will notice Your Majesty''s absolutely noble nature and praise it!"


    The cotton is about to shoot out of Lord von Kleist''s nose. Ah, wait, he has a nosebleed, his nose is bleeding!


    "Alike?! How?! Where to we look alike?!"


    "Look, look Your Majesty, like your hair and eye color. Your Majesty resembles an amazing person, charisma, charisma!"


    "But black eyes and black hair is dominant and Japanese culture!"


    Other than that, he doesn''t look like me or my family at all.


    Curse you, Shinou. In my heart I curse at you.


    Thanks to you, who should be dead, I''m quickly getting caught up in all of this. Besides that, once I have to repeat a year, I''ll go to your mausoleum or whatever it is and ransack it a bit.


    These cursed thoughts. Without realizing it everything is bounced back on me.


    G¨¹nter seemed like he was in a drunken trance, as he recited romantic things.


    "Shinou is the darkness, and the Great Mage is the light. They yearn for each other, love each other, and are born bearing each other''s colors in body. In short, darkness is light, and light is darkness!"


    "Shall I leave you alone, because it''s getting long."


    It seemed like he was used to hearing it.


    (Translated by Emeryl, originally posted on Onadoru Euphoria. Re-posted with permission.)

 Volume 1 - CH 4

    Is this really a banquet?


    As I stepped up to the round, opal table, I felt my limbs stiffen from the tension. "This looks more like an military discussion than a dinner party."


    The eldest son and the third son were in the room, and both were wearing what seemed like their usual uniforms. Since Conrad is that way, it must mean that full dress for those brothers is being in uniform. Each uniform has the same design but different colors. Gwendal was viridian without a speck of dirt, and Wolfram was a deep navy blue. There are many varying colors for each post. It''s easy to tell the difference between land, sea and air.


    A man that seems to be a waiter carrying a tray bows his head to me very deeply. But the eldest son and the third son, as they have have what seem to be champagne glasses in their hands, won''t even try to greet me. Of course, I wasn''t able to bear the awkward atmosphere.


    "Good, good evening."


    Wolfram laughed through his nose. Being scorned by a person with a nice face makes it at least three times as offensive. Conrad enters while smiling, and places his left hand on Gwendal''s back.


    "Your Majesty, this is my older brother Lord Gwendal von Voltaire, and over here-"


    When he reaches towards the glittering blond he''s swatted away as if to say "Don''t touch".


    "...is my little brother, Lord Wolfram von Bielefeld. Both of them were called Your Highness until the other day; now they''re Your Excellency. Of course, they''re several positions lower than Your Majesty, so it doesn''t matter if you just address them by their names as you wish."


    "Don''t touch me."


    Gwendal is quiet, but the young one is hysteric and yelping noisily.


    "Didn''t I tell you not to touch me with your human fingers?! I''ve never even thought of you as my older brother once!"


    "Right, right, I get it so I won''t pour your drink for you. Because my white cloth is different than yours it''d leave a serious stain."


    Looking as if he''s really used to it, the second son leaves his brothers. The pretty boy and the idler.


    "I explained to you that we have different fathers. You probably noticed that only I, Sir Weller Conrart, am not one of the ten nobles. My father was a traveller of unknown origins; he was a person with no value other than his sword."


    Wolfram made an irritated face. Gwendal was indifferent.


    "Then, you''re a half?[1] Ah, why didn''t you say something like half or double?[2] Your mother was a Mazoku, and your father was..."


    "Human. With light brown hair and eyes, and penniless."


    "And he was a great man."


    All at the same time everyone''s eyes turned towards the entrance. The Sexy Queen who had such an amazing body that it was almost a crime smiled. It''s a tight black dress that made with a lusterless material, has a cut that might reach her navel, and a slit that makes her shapely legs completely visible. She doesn''t have a single accessory, as if to say, "I''m the jewel".


    She''s letting out even more pheromones than when she was nude.


    "Mother!"


    "Mother?!"


    After all, if any of the three called her that, that would make her the mother of three people. Is it ok for the mother of people who are almost one-hundred to only look about thirty?


    "Thirty... About fifty... one-hundred and fifty... She''s about one-hundred and fifty years old?"


    That is, awhile ago I got excited about a woman who is about one-hundred and fifty years old. Her golden curls stretch out elegantly.


    "It''s been a long time, Conrart. It''s only been awhile since I''ve seen you, but you''re looking more and more like the handsome man your father was."


    "Mother, you only grow more beautiful as well."


    "Oh my, you probably say that to all the girls."


    This is a conversation between a mother and son?


    She hugs her sons one by one, but they barely look like mother and son except for Wolfram, and even if the eldest, Gwendal, is younger than her, she looks like a skilled older girlfriend spoiling a calm boyfriend. I secretly asked the second son.


    "Is he a son brought in from the husband of a second marriage, or something like that?"


    "No, I assure you, all three of us were born from that woman."


    "Gwen, your forehead is wrinkling again. You won''t be able to get the girls that way. Ah, Wolf! Wolf, let me get a good look at your face. Oh, you still look just like me. The men probably won''t leave you alone!"


    "...Mother, we just saw each other this morning. Besides, even if men liked me it wouldn''t make me happy."


    "Is that so? Are boys like that? I can''t understand the feelings of young men these days. Aah, why couldn''t I have had a girl? Boys are so rowdy and they distance themselves from their mothers so fast!"


    "That''s not true, I wouldn''t distance myself from you, Mother!"


    "Oh? Really?"


    "Really!"


    What an silly parent and child.


    But, the queen''s aim of attack is immediately directed towards me.


    "Your Majesty."


    "Hyah."


    Her captivating body was pressed up against mine, an average body of a young fifteen year old high school student. Our faces were the same height, so close that we could have kissed. Her rose-colored lips shaped into a smile.


    "We''ve met in the baths, didn''t we, Your New Majesty?"


    "That''s, that''s right."


    "You''ve gotten so tense that you''re stiff, you''re really darling. I was thinking that it would be nice if someone like you would become the new king."


    "I see." The reason I was becoming stiff is because the first ''big'' of your ''big skinny big''[3] is hitting my chest.


    "Ne, King Yuuri. You''re King Yuuri, right?"


    "I see," this isn''t the place to respond like an audience member of Alta.[4]


    "Do you have a lover?"


    "Hyaaah~!"


    While she''s making strange sexy sounds, their mother is pulled off of me. With an expression that wasn''t shy or angry, G¨¹nter forced his way through.


    "Please don''t fall in love with the new Maoh, previous Maoh!"


    "No~, really, Gunter. You sound like a cynical widow!"


    "I don''t care even if you resent and abuse me. Anyhow, I, if the previous Maoh and new Maoh were to be lovers... No, excuse me, I want to avoid an improper relationship such as being lovers."


    "Previous Maoh? Who? This... woman is?"


    Not a Sexy Queen, but she was a real queen? The lovely Mazoku in the black dress (or witch) smiled and presented her white hand to me.


    "Welcome to Shin Makoku, King Yuuri. I am your predecessor, Lady Cecilie von Spitzweig. Your Majesty was summoned because I said I would step down from the throne."


    "Then, this is because of you, uh, no, eh, Lady von Spitzweig Ce... umm, Cecilia? No? Li, e?"


    "Call me Cheri. Che, ri. My older brother told me to reconsider it, but I''m tired of a life where I can''t love freely!"


    Lady Cheri, because you have that sort of motive, I had to become the new Maoh even though I''m still a minor. As her slender fingers grasped me before my eyes, I sighed. Ah, the owner these delicate white fingers, if she could hold onto power for about one hundred more years, I could be sent off to live a normal life in Japan, and when my unfortunate wife died before me, half a year later on a spring day, when I was being watched by my only son and daughter-in-law and cute grandchildren, then I could take a trip to the next world. Wait, what if this is the next world? If that''s true, am I dead now...


    "What''s the matter, Your Majesty?"


    My cheerful family planning rises and vanishes like a revolving lantern,[5] rises and vanishes.


    What a story.


    I''ve been invited as a guest to a certain country, my teeth chattering from the tension of being in front of a ruler and nobles, and I made a mistake in one instant and drank from what would normally be a bowl to wash your fingers. All the nobles surrounding me laughed scornfully and said, "Doesn''t he have any manner", while elegantly dipping their fingers in the bowl. However, only the princess drinks the water out of the finger bowl with a cool face. It seems like she doesn''t want to embarrass her guest.


    Even if it''s called "bowl" it''s not a game of American football, so they should be hospitable! That''s an anecdote of my mind that warms my heart.


    If she drinks all of the water, I wonder if that means she''s a kind princess.


    I secretly sighed while watching water be poured into silverware nearby.


    I want to stop. I feel like I can get along with Conrad, but the eldest son and the third son are hopeless. I''m not sure about Madame Cheri, but I probably shouldn''t try to the point of her feigning ignorance about everything.


    I arranged the tips of my fingers on both hands and prudently dipped them in the small bowl. And...


    "Eh?!"


    Everyone else was holding it with both hands and drank it all in one gulp! Damn, I didn''t read the textbook of morality very seriously. Conrad has the waiter move back without drinking.


    "You seem to know a lot about filth, cleaning yourself with sake."


    Wolfram, sitting next to me, is maliciously straightforward. So that was sake. Then it''s ok, I can''t have alcohol anyway. Not to observe the law, but to preserve the height I want to be and a healthy heart, I won''t smoke.


    G¨¹nter is a bit away from the round table, giving instructions to the waiters. He isn''t a close relative of the Maoh, so he doesn''t get a seat at Shinou''s dinner. Therefore, there are five people around the table. Sitting clockwise from the youngest.


    The new king, myself, His Highness Wolfram, a former crown prince, His Highness Conrart, a former crown prince, His Highness Gwendal, a former crown prince, and the previous Maoh, Cecilie.


    When I''m enclosed by Wolfram who hates me a lot, and the pheromone queen, I can''t concentrate on eating dinner.I understand the feelings that Wolfram hates me well because until recently he was a prince and he was suddenly demoted. It wouldn''t be so troublesome if they had safely stuck to the hereditary system.


    Pouring a drink into a faceted glass like from Edo (probably sake again), the waiter lightly leans over and asks about something like an in-flight meal.


    "Your Majesty, fish and meat... Bird, mammal, reptile or amphibian, which would you like?"


    Which?! If I remember right in the old days of Yakult,[6] I think there was an athlete who may have eaten crocodile, but don''t be surprised, this is what''s called the difference in food culture. Even in Japan the viper is a popular dish. But it''s really eel even though they say it''s a viper.


    "We, well, in that case, as a growing child, mammalian. No, wait, wait a minute. What kind of mammal is it tonight? It''s not something like a fresh monkey or a newborn puppy is it?!"


    A reflection of the image of the food market in China.


    "It''s cow." What a relief.


    "The highest quality with eight stomachs and five horns."


    "Five horns... Maybe something like gene manipulation, or... Uuh, well, the cow."


    Hochinosu, mino, ginoa, yan...[7] It''s no good, I can''t remember anything else about stomachs. A plate the color and smell of consomme soup and seems to be the appetizer is carried over. I took in hand what I had instead of a knife or fork. A dull, polished silver,


    "...This brings back memories, a spork. Well, it is pretty rational. Totally rationally."


    In elementary school, at lunch, this served two roles. For soup and hors d''oeuvre of the day.


    "So, Your Majesty, what was the country you grew up in like? I wonder how it''s different from our world."


    The previous Maoh, Cecilie, grips my right hand tightly. At once the temperature of this male high school student who was formerly an unpopular jock goes up by 2 degrees.


    "I, I don''t know, there''s nothing particularly odd, it''s a boring world. Ah, but, this world is extremely different. We don''t have people who can use magic, and we work more on improving scientifically..."


    "Science! I''ve heard of that. It''s a technology where people who don''t have magic power or religious power can kill their enemies from far away, isn''t it? The human countries seem to be doing that sort of research. It''s terrible, the military capability to be able reach further than bows. If humans get that sort of war capability, I wonder if they''ll abide by the agreement."


    The third son said to his mother with cold eyes.


    "I don''t think they have those sort of ethics."


    "Please don''t say such scary things, Wolfram. If that happens, what are we going to do?"


    "It''s simple. We should stop suppressing our magic. When we fairly have equal war potential, we''ll dispose of them because the humans will be too cocky."


    "Wait wait wait, I didn''t mean that kind of science! In short, well, umm, machines that will do troublesome chores like cleaning and laundry, and machines that will plow fields all at once. In short, stuff to make daily living more comfortable."


    Cheri seems sweetly surprised.


    "I don''t think cleaning and laundry are troublesome. That''s the job of the cleaning men and laundry women."


    I didn''t even think about how the queen lives up to now.


    "So, so, instead of people in charge of cleaning or laundry, you''d have a machine."


    "If that''s so, the servants lose their jobs?


    "If that happens, those people work at factories to build vacuum cleaners and washing machines..."


    I don''t really know if people can live easily.


    "Ne, well then Your Majesty, how about love? What is love like between different kinds of people? After all when there''s obstacles and opposition, doesn''t passion just flare up more?"


    I can''t figure out what she means by ''different kinds''. She''s probably alluding to mazoku and humans, but how should I relate that to Japanese? International marriage? People already aspire to, not even mentioning that they''re free to, or a human with a chimpanzee, which rarely happens.


    "At any rate, you came from a very distant world. I''m glad you''re succeeding the throne. Because of that I can finally leave the castle. It''s been my dream for a long time to go on a free love trip."


    She''s dreamy, I grip my fingers and nod my head at this and that.


    "That, that''s great."


    Great things are brought out to the dining table. The meat of the main dish. A red meat dish that I wouldn''t say is favorably rare is in front of me. In front of the previous queen is almost a whole amphibian... No, it is whole. With that sort of face, how could you be eating frogs, Madam Sexy Queen.[8] I tried to recite a haiku.


    "You must have been anxious about whether you could do it when you suddenly found out you''re a king. I was too. That day a messenger suddenly came, and it was made clear that according to Shinou Genshi Your Majesty had the soul of the next Maoh. But, Your Majesty, don''t think about it too much. For the difficult things everyone around you, my brother and my sons, will help you as much as they can."


    "Mother!"


    Sticking a knife in his bird, Wolfram speaks in a voice that seems aggravated.


    "I don''t plan on working for this man! I can''t agree when it''s not clear if he deserves to be the new king."


    "Oh, then will you succeed the throne, Wolf?"


    Next he scoops up something white that seems to be potatoes, and shakes his head as he puts it on his plate.


    "Of course not. Big brother is far more suited to that position than I am. If it was big brother, he would show that those cowardly humans are fools."


    Subsequently he picks up a glass for wine or something like a type of alcohol.


    Next to him Conrad looks like he isn''t listening as he takes a bite of fish. When the youngest child says "older brother", he seems to only mean the eldest brother of few words.


    "Right, Gwendal?"


    He knives the chicken meat again. He seems to have decided his eating order. The previous queen tilts her head sweetly.


    "But Wolfram, don''t you know the consequences when the king opposes Shinou''s words."


    It seems like he''s a god-like being and when they don''t follow his words, terrible things happen. Then, in the case that I refuse to be the Maoh, will terrible things happen to this country and all its people, or to me, the newcomer?


    "Of course, that means Your Majesty, too."


    "Eeeh?!"


    Conrad answered as if he saw through me.


    "What''s with that~! I never asked or wanted to be king. Then that''s almost coercion."


    "...As I thought."


    When his spoon should definitely go towards the potatoes as the next in sequential order, Wolfram gave a sideways glance to watch my involuntary reaction towards Gwendal''s murmur. Because in that short phrase, there is the sound of contempt.


    "From the beginning, you never intended to be the king."


    Holding his wine glass too strongly, Gwendal continues without looking this way. His blue eyes seem frozen over; nothing like a timid Japanese person.


    "He may have black eyes and hair, but that doesn''t matter. Because this person won''t become the Maoh. He wasn''t prepared from the start. Isn''t that right, visitor from another world?"


    "Eh... well, yeah..."


    I unintentionally reply positively, and Conrad''s words interrupt.


    "He''s only been in this country two days. His Majesty is confused. Don''t you think your speculation is ill-mannered, and a bit too arrogant, Lord von Voltaire?"


    "But you can''t escape the reality. Shouldn''t you know that better than anyone? How many sacrifices are made when a king doesn''t feel like carrying out his responsibilities? Your Majesty, take my word for it, if you aren''t prepared to live as a king please return to your original world immediately."


    The man with the most suitable appearance for the Maoh turns to me with an icy smile for the first time.


    "As a representative of Mazoku, please go away before the expectations of the people rise."


    "But I..."


    I want to say that I wanted to go back but stop mid-sentence, because something inside of me seems to block my throat and my voice stopped. It seems like my willpower or pride or a show of courage or something like that is being troublesome.


    I face the red beef as I pull myself together. The new Maoh bashing still continued over the table.


    On the opposing team, Gwen and Wolf; Cheri was neutral, and Conrad seemed to be fighting alone.


    "I especially want to confirm whether he truly has the soul of the Maoh. At any rate, the visitor should return immediately. It would be wise to search for a substitute."


    "He is the genuine article, Gwen, the real thing."


    "How can you say that so positively?"


    Even though I was could only see a rare steak, I could see Conrad''s smile. I feel like I can see it. Even when I can only see the back of his head, I can still see his smile.


    "I wouldn''t mistake the wrong person for Yuuri."


    As soon as he finishes his last word, Wolfram flares up hysterically.


    "What kind of proof is that?! Just saying you wouldn''t be deceived isn''t adequate! He probably dyed his hair, and his eyes... He could put on colored contacts or something like that, there are tons of makeshift methods."


    "Unfortunately, I can''t show you evidence that would make you consent."


    "Then don''t declare something like that! Mainly, if by chance this guy is the owner of the Maoh''s soul, after all, wasn''t he raised among humans with a low social status? I can''t trust our country to someone like that. It would be a blemish on the great history of the Mazoku."


    "Wolfram, this isn''t about what position he was born into. It''s about how he lives, and how he decides to behave. But if you''re going to make such a fuss over it, I''ll tell you. His Majesty''s soul was entrusted to the Maoh of that world, and he chose a suitable man from his subordinates. So even though His Majesty''s father isn''t from this world, he still has the blood of a Mazoku flowing through him."


    "Ueeeh?! No way, my dad is a demon?!"


    Not demon, but, Mazoku. When Japan had fallen into a great depression, bankers were called devils and demons. But, my father really was a Mazoku! How should I treat visitors in the future, as a son?


    "What kind of face should I make when I see him, knowing my father is really a Mazoku."


    "That should be fine, since when your father sees you, his son''s really going to be the Maoh."


    The second son is nonchalant. He has a point. That makes it harder.


    "But Conrad, why do you know about my fath..."


    "Even if his father is a Mazoku, isn''t his mother still a human!"


    It seemed like he wasn''t going to stop attacking under any circumstances. Wolfram gulps down his glass, and because he''s beautiful the way he glares this way is all the more fierce.


    "You only have half the blood of a Mazoku flowing through your body. It''s no wonder Conrart gets along with you, you''re both "fake"! The other half of you is filthy human blood and meat, some person of doubtful origins, probably the blood of some girl with loose morals? That kind of person..."


    Damnit, when I thought that it was already too late. I always regret what I do afterwards. It was because of this quick temper and flying into a rage that I stopped playing baseball after ten years. There are moments when my small-town sense of justice can''t be suppressed. As a catcher, that''s a fatal flaw. It''s very disadvantageous in life.


    Right in front of me I had slapped that beautiful face.


    It was a good smack. The sound and angle were good. It was better than a one-base hit, but I how much damage it did to my opponent was immeasurable. As proof, the other party stared this way, dumbfounded. He doesn''t make a counterattack. The surroundings became so still you could hear a pin drop, and Wolfram''s left cheek, where I hit, was dyed red. Not just his left cheek. His right, too, and his forehead, and the whites of his eyes...


    Conrad knocks over his chair as he stands up. This time his complexion is changing.


    "Your Majesty, take it back, please take it back immediat..."


    "No!"


    Cheri slowly puts her knife on the plate. Gunter plunges forward while running.


    "I don''t plan on taking it back or apologizing! This guy said something he shouldn''t have said, he did something he shouldn''t have done! I don''t care if you make fun of me and insult me! But how can you say someone else'' mother, someone you haven''t even met, has loose morals?! What the hell do you mean by person of doubtful origins?! That some floozy and a man had a kid?! My mother is a human; no matter how I look at her, she''s human. As far as your concerned the human blood flowing in me is dirty! What do you plan on doing? What do you mean by filthy human blood? If someone talked about your mother that way, what do you think you''d do as a son?! That''s right, I''m not apologizing."


    My temper was always like this, non-stop objections like the Bay Stars. I had the upper hand on Gunter, and continued.


    "I definitely won''t take it back! He has a pretty face so I slapped him instead of punching him."


    "Are you saying you definitely won''t cancel it?"


    I nodded my head to confirm that, and Lady Cheri clapped her hands in front of her chest.


    "How wonderful, the engagement[9] is complete."


    Bulbs?[9]


    Like the ones you plant to grow tulips?


    "You see, Wolfram? Isn''t it just like I said? The gentlemen can''t leave someone as beautiful as you alone."


    With her fingers entwined together she seems to be dancing for joy.


    By gentlemen, she means... Me?!


    "Because His Majesty is so cute I feel a little bit jealous. But it can''t be helped, for the sake of my beloved son." "Wait a minute, settle down, well, someone calm me down. Can someone tell me what''s happening? What kind of manners have I violated this time, can someone explain it to me simply?!"


    My favorite tutor hangs his head, heartbroken. As if to say, "Oh no..."


    "...You didn''t violate any kind of etiquette. On the contrary, it''s not used by nobles recently, but by an ancient refined, and traditional manner, Your Majesty just proposed."


    "By proposal, you can''t mean..."


    "You asked for his hand in marriage."


    Marriage?! In Japan a boy can''t ask get married to a girl without permission if he isn''t eighteen. Before that, if the type of engagement wasn''t a problem, Wolfram and I weren''t the opposite sex of each other.


    "Ma, ma, ma, marriage?! A man and a man?! And I proposed?! When did I do that?"


    "If a noble strikes the other on the left cheek with the palm of his hand, it''s a request for marriage. And if the one who was struck shows their right cheek, then they''ve accepted the request."


    "Uwah, no way! B, but, we''re both men, booth meen!"


    "That isn''t unusual."


    Damn it all, I proposed to a man who insulted my mother?! The flower of love of the famous couple doesn''t bloom as a tulip or hyacinth.[10] Or maybe it''s not a famous couple, but the birth of a royal couple?!


    Gunter is sobbing. I don''t want to think about whether or not they''re tears of joy.


    "Your, Your Majesty, this sudden proposal is leaving me speechless... No, I should be delighted. With this, Your Majesty can settle down in this country as king..."


    "Won''t someone please say it''s strange that we''re both men~!"


    "How can you allow something so humiliating!"


    Finally, Wolfram seemed to regain himself and shouts at me. He didn''t appear to be showing his right cheek. "How can I do anything about it?! No one ever told me I had to make a fist when I punch people!"


    "Shut up! This is the first time I''ve ever been humiliated like this!"


    "Heeeh, really? You''ve had a really blessed life then. When I was told to wash the junior''s socks, or was designated the slowest one on the team, that was really embarrassing! If you''ve lived for eighty years and can''t forgive one mistake by another person..."


    Agitated by the marriage proposal, Wolfram swept his arm across the table. Dishes and glasses fell to the floor, and a silver knife fell by my foot.


    "Uwah, he, hey, that''s dangerous. That''s reckless. Completely reckless."


    "Your Majesty, don''t pick up..."


    I squatted down and picked up a knife slightly covered in chicken meat.


    "You picked it up."


    Huh?


    I look around my surroundings as I''m squatting; Conrad and Gunter seem to have sorrowful expressions with their heads hanging, and the pretty boy who dropped it in the first place has an angry, sardonic grin.


    "You picked it up. Good, noontime tomorrow. The weapons of your choice. If you haven''t even been on a battlefield, you''re a coward who can''t even ride a horse satisfactorily anyway. At least use good armor, and give me a good challenge."


    "Wha, what?"


    "Prepare to be torn to shreds."


    After that he smiled maliciously and left after he apologized to his mother and older brother for leaving during the meal. The mostly useless tutor slumped his shoulders with a sigh.


    "You propose and then immediately accept a duel. Your Majesty, I can''t understand Your Majesty''s mood swings."


    "A duel? I was challenged? I was?!"


    "Purposely dropping a knife is a silent challenge to a duel, and if you pick it up you are accepting the challenge."


    "A duel?! Hey, then, suppose I get defeated, or, I probably will be defeated, but, will, will I die?! I casually pick up a knife to be nice, without even thinking about it, and that guy gets to shoot me to death?!"


    With my poor imagination, a cloud of dust flutters around a Western desert as we take ten paces before we turn around and shoot each other, and I can''t think of anything but the quick drawing gunman of spaghetti Westerns.[11]


    The two people who are in "My Clique" try to comfort their new king, saying "It''ll be all right", or "People rarely lose their lives in duels nowadays" or "You should come up with an eccentric weapon that Wolfram would never think of, to surprise him" or "Maybe if you wear a cute animal costume, it''ll make him lose his fighting spirit". Gwendal and Madam Cheri watched them silently until they finished their drinks. Then they began talking.


    "I knew he had no control over his emotions before... But I never expected him to be this impulsive."


    "I know, I never thought he''d suddenly propose a duel."


    When I calm down I instantly realize they''re overlooking the marriage proposal. I am the so-called child who has returned from another world, who doesn''t even know left from right. Surely I couldn''t master the customs of Mazoku, moreover of aristocrats.


    "But, he''s not entirely to blame."


    "What do you mean?"


    Gwen asked in return with a side glance.


    I have a bad feeling about this. The mother was hiding something when it looked like she was suppressing a giggle.


    "Well, uhuhu, it''s because of the aroma of my perfume in Your Majesty''s hair. I left it in the bathroom with the shampoo. Surely you didn''t know the effect it had when you washed your hair."


    "The effect?"


    "I asked a apothecarist to make it; it''s something valuable that only works on Mazoku. If someone smells it and likes someone even a little bit, they''ll become much more passionate."


    "In short, it''s something like an aphrodisiac or a love potion?"


    "Oh my, what a crude way of putting it."


    So if they favor someone they become more passionate. On the other hand, if they hate someone? Lowering his eyebrows slightly, Gwendal signaled a waiter to pour more sake.


    "If one hated someone, they could become dangerous... It''s no wonder Wolfram is in a frenzy. Mother, you should tell us those sort of things beforehand."


    "Oh, why? Isn''t Wolf''s angry face the cutest? Is there a mother who doesn''t want to see her son looking adorable?"


    "...No."


    "Oh, yes! How did Anissina''s experiment with you go?"


    "...I''m not ready to die yet..."


    I listened dumbfounded as it sounded like a English radio broadcast.


    Someone who hates someone else will become more dangerous. Someone who likes someone else will become more passionate. I see, so that''s why Gunter was tearing up a little while ago.


    (Translated by Emeryl, originally posted on Onadoru Euphoria. Re-posted with permission.)

 Volume 1 - CH 5

    I''m about to cry.


    I can''t believe this. How could this happen? If you slap someone it''s a marriage proposal, and if you pick up a knife it''s a duel?! According to my common sense, it''s either red roses for marriage or gloves for a duel. Just because I didn''t know this country''s customs, I''m standing at the crossroads of life and death.


    "Aaaaaaaaaah!"


    Even if I rolled around on the bed I wouldn''t fall off because of how wide it was. So wide it almost made me feel lonely. Only now, at the age of fifteen, do I understand why girls keep stuffed animals with them.


    "What am I going to do? How am I going to get out of this one?!"


    I compose myself, trying to think over the pinch I was in. I try to think back to any other crisis I''ve gotten into that''s worse than this... But I can''t think of anything.


    "There isn''t anything! Nothing this cruddy has ever happened to me before! Things like duels aren''t normal!" Calm down, calm down, calm down, calm down. What''ll I do if I''m beat up before I even face the enemy?


    Awhile back Gunter was teaching me about it while suffering from a runny nose and watery eyes. The custom of winning by killing your opponent had died out hundreds of years ago. Duels these days were only a question of pride, and people rarely lost their lives.


    Yes. Rarely.


    Meaning that there were exceptions.


    I thoughtlessly squeezed the pillow between my legs, and groaned loudly, "What am I going to do?" As if in answer to my question, there was a knock on the door.


    "Your Majesty."


    "What?"


    Conrad came in carrying various things.


    "Great. Your Majesty hasn''t gone to sleep yet. What are you holding between your legs?"


    "Ah? Oh, this? It just made me feel calm. I don''t think I can go to sleep."


    "Is that so? I thought as much, so I brought these. Come on, Your Majesty. Practice, practice."


    "Practice?"


    He brought a leather ''tray'' and ''pole''; when I grabbed the tray it turned out to be a buckler, and when he pulled out the ''pole'' out of its scabbard it turned out to be a practice sword.


    "Please hold the sword in your dominant hand. Yes, like that. This is a one-handed sword. And hold the buckler on your left-hand side. Try swinging it. How is that? Tell me if it''s too heavy. I did my best to choose the shortest type of women''s sword for you."


    It was a little heavy for just one hand when I swung it. It was a simple weapon; a dull silver color. Holding the hilt reminded me of something very familiar.


    "The grip is like a baseball bat. But the weight more like the ones the pros use, or a metal bat."


    "Is that so? I hadn''t noticed. It is like a bat."


    It had already been a long time since I had played baseball. A long time since I''d felt the ball, or bat, or mask or mitt.


    "The grip on this brings back fond memories. It''ll be about a year now."


    "Why did you quit?"


    "Eh?"


    "Baseball."


    As he asked that question with folded arms, he also had a cheerful smile. I placed the sword on my lap and fell back on the bed, looking up.


    How nostalgic. I wasn''t mad anymore, but the memory was a little painful.


    "...Awhile back I flipped out and hit the coach, so I was kicked out immediately,"


    "And that''s the reason you left the team? I wasn''t asking why you quit the team. I was asking why you quit baseball."


    "Why I quit... baseball. Even I can''t explain that."


    "Then maybe you haven''t quit yet?"


    "Huh?"


    "I mean that you''re not done yet."


    Like Santa Claus or some sort of magician, Conrad held out a ball in the palm of his hand. The skin had turned yellow from being used a long time, with worn out red seams.


    "A ball! Hey, what a breakthrough! The hardballs of this country look just like Japan''s!"


    "Shall we give it a go? To see if it feels the same throwing it."


    The courtyard was surrounded by buildings in every direction and soft rays of light were pouring into it from all the windows. There''s a moon in the sky, and a yellow semi-circle around a torch above the ground.


    The only spectators were guards at strategic points. But.


    "Looks like a nighter."


    "Nighter? Oh, you mean a night game."


    "This country has a word for a night game? Do people here play baseball at night?"


    "They don''t. There''s very few people who play baseball... Only myself and some children who are interested in it..."


    Conrad passed me his own personal glove. Just as I had thought, it was a glove. Not a mitt. I muttered, "Oh well, can''t do anything about that" as I adjusted my index finger on the outside, trying to grip the rough, tawny leather. The model was a bit old, but it was almost brand new and made for an infielder. I usually used the model type Zett, but this didn''t seem like Mizuno or Descente. Of course this was a different world, so there shouldn''t be any brand names that I know. But this familiar-looking boomerang mark is...


    "No way... Nike..."


    From about 10 meters away, Conrad was waving largely at me.


    "Your Majesty, let''s take it slow."


    I held the glove up by my tilted head, and snapped the glove shut as I caught the hardball. Leather ramming into leather had a special feel to it. There was a shock to the middle of the hand, and an ache that slowly circulated down to the elbow.


    "So this is hardball."


    That''s right. But it was emotional. Until now I''d been playing softball.


    I grabbed the ball with my right hand, and it was unexpectedly smooth. When I looked closely there was a faded line that looked like something had been written there. Naturally, I couldn''t read the Mazoku letters, but looked like he had childishly written his name on the ball. I pulled my arm back, and lightly tossed the ball back. Because it wasn''t as far as I thought, it made a good sound when he caught it.


    There was a big difference in temperature between day and night. Even though it was ''Spring'' I could still see my breath. It was like a scene in the "Field of Dreams". After warming up, I figured out that Conrad was having fun and asked him,


    "Should I try squatting a bit?"


    "Squatting?"


    "Yeah, umm, walk about half a dozen paces away. Good, that''s fine. Now throw it here."


    "That''s quite far, Your Majesty~."


    "It''s ok, I''m already in high school! Look, just throw a straight pitch, right down the center!"


    I squatted down and focused on the soles of my feet. The ball came with intense force, but I caught it at knee level between my legs. The weight and speed were more than I expected because he had such bad form.


    "Who taught you how to throw like that?"


    I threw the ball back and was surprised by his bad form and even the position of his fingers.


    "Your speed is good, but where, and who the hell taught you to throw totally wrong like that?"


    "No one taught me. I watched baseball games on my own, and got a feel for it. I couldn''t see how to hold or throw it very well watching from a distance."


    "If you say there were games, then you had practice, too? Then there has to be a coach and students, too. Fine, you should hold the ball with three fingers along of the seam."


    "I see... Hmm, can you really throw a ball well like this?"


    "Isn''t it obvious?! If you have a tight grip on the ball it''ll be hard to let it go. When you mentioned games, where were they? I thought this country didn''t have anything like a stadium? Do people go out Fridays nights for beer, and watch the Giants[1] play night games?"


    "The Giants were a National League so I didn''t know them very well... But, Your Majesty, there is no baseball in this country. The games I mentioned weren''t in this country."


    I stuck my glove in my armpit and played with the played in Conrad''s hand, showing him how to hold it as he hesitantly answered. Look, this is a four-seam ball,[2] because the intersecting stitching can make it look like a rising fastball.[3] I''m not really listening because I''m more focused on showing him how to do it right.


    "Are you moving your body weight when you wind up? Otherwise your pivot foot won''t be firm. This time keep your eye on the target. Don''t look away from my mitt. And you take short strides. I can''t show you how to do that, you just have to keep practicing until you find the best spot for you. Your follow-through is strangely large..."


    Somehow I enjoyed explaining that. When I held his hand and shoulders and moved him around, it reminded me of my childhood and gave me a warm feeling inside.


    "...I wonder if this is what it was like."


    "What is?"


    "I was just wondering if this is what it was like. When I was being taught I was about ten or so, and there was a one-day baseball class being taught by professional players. Back then I hated playing catcher, and I don''t know if my father had a connection or won a lottery draw but we met up at the venue."


    I wasn''t especially big, nor mature. I was my father who decided what position I''d take when I was a grade-schooler, and I was scared of fast balls and runners. I had a mask, of course, but I was still scared when things were coming at my face. For a catcher[4] he was a slender professional player, and I admitted to him frankly.


    For a catcher to face a trim professional player; I hung my head and told him frankly.


    "If I said I was scared, I''d seem inept, right? But that man made me squat down, and he squat down behind me himself. After he positioned my mitt he called out to the pitcher."


    The pitcher was over 180cm. He raised up his foot, with a ball inside his blue glove, and threw it through the air with his long fingers. If I think about it now, I''m sure that lob was a super slow pitch. But I stayed in place without moving or blinking, and the brand new ball flew into my mitt.


    "And, my teacher asked me over my shoulder. Were you scared? But from now on I had already..."


    "You''ve already caught a ball thrown by a pro player. Are you still scared of playing on a junior team?"


    As I looked at Conrad''s hand, I remembered the breeze from that day. There still wasn''t a roof.[5] The sunlight directly hit my cap. "...I could never forget that feeling."


    "So would you say you were touched by your coach''s warmth?"


    "No, not like that! Not at all! I decided to make him my role model on my own. Besides that one time I never got to talk to him, and I wasn''t able to get his autograph!"


    "But Your Majesty... you''re a fan of the coach''s team."


    "Isn''t that obvious?! For awhile I had the team''s song on my cell-phone, I watched all the relays to the end, checked the FM station on the weekends, and was even in the fan club and went to the stadium. I''ve been saving news articles for four years, and collecting videos... What team are you a fan of? Does the team here have a name?"


    Conrad crossed his arms with a meaningful expression.


    "The Boston Red Sox."


    "The Red Sox?! The big shots! Orellano, Wolcott, Clark, and Rhodes from Kintetsu!"[6]


    "Who? I don''t know him."


    "From the Pacific league... On my world, he''s a former player for the Red Sox. I guess it''s possible the teams on this world would even have the same names. The Tigers and Giants have teams in Japan and America. Which is completely chaotic, with a pair of the Cubs and a set of the Giants, even though they''re entirely different nationalities..."


    "That''s because the Giants are a National League, isn''t it?"


    "Can they have the same name in the League? Besides that, Boston is the name of a place on Earth... That shouldn''t be here..."


    When I think about it, this man is unusual. We have too much in common. Gripping the ball, I took a long, hard look at Conrad''s face. I unconsciously grip the ball dangerously tight, until my index finger started to cramp.


    "Gunter didn''t understand any of this stuff, but you seem to know all about it. Like merry-go-rounds, and my father... And to top it off, the Red Sox.... What''s the meaning of this? Just awhile ago you said this country didn''t have baseball. Then, where is this? Which humans in what country like baseball? Where are the Boston Red Sox?"


    It''s just not...


    "Where else are they besides Massachusetts, in America, on Earth?!"


    It''s just not possible.


    Conrad spread both his arms with the glove still on, and shook his head ''No''.


    "Nowhere. They aren''t anywhere besides Massachusetts, in America, on Earth."


    "Then how do you know about them?"


    "Been there."


    "When you say "been there", who went where?"


    "I''ve been to Boston."


    To Boston?


    "Not just Boston. I''ve been to different places. Washington, Staten Island, New Hampshire, Orlando, Quebec, Edinburgh, Wales, Dusseldorf, Cherbourg... While I was protecting Your Majesty''s soul I saw the world you grew up in."


    It''s a chapter from Lonely Planet,[7] for a visitor to Earth.


    "Seventeen years ago, in your previous life, your soul became pure white because you healed wounds. While protecting you, I visited your birthplace, the United States of America. That''s how I came to love baseball, and I came back after I made sure the soul of our future Maoh was safely born. Your Majesty''s mother was strong woman. Even when she was about to give birth, she told off the taxi driver."


    "It can''t be... You''re the man who gave me my name?!"


    "I didn''t think she would actually use it..."


    Then my being teased for the passed fifteen years as "Shibuya Yuuri Harajuku Furi" is 20% his fault? The rest of it was because of the kanji characters my parents picked out.


    "If that''s true, then you first met me when I was still in my mother''s stomach?"


    "That''s correct."


    Is it ok for such a strange story to exist? It seems like he hasn''t changed much from fifteen years ago when he met my mother. The man who named me was smiling right in front of me. And he keeps calling me "Your Majesty".


    "I''ve been waiting for fifteen years..."


    He took off his glove and held it under his armpit, wrapping his hand over mine on the ball.


    "For the day I could meet Your Majesty in person."


    The conversation in the left half of my brain wanted to tell him "Thanks" or "Thank you, on my mother''s behalf", or some other standard answer. But when he was facing me with such a human expression, the right side of my brain won no matter how much I fought it, and I already forgot all those other phrases.


    "...Don''t call me "Your Majesty". You''re the one who named me."


    "Yuuri."


    That''s right, because you gave me my name! Even so, to hide my embarrassment I had to keep speaking in a higher voice than usual. I felt a little touched, because it was unlike me to be so emotional.


    "Besides, don''t talk like we''re brothers who have been separated their whole lives! We basically just met yesterday, I''ve only heard about you before from that one cab ride. Well, if you had written your name on your luggage or something back then my mother probably would have remembered that, too. But look."


    I held out the ball.


    "It looks like the owner wrote their name on their baseball stuff."


    "...That''s not my name."


    What?


    "I was just trying to take home a glove that I had bought for myself, when I got the ball at the stadium. I didn''t ask for anything, but a young man on the visiting team asked if I wanted him to sign it and took it suddenly..."


    "Wh,wh,wh,wh,wh, what?! You have a great ball signed by a Major Leaguer and you''re using it to play catch with me?! Who?! Who signed it?!"


    The text was so faded that even if I knew the English I wouldn''t have been able to make it out. What am I going to do if it''s one of the gods of Major League baseball?


    "What do you mean? Who''s more famous than Your Majesty?"


    "Are, are, are you serious?! I was an alternate for three years so I couldn''t even think about going to Koshien, well, nevermind Koshien, even professionals can''t compare to the major leagues... And, baseball has barely even spread around this world yet!"


    "I wouldn''t say ''has barely even''. It''s just me and a few kids."


    "What you mean is, right now I''m far beyond the top player? Is that the correct starting line-up for the game? I''m the "Ichiro" of Shin Makoku? But I play catcher so I should say I''d be the successor of Itoh?"


    "Even better. In Your Majesty''s case, you would certainly be a player, as well as the coach, the manager, the referee, and the owner. If it''s a team managed by the government, the king would own it of course."


    "The king?! The king, huh? Maybe it would be ok to be the Maoh."


    Conrad looked directly at me, and his amber eyes narrowed as he said,


    "I''m glad, Your Majesty. I''m glad you feel better; if only a little."


    I''m not feeling better, Conrad. But I couldn''t think of anything to say.


    "Yeah, but if I''m king, doesn''t that mean I can make baseball the national sport? We could build a Shibuya Yuuri Commemoration Stadium or have the first Shibuya Tournament!"


    Something crossed my mind.


    (Translated by Emeryl, originally posted on Onadoru Euphoria. Re-posted with permission.)

 Volume 1 - CH 6

    It was a bird that flew across.


    There was no pollution in the morning air as I yawned as large as I could. When I opened the window to breathe in the fresh air, there were sapphire birds with long orange tail feathers, flying right by the balcony. They were beautiful, but squawked, "Engiwaru!"[1] in a horrid voice.


    For breakfast it seemed everyone ate on their own. I packed away the bread and cheese that was brought to my room without much thought. Meals were the only time jocks would take quantity over quality. Rather than the top class malt bread,[2] they''d go for the all-you-can-eat one-hundred yen sweet bread. So the rare steak I had last night didn''t really help fuel me.


    After I ate enough for three people, Gunter looked like he was pale and worn-out. His hair and clothes were proper, but it''s he had bloodshot eyes with dark circles under them. While pouring milk in a fourth cup of black tea, I raised my right hand in greeting.


    "Good morning, Your Majesty. Most importantly, you seem to be in high spirits."


    "You don''t seem very well. You look like you didn''t get enough sleep."


    "Yes. I was thinking over today''s... duel until sunrise. However, I wasn''t able to come up with a good idea..."


    "I thought about it for awhile, too."


    After I thought over it as hard as I could, there was nothing better than the strategy I finally came up with. If I''m still defeated, then there''s no way I could win; you could say it''s my ultimate weapon.


    "Is Conrad up? I want to borrow something."


    "He got up early this morning to go out of town for supplies. He should be back about noon. But what do you plan on doing, Your Majesty? Wolfram is more slender than his older brothers, but he is good with a sword. He inherited fire magic from mother''s side of the family, and he''s this country''s most prominent fire magic user. If you challenge him carelessly..."


    Gunter sounded more sorrowful than the actual person involved as he choked on his words.


    "You say that so seriously. But yesterday you told me people rarely die."


    "I said that, I certainly said that but..."


    "I don''t plan on using swords or magic. I can''t win with them. It''s tactics, tactics."


    "Then what sort of weaponry will you use..."


    Just that instant the sun came directly overhead, and a horn signaled that it was noon. I took this opportunity to fiddle with the dial on my G-shock to match it to the time. After I played with it for a while Gunter hurried me out of the room. I had borrowed what I needed from Conrad, who had returned from town.


    When we went out to the courtyard the number of guards had been reduced to a minimum, and the windows facing the centered were closed to keep it a private match. Madam Cheri waved at me with a smile from a VIP seat on the balcony. Gwendal was leaning against the wall with his arms folded and my opponent, Wolfram, reclined smugly on a chair.


    He''s a thin-skinned guy, so he must be irritated his that his opponent hadn''t shown up. My first strategy was to make him lose concentration from being irritated. You could call it the "We''ve been waiting for you, Musashi"[3] strategy. It was pretty cheap.


    "I''ve been imagining you begging for forgiveness while I pound you into the ground. I entertained myself thinking of that while I was waiting."


    He wasn''t very irritated. Operation Miyamoto Musashi was a grand failure.


    "You think you can just decide that I''d lose? Maybe my grappling skills will finally wake up after fifteen years."


    How is getting irritated going to help? Calm down, calm down.


    I drew a circle in wax around the stone pavement, and I started preparing. Wolfram''s expression changed.


    "Why are you taking off your clothes?!"


    "What are you talking about? You have to strip, too."


    "Me?!"


    "That''s right. Because the uniform sumo wrestlers wear is their bare skin."


    I had borrowed some new underwear from Conrad for that.


    The common people wear trunks, while the rich people or nobles generally wear panties with ties on the side. As a gung-ho noble, Wolfram would almost positively be wearing the panties. I don''t want to see him in his underwear, but he has a figure that looks like it''d come off easily during the match. If that happens then the match is mine. You''re immediately defeated if it falls off. There is a rule for that.


    "Sumo wrestling is a super heavy-weight sport, where man versus man in loin clothes, each trying to knock their opponent down. If they take a step outside of the arena, or anything other than the bottom of their feet touch the ground then they lose. It''s a traditional and honorable sport!"


    "Loin clothes? Arena?"


    In my group, Gunter looked bewildered. Only Conrad understood, "Ah, Japanese sumo wrestling?". It''s likely he knows a little from America.


    "Come on, hurry and strip."


    "Man versus man, trying to knock each other down almost na, na, naked?!"


    "Right. With bouncing bodies, and sweat scattering."


    "Stop screwing around! You expect to challenge me to such a savage and lewd match?!"


    "Lewd?! How can you say something so rude about Japan''s national sport? It''s much better than killing someone."


    Madam Cheri waved largely at me from the balcony.


    "I love this game~!"


    She threw a passionate kiss.


    "...I guess it can''t be helped, then, you can keep your clothes on. Hurry and get in the circle."


    Did Wolfram think this was the same as the standard boxing ring? He came in looking all important like a procession of sumo wrestlers. Except it would be like only the grand champion was announced, and I tossed my jacket out of the ring. "I explained it the best I could, although you probably don''t get it... Well, that horn awhile ago was the signal to begin, wasn''t it? Ok, we just have one shot, like on Gachinko,[4] Sir... Wolfram."


    I was completely hesitant. I can''t just call him by his last name.


    Hastily, directions are sent to the watchtower and a loud "Begin" is announced.


    From the start I take a low position, and with a quick forward movement I struck Wolfram''s waist while he was unprepared for a lunge. Instead of a loin cloth I took hold of his belt. It was an instant victory. There wasn''t even a battle.


    "Uryah!"


    "...Che."


    Although I didn''t plan on taking out his legs, my opponent tumbled over facing up.


    "...Huh?"


    Not understanding what just happened, the pretty boy tumbled back stupidly with his mouth half open, staring up at the sky above. Just yesterday that''s how I felt. How pitiful. Completely forgetting his hatred and hostility while in his daze, Wolfram looked more like an angel deceived by a demon than a noble of a Mazoku family. But nothing would get solved while I was sympathizing. I slowly started to feel excited. Could it really be true that I won? According to the sumo wrestling rules, nothing but the soles of the feet are supposed to touch the ground... To say nothing of his entire body touching the ground.


    "That''s it! So I won?! I won!"


    If I asked a sumo referee fan, "You win!"


    "I won I won I won I won! Yay!"


    "Your Majesty! It was a splendid battle."


    Gunter was already moved to tears and, losing his composure, he clung onto me.


    "I told you I had a winning strategy! You just have to use your head, and think smart!"


    "This duel that was born out of Your Majesty''s profound benevolence, without a drop of blood shed on either side, will be a moving tale for ages to come among the Mazoku."


    "People will talk about it more because it''s a funny story than a moving tale."


    "I hope this settles everything."


    The only person who seemed calm was Conrad, who murmured something while offering a hand to his fallen brother. In a flash his white skin flushed red, and the loser of the match swiped away his brother''s hand.


    "What kind of idiotic victory is that!"


    "Wolfram."


    "How can victory be decided with a game from another world!"


    I feel stupid that I ever felt sorry for him. He really didn''t learn his lesson. The humiliation fueled his anger, and seemed to burn up the fact that he''d been defeated.


    "Listen, you! You plan on becoming this country''s king?! Then win using this country''s methods! If you''re the Maoh, you should have a Mazoku duel!"


    "Wait a minute. You said before that I could use whatever method I liked. You''re just mad because you lost. Don''t be such a poor loser. That''s not very manly, is it?"


    "Shut up! Someone, bring my sword."


    A soldier ran up. In a flurry I retorted in a high voice.


    "Hey hey hey, wait, wait a minute! Seriously, wait. If we use real swords won''t we die?! Don''t start taking this seriously after you lost!"


    "Then you weren''t serious in that crappy match we just had?"


    "Don''t call it crappy!"


    Bit by bit it started to sound like the stand-up comedy act of a married couple. Gunter tried to mediate.


    "Wolfram, isn''t this a condition of your own suggestion? I can''t ignore such selfish demands."


    "Then what are you going to do? Are you going to fight in his stead? Is the man who calls himself the new Maoh going to use his subordinate to fight a one-on-one match?"


    While I was thinking how this bastard had a comeback for everything, the logical part of my brain was having a strange premonition that I didn''t have before. I have no idea where such wisdom was coming from; the right or left side of my brain. Without even noticing... the way I was looking at my surroundings had gradually changed; my senses weren''t clear. Without taking my eyes off my opponent, I asked Conrad next to me.


    "If I become the Maoh, ah, by some chance, I mean. By chance. If that happens, will that guy be my ally?"


    "Of course."


    Conrad nodded deeply. He wasn''t just saying it because he was his little brother.


    "And what kind of person is he? Would he betray me because he hated or resented me?"


    "No."


    "Then, for larger causes, he''s the type who would even cooperate with someone he hated?"


    "If we''re talking about Wolfram, then no matter how much he hated someone, I think he would compromise for the sake of Mazoku in the end. He has pride as a Mazoku. And he wants to keep Mazoku at the top of this world. So even if it was someone he hated, if he believed in the cause, he would probably follow them."


    "I see."


    "And may I add one more thing? About Gwen. He loves this country more than anyone. He''s more serious than I am. But he has nothing but love and devotion towards Mazoku and Shin Makoku."


    He seems to be suppressing a throbbing wound.


    "...That''s the problem."


    If I''m to believe what he said, Wolfram is an ally. Even if we''re on opposing sides in this match, somehow we''ll be on the same team. My calculations and emotions were in union.


    "I get it. Give me a practice sword. If I have to do this to make him feel better, then I have no choice but to settle this quickly."


    The only way to fix his wounded pride was to fight with real swords.


    "Honestly, I''m an amateur with swords so I can''t win. But even if I lose this time, it''ll still be a draw. I didn''t have good odds to begin with, so even if we draw I still did good, didn''t I?"


    If we can call a truce with a draw, there shouldn''t be any quarrels in my team.


    "I thought this would happen."


    Conrad took a sword and buckler he had set against the wall, and after he handed them over to me he called for Gunter. At that time the elder replaced the weapons on the other side with ones used for practice, with some wise words.


    "Your Majesty, don''t worry. You can see it''s incredibly strong because of its large size, but there isn''t a blade. If it hits you in the head it''ll crush it a bit, but it can''t pierce your heart."


    "But if my skull caves in I think I''ll be on my way to Heaven..."


    Conrad unfastened two of his buttons and pulled out a strap hanging around his neck.


    It was about the size of a 500 yen coin, with a silver border around a circular gem "Your Majesty, take this."


    It was a dark blue; darker than the sky.


    "It''s Lions blue."


    "My... friend gave it to me. I hear it''s a charm for protection, but this morning I was searching around town. This is a demon gem, so it shouldn''t work for anyone but someone who has Maryoku. Whether it''s fortune or defense or offence, it should be useful for something."


    "You''re giving it to me?"


    "Yes."


    The tutor cleared his throat forcefully and interrupted.


    "Be careful when you accept things. The act of receiving a gift is to accept that person''s loyalty, even if Your Majesty doesn''t want it. I don''t mind for myself and Conrart, but you shouldn''t try to increase the number of your loyal servants without knowing it."


    "So you''re saying not to accept things carelessly? What''s with that? It sounds like elections."


    The stone part of it was a little warm when I put it on my chest. Rather than something miraculous, it''s more like when the toilet seat is still warm from the previous person who sat on it. I stood up on the hard, gray earth, with the sword in my right hand and buckler in my left that I''d held for the first time last night.


    Wolfram didn''t have a buckler, but was hoisting his sword with both hands, aiming for me like Ichiro[5] in the batter''s box.


    "I wonder if that''s really a practice sword..."


    It was more like a giant??frozen swordfish[6] than a sword. That or a frozen salted-salmon. Swinging around that sort of thing alone would knock a ball out of the stadium. I feel like I''m chickening out before we''ve even started.


    "I, I planned on giving up as soon as possible, but if I can''t talk after taking a hit from that, please throw in the towel quickly."


    "Give up? The towel?"


    Conrad answered suddenly like an American.


    "Ok, Yuuri."


    "Are you ready, foreigner!"


    They sent me there without my permission, and now they''re calling me a ''foreigner''?


    "My name is Shibuya Yuuri. If you want you can use ''Lord'', I don''t mind."


    "Don''t screw with me!"


    The match suddenly started. Wolfram came at me with a huge swing, aiming to strike me down with that salted salmon. In an instant I move myself under it and hold up the buckler overhead at the center of my body in order to reflect it. The impact felt like it had been hit by a metal ball, and the pounding passed through my whole body. The outfielders are shouting at me frantically.


    "Your Majesty, avoid it, avoid it! It''ll be dangerous if you receive a direct hit!"


    "Stop giving me so much advice, Gunter. If I wasn''t used to it my arm would have been broken in one hit. It may be instinct, but Your Majesty''s judgement is correct."


    It wasn''t rational judgement, just years of habit. Anyway, I was told even if you have to take a direct blow, or jump on top of it, absolutely never let the ball pass. In short, it was my job to get the ball.


    Even before I sent it back, another swing came. And again, straight from above. It''s impossible for the buckler to absorb all of it. My left arm and elbow and shoulder are getting numb. Continuing on the right side, from above again. "What''s wrong? What are you holding a sword for?! You''re just leaving your right hand hanging uselessly! Or are you frozen with fear?"


    "Shut up."


    Calm down, don''t rush, Shibuya Yuuri.


    In front of me a massive iron weapon was coming. It was glistening in the afternoon sun, with silver lines etched across it. Stay calm, my arm hurts, keep my balance, bring down my center of gravity, I can''t blink, there''s no time, tilt forward, switch to offense when there''s a chance, if you say kendo it''s about the face, face, body, sweat is getting in my eyes, face, face, body, soaked.


    I''m not chicken. But, when something is coming at your face it''s scary. When they''re holding it up, and you already... You''ve already caught a ball thrown by a pro player. Are you still scared of playing on a junior team?


    The breeze from that day.


    There''s no ceiling above.


    I''m not scared anymore.


    "Your speed isn''t that scary."


    "What did you say?!"


    Resolutely, I tossed aside my raised buckler, and my opponent pulled down his stance. With that chance I grabbed the hilt of my sword with both hands, putting it in front of me to protect myself.


    "Ah, he threw away his buckler. Ah, I can''t look, Conrart. Hurry and throw in the toaru,[7] or bedpan!"


    "Not yet. Your Majesty is reading Wolfram''s rhythm. The foundation of his attack is exemplary, but is always predictable. Look, he just barely stops with his sword. Besides, I didn''t bring a towel."


    "Right."


    I can read where he''s aiming at next since Conrad pointed it out. But it didn''t have anything to do with his foundation or being exemplary. Rather it was understanding my opponent''s personality.


    His meal sequence has been decided. There''s never any change in it. It''s the same rhythm as before. You can read pitches that never change before long, and the pitcher will get eaten, This is the same.


    The metal crashed against each other in front of my face. Even though sparks were flying I clenched my teeth. My small finger on the end of the grip became numb from the light vibrations.


    "...If I was your coach, you wouldn''t be a starting member because your timing is always the same! Such a dull pitcher is..."


    If you get attacked from the side it would take longer to compose oneself than if you got hit from the front. I jerked my right leg and shoulder at the same time, and brought down my sword forty-five degrees for a square position.


    The take back, my opponent synchronized, and I stepped forward with my left leg. I put more strength into my thumb as his bat, I mean, blade hit my blade. I never drew back my hips, but I didn''t rush to tilt forward either; my body''s axis is fixed in place.


    "...Damnit!"


    A swing through!


    It was the high-pitched clang of metal bats that I was used to hearing. The base of my arms hurt intensely. The impact gradually became a shiver, and spread through my ribs and hips like Morse code.


    Wolfram''s giant weapon flies through the air, sticking in the ground with a echoing murmur.


    "...Hyahou~."


    It feels like a homerun has been hit, with bases loaded, to turn the game around, but from a distance it was a second fly ball. Either way, my opponent was unarmed now, and I awkwardly try to find a compromise for a ceasefire.


    "...I''m worn out already, so if it''s ok with you, maybe we could call it a draw for today... Uwah!"


    I jumped back in shock. Pale-faced, Wolfram had something the shape of a basketball in his right hand, with only his middle finger out a bit, and orange fire ball rested on it.


    "Wolfram!"


    Gunter cried out.


    "His Majesty hasn''t been taught Majutsu yet! Don''t start using fire magic because you were defeated!"


    "I''m not defeated!"


    "Th, that''s why I said we could call it a draw."


    "It''s not a draw, either. We''re continuing until one of us can''t fight."


    His beautiful face was twisted with anger, and the Mazoku prince thrust out his right hand.


    Gunter shouted some sort of incantation, but there was only a small explosion high in the sky. For a normal person like me I couldn''t imagine the process, but it was probably a clash back and forth.


    "Gwendal! Why are you intruding?! If we don''t stop Wolf, His Majesty will..."


    "You''re the one who is intruding. This is a chance to see if we made an error. If he''s truly the Maoh, he shouldn''t be able to be defeated by someone like Wolfram."


    "But His Majesty hasn''t made a pledge with an element yet..."


    "Magical power is..."


    Gwendal separates himself from the wall, turning around, as he interrupted Gunter. As usual he had a sullen, beautiful face.


    "Magical power is the nature of one''s soul. It''s not something that can be obtained by learning or wanting it. If that is the true Maoh, even if he hasn''t undertaken the oath or teachings, shouldn''t all the elements want to follow him? They would kneel before such a noble soul."


    I wasn''t in a position to be listening to the conversation of the outfielders. I should be the true Maoh, I mean, even if there''s some slight possibility that I am, my confidence that I could win a match of flaming dodgeball was...


    "Everything made of flames, obey the Mazoku who slaughters the creator!"


    I wonder if I''ll be able to use that phrase if I remember it in the future. I don''t have time for that right now. I started running. Run away, get away! Surely there''d be a chance for a counterattack, so for now I need to get somewhere where the fire balls won''t get me, I need to run as far as possible even if that means just one more step!


    "Read my will and obey!"


    I accidentally plunged forward and fell down. But the fireball that had gotten even bigger grazed over my head and hit the wall. The unique and horrible odor of burnt hair irritated my sense of smell.


    I''m going to be killed. If one of those things hit me I''m going to die!


    Why? Why me? I decided to go along with them until the END mark, so why must he surprise attack me with unscientific balls of flame?!


    Conrad pulled out his sword, and Gwendal pointed the silver tip of his sword at him.


    "Gwen, undo the barrier. If you don''t, I''ll stop Wolfram even if it means cutting you down."


    "Cutting me down? I wonder how true that is, Conrart."


    "It''s entirely true."


    Wolfram seemed to be entirely serious, too. This time it wasn''t a ball of flame. With a small bend of his middle finger, the air began to tremble. This tips of his fingers became red like blood, and that colored swelled and suddenly became a beast the size of a wolf. But it was still fire.


    "What is that?"


    With a cruel smile Wolfram let loose the ferocious beast.


    What is this? If I can''t win with sumo wrestling or swords, what can I win with?! If the last match will decide everything, what were those previous ones for?! The beast went the distance I had so frantically run to in three steps, and I stood, simply watching. I couldn''t move. Even if I could move, where would I go? It could catch up to me with those four legs. I was thinking, "This can''t be happening" even more than being scared, and my mouth was hanging open absent-mindedly.


    The moment it was going to attack me with its front claws I ducked my head in a flash. It was so close that it jumped right over me, and with the power of its leap it couldn''t stop. Normally it would hit a wall.


    Unfortunately, there was a corridor that way, with a person running across with short steps. I twisted my neck painfully and tried to shout at her to watch out. Seeing her, I''m sure she''s the one who brought my change of clothes yesterday.


    "Watch out!"


    "...Chi!"


    We were all too late. Me, and Gunter, and Conrad.


    The blazing beast kept lunging straight ahead, and without a scream the girl was flipped. At the same time the wolf disappeared. It knocked down the wrong target.


    "...This is..."


    The nearby guards rushed over, confused. A sharp pain in the right side of my chest felt like one of my ribs broke. It became painful to breathe, as my heart beat in a low bass.


    "This is your victory?!"


    A hot sensation began spreading from inside my body that wasn''t quite from my hips or stomach. It ran through to the end of my nerves, and triggered an alarm in the back of my head.


    "Involving a girl who had nothing to do with this, this is..."


    Pure white smoke played in front of me.


    I don''t know whether or not it exists.


    Someone whispered lowly inside of my ear.


    Finally...


    Finally, what?


    And with that, my conscious...


    (Translated by Emeryl, originally posted on Onadoru Euphoria. Re-posted with permission.)

 Volume 1 - CH 7

    The clear sky quickly became cloudy, but the dark clouds only extended over the courtyard. A downpour that you couldn''t even breath in clapped down on the pavement. With his eyes barely open, there was a reflection of Yuuri gazing at Wolfram.


    "...Your Majesty?"


    Gunter''s voice was trembling as he called out, but he wasn''t going to turn around.


    Even his voice, not even mentioning the tone, sounded like a different person.


    "You refused to accept defeat, running around wildly and ignoring the rules. And then an innocent girl was dragged into it, and still you greedily want victory."


    "Wh, what are you saying like some sort of actor?"


    "Is this what you call a real duel?! If that''s the case, I can''t let people like you do whatever you want! It''s not my intention to shed blood, but I have no choice, I will slice you down!"


    "What?!"


    Though he said "slice", Yuuri''s weapon was not a sword.


    "Judgement!"


    It appeared at the tip of his fingers like the fire magic that Wolfram used. It was two serpents that had fangs and were the same blue as the pouring rain.


    "What is this, how, that isn''t a very king-like figure."


    "More importantly than that, when did His Majesty make an oath with the element of water? Besides, it''s virtually impossible to manipulate particles without saying the commands. How is His Majesty doing that even though no one taught him..."


    As both people in Yuuri''s group expressed their own thoughts, Gwendal muttered so lowly that neither of them would be able to hear it.


    "I see, so it seems his soul is authentic."


    "Justice" was faintly written on the translucent, glittering side of the serpents. It was really out of place. Without error it coiled around its Mazoku quarry. Wolfram let out a scream that was unlike himself, as he resisted and tried to shake it off. Every time he created flames at his fingertips, the downpour would squelch them. This was evidence that a water user had an advantage over a fire user. Victory or defeat of an embodied element was decided by the owner''s status and ability.


    "Get this thing off me! How the hell could you do this, so suddenly... You, who are you really?!"


    "Who am I? Did you forget my other face?"


    It was completely like a historical play.


    "You, who selfishly snatched away an innocent life, I absolutely won''t allow it!"


    "Guh..."


    More and more the serpents ("Justice number 1" and "Justice number 2") tightened around Wolfram trying to punish him when a soldier called out joyfully.


    "He~y! She''s recovered consciousness, she''s not in any danger."


    The girl was in the man''s arms, with her eyes open as she recovered. She let out a small groan with a hand to her face.


    "...I...why..."


    Yuuri and Wolfram saw that. Wolfram wasn''t about to make excuses. If he was going to kill him, then kill him. For a brat who only had some good looks being conquered was humiliating, and he would rather die like a military man than kneel and beg for his life.


    However, the water serpents that were even wrapping around his neck evaporated and vanished rapidly. Out of strength, he sat down. Even Yuuri''s radiant eyes weren''t that of a normal person as he glared, and he pointed at Wolfram, declaring,


    "Wolfram, undergo a great reformation after this! Even the lord has mercy."


    "M... Mercy?"


    Calling himself the lord, he gave a loud splash as he hit the muddy water.


    (Translated by Emeryl, originally posted on Onadoru Euphoria. Re-posted with permission.)

 Volume 1 - CH 8

    Someone washed my body. Someone took me to my room. Someone put me in bed. Someone covered me with my blanket.


    And someone was whispering in my dream.


    Baseball? If I''m playing baseball I''m the catcher. If it''s soccer, umm, I''m the playmaker? Anyway, I send out the instructions to the team on their positions. It''s the highest form of supervision.


    A grade school student can''t supervise.


    Well, that''s too bad. All right, Yuuri, play catcher. If you don''t give the sign, the game won''t start for a long time.


    "...If I don''t give the sign... The game won''t..."


    "Is he waking up?"


    I could vaguely see a white ceiling. A super beautiful man with ashen hair peered at me, and as his eyes moistened it seemed like he would cry as he bit his lip with a smile.


    "...Am I... dead..."


    "Please don''t even say something so unlucky. Everyone all over the country has prayed, worried about Your Majesty''s safety."


    "That''s overreacting."


    Gunter shrugged his shoulders as if to say, "No way!"


    "It''s not overreacting, you''ve slept for three days."


    "Three days?!"


    "That''s right. But this morning you were sleeping as normal, and the physician said that if you recovered from you fatigue you might wake up. There''s nothing wrong with your body."


    "I figured as much, because I''m starving."


    At any rate there weren''t and gashes or burn marks that stood out from that fiery monster that knocked me over. Either it was extremely heavy-duty or someone threw in the towel.


    "Truly, not only was I amazed, but Gwen and Conrart were as well when Your Majesty had mastered water magic. When did you make a pact with the element of water? The incarnation in the form of beautiful serpents was magnificent. Since when..."


    "Water magic? Element, pact? What are you talking about? Oh yes, is that girl all right?! Umm, the girl that fiery wolf lunged at."


    "Ah, yes, fortunately there was no threat to her life. Just before Wolfram''s fire lunged at her, Gwendal covered the girl with a barrier, so in fact she was only thrown by a minor surge."


    Gwendal? Ah, so I see he''s a good person after all?


    "Even so. I see, ah, that''s a relief. I was thinking, ''What would I do if that girl got large burns because I was such a wimp, maybe it''d be my fault, would I be the one to blame?!'', my blood was rushing to my head... Huh, why did I go down?"


    "Go down... No, no, Your Majesty, Your Majesty never did anything like ''go down''..."


    "You don''t have to make me feel better. I didn''t have a chance from the start. I''m sure I was absurdly scared, although I can''t remember it."


    When I flexed my muscles, while popping my neck, I waited to hear Conrad''s familiar "I knew this would happen".


    "What is Conrad up to? Work?"


    "Work. Actually, a village near the border is having a conflict, and he went with Gwendal to quell it. They understood that Your Majesty condition wasn''t serious, so they tore themselves away with great reluctance."


    In what country do they still use phrases like "person of doubtful origin" and "tore themselves away"?


    From the other side of the door that was flung open, I heard a forced cough. The demon prince, Wolfram, was standing there with a sullen face. Even though he''s truly a demon prince, the only adjectives I can think for the guy who would have beaten me up severely are "devil" or "Satan". Whether you called it "Jigoku"[1] or "Hell" or "Blood", I want to give it the title of a B-movie.[2]


    Gunter lowered his voice with an unusually small smile, and told me;


    "Well, afterwards Wolfram received a thorough reproof from Lady Cheri."


    "Eh, that mother scolded her child?"


    "If he got angry, I..."


    "Don''t talk so much Gunter!"


    The scolded third son''s footsteps were loud as he approached the bed. He looked slightly away from me, and it was unnatural looking up from that angle.


    "And so young partners."


    Leaving behind a meaningful phrase, the aged one left the room. "Wait~, don''t leave us alone~" was what I really wanted to say, but I hung my head silently, and waited to see what he did first.


    "It''s not over yet!"


    Wolfram broke the ice bluntly.


    "Huh?"


    "You did a little bit, but being in that much of a trance is disgraceful. You have a long way to go to become the Maoh."


    He folded his arms with his chin raised. What a stuck-up guy.


    "From now on when you challenge me, come at me with your full strength! Your cheap serpents can''t oppose my fire magic."


    "What do you mean ''serpents''? You didn''t come to apologize to me after your mother scolded you?! What''s with the high and mighty attitude! You don''t look like you''re remorseful at all!"


    "Why should I have to apologize to you?"


    "Because you just changed the rules however you wanted, and used magic that I didn''t know... Ah... yet..."


    I finally remembered that he was defeated. At any rate I can only remember the climax well. Perhaps I hadn''t been defeated, and when Gunter said I hadn''t gone down it wasn''t to comfort me.


    "That''s enough, it''s a draw, a draw. Even if it''s just a draw it''s well-done."


    "A draw?! My victory is taking a battle to the end! But, I won''t be ashamed. Who was the victor was known beforehand. If I can be knocked down by the likes of you, I can''t stand the thought of myself as one of the ten nobles."


    "..."


    The energy I had for a retort was already lost, and I did nothing but utter a sigh. Did Wolfram''s mood improve, or is he giving me a praiseworthy lecture scene even though he''s an enemy.


    "But my sword was thrown considerably. That''s the first time I''ve been beaten like that. Did you fence in the country you grew up in?"


    "Which one? Oh, the bases loaded homerun? No, that wasn''t an art like kendo. By chance I played baseball, and the grip on the sword was like a bat, so I just swung it, ah, like I usually do."


    "Are ''grip'' and ''bat'' the names of the weapons you''re used to using?"


    "No no. On of the pieces of gear you use for baseball is like a stick, as well as a glove and ball, and the pitcher throws and the batter tries to hit it, and if he does the batter becomes a runner, and the catcher takes out the runner."


    "As I thought, a life and death match."


    "When I said ''takes out'' I didn''t mean it like that. It''s more about fun, an excitement."


    "I don''t get it, what''s fun about hitting a ball with a stick?"


    "Aaaah, you can''t understand how fun baseball is if you don''t actually see it! Ah, but I can''t show you by myself... Or, this country''s baseball population, which is only myself, Conrad and some kids..."


    "When Conrart was talking to me, it didn''t sound that great."


    Because the second elder brother was brought up, it looked like it worsened the third son''s mood a bit.


    "He''s going to his favored human village."


    "Eh? I heard there was a dispute or quarrel..."


    The children were in a village on the national border. Brandon, Howell, Ema, and two kids I hadn''t heard the names of.


    "Yes, we lent some refugees our plot of land. The wheat ripened early this season, so they''re an easy target for the surrounding villages. They had a large harvest last year, so they''re in all the more danger this year."


    I felt like my blood suddenly drew back. Without notice my blood pressure rose, and my head reeled and there was a buzzing in my ears. Even though I should have been sitting on the bed, it felt like I was going to fall down a bottomless pit.


    "What, are you worried about it? That''s right, you were half human."


    "How much... damage, how bad will it be... It can''t be so serious that people are dying and such..."


    "I''ve never heard of a conflict where there weren''t casualties... What''s wrong, Yuuri, need to go to the washroom?"


    "No."


    My body was mainly tottering from hunger and dehydration, so it took a lot of effort to drag myself out of bed, and I looked for my shoes.


    "I have to go. I have to make sure they''re ok."


    "Go, huh? To the border?! You want to go see Conrart''s face that much?!"


    "I''m worried about the kids."


    His voice was anticlimactic.


    "Oh, you''re worried about the refugees?"


    "Shut up, this has nothing to do with you."


    "Nothing to do with me! Do you plan on going out looking like that? Fix your clothes, and besides that, brush your hair, you have a horrible bedhead. Besides that do you know what time it is? At least wait until dawn breaks, until then drink something. Oh, don''t eat too much, your stomach won''t be able to take it."


    As he rambled on and on, Wolfram called to the other side of the door. He ordered a woman different from the first girl to bring food and clothes.


    "Ok."


    "O, ok?"


    The blond prince spoke arrogantly.


    "You wanted to go? I''ll give you a ride."


    What''s with him kindly offering me a ride even though we have such a bad relationship? Does he plan on making me fall of the horse, with an ulterior motive to take my life for sure this time? Is it really ok to ride together with this guy, or is it a trap? As I was conflicted over it for several seconds, Wolfram became more and more arrogant.


    "At any rate a worthless Maoh like you can''t even ride a horse by himself! I can gallop with extra luggage on my horse without any trouble, even if you seem uncertain. You''re the first Maoh to be such a wimp that it can''t be helped!"


    "Do, don''t call me a wimp!"


    (Translated by Emeryl, originally posted on Onadoru Euphoria. Re-posted with permission.)

 Volume 1 - CH 9

    The village was burning.


    We departed early dawn with ten soldiers on horseback, without telling G¨¹nter we were leaving the castle. I was riding with Wolfram but it was hard to deal with his wild horse-handling over such a long distance on the first day. Nonetheless I was becoming an experienced passenger and managed to endure the rough ride somehow.


    The soldiers with us were terribly beautiful. Then again, they were Wolfram''s private troops. In short, does that mean they all have an honorable lineage as pure-bred Mazoku?


    When I feel someone''s eyes on me I look up, and seeing one flying bone person (or should I say animal?) a little behind us. Why did I say I could feel its eyes when the holes in its skull are empty?


    "My older brother should have arrived there by now, so everything might already be under control. It isn''t that dangerous, but since you''re a wimp don''t go where I can''t see you."


    "Don''t call me a wimp."


    But it was already passed noon by the time we arrived, and the village was ablaze. Houses and fields. It was a considerably hot fire; even the clouds were dyed red. The soldiers ran around to prevent the shower of flames from reaching the forest, and the villagers were all lumps together away from the fence.


    Women, and children, and the elderly. Everyone is dumbfounded, standing completely still. Just one elderly woman is crying and screaming.


    "It''s already settling down, like you said awhile ago."


    "Strangely so."


    "But we can already see it. Ah, what should we do? So much is burned down! I wonder if those people are ok."


    Then we turned towards the village that was dozens of meters away, to try and head out of the forest quickly.


    "Ignorant in the ways of the world as usual, third son."


    From behind us, where only Wolfram''s subordinates should have been, came an interestingly familiar voice.


    "...American football guy?!"


    He''s the man I met the first day when he just had three men on horses with him, Denver Broncos. Let''s see, if I remember right his name was...


    "Adelbert was it?"


    "Oh, you have a good memory! And I thought you were an idiot."


    "Well sorry for looking like an idiot."


    When I was the only one talking to them I turned my head to look back, and all the beautiful soldiers on horseback seemed to be frozen in place. In fact, riding in front of me, Wolfram was stiff, not even twitching.


    Adelbert approached us slowly, speaking as he looked at Wolfram''s profile.


    "You''re too much. Is it ok for the king to be protected by just ten men? Moreover, they''re all pure-blooded mazoku, so they''re all stuck in a simple human magic barrier. You should always have at least one soldier who can dispel magic at a time like this."


    So does that mean, right now, that all of my allies but me are trapped in a barrier that keeps them from moving?! I can''t believe, the place we''re headed to is right in front of our eyes. Is this like a car running out of gas even though you can see a gas station?


    "Yo, we meet again new Maoh."


    "Hi."


    It isn''t clear if he''s an enemy so I greeted him vaguely. Even though he seems to be enemies with the mazoku, if anything he was nice to me. When we first met he arbitrated between the villagers and me, and taught me the language.


    Besides, his full name is Adelbert von Grats. Doesn''t that sound like a mazoku name?


    "...They can''t move. Is that your doing?"


    "Yeah, you could say that. It''s a human magic barrier that I remembered studying a bit. Why are you riding behind this guy? How did you win over the youngest son, who only wags his tail for his mother and older brother?"


    I don''t think I''ve won him over. Besides that, this man was acquainted with Conrad, and from what he just said he seems to know Wolfram and Gwendal well, too. So why is he being hostile? I addressed this question.


    "Are you really a mazoku?"


    Adelbert cocked an eyebrow, his forehead wrinkling as he answered shortly.


    "A long time ago."


    "Then why are you on bad terms with Conrad? Why did you come here to interfere with us?"


    "Because I hate them."


    Hate?


    "I hate them to death. Their ways disgust me. So I came to save you from their filthy hands. How pitiful, a sacrifice from another world, you should hurry and leave this place."


    "Save... me...?"


    "You were suddenly brought to another world, and coerced into being the new Maoh, right? The Maoh is the enemy of humans. This world has become corrupted and fallen into ruin because of his heinous existence. You look like a young human with good intentions to be made out to be such a monster. Well, isn''t that too much? Don''t you think that''s cruel?"


    When I first came to this world I was positive I was a human. I''m just an ordinary high school student. Not someone who possessed the soul of the Maoh, like G¨¹nter and Conrad and Lady Cheri expected. But no matter how many times I told them no one believed me.


    "They need a sacrifice. They have to set up a king on the throne. A pure boy who doesn''t know anything can''t pose any resistance, which is good for them. All men hostile towards mazoku will be made to hate their leaders. That''s the only reason for your existence."


    "...I..."


    Albert''s words echoed in my ears as he stood right by me, making me speechless.


    "You''re a good human. That''s why the magic barrier doesn''t effect you. Right?"


    "...Ah, I am a human... I''m not a mazoku... Or the Maoh...?"


    "Don''t listen to him!"


    Wolfram''s voice sounded hoarse as he shouted. The uneasiness made my shoulders tremble.


    "Ah, huh, you could talk?!"


    "Don''t listen to that guy! He''s..."


    It wasn''t just my shoulders, but my arms were wrapped around his waist and his entire body was trembling. As he turned his head to face forward I could see beads of perspiration forming at the nape of his neck.


    "That man, he betrayed us... He''ll try, to bring you, into his group, too."


    "Wolfram, if it hurts then don''t talk."


    "Well done, third son!"


    The man he just called a traitor drew a long, slender sword, and pointed the tip of the sword at the mazoku prince''s throat.


    "Even if you don''t overwork yourself by speaking, you''re at a disadvantage because you have quite a bit of magic that you aren''t completely in control of. If you let your senses go more easily then you would feel happier like your subordinates."


    When I turned my head to look behind us, the mazoku soldiers who were following us looked like a drunk old man staggering around and their eyes stared into space.


    Because of Wolfram''s high pride it looked like he would burst a blood vessel.


    Adelbert added insult to injury.


    "Look, the humans you hate so much are setting mazoku land on fire. Wolfram, you always said it yourself. What can humans do? They''re like worms, it would be a mistake if they opposed mazoku."


    "Humans?!"


    I leaned forward on the horse.


    We leave the forest with another kick. I can see the scenes of despair and hatred from between the crevices of the trees. From the other side of the flames, silhouettes of what appear to be arrows fly through the air. There''s no close combat with swords; someone is attacking someone else.


    A mother is lying on the ground, covering her child. A soldier rushes up while he''s crouching, firing back with his bow.


    It''s war.


    I couldn''t believe what was happening right in front of me, so I kept muttering to myself over and over.


    "This is war, war, it really is, it''s real."


    Perhaps on this sort of scale it could be disputed what it should be called. But, for the first time in my life I''m seeing the "real thing" and I can''t think of anything but "battlefield".


    "...Where and where, no, who and who? Mazoku and humans?"


    An elderly person running towards the forest to take refuge, with a hunched over back, suddenly flies up. They stumble forward to fall. An arrow pierced their back. They aren''t dead, but even though it''s far away it catches my eye.


    "Why are they shooting them, even though they''re not soldiers... No matter how you look at them they can''t be a soldier. That person was a villager. Shouldn''t the villagers be refugees?"


    The humans were setting mazoku land on fire.


    But, only human children and women and elderly lived on that land.


    At the beginning my voice trembled faintly. With the emotions of shock and dismay.


    "Aren''t they fighting their fellow men? Aren''t those human soldiers attacking a village where the children who have run away live quietly?"


    Wolfram spat out at Adelbert in disgust.


    "You did this somehow."


    "I just gave a little advice."


    When I lose my balance and wobble the chestnut horse stirs lightly. The reddish brown tail swings largely left and right. The man called a traitor spoke as I watched the terrible spectacle.


    "They''re not disobeying the teaching of the god they believe in. Don''t you know? Last year there was a record setting crop and those guys increased taxes. They collected this year using the same calculations and so there was nothing left to eat. There were only two choices; starve or get more supplies. They asked for my advice. So I told them. Their neighboring village was here in the land of the mazoku that they should hate. Their god will not be angry if they steal from people who cultivate on mazoku land, and live on mazoku soil. They won''t be charged with the serious crime of stealing from their neighbors."


    "But then, if they''re humans, then aren''t they both humans?!"


    "No, they aren''t the same. This village has humans who side with the mazoku. People who side with the mazoku aren''t considered their fellow humans anymore."


    I grip both hands until my thumbs ache, and impatiently hit my thigh.


    "I don''t get it!!"


    "It''s fine if you don''t understand. At any rate, come here and I''ll take you back. You''re not a mazoku, you''re a human, right? You''re a victim taken from another world, just because you had black hair and eyes, so that they can dress you up like the Maoh and use you as a scapegoat. Once you take sides with the mazoku, we won''t be comrades again."


    Adelbert lends me his hand to help me jump off the left-hand side of the horse. Between him and the horse, there wasn''t much space between us. Without looking this way, Wolfram whispers lowly.


    "Go."


    "Eh?"


    "From the looks of it, they''re not planning on killing you. It''ll be troublesome if you get hurt trying to resist. Go with Adelbert for now."


    "But, you and everyone..."


    "Don''t worry about us."


    I take in his words. If I leave them behind, what will happen to them?


    Wolfram whispers briefly again.


    "Hurry and go, Yuuri!"


    I slowly turned towards Adelbert on the other side; he was holding out a hand towards me.


    "That''s right, Wolfram. The moment you lose this guy you''ll have to summon some new kid. Even if you''re safe your elder brothers would blame you for losing the candidate for Maoh from right under your nose. It''s always a wise choice to protect him rather than struggle and lose his life."


    Wolfram only bit his lip; he whispered something quickly when I separated my arm. I''m not sure whether I heard him or not. I caught some of it.


    "...I''ll come for you. Definitely."


    In the blink of one second I quickly accepted many feelings and information, and drew from them what action to take. No matter what the result would be, I gave my best answer for the situation.


    Which would I not regret picking?


    "Don''t think I''ll ride with you because you helped me."


    I forcefully get off onto the ground and I was about to say that my lower body ached from riding a horse for a long time and I was going to stretch out. I''ll look for a good rider among Adelbert''s subordinates and try to ride behind him.


    "I hate big macho builds like yours. They give me an inferiority complex. Even my face would lose."


    "Then who will you ride with? Or can you ride by yourself?"


    "By myself? No way!"


    As I said the "way!" at the end I clapped the foot of my dazed ally with all my strength. Though the soldier didn''t wake up, his spur struck the horse''s stomach, and with a neigh the gray horse broke into a run. Lured by the first horse, the others begin running, too. Flinching, they were frozen in place and with my kick dashed off.


    At once the sound of hooves filled the air all around as several horse-riders, both ally and enemy, ran off into the woods in disorder. As Wolfram''s chestnut horse was swallowed up in the forest, only Adelbert and I were left.


    "...Why did you do that?"


    "Wolfram chose one last person. That person was me; only you didn''t notice."


    Ah, it''s too bad that no weapons had been given to me to defend myself, the last person left.


    "Yuuri, I said that I would take you away from the mazoku for your sake. So why would you do something especially to screw with us, eh?"


    "I decided at the last minute to stay with you. This attraction is like a bad dream. But, just because I''m staying with you doesn''t mean I''m on your side. I don''t need you on my team."


    Because he''s not in my plan I announce that he isn''t part of my future plans.


    "Hey, hey, don''t do that!"


    Adelbert stepped towards me with his gigantic sword hanging from both hands.


    "I told you not to be afraid, I went through great pains worrying about you. I should have broken one of your arms or threatened you to kidnap you from the beginning."


    "Pl, please spare my right arm because I''m right-handed."


    "It doesn''t really matter if it''s your left arm. But, the quickest way..."


    Apparently the person I chose wasn''t right for this man.


    "I''ll just have to get rid of the Maoh."


    "Eeek!"


    That was a pathetic scream, even for me. But he''s wielding such a huge, long sword, and I don''t even have any fencing experience. Moreover, his weapon probably isn''t used for practice. It''s for actual combat.


    "Were, weren''t you trying to get me away from all the mazoku?! It''s not too late for that now! You don''t have to suddenly change your mind and kill me, I can leave the country even if I have to walk!"


    "You''ve decided to support the mazoku. That makes you the enemy. If the mazoku have the power of the Maoh, your existence will become more and more troublesome!"


    "But didn''t you say it before?! I''m a normal human, they set me up as the Maoh because my hair and eyes happen to be black. You said I was a scapegoat summoned from another world, even though I''m a normal human!"


    The sounds of the blade swing around is awfully large and heavy and resounding.


    "Would Shinou play a joke like that?"


    "Th, th, th, then it''s all a lie?! You were just talking gibberish when you said I was a normal human?!"


    "I kept telling you that figuring I could get you on our side, but..."


    Adelbert set his sights on me, I needed to pad the time.


    "So that''s what you''re really like. That''s too bad."


    My back hits a parched trunk. There''s nowhere to run behind me. Even if I dodged him once or twice, I''d be helpless after that. This wasn''t like the duel with Wolfram. He had a lot of killing ability; there was also a great difference in their level of mastery.


    The shadow of the sword he''s brandishing over his head falls on my forehead. I gave up and closed my eyes.


    When air vibrated as if a fastball had flown by a dead branch broke with a dry crack.


    Splinters fell all over my legs and arms as I crouched down. Something dry and ball-shaped fell onto my lap and I gently opened one eye.


    "Bo..."


    One of the bone tribe that had been following me for a long time was "broken" with Adelbert''s huge sword. Did it directly hit the spinal chord? It was almost completely destroyed and scattered about. The skull was sitting on my lap, and the light brown wings were going into convulsions.


    He protected me?


    "Kohhi, why did you..."


    "That''s the first time I''ve seen one of the bone tribe act like that. Risking it''s life to protect its master? Che, strange, I beheaded it."


    "What do you mean by ''strange''?!"


    As I apologized to Kohhi in my mind, I stood up tightly grasping part of him (maybe his thigh). Of course, I didn''t think bone could stave off a sword. But, if I simply closed my eyes and waited to die his death would have been in vain.


    "What do you know about Kohhi?!"


    Well, I don''t know much about him, either.


    Making no effort to hide his true nature now, Adelbert, who appears to be the villain, smiles.


    "You feel sympathy for this race that has no will. This Maoh is an common person."


    "Shut up! My commonness is my selling point, and I promise to reduce the sales tax!"


    As I poise the bone... My weapon, with about a 3% chance of it being effective, some reassuring horses draw near. It wasn''t a prince on a white horse, but Sir Weller and Lord von Bielefeld''s troops.


    Unfortunately for him, he couldn''t do anything about being outnumbered, and in addition without a horse he couldn''t do anything about it even if his hostage ran away. Adelbert dispersed and disappeared before the reinforcements came. Conrad ordered several of his subordinates to chase after him, and instructed them to locate him. Never approach him more than necessary, and don''t try anything even if you think you have a chance. Because their lives were in danger here.


    "They probably scattered."


    Other than that, we exchange an embrace that would put the foreign actors to shame, and sand was thrown at Wolfram somehow.


    "I''m relieved, Yuuri. I thought it would be too late."


    "I''m relieved, too. I can finally understand what it feels like when men hug each other firmly in the movies."


    They were just like this. While we pat each other on the back, Conrad''s voice stiffened.


    "By the way, what is that hard thing hitting my back?"


    "Oh, this? A bone."


    "A bone. Oh, I see, it is a bone. And what was your Majesty planning on doing with it?"


    "Umm, I was using it as a club."


    I energetically separate our bodies. I furrow my brows.


    "I can''t believe it, you were planning on fighting Adelbert..."


    "But I couldn''t let myself be killed."


    "Ah, your Majesty, did you think it was like the time with Wolfram?! He and Wolf aren''t even in the same league."


    "Well excuse me for not being in the same league!"


    The third son dismounted from his chestnut horse, and kicked the underbrush sourly. Though the effects of the demon seal had worn off, I couldn''t compliment him on his complexion.


    "Are you ok, Wolfram?"


    "Hnn, there''s no reason for you to worry about me."


    "If that''s the case I''m not worried, but-"


    "He''s paying for his mistakes. He did as he liked and brought your Majesty here."


    Even if the youngest brother was scolded, he doesn''t seem to have a speck of shyness. I quickly changed the subject from what I had asked about. "Besides that, how did you get here so quickly?"


    "I was too slow. I was fighting near the border across the village, but the bone tribe that followed our troops sensed its companion''s predicament. As I told you, they have a peculiar ability to communicate their thoughts. They can have conversations with only their spirits if they''re not far away. So, I left that place to Gwen and met Wolfram and them while galloping here..."


    "That''s right! What should we do about Kohhi!"


    I scraped up the remains scattered around the tree roots, and placed the skull gently in the center.


    "Poor Kohhi... You gave your life for me... I''m really sorry, you might have had a wife and kids."


    Although its sex is still uncertain. I can at least make a simple grave, and leave flowers on the anniversary of his death and equinoctial week. I know it''s bad but I begin to dig through the grass with his own thighbone.


    "Ah, just a minute, your Majesty, you shouldn''t bury him."


    "What are you saying? We can''t leave Kohhi out here to get weather-beaten!"


    "Because we have a responsibility to collect him. If he''s buried how will he fly again?"


    "Huh?"


    "So, if we put him back together properly he''ll be able to fly again."


    "He, he''s not dead?"


    "There are a lot of mysteries about how they live."


    "Really? You can really put him together like a plastic model? Then you won''t make into into a strange new living thing by putting weird bones in?"


    "It''s fine, we have expert engineers."


    A professional modeler? But I''m glad. Above all I want him to live.


    When we finally came back out of the forest to return to the village, Conrad earnestly gave detailed instructions as he was dealing with the enemy soldiers who failed to escape.


    "Although we''re approaching the end, there''s still remnants of resistance. Don''t stray off where I can''t see, all right? Because people hit by stray arrows lose their lives."


    "S, stray arrows?"


    That reminds me, what happened to that elderly person who was struck by something like a stray arrow earlier? While being careful not to leave Conrad''s field of vision, I headed for the corner where injured people were gathered.


    The cloth raised up to ward off sparks reminded me of the aid tents at sports festivals. But it wasn''t a peaceful atmosphere under the roof; there were more than twenty injured people, lying down on top of the grass. While I stand there dumbfounded, people are carried in one by one.


    They aren''t mazoku nor man nor villager. They shout, and groan and cry.


    A pale-skinned girl restlessly moves around by herself. G¨¹nter had called them a clan with healing hands. Is she, in a word, a medic? It seems in this country both men and women go to the battlefield. They''re oddly progressive on that point.


    "If there''s something I can do to help..."


    The girl raises her face and is amazed when she sees me. She looks around Wolfram''s age but she must be older than me.


    "No, your Majesty! Not at all, I can do this by myself."


    "But more and more are coming."


    "Umm, umm, excuse me for being so unsightly in front of your Majesty. Please, your Majesty, go and give directions to the soldiers."


    I shook my head; it looks like I set foot on her territory.


    "You''re not unsightly at all... Everyone is hurt and suffering, and I''m not the type to give orders to troops."


    As a new person is carried in the medic''s mood seems to change. She handed me a box that seemed to be a first-aid kit, and pointed at the man near the entrance.


    "This is inexcusable but could you please use this disinfectant on the patients with minor injuries over there? You will need to wear gloves. The cloth and scissors are here. Umm, your Majesty, do you have any experience giving aid to injured soldiers..."


    "None but, maybe, I don''t think I''ll faint."


    Because I''ve seen wounds like a pitcher hitting a batter with the ball, or from sliding or from cleats. The female soldier''s expression seemed relieved, and she went to examine the patients with serious wounds. I boldly sprinkled antiseptic solution on a man who had cut his thigh. It wasn''t like a cut from cleats; the flesh was open and pink.


    "That''s rough luck, you got hit without any armor. But don''t worry, the wound is shallow. The proof is that I can''t see any bone or muscle."


    My hand trembled.


    "That, your Majesty, that''s too good for you..."


    "Too good? The medicine must sting. Hey, just a sec, how about this salve?"


    The young lady bowed her head towards me. There was a yellow gel inside the kit smeared on a large gauze bandage. I don''t know whether I learned it in health class or the boy scouts, but wide bandages are wrapped around the thighs. The man continued repeating that it was "too good". Next, giving it all I''ve got, I examine the lacerations and burns.


    I''m only a relatively active person but I''ve gotten plenty of scratches and bruises during extracurricular activities, but even so this was a "field hospital". After I treated some patients with minor injuries, a man lying face down was next.


    There was a cut diagonally across his back but thanks to his clothes there wasn''t too much bleeding.


    He looked like a merchant who was attacked to test out a new sword. His light brown hair hung down to his dirty collar. A silver coin on a leather strip was moved behind his neck. Is it a good luck necklace or money from a country somewhere? Without much thought I tried to grab the glittering one yen coin.


    "Don''t touch me."


    "Eh, ah, excuse me! I wasn''t going to take anything, it''s just kind of pretty so..."


    "Don''t touch me! Are you going to kill me?! Because mazoku won''t let humans live."


    "I... I won''t kill you..."


    The man grimaced as he tried to raise his body and groaned in pain. I don''t understand all of the curses he repeats at me. He didn''t look this way.


    "Are you human?"


    "Naturally, damn it, and you''re with those mazoku! Damn, if you''re going to kill me hurry and do it."


    "I''m not going to kill you. What, are you scared of putting disinfectant on wounds as a grown man?"


    "Disinfectant? Don''t lie to the good people now, a mazoku saving humans?! You mazoku kill humans, so we kill mazoku back."


    Neverminding that I put the fluid on his wound.


    "I''m not going to kill you, be quiet already! Proof of that is that humans live in that village, don''t they? If mazoku kill humans, then why are people living there?! It''s you people who went there to destroy their quiet lives."


    That''s right, humans attacked the village, with swords turned against humans. The arrows were shot.


    Even though they were both human.


    The man turned his head to look at me, and I looked down on him from where I was standing.


    "It''s ok to destroy that place! That village sold their souls to the mazoku, it doesn''t matter if we steal from them, naturally we''d burn a village like that! Our god forgives us; he lent us power to punish the mazoku!"


    Because of the pain and bleeding, his laughter became slightly hysteric.


    "God has chosen humans!"


    "...What kind of god is that?"


    The soldier with a bandage wrapped around his head got up next to us in a swaying motion.


    "...What are you... saying to his Majesty..."


    There wasn''t a pause. He grips his sword, aiming his sword at the neck of the shouting human.


    "Da..."


    "Stop!"


    The sword sharply cut through the air, and dug into the soft ground. The man''s head was still attached to his torso. Fortunately, the weapon had broken. The medic girl lifted the man''s chin and quickly applied a wet cloth to his nose. The injured man lost his strength, and his face pressed on the grass dead tired.


    "When the wounded are excited, I''m afraid we have to put them to sleep."


    As if this sort of trouble happens often, she smiles without losing her cool.


    "Excuse me if I offended you, but, they''re always unbelievers. You there, and you, watch what you do. All patients carried into my workplace are treated equally. I won''t allow you to hurt one another! Ah, your Majesty."


    She looked at me as I watched, overwhelmed, and saw the gem cradled at my neck.


    "Is that an offering from his Excellency Conrart?"


    "Eh, yeah."


    "I see."


    I don''t know what she remembered when she nodded her head slightly and moved on to the next wounded person.


    "It suits you, very well."


    I staggered back to where Conrad was before, who had been giving orders to the soldiers. Soldiers came with clothes scorched here and there, reporting of a well.


    "I see, don''t get too close. Dig as wide as you can into the soil to entirely enclose it."


    The subordinate bowed briefly and ran off.


    With his arms folded, Wolfram didn''t look particularly serious.


    "When big brother comes back he should have the ground swallow this village. That way the fire will be put out and it won''t spread to the forest."


    "And what of the villager''s homes and land? And the fields they worked so hard to clear?"


    "Hnn, the fires were set by humans like them, so they should resign themselves to their fate."


    Humans like them.


    For no reason I''m drained of strength, and I weakly squat down there.


    "Your Majesty."


    Conrad kneels down, gently placing a hand on my back.


    "Why did they do this... They say it''s because they wanted food. To me is seems like they attacked this village because mazoku that despised humans, like Wolfram and Gwendal, hated them."


    Wolfram snorted as if to say he resented that.


    "Why should we do something so useless? This land has been mazoku land since long ago. If it burns naturally it''s a loss. Besides, if the fire reaches the forest it''s not something we can restore in one or two years."


    The houses blazing up with dark smoke finally crumble down miserably. The farmland that was green and gold only a few days ago was licked by flames now. Several of the domestic animals had taken refuge in the forest.


    "Why would humans do this to each other..."


    Conrad was interrupted by a falling spark and pulled my shoulder back.


    "I can sort of understand why you mazoku are hostile towards humans. Basically, umm, I can''t explain it well but, it''s sort of like how killer whales and dolphins are on bad terms... But that discord is because you''re born different, I think I can understand it somehow. But why would humans be opposed to each other?"


    That man''s hysterical laughter from earlier ran around in my head.


    "Isn''t it like dolphins biting one another?! What kind of god wouldn''t be angry at such meaningless, cruel things?!"


    Falling between mazoku and human, I can''t read his feelings in his low mutter.


    "Well then."


    Soldiers'' voices of fatigue and despair rise up, as the ashes of burned wheat fly away.


    It falls and piles up on the grass, dancing around again when it''s scattered by hooves.


    Over and over again. Until it returns to the ground again.


    "Then on the world your Majesty is from, humans don''t fight each other?"


    "...That''s..."


    The blaze illuminates the figures of the riders approaching. Subdued by only three riders, the man was dragged along in a large lump of cloth, thrown out in front of us and looked at a group of villagers.


    "This..."


    The person in the old rags came into sight. An arrow pierced through the right shoulder of the soldier''s uniform, his eyes were red from blood from his forehead. With a pale face and low voice, a peasant man muttered it was more baggage. Though I can''t see any injuries, both his arms and legs seem to be twisted strangely.


    Bones.


    Imaging the pain, I barely manage to gulp down the vomit that''s welling up.


    "Clean up over there right away. Although nearly all escaped from across the border."


    Even in such a serious situation, Gwendal''s expression didn''t change much. As always he was sullen and handsome, and with the exception of blood spatter from other people on his clothes he didn''t have any traces of combat.


    After he raised his eyebrows slightly at the youngest brother who had come, he began to talk to his younger brother about the situation as a soldier.


    "Adelbert fed this man lies to provoke him. It''s no wonder he''s trained. The misshapen soldier is considerably involved. It seems there was a fire magician among them. That''s why the fire is so powerful."


    "There''s no sign of it weakening at all. We sent a message with one of the bone tribe at noon, but a magic user hasn''t arrived yet so what can we do besides hold out until then? We''ll do whatever we can to protect just the forest."


    "Well, without their assistance we can merely watch. Or..."


    Realizing I''m a spectator myself, I bite my lip and hung my head in shame. Gracefully dismounting, Gwendal ordered a subordinate to take his over-excited horse away from the flames, and standing up straight he looked here.


    "Are you going to suppress the flames roaring over this village with that commendable water magic like that one time?"


    "What do you..."


    Water magic like that one time? Anxiety smolders in my chest. G¨¹nter also said something about water. Something about forming an avatar with an element and pact.


    Do I take responsibility for something that happened that I can''t remember?


    "Big brother, it seems this guy can''t remember what happened."


    Wolfram said it bluntly, as if it had no significance.


    "You can''t call that miracle anything but luck, he was only able to do it unconsciously. In other words, the Yuuri we have now not only can''t handle swords or magic, he''s also an amateur at riding horses."


    "A miracle, that I? What kind of incredible miracle did I cause?"


    Conrad is glancing at me apologetically. That glance brings to mind the eyes of the homeroom teacher in the student guidance room. You don''t need to make that sort of face, because I got kicked off the team for hitting the coach. Because I did it myself, and don''t regret it in the slightest. They called my mom and after she apologized to coach and the teacher in charge of that grade for the fact he got punched, and she laughed and asked. So coach, what did he do? There was a bit of a bad incident where this kid got pissed off and punched me. Yuu-chan''s been like that a long time, as a child he had a strange policy type of thing, and when anything happens to contradict it it''s like he blows his top. Well, when he forgets himself like that he just wants to protect those seven letters, "justice".


    Among the teachers, they seemed to conclude like mother like son.


    If you believe what my mom said, I''m enforcing a small-town sense of justice.


    But now, even if I try to recreate it I can''t remember it offhand...


    "Anyhow, if he can''t be useful he can at least stay out of the way."


    It seems like the eldest son didn''t seriously expect that.


    One elderly woman is drawn out from the villagers who are gathered shoulder to shoulder. Unkempt blond hair and a stream of tears cling to her cheeks, frightened in front of the extremely beautiful nobles, particularly mazoku. A soldier gives the woman his sword, and leads her to the cowering enemy nearby. Gwendal said:


    "These people burned your villages. Kill him, humiliate him, do as you like."


    "What the hell?!"


    He glares with an expression that says, ''You again?''. But I can''t let things be. As always, it''s me.


    I''ve thrown out the conduct I''ve learned according to a different world.


    But, that''s me.


    I clench my fist, and stand between the woman and injured soldier. The lone challenger of the influential mazoku.


    "You can''t. Isn''t this guy, in short, a prisoner of war?! There are rules for how you treat a prisoner of war. It says the wounded will have the equal treatment to the girl a bit ago."


    "Conrart, do something about this troublemaker."


    "I can''t do anything about it."


    As if Gwendal was a little irritated he put a hand to his forehead.


    "That would be the story if he was an average soldier, these are ringleaders."


    "It''s the same thing, you can''t deal out capital punishment as you please even if he''s a ringleader! He needs a proper lawyer, and his guilt will be decided in trial..."


    I desperately try to persuade the woman who hasn''t lifted the weapon. "Ma''am, don''t be coaxed by such a thoughtless group. No matter how famous they are, there''s still bad and good. I learned enough in compulsory education to know you can''t kill prisoners as you please. Whether it''s junior high history or citizen''s or whatever, it''s banned because it becomes capital punishment."


    "I... that..."


    "That woman hasn''t received an education. It''s troublesome if they defy the nobles, so we don''t like to give the human citizens unnecessary intelligence. Compulsory education is absurd."


    "There''s no compulsory education~?!"


    In a world of swords and magic, what''s going on with people''s rights?


    Although it may not be an effective argument but it seems that I''ve avoided capital punishment for the time being as the woman stands there hesitantly. I can''t be relieved as I look around the area. For example, the fireman holding a symbol bearer,[1] or going back to a basic bucket brigade. But I don''t see water anywhere. Everyone is digging up soil and pouring it on.


    "Why aren''t they pouring water on it to extinguish it?"


    I calmly ask Conrad.


    "Because the well isn''t close. Besides, the blaze was started by a magic user, a little bit of water won''t put it out at all. A normal fire would spread too slowly because they were ordered to burn up the target; unless we have a lot of water we can''t compete just using water. Gwendal is a skilled earth magic user, so he thought to pile up the dirt to isolate it but the influence it has below ground might be too large, and the forest may need to be sacrificed... All we can do is wait for a magic user who can manipulate water."


    Manipulate water. Isn''t that what I did? I don''t remember it, that time is a blank slate.


    Wolfram was standing with a hand on his hip, and asked his elder brother in a trembling voice.


    "Is this attack on our land a reason for a proclamation of war?"


    "...Well, it''s a good enough reason."


    A proclamation of war?


    Those words were rarely heard in the daily life of an average fifteen year old; I kept repeating those four words over and over in my head. A proclamation of war, a proclamation of war, a proclamation of war.


    A proclamation of war?


    "''A proclamation of war''?! You''re going to wage war because of this?! This isn''t a joke by some chance?"


    I was ignored.


    "...Think about it from different sides, Wolfram. Not a single regular soldier joined them. If we make this attack the main reason for declaring war, they can escape by discarding just one village. We need something certain."


    "Then they can do what they want to remote regions of the country while we sit back and watch quietly?"


    "You guys, listen!!"


    They only glance at me, without looking as if they''re going to give me a serious response.


    The blood is rushing to my brain at a reckless speed. If my blood vessel was cut right now I''d lose it all. While I try to choose my words calmly, my mouth is stiff, and the tip of my voice trembles.


    "Do you know any defense-only policies?! Anyhow, that means just protecting yourselves! That means never fighting yourself! That modern day Japan abandoned war for pacifism, and it''s even written clearly into the constitution?! Being a Japanese person born and raised in Japan, of course I oppose war, too, not just ''oppose'' but ''strongly oppose''!"


    I point at Conrad, my tone raises at the end of the word as I speak.


    "Humans also fight each other on Earth, didn''t you tell me that a little while ago?! Ah, they do, it''s not untrue at all. But at those times there''s always someone trying their hardest to stop it! The majority of the world''s population want peace!"


    I shout out halfway out of frustration. I don''t understand Wolfram''s or whoever''s hot tempers.


    "Is that the content of your conversations?! Purposely waiting silently until you have something more certain you can start a war with?!"


    "...Don''t shout."


    Gwendal frowned like he was suppressing a headache. But my nickname is the Turkish March.


    "Discuss it, discuss it! The farmland of the citizens of your country was burned. What are you going to do about it; how can it be secured? I want to absolutely avoid fighting, can''t it be neatly dealt with domestically so that we don''t need to from now on? That is, solve it by discussing it."


    "Don''t shout, foreigner from a different world!"


    "No, I''ll shout, I''m allowed to shout! I''ll be Japanese until I''m twenty, even if I have the soul of the Maoh, I''ll be Japanese until I come of age. I think Japan is more peaceful that this country, so even if you tell me to stop I''ll continue talking! I oppose war, completely oppose, I''ll oppose it my whole life, even if in death I''ll oppose it!"


    "So you''ve died once?!"


    "Not bloody likely!"


    I did it, I thought. Calmly, Gwendal, who didn''t try to treat me like anything more that a cupid-statue peeing into a fountain in a garden, was caught up in an argument with me. Now that it''s come to this I won''t back down.


    No matter how threatening looking like the Maoh is.


    "You have no interest in becoming the king, so you don''t have a say about our country! I have a duty to defend Shin Makoku, and an obligation to consider our national interest. The exaggerated ethics and lukewarm methods might be fine for place you call ''Japan'' that you grew up in. But this is us; mazoku have mazoku methods!"


    "Then I''ll change that! I''ll change the Mazola ways from scratch!"


    This sky isn''t dirty, this land isn''t poisoned, this forest isn''t in disorder, this world is beautiful. But there''s something strange about this world.


    "You guys are beautiful and cool, but the problem is you have bad personalities! Such as discriminating against humans, dangerous customs, privileged classes and liking war. So much so that when the other party mentions pacifism it''s outrageous! They''re both humans, but because they live on mazoku land it''s ok to attack them! Doesn''t that sound stupid?! ''God lends you power to fight'' , what sort of disturbing faith is that?!"


    "Your Majesty."


    Of the three brothers, only Conrad calls me "Your Majesty". His topaz eyes seem to pierce me by surprise.


    "They''re absolutely mistaken, but even so it''s useless to get us roped in. Even if we''re in the right, war is a mistake."


    Sorry, Conrad, the March can''t stop during the climax. I feel dizzy from a lack of oxygen to my head. Who are we? What group am I joining? Wasn''t I a human?


    "If the King says we can''t go to war, would the citizens obey that?"


    "Your Majesty."


    I spoke deeper and deeper, and shouted the next part.


    "...I will become the Maoh..."


    "Yuuri?!"


    "I''ll become Shin Makoku''s king."


    If I don''t give the signal the game won''t start for a long time.


    The fire spread to the back fence. That sound of something like a small explosion is covered by a woman''s scream.


    "What..."


    Trying to turn around, my body is bent and I have a coughing fit. A blow to my right ribs chokes the air in my lungs.


    "Don''t move!"


    I''m in a full nelson with my chin being held unreasonably hard. A heavy metal touches my throat and chest and someone''s breath is right next to my ear.


    The cowering ringleader snatched the weapon from her hands. His eyes glittered, reddened with blood, and he took rough breaths with excitement and pain. Arrows were stuck in his shoulder and legs.


    "Nobody move, if you move I''ll cut this guy''s throat."


    I tried to turn my eye just barely to the side to see the man''s face.


    "It''s useless for you to resist, either!"


    "I understand..."


    Extremely timid.


    "I wonder if the Great Maoh will keep his lips shut. Like us underlings."


    Someone clicks their tongue. Who is it?


    I''m dragging along while he''s moving, and the man speaks in a voice that''s partially holding in laughter.


    "If you''re really the Maoh, is it really this simple? For a common soldiers like myself."


    "...Ch..."


    "Even though I''m not going to try and take you anywhere. If you guys even try to say a fragment of a spell, I''ll probably die but he''ll definitely lose his life, too! Don''t get any ideas about going anywhere, I''m a soldier of twenty years too."


    A pain like heat runs through my neck. Maybe there''s a shallow cut in the skin.


    The man carefully distanced himself from the mazoku, and demands a horse, water and food rations.


    "You''re acting like you''re dying but aren''t you the brat who said you''re the Maoh right in front of us? But you''re no good with swords or magic, I wonder if you''re really the Maoh?"


    "...I... can''t... help... it..."


    The tip of the sword touching my throat hurts but my ribs that were punched in hurt more. Each time I breathe my eyes tear up.


    "Well, either way, there aren''t two people born in this world with black hair and eyes. Even if you''re not the King, I need to take you along to earn a ton of money. Didn''t you know? They say you can gain eternal life if you get a person with black hair and eyes, I have colleagues who''ll pay a load of money for that."


    I heard it. Three or six days ago. Even though I can''t control my own life and death, I can become a miracle cure for others; is there such an absurd life?! I shut my eyes tightly.


    I''m sorry for shouting awhile ago; I''m sorry, so please save me. With all my might I raise my eyes, but not one ally makes a move, they watch with their breath caught at a distance.


    The horse is pulled over, and a small quantity of water is put in the saddle bags.


    Perhaps this moment is the beginning of my last chance? It''s not possible for two people to get on simultaneously, even less so a hostage with a blade pointed at him. So, is the only chance right now?


    "Get on."


    The man turned the sword to my back. Seems he''s planning to go through from behind. Unable to tell him honestly that I can''t ride alone, I timidly put my foot in the stirrup.


    It was the instant I crossed my right leg over the saddle.


    A small black shadow quickly approached, and the arrow in the man''s leg is pulled out.


    The man screams like a frog. The sword cuts the tawny brown hide, and the timid grey horse neighs in a high pitch. It lifts its front legs, throws off its "baggage", and runs in fear.


    "Darnit..."


    When I thought my body was floating through the air, it crashed on a different hard surface; the ground. My ribs from before ache again, and I can''t breathe in oxygen without it hurting.


    "...Egh..."


    My fingers grasp my chest and happen to fall onto something warm.


    It''s blood.


    I can''t see anything but the shadow of Conrad''s back backlit. There was a shadowy mass at his feet.


    The man had doubled over and collapsed. He shed fresh, red blood.


    "...Is he dead?"


    "Who knows."


    There''s a voice under my body, and in a rush I move my hips onto the grass.


    Gwendal wiped off the mud and ash on his clothes. Why is this man under me? There''s no time to ask the question.


    Perhaps when I was thrown off the grey horse, because I catch sight of the small pitiable person who saved me.


    The flames are already approaching there. Lying upside-down, the boy doesn''t move despite the heat.


    "...Hey..."


    Fair-headed children with good physiques stood nearby.


    "Brandon"


    "Yuuri, it''s dangerous, let me."


    Staggering, I shake off Conrad''s arm and get near the flames.


    This child, because of humans setting fires, because of this malicious flame that someone started, because of this cowardly flame that can''t be put out...


    "Brandon!"


    From the side a large fire flies, and somehow Conrad mowed it down.


    "Brandon?!"


    The boy turns up his face and I lift him onto my knee. His eyes were barely open, and he moved his lips. He''s alive!


    "...Your Majesty..."


    "You don''t have to call me ''Your Majesty''."


    "...But, you''re... going to... become the king..."


    "Brandon."


    I''ll protect this village, I''ll protect you, I promise that; I promise.


    Something dripped onto the boy''s cheek.


    "I promise."


    "Will you... t... teach me, how... to pitch?"


    "I promise!"


    Thunder suddenly pierces my ears, seeming in synchronization with my cry.


    It whispers sweet, gentle and joyful things into my ear canals.


    The rain begins to beat the ground...


    Until every last one of us is dripping.


    It seems it was a rare downpour.


    (Translated by Emeryl, originally posted on Onadoru Euphoria. Re-posted with permission.)

 Volume 1 - CH 10

    "Uuugh, I can''t believe it, why did it come to this?"


    As I stared at the marble corridor outside the guestroom door, I put up with my nausea.


    "It couldn''t be helped; it''s because you declared your were absolutely going to become the king."


    Conrad is grinning unlike a noble, leaning against a pillar that could reach the sky.


    "Even so, the coronation... I haven''t seen a coronation like the one in figure 8 of the history textbook..."


    "Only one person can nominate you; the presenter, Mother."


    "You talk like it''s the Academy Awards."


    Until a bit ago G¨¹nter was with us, too, but as usual he sang my praises and ran off to prepare the ceremony. He praised my uniform, and one more thing, the incident in the village.


    "But I don''t remember using so much water magic at all..."


    I can''t comment on a pinpoint of the downpour; when the village was extinguished it stopped like it never happened. When a group of magicians arrived from the capital city, the smoke was just going up from the smoldering trees and wheat.


    I only remember Brandon myself. After that it cuts off to pure white. Even if I get grandiose praise about saving the country, it''s hard to believe that I, a completely ordinary freshman, did it.


    "As I explained to you, magical power is the soul''s nature. Your Majesty, having the soul of the late Maoh, you obey the rules of the four elements with pleasure, without going through the trouble of taking the oath and such things."


    Without anyone''s consent, it seems G¨¹nter spread around my personal affairs. Conrad is a little bit more objective.


    "I think a place we rested on the way to the capital is suspicious. You and I drank water then. Though I don''t understand magic because I don''t have it, I can''t help but feel that had something to do with it."


    "Don''t worry about that."


    It''s a miracle I didn''t remember it myself.


    From the far side of the corridor, the blond with wavy hair comes running. The intense navy blue uniform suits him; the mazoku Prince Wolfram. With a sigh I mutter to this beautiful man, G¨¹nter.


    "What with this plain design?"


    "...Huh?"


    I was essentially told immediately after that it was a design developed only for His Majesty, and the black clothes I originally came in suited me the most.


    "There really aren''t any shoulder straps or decorations? Do you seriously think it''s ok for me to look poor if I''m going to become the Maoh?!"


    He glances here and there without looking at my face. It might be my imagination but his usually white, smooth cheeks were a slight red.


    "Appearing without any treasure, don''t embarrass my older brother and me!"


    Before I could open my mouth to respond, Wolfram grabbed my chest and fastened a shiny golden decoration to me.


    "Hey..."


    "My uncle Bielefeld gave this to me when I was a child. It doesn''t have any special origin, but it suits someone who hasn''t gone out on the battlefield, let alone military merit. Anyway, considering Yuuri can''t even ride a horse, he''s the wimpiest king in history."


    "Don''t call me a wimp~."


    "All right, settle down."


    When he says all that in unnaturally fast speech, Wolfram half-runs away. The present fastened to the left side of my chest is a gold bird with both wings spread. Conrad smugly gazes after his little brother''s back.


    "It seems Wolfram has taken a liking to Your Majesty."


    "Eeeeeh?! That haughty Prince Whatever?!"


    To escape from that topic I open the door a crack, and peeking inside I get a bad feeling again. Noble princes from here and there have gathered to this country from various places today, in addition to representing various families, and some here and there that had human-like shapes.


    The flying bone race that I''ve befriended and their relatives, the ground bone race, like gargoyles on an American building, people with four legs that look like gray leopards, palm-sized petit-macho men that make the sound of an aburazemi[1] (maybe a fairy), and a huge tuna lying on the soaked floor conspicuously.


    "A... tuna?"


    I keep reminding myself that I have to get used to it, because they were all citizens. They don''t look human, no, they don''t look like mazoku. I began to forget my policy speech because of too much tension.


    My aspiration as the Maoh; a plan for the Japanization of Shin Makoku.


    "Umm, on the dawn of my inauguration as the twenty-seventh Maoh, my ultimate goal is to switch over to pacifism and popular sovereignty.... Oeeh... Conrad, I think I''m going to hurl... I''m so stressed... My stomach hurts... I need to get to a toilet again, where''s the toilet?"


    "Again?"


    "Not ''again'', it''s my stomach. My stomach!"


    "We don''t have time for that, Your Majesty!"


    The teacher in the white, tight Chinese clothes runs by with a worried look on his face.


    "It will begin sooner or later. Are you all right, Your Majesty? As I explained, after you progress down the center, when you ascend the platform the former Queen, Her Majesty Cecilie will coronate you... Of course, even if we didn''t perform the ceremony, the people''s loyalty to Your Majesty wouldn''t waver, your form has that effect in and of itself..."


    "Gah, that''s enough, so tell me what to do."


    "I''m relieved to hear that. You''re very determined. Just seeing the promising form of Your Majesty..."


    Overcome with emotion, G¨¹nter, who was entering the "old geezer" mode, passed by the expressionless man. I panicked as Gwendal lays his hand on the door.


    "Wait a minute, shouldn''t you go in before me?"


    Not just in looks but also in personality, the eldest brother who was probably the most suitable for the role of Maoh with the same pout on his lips as usual, forced a smile. That''s a big treat.


    "The former Queen has been appointed the honorable role of passing the crown."


    "Is that right? I thought you were still going to get me to spoil the ceremony. Because you''re opposed to me becoming the king."


    "Opposed? Me?"


    His dorsal muscles freeze, looking like a smile, and with one step back he takes my chin in his fingers. Ah, there''s an absolute height difference. But this isn''t like in basketball or volleyball, or, I''m afraid to say, baseball; being tall shouldn''t be related to being a catcher or a king.


    "It''s outrageous that I would do something like oppose you. I sincerely wish for you to become a good king."


    "By ''good'' you mean..."


    "A compliant, submissive, meek king."


    "You just plan on having the king at your disposal?!"


    From behind G¨¹nter, who has become like an overprotective mother to me, Conrad carefreely said something unrelated. Come to think of it, it feels like that.


    "Which reminds me, Gwen, Anissina came over."


    The man who was usually a cool sale scowled at that instant. I''ve never seen such a scowl since I was born. With a click of hi tongue he disappeared on the other side of the door. I was surprised; even Gwendal has a weak point.


    "Well, Your Majesty, are you all right? Are you tense? Take a deep breath, breathe in and exhale."


    "What am I going to do?"


    Accompanied by G¨¹nter and Conrad, I advanced down the center of the hallway as I was told. Jet-black petals were spread all over. It''s a bad omen. Queen Cecilie waited on the platform and I approached on the stone staircase, with shiny golden curls and a sexy crimson dress.


    "You, you''re beautiful, Lady Cheri."


    She had a full smile.


    "Thank you, Your Majesty. But you don''t need to fawn over me right now. Today, you''re the lead actor."


    We stood in our positions just like artists at a live venue. There''s a small, artificial waterfall at the front of the stage, I spread my hands in the middle leaving a softball sized hole. The water falls quietly to the side, making a thin passageway.


    "Well then, Your Majesty, put your right hand in the center of the waterfall, and listen to the will of Shinou."


    "Huh? But isn''t Shinou dead?"


    "Eeh? But only people led to the hole in Shinou''s shrine who are allowed to become the Maoh can put a finger in there. And if Shinou recognizes the new Maoh, he''ll clasp your hand gently."


    All she says about a person who should be dead is "Eeh?"?!


    Lady Cheri brought her lips near my ear, only pretending to whisper.


    "I was able to put my fingers in, but no one grabbed back. After I waited a bit to make it look important, I slowly took out my hand and raised it high. Like Shinou really acknowledged me. See, Your Majesty, that''s not really difficult at all, is it?


    From behind G¨¹nter pesters me.


    "Your Majesty, hurry."


    "Even if you say to..."


    I stand in front of something like the Mouth of Truth, a tourist spot in Italy, with my right hand hanging in the air, hearing the sound of water cascading with a "swish" sound.


    "If I lie won''t it bite me?"


    "No way. This is made of solid stone. It won''t make any sudden moves."


    That''s right. When I timidly put my right hand near the dark hole, my index finger and middle finger enter together. It''s cool as I expected, and the air around it is saturated with moisture. Boldly, I put my hand in up to my wrist.


    "Ah, that was good, if you give it a try there''s nothing to the ceremony. All that''s left it to put on airs and lift up your arm..."


    Huh?


    My fingertips hit something. Probably the inside wall.


    "Your Majesty?"


    G¨¹nter peers at me worriedly.


    "Huh... Uwah, wah, there''s, there''s..."


    Something cold grips my fingers.


    "So, something''s, grabbed me, uwah, yah, Conrad, what''s got me?!"


    "Got you?!"


    With frightening strength, my right arm is pulled in. Wait, hey, I''m being pulled into a man-made waterfall, so a wall should be on the other side of the water!


    Am I going to be crashed into a wall and finished off?! Before that, who does this power to pull me...


    "Dohwahp!"


    I''m thrust into the face from the face with a shriek like a chorus member. G¨¹nter tries to grab the back of my clothes and left arm frantically. Conrad calls my name and grabs my belt. But there''s a wall of water between us, and only the warped sounds reach me.


    Even though there''s a wall of water, the wall of stone that should be there isn''t. When I''m drawn in I gasp for air... While I''m gasping I get a sense somewhere in my head. When I came to this world it was through a public Western-style toilet. My return ticket is the same mode of transportation. But this time the water is cleaner, better. I got a little bit of an upgrade; is this business class?!


    After that it was just like Star Tours.


    Ya...ya...ya...


    What is this, a mark of absence from a sumo match? I don''t know whether saying "ya" repeatedly is for yariika, yankees or yanbaru kuina.[2] Yanbaru kuina, that''s awful nostalgic.


    Close to my ear the "Abarenbou Shogun Theme" rings, and I awoke surprised by Kintetsu''s Chance. It''s nothing but my own blue cell-phone, ringing to the set timer.


    "Shibuya."


    "Uwah, you surprised me!"


    It was the "ya" in Shibuya. After he shakes my shoulder I spring to my feet, and I noticed it was the guy in glasses that I went to junior high with that was calling my name. Who was he, aah, Ken, Murata Ken.


    My nose is soaked like I was drinking water in a pool. The wet cloth is stiff, hard and heavy, and my skin was cooled by an unpleasant dampness. I narrowed both my eyes to try and shake my field of vision somehow and saw my surroundings. It was a gloomy public women''s restroom, with ashen walls, a light blue door, to my back a mismatched brand of Western-styled toilet, and a paper holder that has nothing to do with it. Peering at me is Murata Ken; two or three steps away is a uniformed policeman.


    "Murata Ken... You didn''t run away?"


    "I couldn''t run away and leave behind someone who tried to help me."


    The policeman asks if I''m ok. And if I wanted to take a damage report, or if I knew the assailant''s names and such.


    I was dumbfounded.


    The night game is starting.


    After that, with the soft lights in the courtyard, I recalled a night game with someone else. I recall the promise I made to a child who didn''t even know how to spell ''baseball''. I recalled most of my dream.


    "Murata... I had some sort of amazing dream."


    "What was it?"


    I shook my head quietly. I couldn''t even begin to tell him, it was too long.


    "Ah, I see. Well, Shibuya, I had something I wanted to ask you but..."


    The moment I try to stand up, a cold gem touches my skin under the clothes. After that, a momentary flash of light draws my attention to the golden wings on the breast of m uniform. I grip the golden wings tightly in my left hand.


    It, wasn''t a dream?


    G¨¹nter, Wolfram, Gwendal, Cheri, Brandon... Conrad.


    "...Was it, really a dream?"


    "Eh?"


    Murata Ken reaches out an hand to me with a vague smile.


    "But the belt for your pants snapped off and... Well, I didn''t want to ask because it''s a question about your personal hobbies but..."


    Suddenly, when I look down at myself, my belt is torn off, my button has flown off, and my fly is completely open. Peeking out there was the sexy underwear all mazoku purveyors wore...


    "Uhyah"


    Damnit, maybe it wasn''t a dream...


    It''s not over.


    It seems this isn''t the end of the game.


    (Translated by Emeryl, originally posted on Onadoru Euphoria. Re-posted with permission.)

 Volume 2 - Prologue

    Julia, I¡¯m a lucky man.


    When I lost you, I once hated everything about this world, blamed everything. I hated myself, I blamed myself. I took my survival as a sign of sin and guilt, panting in despair.


    Never again in my life will there be something worth risking my life to protect-- I, a Mazoku cursed with longevity. 	But, it¡¯s different now.


    Back then, I just wanted to take away all the sin and pain from that soul of yours that went ahead of me. If there is a so-called heaven, I¡¯m sure that¡¯s where your heart went.


    Nevertheless, if you once again graced one corner of this world, I pray that your life is a happy one. One in which you won¡¯t ever again meet a man like me, and lose your life over it.


    Julia.


    I¡¯m still living in this world.


    I can¡¯t forget about you, but, I¡¯ve found something worth protecting again.

 Volume 2 - CH 1

    I guess I couldn''t get over it after all, and ended up founding an association of baseball lovers.


    Our goal: to be the number one grass-lot baseball team in Japan; our rallying cry: "maltz and handshakes at the Tokyo Dome!"


    "So this cable TV reporter points his mike at me and asks: ''Why did you start playing baseball again after having already given it up?''"


    I slap the Kerorin bucket: kapoon! and raise my voice to make sure I can be heard beyond the door. "Aaah, this is heaven! And you know what he said at the end?¡ª''Thank you very much. This was the captain of the Dandelions, Shibuya Yuuri Harajuku Furi-san!'' Can you believe it? Okay, so it was cable, but he was still a TV reporter! I was so nervous, I had no idea if I could say any of that stuff on national television! Hey Murata Ken, are you listening?"


    Kapoon.


    "I''ve never watched cable TV except at the neighbor''s."


    "Yeah, but¡ª!"


    Murata yells back over the sound of the water, "That''s pretty nice though¡ªShibuya Yuuri Harajuku Furi! Sounds like the name of a comedy duo, doesn''t it?"


    "Like Ucchan Nanchan?"


    "Yeah, or the All-Hanshin Giant."


    "Uwagh, stop that, geez! You think putting me with the Giants and Hanshin would make me happy?! I''m Pa League through and through¡ªI''ve been in the Pacific since I was born."


    "Yeah, and you''re the one who said you wanted to show me the joy of the burning Pa. So why''re you still taking your sweet time pickling yourself in the bath? Are we really going to make it for the 13:00 start? Nevermind whether you''re Miyagawa Daisuke Hanako or Seto Tenya Wanya or Shibuya Yuuri Harajuku Furi already."


    "...Murata, how old are you again?"


    Yup, my name''s Shibuya Yuuri. Not the ''Yuuri'' for ''fertile country'' or ''gentle pear tree'' or ''enduring lapis lazuli''¡ªno, it had to be ''profitable''. I can''t tell you how many problems I''ve had in my fifteen years of existence just because of this name.


    I resented my parents for it for a long time, wondering if my dad, who''s a banker, was so obsessed with interest rates that he even named his son after them. Then I finally found out that the one who gave me my name was actually a young man who shared a taxi with my mom just before she gave birth to me...though it was still my dad who chose those particular characters.


    These past few Sundays I''ve been playing grass-lot baseball in the morning, then zooming over to help out at the Seibu Dome after enjoying the lunchtime special fare at the public bathhouse near the town sports grounds. It''s like I''m living the life of an old-timer baseball fan. And today, to give the Pa League one more fan, I''m dragging Murata along with me.


    I shared a class with Glasses-kun Murata Ken in my second and third years of junior high, and met him again, rather oddly, just about a month ago behind the park restrooms. Then right after that it was through a Western-style toilet to another world: GO! I got caught up in all these things that you''d totally think couldn''t happen outside of a dream, and learned the shocking truth about my birth.


    Say you''re at one of those mixers where everybody gets excited and chants: "Who''s the king?" with chopsticks in one hand.


    I am!


    I''m a feudal lord at the proud age of fifteen.


    A king, even. And not just any common king. I mean, I probably lose out a bit to world record holder Manager Ou of the Daiei Hawks, but my title is pretty amazing too. I might be just a senior high school student with average physique and average looks, and even average brains, but...


    I''m the Demon King.


    I was suddenly summoned to another world, mobbed by transcendently gorgeous beauties, told ''starting from today you''re the Demon King''¡ªanyone would think it was a dream. I thought so too. But when I opened my eyes, a charm that I''d been given in that world was still hanging around my neck.


    I grip the stone that I''ve worn constantly around my neck since then. It''s the size of a 500-yen coin, a magic stone of a hue deeper than the blue of the sky: a lions blue in a silver setting pleading for the case that it hadn''t all been a dream.


    I was born with the soul of the Maou, and I made a promise to protect that world.


    I promised.


    "Shibuya! Shi-bu-ya, we should be making the transfer at Tokorozawa right now."


    "I told you, we''ll be fine! If we don''t stop at the convenience store, we''ll have plenty of time to get to a day game this early in the summer. Didn''t I say I''m going to give you a step-by-step explanation starting from the pre-game warm-ups?"


    "I''m going to wait outside, so hurry up a bit."


    "All right, all right already."


    He''s a disgrace to the Japanese race if he doesn''t understand the wonders of the public bath. I''ll get out after counting to a hundred. I sink into the tub to my nose. The water flows gently in front of me: left to right, slowly, slowly.


    Hmm?


    Why is the public bathhouse bathwater flowing in a fixed direction?


    I fearfully turn to my right against the alarms going off in my head. The wall''s on that side: light blue square tiles with white joints, laid out in an orderly pattern, Kyoto-style. In the middle of it is a fist-sized black disc.


    "...Black disc...black hole?!"


    That''s where the water''s going.


    The hot bathwater, now clearly moving much faster than a few seconds ago, is being steadily sucked inside.


    I hurriedly stand up to tell someone, forgetting even to cover my front. Since it''s the middle of the day, the men''s bath is empty of children, adults, and elderly¡ªit''s like the place was reserved just for me.


    "Hey, heeey, Murata! Can you call¡ªcan you call somebody from the bathhouse?!"


    I stand up and crouch down again in senseless repetition, thinking: no, wait, I can''t ask someone for something like this.


    "Murata-kun, where''d you go?! Murata-saaan! Call the lifeguard¡ªI mean, just call someone! There''s a hole in the bathtub, and all the hot water''s running out!"


    Nobody''s coming.


    Not that it''s actually any of my fault, so I should just pretend I haven''t seen anything, get back to the dressing room and get dressed, then tell them ''it looks like the hot water''s run out'' on my way out. I mean, otherwise they''ll make a big fuss and force me to tell them what happened, right? I''ll probably get the blame for breaking it, to say nothing of not making the game on time. In the worst case, I might even be put in jail and end up having to eat stinky food.


    My gaze abruptly falls on the hole again. It''s now bigger than a heart. Oh God, what should I do? Please show me the right path. Or maybe it''s bad form for the Maou to ask God for advice? Okay then, this is from the bottom of my Japanese heart: please let your power be manifest from the sacred mountain of Fuji ¡ªI turn to look at the huge mural at my back.


    A smiling Hakone Hachiri no Hanjirou in his travelling outfit: doesn''t look like he''ll grant any request of mine.


    "Dammit, the things they put on bathhouse murals nowadays...! I''m soooo sorry, the hot water ran out and soaked into the building foundations or building substructure and rotted through and that''s why the entire place crumbled, and it''s so terrible¡ª! Somebody, somebodyyyyy¡ª!"


    Okay, I''m scaring myself. For now I''ve gotta stop the water from flowing out.


    I look for something to stuff into the hole, but there''s nothing but buckets and chairs lying about. I hit on soap, but I only have a bottle of body shampoo.


    That''s when the story of the boy who blocks up the hole in the bank with his arm to protect his village from the flood pops into my mind. He sacrificed his life to save others¡ªthat episode''s one you can''t talk about without tearing up.


    What should I do? Should I thrust myself into it?


    "Argh, geez, I''m not gonna die or anything...huh?!"


    When I boldly stick my right hand inside, the impact breaks the tiles, and the hole grows almost twice as big. Does this mean I''m now the ''culprit''?! I hurriedly push my left hand in too. Rather than sealing the leakage, the flow of water gains strength so rapidly that now my body''s almost starting to move too. The vacuum-ish hole is so powerful that I feel like it''s about to suck me in. There''s no way my average high school male student''s body is going to be washed down the...


    But haven''t I been sucked down the drain once before?


    This again?!


    I''m pulled into the hole in the tiles by the arms. No, that''s just impossible, physically impossible, biologically impossible, and impossible on a global scale too. No matter how much I contort myself Cirque du Soleil Saltimbanco-style, it''s totally impossible!


    As I expected, it''s the same Star Tours as last time.


    Hey, Nii-chan.


    What is it, little brother?


    What happens to a person''s body when they "warp"?


    Huh?!


    I mean, we''ll eventually build amazing spaceships and go to other planets, right?


    Like the models you see in Star Wars or Star Trek or Red Dwarf. So we have to train our bodies, because it''d be really embarrassing if we threw up in the middle of a warp, right?


    Are you stupid?! Stop obsessing over these fantasies. If you''ve got the free time to think about stuff like that, why don''t you use it to memorize a few English words? This is why your grades are so bad! Just last week at the station Mototan Okamura saw us, and he was joking, ''I couldn''t believe that was really your little brother!'' Space travel isn''t going to become a reality in our lifetime, so there''s no use worrying about it! And no need to train for warping either!


    That''s what he told me, but I should''ve trained after all.


    Because though I''ve space-traveled several times now, I haven''t even had the time to bring a barf bag¡ªwhat would happen if I threw up?


    I open my eyes to somewhere obviously different than where I was, but all the panic''s gone out of me.


    ''Cause I''ve just been summoned again, haven''t I.


    This isn''t the first time that I''ve been washed away to another world, and I''m rather happier for it not being from the public lavatory again. There are oodles of stories about the main character of a story getting lost in a sword-and-magic world and becoming a hero. Mine is a bit different, since my character profile happens to have ''Maou'' for a job description.


    I landed face-up, and I wriggle around like a jellyfish. My vision is still foggy and completely gray. My back is slightly warm, but my chest and stomach are somewhat chilled. Though I know I thrust my arms into the hole in the bathtub earlier, I can touch my hands together just by poking out my index fingers. What is this, ninja arts? That childish prank where you poke people in the behind?


    What kind of hole was I trying to plug up again...?


    The gray is a high ceiling, and when I slowly look around at my surroundings, I can see palm trees in an artificial jungle. It looks like the Summerland from the kindergarten in my neighborhood I went to when I was a kid. I''ve apparently been floating unconscious in a heated swimming pool.


    When I cautiously try to stand up, I can feel my feet solidly touching bottom. The water comes up a little above my bellybutton, like in a pool made for children. There are several people in a huddle some distance away. Maybe they''re afraid of my hair color? Only the Mazoku have black eyes and hair in this world, and even then very rarely, so most Humans fear it as a bad omen.


    Or rather, something more sinister than a bad omen.


    Or rather, something more evil than sinister.


    Sadly, racial discrimination is pretty bad here, and Mazoku and Humans are violently hostile towards each other. Humans fear Mazoku and attack them, while Mazoku hate Humans and scorn them. Though I swore to become the king so I can improve this situation, even if by just a little bit.


    "Um, it''s all right. See, I''m not going to burn anything. I''m the guy the girls put a ''harmless to man or beast'' sticker on."


    No matter how fired up I am with my ideals as a king, I''m a bit lacking in persuasive power naked in a pool.


    "And I''m not an exhibitionist or anything either."


    I can''t really tell because they''re submerged up to their shoulders, but I''m guessing from their shyness and bearing that they''re female. The orange-haired lady at the front of the five, six-person group asks in a jazzy, husky voice, "...Your Majesty?"


    "Huh?"


    I unthinkingly do a little dance for joy.


    Only the Mazoku would call me "Your Majesty" at first sight of my Japanese-born black hair. Which means they''re Mazoku, and this is somewhere in Shinma Kingdom. Last time I fell outside the border, and a group of Human villagers threw rocks and pointed spades and hoes at me¡ªit was a really disastrous welcome event.


    "All right! I landed in an ordinary place this time! The manner is just a bit too sexy for me, but...um, if somebody can lend me a towel, I promise to wash it and return it. And if you can all close your eyes, I''ll take my leave...huh?!"


    "Your Majestyyyyy!" a blonde with unusually wide shoulders yells in a throaty voice, standing.


    It''s not just me¡ªthey''re all naked, too.


    "Huh?!"


    "Your Majestyyyy! He''s the real thing! He''s soooo cuuuute!"


    They come rushing over, accompanied by loud splashes.


    "Huh? Uh, why are your chests all...gyaah..."


    I''m shoved back into the water. I''ve never been this popular in my life. The blonde beauty is holding my hands in hers dreamily. But there''s one big problem.


    None of them have chests. Well, yes, they have firm bulges where breasts should be. Except those are more like pectoral muscles than breasts. The assertive ladies hug me tight and even rub their cheeks against mine.


    "It''s all rough...was that facial hair?! Stubble?! Wait, don''t tell me you''re all guys instead of la...gurgle..."


    "Your Majesty, welcome ba...aaaah!!"


    Kyou Kara Maou volume 2 chapter 1 insert 1


    The door opens.


    A familiar voice reaches me in this other world I''ve been brought back to, a world that''s just wrong in pretty much every way. The two-person faction trying with all its might to make Shibuya Yuuri a fully qualified Maou comes running over in a real hurry. They look like idols passing through the audience on their way to the stage.


    Except the Earth-manufactured hunks can''t hold a candle to them when it comes to looks. They''re so good-looking that you can almost see flower petals floating in their wake.


    The long gray hair of my tutor, Lord G¨¹nter von Kleist, is disheveled, and his lilac eyes look like they''re about to overflow, spoiling his transcendent beauty. On the other hand, Lord Weller looks like he''s trying to resist an indiscreet grin and gamely has his actor''s face on. Stop that, Conrad¡ªweren''t we midnight catch buddies just a little while ago?


    The ladies¡ªstrike that, gentlemen¡ªare clinging to my lower body.


    "Hurry up and save me...gurgle...aaah...cough...you''re not supposed to run next to the pool...!"


    "Your Majesty, are you all right? Release him, all of you! Do you have any idea who this is?!"


    This isn''t Mito Koumon. Not caring that his clothes (pearl white in cell phone terms) are getting wet, G¨¹nter forces his way through the group. I should''ve left my seal of state with him or something.


    "...Is that Lord G¨¹nter?"


    Their expressions change.


    "Wh-why are you looking at me like that?"


    My tutor is suddenly nailed by their stares.


    "Kyaah! His Majesty is adorable, but Lord G¨¹nter is so dreamy! That''s the first beauty of Shinma Kingdom for you¡ªhe''s even more beautiful when he''s wet!"


    "Gyaaaaaaah!"


    The beasts attack the beauty with cries that are more bellows than melodic invitations.


    Geez, beauty is a sin.


    "Here we go, rescue complete."


    Conrad puts his arms around me and plucked me out of the water like an exposed ball from a Rugby scrum. He wraps what looks like a hotel bathrobe around me.


    "Welcome back, Your Majesty," my precious baseball buddy says in that refreshing way I remember.


    "...Thanks, Conrad. And since you are the guy who named me, stop being so formal. I don''t want to be called ''Your Majesty'' by you.


    "Ah, right."


    He''s also the first-rate chap who took my soul to Earth and offered my mom a ride as she was standing on a Boston street corner in her last month of pregnancy. That''s why Lord Conrart Weller was the one who gave me my name in America before he returned here. The girls in my class would go green with envy if they knew my name came from such a cool young man. But though he may look like he''s around twenty, he''s actually older than my granddad. In this world, those who possess Mazoku blood are really long-lived¡ªand even worse, are certified beauties to boot. Conrad''s on the plainer side since he''s half Human, but all the other aristocrats are so beautiful it''s scary. Even if they''re not all on G¨¹nter''s level, there are still droves and droves of people who''re superhumanly beautiful.


    Well, okay, so they''re not Human.


    It really irks my inferiority complex because I''m always, thumb-gnawingly worried about whether I can really be the Maou when I''m so average in looks and physique and brains.


    "How is your world? Is your mother doing well? Oh, and¡ª" Conrad adds, his silver-flecked hazel eyes narrowed impishly, "How''re the Red Sox doing right now?"


    "I haven''t looked at the rankings this season."


    I grin back at him. This is our common passion. Conrad, who caught the baseball bug in Boston, even has a ball signed by a Major Leaguer. The population of baseball players in Shinma Kingdom right now is a grand total of two¡ªin other words, me and him.


    "But you know, this year Nomo...achoo!"


    "Gesundheit. Are you all right, Yuuri? Please bear with my jacket for the time being. G¨¹nter will put me through the wringer if you catch a cold."


    "I''m fine, just got some water up my nose. Speaking of which, what happened to G¨¹nter?"


    He''s being crushed by the ladies in the heated pool.


    "Con-Conrart, stop laughing, help me...!"


    "Nooo, please don''t run away, Lord G¨¹nter!"


    Actually, that sounded more like a ''you''re not getting away!'' This is the first time ever that I''ve been grateful for his beauty.


    "Thank you, G¨¹nter, for sacrificing yourself for my sake. I''ll never forget you."


    "Your Majesty?! Please wait, Your Majesty! I''m not dead yet, I''m not¡ª!"


    Around a month ago Japan time, I came to stay at the Blood Pledge Castle in this country''s capital.


    "This place feels kinda different."


    "That''s quite true, Your Majesty. We are in the eastern region of the kingdom founded by the great Shinou and the powerful, wise, and courageous Mazoku who¡ªah, it must not be forgotten are said to be the origin of everything in the world¡ªdefeated the Soushu and his army to their eternal glory..." G¨¹nter sings with his eyes closed, enraptured, exactly like a tenor in an opera. He''s even got the upward-pointing fingers.


    Though that might have sounded like the national anthem, it''s actually the country''s name. I daringly abbreviate it Shinma Kingdom.


    "...and this is Voltaire Castle."


    "Voltaire! Which means this is Gwendal''s castle?!"


    "Oh, you have guessed it already! Your Majesty''s sagacity astounds me constantly."


    The room to which I''m taken is as spacious as the event hall of a first-class hotel. Swords and shields hang on the walls, and medieval-style suits of armor stand in the four corners.


    The master of this castle, Lord Gwendal von Voltaire, is nowhere to be seen. Only the three of us are standing at the fireplace: me in my fresh change of clothes made in the style of a Japanese school uniform, Conrad leaning against the wall with his long legs crossed, and G¨¹nter smiling so hugely his eyes are narrow slits. It''s the third month of spring in the Shinma Kingdom calendar, but after sundown the fire still feels wonderful.


    "Aah, Your Majesty, you seem in good health, and that is more important than anything else. When you suddenly disappeared from before our very eyes, my sorrow was such that I wept for ten days."


    Behind him, Conrad mouths ''It''s true.''


    "Sorry ''bout that. But I want to be a member of my family before being a Maou."


    "What fine words!"


    There''s still a huge kiss mark on G¨¹nter''s cheek. Regardless of who left it there, there''s such a thing as being a little too popular.


    "Then you must think of your kingdom all the more. Now that you have ascended the throne, all the people of this country are your children."


    "That''s a lot of kids for somebody who''s only fifteen!"


    "Yes. Now, Your Majesty, please sign these documents. This is a report of the spring tax from the lands under your direct control, and this gives approval to those districts which have requested fortification of their riverbanks for the rainy season. If I may be so bold, I believe from the reports of the officials in charge that these figures are indeed correct."


    You understand this a lot better than I do, don''t you. Huh, I guess this is what statecraft is all about. The staff is smarter than the guy at the top.


    "So I sign here, right?...sign...agh, that makes me kinda nervous. When I was a kid I thought only baseball players were asked to sign stuff."


    Up until the summer I was twelve, when I learned that anybody who uses a credit card to buy something will be asked to sign for it.


    My signature sends G¨¹nter into eulogy mode again.


    "Magnificent! Look at these elegant lines, their soul-stirring combination! I have never before seen such a tour de force of calligraphy. And of such complexity as to foil all imitation, no matter how dexterous the imitator!"


    Well, yeah, even the famous Jean Reno has trouble writing kanji. A counterfeiter would definitely have trouble with Shibuya Yuuri Harajuku Furi.


    Er? Shibuya Yuuri Harajuku Furi...? I couldn''t have added Harajuku to the end of my own name, could I?!


    "Now then," G¨¹nter says, suddenly serious. I''m getting a bad feeling here. When a teacher looks that, it usually means T-R-O-U-B-L-E. Like ''I''ve taken you off the bench list'' or ''Did you steal Fukuda-kun''s lunch money?'' Although lunch is paid through a bank transfer.


    "These is something of great import which requires a decision from Your Majesty."


    "Wha-what?"


    He glides close. I may not be particularly susceptible to men, but my heartbeat still picks up a notch.


    "There is unrest among the Humans, such that we may cross swords before long. In any case, they appear to be preparing for battle."


    "Battle...as in, war?! Didn''t I say that I will absolutely not go to war?! I don''t care what they''re preparing, no war means no war. Did I not decide when I became the king of this country that we would not go to war?!"


    That''s right, I became the Maou so that the Mazoku could coexist peacefully with Humans. It''s wrong for people to fight each other just because they''re from different races. War is absolutely not the right choice: if this world has no one to chant that axiom, then I am determined to become the first. I may have the soul of the Maou, but I was still born and raised Japanese, and that was what I was taught in the other world.


    "But Your Majesty, if we do not take the offensive, what happens when they bring war to us? To simply roll over and surrender is not something this kingdom will ever..."


    "Still! At least for now war is out of the question! And I''m not signing any documents declaring war! Ack, you didn''t have me sign anything like that earlier, did you?! And what does "unrest" mean, anyway? How am I supposed to know anything if you don''t give me any concrete information?"


    "The gathering of magicians, no expenses spared. When Humans quarrel with us, magic-users are essential," an absolutely unrivalled deep bass voice answers from behind me.


    An angel and a demon are standing in the open doorway: the master of this castle, Lord Gwendal von Voltaire, making his entrance to the Love Theme from The Godfather, and a Vienna Boy Choir OB-style pretty boy, Lord Wolfram von Bielefelt.


    The Yuuri''s-inferiority-complex-triggering group of beauties is now completely assembled.


    Brothers who are nothing like each other really do exist.


    Lord Gwendal von Voltaire, oldest son of the previous Maou, with his ash-gray hair so dark that it might almost be called black and sullen blue eyes that not even the most beautiful woman can coax into good humor, totally looks like the best choice for the position of Maou. His voice is so low it sounds like it comes from his hips. Lord Wolfram von Bielefelt, on the other hand, is my twin in stature and physique, but angelically handsome. If you didn''t know he was Mazoku, you''d think he was God''s greatest masterpiece. Glittering gold hair, white skin, long eyelashes, and emerald-green eyes. But that damn arrogance of his makes him sound like a yapping Pomeranian.


    Well, heredity runs deep for these brothers. Rather more surprising is the fact that Conrad is between them.


    The previous Maou, now Her Majesty the Prior Maou, Lady C?cilie von Spietzweg, aka Pheromone Queen C?li, once fell in love with a Human of unknown lineage who owned nothing of value except for his sword. Their son is Lord Conrart Weller. Beside the beauty of the other Mazoku, he looks very close to Human. I can''t explain it very well, but...there must be a lot of average-looking actors who go to Hollywood movie auditions; if the scriptwriter picks one person from the lot to play a supporting role, that person would be Conrad. The judges would give the following comment:


    "He hit on the delivery perfectly¡ªI can see ''truth'' in his performance."


    That''s how I''d respond if someone asked me, "What kind of a person is he?" Lord Weller is the only one I''d only be able to answer that question for. I don''t think anyone but a language teacher would be able to sufficiently sketch out the other Mazoku, but it''d be impossible to completely describe them, no matter how flowery the words.


    In any case, even though Gwendal, Conrart, and Wolfram are half-brothers born from the same mother, they have not one characteristic in common, in outward appearance, personality or worldview.


    "I don''t remember giving him permission to enter my castle," Gwendal tosses at me, looking down on me with dislike¡ª


    "Yuuri! How could you disappear in the middle of the coronation? I can''t believe you..." Wolfram, who''s made a hobby of biting my head off, begins.


    They start off together for the table at the center of the room. Gwendal with his longer legs arrives at my chair first.


    Those eyes looking down at me from their lofty height are full of authoritative dignity and self-confidence.


    No matter what you say, I''ve already been crowned the Maou, so don''t try to explain it away or trivialize it¡ªI don''t even have the time to put myself on guard before he walks past me and spreads a map open in front of G¨¹nter and Conrad.


    "It''s Cavalcade."


    "Cavalcade? It can''t be."


    "No, they''re using Sondergaard as a front, but Cavalcade is providing the funds. If you do not believe the intelligence provided by my spies, then you will have to do an independent investigation."


    What''s going on with kava in what zone?


    I peer at the map. He''s pointing at a large continent separated by an ocean from the area that looks like Shinma Kingdom. Two of those color-differentiated countries are probably Cavalcade and Sondergaard. Judging by the first thing Gwendal said, I guess the people of Cavalcade are planning to attack the Mazoku.


    G¨¹nter adopts a stereotypical smart-person tone.


    "But how can Cavalcade have the leisure when they''re so preoccupied with their pirate problem? Ships from Taurog are coming under attack, so the report of aid from Sondergaard and Hildyard is..."


    "On the surface. But reports say that a percentage of the resulting damage has been returned to their country."


    A ruse?! Make-believe piracy?


    I prick up my ears at these dirty goings-on of the adult world, but Wolfram roughly jerks my head back. His lake''s bottom green eyes meet mine.


    Target: lock on.


    "How dare you vanish from right in front of us after saying that you would become this country''s king?! I was going settle things with you properly after you were safely done with the coronation ceremony!"


    "Se-settle? I told you, I''m fine with a tie!...or no, if you still find it that hard to swallow, then let''s just say I lost, okay? ''Cause ultimately that duel was like one of those things where an exchange of blows forged a friendship, you know?"


    That''s how it was. Since I didn''t know anything about Shinma Kingdom''s etiquette the last time I came here, I managed to inadvertently insult this angelically beautiful young man (who''s actually eighty-two). In present-day Japan, you''d never imagine that slapping somebody across the face is a marriage proposal and picking up a knife dropped during a meal is acceptance of a duel. I mean, this bloody custom of dueling is completely alien to a pacifist space-casey high school student. And as for the other thing¡ªI mean, we''re both guys.


    "You''re were pretty strong, and I gave it my best too, so why don''t we just leave it at that? We don''t have to go into all of that stuff about duels and revenge again."


    "That''s not any kind of...hey, Yuuri! What is the meaning of this?! You''re not wearing the gold bird I gave you, but you have Conrart''s pendant...?!"


    "Huh? But that was a brooch, right? I mean, you can''t really wear it except by sticking it into your clothes. And I wasn''t wearing anything this time¡ªI was totally naked when I got summoned here, so..."


    "You weren''t even wearing any clothes? So you were in the midst of a liaison with some mongrel Human from that world?!"


    "Liai...huh?! Me?! As in me, the one sent here after being unpopular for the fifteen years of his existence?"


    "You can''t deceive me, Yuuri! You''re too lacking in prudence. Well, yes, I guess...you''re somewhat good-looking...just a bit...so you can''t help but be a temptation..."


    "Ah, pru-prudence, huh?"


    Yeah, and stop making me out to be some kind of handsome samurai with that peculiar aesthetic you guys have.


    Meanwhile, Conrad is asking G¨¹nter and Gwendal in his usual casual but subtly pointed manner, "Shouldn''t both of you start off by reporting this information to His Majesty?"


    After a moment of silence, the flustered tutor recalls his position, and the eldest son gazes with displeasure at his youngest brother and the thorn in his side.


    "The children seem to be talking amongst themselves."


    I put everything into rushing through the crack Conrad has opened for me with his foot in the door. I have no right to call myself a king if I don''t live up to his faith in me.


    "Di-didn''t I just say that we are not going to war? While I''m alive I don''t want to see anyone dying in battle."


    As usual, trying to squeeze through a closing door is not the safest thing in the world. The counterattack is sudden and intensely cold.


    "In that case, what is it you wish to do, Your Majesty?"


    There is always a bite in the "Your Majesty" that drops from Lord von Voltaire''s lips. He looks down at me with arms crossed, his chill gaze impregnable. Two months ago I would have retreated immediately.


    "Are you planning to simply hand the kingdom over to the Humans without even returning fire when they come attacking in the near future?"


    "If we know that they''re going to attack, then shouldn''t we be able to come up with a counter-plan pretty easily? We can find an opportunity to talk to each other. Let''s ask what they want from our kingdom, and see which of their specialty products they''re willing to offer in exchange and make a pact or treaty or something."


    Gwendal waves his right hand in disgust and summons one of the reserve guards placed outside the room.


    "His Majesty appears to be tired. Guide him to his room."


    I, the new Prior Maou, am about to unthinkingly allow myself to be guided.


    "That''s very kind of...hey! Wait a minute, we''re not done here yet! That was the king''s command, so you gotta obey!"


    His glare traumatizes me for life.


    "P-please obey."


    "Don''t speak as if you know anything. If they were the type to agree to a discussion, I wouldn''t need an amateur to tell me to arrange for one."


    "Were you turned down? Well, yeah, I mean, if somebody as self-important as you looked down from your high horse and told someone that you wanted a meeting, I wouldn''t blame them for being scared."


    Gwendal, who thinks of me as nothing more than graffiti on the wall, is starting to become visibly irritated. Anyone would be pissed off if they were treated like graffiti. The more so if it were for good reason.


    "They''d probably listen to me if I went. ''Cause it''s not like I''m strong like you guys; any way you look at me, I''m just an ordinary human being."


    An avalanche of criticism follows that statement.


    "Ordinary Human?! You?!"


    "Your Majesty is Mazoku! One in whom resides the black of Mazoku nobility, the true Maou, through and through!


    "Conrart!" Gwendal barks the name of his younger brother, the acknowledged military man. Looks like his irritation has reached the boiling point¡ªon the table, his long fingers twitch as if he were holding a game controller. He''s probably trembling with rage. Conrad shows not a hint of tension. What would it take to panic him?


    "Yes?"


    "This pet Maou of yours, is he planning to give the victory to us or the Humans?"


    "...That is a difficult question. His Majesty is a personage of rarely-seen caliber. However."


    He pushes himself away from the wall in a vigorous motion, gives me a cheerful side glance, and says: "If we are looking for a way to avoid battle, I do have a suggestion."


    "What? What?!"


    "Here now, calm down. G¨¹nter will explain."


    My tutor breathes a long long long sigh, obviously reluctant. Is it my imagination, or does even his thick hair lose its gloss and a cloud pass over his radiant beauty?


    "We the Mazoku possess a legendary weapon which cannot be wielded by any save His Majesty the Maou. It is said that once invoked, it has enough power to burn the world to nothing...though in reality maybe a small city... In any case, the fact remains that it is a legendary sword: the mightiest ultimate weapon in all of history. Even its name..."


    "Ultimate weapon! Melgib, right?!"


    "No, Your Majesty, Morgif."


    What the heck? A lethal weapon''s gotta have Mel Gibson. Gwendal tsks slightly upon hearing that misleading name. He doesn''t look pleased.


    "The last to invoke it was His Majesty Basilio von Rochefort, the Maou eight generations ago. It was later lost, its whereabouts unknown until just recently when it was d...wh-when its location was...d-d-dis!"


    "You found it, right?!"


    Wolfram, who was so engrossed in his criticism of me just a few minutes ago, lets his true feelings slip.


    "I see, if we let it be known that the ultimate weapon has returned to us under the auspices of the Maou, our neighbors will not dare attack us carelessly. No one has held it for close to a thousand years; they will fear the might of the king who does."


    "Is it really that amazing?"


    "Records claim that when Morgif''s fullest power is unleashed by the absorption of a Human life, it can smash a boulder to pieces, reverse the flow of a river, burn a person to ashes, and make a cow dance in the air."


    "A cow?!"


    I have the feeling I''m kinda missing the point here, but anyway, I do get that it''s a pretty awesome weapon.


    "So that means if we can get our hands on this weapon, then our country will be the strongest, right? Then everybody''ll be afraid of us and not want to fight us. All right! Then everything will good, right?! Let''s dash over and fetch it right now! Where is it? Who''s going to go get Melgib?"


    "It''s Morgif."


    "Oh, right."


    G¨¹nter''s eyes are still fixed on the floor. His long lashes tremble.


    "It is a very long trip by ship from the Voltaire region here on the eastern edge of Shinma Kingdom. It was d...d-dis...covered on the savage and barbaric island of Van der Veer in Cimarron..."


    "You shouldn''t call it savage and barbaric if you''ve never been there!"


    "Th-that''s quite true, but, ooooh Your Majesty! I cannot bring myself to give my approval to this plan! Your closest subjects are brought to tears by your great kindness and your compassionate desire to protect your people from the ravages of war."


    Uwah, that''s mucus, not tears! No, please don''t cling to me like that! Ack, not the hand! Don''t rub your cheek against my hand! Don''t rub your nose against my hand¡ª!


    "None beside the Maou can take up Morgif. But to have your Majesty cross into the domain of the Humans is akin to throwing meat of the highest quality to a pack of slavering beasts!"


    "Stop comparing me to meat, geez!"


    "And besides, the beasts wouldn''t really care what kind of meat it was¡ªright, Your Majesty?"


    "But Your Majesty, Van der Veer is preparing for its annual festival! You will be a target for the islanders as well as enemies from every land!"


    "Are you sure they''re not just ordinary tourists? Wait a moment, target? What target? Target what?"


    Gwendal leaves the room in disgust.


    Looking after his impressive figure, I have to admit it to myself: it''s quite true that I don''t have his dignity or his style. And he really is thinking of the future of this country. But we do things differently. I don''t know just now which of us is right or wrong, and I''ll probably never know.


    Sorry Gwendal, but the Japanese DNA inside me is crying out with its petty bourgeois sense of justice.


    "...which is why the effect of Majutsu is weakened in the domain of the Humans. Those skilled in Majutsu would therefore be unable to protect Your Majesty."


    I haven''t really been listening, but since I can''t use Majutsu anyway, it doesn''t really matter.


    "That''s okay. So this Morgif is a sword, right? And since it''s the king''s ultimate weapon, I bet it''s one of those holy swords that you absolutely need to defeat the last boss, like Ragnorak or Excalibur or the Bizen Sword made out of Orichalcum, that you have to go to the heart of some super-complicated dungeon to get, right?


    G¨¹nter, Conrad and Wolfram all ask in the same tone: "Holy sword¡ª?"


    "I-it''s not a holy sword?"


    "Ah, Your Majesty is jesting again."


    "That''s right, Yuuri, what would you want a holy sword for?"


    "Your Majesty, it is the sword that belongs to the Demon King, so..."


    Of course it''d have to be a demon sword, wouldn''t it?

 Volume 2 - CH 2

    I have the feeling that I''ll be able to hear the ocean if I put this stone to my ear, for it must surely have crossed the ocean to get here from some distant country.


    "You can hear the ocean even if you don''t have that pressed against your ear¡ªwe are traveling on it, after all. Here, Your Majesty, please get up. Or at least decide if you want to get up or go to sleep."


    "Woah, it''s swaying!"


    "Of course. We are on a ship."


    Oh yeah.


    We''re travelling by ship to retrieve the strongest, baddest ultimate weapon in the world: the legendary sword Morgif, which can be wielded only by the Maou and is said to be sleeping on Van der Veer Island in the Cimarron domain where pretty much only Humans dwell.


    It took a lot of persuading to convince G¨¹nter that going disguised as inconspicuous Humans was a better course than sending out the armada and getting attacked. My black hair''s been dyed red to avoid suspicion; when G¨¹nter saw it, he trembled, eyes filling, and wailed, "My King has..." Yeah, and when did I become your Shibuya Yuuri? I''m not Shibuya Ward''s catchphrase, geez.


    The lamentation was horrible when he learned that he couldn''t go with us¡ªhe managed to shatter three expensive-looking glasses in his dismay. But it''d be a total disaster if we went wandering around Human lands with an uber-beauty like you and some girl falls for you. And besides, if I don''t have somebody clever stay behind in the capital and cover for me, news might get out that the king isn''t around¡ªwhen I explained all this to him, what I got back was: "Am I so despised by Your Majesty?" Then when I hurriedly told him, like one of those top-flight bosses, that I have no particular feelings of like or dislike for him, the tears came gushing out. I haven''t met many people with such a remarkable gap between their looks and personality.


    In the end I managed to convince my tutor somehow, and left the country with only Kaku-san, aka Conrad, in tow.


    Among the Human kingdoms of Cavalcade, Sondergaard and Hildyard located across the sea from Shinma Kingdom, Hildyard is the only country with which Shinma Kingdom has diplomatic relations. We arrived on foreign soil three days after departing on a merchant ship from a port city in the Voltaire region.


    Hildyard has maintained its relationship with Shinma Kingdom despite censure from its neighboring countries, supposedly out of gratitude for aid in the time of its founding. But that''s only its official front; the truth is that trade is more profitable than ostracism.


    It''s one calculating country.


    Schildkraut is located on Hildyard''s southern tip. If it were an airport, it''d be a hub: ships and people gather here from all over the world, and it''s as lively as a map of trade nations in miniature. After purchasing some popular Human products at the market, we boarded a gorgeous passenger ship heading for Van der Veer Island.


    At least, that was the plan.


    The luxury liner G¨¹nter had the local coordinator reserve (apparently there are people associated with the Mazoku placed in various locations in various territories, something of a grand spying scheme), though not on the level of the Titanic, is at least as gorgeous as Pinch-Hitter-Nic(k). It took me twenty seconds to sprint from one end of the ship to the other, so it''s probably about a hundred meters or so in length.


    Sailors wearing light-blue uniforms work in the cramped space beneath the folded, spotlessly white sails. The passengers coming abroad are dressed in the style of gentlemen and ladies from around the eighteenth century; the amount of luggage their porters are carrying on board is jaw-dropping.


    "Wow...the only boat trips I''ve ever taken were the pirate ship at Hakone and the Mark Twain Riverboat at Disneyland.


    "I don''t know about the first, but the Mark Twain Riverboat trip would have been pretty short, hmm?"


    We''re pretty much settled into our roles as Humans by this time: "Young Master." "Stop that, it''s not like I''m Natsume Souseki." And "Would you prefer master and servant, then?" "No way, I don''t want to be some old geezer. Call me Goinkyo instead." "Wouldn''t that make you even older?" we toss back and forth.


    In the end, we decide on a loafing rich kid and his steward, and have a porter show us to our room¡ªsupposedly the best on the ship. All banter is choked off as soon as we open the door.


    "...It''s g-gorgeous beyond a doubt, but...um..."


    The living room continues back into the bedroom. It''s quite spacious. The walls and floor, even the window frames are beautifully decorated. It''s not quite a suite at the Ritz, but you''d never think this was inside a boat. Of course there is a bathroom and toilet and other amenities, as well as sofas and a tea table with carved cat''s-paw legs. The floor is scattered with intricately-woven rugs.


    "Why does it have a double bed? I mean, more importantly¡ª"


    "You''re late!"


    Why is Wolfram sitting so regally on the double bed?!


    I''m guessing that the gob-smacked look on Conrad''s face means that he didn''t expect this either.


    "From the looks of it, this room is normally reserved for newly-weds. I presume Your Ma...my young masters are still in their prenuptial period...?"


    "...I have no idea who''s responsible for this mix-up either."


    The next while is devoted to Wolfram being violently seasick, and so the afternoon passed. The second day of my trip on a gorgeous luxury liner is about to start.


    "Please get up, Your Majesty, or would you like me to bring you breakfast in bed? A waiter has already set out the table."


    A voice still in its death throes comes from beneath the blankets.


    "Don''t talk about food in front of me..."


    "Oh, come on. Let''s change, get our faces washed, and go get some food. I''m not seasick at all."


    Wolfram, who stalked us to the ship and smuggled himself on board, ended up in front of the toilet as soon as we set sail. Now he''s bedridden and refuses to eat or drink anything, even water. He can''t even quarrel with me. With his ruffled gold hair straggling down blanched cheeks and eyes lightly closed, he looks like an angel who''s fallen to earth and in despair because he cannot return home.


    "Isn''t there anything at all you want to eat? Bread or ice cream or pudding? Let''s at least call room service to get you something to drink. Like milk or orange juice or yogurt, maybe?"


    "Blaargh!"


    "Sorry! I guess yogurt''s having the opposite effect?!"


    "Now Yuuri...I mean, Young Master, don''t tease the patient. Here, hold still, I''ll put in your contacts for you."


    The made-in-Shinma Kingdom contacts, developed with all the Mazoku''s ingenuity, turn my eyes a light brown. One ordinary red-haired, hazel-eyed Human to go.


    "So Wolfram''s not very good with boats, huh? I feel kinda sorry for him."


    "That''s why I told him not to come. But he looks so miserable that I''ve lost the desire to lecture him."


    Just then the door of the neighboring room opens, and someone comes down the corridor: an elegantly-dressed, middle-aged gentleman holding the hand of a little girl who looks around five. He''s not as tall as the Mazoku, but he''s solidly built, and looks like he still has some years of active duty in him. What duty, I''ve no idea.


    An intrepid smile appears on the gentleman''s face beneath his beige mustache, and he slowly walks toward us with his right hand on luxuriant hair of the same color and the hat sitting on top. Then¡ª


    "Good morning."


    "Woah!"


    He sweeps hat and hair off together. The morning sun glistens on his bald head.


    I take an involuntary step back. Is this like the sudden coming-out of a wig-wearer or something?!


    "I must apologize, my master is not yet used to Cavalcadian greetings."


    Conrad nods, smiling, a hand on my back.


    "Oh, that was a greeting?"


    Contact with foreign cultures is always so full of surprises.


    Conrad smoothly engages him in conversation before my awkwardness becomes obvious. As planned, I act like a shy young man from a well-to-do family.


    "Are you going to breakfast? My wife, alas, is seasick and resting in our room. Shall we head down together?"


    I half-hide behind Conrad as cutesily as I can and shake my head slightly, staring at the floor. It''s the only way I have of expressing how I feel about that idea.


    "As you can see, my master is very shy."


    "Ah, I''m sorry to hear that. When I heard someone took the risk of smuggling himself onto the boat in pursuit of his betrothed, I wondered what sort of an ardent young worthy it was..."


    Wolfram, we''ve become the topic of scandal.


    The middle-aged gentleman replaces his hat and wig with a smug expression on his face.


    "I never imagined it would be such a cute...ah, your pardon, I''m sure you have your share of troubles. ...Please excuse my belated introduction; I am Hiscruyff of Missinai, and this is my daughter Beatrice."


    Cute would be the man''s daughter, not me.


    She''s wearing a pale pink dress, the light brown hair she inherited from her parents in two ponytails. She''s looking steadily at me. I feel totally awkward lying in front of a little kid, so I can only leave it to Conrad.


    "My master is Mitsuemon from a cr¨ºpe silk merchant house in Echigo. I am called Kakunoshin of the same."


    "Echigo? Where would that be?"


    "It is located to the east of Ecchuu."


    "Ecchuu..."


    "North of Hida."


    "W-Well, you seem to have come from a very distant land indeed."


    Total confusion: huge success.


    I wanted the "Megumi Freeloader," but Conrad is a fan of Komon-sama. Strangely enough, the sounds of the cr¨ºpe silk merchant house seem to echo in my ears.


    "Ah so you must be headed for Van der Veer''s Fire Festival...?"


    "How stupid can you be?!"


    The angry, malicious voice comes from somewhere nearby, and I start reflexively toward it. Kaku-san, aka Kakunoshin, apologizes to Hiscruyff and chases after me. We pass the doors of three luxury suites at a run and round the corridor containing the first-class cabins to the deck.


    A sailor who looks every inch a man of the sea strikes a boy who appears to be his apprentice. It''s probably just the age when people get jobs in this world, but still¡ªthe boy looks two or three years younger than me.


    Conrad, who seems to have sensed my thoughts, murmurs briefly, "Please do not cause a scene."


    "But he''s just a kid!"


    "Will it be all right if he is not beaten anymore?"


    The light brown eyes turned to peer into mine shift completely into his role.


    "I declare, Young Master, your whims will be the death of me."


    I totally feel like the prodigal son now; the back of my head itches.


    "Do apprentices on this ship receive beatings so early in the morning?"


    "Shut yer mouth, I do what I want with...ah, my humble apologies for such an ugly scene, sir."


    The sailor''s attitude changes as soon as he realizes we''re above-first-class passengers.


    "But what can I do when he makes such stupid mistakes, eh?"


    "This din is damaging my master''s mood."


    "Aaah...is this young gentleman your master?"


    Conrad slips something to the sailor¡ªprobably money. The man twists his head over his shoulder to look at me. He smirks unpleasantly and rubs his chin.


    "Well! I''m sure he is much care-laden. My humble apologies for this unpleasantness, your lordships!


    "Enough. Get out of our sight."


    He gestures as he leaves, and the boy who was knocked sprawling near the ship''s bulwarks bows deeply and runs off. He looks like one of those freckled kids always showing up in American commercials.


    "Ugh...so it''s all about money."


    "Does it pain your conscience or sense of justice? But at least we now know that he''s a man who can be bought."


    "Yeah, and a jerk who hits children. Geez, now I''m all in a contemplative mood."


    "Contemplative?"


    "Yeah. When I''m over here I keep wondering¡ªwhy, of all things, am I the Maou?"


    An ordinary high school student sent flying over to another world, sallying forth on a grand adventure¡ªa hero or wizard or prince would be the first thing that came to anyone''s mind. But I''ve been stuck with the job of ''Demon King,'' and the weapon I''m questing for is a ''demon sword.''


    I lean back against the wooden bulwarks, enjoying the mild ocean breeze. The red bangs caressing my forehead feel like they belong to someone else.


    "I kept thinking¡ªI''m so unlucky, what a disaster. But I feel like I finally understand how wrong I was. I mean, there are so many more, well¡ª"


    "Unfortunate people in the world?"


    Conrad leans forward, crossing his arms, playacting at an end. "Yuuri. You think that child was unfortunate, then."


    "But in Japan he would probably have been a junior high first-year student, or maybe even an elementary school kid in the middle of a growth spurt! Children shouldn''t be used for labor¡ªeven the United Nations and UNICEF say so! And he gets beaten for making mistakes, too¡ªaren''t there any conventions on the rights of children?"


    "...Even so."


    He pulls me up by the hand, and we head back towards the cabins.


    "Is it not a little one-sided of you to assume he is unfortunate?"


    "Maaaybe..."


    There''s a happy smell wafting on the air: a scent of fresh-made bread, butter melting in a frying pan, and sizzling bacon.


    "I''m actually more concerned about Hiscruyff."


    The name brings to mind that eccentric greeting again. Aaah, I was so surprised. The world is a big place.


    "He said he was from some city, right? Is it close to here?"


    "Missinai is on the northern tip of Hildyard, but...that greeting is used by the upper crust of the Cavalcade nobility."


    "It''s...um...pretty unforgettable even if you want to forget it, huh?"


    So all the elite members of society, instead of a ''how do you do,'' glisten and flash at each other? What do all the young men who actually have hair do? They can''t all be like Kouji Tomita, can they?!


    "Wait, you mean that Calvacade?"


    "Yes, that one. And that man was quite a master. He may have been playing the part of a doting father, but the hand that was holding his daughter''s was covered with sword calluses."


    "Sword calluses?! Woah, way to go, cactuses. Well, however good he is, he''d never be a sword master as awesome as you, Con...Kaku-san."


    "Oh my, Young Master¡ªsword master! Now you''re making me blush."


    Back to our roles. We''re already at the entrance to the diner.


    "Ah, but it''s taken me eighty years to come just this far. Anyone would improve if they''ve been swinging a sword for that long. What doesn''t kill you makes you stronger, I suppose?"


    "Ah-hah, so you''ve devoted yourself to being a sword master for eighty years, huh? Like Yoshinoya!"


    Aaah, now I want to have some of Yoshinoya''s beef bowl.

 Volume 2 - CH 3

    Chapter 3 If Lord von Kleist were Human, he would be wailing ''Oh my God, oh my God!'' But since he is neither Human nor American, he is howling "Your Majesty!" at the sky instead.


    His long frantic strides take him around and round the wide room. The master of the castle stops as he passes the open door and enters. He looks at G¨¹nter suspiciously.


    "G¨¹nter, you haven''t set out for the capital yet?"


    "This is no time to be thinking about that! He''s disappeared, he''s disappeared disappeared disappeared!"


    "Calm down. Are you really Lord von Kleist?"


    Gwendal coolly takes a step back from G¨¹nter. He cannot afford to become involved.


    "This isn''t about me!" He glares at Gwendal. "It''s His Majesty! Wolfram has disappeared¡ªI think he has gone chasing after His Majesty! Aaah, what should I do? This is a disaster! If anything should happen to His Majesty, how could I ever atone?"


    "Don''t exaggerate. Wolfram can protect himself¡ªI don''t believe he''ll be a burden."


    "You don''t believe he''ll be a burden? That selfish Pooh?!"


    "''Selfish Pooh?''"


    There is a moment of silence.


    Tutor and assistant to the king though he may be, calling someone who was a prince until just a short time ago ''Pooh''¡ªand in front of his own brother to boot¡ªis an impertinence. It would certainly come as no surprise if Gwendal were to take offence.


    "...Actually, I''ve thought so too."


    "I-it seems we''re in agreement, for once."


    And thus was the Alliance of Those Who Have Always Thought of Wolfram as a Selfish Pooh, abbreviated the Pooh Alliance, created.


    "Achoo!"


    "Gesundheit!" I answer on cue in a conditioned response to Wolfram''s cute little sneeze, which sounds like something a manga character might make, as I rummage through my luggage and toss everything out of the clothes chest.


    "Aaargh, dammit, it''s not here not here not here not here not here not here!"


    "What are you looking for?" Wolfram, who finally seemed to have recovered around noon, asks, lying face down on the bed. His feet are on the pillows, and he flails and kicks from time to time.


    "I''m pretty sure I put it in here, that metal buckle thing that holds up this cummerbund."


    "Humph."


    He sounds both disgruntled and disappointed.


    I quite understand how he feels. It''d be like someone passing over me and picking an amateur to play a game. Wouldn''t it be better to call on me instead of somebody who doesn''t even know what letter ''baseball'' starts with?


    I''m getting ready for a ball¡ªthe perfect setting for an ex-prince.


    Breakfast started with the captain''s salutations; I had tea forced on me while I was walking restlessly around the deck midday; there was an invitation to psuedo-billiards in the game room in the evening and a full-course dinner at sunset; after dinner''s finally over we get to take a shower before our attendance is requested at a formal social¡ªno rest on a gorgeous luxury liner! And if the guests in the deluxe suite don''t show up, they immediately become the subject of gossip and are accused of being eccentric.


    "Wouldn''t it have been better to get third-class cabins and stay shut up in our room not attracting attention for the entire trip? When I remember what it''s like being in sleeper cars, I''m pretty sure I could''ve handled a shared room with bunks."


    "I can''t endure something like that!"


    "Yeah, but you weren''t even in the plans!"


    "Then your plans were flawed from the start."


    Sounds like he''s closer to his usual self. But even if he''s recovered his energy, he can''t be set loose with other people. I don''t think this proud aristocrat could pass himself off as someone from a cr¨ºpe silk merchant house.


    "What''s in that chest, anyway?"


    "Hm? Oh, stuff that G¨¹nter insisted I bring along. Things he said would be necessary or come in handy for the trip...a book?"


    I tear off the oiled paper wrapper to reveal an important-looking hard-cover book, bound in green mountain goat hide. Its title is written in gold letters, but sadly I can''t read Mazoku writing.


    "Let me take a look, I''ll read it for you...The Dream Begun in Spring, a Diary."


    "A diary?! Does he want me to become Ki no Tsurayuki or something? Geez, teachers."


    "''...I met His Majesty for the first time today. He is many times, many dozen times more wonderful than my limited imagination could ever have conceived.''"


    "What?"


    Wolfram turns a page and continues reading loudly.


    "''Lord Yuuri alighted from his horse, golden ears of wheat his backdrop, and smoothly swept back his jet-black hair with a graceful alabaster hand. He turned to look at me with his glittering, intelligent eyes and spoke.''"


    "Wah! Wait, wait, what the heck is that?! It''s not a new diary G¨¹nter wants me to keep?!"


    "''My loyal Lord von Kleist, my true friend, I was able to return because of you.''"


    "I never said that!"


    Why do I have to be tortured like this by somebody else''s diary? Though I''d be writhing if anyone read my diary out loud, too.


    "Yuuri, how are your preparations coming along?...looks like you''re pretty well recovered, Wolf. How did you get ahold of G¨¹nter''s ''His Majesty Love-Love Diary?''"


    Conrad peers in from the living room, smiling wryly as he fastens his tie.


    "Uuurgh...more like a Sob-Sob Diary."


    "Someone must have mistaken it for a new book and wrapped it up. Here, please hurry and change if you don''t want to keep listening to it."


    "His Majesty considers the kingdom and its people above all. Oh, how fervently I, G¨¹nter von Kleist, wish to remain by the side of such a splendid, beautiful king as Lord Yuuri."


    "''Take me away, get me out of heeeeeere!''"


    What expression would be on the face of the uber-beautiful intelligentsia if he knew we were reading this?


    The tutor looks dreadful.


    Straggling strands of hair cling to his pale cheeks below bloodshot eyes, and there are several deep wrinkles between his eyebrows. Any woman within a five-meter radius would certainly have been brought to weeping by his beautiful anguish.


    "G¨¹nter, do you not have a mountain of duties to attend to?"


    "Not that many."


    The distinct scent of burning calcium fills Voltaire Castle. Someone has already collapsed moaning within the corridor: it''s that pungent.


    "Please take a look at the cracks in the joints of this humerus," G¨¹nter declares, holding a burnt bone high. There is an obsessed glint in his eyes. "There are two places where these short oblique lines cross these three vertical ones. They signify obstacles. Which means that right now, right this moment, danger is approaching His Majesty. And he is out of our reach!"


    Gwendal''s long bony fingers twitch unconsciously. It''s his only expression of irritation; in all other respects he is his usual ill-humored aristocratic self.


    "That''s as it may be. Where did that bone come?"


    "A cow."


    "Hum. If his fortune can be told from a cow''s bone, then that youngster must not amount to much."


    "Not amount to much? Are you not worried?! He is the Mazoku''s star of hope! Do you not think there is a limit even to a pretense of apathy?!"


    "I will not tolerate such stench in my castle for stars, moon, or cow. If you''re going to burn bones, do it outside. If you want to grill cow, do it with the meat. Do you have any idea how many complaints I''ve received?"


    Putting out the fire resentfully, the worrywart steward hisses, "...Must''ve gotten one from Anissina, anyway."


    Three seconds later, Lord von Voltaire retorts¡ªthough only in his mind.


    Bones.


    Hello, nice to meet you, I was recruited as an extra for the Rokumeikan. It''s not the ladies in their dazzling, varicolored dresses or the live orchestra on stage that freeze me for a second as I''m making my awkward way in unfamiliar full formal dress to the ball.


    There are a countless number of bones scattered on the floor. I suddenly realize that everyone except us was dropping bird and fish bones on the floor at meals, too. As I stand there watching, the woman at the buffet table right in front of us takes a bite of fried chicken and casually tosses away the bone as crudely as any man.


    "Is this the etiquette...?"


    "I can think of no other explanation."


    The dance hall can easily fit two tennis courts. To reach its center, we have no choice but to cross over all the corpses of the little animals that have disappeared into people''s stomachs. They crackle piteously underfoot. What a disturbing dance.


    Though I have been liberated from the usual mob of beauties, I feel oddly ambivalent. I should be able to relax more in a place filled with Humans, but instead I''m unsettled and on edge.


    Everyone shifts to create a path, curtseying and bowing in greeting. Some men shake my hand. I feel like I''ve been made police chief for a day¡ªgeez, just let me do whatever I want already. By the time I make it to the front of the hall, I quite understand the hardships of being a celebrity. Next time I catch sight of a pro baseball player in the city, I''ll just watch them from afar.


    Up close, the piano sounds like a xylophone. The violins'' strings are too tight, and they''re super high-pitched.


    "Now that you have come this far, prepare yourself: you''ll have to dance."


    "Me?! I can''t dance! I was in the baseball club until the middle of my third year in junior high! I was a catcher, not a cheerleader!"


    "Ah, but the ladies are looking at you rather invitingly."


    Woah, it''s true. They are looking at me. A few of them are even drooling like beasts.


    "A-and these are the dances where the man and woman grapple?¡ªI mean, I''ve only been to athletic meets in elementary school."


    "...''Grapple'' is something of an exaggeration. You danced at your graduation party from junior high, didn''t you?"


    Don''t confuse US and Japanese cultures. At my junior high graduation party I threw pizza at my baseball club advisor. That''s the only fun memory I have of it.


    "What sort of step did you do in elementary school? Waltz? Tango?"


    "Oklahoma Mixer and the Chichibu Marching Song."


    Two extremes. I''m the one who said not to confuse US and Japanese cultures, but talk about a total Japanese-American mix. About the only thing they have in common is that they''re both characteristic of their local cultures. Conrad only tilts his head a little and sets down his drink, looking slightly worried.


    "Then let''s do the Oklahoma Mixer."


    "Do, huh?! No no no, I don''t wanna dance with a man!"


    "Let me give you a bit of practice so you don''t embarrass yourself by fumbling when you have to lead a lady in the dance. It''s all right, there are many instances where men are paired; just think of it as a tennis doubles pair."


    What unpardonable words. I''m the ten-thousand-years-warming-the-bench reserve, so I''m pretty sensitive to leading. There''s no way I wouldn''t be able to lead if the girl were a pitcher.


    "But I am not taking the girl''s part."


    "It''s all right, I''ve always wanted to try the other part. Here, Young Master...right, it''s reversed, so...now put your hand around my waist.


    Eeeeeek.


    I''m already half-crying, my eyebrows tilted up to my hair; Conrad takes a step, murmuring: left left, right right, left right...is this an eyesight test or something? Right right left left turn turn stop right, catch release bend backwards crackle.


    A tiny bone breaks beneath my shoes. This is the dance from hell.


    "I-I guess dancing isn''t about which part you play, but about who''s taller, huh?"


    "So it would seem. Are you not glad you''re not doing this with Gwendal?"


    "I don''t...even want to think about that!"


    Mr. Hiscruyff is at the center of the hall, decorously wearing his wig. He is turning in what looks like a professional wrestling match with a slender, delicate woman that must be his wife. They''re glowing with sweat under the lights and look just like ''The King and I.'' Once upon a time in Japan, Matsudaira Ken and his wife...


    "Oops."


    The music suddenly shifts to a slow tempo, and everyone around us starts getting glued together.


    "In a cheek-to-cheek dance, you can just sway."


    "Haaah, sway, right. Oh, sorry."


    My shoulder just bumped into the neighboring couple. It''s the ship''s captain and navigator.


    Ack! What a coarse pair. For them it''s more like beard-to-beard than cheek-to-cheek.


    Someone keeps poking my head. I turn to see a large woman with magnificent orange hair smiling at me. She''s so buff you can see her muscles even through her clothes. She''s wearing silk gloves that go up past her elbows. Her curves, exposed from her shoulders to her back, would be the envy of any outfielder.


    "Woah...you have pretty nice biceps there."


    "Thank you. May I have this dance?"


    Her voice is jazzy and husky. But it''s a long way from sexy. I''m sure the request took courage, but I really don''t think I can handle this sportsman¡ªer, sportslady.


    "Thank you for asking, but, er..."


    "Wait a darn minute here!"


    Excuse me?


    Ladies in elaborate dresses that must have been made with whole store-fulls of lace push through the crowd of people toward us.


    "I saw him first. If he''s going to dance with anyone, it should be with me."


    Another lady in a light-green native costume answers, "His eyes met mine first, which means I should be his partner."


    "Wait a minute, I had my eyes on him right at the start, so if he''s going to ask anyone to dance, I should be the first."


    That was the bone-tossing wildwoman. Now everyone else seems to have gathered up their courage, and there are more cries of "wait a minute!" Yikes, what a scene.


    "I''m the one who made up her mind first. So one song, if you please."


    "Well, in that case, I conceived of the idea first."


    "Not true! Mamilen sensed him with ESP!"


    "Yeah, but he really suits me."


    "He''s the one I''ve dreamed of. We''re fated to be together."


    "I would not mind me being last, if thou wouldst consent to a dance with this old warrior."


    Woah, we''re getting all types in here.


    "My my, impressive. But I would have expected no less from my Young Master Mitsuemon. How envious I am."


    "What are you talking about, Con-eeer-Kaku-san! You''re not going to just leave me to drown in here, are you?"


    "Oh? But it''s such a pleasure to see my master so sought-after."


    His smile is bright and cheerful as can be, even though I know he''s totally amusing himself.


    A second before Conrad finally says ''well, can''t be helped,'' a baritone voice that could be used as a weapon in the hands of the ambitious is directed at me from behind the women.


    "It appears you are having a difficult time making your decision."


    "Mr. Shiny!¡ªer, I mean, Mr. Hiscruyff!"


    "I see that there are many who yearn for the company of someone as fascinating as yourself."


    Yeah right, if a baseball kid like me is fascinating, they''d all faint if they went to Koushien.


    "But my lord Mitsuemon is still young. You must not be used to being so flattered. If I may make a suggestion?"


    He spreads his arms expansively, eyes indicating his wife seated in a chair against the wall with a glass tilted to her lips.


    "Will you not dance with her?"


    With the little lady sitting next to his wife, staying up late tonight and looking rather bored.


    She''s wearing a sakura-colored dress, her unfastened hair twined with ribbon. Her legs swing back and forth.


    "This is Beatrice''s first evening party. She''s already six; there''s a saying in my country that if you dance at your first party in the spring when your age is a multiple of six, your life will be a passionate one. I present myself as one sterling example of such."


    Hiscruyff laughs boomingly, sticking his chest out further than Yul Brynner.


    "It must be because of such passionate love that your betrothed would chase you all the way onto this ship as a stowaway. I wish such a life for my daughter, so I hope you will consent to be her first partner."


    Shouldn''t the normal father be trying to keep men as far away from his daughter as possible? Foreigners nothing. These people from another world are impossible to understand.


    "Now then, Young Master, go up to the lady and say ''May I have this dance?'' or ''May I have your hand for this dance''¡ªsomething properly smooth and dandy-like."


    "A-all right."


    As I turn towards the little girl''s chair, the ladies disperse with ill humor. One of them tsks and snaps loudly enough to hear, ''So he prefers little girls?'' Absolutely not. I kneel in front of Beatrice and say in my manliest voice:


    "Miss, please ready your hands."


    Dammit! That''s the hand-clapping patter...


    She bounces off the chair and heads for the center of the floor. Very proactive¡ªshe must take after her father. The song is a slow-tempo waltz, easy to dance to. But because I''m so far bent over, I end up with a horribly jerky step.


    "Is your hair dyed?"


    Her large eyes are the color of the marble in a ramune bottle (oooh, I miss them!), and hold not a trace of malice. With eyes so clear looking up at me, I can''t even think about lying.


    "Yes it is, how did you know?"


    "Because it doesn''t suit you."


    Children are so cruel.


    "Tell me about your father. Beatrice, what kind of a person is he?"


    "Someone who would throw away everything for love."


    "...I see, so he''s a pretty cool guy."


    He must tell her that every day. Looks like this father-daughter pair aren''t much for cross-examination. Beatrice turns bashful. The sparkle in her marble eyes turns them the color of star sapphires.


    "You''re kinda cool, too."


    "Me?"


    She lets go of me as the triple-time comes to an end and runs to cling tightly to her father''s waist. Mr. Shiny lifts his daughter up high, heaping so much praise on her that it would set any Japanese person''s teeth on edge.


    "That was fantastic, Beatrice! That''s my little princess! It was very elegantly danced."


    "Like a queen?"


    "Of course, you are always a queen. You and your mother are my pride and joy."


    I''m embarrassed just listening to them; sweat runs down my face and neck. I unthinkingly wipe at it with a fist. Oops.


    "...Ah..."


    The contact in my right eye moves.


    Not good.


    If I''m exposed as a Mazoku here, they''ll beat me up and chuck me overboard. A melody like something you''d hear at the New Year starts. It''s the famous ''Spring Ocean.''


    "Conra...argh, geez, where the heck is he?"


    Lord Weller is chatting with someone at a table near the piano.


    Of all people, it''s the woman who made a move on me earlier: Miss Biceps of the ideal outfielder body. His taste is rather...er, make that really radical. But there are varied and far-ranging preferences in the opposite sex. Or maybe in Shinma Kingdom, such women are much admired? I mean, this is the country where I''m supposedly beautiful. I wouldn''t be surprised if they criticized people with nice bodies like Ichirou and Shinjou as being too exotic. As for me, well, Lady C?li is more my type.


    They look pretty intimate with his arm around her shoulders.


    "I need your assistance, Con...Kaku-san!" I yell silently towards them, before slipping alone out of the hall.


    Wanting a teammate to be successful in love is an expression of friendship.


    In the twenty-four hour time system I''m familiar with, it would be ten o''clock at night. The deck is covered in darkness. The tension drains slightly out of my entire body as I walk along it. Gentle waves strike and brush against the bottom of the ship. It''s odd, but peace slips into my mind as I look out at the pure black sea.


    Now that I think back on it, there was not a trace of anything black other than the tightly-curled shadows at our feet in that brilliant, dazzling hall.


    A flame wavers in the distance. Must be the guard ship that''s been tailing us all the way from Schildkraut.


    The pain in my right eye grows sharper. I trot around the corner to get back to the room as fast as I can so I can get it out.


    "Oh, I''m sorry!"


    I crash hard into someone as I enter the dimly-lit corridor. That shock delivers the fatal blow.


    "Ack! The scale¡ªthe scale¡ª!"


    Has fallen out of my eye.


    "I''m so sorry, my lord, have I hurt you?"


    "Don''t move!"


    He freezes in a conditioned response.


    "This is the first time in my life I''ve dropped my contacts. And right now is the first time in my life I''ve had to search for my contacts. Could you shine your lamp on the floor? If it''s not at your feet, kneel slowly and feel for it with your hands."


    "Ye-yes sir. But what kind of a thing is a contact...?"


    I calmly cover my right eye and brush the floor with my left hand.


    "Um...is your face injured?"


    "No¡ªhey, isn''t it Freckles?"


    Turns out the one who delivered the blow is the sailor apprentice with the freckled face designated for the peanut commercial spot. He clutches his head in heartfelt apology and starts searching with me.


    "You saw me this morning in such a strange state, and now...I''m really really sorry. I was on patrol, but I didn''t think anyone was around."


    "Mmn, well, it''s fine, contacts falling and people looking for them seems to happen in shoujo manga a lot."


    With a lot of falling in love with the one resigned to being late to help search for them. I''m really glad that today isn''t the school opening ceremony, ''cause I really don''t want a foreign love in a place like this.


    "Must be tough being an apprentice, when you have to patrol on your own so late at night. And it''s not really worth it to put in much effort when your boss is such an ass, huh?"


    "But I fell from the ladder because I was daydreaming. Oh, and he was the one who taught me how to get on and off. That''s why he was angry. I don''t blame him at all. There''s a lot to remember, and I''m too dumb."


    When I look up, the boy is smiling. Rather surprised, I sit back on my knees, resting my left hand.


    "Don''t blame him? When he hit you like that?"


    "It happens to everyone when you''re an apprentice. It''s the same for all the sailors. This is my first voyage, and I''m really happy that it could be on such a fantastic ship as this one."


    "...You''re...happy?"


    "Oh, yes!"


    Just half a day ago I was thinking that he was unlucky. I decided that he was to be pitied. I suddenly feel ashamed of myself, and look down to hide my expression.


    "I dream of steering a boat as big as this one someday...oh, my lord, there''s something glittering on your chest!"


    It''s true, there''s a small brown glass chip clinging to the side of a button. Which means I''ve descended to the level of one of those people who goes around saying ''my glasses, my glasses'' when they have their glasses perched on top of their heads?!


    Embarrassment times two.


    I cough evasively and stand with a short ''thanks.''


    "See you later, Apprentice."


    "I''m Rick, my lord."


    "See you later, Rick. Great job with the patrolling. Keep up the good work!"


    I rush away without waiting for a reply and fly into our room.


    Why am I such a simpleton? Why can''t I just shut up and observe? Deliberate on the issue, for once? It''s like deciding the other team''s secret ace is a third-rate player after a single at-bat. It doesn''t make for a good catcher or a great king. When it comes to baseball...well, I''m at something of a roadblock right now, but my path to kingship''s just started.


    I guess my career as Maou is still interim...well, provisional interim.


    Sounds like a pasta lunch special.


    "Wolfram! My contact just fell out, it totally caught me off guard!"


    "Were you dancing?"


    The ex-prince comes out of the bedroom in a fluffy white bathrobe and a towel wrapped turban-like around his head.


    "...Why''re you dressed like a lady who''s just stepped out of the bath?"


    "I asked if you danced," he demands sharply with a glower, looming over me with arms crossed. Oooh, we''re in the middle of a selfishness advisory alert.


    "Well, of course I danced, since that was the point of the thing. It''s not like I went to a cooking class or a film preview or something. What about it? Why''re you snapping at me like that?"


    "You skank!"


    "Wha?!"


    What does it mean to call a guy a skank?! I do a search in my brainular encyclopedia for a corresponding entry. No matter how slowly it turns, it''s not so different from going through the pages of a real encyclopedia. Skag, skald...skank.


    "Oh, rhythmic dancing?!"


    I''m a bit concerned about that preceding ''skald''...scald?


    "So that was praise? Well, hey, I''m not only light on my feet, I can do a wicked throw to second base, too."


    "I''m calling you a traitor!"


    "That again? What the heck? Where and when, and who''s supposed to have betrayed whom? When exactly did this happen, anyway? I haven''t betrayed anyone, and I don''t think I ever will betray anyone, either! Betraying someone means that you break trust with them, so I think I''d know if I betray anyone! But you''re still going to claim that you''ve been betrayed by me?!"


    Have I got all the conjugations of the word yet?


    "Look here! So you''ve got good looks, I''ll give you that, even though you''re a total wimp on the inside. I''m sure there are lots of people who''ve got their eyes on you. But don''t tell me you''re planning to take all of them up on it. If you have no virtue, you''re totally unfit to be a noble, no matter how cute you are!"


    "Woah, wait a minute! You''re supposed to be the cute one! And what is this thing about virtue..."


    The impact occurs right in the middle of this important question.

 Volume 2 - CH 4

    It''s been about six years since he last stepped inside his own kitchen.


    Gwendal''s feet stop at the door. He really doesn''t want to have anything further to do with this.


    "G¨¹nter! What are you doing in my kitchen?!"


    ...''And here he comes'' is the thought conveyed quite clearly by Lord von Kleist''s eyes. He is standing in front of a cauldron filled with boiling oil with a headband around his forehead.


    "Fortune-telling again?"


    "Yes. If I can sense the dangers His Majesty faces, if I can be of any help to him at all..."


    "This is useless."


    There wouldn''t be any way of helping them even if he could foresee the dangers, since no sorcery would be able to reach them in the middle of the ocean. But faced with the fresh blue-black bruises under G¨¹nter''s eyes, Gwendal loses the energy to confront him with those facts. His gaze falls to the oil.


    "...What are you planning to do?"


    "Drop a baby mouse into this boiling cauldron of oil."


    The intelligent, beautiful and dignified tutor raises a hapless little white mouse by the tip of its tail. His ferocious smile exposes the true Mazoku within: a demonic beauty that captivates and beguiles all.


    All of which is inconsequential to Gwendal.


    His voice is a low sardonic rumble that would surely prostrate all who heard it. "Well, well. I suppose a rodent will suffice for a king such as that."


    The corners of his lips curve derisively.


    "Of course! What a foolish mistake! How could a mouse predict the journey of our noble exalted king? Oh Gwendal, what should I do? Well, for now¡ª" G¨¹nter raises his other arm swiftly. "¡ªa kitten should do."


    The spotted cat shivers, dangling from a grip illustrated in pet books as an example of ''how not to hold your cat.''


    The cool-headed, handsome cynic (ladies, discuss) unexpectedly snaps.


    "Stop! Stop right now!! How dare you mistreat a kitten like this? Look, it''s so frightened that it''s mewing ''meh meh!'' You poor thing, it''s all right, I would never let him do something so horrible to you¡ª"


    "...Gwen...you..."


    "G¨¹nter...you bastard..." The tutor pales at the voice that seems to rumble up from the ground. "If you ever mistreat a kitten like that again, I will have your head."


    And do what with it?


    This is no time for verb conjugations¡ªwhere is the life vest?!


    I peer under the bed. Apparently there was just the one impact.


    "See, look, we''re going to end up like the Titanic! We must''ve struck an iceberg!"


    "But we''re traveling on warm current."


    "We must''ve hit an iceberg in the warm current, then."


    There are screams and the footsteps of a great many people from the hall and diner. Sounds like they''re already panicking. I wonder if that orchestra will play a last hymn as we''re sinking?


    "Stop standing about, Wolfram! Get your trousers and coat and run! Dammit, I can''t believe Conrad''s not here at a time like this..."


    "Yuuri!"


    The door slams open with enough force to tear it from the jamb, and Conrad rushes into the room. The frozen look on his face doesn''t seem Conrad-like at all. His sleeve is stained with spilled wine.


    "Thank goodness you got back here safely. Though Josa did say you were fine."


    "Josa? Is Josa the woman who looks like she could win a golden glove as a center? Look, Conrad, sorry, but I don''t really have time to ask if everything went well with Miss Biceps right now. Is this ship sinking? Is it half-sunk already?!"


    His expression says he has no idea what I''m talking about. Guess it''s not an iceberg. Are we stranded, then? Or is it an evil illusionary giant squid that has already devoured ten fishermen?


    "I don''t think we''re sinking¡ªit''s worse. Wolfram!"


    "What?"


    "Do you have your sword?"


    "Yes!"


    His cheeks, pale with seasickness and displeasure, visibly gain color as he flushes with excitement. He must be looking forward to the chance for some fighting. Does he enjoy the prospect of crossing swords that much?


    "Good. Then the two of you, hide here."


    "What are you doing?!"


    Conrad pushes us into the closet. The cane that he''s carried all this way is in his hand. He draws it in a single smooth motion, and steel flashes. I didn''t know it was a sword cane. He shifts the blade behind him and goes to one knee, leaning in close to say in a low voice, "Please listen quietly. This ship is under attack by sea robbers."


    "Pirates?!"


    "Yes. A great many of them have already broken in."


    "Then you should hurry up and hide too, Conrad!"


    "What are you talking about?" I gulp at Lord Weller''s smile. "This is why I''m here."


    The exchange takes only a second, and his hand is on the door.


    "I''ll hold them from the deck for as long as I can. We want to give them the impression that everyone has fled from this room, so please keep as quiet as you can. Don''t anger them. If anything should happen to you, G¨¹nter and our people will weep."


    "What about you?"


    "Me?"


    "You''d weep for me too, right?"


    His eyes soften, just a little.


    "In that case, let us meet again in another place."


    I don''t have a chance to ask him what he means. Wolfram moves to leave, his slender sword in his hand.


    "I''ll fight too! Do you have no faith in my skill?!"


    "I do. That is why, Wolfram, I have entrusted His Majesty to you."


    The stubborn pretty boy finds himself at a loss for words. He can''t refute that trust. I remove my formal evening jacket and toss it aside, then roll up my sleeves and put my arms around the third son''s shoulders.


    "Well then, leave your brother to me!"


    "Please look after him...Yuuri."


    In the moment Wolfram looks away, he wraps an arm around my neck and draws me close to whisper briefly, "Please forgive me, if I do not return."


    "Wha..."


    He closes the double doors and walks away. His brisk footsteps are quickly swallowed into the pandemonium of the distant deck.


    He has gone to battle, those disquieting words laden with meaning left behind.


    All is chaos for a little while afterwards. There are the metallic clangs of sword clashing against sword, the sounds of vases and plates shattering, of rushing footsteps and screams and cries that make me want to cover my ears.


    Wolfram and I breathe quietly, listening intently for any hint of what is happening outside.


    Quiet falls by degrees, and before long the screams and bellows subside.


    I recall a Western film I saw on TV half a year ago, right before I took my exams. When the children who were in hiding venture outside, no one remains: neither the enemy nor their father, after so much tumult and violence.


    Even though Wolfram could not have guessed at my feelings, his hand falls on mine. We huddle together in the cramped space of the too-small-to-be-called-a-walk-in closet, shivering.


    No, I''m the only one who''s shivering.


    Wolfram is a soldier, after all. Even if he''s not used to playing such a dangerous game of hide-and-seek, it can''t be his first time.


    "...Are you okay, Yuuri?"


    "O-of course I am!"


    I grip the hand touching mine, closing my eyes, and hang my head.


    "Sorry."


    "Don''t worry about it."


    He''s not laughing at me, is he?


    It''s just...it''s not just that I''m frightened, not even that I''m scared stiff¡ªit''s this silence, this tension, that is unbearably painful...


    My roommate seems to read my mind. He whispers, "Like Conrart said, don''t do anything rash if we''re found. They''re not going to kill you if you don''t resist, ''cause you''ve got such good looks."


    "Then you''d better not do anything either. You''re several times cuter than me. No one would kill someone as pretty as you."


    "No way. I am a warrior of the Mazoku; if I don''t fight, I can''t be allowed to live."


    "That''s stupid."


    "Shush!"


    There''s the click of the doorknob turning, followed by the slam of the door being forced open. Someone steps into the room.


    "All the valuables ''ave already been taken, eh? ''Ave they escaped?"


    "No chance. We''ve already confirmed that none of the deluxe suite passengers were on deck. He knows all of the passengers on this ship. It''s another matter if they''ve gone overboard, but none of the rich men on this pleasure cruise have that kind of courage."


    There are two of them.


    One speaks in a tank-like rumble that sounds like he has a caterpillar wandering around the back of his throat, and the other has a fighter jet voice so shrill that it hurts the ears.


    "These are supposed t''be rich men? Looks like they don''t got much on ''em." Tank.


    "Still, the cost of staying in this here deluxe suite for a night could get you a year''s passage in the third-class cabin." Fighter Jet.


    "Daaamn, I wanna be in their shoes." Tank.


    "Don''t be an idiot. Look in the bedroom too." Fighter Jet...I''m starting to feel like I''m playing army chess here.


    The creak of the floorboards in front of the bed indicates that they''re right next to us.


    "Oh yeah, what happened to those brave fellas?"


    He''s talking about Conrad!


    The tips of my toes hit the door when I unconsciously lean forward.


    "Hey! Is something in there?!"


    Oh no!


    We''re seconds away from the fate of ninjas in a historical drama here: the ones who get stabbed by a spear while they''re hiding above the ceiling or beneath the floor eavesdropping on a secret conversation. "Echigoya, didst thou hear that sound?"


    "''Twas but a mouse, Lord Governor." Oh yeah, there''s an idea.


    I ask for Wolfram''s opinion in a barely-audible whisper. "Maybe we can pretend we''re little animals."


    "Maybe. How about a negroshinoyamakishy?"


    Neg...what the heck?! That CD of animal sounds I was always listening to when I was a kid didn''t have anything as hard as that. I mean, Earth doesn''t have anything like that.


    This is no time to be wondering what kind of an animal it is. We''re too big to be mice, and it''d be weird if we were keeping a cow in the closet. There''s just one thing left in my repertoire, so let''s try cat.


    "Me-meow."


    Tank and Fighter Jet instantly react.


    "It''s a zomosagori dragon!"


    "Don''t zomosagori dragons eat people even when they''re tiny?! We can''t take it on alone, get the others!"


    Dragon?! Dragon, as in a relative of the dinosaur?!


    Wolfram covers his face with his palms in defeat.


    "This is bad, they''re getting the wrong impression! When did I make a dragon sound?! I was going for a cute cat..."


    "Cats are supposed to go ''meh meh''!"


    "That''s sheep!"


    The situation takes a turn for the worse when about eight people surround us.


    "We''re opening it, you all ready?!"


    No, we''re not all ready.


    Silver glitters next to me.


    "Wolfram, don''t¡ª"


    The doors are opened to their fullest. While my eyes are dazzled by the light rushing in, Wolfram cuts off one person''s arm and grazes another''s stomach. But the remaining six advance on him from behind, swinging huge cutlasses.


    "Wolfram! Don''t, there''re too many of them!"


    "Shut up!"


    "I''m begging you, Wolf! Stop it...that''s an order!"


    He freezes and without looking at me allows the sword to drop.


    The empty metallic clank of the sword echoes in the room.


    Torches burn everywhere, as if we were holding the fire festival a little early. It''s as bright as noon, so bright that it illuminates the pirates'' ship parked alongside ours.


    The deck, where most of the passengers and crew have been gathered, smells like that show where they hack up tuna. From the looks of it, there''s been bloodshed on both sides.


    The pirate chief appears to be in great humor up on his platform of stacked wooden boxes.


    "Y''all are lookin'' mighty fine tonight," he addresses the passengers through a megaphone, holding it with his pinky sticking out. It''s a mike performance.


    Our eight-men entourage herds us into a group of POWs. Wolfram is still dressed like a madam who''s just stepped out of her bath, and I''ve left my jacket behind. Though it''s spring, the ocean wind is cold.


    I spot Conrad and Hiscruyff in the group of sailors and male passengers¡ªwhich includes Miss Biceps, for some reason. She must have fought as courageously as any man. All three are standing on their own feet, and don''t seem to have sustained any major injuries.


    Sorry Conrad, you tried so hard to hide us, I apologize silently to him. It wasn''t your brother''s fault, it was mine one hundred percent. Oh, but I have some good news, too. My imitation repertoire''s increased by one. Zomosagori dragon. It''d surprise even Edoya Nekohachi.


    I struggle in the grip of the pirate holding me, trying to get to them, but he seizes both of my arms along with the inside of my collar and drags me up to the chief.


    "The deluxe suite passengers, eh?"


    "That''s right, Chief."


    I look up the wooden box, and my mouth drops open. I have a hard time closing it. Part of it is curiosity¡ªthis is my first pirate after all, but mostly it''s because he''s so mind-bendingly different from the way I imagined pirates since I was a little kid. They''re not wearing shirts with vertical stripes. They''re also nothing like the pirates from Peter Pan or the Caribbean. Doesn''t look like they can stretch their arms and feet like rubber, either.


    He''s rather short, but has broad shoulders and a thickly-muscled chest. His silver-blond beard, almost white, starts all the way from his sideburns. His ruddy face has an old scar across one cheek¡ªin short, he''s a magnificent example of a man of the sea.


    But he''s wearing...yes, that is what it is from any angle¡ªa sailor uniform.


    Why a sailor uniform?! Well, I guess pirates are sailors too, but why a gathered skirt?! A white-and-light-blue sailor uniform of the kind that schoolgirls wear in Japan?!


    The shock drains all the strength from my knees, and I plop to the ground on my behind. In his left hand, the one not holding the megaphone, glints a wide steel blade.


    Sailor uniform and...cutlass.


    "My sympathies, young sir, but don''t be afraid. We are pirates with a pedigree, we are, and we don''t go ''round killin'' our guests."


    That drawl¡ªa Southern accent?


    "''Course, we make an exception for them as put up a fight. They can scream and drop dead, for all we care. All the heroes on board quieted right down in front of the ladies, har har."


    So in short, they''re holding the women and children hostage?


    "I hear you''re on your honeymoon, an'' want to be sold together."


    Unwinding his turban, Wolfram asks me, "Honeymoon?"


    "Don''t know anything about it," I reply from my position on the floor, not yet recovered from the shock of the sailor uniforms.


    Still with his pinky sticking out, the chief brings the megaphone to his mouth.


    "Now, will the ladies please move next to me! You''ll be workin'' on my ship till you meet your new lords and masters in your high-falutin'' new homes!"


    New what? Is that pirate-speak for husband? Does he have a side business running a marriage-consulting office or something? But this is the age of equal-opportunity employment, and men and women both have the right to be employed. The women are driven across the ramp, weeping in anguish.


    "Yar. Passenger from the deluxe suite, you look like there''s somethin'' crawlin'' up your throat."


    "...You said you were pirates with a pedigree...!"


    From ten meters away Conrad makes a downward gesture with both hands as if he knows how close I am to an eruption. Softly, softly?


    Oh, hold it down, hold it down?


    I choke the words back down.


    "...So, pirates, huh?...I guess you must have buffet breakfasts...?"


    "We don''t eat breakfast."


    Damn it.


    Conrad''s right, I have to hold myself back here. Being the only complainer won''t get me anywhere. If I make a wrong move, I''ll be chucked overboard, and they''ll have to bear the consequences. And I have to think about the other passengers, too.


    I can''t indulge in my petty sense of justice when it could lead to people getting hurt in a big way. I can''t...I can''t, but...


    The chief puts a hand on a keg and says as his skirt hem flutters in the wind, "Now, next! Which of the children''ll sell for a good price? Bring ''em forward!"


    "You''re going to sell them?!"


    A young girl wails like a broken alarm as she''s dragged away from her mother.


    "Granmama¡ª!"


    I reflexively look around for a grandmother. None around.


    "Damgranmamaaaa!"


    Was she swearing at her mother?! Young lady, that''s a bit crass.


    Wolfram snorts with disdain. "Humph, Human baby talk is so offensive."


    "Baby talk?"


    "She''s calling for her ''beloved mother.''"


    Hahah, so that means something like ''dear mammy?''


    The other children are bawling too, in a continuous chorus of screams.


    The Humans'' wails rise up into the moonless, murky sky with the light of their torches.


    I''ve seen a scene like this before¡ªyes, in that late-night movie before the exam. I sat there tucked into the heated table with my reference books spread out in front of me, crying at the TV.


    I cried and cried at the irrationality of people killing people and couldn''t stop until it woke up my dad.


    Wiping my eyes and dripping nose with a wet ball of pocket tissue, he asked me, so smoothly that he deserves an Academy Award himself: "What would you do?"


    His tone was as light as if he were asking ''Who do you like better, Mac or Sosa?''


    What would you do? Can you do what is needed?


    I can.


    "...Wait, you...!"


    The expression on Conrad''s face says: I knew it would turn out like this.


    The pressure of the magma just barely bottled beneath the crater has increased in proportion to the force holding it down. Can I finally release the eruption that I spent so much effort suppressing a few minutes ago?!


    The Turkey Marsch has already passed its midpoint, and the piano barrage is right at hand.


    "Listen, dammit¡ª!!"


    The chief casts a brief sidelong look down at me, but immediately shifts his attention back to his underlings. I''m just a prisoner of war, after all, and he has no intention of taking me seriously.


    "Wait a minute, why are you taking the women and children over to that ship?! What the hell are you planning to do? You claim to be pirates with a pedigree, but you''re just simple robbers! You''re going to take all the money and goods and run away, aren''t you?! Selling women and children makes you no better than beasts!"


    "We''re not robbers, we''re pirates."


    "That''s not the point!"


    My jaw quivers from the blood rushing up into my cheeks and ears. The shaking spreads the length of my arms into the tips of my fingers and beats a Morse Code down the sides of my thighs. The blood heats my eyes, and the backs of my eyeballs hurt from the pressure.


    I''ll probably get myself killed, cut down by that wide cutlass. Or maybe it won''t be a clean strike and I''ll be left to writhe in agony from my wounds.


    Still.


    "Listen to me! International laws forbid slave trading¡ªthat''s something even kids in elementary school know! Even if you''ve never heard about it before, it''s common sense¡ªyou should come to the same conclusion if you just think about it a little! Yeah, sure, I know you''re the chief, and you might be more distinguished than the rest of these guys, but that''s just your job status. What we''re talking about is human existence! All people are equal, which means you''re the same as them! So even if you occupy this ship, you have no right to sell off these women! ''Heaven makes no man better than another''¡ªthat''s a good saying, you should remember it! Fukuzawa Yukichi is a great man! So great that his portrait is on the 10,000-yen note in Japan!"


    The chief waves his megaphone and calls up four of his underlings.


    "Hey Chief, I don''t know much about the area, but I''m guessing all the pirates around here do stuff like this, huh? Do you really think that it''s all right for you to do it just because everybody else does it too? Well, you''re wrong! Come on, be a manly pirate who steals money and goods without harming anyone¡ªthat''s how you make yourself a righteous man of the sea. You''ll become the first chivalrous thief of the sea, praised by friend and foe alike!"


    "Bring ''im, he''ll sell for a good price. Even if it''s just the one eye, it''s almost black."


    "You''re one of those men who just doesn''t listen, aren''t you! Geez!"


    His wife must not read maps.


    Meanwhile, more than half of the women and children have already been transferred to the other boat, and towards the tip of the wide deck is a familiar head of beige-colored hair. The princess with the ramune-marble eyes who danced with me is at the very end of the children''s line.


    She nimbly and forcefully flings off the hand on her shoulder as if avoiding the touch of something dirty.


    Blood mounts on the pirate''s face, and he thrusts away the small body.


    "Beatrice!" Hiscruyff yells.


    She''s still wearing the airy sakura-colored dress she had on while dancing the waltz with me. The ornaments twined into her hair sparkle as she loses her balance and tumbles backwards, right over the low wooden railing.


    "Watch ou...!"


    There''s nothing beneath but ocean. The ocean opening its black mouth in anticipation.


    Several people dash toward her, but I''m the first to arrive. I grasp her arm. Her weight drags me down, and I lean back hard against it. Conrad and Wolfram come rushing over. And probably Hiscruyff, too.


    "Hold on...Beatrice...take my hand!"


    Beatrice, still dangling by one arm, looks up at me with those eyes that don''t quite transform into star sapphires. The eyes of a girl who has a tiny bit of admiration for me.


    "It''s all right."


    "...What''s...all right?"


    They grab my shirt and belt and hips.


    "If I can''t see my father and mother anymore, then it''s all right if I fall."


    "...Don''t..."


    Don''t say things like that.


    A girl who''s going to dance with lots of wonderful men and fall in passionate love and grasp happiness with both hands should not say something like that, not with such clear eyes.


    She should not be allowed to say something like that.


    Several strong arms pull us up, and Beatrice''s father holds her tight. I tumble awkwardly onto my behind and lie face-up on the planks staring at the clouds flowing across the night sky.


    A long thick needle stabs into my head, as if it''s become a lightning rod conducting a bolt of lightning down throughout my entire body in a charged rush, numbing me and heating me and flooding me with ecstasy.


    My heart pumps blood at twice the speed, and the exact location of its beating becomes pinpoint-clear.


    My hippocampus sounds a warning, but adrenalin bursts like champagne popping its stopper.


    In the depths of my semicircular canals, I catch a single verse of a beloved song.


    Summon...


    Summon...who?


    And I know nothing more.

 Volume 2 - CH 5

    An impossible impact jolts the deck and everyone upon it.


    Rumble rumble.


    A subterranean tremor? But they''re floating on gentle undulating waves, not on land.


    Yuuri, gaze fixed downward, ignores Conrad''s proffered hand and walks forward on unsteady feet as everyone looks around for the source.


    He lifts his eyes when he reaches the approximate center of the deck and stares sharply at the man right in front of him with the one black eye not obscured by contacts.


    "...Yuuri?" Wolfram calls, forgetting his alias, but Yuuri doesn''t seem to hear.


    Taken aback, he grabs Yuuri''s hand. With the exception of his index finger, it''s icy cold.


    "Conrart, he..."


    "Yes. But it is out of our hands now."


    Perhaps not even Yuuri can control it.


    "...You attack a helpless ship, destroying and plundering all. You insist on following the path of evil."


    Both his voice and tone have changed. It''s really too bad he has no topknot.


    "Rather than engaging in honorable combat, you take prisoners with cowardly tricks. You even dare turn your blades upon the weak and claim them as your possessions."


    Rumble rumble rumble.


    The noise accompanying the tremors seems to be approaching rather than getting louder.


    Taken aback by the transformation in their young prisoner, the pirates gather around their chief looking for direction. Yuuri''s burning index finger snaps to point right at the bearded old man in the sailor uniform.


    "You will pay for your impudence!"


    Those forceful words, coming from someone who is usually agog at everything, seem to belong to someone else altogether. In fact, they could even rival Gwendal''s manner for kingliness.


    He''s posed exactly like a model.


    "O fools who have no pride as seamen! I have no desire for the taking of lives, but you leave me no other choice: I will cut you down!"


    Wolfram scowls. This is a humiliating memory for him.


    "He got me with that, too."


    "It was pretty harsh, huh?"


    "But this is different from then. We are in the territory of the Humans, the Elements should be limited here."


    "That concerns me too, but..."


    Magical power is intrinsic to the soul. Only those born with it are able to form a covenant with the Elements of the natural world, to command and manipulate them in order to perform sorcery. But this is the territory of the god-worshipping humans, and the Particles that obey the Mazoku are extremely sparse.


    Though if he''s really planning to cut them down, using a sword would work just as well.


    "Judgment!"


    Rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble.


    The pirates near the entrance to the cabin scream, their voices shrill with fear.


    The source of the rumbling is now revealed.


    They advance onto the deck at top speed and begin crawling up the bodies of their chosen pirates.


    Crawl?! Screams fill the area.


    Rattling bits of animal bones, the scattered leftovers from the passengers'' meals and discarded remains from the kitchen, swarm the entire surface of the deck floor like insects or mice or hermit crabs. From tiny bird- and fish-bones to the ribs and enormous craniums of cows, every single bone has come seeking its revenge.


    "Woah...th-that is the first time I''ve seen sorcery in such bad taste..."


    "Gyaaah, they''re coming! Conrart, they''re heading in this direction! Do something! Do something!"


    Wolfram jumps about like a lobster on a hotplate at the grotesque scene. Bones break apart into sharp fragments beneath his frantic feet.


    "Don''t move, keep still. Think of it as letting a scorpion or poisonous spider pass."


    "Agh! They''re they''re they''re climbing!"


    "Keep your composure."


    Rather difficult for anyone who doesn''t have nerves of steel.


    The only reason the passengers and crew are quiet is because most of them have already fainted. The pirates are blubbering and howling in agony under the attack. They''re being scratched and chewed and stuck through, their mouths filled with other people''s half-eaten discards.


    The pirate chief has tumbled down from the box platform with chicken bones thrust up his nose and into his ears. He''s fallen to his knees in his terror and is trying to crawl away from Yuuri.


    "H-he''s the devil, the devil¡ª!"


    "Devil?! Do you yet fail to recognize my face?"


    In front of him is the word "justice," formed not from people standing in marching band formation, but from bones.


    He is not the devil, but the Demon King.


    The women watching from the deck of the pirate ship cheer in the light of the torches.


    "It''s a ship, it''s the Cimarron patrol ship!"


    Yuuri''s fiery, glittering right eye picks out the light over the waves.


    Scattered dry ruptures come from the bone army as his will leaves it. The bones stop moving.


    The Maou turns to the pirates with all appropriate dignity. "Repent of your actions, and be prepared to atone with the ultimate punishment!"


    He sways and starts to pitch forward.


    "...Which sentence I will pass at a later date."


    All present are certain that they will have nightmares that night.

 Volume 2 - CH 6

    The Poljushko Polje has been running nonstop through my head.


    Not the version from my kindergarten athletic meet, but the one the tough old Russian guys sing with vodka in one hand: the Gorky Park Chorus edition.


    Though there probably isn''t a chorus by that name.


    My body floats in pleasant warmth at the boundary between dream and consciousness. The stream of sunlight pouring down on my face turns the darkness beneath my eyelids pure white.


    I finally wake up when my face is shaded by night descending again. I pull my cheek away from Conrad''s chest.


    "...Russian folk song..."


    "What, are you pondering the problem of the Cold War?"


    "No no, that''s already over."


    The second son, who left the United States of America fifteen years ago, murmurs admiringly, "Oh, really?" The third son is standing in the doorway, still in his bathrobe.


    His beautiful eyebrows are knit in an exaggerated frown.


    "This is a nightmare."


    "Who''s having a nightmare? Me?"


    "No, I am."


    "Wolfram, what are you so mad about?...oh, have I done something again? Something amazing or awful?"


    "Done something? You mean you don''t remember?! Any of that?!"


    Wolfram slides from his reclining position against the door to the floor, head tilted back in defeat.


    "What a lucky fellow you are."


    "Wha...?! I-I''ve done something so terrible that I''m lucky for not remembering it?! Wait, where is this again?! Who am I?¡ªI mean..."


    There''s a rather significant difference between this tiny, dim little 6ft by 9ft room and the deluxe suite. The rhythmic swaying hasn''t stopped, so we must still be on the ocean. I''m pretty sure even the third-class cabins have bunk beds, but this room has no furniture at all. The window is barred, and the wooden floor and walls are discolored and peeling.


    "Why''re we in a prison?...What did I do? How long have I been asleep? I was preaching to the sailor uniforms, and someone was about to fall into the ocean...Beatrice, it was Beatrice! What happened?!"


    Gripping Conrad''s jacket, I suddenly realize that he''s still in his evening wear. It''s stained with spots of rusty brown, testimony to the ferocity of that battle.


    "Let me answer your questions one at a time. First, Beatrice is fine and with her parents. You rescued her, then punished the pirates with magic of unearthly power. Actually, if you think about it, this ship is of Hildyard origin, which means most of its meat would have come from animals fed on fodder exported from our kingdom, which would probably have been absorbed into the calcium. That''s why it worked so well."


    ...What the heck is he talking about?


    "Anyway, it was thanks to Your Majesty that they were crushed. After that a Cimarron patrol ship arrived in a hurry and bound up all the pirates. You''ve been sound asleep for almost two days now. When that violet outside the window changes to blue, we will welcome another new night, and people will begin to turn their dreadful experiences into conversation pieces to go with their drinks at one of those parties. I do have one request, however."


    He cups my cheek and pulls down gently.


    "Take your contact out before you go back to sleep."


    Nurse smile: zero dollars.


    "But why are we locked up in here? Ah...I''m not, you know, trying to brag or anything, but um, I did save everybody, right? Even if I scared a few people, the pirates would''ve escaped before the patrol ship got there if I hadn''t done anything. Right?"


    With a ''cargo'' of human slaves on board. Including me and Wolfram.


    "That''s not all. The escort ship took significant damage as well, and all of the lifeboats on this ship were destroyed. They were probably planning to set fire to the ship as they leave and sink it. Killing everyone."


    Including Conrad.


    His explanation is completely devoid of emotion, as if nothing about it is personally relevant. How can he be so calm about it all when he could''ve been killed?


    Wait, so why are we shut up in here when I saved everyone from that huge disaster?


    "Because we were exposed as Mazoku." Conrad shrugs matter-of-factly. "The Cimarron territory is not a place where we Mazoku can take a pleasure trip."


    "That''s stupid!"


    Do people as unreasonable as that really exist?!


    It may have been just my petty bourgeois sense of justice, but I did save them. It had nothing to do with whether I''m Mazoku or Human, I did it to save everyone.


    I guess I shouldn''t have stuck my nose into it after all.


    "...I''m sorry..."


    "Whatever for?"


    "For being so rash."


    I slip down into a crouch with my arms around my knees and lean my forehead against Conrad''s shoulder.


    "If I managed to hold back the eruption, we would be digging into the main dish at dinner now."


    Sitting with his legs thrust out, throat still exposed and defenseless, Wolfram says: "You have nothing to apologize for."


    "Wolf..."


    "It''s the Humans who''re stupid."


    Out of the corners of my eyes I can see Conrad''s perturbation in his slight tremor. His father was a Human, and Human blood runs through him as well. And however much people call me His Majesty the Maou, I''m still human.


    Let''s end this sort of talk right now and figure out what we''re going to do rather than dwell on how this happened.


    I gaze out at the tiny square-cut piece of violet sky with its pale lavender clouds.


    "We have a vertically striped sunset today. It''s such a bother that we can look at it from the window but not go out to it!"


    "If you''re the Maou, then change into something that can fly out of here."


    "Don''t be ridiculous. I''m not Batman, you know."


    Well, even he doesn''t change shape.


    "Batman! I know that one. He''s the one who dresses in black from head to toe and has a yellow butterfly drawn on his chest."


    "...Wouldn''t that make him Butterflyman?"


    "Stop talking about things I don''t know about!"


    My stomach, now that I''ve woken from my long nap, moans like a turtledove. It''s complaining about not having had anything to eat or drink for a day and a half.


    "I guess an extravagant dinner is out of the question, but I won''t be able to come up with any plans if I don''t get any fuel for my brain."


    "Ta-da!"


    The door bursts open at the hearty Master Konbei-like shout. Wolfram, who was leaning against it, springs away. Standing there is a smiling man with loosely-tied orange hair, carefully holding a large silver tray with both hands.


    "Thanks for waiting, here''s your gourmet repast!"


    The steam and mouth-watering scent from the tray fills the entire room.


    At first I mistake him for one of the guards, and wonder at the personnel selection that produced such a jokester.


    But he comes up right next to me and kneels to set the tray down beside me.


    "You''re awake, Your Majesty. I''m glad it was nothing serious. Here, this is a bit different from what the other guests are having, but I hope it will suit your taste..."


    "Wh-wh-wh-why did you call me ''Your Majesty'' just now?! I mean, I know everybody knows that I''m Mazoku now, but I''m just an ordinary Mazoku on a trip...well, actually, I''m physically human..."


    Smiling like a prancing Roger Rabbit, he unbends his supple upper body and places both hands on my shoulders.


    "Well, well! So the rumors are true! You really are a cutie!"


    The corners of Conrad''s mouth, though twisted rather interestingly, are relaxed. I don''t sense any antagonism there.


    "Hey, you''re being rude towards His Majesty."


    "I guess I am. But it only counts as rudeness inside the country¡ªcan''t I at least have a little fun with a cold man who''s forgotten all about me here on this distant ocean?"


    "Forgotten? Does that mean I''ve met you somewhere before?"


    His slightly slanted, almond-shaped eyes are smiling mischievously. But they are of a blue that somehow gives the impression of a capacity for complete ruthlessness with the simple flick of a switch.


    "...I''m sorry, I''m not very good with faces..."


    "It''s not really a memorable face, is it?"


    His husky voice, like something out of an old jazz record, sounds familiar. He has a thick, firm neck, and the superb muscles covering his shoulders and down his back are obvious even under his shirt¡ªhe has the perfect figure for an outfielder.


    "Wait, you''re Mi-Miss Biceps?!"


    "Correct!"


    "Huh? Wha? But you changed into a guy?!"


    "Don''t be silly, I was always a guy. The female dress is for my job, as my work dictates."


    Now that I know he''s a guy, the husky voice is rather charming. And that ideal outfielder''s physique is understandable for a Mister Biceps.


    "Then why was Conrad flirting with you?"


    "The Commander? You mean why we''re so close? Well, we did grow up together, after all."


    Grow up together?! Wait, so does that mean another addition to the family? Gwen and Conrad and Wolf are brothers, so if he and Conrad share the same father...


    "Oh no, we''re not brothers."


    The second son himself quickly refutes that conjecture.


    "We were childhood friends, to put it simply. We''re both half-Human, and we lived in the same place when we were children. When we grew up, we went into the same company, and we''ve survived life-or-death situations together as comrades-in-arms. His name is Grillet Josak. He''s been guarding us since Schildkraut so he could come to our aid in case of an emergency."


    "Nice to meet''cha."


    The cheerful jokester bodyguard waves.


    "He''s a rude fellow, but I''ll vouch for his skill¡ªjust ignore him during the trip."


    "Actually, we''ve been naked together back in Shinma Kingdom even before boarding this ship."


    "Naked...ah! Were you in the transsexual bath, then?! So you saw my...my..."


    "Old son? Oh yeah, I had quite a nice view."


    "Gyaaaaaaah!"


    "What?! Yuuri, you had a kid behind my back?!"


    "Don''t be stupid!"


    Josak''s weapon is an axe.


    I try singing the tune from a car commercial, but it doesn''t erase the shock of seeing it.


    "...Anyway, tuck into this before it gets cold. Your Majesty, will you be all right with ordinary fare? Or should we start with infirmary food?"


    "No no, this is fine, I''ll eat it, absolutely!" I assure him with fatuous greed. I''m great at overestimating my own stomach.


    "Fantastic, that''s how it should be. The galley head sneaked it out to me. He''s a great admirer of your craftsmanship¡ªhe told me it was the first time he had seen such art created from stuff they usually toss out without a second thought."


    "Huh, art? Conrad, did you make some stuff out of recycled goods or something?"


    The gazes of both brothers are fixed on me.


    "...I did?"


    "Well, don''t worry ''bout it."


    Josak takes a cross-legged seat with a muffled laugh. There''s no table, so we sit and eat from the tray on the floor in a circle, Asian-style.


    Nobody reaches for the lamb ribs garnished with herb sauce.


    I wonder why? It looks pretty good.


    Josak returns before dawn and awakens us to make our escape.


    We were sleeping huddled together, and I had a dream of my legs being entwined with those of a career woman and a high school girl. I don''t want to think about what actually happened.


    "We should be able to get to shore before this ship does even in a lifeboat rowing by hand. Since we''re making our escape in the middle of the ocean, we''ll try to drift as much as possible. Now, Your Majesty, Commander, get up. His Excellency looks like he''s still deep in dreamland."


    Pretty boys, like pretty girls, have low blood pressure. Wolfram rubs his eyes adorably and pulls the rough blanket close.


    "Wolfram, you''ll be late for school if you go back to sleep. You can nap in first period math class."


    I get the feeling I''m not all here either.


    "I could only recover about half of your luggage. Though I think I got all the important things."


    "What about the ship? Didn''t the pirates destroy all of the lifeboats?"


    "Ah, let me set you straight on that point. That was their plan for deceiving the guards and slipping away."


    Josak produces clothes for the three of us and pale yellow rubber balloons from his bag. He puts his mouth to one of them and blows.


    "Stop staring and hurry up and change, then inflate this."


    "What is it?"


    "Water rescue practice doll. Mr. Livesaver."


    So it''s an expert on drowning?


    "Put your clothes, huff, on these, huff, and we''ll leave them behind, huff, when we go, huff, and they''ll be disguised as you, huff. They don''t know what to expect from Mazoku, so they''ll keep these Mr. Livesavers imprisoned, hahah, makes me laugh just thinking about it."


    "...Isn''t it because of stuff like this that there''re so many weird rumors about the Mazoku floating around?"


    "Well, I guess so¡ªbut we need to buy ourselves time, Your Majesty."


    That feels rather like self-justification to me.


    We sneak quickly up to the ship''s deck and climb into the lifeboat waiting for us. Sending us off with a thumbs-up, smirking and smoking a cigar, is the freckled Rick...or not. It''s the sailor who hit him. Yes, so we know that he can be bought.


    "He won''t immediately turn around and sound the alarm, will he?"


    Gripping his slanted oar, Conrad looks back at the luxury liner fading away in the distance.


    "There are two kinds of people who allow themselves to be bought. One will betray you for small change, while the other will not betray you except for a large amount of money. Money is his weakness, but once bought he will stay bought."


    "I see. Then what about the ones who accept a lot of money and then turn on you?"


    "At that point it''s no longer about money, but about advantage. Don''t you think?"


    "Both of you, stop chatting and keep rowing! If they catch up with us it''ll all be for nothing!"


    The boat starts listing slightly. Wolfram is starting to doze off next to me.


    "Wah, Wolf, don''t fall asleep! We''re turning, we''re going to start going around in circles¡ª!"


    "Hrmm."


    "Not hrmm! Row! Row, come on! Pull-and-push, pull-and-push, heeheefuu, heeheefuu."


    "...Your Majesty, isn''t that the Lamaze Technique...?"


    How the heck does he know that? Mr. Conrad coming up with the name before me.


    Four fugitives desperately row for the wavering lights of the island as dawn silvers the ocean.


    Good-bye, my first and last voyage on an extravagant luxury liner. I don''t really have any regrets.


    Drops of spray from the oars drip from my cheeks, and the salt lingers on my tongue when I lick it away.


    Van der Veer is still silent and motionless. It''ll probably be crowded and bustling once the festival starts.


    Shinma Kingdom''s treasure is sleeping on this island. The wickedest, evilest...no, I shouldn''t judge without any first-hand information. The mightiest ultimate weapon, which cannot be wielded by any except the Maou. I''m going to fetch it.


    I didn''t come here to get attacked by pirates.


    "All right! Just you wait, Demon Sword Melgib!"


    "Morgif," I''m immediately corrected.


    A glance at the tiny ship in the distance tells me that we''re close to shore.


    For some reason, I start singing Mr. Michael''s song to myself in Japanese. Conrad joins in with a smattering of English, and we sing together:


    "Hallelujah."


    It must be a rare Maou who sings praises to God, even if unintentionally.

 Volume 2 - CH 7

    If you fall in love with an island girl Van der Volcano will erupt. Even if she can''t cross the ocean with you, Look up and you''ll see the same moon in the sky. Oh this, this is the dream isle Van Van Van der Veer Come just once and you''ll never forget it (keep beat with clapping)


    That''s the Van der Veer Marching Song, #1.


    Though I''m not so sure about the whole dream isle thing. I mean, it looks kinda like one of those places built on top of a reclaimed landfill.


    "This is NOTHING like a dream isle!"


    Panting for air, leaden feet.


    But the endless mountain trail continues ever upward, and no amount of grumbling or yelling is going to change that.


    We landed around four-thirty or so, four mermen dripping with sweat and seawater and unknown varieties of seaweed, at a sandy beach unattached to any dock or marina. Since we looked pretty strange, we cleaned up at an unused beach hut and immediately tackled the mountain after a short nap.


    We made a fine start, misled by Conrad''s story of a paved road and claims that even children can make the summit effortlessly.


    "Any kid who can climb this effortlessly must be in the world-class wunderchildren league."


    "How do you mean? A hill road like this won''t even make the grade for mountain-climbing training."


    Yeah, and first-year senior high students aren''t usually trained in mountain-climbing.


    "We''ll have plenty of time if we can scale it before noon."


    "But I''m an invalid! I mean, I puked up everything in my stomach earlier! Isn''t this a bit harsh?"


    "That was because Your Majesty was greedy and gorged yourself on a full-course meal."


    I had stomach cramps from stuffing all that food into a stomach that''s been empty for close to two days. So my dummy double is now keeping company with a puddle of my body''s violent rejection of my excesses in the low-class confinement room of that luxury liner.


    The sun high overhead scorches my hair, and the back of my head twinges in the heat. Calling the stone paving beneath the soles of my shoes ''flat'' would be stretching the term pretty far.


    "I don''t believe it, geez. Feels like the time I had to walk Hakone''s old highway. That was unbelievably steep, too¡ªI was almost sure it was an animal trail."


    Except that the road here on this tropical dream isle winds through a forest of broad-leafed trees.


    Van der Veer is a volcanic island around a hundred kilometers in diameter, blessed with many hot springs and a sea rich in seafood. Its economy is based on tourism. From the islands I remember from my atlas, I''d say it''s about the size of Eromanga in the Republic of Vanuatu¡ªI have no idea if a hundred kilometers is big or small for an island. In any case, it''s perfect for a resort.


    Josak, who has pulled ahead and is climbing alone in the lead, turns and waves exaggeratedly.


    "There''s a rest area just up ahead!"


    "How far is ''just up ahead''?!"


    When not in female clothing Josak is truly strong¡ªhe really does have the ideal outfielder physique. His agility and quickness would confine any hit to a single. Though he''s probably strong even when he''s working undercover. It was a wise move on my part to not attempt to dance with him.


    After an unpleasantly long way to get ''just up ahead,'' the rest stop appears.


    "...A tea...a teahouse...?"


    It''s open.


    The teahouse, which features a copious amount of red carpeting, looks just like the teahouses in historical dramas where the emperors and shoguns always stop to drink tea and eat sweet dumplings.


    I plop down in exhaustion and order without even looking at the menu.


    "Madam, tea and sweet dumplings."


    "Hmm?"


    The mistress of the house is a beauty with gold hair and blue eyes. She''s brought cookies and red tea.


    "...That''s not how it''s..."


    Conrad and Josak nonchalantly raise the white porcelain teacups to their lips, but Wolfram and I are both shaking right down to our fingertips and don''t even have the energy left to slurp our drinks.


    Still holding her tray, the beautiful proprietress looks at the group of us, two full of energy and two wilted and drooping, with keen interest. Since I was the first to speak to her, she directs her inquiry at me.


    "You probably already know this, but the portable shrine for the festival will set out from the next mountain over, not this one."


    "Huh?! So this place doesn''t have anything to do with the festival?"


    "That mountain is the dormant volcano. This one has four or five hot spring hotels, but that''s about it."


    There''s another rustic-looking building a few dozen meters from this one, further in.


    "Did we come to the wrong place, then?! I don''t think I''m up to the challenge of going back down..."


    Wolfram has his teacup in a two-handed grip and is sitting motionless, eyes staring.


    "...And it looks like he''s already off to another world."


    "This isn''t the wrong place. Our business is not with the temple on the neighboring mountain."


    "Then we''re not going to that Pantheon-like temple on the pamphlet the sightseeing society was handing out?"


    "Did you want to see it? I''m sorry."


    Conrad sets his cup back on the saucer. Josak nods in support of his childhood friend and sinks his teeth into a charred-looking cookie, devoting himself to the task of replenishing his calories.


    "I didn''t think you''d be interested in a blazing portable shrine being rushed down the dormant volcano. What we''re looking for is at the summit of this mountain, not the ''soul-stirring Fire Festival.''"


    Blazing portable shrine...now I kinda want to see it.


    "Oh, but you can''t mean to go up to the top of the mountain!"


    The proprietress pales.


    "The spring at the top has been shut down, and there''s nothing else to see up there! Well, I guess there''s still a fish pond, but..."


    "Shut down? Since when? Did something happen?"


    She darts a glance at Conrad, having apparently decided that he''s my guardian.


    "One summer night about fifteen, sixteen years ago, a red light fell from the sky into the pond, see, and the spring boiled for three days and three nights."


    "Was it a meteorite?!"


    The woman shakes her head hard, and lowers her voice in a vain attempt to sound more dramatic.


    "...It was a demon!"


    "Demon?"


    "Yes. Since then nobody''s been able to go into that spring. If they do, it''s like they''re struck by lightning and their entire body goes numb. In the worst cases people''s hearts have stopped or they''ve gotten horribly burned. There''s just one person who actually managed to go into the deep part of the spring without touching the hot water, and he saw a demon. It was silver and glittering and when he tried to grab it he fainted dead away.


    Silver and glittering, and if you grab it it''ll make you faint?!


    "He was all but dead when he was discovered, and even now he just keeps mumbling things that make no sense. The burn on his head healed a long time ago, but he keeps yelling ''the face! the face!''"


    That''s several times scarier than Inagawa Junji''s stories. But my brain''s ticking away, and it''s come up with a theory: that it''s not a demon, but a demon sword. Which means that once we complete the demon sword: get! operation and take it back home, they can reopen the spring too.


    It''ll make Shinma Kingdom strong enough that we won''t have to be worried about other countries invading us anymore. As a bonus, it''ll raise my standing as the king, so it''s a win all around.


    "Put your mind at rest, Ma''am. We are on a journey to exorcise that demon. Once we do, visitors will be able to enjoy the spring in peace and quiet again."


    "...If you can actually manage to lay your hands on the sleeping silver."


    "Josa!"


    "But it''s true. Dozens of people have already been injured, haven''t they? I can''t guarantee that the young lord here''s gonna come out of it unscathed," the Guard of the Inner Circle warns direly, and cackles like the Disney bunny at his own ill-portented words. "Well, don''t worry ''bout it too much. If that happens we''ll just tie you to the boat and drag you back home after us."


    "Josa! Your rudeness is going too far!"


    I immediately start clapping.


    That''s right, a boat''s the answer!


    Fortunately, several squid boats with white peeling paint have been left at the fish pond at the summit.


    "...Well, all we need is something that won''t send us to the bottom of the lake."


    "That''s right! So what if it''s a bit old? It''s still a lot better than a mud boat."


    "Scoop, anybody see a scoop anywhere? Something to bail out the water if it leaks?!"


    Man, this Guard of the Inner Circle, he was at least quieter when dressed as a woman. Though he can play both Ogin and Tobizaru¡ªthat''s pretty convenient.


    A gigantic fish breaks the muddy surface of the pond. Now that it can lead a carefree existence with its archenemy gone, it seems to have evolved from a carp into a tuna.


    We climb over the crude barricade to stand on the bank of the spring at the summit. The wall at the entrance holds countless scribbles. The red and yellow lines are completely meaningless to me.


    "What does all this writing mean?"


    Josak reads in a monotone: "We were here hey hey hey, we are daredevils, yay."


    "Dares, huh?"


    The entrance continues right into a cave where rock teeth jut from both the walls and the ceiling. It''s spacious and high enough that I don''t feel any claustrophobia, but still exceptionally creepy because the light from outside can''t reach within. We shine our torches around the cave.


    Dense steam from the heated water covers everything.


    "Commonly known as a large-scale cave-bath, like a hot spring theme park..."


    "Ow."


    Conrad presses against the back of his hand where he was splashed by hot water from the oars.


    "Is it really that hot? This isn''t a boiling water bath, is it?!"


    "Your Majesty, be careful...!"


    I stick a finger over the side into the water. It''s pretty moderate, a nice temperature for a bath.


    "It''s not that hot."


    "Are you all right?"


    I''ve always been the impatient type, so I like my baths hot.


    "Nothing to...oh, ouch!"


    I suddenly feel a sharp pain and numbness run simultaneously down my thigh, like it''s been stabbed by a centipede. I think a few drops fell from my finger while I was shaking the water off.


    "Uwah, ouch! That''s hot, hot hot hot! That really feels like a shock! Like, like a jellyfish stung me¡ªor no, a Portuguese man-of-war! Definitely a Portuguese man-of-war! But why was my hand okay? Why wasn''t it hot when I touched it with my bare hand?"


    Why was my hand fine when my thigh was a total disaster even though it''s protected by my pants?


    "My hand is going numb too. See? It''s swelling."


    "Yeah, I see it! I wonder if that means this spring''s acidic?"


    Though a slight acidity in the water is good for the skin. I can''t really come up with a good explanation.


    I take my shoes and socks off and stick my big toe in experimentally.


    "...It''s fine..."


    "This is a problem."


    "Why?"


    I try dipping both feet in. I don''t feel anything other than the warmth of the water.


    "We came after receiving the news that the demon sword Morgif is here at the summit of this mountain. The local stories also seem to indicate that the demon of the spring is Morgif. So I''m afraid the special transformation of the hot water is its doing."


    "Huh, so it can do stuff like that? That''s very demon sword-like."


    "This is no time for admiration. Remember the claim that only His Majesty the Maou can carry Morgif? That''s why you''re not harmed when you touch the water. But Your Majesty''s clothes are not a part of you, so they are not subject to the same immunity to attack. That''s why they burned."


    "I''m getting a bad feeling here."


    Josak rows along carefully, holding the torch in his left hand high.


    "I can see the silver glittering!"


    The hot spring demon that''s been terrifying the locals is leaning submerged against the innermost wall of the cave. It sparkles in the reflected light¡ªmore of a flash than a glitter. My trusty baseball buddy starts off with an apology and says: "Please take off your clothes."


    "Whaaaaaaat?!"


    "No, I mean, you will need to do so if you are to enter the hot water. The boat cannot go any further, and if you go into the water with your clothes on, they will actually harm you."


    "Oh, th-that''s what you meant."


    I thought we were going to do sumo again, like that time I wrestled Wolf.


    "Okay, okay, so I just need to walk over there and grab Melgib, right?"


    "Be careful. Watch your step and don''t slip."


    Aaaaall right then, a man''s gotta be decisive. I mean, come on, I did travel through the public bath to get here this time. It''s way better than toilet water all around, whether you''re looking at it or hearing about it, not to mention being washed away with it. And besides, this is the hot spring of a dormant volcano island, certifiably good for the health.


    I turn my back to the two of them and gingerly stick my foot in. The boat is stuck on a shallow spot where the water only comes up to my knees, but the bottom drops off sharply after that.


    "Are you all right? Do you feel any numbness?"


    "It''s nice and hot. Special care required if you have high blood pressure."


    Conrad smiles wryly and says in his usual warm, good-humored voice, "Are you planning to soak for a bit, then?"


    "I will after I finish this job."


    Near the sunken object in question, the water rises to about the level of my stomach. It''s now a pool rather than a bath. I bend my knees and sloooowly stretch out a hand, and just as the tips of my fingers might have grazed against metal¡ª


    "Gyah!"


    "What''s wrong?!"


    It was probably just my imagination. I timidly reach out once more, trying not to look at the thing. But¡ª


    "Yeeargh! It bit me! It bit me! It felt like a fish mouth biting my finger¡ªit definitely bit me!"


    I leap back and peer into the water. Focusing, waiting for the waves to calm, my eyes catch sight of the silver glinting...sword...


    "Gyah, face! The face, the faaaaace!"


    So that''s why!


    That''s why the young man who looked directly at the demon is yelling ''the face! the face!''


    The thing sitting there is a sword with a face.


    Even if I spend all my time on baseball, I have played a few video games too. Stuff like Power Pro and Let''s Create Our Own Pro Baseball Team, not to mention the Soccer version that Murata had me try. And of course I''ve played Dragon Quest and FF, the big RPG titles, like everybody else. So I''ve seen quite a few swords with faces, the special weapons that raise character abilities to their max levels. A lot of them have weird carvings, like hilts decorated to look like demons'' faces. And I''ve fought vampires with them too, though this was before I became Maou. Aaah, that was on the old PS.


    But this thing!


    "I wasn''t told about this! Nobody told me that the sword is this dangerous! This thing''s cursed for sure! And anybody who touches it will be cursed too!"


    This sword''s face is at the base of the blade rather than the hilt, and it''s so realistic that it doesn''t look carved. It''s not like one of those rough, grim demons or monsters you see so often, either. It''s eerie and unpleasant and somehow miserable-looking, as sinister and baleful as Munch''s scream.


    "No way am I touching that, it''s like the bad guy from the Scream! It''s even got tilted eyebrows!"


    I''m about to starting crying here.


    "Hold on, Your Majesty, calm down."


    "But it bit me, it bit my index finger! ''Cause it''s got a mug that looks like one of those face-shaped smears you see on walls! Aaagh, now I''m totally cursed, I''ll never be able to fall in love or get married! I can''t touch something like that, I''m not the kind of hero that can carry something like that!"


    "All right, Yuuri, it''s okay if you can''t, we''ll think of something else. Calm down, walk slowly back to the boat.


    I grip the stone at my chest and force myself to take several calming breaths, swallow.


    Josak gestures like he''s singing. "Come back, Your Majesty, you don''t have to put yourself in danger. Hurry back, the little foot soldiers''ll cross the scary bridge for you."


    My teeth are clenched so tightly that my throat feels constricted. I can''t swallow the ugly emotions I''m trying to force back, and they scorch my chest.


    "...Are you saying that I''m being irresponsible?"


    "Yuuri, it''s okay, leave it."


    "Are you calling me irresponsible?!"


    Seated on the edge of the tiny craft, Josak sweeps his orange hair up and lets it fall. Though this man is now a part of my guard, a smile particular to intelligent animals surfaces on his face.


    A beast''s smile: clever and strong, yet devoid of kindness.


    "I''m not saying anything of the sort, Your Majesty. Please hurry back. Let''s say good-bye to this place as soon as we can."


    "...What do you know?"


    "Yuuri, over here..."


    "What the hell do you know?!"


    I always think I''m being childish. And I always tell myself to be more adult. If I could have parried with a smile, my life until now would have been so much easier.


    The lions-blue stone is the same temperature as my skin. Gripping it, I spit my words down at the water as if my enemy were inside.


    "I''m just an ordinary senior high student, and I''ve lived an ordinary life for fifteen years. Then I''m summoned to this dream world and I''m suddenly forced to become the Maou! This demon sword, it''s like a ghost or a phantom, and I never knew something like that could exist! So now I''m going to be criticized and scorned for being afraid?! Anyone would be scared half to death if they saw something like that! If this sword is so powerful, why don''t you try giving it to a hero or champion or something? None of them would use something that disgusting! So why do I have to be the one?!"


    The stone pulses like a living heart. Though of course that''s impossible.


    "I''ve never seen a sword except at the museum, and now you want me to carry this?! You have no idea how I feel!"


    Conrad holds out his hand to me pleadingly. The other man shrugs.


    "No, I don''t got any idea. How Your Majesty spent your childhood, what kind of a person you are¡ªI don''t know about any of that. I have no idea what your feelings are or what you''re thinking. Our lot is to obey without complaint, no matter what kind of a person becomes Maou. The soldiers and people and children, we can only believe in our king and obey."


    Conrad''s going to plunge in after me if I delay any longer. Staring down at my toes, I walk slowly back to the boat.


    Until we reach the inn where we left Wolfram, no one says a word.


    "Why didn''t you come back with it?"


    ¡ªis the first thing out of Wolfram''s mouth after an entire afternoon spent resting. He''s even taken a room at the hot spring inn. Frankly, because I am a wimp. A total wimp. I have no energy left to defend myself.


    "...It''s just out of my grasp."


    Spending the night here would probably be a lot more relaxing than returning to the city, crammed as it is with tourists. Conrad and Josak go out to bespeak another twin room. When we set out from Shinma Kingdom, the plans were to stay at the highest-class hotel in Van der Veer.


    If we hadn''t encountered those pirates on the way, I would still have been in the midst of my wild merrymaking as Young Master Mitsuemon.


    Seated on his bed''s wooden frame, Wolfram leans back against the log-cabin walls. He''s holding G¨¹nter''s diary.


    "What was it like? How long and wide was the blade? Was it shining with sublime grace and manliness?"


    The image of Morgif flashes across the back of my head.


    "...Just the opposite."


    "Opposite? But it''s the mightiest sword in the world, and it only obeys the Maou! Here, read this, G¨¹nter wrote about it here."


    "No thanks. I can''t read anyway."


    "Oh, that''s right. Hurry up and remember, then. It''s so inconvenient."


    I tumble into the bed parallel to his, lying on it spread-eagled and staring up at the ceiling.


    "You know, I was thinking that since it''s a king''s sword, it would have a hilt with gaudy gold ornamentation or fine platinum craftsmanship, a guard with fretwork that could move an artisan to tears, stuff like that. And the haft-end would have a gemstone inserted¡ªlike a typical king''s sword."


    It would be a famous sword with the sharpest blade, something that you can use on anything from cutting up squid noodles to slicing puffer fish.


    "But actually? It had a face that...a face that scares me just thinking about it, and even though I''m supposed to carry it and become its master, it b-b-bit my finger!"


    "It bit you? That''s odd. The Demon Sword Morgif is supposed to be absolutely obedient to the Maou...maybe it was hungry?"


    "Hungry?! It''s metal!"


    Not that that''s any weirder than a metal sword having a mouth, I guess.


    "Okay, listen. Since Morgif has the power to absorb human life, it needs a supply of energy to be invoked. It''s hard to say from the official records, but some history books claim that it likes young women...G¨¹nter made a detailed investigation."


    "Does that mean that it k...kills people?! Wouldn''t that make Melgib a vampire sword?"


    "Weren''t you listening when he explained at the castle? It doesn''t always kill, necessarily, but...what are you panicking about, Yuuri? You''re not thinking of yourself as a Human again, are you? You know what kind of people they are. Even though we saved their lives, they locked us up because we''re Mazoku. Aagh, just thinking about it makes me angry."


    "...I have nothing to say to such ingratitude."


    The constant soul-searching a citizen of Japan is raised with is preposterous in the Twenty-Seventh Maou.


    Thud! Wolfram shuts the mountain goat hide-bound diary.


    "Anyway, returning without Morgif is out of the question."


    "Right."


    "I''ll go with you tomorrow."


    "Huh?"


    He can''t give me any real help even if he comes with me. Even Conrad, who could make short work of any sword master, couldn''t move a finger to help me. But Wolfram is indifferent to my private waffling. He folds his arms and says rather happily, "Since you''re a total wimp."


    "Stop calling me a wimp!"


    Ah.


    The selfish prince with the angelic features and clear emerald eyes that remind you of the bottom of a lake. Abbreviate half-ironically, and you get selfish Pooh.


    Wolfram always goes right to the point. He throws himself straight into any challenge.


    He bores into both my mitt and my chest, but it''s kinder and gentler than a lie.


    "What? What are you grinning about?"


    "...I was just thinking, it''s been a while."


    "What has?"


    "You calling me a wimp."


    "That''s because you left the country. You left your people and your land to the care of others. You have no sense or consciousness of being a king. What''s wrong with calling a wimp a wimp?"


    "Nothing."


    That''s right, I''m just a wimp anyway, so it''s not like I''m going to give up after making just one mistake.


    The stain on the ceiling boards looks kinda like Melgib¡ªit''s actually a bit cute.


    "That''s true, huh. A new Prior Maou like me¡ªI was never perfect anyway. The first time I went up to the batter''s box in my first match, I took three good strikes¡ªyou never know how to attack a problem when you don''t know anything about its character and type."


    In the end, I got an infield hit.


    But that''s it.


    "Wolf."


    "What?"


    I kick up my feet vigorously and use the reverse swing to leverage myself from the mattress.


    "Thanks."


    "For what?"


    "I have no idea what for, but come with me anyway."


    By the time I think ''oh damn,'' it''s already too late. I''ve already managed to step on the angel''s detonator. A flush stains his white cheeks, and he goes off in his nerve-grating alto:


    "How could you say that so flippantly? Why did I have to come with you on this horrendous journey anyway?¡ªhave you really, seriously thought about it at all? Because you proposed to me! Now I have to keep an eye on you so nothing happens to you on your journey! So you don''t get involved with the wrong set or end up being burdened with feelings that you can''t requite!"


    "Huh? Oh, oh right! Yeah, that''s right, I forgot, it just never even crossed my mind! So we haven''t settled that one yet, huh?"


    "You forgot¡ª?!"


    I instinctively cover my head with both arms.


    "Okay, then why don''t I dump you? ''I''m sorry, let''s call it quits?''"


    "Don''t you dare! It would be a blow to my self-respect!"


    "Oh, oh riiight, then why don''t you reject me? ''I refuse your proposal.'' I think my pride would be able to handle it just fine. I was the one in the wrong, so no help for it."


    "I can''t do that!"


    "Why not? Is there some kind of rule about that? Some sort of religious reason?"


    "Shut up!"


    Wolfram stands straight up and opens the corner door without another word.


    "Aaah, Wolf! I''m sorry, I''m sorry, I was wrong! I''m apologizing, so don''t lock yourself up in the closet!"


    "Shut up, you skank!!"


    Didn''t that mean someone with light footwork?!


    After a carbohydrates-oriented meal, the beautiful proprietress tells us about the festival.


    You can get a great view of the flaming portable shrine being dashed down the next mountain from this inn, but it''s believed to bring bad luck to see it from the side, so she cannot recommend it. The grand finale is at the arena near the harbor tomorrow evening, and we''ll certainly regret it if we miss it. They had a large number of participants entered just before the event this year, so the spectacle will probably be an unusually large one.


    C''est excitant!


    Wolfram, who has no interest in human festivals, goes to bed immediately after finishing his wine.


    I feel like getting drunk and airing all my grievances too, but I''m not going to smoke or drink as long as there''s still any possibility that I haven''t reached my full height yet. Instead, I lie in bed tracking the moon''s course.


    I get up in the middle of the night because I''m parched, but there''s no water left in the pitcher. I open the closet door to get my coat and fetch some water.


    "...Of course I wouldn''t..." I hear through the thin wall separating us from the neighboring room.


    "In the end my loyalty is to the kingdom. I will obey His Majesty''s commands, however unreasonable. You of all people should know that. I just wanted to know our new king a little bit more, about what sort of a person he is."


    "So you were testing him."


    That''s Conrad. There''s the sound of a glass being set down on the table.


    "Don''t make it sound like it was such a big deal. I just want to be prepared, s''all. If this new lordling is gonna be like the last Maou, we soldiers need to resign ourselves. Resign ourselves to going to our deaths without a word, that is. Don''t misunderstand me. I don''t hate Lady C?li, not at all¡ªon the contrary, I love her more dearly than my own parents. But she was wrong. She didn''t try to look at it all with her own eyes. That''s why I want to know what the next era is going to be like, to be steeled for it."


    "That''s why I said¡ª"


    "It''s true for you too, isn''t it? How many of your soldiers did you lose? How many of your friends snatched away? If Lady C?li had made her own decisions instead of leaving everything to Stoffel, maybe even Julia would still be..."


    "Josak!"


    Conrad, who rarely even raises his voice, slaps the table with obvious irritation.


    "...From this point forward, if you say or do anything to mislead His Majesty, I will relieve you of your duties."


    "Sorry, Lord Weller, Your Excellency does not have that authority. If you want to give me orders, then you''d better get your command back, ''cause you''re hardly gonna spend the rest of your life babysitting His Majesty the new Maou, are you?"


    "With His Majesty''s permission, that is exactly what I intend to do."


    "You''ve gotta be joking! Why would you give yourself up to that?! Are you sure you''re not just deluded by his cuteness?! Don''t tell me the man once called the Lion of Ruttenberg has lost his fangs..."


    Conrad cuts Josak off with that eloquent smile I can see so clearly.


    "Now you''re dredging up the long-dead past."


    "Stop being so humble. Oh yeah, you gave that to the lordling, huh? If young general Grantz saw it, it''d set his gray matter a-boiling."


    I move softly away from the wall, pick up my coat and close the closet door.


    Wolfram''s quiet breathing is typical pretty-boy, but his eyes twitch, and their whites show from beneath his eyelids. He must be right in the middle of a dream. Taking great care to not wake him, I leave the room and steal a lamp from the front counter. I can see the illuminated Parthenon temple clearly from the mountain path. It''s red and swaying and quite beautiful.


    Voices swell into a roar, and the blazing shrine begins its downward dash with a train of torches following behind. The annual ceremony seeks to calm the God''s fury and hold back further volcanic activity by reproducing the eruption that occurred two hundred years ago. Up until a hundred years ago they would offer up innocent girls, and countless lives were sacrificed that way.


    All is noise and tumult on the next mountain, but I stand alone at the summit of this one. Let''s get dressed up for the cave bathhouse in the middle of the night.


    Only the graffiti welcomes me.


    We were here, hey hey hey. I''m here too, and this is my second time. I''m all alone this time. Someone should compliment me, yay.


    "...So what does ''Lion of Ruttenberg'' mean, anyway?"


    Someone like that believes in me.


    I''m just a wimp of a king, but one that wants to evolve and come just a bit closer to being the right sort of man.


    The spring''s pungent water is as pleasant as it was this afternoon. I know where Morgif is. I set my steps down firmly and head towards him in the hip-deep warm water.


    "Yo, Demon Sword."


    The blade glows in the water.


    All of a sudden my bravado fades, and my timid self reasserts itself. I''m strong of will but faint of heart.


    "Hey, Melgib, I mean Morgif. This isn''t ''hello,'' ''cause we met each other this afternoon, do you remember? I''m Yuuri."


    I''m Toraemon, I am Rika-chan. First-person self-introduction.


    "I wanna...no, I came here to give you an invitation. You''ve been submerged here for fifteen years now, haven''t you? If you came here for your health, you must be completely healed by now. No matter how much you like hot springs, your body will bloat and dissolve away if you''re in here for that long. So isn''t it about time you got out? There are lots of fun things to do outside, too, you know? I''d be happy to give you a hand if you lack the determination to get out by yourself, so don''t bite me, okay? Promise?"


    Bending, I timidly reach out my hand.


    "Gyah!"


    I involuntarily drop the lamp. The light disappears, and the place plunges into darkness. But I concentrate on my breathing, and after a little while the moonlight slanting in from the entrance softly illuminates the inside of the cave.


    "...Why do you keep biting me? You''re a sword! Ordinary swords don''t have faces, you know?! And even when they do they''re not alive, so they don''t bite!"


    The answer comes to me in a flash.


    It''s not ordinary. It is, after all, a demon sword. Of course it''s not ordinary. Why does it bite? Because it has a mouth, because it''s alive. It''s alive.


    I''m not picking up an object that shouldn''t bite, I''m trying to catch something that''s alive and most certainly bites. Yes, like a puppy with a biting quirk...though there is a world of difference in cuteness. Not that this has anything to do with anything, but how many times have I used the word ''bite?''


    Aaaall right then, data and courage assemblage complete. This is our second match. Not knowing how to take the lead doesn''t cut it anymore. I call a general mobilization of my memory to evoke what I felt in that moment.


    The fragment of courage when I caught a pro ball for the first time in my life.


    "If you''re alive, you should have just said so right from the start. I''m not thinking of you as a sword anymore, dammit! You''re a dog! Or if not a dog, then a negroshinoyamakishy!"


    Yelling as the ball approaches slowly, rotating, straight-on. Shibuya, accuracy is important in catching. Always receive the ball straight-on. Morgif''s hilt is propped up right in front of me. I position my hands, half-bent. Oh wait, you''re supposed to pick up heavy objects from a squatting position. Your career as an athlete is over if you hurt your back.


    I submerge myself up to my face and peer at the warped and swaying Morgif through the refraction of the warm water. He looks like Souseki on a bent note. I laugh.


    "Koff! Ofay, Moogiff wibbe, leff go!"


    Spring water flows into my nose and mouth. I grip the hilt, slender in proportion to the blade, and thrust myself upward with my knees. Morgif struggles for a moment, but finally slides out of the water and shows himself before me.


    There''s the sound of a blade cutting through the wind as he touches air for the first time in fifteen years.


    "Aaah."


    "...Aaah?"


    "Woooo."


    "...Hey com''on...you''re not the wind..."


    "Haaaaao."


    Can he be singing?! This thing?!


    "We-well, I guess whatever''s alive sings. Like puppies barking and kittens purring."


    Oh yeah, and kittens are supposed to go ''meh meh.''


    But what kind of a sword is this, anyway? He has a face instead of jewels or carvings, and moans and groans to assert himself. But my grip on the hilt is comfortable, and he fits my hand exactly. Like holding a familiar bat.


    I walk back past the graffiti so I don''t have to keep listening to the demon sword''s groans. Man, I''m a daredevil, too.


    When I step out into the moonlit night, Conrad is waiting for me with his hands on his hips.


    I can''t see his face with the moon behind him.


    "I know you''re grinning."


    "How did you know that?"


    "I know exactly what expression you''re wearing even when I can''t see you."


    See? I was spot-on.


    He spreads his arms wide in welcome and wraps me in a bath towel.


    "So you did it."


    "I did it! How about it? The king''s sword."


    "Brilliant."


    "Brilliant? But look at him, this weird face. And he talks, too! Oh, and he''s got a mole in the same place as the Buddha."


    He''s not golden and shining or encrusted with jewels or made of any special alloy, but he''s got a tiny black stone the size of a small soybean right in the middle of his forehead.


    "Hmmph, I don''t think he''s brilliant at all."


    "I didn''t mean Morgif. I meant you."


    "Me?"


    "Yes, you, Yuuri."


    He keeps saying these things that set my teeth on edge with such frankness. I have to practice swinging the demon sword a few times to hide my blush. Left foot pulled up, pendulum batting form. The bat, rather than whistling through the air, makes a jarring, displeased moan.


    "...Maybe this will make my approval rating go up a little."


    "Approval rating?" My acting batting coach lifts his chin slightly in inquiry as he stands watching over my swings. Was that an unexpected choice of words?


    "Yeah, my approval rating as a king. ''Cause it must be at rock bottom right now, right? None of my people care about me, and even the former prince and my Guard of the Inner Circle hate me."


    "Josak is loyal to his duties, but feels no appreciation for Your Majesty. And as for Gwendal..."


    Though no one''s around, he lowers his voice.


    "Gwendal doesn''t hate you."


    "Why do you say that?"


    "Because he loves small cute things."


    What?!


    "Like kittens or squirrels or those hamsters you see so often on Earth."


    "Eeeeh?!"


    The towel falls from my hips and gently flutters to the ground. If G¨¹nter were here his nose would be bleeding again.

 Volume 2 - CH 8

    Once again an odor of hitherto-unknown offensiveness fills the kitchen, and the soldiers have come crying to Lord von Voltaire.


    Spitting a curse on the name of the man who is the root of all evil, he stomps down corridors of stone floors to the kitchen.


    "G¨¹nt...guh...hack...oog...!"


    Scarlet smoke billows endlessly towards the ceiling. Gwendal hunches over with a hand against his face, tears streaming unstoppably from his eyes.


    "Curse you, wh-what are you doing?!"


    Pain prickles his nose and throat with every breath. His words are interjected with coughs.


    "G¨¹nter! What, hack, are you doing hack cough?!"


    "Gwendal, is that yoooou?"


    Who else would it be?! The brazen perpetrator of the poison gas himself is standing right in the middle of the gushing smoke wearing a mask and glasses.


    "Wh, what is this horrible gas?"


    "Since you have forbidden me from throwing small animals into boiling oil, I have substituted plants. Look here, does this gigantic red pepper not remind you of a baby mouse when you examine it up close?"


    "You''re dropping red peppers in oil?"


    "Yes."


    "A whole lot of red peppers?"


    "Exactly!"


    And thus the invention of Shinma Kingdom''s red chile oil.


    Seizing G¨¹nter''s arm, Gwendal manages to drag him out of the kitchen. He can''t seem to stop crying yet.


    "Stop this fortune-telling."


    "Why? Do you not wish to pray for His Majesty''s safe return?!"


    "I''m not saying that. I certainly would like him to return safely¡ªit would be quite a bother if he were to die in a foreign land."


    "Die?!...how can you say such dreadful things! You demon, ogre, cold-hearted beast!"


    "Call me a demon all you want."


    They are both part of the Demon Tribe, after all.


    G¨¹nter''s beauty is so extreme that women keep their distance from him, and thus actually robs him of the title of most lusted-after man. Still, he has at least retained the crown of Shinma Kingdom''s first beauty for almost fifty years running. It must be stated, therefore, that the new king''s powers are not to be underestimated if they are capable of putting such a ghastly expression on his face. Though Yuuri''s arrival has probably prompted a shift in the kingdom rankings.


    "Or could it be that..." Fear flashes across the face worn beyond all recognition. "...you feign apathy in order to conceal your wicked thoughts towards His Majesty''s person?!"


    "You''re the one with wicked thoughts towards his person."


    "Aaargh, how completely vexing! Just as I thought!"


    What is just as he thought?!


    Gwendal''s eyes swim with bemusement on the level of being caught between Osugi and P-ko. Fashion check, please.


    "I had my suspicions, vague as they were. After all, His Majesty is endowed with such wisdom, such beauty¡ªeven the noble black in his own person! He is possessed of a strong sense of justice, compassion for his people, and both timidity and fierceness; he touches everything with fresh wonder¡ªin ages past the Shinou''s favor would surely have...Gwendal!"


    G¨¹nter grabs Lord von Voltaire''s collar before he is able to sneak away.


    "Ah, but of course! If one should peruse the histories of your past love affairs, one would know that you brothers have ever only fallen in love with the strong-willed."


    "Stop perusing a thing like that!"


    That''s no ordinary gleam in G¨¹nter''s eyes. One can almost hear background music behind him.


    "...First Wolfram...now you..."


    "What an absurd and odious misunderstanding."


    "How could it be a misunderstanding? Aaaah! Everyone has fallen madly in love with His Majesty¡ªhe''ll be emasculated!"


    "Someone! Someone, I need a hand here! He''s gone mad, Lord von Kleist has gone mad!"


    He has no choice but to call for help.


    ''Help!'' comes the cry from the western ward, and we dash over to check a patient''s pulse; a scream of ''No, don''t die!'' draws us at a panting gallop to the eastern medical building to make sure the patient there is still breathing.


    We''re running madly around Van der Veer''s General Hospital with the lackluster Morgif in hand in the sacrilegious anticipation of one of the seriously-ill patients dying and providing the demon sword with a human life.


    "Wh-why does this hospital have such a high survival rate? It''s bizarre! I mean, it''s great for the patients'' families! It''s wonderful, but..."


    I can''t bring myself to actually hasten their deaths, and not a single person has died since we arrived this morning. This is a three-star hospital. A little earlier, as Wolfram was checking the pulse of an unconscious patient, the old man abruptly grabbed Wolfram''s hand, opened his eyes and called a woman''s name. His daughter and grandchild were overjoyed, and cried and babbled four years'' worth of tears and chatter with grandpa.


    The damage was all Wolfram''s. He clutched his wrists and muttered something with cold sweat on his brows. It sounded like a charm against evil. Though a Mazoku saying a charm against evil feels kinda weird.


    We''re stuck on the hospital race course because Morgif needs to replenish his energy. Shortly after I plucked him out of the hot spring, he lost both his glow and his firmness, sighed a weak ''Hao...'' and hasn''t said a single thing since.


    Not that swords are ordinarily supposed to say anything anyway, but for him it''s peculiar. Even his surface seems to have dried out somehow, and he''s as wilted as a woman in the middle of a diet.


    That hot spring must have had an anti-rusting effect.


    "So it''s really like G¨¹nter wrote in his diary¡ªit can''t be used as a demon sword unless it absorbs a human life?!"


    "A life...that''s easy for you to say, but...how? It''s not like you can go and buy something like that at the convenience store!"


    "If you''re looking for quantity, the quickest way is probably putting a village to the torch. Or slaughtering a family, but that''s a bit less effective."


    "Josak, His Majesty would never do something so terrible. Though I suppose in the old days Japanese samurai would attack people under cover of darkness to test their new swords, so..."


    "Augh! Geez, you guys! Do you have any morals left?! I could never take the life of an innocent person! Nobody should."


    So the whole party proceeded to the hospital in the morning and ended up dashing frantically about until noon.


    But even though we''ve run ourselves to the ground, nobody has set off on their last journey yet¡ªin fact, no less than three people revived. We''ve had gratitude heaped on us, and people have even started calling Wolfram the Angel of Love. But for us it''s something of a mixed blessing.


    "...Looks like this strategy is pretty hopeless."


    Drooping with exhaustion, I lay my cheek on the table as we''re having lunch at the hospital dining room.


    There are few people around¡ªwhich is no surprise, since this is the last day of the Fire Festival and everyone is preparing for the grand finale this evening. The locals are busy with commerce, the tourists are busy sight-seeing. So pretty much only the patients and their family and friends and the hospital staff are stuck fretting in the hospital.


    Since Morgif didn''t come with a scabbard, he''s been tightly wrapped in cloth and looks like the pitiful Mummy edition of himself. Which of course means I can''t see his face, but I''m not going to worry about that now.


    Oddly enough, despite all the ruckus he caused, Morgif''s face doesn''t frighten me at all. It''s like when I watched all three volumes of the Splatter Movie in one night¡ªaround dawn, everything was just really funny. This is commonly known as the Scream 1-2-3 phenomenon.


    "We''ve been asking around disguised as well-wishers, but there aren''t any other patients in serious condition at this hospital. So I guess we''ll have to try the sanatorium to the east or the old folks'' home to the west?"


    "Ugh. I know this is for Morgif, but I hate this life of going around waiting for somebody to die."


    "This life? It''s only been half a day, Your...oops, I mean, Young Master."


    Conrad looks at my plate and pushes his own dessert over.


    "This is nothing like your usual appetite. What''s wrong? You didn''t eat much at breakfast, either. Is hospital food not to your liking?"


    "No, it''s not that. It''s not that, just..."


    "If there''s anything else you want, let me know and I''ll go look for you. Tourism is the main industry of this island, so they can pretty much prepare anything you want."


    "I want negroshinomayakishy."


    They''re edible? Wolfram''s request is ignored.


    "I want...let''s see, boat-wrap sushi?"


    "Boat-wrap sushi? What is that?"


    "You put fresh sashimi and shellfish and stuff on a boat. Foreigners hate raw fish, but Japanese people can''t live without sashimi. Like buri or hamachi or inada...oh, sorry, those are all the same fish. Mmm, Japanese amberjack."


    Actually, that''s not quite true.


    It''s probably stress from the unpleasantness of waiting for somebody to die. Since all four of my grandparents are in good health, death is still just a distant awareness for me.


    Conrad peers at me, feels my brow, then touches his forehead to mine like a mother checking her child for a fever.


    "Stop that, I''m not a kid!"


    "You don''t have a fever, but your color isn''t good. You''re probably still tired from last night. All right then, Josa will go west, I''ll head east. You and Wolfram stay in the city. We''ve rented the second floor of a private house, so you''ll be able to keep out of sight better than staying at an inn."


    "Wait, aren''t I the only one who can carry Melgib? You can''t do anything if I''m not along, right?"


    "There''s a high possibility of it being a fool''s errand. Still, if I borrow a horse I can get there in two hours. With you along it''d take twice that. I''ll take a look around, and if things look promising, I''ll come back and get you."


    I nod reluctantly and hoist the uncomfortably heavy Morgif.


    He''s really light for a sword and fits into my hand like he was molded for it, but he''s heavier than he looks when I''m carrying him around like a piece of luggage. And no matter how much cloth he''s wrapped in, I''m the only one who can touch him without getting zapped by a bolt of lightning.


    "Ooph, up we go."


    "What''s wrong, Yuuri? You sound like an old man."


    I don''t want to hear that from somebody who''s eighty-two years old.


    The city is overflowing with crowds of happy people having a good time. They''ve set their cares aside just for today and are all enjoying the festival to the fullest. The women are dressed in long one-piece dresses. Their flower patterns flutter in the breeze, beautiful as real blossoms.


    The island is brimming with color; everything is so bright it hurts the eyes.


    I gaze out at the scene from our rented private second floor. Morgif lies next to me, neither howling nor moaning.


    "Hey Wolf."


    "What?"


    "What''s a Lion of Ruttenberg?"


    Wolfram thinks for a moment, staring into space, before his gaze finally returns to the diary, and he says, "Come to think of it, I''ve heard that''s what people used to call Conrart. ''Cause his hair was a bit longer then. Ruttenberg is where he was born."


    "Then who is Julia?"


    "You should ask Mother that one. Because she was really close to Julia."


    "Close?"


    "Well...in Shinma Kingdom, there were three women with incredible magical powers. One was Golden C?li, my mother. Another was Crimson Anissina¡ªshe and my brother...and Gwendal, have this thing¡ªshe''s a short lady with red hair that looks like it''s on fire."


    "A thing with Gwendal?...a thing? What kind of a dangerous thing would that be...?"


    "Don''t ask me! The last was White Julia. Julia died¡ªalmost twenty years ago, now. Though she was one of the three great witches of Shinma Kingdom, she was born blind..."


    The magic stone at my chest heats. Its original owner must have been...


    "It''s a pity that...Conrad...lost his lover..."


    Wolfram suddenly starts shouting wildly. Talking about Conrad usually makes him mad, but I''ve said something so stupid this time that it''s thrown off his denotation timing.


    "Julia?! Julia, Conrart''s lover?! I never heard about that!"


    "What, you mean she wasn''t Conrad''s ex-girlfriend?! Huh? Must be my mistake. Okay then, just one more question, Wolf. What about the young general Grantz?"


    His expression hardens, and his white hands clench into fists on the rough table. The open pages of the diary move slightly in the wind.


    "Grantz is located on the northern tip of Shinma Kingdom. It''s Adalbert''s hometown."


    Adalbert von Grantz.


    Cold sweat slides down my spine.


    He''s the first Mazoku I encountered in this world, the man who tampered with my brain. The man who tried to kill me.


    "When his fianc¨¦e died he immediately abandoned his country. Because he wanted revenge on the Mazoku. He was engaged to..."


    What''s going on here, Conrad?


    "White Julia...Lady Susannah Julia von Wincott."


    What the heck is going on?!


    After the conversation I eavesdropped on last night, I can''t believe Julia was merely a friend. Which means that he was on the verge of an adulterous love triangle with a woman engaged to be married?! Dear me, Conrad, what a scandal! Now I sound like somebody''s mother.


    "Yuuri," Wolfram says coldly.


    "Ah, yes?"


    "Why are you making that face?"


    "What face am I making?"


    Probably the face of somebody''s mother watching a daytime soap opera.


    "Why are you asking about Adalbert and Julia with that expectant look on your face? It''s making me angry. Aaaaall right then, let''s keep reading this diary!"


    "Wah, please just stop reading that thing out loud!"


    "Though His Majesty carried himself with steadfast regality before the coronation, yet there was an air of anxiety about him."


    "Stooooop!"


    Isn''t this starting to sound more like a novel?! I reach for the diary, but he side-steps and escapes to the bed.


    "...This ephemeral quality, so fragile that it might crumble away at a touch, can be found only in boys who have not yet crossed the boundary into young men."


    "Just hurry up and burn that thing already!"


    I pounce, trying to grab it from Wolfram, and land on top of him. This is the exact moment when¡ª


    "Listen to this, Young Master...oops."


    "..."


    "Am I interrupting your fun, by any chance?"


    Josak closes the door again.


    "No, no, wait! We weren''t having fun, we were not having any fun of any kind, you''re taking it the wrong way! This is a massive, majorly massive misunder¡ªow!"


    I''ve bitten my tongue.


    "My my, Young Masters, it''s the middle of the day, so if you''re going to have a dalliance, you should at least lock the door. You really shouldn''t tempt your elders like this," Josak teases in the voice he uses when disguised as a woman, and enters the room. He waves the yellow piece of paper in his right hand before slapping it down on the table.


    "Weren''t you going to the old folks'' home?"


    "I was about to head over when I remembered to use my head. So I went over to the government office to take a look at the list of people registered at the institution. I mean, ''cause if I went and there was nobody there, then it''d be a total waste of time, wouldn''t it? And I was right¡ªall the old folks have gone home for the festival. I''m so glad I found that out before riding over...anyway, I got handed this flyer."


    On the yellow paper is a line in large red letters, followed by three small lines, followed by two, three more lines in fine print. At the center is a rough drawing of a couple of young men standing shoulder to shoulder, pointing at the sun.


    "I told you, I can''t read this."


    "''Urgent job recruitment! Be witness to the last moments of a life. Come cheer on a young man your own age facing his death! Seeking attractive young men in their teens. Owned swords welcome, extraordinary wages, interview at any time''...I can''t read the fine print either."


    Annoyed, Wolfram snatches away the paper.


    "Human cursive is so strange. It has absolutely no beauty or elegance. It''s too different from the artistry of our writing."


    "But what kind of a job is that, ''be witness to the last moments of a life?'' Shouldn''t that be a doctor or a nurse?...or an undertaker, maybe?"


    Actually, that''s after death. But I guess I should add religious folk too. Since they listen to confessions and say prayers. So why would swords be welcome? Monks with swords are priest soldiers, and they were all subjugated by Nobunaga.


    "I don''t get this island''s writing."


    "What''s important is that you and that sword can be at somebody''s last moments, right?" Josak claps his hands briskly. "So let''s give it a try. Off to the interview!"


    "What? But I don''t think I meet the appearance requirement."


    The two Mazoku reply in concert: "You''ll be totally fine!"


    I''m sorry to say this, but your aesthetic sense is approaching a mania.


    "That''s a rather seedy-looking sword you have there," the interviewer, who looks exactly like Colonel Sanders, mutters, scowling at Morgif. "But the thing is, we suddenly got this teenage kid sent to us yesterday, and it''s really put us in a bind. Because if you don''t match a young fellow with a young fellow, it won''t satisfy the spectators."


    Spectators? Oh, he must mean the clients.


    Six people including me came to the interview, and the rest of them are all attractive, good-looking guys. None of them quite have the particular beauty of the Mazoku, but on Earth they''d be comparable to a young Brad Pitt or Jude Law or Ewan McGregor or Ethan Hawke. And I didn''t mean Pa League baseball mascot characters for those last two.


    Then you have a baseball kid from the third district tossed into their midst. I might be able to offer some competition in the hundred-meter dash or the long throw or side-to-side jump, but when it comes to looks, I''m totally out of the running. Well, I should be totally out of the running. But¡ª


    "But when it comes to looks, you are certainly the cutest."


    "Wha...huh?! Oh, sorry...um...yeah, I''ve got low self-esteem."


    Hey wait, Van der Veer Island Festival Executive Committee Chair Representative! You mean it''s not just the Mazoku''s sense of aesthetics that''s off, but this entire world''s aesthetics?!


    "What did you say your occupation was?"


    "I''m self-employed."


    "What kind of self-employment?"


    Uh-oh, I haven''t thought that far.


    "A-adventurer!" is what I blurt out.


    "Your name?"


    "...MacGuver..."


    Adventurer equals MacGuver, special forces equals the A-Team. That''s all my brain can come up with.


    "Mm, then you''ll take it?"


    "Me?!"


    "Mm, yes, it''s an honorary position, so put your back into it!"


    So the line of attractive young men is kicked out, and the baseball kid is in.


    Which means Morgif will get to absorb a human life. Though for that I have to be witness to a young man my own age breathing his last. The guilt is totally depressing. The young man must be terminally ill¡ªI''ve got to sincerely do everything I can to be a good companion so that he can go without regrets.


    I silently harden my resolve and head towards the waiting room to report the news to Wolfram and Josak.


    "Where are you going? Your escort is already here for you, so you should hurry and change in the carriage."


    "What''s the big hurry?"


    "It would be impolite to keep our spectators waiting."


    My surprise allows the Chairman Representative to shove me into the carriage. He hands me a white shirt, then calmly, cheerfully squeezes himself into the remaining space.


    "We suddenly got ten additional people, so this year''s festival is guaranteed to be a huge success. We have five more than average this year, and with twelve participants the spectators are sure to go home totally satisfied."


    "Right..."


    I have no idea what he''s talking about. Stop stroking my thigh like that, it''s disgusting. I think I''m being sexually harassed. I pretend not to notice and wrap my hand around Morgif''s hilt.


    The old man lets out a scream and leaps out.


    "Sorry, I generate a lot of static electricity."


    I''m delivered to a place near the harbor enclosed by an ivy-covered brick wall. It looks like a stadium at first glance, like the holy land of high school students'' dreams.


    What am I doing at a place like this when I''ve got no chance of getting to Koushien? Compete in a talk battle?


    With a young man on the verge of death?


    An official accompanies me down a long corridor. Along the way there are a few places where the noise from outside is audible. It sounds like a subway platform.


    The room he shows me to is already occupied.


    The wide room is a dirty yellow, lined with benches. Ten or so men are seated away from each other. There''s also one leaning against a wall gazing up at the ceiling and another staring into midair muttering an incantation. The one with a cruel smile looks like he''s looking forward to something. They''re all wearing the same white shirt as me, their weapons at their side.


    A lone woman is standing quietly in the corner against the wall.


    Oppressed by the men''s bloodthirsty aura, my feet automatically take me in that direction. The slim woman, who looks to be in her late twenties, has dark blonde, shoulder-length hair. Her lips are set in a slight grimace, and she''s hugging herself with both arms.


    There aren''t many people chosen for the privilege of honorary positions with attitudes like these.


    Suddenly conscious of my throat going dry, I look around the room. I''m guessing they won''t be serving tea in here. I dig around in my pants pockets for change, but all I have are a couple of notes.


    "Miss...um, ma''am? Would you happen to have any change...?"


    Her head jerks up as if she''d been shot, and she looks from my face to the money. Her narrowed gold-hazel eyes are bloodshot with exhaustion and worry.


    "If you''re carrying around that much money, why are you in a place like this? A kid like you..."


    She quickly presses a hand against her mouth, but none of the others have heard.


    "You look about my youngest brother''s age¡ªhe''s fourteen this year. Look, if you don''t need the money, you shouldn''t accept a job like this. If they told you that it''s a prestigious position, don''t believe them¡ªthey''re lying to you. It may look heroic and dashing when you''re a spectator, but it''s another story altogether when you''re the one standing out there. You''re not the hand of justice or a messenger of God¡ªyou''re just a filthy killer!"


    Killer?!


    She seizes my shoulder and shakes me, continuing the one-sided conversation.


    "Here''s some friendly advice: just get out of here and go straight home. If you don''t have a home, then go back to your parents! If my son wasn''t sick, I would never stain my hands with something so awful. If you''re not desperately in need of money, don''t even think about doing something like this so young."


    "Wait, hold on, wait a minute! ''Something like this?'' What does that mean? I mean, someone read the flyer for me, and it said that they''re looking for somebody to be ''a witness to the last moments of a life, to cheer on a young man facing his death!'' ...Wait, killer? What does that mean? And spectators think it''s dashing?"


    "You didn''t read it yourself? There are so many kids like you, and they''re all misled! This is not a job where you cheer someone on, this is an execution. This is the last spectacle of the festival, a horrible and cruel exhibition, a place where people kill each other for show!"


    There''s a grand finale on the last day of the festival at the arena near the harbor¡ªyou''ll definitely regret it if you miss it, the proprietress at the inn insisted.


    She meant here? This is what I signed up for?!


    "What are you talking about?! Execution? Kill each other? What does that mean?!"


    "Somebody always freaks out, every single year," one of the others, a middle-aged man with a cruel smile on his unshaven face, mocks upon hearing my agitated questions. He approaches with a huge axe at his side. My hand on Morgif tightens. His faint smile widens.


    "You don''t have to be jumpy. Nobody''s gonna cause a scene here. After all, we''re all comrades in here, eh? I know all about bashing somebody''s face in, but it don''t look like you''ve got any idea. There''s always a kid like you every year¡ªthis is my fourth time, so it ain''t nothing new to me."


    "Nothing new...okay, then why don''t you tell me about what you did the other three times?" I bluff, partly out of despair. The man straightens, throwing out his chest. My only ally here is my partner Morgif, and I''m very much conscious of his presence at my right. I can rely on him.


    His low moan travels down my arm.


    "Okay, I''ll tell you. Once you walk out of this room, you''ll enter the arena. They''re gonna drag a criminal out from the opposite side, and you''re gonna fight him. You''ll take your sword or spear or knife or whatever weapon you like and chop ''em to pieces. No quarter given. ''Cause you''ll be facing a criminal who''s already been sentenced to death. Play with ''em as much as you can, ''cause the audience likes that. And if you please the audience, they''ll take you back next year. I got this job last year too. Nobody sympathizes with criminals. You can kill ''em, and nobody''ll blame you. This is an honorary position, anyhow."


    The woman whispers to me, "You have to get out of here before you become like him. He''s developed a taste for killing people. He''s like a drunk who''s always thirsty until he''s killed."


    You''ve gotta be kidding me, a taste for killing? Taste or special skill or most attractive feature, it''s all bad. I dash up to the door I came through, grab the knob and pull.


    "Dammit, it''s locked."


    "That''s a pretty seedy-looking weapon you''ve got there, you sure you sharpened it?"


    The man reaches out for Morgif at my side.


    "Don...!"


    He falls on his behind with a shrill scream and frantically rubs his left hand against the floor, searching for a cool spot.


    "What the hell?! What the hell is that thing?! It''s not just an ordinary sword! Hey kid, where the hell did you get that thing..."


    The sound of creaking iron echoes from the entrance and opposite wall, followed by cheers and light flowing in from the corridor.


    "Make your preparations, the two of you."


    Three perfectly armed soldiers beckon to me and the woman.


    I''m the top batter and the lady is second.


    I consider shaking free from the soldiers and dashing away at top speed, but there''s nowhere to run to but the middle of the arena. It won''t change anything.


    As we''re driven down the dim passage, the woman tells me, "Listen, there''s no chance for escape now, but you mustn''t fall into despair. A kid like you mustn''t become a killer. Just bide your time for now. I''ve heard that they''ll be pardoned from their death sentences if they win against us, so they''ll attack you with everything they have, but just run and dodge and take as much time as you can."


    "If they win against us they''ll be pardoned from their death sentences¡ªdoes that mean that some of us have lost, then?!"


    "Very rarely. I''ve seen this festival lots of times since I was a child, but very rarely does a criminal survive."


    So very rarely, the honorary position holder loses.


    "Take your time, that''s the important thing. They''ll have to do something if the audience gets impatient. You''ll probably be able to finish it without having to kill your opponent yourself."


    "But..."


    The roof suddenly falls away, and I''m engulfed by cheers. So many torches light the round arena that it''s brighter than noon. It''s almost like the start of a nighter.


    But this is not a stadium. There are no benches, no bases, no lawn, only rough stone paving and the ocean breeze. What''s going to take place here is not a game, but people killing people.


    "In Japanese, there''s only a single character''s difference between ''coliseum'' and ''people killing each other.''"


    The entire audience is on their feet and singing with their hands over their hearts to a sonorous melody played by wind instruments. There are two flags on a pole¡ªone for Cimarron, the other for Van der Veer Island.


    In the exaltation around me, I''m the only one frozen in place, dazed.


    Faced with this utterly inconceivable situation, my body is completely paralyzed.


    Even since being summoned to this world, I''ve experienced various dangers up close and personal that no ordinary modern Japanese high school student would probably ever face. I''ve been attacked, fought a duel, almost assassinated and then kidnapped. But I was never alone, and someone always came to save me.


    That''s right¡ªConrad!


    I look around, but he''s nowhere to be seen. He''s still on his trip, the one that takes two hours one way by horse.


    But this is a pinch on a never-before-seen scale¡ªa Leonardo da Pinch(i), even.


    The soldiers shut the iron-latticed door and lock it to prevent us from going back in.


    "You sure are in luck. The criminals we got yesterday are pirates, but the big shots were pretty much all extradited. The rest are all underlings and small fry. Practically no swordsmanship at all¡ªyou''ll see."


    "Pirates?! You mean the ones who attacked a luxury liner a few days ago?!"


    "That''s right. What''s shocking is that there were Mazoku posing as passengers on that ship."


    What do you mean, posing? I was a full-fledged passenger with a paid ticket and everything.


    "Anyhow, around the time the ship came into harbor, they transformed into balloon puppets. They must''ve wanted to come to the festival, but who knows if they''re alive or dead..."


    If that battle takes place, it''d be a me versus me (the water rescue practice doll, Mr. Livesaver me, at least) dream team. Ending with a complete victory for me. Also instant death.


    Some instrument that sounds like a trumpet plays a fanfare. Audience noise and anticipation has reached the G1 level.


    The condemned criminal is dragged to the opposite gate, and both of us prepare for our entrance.


    He''s too far away for me to see clearly, but he looks like a boy of twelve or thirteen.


    "He''s still a kid!"


    "He may be a kid, but he''s also complete scum. He drugged all the guards on the liner and the escort ship so the pirates could get on without any trouble."


    "I can''t kill a kid! I mean, I''m not going to kill an adult or elderly person either!"


    Actually, I can''t even kill a sheep or pig. Or throw rocks at puppies.


    "Don''t forget what I''ve told you. Take as much time as you can, make the audience impatient."


    "All-all right. Then he won''t have to be killed, right? Okay then, I''ll give it my best shot since I''m at the top of the lineup, so follow up with a bunt, okay?"


    Total confusion.


    A soldier grabs my arm and drags me out to the arena.


    I''m alone. I have to get through this by myself, somehow. But how?!


    What will do you, Shibuya Yuuri?


    There''s a low vibration at the tips of my fingers. My partner is moaning, calling me.


    "...Morgif."


    That''s right.


    He''s Morgif, mightiest of demon swords.


    Loyal servant of the Maou.


    If I''m really the Maou, the genuine Maou, you won''t leave me all alone, right?


    "So, Partner, you trembling with excitement there?"


    Don''t call me partner (self-retort).


    My opponent is holding a large two-handed sword. It glistens with good maintenance.


    A sea breeze crosses the faraway waves into the coliseum. I untie the yellow cloth around Morgif and let it flutter away on the wind.


    Revealing the demon sword.


    "Everybody must be talking about what an awesome sword you are."


    "What is with that pathetic engraving of a face?"


    "Can something that dull cut someone apart?"


    "It''s disgusting!"


    Disgusting? He''s not disgusting! Morgif is unexpectedly unpopular.


    Before I can reach the center of the arena my opponent lets out a strange cry and charges forward. He swings his silver sword down at me.


    "...Woah!"


    "Woo."


    I barely catch it in time, and my arms endure the impact. Morgif lets out a low hungry-sounding moan as metal clashes against metal.


    "The umpire hasn''t made the call yet! You''ll get ejected if you throw a duster!"


    I can hear my opponent''s agitated breathing right next to me. Only when we jump apart and put some distance between us can we finally see each other''s face. It really is a kid¡ªhe must be about three years younger than me. His face has a quite a scattering of freckles, like one of those kids they use for peanut...


    "Rick?!"


    It can''t be.


    The boy has recognized me too, and the point of his sword abruptly drops to the ground.


    "Why are you doing something like this...hasn''t there been some mistake? You''re a proper sailor¡ªapprentices shouldn''t be treated like criminals!"


    "Why are you doing this...?"


    "Never mind about me! Seriously, this must be one big misunderstanding, I''ll go see a government official for you! Heeeey, this boy isn''t a pirate! I''ll vouch for his identity..."


    The audience yells. Morgif is struck soundly, and I lose my balance and pitch forward.


    "...ah!"


    There''s a thin, shallow burning sensation across my shoulder.


    "Rick...you..."


    The boy swung at me from behind. His freckles have all but disappeared next to his bloodshot eyes, twisted lips and the red splotches on his cheeks.


    "You''re as soft-hearted as ever, mister."


    Now I know why they had me put on a white shirt: red looks good on it.


    "Are you really going to kill me?"


    "I''ll be a free man if I kill you."


    "They''re lying to you. Come on, Rick, they''re lying to you! They hit you and threatened you and did horrible things to you to get you to confess to being a pirate, didn''t they? Look, that kind of a confession is invalid. You can get a lawyer to help you! I''ll do whatever I can to help, too."


    Rick lifts his chin slightly and croaks a long laugh. It''s full of the sort of helpless scorn of someone just barely holding back madness.


    "Who''s lying to me?! It was my job to pretend to be an apprentice and put the guards to sleep. It was also my duty to drop the ladder so my comrades could board more easily. Oh yeah, I was the one who reported that the deluxe suite passengers should still be in their rooms, too. You know, I was really quaking in my boots when you caught me right before I was going to put the plan in motion. But you''re such a dunce that you said I was doing a good job patrolling!"


    Self-loathing fills me, along with a shock that feels like I''ve been struck on the back of the head. If there were a hole here I''d crawl into it. I trusted the one I shouldn''t have, and disdained the trustworthy sailor.


    "But why...but you want to be a sailor, don''t you?! You want to be the captain of a big ship, right?!"


    "That''s right, mister. I would''ve been the captain of a big ship. If you people hadn''t interfered."


    "Captain...of a pirate ship?"


    "What other path is there? I''ve been with pirates as far back as I can remember. A kid like me, what other path is there for me?!"


    He glares steadily at me, the pupils of his hazel eyes contracted to pinpoints as if they''ve been possessed by the devil.


    I''m just a kid and an ordinary high school student, and I know nothing about swordsmanship. If we''re talking about which of us has survived more carnage, it''d have to be Rick, who was born a pirate. My experience with this world is too shallow. I''m not used to these serious fights to the death.


    "Haooo!" Morgif groans thinly, the sound traveling from the guard to the tip.


    "Okay, so you''re probably the veteran of a hundred battles, but I''ve never swung anything except a bat! And incidentally, just pinch-hitting at that, not even as one of the starters!"


    "You certainly have composure to spare! Who are you talking to?"


    "The sword!"


    Huh, now I feel like a super master ventriloquist.


    "Baboo."


    "You''re not baby Ikura from Sazae-san, geez!"


    Since he hasn''t absorbed a human life, I know that he can''t demonstrate his abilities yet. But if I don''t do anything but defend, my opponent''s going to seize the initiative. I have to get Morgif to fight somehow, too.


    Would anything happen if I started calling out the names of special moves?


    "Melgib¡ªI mean, Morgif¡ªPuncho!"


    Puncho is Itou.


    "Wait, no, I mean, Morgif Punch!"


    Punch is Satou. Okay, calm down. Punch and kick can''t be a sword''s special moves. It''d have to be something like ''Diagonal Slash!'' or ''Cleave!'' or ''True White-Feather Blade Catch.''


    Those are all Japanese katana specials...


    I will do what I can.


    "Huh?"


    Words suddenly flash across my mind. Not a voice, but written words.


    Steel clashes against steel like a high-pitched percussion instrument. The fingers of my right hand at the top of the hilt have gone numb. My index finger grazes the back of the guard.


    I will do all that I can.


    "I''ll be free if I kill you! I''ll do it, even if you''re a scary Mazoku! They''ll honor me if I get a Mazoku! Maybe it''ll even mean that someone like me can live as something other than scum!"


    "I''ll do just what I can."


    Repel the falling silver arc from below, turn aside the tip and stagger away. Deflect the next swing slantwise. I pull Morgif back with all my might. Take back.


    The tip of Rick''s blade strikes the ground, scattering blue sparks. With the grip end just skimming my navel, I aim for his forward-slouching waist and swing.


    My weight shifts from the big toe of my pivot foot to my left arm. The excessive force trusts out my knees. It was supposed to be a Nakamura Nori-style full swing, but however I look at it, it wouldn''t have hit anything but a breaking ball, and only manage a foul tip at that.


    "...Guh!"


    Rick lurches and staggers, crouching and pressing a hand against his stomach. Bloody saliva foams from his mouth.


    I lower Morgif''s tip and finally exhale.


    "I''m sorry. I''m not a sword master or anything, so I don''t know how to go easy on someone."


    "...K..."


    "You probably feel kinda sick right now, but it''s better than being in two halves, right? He''s as dull as he looks. He can''t cut anything if I don''t sharpen him."


    Rick grasps my ankle. He looks up at me with burning eyes, still crouched. Terrible burning eyes full of hatred. He must detest me for being so cruel to him.


    "...Kill...me..."


    "I''m not going to kill you. Somebody told me earlier that I should take as much time as I can, and the audience will be satisfied without anybody being killed. Something''ll happen if the audience gets impatient."


    "Woo," Morgif warns. Since you''re a demon sword, you must want to absorb his life as soon as possible, but the problem isn''t that simple.


    "I''m not going to kill you¡ªyou should get a proper trial. You''ve known nothing but the pirates'' life since you were a baby and haven''t received any kind of proper education, so of course you can''t distinguish between good and evil: those facts need to be taken into consideration. It''s not too late for you to correct yourself. You''ll definitely be a sailor one day."


    The audience begins to howl at our inactivity. They''re standing, shouting ''guilty!'' Men and women both are spitting curses down on us in language that makes me want to cover my ears, demanding a decisive win or loss.


    "What''s wrong with you people? You actually enjoy something like this...?!"


    A hand smudged with sweat and sand crawls up my knee.


    He clutches my shoulder, trying desperately to stand, and wipes the blood from the corners of his mouth.


    "You got hit with a full swing, don''t try to overdo it."


    A flash of wind crosses the edges of my vision.


    The boy convulses wildly and collapses. I can''t hold him up with one arm, and fall to the moist stone on my behind.


    "Rick?"


    He''s lying between my feet, and there''s a crimson stain welling up, spreading across his back. A heavy dark gray iron arrow is protruding from his white shirt.


    "...Rick...why?"


    The audience roars approvingly. There are even people embracing and dancing. Applause and cheers swell across the arena¡ªeven breathing is becoming painful.


    "Why?! Why are you giving a standing ovation?! The fight was over! There was no need for this! Who did this? Who shot this arrow?! Get down here! Stand and face me!"


    If you take enough time and make the audience impatient, an archer will kill your opponent for you. Is that the way it is? Criminals live very rarely.


    So that''s how it is.


    "Dammit, get down here! Show your face, you dirty bastard! This is the work of a coward! Who was it, who thought this up?! Get out here! I''ll, I''ll kill...him...I''ll kill..."


    No!


    In the pure blank whiteness of my head, my Japanese DNA holds back the Maou''s soul.


    This is not why I''m here in this world.


    This is not why I was chosen. Is it?


    "Woooooo...wooo.....wooo...."


    "Morgif?"


    The demon sword moans intermittently. The obsidian stone in his forehead, set in the same spot as the Buddha''s, flashes brightly.


    There''s some kind of uproar in the front row of the guest seats, out of which a faint, blurry blue lump about the size of a ping-pong ball rises and falls in a perfect parabola straight into Morgif''s mouth as if sucked in.


    "Wait a minute, Morgif, what the heck was that?! You can''t just eat whatever people throw away. Spit it out¡ªspit it out right now!"


    The exact reaction of a pet owner upset at his dog for scavenging for food.


    "Oh no, Grandfather''s heart has stopped!"


    "I told you so, he''s already a hundred and twenty, and he''s viewing an execution from the front row."


    "He wanted to see the young woman who''s up second, it''s such a pity that he died at the first round."


    "But look at the satisfaction on his face."


    "Wow, it''s true. He spent his entire life living and dying for women, but maybe in his last moments he awakened to cute young men?"


    What kind of grandkids say stuff like that about their grandfather...?


    The demon sword starts quivering in my hand. I set Rick down gently and hurriedly shift to a two-handed grip. The light from the stone on his forehead is growing stronger¡ªit''s shooting a beam of light up into the sky.


    "Wait a minute. Was that...did you just inhale that old man''s life? I wasn''t trying to invoke you in a place like..."


    Unfortunately I''m missing some vital information. What happens when I invoke the demon sword? The VTR neglected to provide an explanatory diagram. Um, let''s see, there was something about a cow flying into midair...and a cow flying into midair...it''s no use, the impact of that image was so strong that I can''t recall the other parts.


    In the meantime Morgif is still quivering, and the audience has stopped its merry-making. They''re too busy now to even think about the second execution. What is happening with that sword? The babble of voices sweeps around the arena.


    And Morgif barfs.


    "Waugh, what the, what the heck is that coming out of your mouth?"


    However you look at it, it''s a yellow vomit-like substance flowing out of the mouth that bit me. I can''t really call it liquid; even though it''s sort of amorphous, it doesn''t feel wet.


    The yellow vomit finally thickens into a wide band and begins pulling me along with enormous power. If I let go Morgif will probably make like one of those buckets used in a centrifugal force experiment, and I don''t know where he''ll end up. I can''t lose the ultimate weapon after all the trouble I went through to find him.


    "Owey owey."


    "Gah, is this because your stomach''s been empty for fifteen years¡ª?"


    And now he''s getting stomach cramps because he stuffed himself?!


    The sword fits the owner. Birds of a feather flock together?


    One of the spectators finally realizes and starts yelling.


    It''s a demon sword.


    "It''s a demon sword! It''ll burn this place to ashes, it''s going to kill us all!"

 Volume 2 - CH 9

    After some serious self-reflection, Lord von Kleist has come to the conclusion that some apology is required for his eccentric behavior¡ªwhich is why he is heading for Lord von Voltaire''s private chambers with a basket of strawberries in hand.


    Though they have known each other for a very long time, this visit to Gwendal''s living quarters is his first. G¨¹nter sighs dramatically. What if he barges in on Gwendal being attended on by a bevy of beautiful women?


    "...For Gwendal, at least, that''s not very..."


    Head bowed, G¨¹nter ascends the stairs with an air of exquisitely becoming tragedy. Rude though it might be to say, he looks poised to become the subject of a master painter''s masterpiece.


    He gracefully announces his visit with the door knocker and pushes open the heavy door.


    "Gwendal, a word if you please...I came to apolog...ize...urg..."


    His speech comes to a grinding halt at the unexpected tableau in front of him.


    Gwendal is not being attended on by any beautiful women¡ªor beautiful men, for that matter; nor is he amusing himself with any kinky hobbies.


    The chamber belonging to the master of the castle is appropriately furnished and decorated with burnished, glistening suits of ornamental armor. A framed portrait of the previous lord with his wife and daughters is prominently displayed. Perhaps the only thing missing is an antlered deer head. But in a corner of the room is a pile of strange objects.


    Lord von Voltaire is in the chair by the window, long legs crossed.


    "Did I give you permission to enter?"


    "Aaah, um, well...I''m really...er, I''m really sorry. Um, Gwendal, what..."


    A mountain of objects made of knitted wool is piled in the corner of the room opposite the fireplace.


    At the bottom are things made from folded cloth, but the nearer the top of the pile the more complex the objects. There are so many knitted stuffed animals that they look ready to start an avalanche at any moment.


    "I didn''t know...you knitted as a hobby..."


    "It''s not a hobby."


    Okay then, what''s with the little rabbits and kittens and puppies?! And what about the one you''re working on right now?!


    "It''s a stress-reducer."


    "Stress..."


    "When I''m knitting, my mind is freed from obstructive thoughts."


    So when his mind is freed he makes cute little animals? Gwendal''s expression doesn''t change in the slightest as his fingers move on his lap.


    Ah, so that''s it, the tutor realizes. That''s why his fingers twitch like that when he''s irritated. He''s unconsciously trying to preserve his presence of mind by doing fantasy-knitting.


    Now he knows something he shouldn''t. If it were possible he''d unknow it.


    "But there have been so many unpleasant incidents lately that I''ve been finishing them one after another. I''ve been giving them away to my subordinates and servants, but honestly, foster parents are scarce."


    "S-scarce?"


    "Want this one?"


    G¨¹nter hurriedly catches the small, dark knitted animal Gwendal tosses to him.


    "Wh-what a cute little black pig."


    Gwendal lifts an eyebrow. His matchlessly cool eyes glint a terrifying sapphire.


    "...That is a bear."


    The yellow band mows down the coliseum.


    Chaos reigns within, filled with the screams and bellows of people trying to escape.


    I''m doing everything I can think of to subdue Morgif or soothe him or cajole him, but after absorbing his first human life in fifteen years, the demon sword shows no sign of stopping.


    Judging by the spots covered in whatever it is he''s spewing out, it''s not particularly harmful to the human body. My own body is ample evidence of that. But the Humans are panicking and climbing over each other to be the first to get away from me.


    "Stop it, Morgif, stop!"


    "Yuuri!"


    Tears unexpectedly spring to my eyes at the sound of that familiar voice.


    He vaults the fence and jumps down from the audience seats, then rushes over with an expression I''ve seldomly seen on his face.


    "Conrad!"


    "Your Majesty, how did you end up in a place like this?"


    "Don''t get too close¡ªwatch out! The vomit is okay to touch, though."


    "Lower the sword. Point the tip down toward the ground."


    I''m not strong enough to control it. Conrad unhesitatingly comes up behind me and covers my hands with his on the hilt of the sword.


    "Don''t! Your hands¡ª!"


    "...It''s all right. Now, slowly. Down, yes."


    Call my name.


    "What?! What did you say?!"


    "It wasn''t me."


    Words flash in the back of my mind like the afterimage of fireworks¡ªwritten, not spoken.


    Call my name, and I will do all that I can. My name is...


    "Willem Dussollier Eli de Morgif!"


    "Yuuri?!"


    "If you''re gonna barf, do it into an etiquette bag!!"


    Gulpreen.


    The sound Morgif makes is not a gulp or karumph or gulop, but a razor-sharp gulpreen as he frantically holds down his stomach cramps. His mouth, usually wide open, is sealed into a slit, and there''s even a tiny wrinkle on his brow.


    "What sort of sorcery did you use?"


    "You know that I''m a faux-magician, right? I didn''t use any magic. It wasn''t sorcery at all; I was only reading out loud the words that were being transmitted directly into my brain via ESP.


    "Read? Does that mean that you can now read?! Ah, I''m sorry, let''s leave that for later. Wolf and Josa should be securing our path. We need to get out of here right now."


    "But Rick..."


    A fleeting glance at Conrad''s palms is enough to show me their painful redness, but he ignores them and lifts the boy up in his arms. With a ''Your Majesty, please see to Morgif,'' he leads the way out.


    The woman who was kind to me is alone next to the gate I came through, running around looking after the crowd bewilderedly. She has suddenly been deprived of money to treat her son.


    "Excuse me...ma''am."


    She glares at me in surprise, and fear is intertwined with hatred and rage within her narrowed eyes. I dig into my pocket and hold the bills I find there out to her slim fingers.


    "Here."


    "You''re Mazoku, aren''t you?!"


    She quickly backs away as if she''s been touched by something dirty.


    "I thought you were an ordinary child, but then you...you unleash that terrible sword! You Mazoku came to kill us Humans, didn''t you?! You want to wipe us out! Don''t touch me!"


    "All right, I won''t touch you. Here, I''ll put this money here."


    "You think I''d pick up something like that?! You want to lure me in with that money, wait for me to take it and cut me down with that sword! Damn you, what sort of a weapon is that anyway?! Well, we Humans will pray to God and ask for an even stronger weapon! We Humans will make an even stronger weapon..."


    "I don''t care about any of that!"


    I thrust out my hand like bona fide prodigal son and take Conrad''s wallet. The woman involuntarily staggers forward half a step at the sight of the heavy leather wallet.


    "Take this money and go get your son treated for his illness."


    "If I pay the doctor with money from a Mazoku, my son will be cursed."


    What the hell?! Why?! Money is money! It doesn''t matter who uses it, it''s this island''s currency.


    I place both the wallet and my notes on the ground. Not looking at the woman, Conrad smiles at me and says: "My father even had a child with a Mazoku woman."


    "Was he cursed?"


    He puts on an absolutely superior know-it-all look.


    "Not at all. He lived until he was eighty-nine and spent his life doing exactly what he wanted."


    We run all the way back to the waiting room. Morgif is heavy, and I''m still worried about the woman. If she really is a mother, then I have to believe that she would make the decision to pick up the money for her son.


    Wolfram and Josak are waiting impatiently for us with uniforms stolen from the soldiers. They seemed to have been talking, and it didn''t feel like idle chatter.


    "Change into this¡ªhurry. We can''t use horses in this confusion. We''ll be heading for the marina rather than the harbor; please act like soldiers until we get there."


    It takes a bit of effort to get Morgif wrapped up, and Conrad, unable to sit still and wait, gives me a hand. When I look around for Rick, I find him in the arms of a blond man I don''t know.


    "Your Majesty, hurry."


    "Ye-yeah."


    It''s not far to the marina, but people scrambling to get away from the arena choke the road. This is why we''re in disguise. The power of the uniforms is extraordinary; though many disgruntled looks are flung at us, everyone still gets out of our way.


    Even among the several extravagant cruisers anchored at the marina, one snags the eye with her beauty and elegance. Silver stars adorn her snowy-white body, and her unfurled sails are a deep aqua blue. A woman is waving from the deck.


    Her golden curls fall to her waist, and her lascivious clothes border on the criminal...actually, they''re more ''cloths'' than ''clothes.'' If she were an idol, she''d get negative reviews from her agency. Her beautiful long legs, with skin as fair as that of her third son, are generously exposed.


    Aaah, geez, Lady C?li, please spare me.


    Her breasts sway with every wave of her hand.


    After the ''oh, it''s been so long!'' greeting, which is way too intense for my peace of mind, we enter the cruiser. It''s so enormous that I don''t think anybody but a foreign millionaire or Kayama Yuuzou could afford it¡ªand filled with so much gold and silver and gemstones that it makes me think ''can''t you just use iron for that?!'' Like the chamber pot.


    "A gentleman and dear friend from Cimarron insisted that I make use of this boat. He even got down on his knees to make the request, so how could I be so cold as to refuse?"


    The Sexy Queen is active in various locations all over the world. It looks like the pheromone advisory this year has to be issued in this very country of Cimarron.


    Lady C?cilie von Spitzweg, in addition to being Her Majesty the Prior Maou, is also the mother of Gwendal, Conrart, and Wolfram, the Mazoku brothers who are unlike as unlike can be. Though she has three children, she doesn''t look a day past thirty, and is popularly called the Hunter of Love. Thanks to me she is now retired from active duty, and is out of the country on a trip of free love.


    "I was coming to see the famous Van der Veer Fire Festival when I heard a rumor that Mazoku were captured here. I asked Chevalier to investigate and was able to get in contact with Wolf."


    Chevalier is Lady C?li''s companion, the blond man who was carrying Rick. Surprisingly, I now recognize him¡ªhe''s the attendant I met last month in the bath.


    "Oh Your Majesty, you are as cute as ever. Are things coming along with my son?"


    "No-no-nothing''s coming along!"


    "Oh my, that''s too bad. And I was imagining so much more."


    What?! WHAT have you been imagining?


    "But does that mean I still have a chance? Oh, how I tremble at the thought. This ''Captive of Love'' has extraterritorial status and is free to travel any ocean in the world, so don''t worry about any boors barging in on us."


    Then you should''ve let us take this boat for our journey. But why did you have to give it such an embarrassing name?


    "More importantly, Mother, let us set sail as soon as we can. We have an injured person, and His Majesty is tired as well. Do you have a Healer on board?"


    No matter how perfect her charms, her son seems proof against them. Looks like that''s one universal principle.


    "Talk to Chevalier about that. Someone has been injured? Oh my."


    Lady C?li covers her mouth with her hand sweetly at the sight of Rick lying on the verge of death. My head is spinning. To an unpopular high school student like me, she''s a heavenly maiden.


    "...Arrow man, hmm?"


    He''s not that duck with the arrow in his head!


    "I have just the person. There''s a handsome middle-aged Healer on board, but he''s my beautician, so I don''t know about wound-healing..."


    "Handsome middle-aged Healer...? Mmmn..."


    "Anyway, Your Majesty, were you able to get the demon sword? Won''t you let me take a peek?"


    How can I refuse? I unwrap Morgif from his swaddling cloths. Lady C?li is simply overjoyed at the sight of him. Smiling widely, she asks, "Incredible! I''ve never seen any sword so ugly! Your Majesty, can I use it to decorate my room? Please?"


    "Ask G¨¹nter that when we get back to the castle."


    But if she did use him as decoration, she''d probably get nightmares every night.


    Catching sight of Conrad leaving the cabin, I unthinkingly chase after him. Josak is alone on deck, gazing back at the island. Before I can reach the top of the stairs, Conrad seizes his friend''s collar.


    "What were you trying to do?!"


    "What are you talking about?"


    There''s a thud as my Guard of the Inner Circle hits the wall.


    "It''s true that Wolfram doesn''t know about the festival. He has no interest in Humans. But you! Cimarron is your country¡ªyou were raised here¡ªyou lived here until you were twenty! There''s no way you can''t read the language! And there is no way you haven''t heard about that depraved pastime!"


    Though he''s shoved against the wall, Josak doesn''t lose his Roger Rabbit smile.


    "But everything went well, didn''t it? If His Majesty hadn''t lost his nerve at the crucial moment, Morgif would''ve absorbed the kid''s life and been sated. Well, in the end I guess he satisfied himself with that old grandpa''s life. Now the demon sword we bring back to the country will be ready for use at a moment''s notice. None of our enemies would''ve been afraid of something we can''t use."


    "...Your way of doing things is wrong."


    "Wrong? How is it wrong? Who knows what will happen if we leave the country to a child-king like that? He needs someone behind him, steering him in the right direction. Doesn''t that make it easier for His Majesty too?"


    I can''t go out now. I grip the railing tightly. Ignorant of the fact that the subject of their conversation is eavesdropping on them, their quarrel grows ever more heated. Conrad never gets angry thoughtlessly.


    "Making light of the king and manipulating affairs of state is tantamount to rebellion!"


    "Making light? I''m not. Didn''t we come to get the demon sword because His Majesty said he doesn''t want to go to war? Having a strong weapon is certainly not a bad thing. Which means that we need the ultimate weapon so we''re more powerful than anybody else. That way our neighbors won''t attack us. See, there''s a principle behind His Majesty''s thinking, too. That''s why I''m doing all I can to help him. Now when His Majesty goes home with Morgif, he''ll have a place of honor among the Maous of Shinma Kingdom. Even the people support a strong king. So tell me, how were we wrong?! How are we making light of him?"


    "There was no need to put him in so much danger! If anything had gone wrong, injury wouldn''t have been the end of it!...to say nothing of making His Majesty kill someone...!"


    Their words stab into my thoughts, making me so dizzy that I can''t stay upright.


    I''ve forgotten something. I''m wrong about something, too.


    But the thought isn''t concrete enough for me to grasp.


    "In the end, I guess¡ª" Josak says in a casual conversational tone, removing his friend''s hand, "¡ªthe point is that the young lord''s very important to you, isn''t he? Publicly, you claim to be working toward peaceful coexistence with Humans, but in reality you just don''t want the new king to be hurt¡ªthat''s why you praise him and protect him and raise him up with all your might."


    "You understand nothing."


    "Nothing? If he''s that important to you, why don''t you put him in a box and hide him away somewhere deep in the castle? Lock him up in his room and don''t let him come out."


    "Josak!"


    "You even gave him that precious stone of yours, huh?"


    The magic stone heats at my chest.


    When he was still called the Lion of Ruttenberg, who did this stone belong to? That person must have been someone so much smarter than me, someone who wouldn''t be manipulated.


    See, Conrad? My approval rating''s at rock bottom.


    "You might scorn Stoffel, but you''re doing exactly what he did. Will you push His Majesty into making the same mistakes as Lady C?cilie, Her Majesty the Prior Maou?


    "No indeed, Your Excellency, my lord Conrart Weller. Lady C?li''s mistake was refusing to reign herself and leaving everything to others. She was mistaken in her choice of advisors."


    "...Are you saying that she should have chosen Lord von Voltaire?"


    "No."


    Josak abruptly shuts his mouth.


    I slowly trace the pendant''s narrow silver border, where the lives of its owners must be carved memory by memory. If only, like my grandfather''s record collection, a needle could traverse its grooves and revived those memories.


    "...Everything is too late now. We must not fail this time; we cannot let something like that happen again."


    "No matter what schemes you think up, you will never turn His Majesty into your puppet."


    "You''re not listening, are you? We''re not trying to make him into a puppet. We love him, we really do."


    "Even so! If anything like this happens again, if you put Yuuri in danger again¡ª"


    There is a strangely long, heavy silence.


    "...Be prepared to pay with your life."


    Conrad''s voice is low, harsh. I''ve never heard him like that before. He immediately turns on his heels. I hurriedly descend the stairs as his footsteps approach.


    "I will tell Gwendal that in person! Your way of doing things will only harm His Majesty."


    "Do as you like."


    The voices become distant and hard to make out.


    "Still, even...looks like that...the lordling...without...huh? ...''cause...got...a king''s..."


    "He is the only one who doesn''t acknowledge that."


    We decide to spend the night in the luxury cruiser so we can leave for Shinma Kingdom when all the other tourists set sail on the morrow, and drop anchor on the other side of the island. Of course there are more than enough rooms. And beds.


    The north side of the island is so quiet and tranquil that you might almost think all the tumult earlier never happened. There''s no sign of the festival here. You wouldn''t even believe that it''s the same island¡ªthere''s no noise or light or crowds.


    I insist on going down to the beach, and start jogging for the first time in a week.


    I need to get my body back to its usual pace, or my mind won''t work either. If I can get my feet moving and my blood circulating, it''ll bring oxygen up to my brain. So the more I run, the more endorphins my brain will secrete, and maybe then I''ll come up with a good idea I wouldn''t normally think of.


    Talk about na?ve.


    I jog barefoot along the beach illuminated only by the ship''s lights.


    My feet sink into the warm, wet sand, cushioning the impact with flip-flapping noises.


    I can''t go running by myself, of course. Conrad follows silently behind me. I''m jogging with a bodyguard, like the president of the United States. I guess it can''t be helped when you''re a king.


    I''m sweating as soon as I start: proof that my physical baseline has dropped.


    "In junior high, when I was in, the baseball club, we had to run every day, and I thought, it was totally natural."


    "What about now?"


    "My body''s gotten, really lazy since, I stopped going to club. I started, playing baseball again, a little while ago, but I''m still, not back in shape yet."


    "I see."


    What irks the hell out of me is that he''s not even out of breath. I wonder if sword masters jog every day, too?


    "Aargh, I keep thinking, that maybe, I shouldn''t have stopped, that I should, be in the baseball club now, too."


    "You said that you hit the coach and was kicked out, right?"


    "Yeah."


    I bend with my hands on my knees, then sit down on a dry spot on the sand.


    "Give me a push. I''m going to stretch."


    "Stretch?"


    "Yeah. Stretching on the beach at night. Ooph, how romantic."


    Well, if I weren''t with a guy.


    "Hitting your coach¡ªthat''s pretty drastic, too."


    "Yeah, one, two, because he said something, really horrible. Three, something, he shouldn''t have said."


    Nostalgic memory. It doesn''t make me angry anymore, though it does make my chest ache a bit.


    It happened just before the start of summer¡ªalmost a year ago, now.


    One of the pitchers who advanced to the best four in the Little League Nationals entered the junior high school in the next district. Our club, on the other hand, was full of newbies who didn''t know one end of the bat from the other. They had to be taught everything from scratch, from running to batting and fielding. We got yelled at by our coach every day.


    Our right fielder, a third year, was injured in a practice game one day, and a first year took his place. There was no way he could throw directly to home from the outfield without going to the cutoff, but he tried anyway. The ball couldn''t reach either the catcher or a relay in time, and the runner scored.


    "After the match, the coach singled him out and told him that if he can''t even make a play like that, he should stop. ...No, wait, he told him to turn in his resignation note. ''You haven''t got the qualifications to play baseball, Third Middle is strong enough as it is, we''ll never win if we don''t get some good players in''¡ªstuff like that. ''I''ve got no time for a useless loser like you, go join some other club.'' That''s what he said."


    Even though the other team was still on the grounds, he said it so loudly that everybody could hear him.


    "And then you punched him?"


    "Mn? Yeah. ''You''re the one who''s not qualified!'' And then, bam!"


    It was short-tempered even for me. So totally embarrassing.


    "Of course, it would''ve been great if the coach were trying to encourage him to work harder. But I''ve been a substitute for a long time, and I could read between the lines. Even kids can tell the difference between ''get lost'' and ''try harder.'' You can push harder, I won''t break."


    "So you were kicked out for the sake of a younger teammate."


    "That sounds pretty impressive¡ªwonder if that''s how they tell it?"


    The ocean is black. So is the sky. The clouds are a dark gray. Only the moon and stars are white¡ªor blue or red or yellow. Glittering. Maybe the night sky is black so that the moon and stars can shine more brightly. And maybe the stars burn to make the night''s blackness beautiful.


    The break and retreat of the waves sound like scattered applause.


    "...I wonder if it was true, though."


    "Eh?"


    "I''ve been thinking about it a bit lately. Did I really do it for my teammate?...to speak up for the team? Is that why I hit the coach? I''ve heard that the coach changed his attitude a bit after that, stopped talking trash about the team in front of students from other schools and saying insensitive things. And that''s great and all, but...did I really do it for the team?"


    The pushing against my back slackens.


    "...Maybe I was just looking for an opportunity to stop because I was disgusted with myself for not having any talent? Maybe subconsciously I just wanted a way to leave the club looking cool instead of like a loser? ...I''m asking myself that now. Yuuri, was that really for the team? Stuff like that."


    I''ll probably never know the answer.


    An arm encircles me from behind. My baseball buddy asks over my shoulder, so mildly that it sounds like he might be querying about the name of the leading hitter, "There''s something you want to tell me, isn''t there?"


    "Yeah."


    I can hear some sort of staccato beat against the sand, getting closer.


    "...I''m thinking about leaving Morgif on this island."


    What kind of explanation can I give him so that he''ll understand this self-centered decision? I haven''t got a clue. After all, we only came here to fetch the demon sword because I''m against war and want to avoid it. So the whole thing has been because of my whims. I can''t say that it was an unqualified success, but still, if on the very night we achieve our goal I declare that I''m going to abandon the treasure... The opposing party would probably throw their shoes at me.


    "I-I''m not sure how to explain it, though! I just¡ªI just keep thinking about what that woman said to me. That the Humans will get a stronger weapon, that God will give them one. Would God really do that? But if that really happened, if they found a super-duper powerful weapon¡ª"


    "It''s conceivable."


    See? I knew it¡ªhe is angry.


    "And then the other countries will want it too. Even the ones who''ve been impartial in the wars up until now will get uneasy and build up their militaries. So because we got Morgif, the rest of the world will begin to arm themselves...it''d be like nuclear deterrence or the three anti-nuclear principles."


    Newspapers aren''t just for reading about pro-baseball; I''ll look them over in more detail in the future. But I''ll bet only fifteen-year-olds in university cram schools can explain the problem so succinctly.


    "The country I want isn''t one that''s stronger than any other country. There''s a difference between a good country and a strong one."


    If I return carrying Morgif triumphantly, my evaluation as Maou will go up. The citizens will give me a high approval rating, too, if they acknowledge me as a strong king. But Yuuri, would you really be doing what''s best for everyone?


    Or would it be for my own self-satisfaction?


    If I asked my teacher, he would say, "Do it for the team, Shibuya Yuuri."


    That abstract explanation sounds like prose out of some philosopher''s pen, and I don''t think anyone would understand it. Even so, Conrad murmurs in admiration next to my ear, "I see, like Gettysburg."


    "What are you two doing over there?!"


    Wolfram comes running over, panting. Even in the moonlight I can see his quivering finger pointed at us.


    "I was wondering what was taking you so long, and now I find you¡ªwhat are you two doing sitting so close on the beach?"


    "What? Stretching."


    There''s an upward movement behind me, and the warmth leaves my back.


    "Why are you so out of breath? Did you come just to keep an eye on His Majesty?"


    "Oh right, no I didn''t! We have a big problem, Yuuri. Your sword¡ª"


    "Morgif?"


    "...broke."


    Why? And more importantly, how?


    Lady C?li, dressed in a negligee so perfunctory that I have problems figuring out where to rest my eyes, winds her arms around mine.


    "I''m sorry, Your Majesty, I wasn''t trying to. I never thought the sword might break."


    My elbow pressed against her breast, unconfined by inelegant underwear, launches me into the stratosphere. A sweet flowery scent drifts around me, as if I''ve lost my way in a flower bed.


    The demon sword is lying at the center of the cabin, a long dark lump. It was a shiny scabbard fish after feeding, but now it''s a gigantic eel on the verge of death.


    "Morgif."


    "...Wooo..."


    He''s alive. We''ll leave aside the question of whether or not ''alive'' is the right description for a sword.


    "He''s so ugly and strange that I wanted to decorate my room with him for just this trip. When I picked him up to carry him over...this little one..."


    Lady C?li calls the sword ''little one'' like an employee at a pet shop. Geez, mothers are impossible. There''s probably nobody in the world who could ever criticize her.


    "...this little one bit me."


    "Di-di-did he give you a scare?"


    "No, not at all. But I dropped him in my surprise, and he just wilted. It''s probably..."


    She picks up a small fermented soy bean with the pink nail of a slender white finger.


    "...because this came off."


    My fingernails are short and round. My hands are like fuzzy cloth yellow with age, and they''re callused differently from everybody else''s. But Morgif fits perfectly into their tight grip, snug and precise against each finger-joint. I hold him out like a bat before the swing. The thumb of my right hand lies on the guard, and my index finger caresses the back gently.


    Even if I should lose the stone on my forehead...


    "What?! Who said that just now?"


    Just like when I yelled out Morgif''s name at the arena, words flash directly into my mind: not spoken words, but an afterimage. Thin symbols blinking into and out of existence.


    Even if I should lose the stone on my forehead and be reduced to a mere sword, I wish to remain by the Maou''s side as your faithful servant.


    "Why do you sound like a woman?!"


    "Who are you talking to, Yuuri?"


    "T-to Morgif."


    Yes, Willem Dussollier Eli de Morgif, I will keep you by my side.


    "Josak!"


    Josak, looking on from a corner of the room, straightens at the unexpected address. His wet orange hair clings to his forehead. He must''ve taken a long leisurely shower.


    "What is it, Your Majesty?"


    "I will give this obsidian into your custody."


    "Huh?!"


    Everyone is flabbergasted. Conrad is the only one who immediately regains his composure, awaiting my next words with keen interest.


    "I want you to take that stone Lady C?li has and toss it away some place nobody would think to look."


    "Toss it away..."


    "Why, Yuuri?! Why would you do something that stupid? You''re going to throw away a part of the demon sword we worked so hard to get?"


    "I agree, Your Majesty, I think it could make a great earring. Very becoming for Your Majesty''s hair and eyes."


    "Mother, it is His Majesty''s will."


    The second son takes the stone from Lady C?li''s finger and places it in the palm of the Guard of the Inner Circle.


    "...What if I take this and disappear and sell it to the king of some other country? Or take it back home and hand it to somebody else?"


    "To Gwendal?"


    He looks surprised. That''s not some cunning deduction computed by my brain, but information gleaned from eavesdropping.


    "You are free to do what you think is best for Shinma Kingdom. However..."


    I fix him with an intent gaze out of eyes that are finally free of their contacts.


    "Know that I have chosen you. Don''t make that choice a mistake."


    Josak gives me the beast''s smile.


    "I will serve, King Yuuri."


    A clever beast''s smile.

 Volume 2 - CH 10

    "How discerning you are, Your Majesty, to have noticed such minute writing!" G¨¹nter exclaims in wonder, peering at Morgif in his sword stand. Today my tutor is wearing an off-white priestly garb and thin-rimmed glasses, and has his gray hair tied behind in a tight knot. He really is beautiful.


    The women would probably flock to line up outside the evil organization that employs him, not caring if they get remade into cyborgs if it''s done by a scientist like him. But you''ve been misled, ladies. If you think about the fact that he''s more than a hundred fifty years old, those glasses are probably not just for show.


    "Yes, there certainly are sentences engraved on the back of the guard. ''Call my name, and I will cross the world to you. My name is Willem Dussollier Eli de Morgif. Even if the stone on my forehead should be lost and I am reduced to an ordinary sword, let me yet accompany you to the battlefield as your loyal servant, O Maou, and together we will slay all who oppose us.''"


    "Th-that''s how you''re supposed to read it?"


    Wow, I really pared it down to the kids'' summary level.


    "But I am deeply interested in the fact that even though Your Majesty cannot read, the words flashed through your mind at a touch. As I suspected, you are not just Mazoku, but one endowed with extraordinary power."


    "Maybe I''ve got psychometry! That superpower where I know stuff just by touching something."


    "Psychometry? Not that thing where you get asked a bunch of questions and someone tries to tell you your personality?"


    Upon our return in the luxury cruiser, I presented Morgif, who has been downgraded into a completely ordinary sword, to G¨¹nter. He and Gwendal came to welcome us home, G¨¹nter waving so hard that it looked like his arm might fly off, and Gwendal with dark circles under his eyes looking like he''s lost weight. I wonder what happened to them in the ten days I was gone?


    Josak, carrying the obsidian¡ªthe sword''s heart, I guess?¡ªgot off at Schildkraut. He didn''t tell me or Conrad about which way he was headed.


    Speaking of which, Lady C?li took struck-with-arrow Rick instead of Morgif and set off on another journey. Once he''s completed the handsome middle-aged beautician''s healing course, he''ll be a step closer to becoming a sailor. He''s going to be an apprentice sailor on the luxury cruiser with Chevalier to straighten him out and teach him the ropes.


    Sorry, Rick, I couldn''t get you on board a giant shipping vessel. But I think it''s at least better than a pirate ship?


    Though the ultimate weapon we went through so much trouble to get isn''t so ultimate anymore, G¨¹nter never uttered a word of blame. He only cried pearly tears, saying ''It is enough that Your Majesty returned safely¡ªthat is happiness enough.'' I have this image of him as an overprotective mother, which has been completely confirmed.


    He''s just like a doting grandmother.


    But he''s flawless when it comes to his duties as the king''s advisor.


    After I told him about the trip and my thoughts, he took action immediately.


    He had the news that the Mazoku were unable to obtain the demon sword ''leaked.'' If we were to announce it publicly, people would be suspicious and think it''s some kind of a scheme, but if we leak it like we don''t want people to find out about it, they would readily believe it. The advisors are cleverer than the guy at the top. That''s how statecraft is structured.


    The master chef of Voltaire Castle stunned me with his display of talent at the welcome dinner, and I ended up with my head in my hands at the table, trying to figure out what to do.


    "...So what am I supposed to do with this?"


    "They told me, Your Majesty, that you wanted to eat something called boat-wrap sushi."


    "Okay, sure, boat-wrap sushi, but..."


    A white boat has been set out in front of me, filled with a mountain of fish large and small. And they''re flapping their tails energetically. Yup, very energetically.


    "But you said fresh fish."


    "I didn''t say live fish!"


    And then there''s Cavalcade.


    Cavalcade, which appeared to be on the verge of declaring war on us, thus precipitating all of these events. Since we can no longer hope for the power of the demon sword to deter them, we must find another escape route.


    I fretted over the problem, seriously pondering if I should venture over there, lower my head to them and propose that we improve our relationship.


    But though we had no hope of any diplomatic overture, they were the ones who leapt to a solution first.


    "Your Majesty...we have an inquiry from Cavalcade about a state visit and audience...in order to express their gratitude for traveling Mazoku defeating a band of pirates who were menacing their fleet, thereby saving the lives of their former crown prince, his wife, and his daughter...did you do something like that?"


    "It sounds like the pirates had a really bad time of it, though. Well, as usual, I have no memory of it. Could you ask Conrad or Wolf?"


    "It is apparently a gentleman named Hiscruyff..."


    "Hiscruyff...?!"


    Isn''t that Mr. Shiny and his family?


    "Hiscruyff, the eldest son of the current king of Cavalcade, was apparently engaged in an illicit love affair with a Hildyard merchant girl, whereupon he eloped from the royal family and left official service. But the current king''s second son died of illness without an heir, so the Cavalcade royal family had to write in a law giving Hiscruyff''s daughter the right to inherit the throne, and have just recently called them home..."


    "Holy cow! Then Beatrice is a real princess!"


    It''s Hiscruyff himself who''s the hot-blooded romantic, not me.


    Conrad pokes me in the side with a triumphant expression on his face.


    "Which means that Your Majesty danced with a possible future queen in her debut evening party! What would your reply be if she''s fallen in love with you at first sight and you get a marriage proposal from the Cavalcade royal family?"


    "Conrart, how could you utter such ill-omened words? How could we allow a Human to steal our king''s lips from us?"


    So lips are the problem here?


    "Oh, but we should be getting interrogated in Cimarron right now¡ªour doll-selves, at least."


    "It''s getting to be a case of ingratitude on an international scale¡ªwill Cavalcade come to the rescue of...ah, our doll-selves...?"


    It''s funny just thinking about it, and even funnier if the air runs out of those Mr. Livesavers. Even G¨¹nter, who''s usually way too serious, has to hold back a smile betrayed by the crinkling at the corners of his eyes.


    In any case, it looks like we''ll be able to avoid this war. I sink into my chair and breathe a sigh, staring up at the ceiling of Voltaire Castle.


    "Chance is such a terrible thing."


    "How so?"


    "I mean, because we were on the same ship by chance, we were attacked by pirates by chance, I happened to save Beatrice by chance¡ªand that''s how we came to this peaceful resolution, right?"


    "Not everything was by chance."


    He reaches out a hand and straightens my collar.


    "You would have done the same no matter who was on that ship. That was inevitable, and not by chance. If someone devised this entire plot, their chance of success would be extremely high."


    "Plot?! Does someone capable of planning something like this actually exist?!"


    "Probably not¡ªat least, not in this world."


    My impulse to press the question fades away at his good-natured smile. There are a ton of questions I want to ask him, but the only thing I say is: "Conrad, which do you think is stronger: tiger or lion?"


    "...Lion, I would guess?"


    "Yup, me too."


    I think so too. There''s nothing stronger than a lion.


    I finally reach the room prepared for me, with the first non-swaying bed that I''ve slept in for a long time. It''s way smaller than my bedroom at the king''s castle, but the bed here is still super king-sized. No, it''s demon king-sized. It can fit a hundred people no problem.


    I shoo the servants out so that I can take my time.


    I confirm that the room has its own bathroom, and turn on the hot water. It flows out of the mouth of a cow with five horns. Planning to stretch my legs a little while it fills, I head back to the bed to take off my clothes.


    "...Aaah, so tired...wh-who''s there?!"


    Someone is lurking beneath the sheets.


    I boldly fling off the covers, and¡ª


    "Wolf...what are you doing here?!"


    "What do you mean, what am I doing?"


    Wolfram, lying on his stomach and dressed like a madam after her bath, kicks his legs.


    "I sneaked over for a night crawl."


    "Night crawl?! A-as in, when a g-g-g-guy secretly crawls into a bed..."


    "For a rendezvous?"


    "Yeah, rendezvous...no no no no, that''s not what I mean! The guy crawls into a woman''s bed...!"


    Now he''s got me going at his pace.


    Wolfram half-rises, scowling, a hand placed imperiously on his hip. He looks like pretty boy who''s hit the mat after a knockdown, for those with the taste for it.


    "If I had to wait for you, you''d never come to a decision."


    "Um, incidentally, what sort of a decision are you looking for...?" My voice trails off as he sways his hips closer.


    The Mazoku ex-prince''s face brightens, and he pulls me down by the arm.


    "Wah!"


    "Are we any closer to a decision yet?"


    "No!"


    I''m terrified just thinking about what sort of decision this might be. I''m not going to lose my life or anything, but I do feel like there''s something else I''m going to lose. I desperately extract myself, fly into the bathroom and lock the door.


    "Yuuri!"


    "Wait wait wait! I gotta take a bath first, okay?! You don''t wanna do anything with a sweaty guy either, right?!"


    Do...? I blanch at my own words.


    My head and nose both prickle, and I stagger, suddenly dizzy.


    "Yuuri! Hey, open the door!"


    "No!"


    Unable to keep upright any longer, I sit down on the rim of the tub.


    "Blooploop."


    I fall in backwards like a diver and submerge myself up to the top of my head. Even the bathtub is king-sized, so it takes a while to reach the bottom...yeah, as if!


    "Woah, I waff foo fuuprifed, iff I waff doodally naged bag dare...koff."


    I''m in a virtual reality whirlpool. Though it feels a lot more real than virtual. I curse my own stupidity as I''m sucked into the swirling flow of hot water.


    I''m still wearing my underwear. Of all things, those underwear.


    I''m crying on the now-familiar Star Tours journey, thinking:


    This is way better. Rather than being stuck with a decision like that (or maybe having it made for me), going back to Japan is way better, even in this underwear.


    It''s getting a bit chilly with the air brushing against my wet body.


    Light blue fills my cloudy vision.


    Light blue, light blue, light blue¡ªthat was the color of the pirates'' collar.


    "...Sailor uniform...?!" The shadow crouched next to me mutters in disbelief, peering at my face. "Sailor uniform? That''s what he says as soon as he wakes up...?!"


    Actually, his clothes are water-blue too. Since we have reserved seats for this game, I was the one who reminded him to come in the team''s colors.


    "I was thinking that you were taking a bit too long, so I came looking for you. That''s when I found you asleep in the tub and going under. Didn''t you hear me? I was shouting that we were going to miss the start at the top of my lungs."


    I look around to find myself back in the public bath in my hometown with a smiling Hakone Hachiri no Hanjirou on the wall. The bathtub where I was pickling myself is empty. But I can''t find a hole anywhere.


    "And I was gonna be the hero of Holland, too."


    "Hero of Holland? Which? Kluivert? The Wandering Dutchman?"


    "Feh, you soccer nerd...I mean, forget soccer! Murata, what time is it? Has the match started?!"


    "I don''t think so, but...I''m thinking about skipping out this time."


    "You can''t skip out! This is Coach''s day¡ªIto-sama is going to be starting! You''ve gotta go cheer him on!"


    I leverage my aching body upward and is struck speechless by the sight of my lower body.


    "...Oh dammit."


    "Shibuya, I''m not going to tell the bathhouse staff this time around, but next time you have to take off your underwear before getting in, you know? It''s a public bathhouse rule, even if they''re thongs and not many people wear them."


    Murata Ken looks away from my (black) thongs.


    "Um, you know, there''s a story behind this. It''s a long story, but this is normal wear for my country."


    "Your country? Story from where?"


    "A story from my country..."


    "What are you talking about, Shibuya? You''re Japanese. Do you have another country?"


    I think dimly: the match is starting at the stadium.


    I remember a fight to the death with a boy in a coliseum resounding with cheers. I remember Morgif''s hilt fitting perfectly into my hands. All the reasons converge like a folding fan.


    Japanese DNA and the soul of the new Maou.


    "...I''ve decided on eternal pacifism."


    Anyone else would have taken a step back from me.


    But Murata Ken only smiles vaguely and says, "What''s with you all of a sudden? Making such manly comments...?"


    Well, that''s a given.


    The Maou''s gotta be manly, right?

 Volume 3 - Prologue

    It''s still a mystery to me why my wife and I had been entrusted with the heavy responsibility of raising the next Maou. Nevertheless, I am proud to say that our nurture and education have produced a masterpiece. My wife would certainly agree with me on this.


    However, there''s one thing we would like to clarify from the beginning. My wife and I would never completely give our son away to you! Whatever happens, he will forever remains Yuri Shibuya, our child. And if he is mistreated in any way, we will take him back, by all means. Yuri! My boy! No one has done anything bad to you, right? If anything ever troubles your heart, remember that your father''s shoulder is always here for you to lean on. You can always talk to me about everything, as a man to a man.


    But tell me, Yuri, don''t you think that lately you have become somewhat distant to your father?


    (This translation was originally posted here. Please do not repost elsewhere.)

 Volume 3 - CH 1

    It was summer vacation, time for the baseball. The newly formed amateur team and the Seibu Lions, of which I have been a devoted fan most of my life, took up all of my time. Until I got a call from Murata.


    "She rejected me," he said moodily.


    "Who? Your girlfriend?" I asked, curiously.


    "No, I had planned to ask a girl to go out with me on a date to Sea World, then confess my feelings to her. So I bought pre-sale tickets, but she turned me down."


    "So you confessed, and she turned you down?"


    "No, I did not confess. She didn''t even want to go to Sea World with me."


    "What? But that doesn''t mean she rejected you, maybe she just couldn''t join you this time."


    "But I feel rejected." Murata sighed. "And I had already bought the tickets."


    Although I tried to cheer him up, Murata only smiled weakly. He didn''t want to waste the tickets he had bought, but it was troublesome to return them. He was willing to give them away, but it was near the end of July, and most of our friends had already had plans.


    "Well, of course that''s unfortunate."


    "Don''t you want to go?"


    "When is it?"


    "The tickets are for the 28th."


    "But that''s when we have the night game at the Seibu Dome..." I protested.


    "Oh, to hell with the night game!" Murata said irritatedly, which was unusual for him. "Have you forgotten how much time I''ve sacrificed for your stupid baseball games? Not just the games, you dragged me along to the training sessions too. And now you choose a damned game over your good old friend, even when he has a broken heart?! Come on, it costs you nothing. I''ve already paid for tickets. Come with me, please!"


    "Okay, okay, I understand, I''ll go with you. But I have to say that if you''re persistent enough, she will eventually give in."


    My friend looked up to the sky with an exaggerated expression.


    "Shibuya Yuri Harajuku Furi, naive as you are, you can''t possibly know how it''s like."


    "Wait, Murata! How old are you after all? And this has nothing to do with Harajuku Furi at all!"


    And so Murata and I, Yuri Shibuya, spent the day at the Sea World aquarium. Yes, my name is Yuri Shibuya. Yuri as in ''advantage'' with the same kanji script as ''interest,'' not a gentle pear or anything like that. I had spent a big part of my 15 years of life being teased for this stupid name.


    As my father worked in the bank, I had thought that I had been given this name because my father was always thinking about interest rates. But then I found out that the blame was on a friendly young man who had shared his taxi ride with my mother, when she was on her way to the hospital to give birth to me. Even so, at least they could have chosen a different kanji for the name, which would have given it a different meaning! Well, yes, I consoled myself with the thought that my brother had got a worse deal: His name meant "victory"! Shibuya Victory, that was even a bigger laugh than my name!


    Anyway, that afternoon I got stuck at the Sea World aquarium with a guy, who insisted that he was rejected by a girl, while it couldn''t be worse than a one-time refusal. And so the two of us, one boy wearing glasses and one baseball fan, went to Sea World together, surrounded by couples and parents with their children. Walking along the glass tunnel that ran right through the water, we could see the nautiluses, the fire fish, the banner fish, the Arapaima, and the sawfish swimming gracefully together with the delicious sardines and bonitos.


    "If only I were with a sweet girl!" I sighed.


    "Man, what is it now? You''re bitching all the time."


    "Hey, I was only cursing my lonely existence, you know. Tomorrow I''ll turn sixteen, and I still have no girlfriend."


    "Tomorrow is your birthday?! I had no idea. Tell me then, what do you want for your birthday? Look here, do you want a cell phone strap from the gift shop? This one is really cute, isn''t it?"


    "A cell phone strap? But you know my phone is broken."


    "Then it''s a good time to buy a new one. The texting function is quite convenient."


    I sighed and looked at the back of my right hand. The entry stamp for the day visitors had been pressed on my skin with a special ink. If I held my hand under a scanner, the stamp glowed with a pale mark.


    "I don''t need a cell phone. And I have no use for texting function."


    "You don''t need a cell phone?! What is this nonsense? Everyone needs a cell phone. And that''s why everyone has indeed got one, except you. Sometimes I really think you come from another world!"


    If you only knew!


    It had only been three months ago that I fell through a toilet and landed in another world! Really! And I had even been declared king against my will. No kidding! I, a fifteen-year-old high school student with average looks and ordinary intelligence, was really and truly been appointed king of the mazokus!


    Of course initially I thought I was dreaming. But when I woke up, hung around my neck was a pendant that someone from that world had given me. It was a stone the size of a 500 yen coin, which I wore around my neck ever since. It had silver rim and was of a blue color deeper than the sky, the color of the Seibu Lions. This charm stone reminded me every day that it had not been a dream. It was for real: I was born with the soul of a mazoku and had committed to protect Shin Makoku, the kingdom of the mazokus.


    "Hurry up and take your number, Shibuya." Murata pushed me.


    An employee at Sea World handed me a piece of green paper.


    "Hmmm? Ah yes, thanks."


    We had moved away from the exit of the aquarium and were now at the entrance to the show "Friends of the Sea." A heat wave suddenly hit us: we were in an open stadium and the summer sun was burning mercilessly above us. We walked down tiers of blue benches, looking for two empty seats. At the other side of the large water pool was the white performance stage.


    "Shit, it''s hot!" I complained.


    "Stop whining! If you hadn''t come with me, you would be running around in your baseball uniform in the same heat."


    Although I knew it was almost no use, I fanned with a piece of paper. A cool breeze brushed against my neck for a moment.


    "Are there at least girls in swimsuits?"


    "Why don''t you look at the stage?" Murata said.


    Sure enough! There were the trainers - in bathing suits - with seals.


    My thoughts wandered. Who was more majestic, the emperor penguin or me? Which formation should my team take for the practice match next week? Tilting my head to one side, I absentmindedly watched the seals performance: a seal headed a soccer ball through a basketball hoop, and a woman in a swimsuit tapped a pink drum vigorously.


    "27! Number 27! Would you please come to the stage?"


    On the adjacent seat, a toddler clung to the knees of his father and started to bawl.


    "Hey, Shibuya!" Murata called out and prodded me with his elbow. "Number 27! That''s you!"


    "Sorry, what am I?"


    "The visitor with the number 27! May I ask you to come on stage?"


    "Go on, go on! Hurry up, otherwise they will think you''re not here at all."


    I glanced at the piece of paper in my hand. It had indeed number 27 printed on it. With a broad smile, Murata grabbed my arm and pulled me down the stair, as if he won a lottery.


    "Hey! Slow down! Not so fast!" I protested.


    The trainer put a blue cap on my head and led me through an acrylic door. Then she gave me a small thing that was hanging from her fingers.


    "Congratulations! These are your souvenirs, a cool dolphin cap, and a key chain with a cute little dolphin. I''ll trap it to your belt so you won''t lose it."


    I was still in a daze.


    Indeed, my gifts were all decorated with gray-blue dolphins. The cap had a brim shaped as the dolphin''s beak, and two black eyes on two sides. The key chain had a little dolphin dangling with his beak slightly open. It looked very cute, much nicer than the real dolphin.


    "On behalf of our audience, could I ask you to shake hand with our stars today?" said the young woman smiling.


    Whom am I going to shake hands with? A dolphin? No way!


    Without saying a word, three people from the staff pulled me to the side of the pool.


    "Wait, wait a minute! Dolphins are not really my favorite. Don''t you have a couple of whales or sea lions I could shake hands with?"


    No response.


    "Here we are, our friends Bando and Eiji, the bottlenose dolphins!" The trainer announced.


    Two shiny gray dorsal fins came gliding through the water to the side of the pool next to us.


    "Hey guys! That wasn''t a joke! I really do not get along with dolphins!"


    Still no reaction.


    "Hey, Murata, Murata! Please help me!"


    "Shibuya, you lucky devil! I envy you!"


    Then one of the two dolphins, I couldn''t tell whether he was Eiji or Bando, jumped out of the water then fell down, splashing all around. Holy shit! The beast was huge! He extended a blue-green shimmering flipper toward me, his eyes looking straight at me and his beak slightly open, showing two rows of small sharp teeth like a zipper.


    "There goes my sixteenth birthday tomorrow," I muttered.


    "Don''t be scared! He''s not going to bite you."


    There was no way out; the staff had blocked my escape route. The dolphin was at my feet and still looked at me attentively, his flexible tail and waist muscle moving gracefully as he stood floating in the water. "Hey you, human! Let''s get this over with quickly, so I can finally have my sardines!" His eyes seemed to say to me. He opened his gaping beak and a screech filled the air "Kschaaaaaa!"


    "Ahhhhh!" I also let out a small cry of terror. Hesitantly I reached out my right hand and finally touched the slippery flipper. It felt sticky and cold as ice. I felt my hand squeezed tightly.


    Wait a moment! How could it be?


    He was just a dolphin; he couldn''t possibly hold my hand with his flipper, could he? But then what was it that was pulling on my hand?


    "Hey, let me go! Let go!" I yelled.


    Just before I was pulled into the pool, I could hear the indistinctive shout of the staff and the audience, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Murata stretch his hand toward me. But the next moment, blue water engulfed me. Although the pool could not be very deep, I sank deeper and deeper into what felt like an abyss. My clothes were completely soaked and became heavy, still wrapping around my arms and legs, pulling me down. Damn it, where''s the bottom of the pool?! Wait a minute. Hadn''t I been through something similar before? Twice?


    "Not again!"


    I was sucked backward into the depths. I swallowed a tremendous amount of water. It was really physically impossible... biologically and architecturally as well. My back ought to have hit the hard cement. Unless David Copperfield had his hands in the game. Or Princess Tenko!


    "Tell me, Mama..."


    "What, Yuu-chan?"


    "Why are people so fond of playing with dolphins? It''s stupid."


    "But they''re cute! Don''t you love dolphins?"


    "Well, not at all. You never know what goes on in their heads. They might shake hands with us and swim around us amicably, but what if they are secretly mocking us? What if they actually look down upon us and think to themselves "Let''s have some fun with these little humans"?"


    "Ah! I got it! You can''t get along with those you can''t understand. But that''s why, for Mama, it is important that you work toward that understanding. Friendship needs time to grow and blossom. Spending time together, gazing up at the stars while talking to each other, that''s how we come to understand one another better. Do you understand what I mean, Yuu-chan?"


    Friendship? With dolphins? Thanks, but no thanks.


    I looked up to a blazing blue sky dappled with contrasting white shreds. Salt water burnt my eyes. Probably that meant I was floating in the ocean and not in a pool. Listlessly, my body drifted like a jellyfish, slightly rocking back and forth.


    The sun was still high in the sky, blindingly bright and intense. The skin on my face and neck felt painful under the summer sun. It reminded me of the summer vacations when I was a child. I had always looked forward to going to the beach with my family; we would have a lot of watermelon, fireworks and collect piles of sea shells.


    I''d become somewhat used to waking up in a completely different world, since this had happened to me for the third time in my life. So they summoned me again. Traveling through a whirlpool of water, being dragged here almost against my will, was no longer something new. But I had never expected it to happen in front of such a large audience. I had been lulled into a false sense of security.


    Fortunately, I know the final destination of my journey, and I had friends there, so it was not all that bad. The story in broad strokes: the protagonist landed in a strange world of swords and magic and must perform heroic deeds. Plots like this were not at all uncommon. The only thing was that in this story I was not a hero, but the Demon King, the enemy''s last boss. It took me three months on Earth to accept the situation more calmly.


    A gray triangle floated in the water and approached my right leg. It must be one of the dolphins. Poor guy, now I had accidentally dragged an innocent animal to this world. I overcame my fear and held out a hand to him to pat his shiny head. The tips of my fingers touched his forehead lightly. It felt much rougher than the dolphin''s flipper, which I had touched during the show.


    "Hey, good boy! No wonder you can swim so fast. Ian Thorpe used a swimming suit that mimics the skin of a shark."


    Did someone just say shark?


    Our eyes met. I found myself looking into the eyes of a shark ... A huge white shark!


    I had always disliked sea creatures because you never knew what was going on in their heads. But this time it was totally different! What that animal was thinking at the time was not at all difficult to guess: dinner was served, in the form of a human! With the theme song of the movie "Jaws" as background music.


    I gave a little cry and fled with a chaotic mixture of front crawl and dog paddle. Wasn''t it called freestyle? Damn. What should I do? Pretend to be dead? No, it worked with bears only. Just ignore him? No, it worked with teachers only. Damn, what was the trick with sharks again? Attack or unconditional surrender?


    "Your Majesty, are you all right...? Oh no...!"


    From the distance, a familiar voice pierced my ears. An overly showy luxury boat approached, moving at a breakneck speed towards me. In the boat sat the duo who were determined to make Yuri Shibuya an experienced Maou - no matter what it cost.


    "How outrageous! A shark dares to approach His Majesty!" Lord G¨¹nter Von Kleist paled with anger.


    He brandished the oar in his hands wildly, as if to challenge the shark to a duel. His long disheveled gray hair fell on his back; his sparkling lilac eyes were bloodshot; and the very seductive baritone voice was reduced to a hysterical falsetto. No woman could ever resist the beauty of this autocratic teacher, but when it came to me, this epitome of perfection inevitably crumbled into pieces.


    Sir Weller''s face, however, bore a mixture of calm serenity and a pained smile while watching the "video-clip-of-the-dismemberment" of a small child.


    Conrad, how could you do this to me?! Your only baseball companion in this world was about to become fish food!


    "Calm down, G¨¹nter! Use the rudder to steer closer to His Majesty, try to get close to his head, I''ll pull him up."


    Conrad took my arm and helped me climb up the boat, which I did with the last bit of my strength. I was drenched, breathless and my heart pounded with fear. Conrad held me steady with ease.


    "I''m saved! I was almost eaten by the beast." I gasped.


    "Don''t worry, Your Majesty! These animals do not attack human."


    "That''s a shark, Conrad! A huge white shark! And it was about to bite my right leg!"


    "Sharks are vegetarians, Your Majesty. I''m sure he just wanted to play with you a bit."


    Oh yeah, that''s right. Most animals in this world behaved very differently than those in ours. I had already noticed that in my last stay.


    I left Conrad''s arms.


    "How many times have I told you not to call me Your Majesty? It was you who gave me the name Yuri."


    Sir Conrad Weller was the one who took my soul - when I was still not "me" - on a journey to a strange world called Earth. And on a street in Boston, he had offered to share his taxi ride with my mother when she was going to the hospital to give birth to me, and during that ride, had suggested a name for me: Yuri.


    Conrad looked like a young man about twenty years old, but his age was actually five times what he appeared to be, as with all other mazokus here.


    The mazokus had long life and great beauty. As Conrad was only half mazoku, he looked a bit plainer than the full-blooded mazokus. All the other mazoku nobles, however, would form a club of "pretty boys." Yet, as their king, I was nothing more than a normal boy whose looks, build and intelligence could only be classified as mediocre. I found myself at a big disadvantage. I could only keep faith in Andersen''s fairytale of the ugly duckling and desperately hope that I would one day grow into a beautiful swan. On the other hand, maybe one day I would be able to find a girl, as in "Beauty and the Beast," who would assure me that for mazokus, personality is more important than appearance.


    "Damn, it''s so hot here!" I groaned.


    Summer seemed to be at its peak even in this world. My clothes were all wet but I didn''t feel cold. Damp clothes clinging to my skin made me sweat even more. With difficulty I peeled the T-shirt off. When I reached the belt buckle of my pants, my hand scratched against the dolphin key chain. Those stupid dolphins!


    Conrad looked at me closely.


    "Can it be that your muscles have grown a little?"


    "Not just a little! Here, look at my biceps."


    I was happy and proud with the result of my fervent daily training. Conrad smiled while looking at my "muscle-of-a-baseball-player" appreciatively.


    "Then I''ll get you a new sword, one made for adult men."


    "I don''t need a sword, Conrad."


    "Well, but..."


    Conrad was interrupted by a long, indefinable cry.


    G¨¹nter was about to be harassed by a group of sharks. "Geez, these animals are cuddly, but really."


    Vegetarian-and-cuddly-sharks. I still hadn''t got used to this sort of thing yet.


    This was my third stay in this world. And this time I landed at a place completely unknown to me. The white sand and greenish blue water would have made a perfect travel brochure for the Greek Adriatic. Not far from this picturesque backdrop was the Royal House, a summer residence with the architectural style of a castle, but its structure was quite different from the two castles where I had stayed previously.


    I was worried that I would have to wear my school uniform in this unbearably hot weather, but fortunately the clothes that the maid brought me were a set of two-piece upper and lower summer clothes in beige color, made of a light material that felt like linen. I put the slightly large pants on. The waistband was a little loose. The maid lowered her head with a fearful look in her eyes. Probably she was worried that she had made a mistake with the clothes and I was going to get angry with her for that.


    "Never mind, I can wear a belt and everything will be all right." I tried to cheer her up.


    "Your Majesty, have you lost weight? Hopefully it''s not your health that..." said the girl.


    "No, don''t worry. This is just the result of my muscle training. I have even bought a body-building equipment to tone my abs."


    I got it for a mere 1000 yen in a discount store! My goal was to get a six-pack abs like Kamen-Rider. As I fumbled to pull my belt off from the wet pants, G¨¹nter entered the room and ran to the corner where I was.


    "One moment, Your Majesty, I will make sure you can enjoy a pleasant temperature."


    In a world of magic and swords, of course electricity or household appliances wouldn''t exist. But despite the lack of air conditioning, the further one went into this stone house, the cooler it became. Once I took off my shoes and socks and stepped on the stone floor, I felt coldness penetrating the soles of my feet.


    However, before I could assure him that it wasn''t so hot, G¨¹nter had already made a gesture with his right hand. An attendant gracefully stepped forward, his hand holding a large duck by its neck. The tortured duck flapped his wings with all his might. Aha, I got the idea! And indeed, the air felt cooler, only the breeze stank of poultry, and I felt terrible for the animal.


    "Please stop!" I hurriedly said. "This is an act of cruelty against animals... And it is cool enough in here anyway!"


    "Oh, the compassion of His Majesty has no limits! His kind heart feels for even these insignificant creatures! This is our Majesty, the 27th Maou of our Kingdom: ''Glory to the Mighty Shinou and his people, the mazokus! Never let it be forgotten that our people, the mazokus, have existed since the dawn of the world! Our strength, wisdom and courage have once forced even the Creator Gods to kneel! The mazokus will prosper in this kingdom for all eternity!''"


    That was the lengthy name of our country. Or, in short: Shin Makoku.


    While he talked, his hands moved beautifully in perfect choreography.


    "Your Majesty, I have deliberately inserted a mistake. Can you tell which part of the name was incorrect?"


    "Uh... Sorry, I... uh... was not paying attention." I stammered.


    The beautiful man looked disappointed.


    "Really, Your Majesty, I must earnestly request you to spend more time here and learn more about the country, its people, and the basics of our diplomatic relations. You should no longer return to the other world. Your G¨¹nter would like to remain by your side forever."


    The situation was clearly straying from the right track. But Conrad, who had ushered out the fanning duck, beautifully and effortlessly turned it around again. He always knew how to handle tricky situations. There were many things I could learn from him, for example, how to deal with G¨¹nter. With an attitude as calm and composed as usual, he said:


    "G¨¹nter, haven''t I told you already? We have no exclusive right to His Majesty. He is also very important to Earth and Japan."


    If I was really that important, then why had I been a mere bench-warmer for the past three years?


    "G¨¹nter! What is the meaning of this?" A voice bellowed. The thundering footsteps that were rapidly approaching sounded extremely intimidating.


    "Why was my brother the only one who went to pick Yuri up?! Without informing me! I will not let you treat me like a fool! As his fianc¨¦, I have the right..."


    The one who barged in was the angel-like bishounen, Wolfram von Bielefeld. He stopped dead in the hallway upon seeing my naked torso, and seemed to be at a loss for words, his cute face flustered.


    "Yuri... my God! Your face and arms ... So dark! Have you caught a terrible disease? Or a curse?"


    "Are you looking for a fight?" I sulked.


    In fact, my face and my arms were well-tanned, but my torso and legs were still white as snow. For baseball players, having this shirt-like tan would be considered an achievement, but when my upper body was exposed like this, it was indeed not the best look.


    With the thumb and forefinger, Wolfram pinched my cheek.


    "Ow-ow-aie-ooh-aie!! What do you think you''re doing?"


    He looking directly at Conrad and asked.


    "Is he real?"


    Conrad nodded.


    "But if this is Yuri, who is the one my older brother went to pick up?"


    "Probably an impostor."


    When Wolfram mentioned his big brother, it would not be Conrad who was in front of him, but his other older brother, Lord Gwendal von Voltaire.


    Conrad, Wolfram and Gwendal were half-brothers, sharing the same mother. Until recently they were Their Royal Highnesses, the mazoku princes. But when their mother the former Maou stepped down and I had to take over, the three brothers became Their Excellencies, the former princes.


    Wolfram was a rival-less super bishounen, like a Vienna choir boy who had jumped straight out of a shoujo manga. He had inherited his mother''s shiny golden hair and her emerald green eyes. While his build was no better or worse than mine, the difference between our looks was as wide as the gap between heaven and earth. I imagined all artists in the world would fight over the chance to paint his portrait. If he had appeared in someone''s dream, the dreamer might even be moved to tears thinking they had seen an angel. However, he was angel-like only as long as he kept his mouth shut. Else he was just a terribly spoiled and bratty prince. As he claimed, and if one could believe his words, he was already eighty-two years old. If he was living in Japan, he would be a stubborn old man. And because of a small tiny minor cultural difference, we were engaged to each other.


    Lady Cecilie von Spitzweg was the mother of the three brothers as well as the former Maou - who insisted that we call her "Cheri." Her love for men extended beyond the barrier between different species, as she happily declared. The son of her union with a human of unknown origin was the half-blooded Conrad. Maybe it was because of his human DNA that Conrad''s features were not as captivating as the other mazokus. However his face with a cheeky smile and a thin scar across one eyebrow could still be described as attractive. Had he lived in the United States, he would probably have become a model for the GI Joe. No one looked as good as Conrad in a military uniform.


    "Wolfram, take your hands off His Majesty at once!" G¨¹nter admonished him in an upset tone, and pulled the younger ex-prince''s fingers away from my deformed cheeks. "I''ll never forgive you if there should be even one small fingerprint on that beautiful face!"


    I could never understand the mazokus'' standards of beauty, given that G¨¹nter seriously believed I was more beautiful than all the mazokus, including himself.


    Black hair and eyes were extremely rare around here, and that rarity gave it a great value.


    "What is really going on here? What impostor are you talking about? Why should I not be ''me''?"


    "While you were away, a brazen man pretended to be you and committed crimes under your name." G¨¹nter said.


    "Incredible! Someone claimed to be "Yuri Shibuya"?"


    "Not exactly so, Your Majesty. In Suveria, the southern country near Conashia, a criminal was caught posing as the Maou. We ignored this at first because we believed it couldn''t have been you. But now that the execution date has been announced, we all felt a bit uneasy. As long as we couldn''t say with absolute certainty whether that criminal was Your Majesty or not..."


    Conrad interrupted him.


    "We could not exclude the possibility that Your Majesty had come to our world outside the country and without our knowledge. We had to clarify the actual circumstances. This was also the reason why we called you back this time."


    "Sure, sure...! And because of that, I fell into the pool while shaking hand with Bando, and ended up floating next to a shark in the ocean..."


    "Bando? Who is Bando? Another guy?" Wolfram growled unhappily.


    "I don''t know if Bando is male or female! Besides, Bando is just a dolphin."


    I turned back to Conrad and G¨¹nter. "So now that I am here in front of you, I''m the proof that the other guy couldn''t have been me."


    "That''s right, Your Majesty! Your wisdom always delights me."


    Now that wasn''t a difficult one to figure out. With G¨¹nter slopping all over me, I badly wished I could indeed be somewhere else at that moment.


    So in a foreign country, an impostor had claimed to be me, and had painted the town red. How bold! As far as I knew, only Master Mito Komon, the Bold Shogun, or Michael Jackson had been impersonated. For the celebrities or deities, it is inevitable that there would be cheap imitations. Then wasn''t an impostor the best way to prove that my fame had elevated?


    "But, why do you want to go to look for my double? The fact that I''m here would clear all doubts, right? And why would Gwendal himself take the trouble...?" I trailed off. Suddenly I could imagine the figure of the eldest brother in front of my eyes.


    "You are right. Of course, Your Majesty, we wouldn''t really care if a crazy man who impersonated you would die on the scaffold. But this ... what is the word he used?"


    "Double."


    "Yes, we have received information that this double is in possession of a special item that only the Maou can handle. This is an extremely precious treasure to the mazokus. It was taken out of the country two hundred years ago and has since disappeared. If this information is correct, we need to bring the treasure back, to revive our power. Twenty years ago we sent a man, a relative of Gwendal, to look for it."


    "What was his name again?" Asked Conrad.


    "Lord Grisela, Lord Gegenhuber Grisela."


    "Ah, yes, exactly, this Huber."


    Conrad tugged his ear uncomfortably. Although he was kind and pleasant by nature, even he did not seem to get along with everybody. I turned to the younger brother, trying to find out some information about this Huber.


    "Who''s that?" I asked.


    "He is the cousin of my brother from his father''s side. An aunt from the Voltaire family has married into the Griesela family."


    "Oh." I mumbled, a little bit disappointed. I was hoping for something more dramatic. "So no one else can touch this treasure? Does it bite, burn, or spit on you?"


    I was vividly reminded of my encounter with the Maken Morgif, who had done all that.


    "Not exactly, Your Majesty. Anyone could possibly touch this treasure. But in this world, only you can play it."


    "Play it?"


    "Yes, in Svelera there are people who have seen the Mateki, a Mazoku treasure."


    "The Mateki?!"


    Wolfram who was strangely brushing the limit of my suntan, stepped into our conversation excitedly. As expected from a Vienna Boys Choir singer, the tone of his voice would even be a little annoying for Mozart.


    "I''ve only heard the stories about it from my father, but he said that the sound of the flute is fantastic! It can make the sky roar and the earth shake. Its sound can conjure a loud storm, that would make you cower[1]!"


    "C-cows go?"


    "Cows go mosa mosa."


    Since it can conjure a storm, it must certainly make a very loud noise and be as destructive as the open air solo recitals of Kouda Takeshi[2] in the vacant lots. As I had immediately imagined a flute with a clear sound or a piccolo, I forced myself to revise my picture of the Mateki. Maybe it was a kind of conch?


    "I''ve always wanted to hear the sound of the Mateki. I can''t wait! I''m curious to see how well Yuri can play it." Wolfram said cheerfully.


    "Playing the flute?! Me?! Are you kidding?! Get that idea right out of your head!"


    Arms folded on his chest, Conrad had leaned against the wall and was listening to the conversation, as usual.


    "I strongly doubt that the people of Suveria will do us a favor and show us the possessions of the executed criminal in his coffin."


    "You think they would confiscate all his belongings? Wait a minute, his coffin...? Are they really going to execute my double?! What has he done?"


    "If I''m not mistaken, he ran away without paying the bill."


    "Death sentence for eating and running without paying the bill?!"


    Wow, blow me down! My double was going to be executed for failing to pay for his food! You might not like such a person, but you can''t kill him! That would be a scandal! I had to stop that!


    "We must save him, Conrad!"


    "I beg your pardon?"


    "We have to save my double!"


    (This translation was originally posted here. Please do not repost elsewhere.)

 Volume 3 - CH 2

    "What is this child doing here?" Lord Gwendal von Voltaire turned to his two half brothers with an obvious expression of displeasure. His hair was long and of a very dark gray color; his eyes were blue, with a permanent look of bad humor in them which no beauty could get rid of. In my opinion, Gwendal was born to be the Maou, worthier than anyone else. His deep voice was chilling to the bone.


    I felt glad that my brother wasn''t like that; otherwise years ago I would have run away from home. At this point, I had to take my hat off to Wolfram. He professed deep affection for this man.


    "His Majesty intends to explain that the prisoner Suveria is holding captive is a fake." Conrad cheerfully said, trying to help me out. Unfortunately, at that moment I had hooked one foot in the saddle and was hanging writhingly against the horse''s belly.


    "Ah! Really?" Gwendal growled. He had been waiting for us near the south border.


    "Exactly!" I said hastily. "You probably already knew he was a fake, and so you thought it would be fine even if they go ahead and execute him. The only thing is, the prisoner isn''t me, I''m perfectly fine, I''ve returned and I will not allow him to be executed! So let''s get to Conansia or Cavrella or where ever the double and the Mateki are!"


    "Conrad..."


    "Yes?"


    With the slightly raised eyebrow, Gwendal stared sharply at his brother, the one he held in high esteem as a soldier.


    "Please do me a favor and take these two back to the capital!" He growled again.


    "What?! Me too?!" Wolfram exclaimed indignantly.


    The younger brother apparently did not think he should be treated the same way as me.


    "I only obey orders from his Majesty." Conrad said smoothly.


    Wow, don''t say such things so easily, else it''ll go to my head and I''ll end up believing myself all high and mighty. There is no way freshly crowned newbie Maou, and ordinary baseball kid (forever a bench-warmer) like me could be a great person.


    "Okay, do whatever you want!" Gwendal grumbled, and turned his horse toward the river that ran along the border. The men in his troop followed, halting just enough to pay us respect.


    I had the honor of sitting behind a stunningly beautiful young boy on the horse and looked up toward heaven. Everyone wore dresses like in the movie Lawrence of Arabia -- white cloaks to protect from the scorching sun, because we were riding through endless sand dunes of a desert. Safety measures against heat strokes are crucial when travelling through even a short stretch of desert.


    "Inconceivable! You may have a heat stroke!" G¨¹nter hugged me tightly while fighting back tears. Holding onto my right hand, he implored.


    "It''s not just the heat. A few years ago, Suberera was in a civil war. Since then the gap between rich and poor people has become large, and public safety is now in a miserable state. On the other hand, in the last two years there has been an unprecedented drought, everywhere people struggle for food. Please stay here, Your Majesty! Gwendal will take care of the magic flute! Instead, go with me, his faithful G¨¹nter, to the beach to enjoy the summer."


    It was difficult to assuage Gunter''s worries, because the snot dangling from his slender nose kept distracting me. As nothing could commence before we persuaded him, I reassured Gunter that getting acquainted with one''s neighbors was the first step in friendship, and that first hand experience was important in learning diplomacy. My presentation moved Gunter into a fit of exclamations.


    "That is so noble of you, Your Majesty!"


    Ha, that''s 1 point to Yuuri Shibuya. Finally, I''m getting the hang of persuading Lord von Kleist.


    I had dyed my hair and put on contact lenses to hide my black eyes for this trip just as I had done for the previous one.


    We had reached the edge of a parched river separating Shin Makoku from the country Conashia. The river had completely dried up in what was called a "record drought." The cracked riverbed was about a kilometer wide. There was no comparison with the Tone River near my home...


    "It''d be an amazing sight, if only there was water" I said.


    "During the Civil War, lots of corpses would drift and land on the river bank on our side. But as the humans were afraid of setting foot on our territory, so no one came to collect the dead. We had to take care of those ourselves." Wolfram said.


    "That... wasn''t the kind of amazing sight I meant."


    When we crossed the riverbed, we arrived at a simple picket fence. There were soldiers all around; their number was considerably higher than ours.


    It was understandable that the borders should be well protected, but the mazokus had never invaded their neighbors, yet I found their soldiers openly hostile against us. Their spears pointed directly to us. Some standing in the back row pressed the back of their hands to their chins.


    "What are they doing?" I wondered.


    Wolfram clucked his tongue.


    "A malicious act against the mazokus. Although humans are actually scared their pants off by the mazokus, they feel safer as a group, and they become insolent. Nasty creatures!"


    "Eh, sorry bout that." I muttered.


    "Stop feeling defensive! You are not human but a mazoku! Accept that already!"


    Eh, sorry about that, too.


    At the south of Shin Makoku was the territory of the Karbelnikoff. It was a popular vacation destination, famous for its white sand beaches and dry climate. Many tourists from the northern regions of Shin Makoku come here to quench their need for the sunny weather.


    On the other side of the river, Suberera had suffered heavy losses of harvests due to the drought. But for the people of Karbelnikoff, whose main source of income was tourism, the motto was: More sun, more customers.


    Lord G¨¹nter Von Christ was staying in the Maou''s resort complex, completely exhausted, as if the heat had finished him off also.


    "He''s gone." He sighed.


    His long gray hair had lost its luster and fell all over his back in a mess, and his violet eyes were desolate and empty. With a loose lock of hair clinging to his cheek, G¨¹nter''s tragic appearance looked like that of an exhausted homemaker whose energy has been completely spent on cleaning tasks. He stared absently through the window into the sky and sea.


    "Why did His Majesty leave me here all alone? Has it finally come to the day he despises his faithful G¨¹nter?"


    "It is entirely possible."


    Startled, von Lord Christ raised his head.


    In front of him was the body of a woman, full of exuberance, wrapped in a tight summer dress, or was it just a swimsuit?


    The long golden curls reaching up to her hip were gathered to generously reveal an erotic waist under the summer dress. If one could look pass this exhibition so dazzlingly sexy, her innocently smiling lips, her white skin, and her emerald green eyes hidden behind long eyelashes would remind one of her youngest son.


    She did not look more than thirty years old, but in fact she had lived longer than the sisters Kin and Gin, the oldest twins in Japan.


    Lady Cecilie von Spitzberg was the mother of the three mazoku brothers who didn''t look one bit alike, as well as the previous mazoku queen. She was not only a sexy queen, but also a genuine certified queen, my very predecessor.


    "Your Royal Highness the Former Queen! What a bold outfit...!"


    "And it doesn''t look good on me, my dear Gunter? I was told that His Majesty had arrived. If I had known that I would find only you here, I would have kept my legs covered."


    "Cheri-sama, I humbly ask you to refrain from these constant attempts to seduce His Majesty."


    "But G¨¹nter, you''re just the same as you''ve been sniffing the clothes of His Majesty all this while."


    "W... Well, that''s..."


    Madame Cheri snatched the arms of a T-shirt Lord Von Christ had been holding.


    "It''s very rude of you to keep all the prizes for yourself. Let me hold it too....hm?"


    She held the damp cotton cloth to her nose and sniffed.


    "Is this really the scent of his majesty? Don''t you wonder G¨¹nter? He seems to be such a sweet person."


    "That scent actually befits a young man. A distinctive aroma of ... how shall I say? ... ocean air."


    Most likely, the odor is from the dolphin... not from Yuuri.


    From the hot saddle,


    The sweat drips.


    It is not just the sun.


    A horse, two bodies... close together.


    No, the verse did not help much against the heat. No haiku can alleviate this exasperating heat.


    We were in the middle of the desert, with nothing within sight but endless rolling sand dunes.


    I tried to shift my body away from the boy sitting in front of me as much as possible so that some air could pass through between us. However, it was nothing but hot air all around us, and there was no stir even remotely resembling a breeze.


    "If you slip further back, you''ll fall." Wolfram said.


    "I''m dying of heat!" I complained.


    Wolfram was obviously enjoying the situation.


    Yes, thanks. Very funny. If only it had been a girl who was sitting in front of me, then I would have had my fun. Like a charming gentleman, I would have steadied her, with the reins held in my hands. Sadly for me, the front seat was occupied by a bishounen lovelier than a girl.


    Our crew, consisting of twenty men, was crossing the desert under the sun instead of the moon, and on horses bred by humans instead of camels.


    The soldiers at the borders who gestured rudely at us had claimed that animals must be kept quarantined for 20 days before allowed entry into the country. Coming from a modern society in Japan, their claim made sense, but according to Wolfram and his subordinates it was merely petty faultfinding. We ended up sending back the mazoku''s horses (they have two hearts) and bought local horses at a border village near Conanshia. It would have been more convenient if they had cars for rent, but it wasn''t like I had a license anyway.


    This endless sienna arid region was supposedly not as big as a true desert. Born in Boston and brought up in Saitama, even though I can tell apart artificial grass fields from the real grass fields, I had no idea what was the difference between a desert and sand dunes.


    Nor had I ever been in the mini desert in Tottori, Japan.


    Gwendal rode a distance away in front of us. The cloak on his back moved in a wavelike motion in the air like seaweed in a lake. I turned toward Conrad and lamented.


    "Damn, why is no one else but me suffering so much from the heat?"


    "It''s probably because of our training." Conrad replied, looking extremely fresh and relaxed.


    They didn''t even sweat that much.


    That was probably expected. After all, it was easier for well-trained soldiers, assuming that they trained hard everyday under the supervision of an evil sergeant.


    Like the armed forces of the Japanese self defense. They presumably traveled through forests and mountains, crossing swamps and building igloos in the snow. Maybe even stumbling everyday in forests where the trees were thick and the ground could suddenly slide. But this was more of a training routine for a Ninja.


    In any case, among all travelers, I was the only one who was dying of the heat. And then I even saw hallucinations.


    "Do you also see over there in the middle of the sand a small animal raising its arms?"


    "What? Where? What small animal? I can''t see anything." Wolfram said.


    I could see the head of an animal unknown to me sticking out from a hole about ten meters away. Bu no one would expect such an animal in the middle of the desert.


    A soldier on a dark brown horse disappeared right in front of me. The gray horse Wolfram and I were riding suddenly flexed, lost his balance and sank.


    "Yikes, what''s happening now?!" I cried.


    "A sand bear!"


    A sand bear?! Everything became fuzzy around me, and the whole world turned into the color of gold and orange. Here and there helmets, or a forearm, came into my sight. We sank deeper and deeper into the smooth sand. There was no escape. We were being inevitably sucked in.


    "Wh... what happens?! How can this be?!"


    When I opened my mouth, sand immediately filled between my teeth. I tried to hold Wolfram back by the hem of his robe, but his arms, legs, hands and finally even his face disappeared. I could barely breathe.


    What kind of animal could this be?! In my field of vision, which was becoming blurred, I could see a huge two-toned panda moved his arms up and down at the center of a whirling mass of sand.


    "That''s a damned panda!" I cried.


    A panda in the middle of a desert. With a new variation of color too: his coat was of beige and brown. Where did you leave your bamboo?


    Suddenly someone grabbed my arm firmly, freeing me from my immersion into this giant sand hour glass.


    "Conrad..."


    No, that could not be Conrad. My indestructible protector was supporting my legs from below with his shoulders.


    When I looked up I saw Gwendal standing right on the edge of the hole. Wolfram and the other soldiers had been sucked into the vortex. I saw only a few horses'' legs and someone''s hands that I could not recognize. The sand kept swirling down the center of the vortex.


    "What about Wolfram?! He fell in front of me into the sand! But he won''t die, right?!" I cried and wailed.


    "If he was unlucky..." Gwendal said above me.


    "Don''t worry, if he''s not suffocated he''ll find his way back to the surface." Conrad reassured me. "Your Majesty, climb up quickly!"


    "But we have to go back to help! We don''t know if he has a chance against the bear!" I protested.


    I tried to slide down the slope, but Gwendal held my arm tightly and would not let me go.


    "You cannot help!" He reproached me.


    "But I can''t just leave him like that! Then at least you go and save him, he is your brother! Go and save him instead!"


    I turned to Conrad. "Hey, you can deal with that bear, can''t you? You are a sword master! Surely you can deal with a middle-stage boss character?" I appealed while being dragged up. Though it was in order to steady his feet, he avoided my eyes.


    "The top priority now is your security." He looked up and panted, still trying to push upward.


    "But I''m fine, so..."


    "No!"


    For a split second, his eyes, brown with flecks of silver, met mine. Conrad bit his lips, frowned, a scar barely noticeable on an eyebrow, and then spoke with tormented voice. He turned towards the center of the vortex.


    "Your Majesty, Wolfram would agree with me immediately. He is also a grownup warrior and knows that things like this can happen. Your safety comes first!"


    "But-!"


    By now, there was no visible trace of the soldiers who had been swallowed by the sand vortex. Would they pass off falling into such a land hole as a matter of bad luck? Just imagining the honey blond hair and brilliant emerald green eyes, frozen with terror, hurt my chest; I couldn''t breathe. Of course twenty lives would weigh more than one, even if it was my own life that was at risk. Go and save those twenty people, rather than staying here for me. The choice is straightforward. No one should be sacrificed, even for a king!


    "Conrad, I don''t want you to be someone who abandon his own brother." I finally said.


    "Your Majesty... we must leave this place immediately. Everything can collapse any moment now."


    I reached up and got to the solid ground. Finally the sand under my feet felt solid and stable. I turned to Conrad:


    "You''ve said that you would only follow my orders." I said.


    "Yes, but that was..."


    "You said you''ll follow my catcher''s signs. Then I order you to save Wolfram. Please! I''m fine; you have no reason to worry about me. After all I still have a strong guard here."


    Conrad looked surprised and shifted his eyes back and forth between me and Gwendal


    "Any order?" He finally turned to Gwendal and murmured. "Okay. But you take care of him!"


    "Mhmmm." Gwendal grumbled.


    He was standing behind me so I could not see his face, but I thought I heard a bit of relief in his voice. Confidence grew in me that my decision could not have been wrong.


    Conrad slid down the slippery slope, to rescue his brother and subordinates.


    "Do you know how to find the hidden tunnel out of that beast''s den?!" Shouted Gwendal a moment later.


    "No need to worry, this is the third time I have had to deal with a sand bear! See you at the capital!"


    Yes, my decision was correct. It has to be.


    (This translation was originally posted here. Please do not repost elsewhere.)

 Volume 3 - CH 3

    Lord Densiam von Karbelnikoff governed the Karbelnikoff area according to the order of several successive generations of Demon Kings, the most important feudal lords in the great empire of the demons. He belonged to the Ten Noble Families, and even in his own circles he was considered an eccentric figure. Lord Densiam''s talent was less in the arts of warfare but more in diplomacy and business.


    Despite his jovial personality and his shrewdness, he had the deepest loyalty for his king. For the prosperity of the state finances, he deposited huge sums of tax money into the state treasury. When he found out about the presence of the 27th Demon King in his area, he wished nothing more than an audience with the king. Unfortunately he arrived too late, as Yuuri had already ridden on.


    Demsian''s hasty plan crumbled like a sandcastle. He had planned to have an audience with the Demon King in Karbelnikoff, outside the royal summer cottage. He had wanted to name this place "The audience hall of the Demon King" and make it accessible to the general public - for a decent tour fee. Instead he now planned to design a commemorative coin to perpetuate the visit of the Demon King. While he drew the sketch of his new plan, he bit into a Karbelnikoff pie, a regional specialty.


    He had a younger sister, but their similarities were limited to the same hair and eye color. As for the differences in personalities, speech, gestures and points of view, they took second place to the three most dissimilar demon brothers of all times. Although his sister was also a demon, her comings and goings always had a quality almost divine. This woman would not spare a thought for moneymaking. She was solely interested in one thing: new uses for magic in everyday life.


    Her philosophy dictated that such a practical and exciting skill as magic should not be used only for combative purposes. It would be a huge waste if magic wasn''t applied to daily life. Only then would its true value be utilized to the advantage of the demons. In order to reach her goals, she pounced on every opportunity of experiment. In her life, the most important things are: first, experiment, second, experiment, third and forth are secrets, and fifth, experiment again. The only person who knew what her third and forth most important things were was her childhood friend Lord von Voltaire.


    It was on that very day that she found a new scientific challenge.


    "It''s very important that His Majesty''s clothes be thoroughly washed and well maintained, even if it is a shame that his invaluable smell will disappear", sighed Lord von Kleist. "The last step is particularly dangerous, because the wrinkles must be smoothed out with a hot iron. And it is not possible at all to leave this highly important task to somebody else."


    "But G¨¹nter, that''s the work of the laundry women. The girls will be very sad if you take their work away." Madame Cheri pointed out for his consideration.


    "What are you thinking, Lady Cheri! One of my most important duties is to take care of His Majesty''s personal matters, and that includes washing and preparing his clothes."


    The door was suddenly thrown open.


    "Did you just mention you wanted a better way to take care of the laundry?"


    Both G¨¹nter''s and Cecilie''s gazes shot to the door at once. There, a small and slender woman was standing straight, her voice literally bubbling with self-confidence, and her light-blue eyes, slightly drawn up at the corners, shining with her whole willpower. The flaming red hair was tied together at the back of her head and fell long and pretty down her back. The moment they saw this intrepid beauty, the tutor turned pale, while the sex goddess clapped her hands to her chest.


    "My dear Anissina!"


    Lady Anissina von Karbelnikoff was Lord Gwendal''s childhood playmate who had taught him how to knit. She was considered, alongside Madame Cheri, one of the three most powerful Demon women in Shin Makoku.


    "Oh Anissina, it''s been so long! Since you have not been visiting my son lately, I started to worry about you."


    "Forgive my long absence, Your Royal former Majesty. I am delighted to see you doing so well. And Lord von Kleist...?"


    "Yes, yes, I''m also fine, thank you, Lady Anissina."


    "But let''s get to the point! It was fortunate that I found you here, G¨¹nter. I''ve been looking for Gwendal, but he seems to have left Karbelnikoff. There''s something I''d like you to help with. Using my latest invention, all types of clothing can be prepared beautifully. I would like you to go with me to test the machine."


    "Te...test the machine?"


    "Would you be willing to? Yes? "


    Willing or not, it was all up to her.


    "Very well, then please take a look at my latest work, my great pride! I call it the fully-automatic magic-operated washing-machine-kun!"


    With sweeping pompous gestures, Anissina presented her invention.


    My decision couldn''t have been wrong! But why didn''t it make me happy, but uneasy as if I was sinking in a swamp?


    We found a piebald horse that had managed to escape from danger and continued our journey for two. We had to leave the dunes behind as fast as possible.


    At night, the temperature dropped significantly. For me, an untrained soldier, it was more than just another tough night. It had already been hell during the day! Because of the scorching heat, I was always on the verge of fainting. To remain conscious, I tried to carry on a non-stop conversation, but I never got much response from my traveling companion, except for a non-committal "Uh-huh" or "No" as the answers. If I asked more complex questions, Gwendal would even refuse to answer. Given this lack of communication, had we been a married couple, we would have already been separated and divorced long ago. It didn''t surprise me however... After all, in the entire Shin Makoku, he was the one who hated me the most. To him I was nobody.


    Since Gwendal always seemed moody and expressionless, I couldn''t guess what was in his mind. I felt ill at ease and didn''t know how to behave towards him while we rode on together.


    "Would you mind if I put my hips around your arms?" I blurted out. Damn, this was no first date in middle school! Put my hips around his arms! How could I make such an embarrassing mistake? Seriously, this guy was driving me out of my mind.


    Meanwhile, there were thousands of questions at the tip of my tongue: Why was I the only one who can see the deadly panda? Why didn''t Gwendal fall into the pit? How would Conrad, Wolfram and the others escape from the quicksand? But even if I could voice all these questions, they would remain unanswered anyway. And I had no option but to pull myself together and try hard not to fall off the horse.


    "Here, take it!"


    "Pardon me?"


    Gwendal handed me the leather water pouch.


    "It''s okay. I just drank," I refused.


    Even though, to be honest, I couldn''t remember when that had been. However I surely had drunk more often than my companion.


    During the summer baseball training, I had learned firsthand how important fluids were to the body. I could understand better than any average person the dangers of dehydration and overheating. Even so I couldn''t just take all the remaining water for myself alone...


    "Do I have to force it down your throat?!" growled Gwendal.


    "Okay, okay! I''m drinking already!"


    I hastily grabbed the leather pouch. After such a threat I would have drunk even poison. Oh! At last, could this be Gwendal''s plan?! Wasn''t this the perfect opportunity to get rid of me, here and now, in the middle of the dessert, without a single witness? But to do away with me, he didn''t need to go through the trouble of poisoning me. It''s a 90% chance I would fall victim to the heat anyway.


    And again I began to hallucinate. This time, I saw what seemed to be a mirage: a city on the other side of a whirlpool of sand. I rubbed my dry, sore eyelids but the shimmering buildings didn''t disappear. Maybe the contact lenses had slipped; my sensitive eyeballs did feel a bit strange.


    "I could be imagining it, but I see a town over there," I said.


    Gwendal didn''t utter a word, but steered the horse straight toward that direction. The closer we went, the more clearly we could see the shape of the houses. The uniform beige color of the walls was probably due to the large amount of sand mixed with the cement. The gigantic building in the town center was a solid construction with stone walls. Maybe it was a sanctuary or a government building. My brain, in a stupor from the heat, was incapable of more accurate observations.


    The town was small but wide, spreading out for about a mile, very much like a strip mall in Ginza. However, there were no splendid shops here. We could only saw dusty and dirty facades one after the other. I was overcome with serious doubts as to whether one could buy anything here.


    Some women walked around, and children were playing on the ground. There were a surprising number of guards stationed around the place, but not a single male civilian in sight...


    "Isn''t that strange for a city?" I asked, and again got no response.


    When we were about to ride inside, the guard on duty stepped forward to stop us. He wore a sleeveless, simple military uniform with a long, quite heavy looking sword hanging at his hip. His tanned, bronze-colored face was twisted into a grin, and he had a bizarre hairstyle. His dark brown hair was shaved short on the sides, leaving only a circular mat of hair on the top which was dyed red. Probably this was the conventional military hairstyle here, but I couldn''t help it, this brown-red mat reminded me of something... Yes, salmon and caviar sushi! That was exactly it! This hairstyle reminded me of a Gunkan - Maki in the shape of a battleship. If all the soldiers were to move in a circle, it would look like the conveyor belt in a sushi-bar.


    "Horses are not allowed in the town," the soldier with the sushi-hairstyle barked at us.


    Gwendal quietly got down from the horse. While acting as if he was helping me get off the saddle, he whispered in my ears telling me to hide my face.


    "Are you coming from the dessert?" asked Mister Sushi-Head.


    "Uh-huh", muttered Gwendal.


    "Well, my respects! And no encounters with the Hinemos?"


    Hinemos?! At home, in Japan, this was a leisure activity where you use paper tubes to make for example a dinosaur figure. And there was also a haiku by Yosa Buson about the sea at springtime, in which that word meant "all day long." A dinosaur that swims up and down all day long in the springtime sea? No, that didn''t fit.


    "No, we saw nothing", Gwendal answered in monotone.


    I had no idea why, but the Sushi-Head soldiers started to laugh.


    "You lucky dogs!"


    "The horse needs rest. We also need water and food. Is there a hostel in this town?"


    "No idea", answered the soldier.


    The whole group gurgled with laughter again. Were these lunatics suicidal? Didn''t they know who they were dealing with? If Gwendal shredded them to pieces, they would have only themselves to blame.


    However, instead of teaching some manners to this reckless bunch, Lord Gwendal von Voltaire - the invincible demon between the demons, famous for his unparallel sangfroid - only stared at them briefly and rolled his eyes.


    "Would you perhaps be kind enough to tell us where we could find a hostel in the city?" he said in such a humble tone that I thought I had misheard. "We would also appreciate it a lot if you could tell us where to find some water and food."


    "Well, that depends on how much you are willing to shell out!"


    Gwendal only grumbled something to himself. We left the horse and went further into town on foot.


    Were there upcoming elections? Everywhere I looked, the walls were plastered with posters. The pictures were no better than children''s drawings: the faces of the candidates - a man and a woman ¨C were more like circles with spikes on top. I could not read the sentences below the pictures.


    "Stay here and don''t do anything stupid," Gwendal said then disappeared into one of the shops.


    I was left alone on the street. Some children were crouching on the dry ground throwing something into a circle. Their toys were full of rusted nails.


    "Do you want to become carpenters when you grow up?" I asked.


    "Carpenters? What nonsense! All men should become soldiers. How else would one earn his bread, riiiiight?"


    The other children nodded their heads in confirmation.


    "Come inside right now!" a woman raised her voice angrily. Probably she was their mother.


    Could my appearance cause so much attention? My hair was dyed brown and I was still wearing my contact lenses.


    "Hey, you forgot something!" I called after them, but when I picked up the toys from the painted circle, none of the boys was there anymore.


    According to the G-shock watch on my right wrist, it was three o''clock in the afternoon. The temperature hadn''t dropped and sweat was running down my chin.


    "Hey, boy!"


    I looked around for the friendly voice.


    A nice looking woman waved at me from the door of a huge building. Her extremely long eyelashes probably gave her eyes good protection against the sand.


    "Isn''t it hot out there? Come into the church, you can wait for your companions here."


    G¨¹nter has always drummed into me two things: that I should never accept food or drink from a stranger, but it was okay to seek refuge in a shadowed shelter.


    It was very cool inside the stone building. The sweat dried immediately on my skin as if I had stepped from the platform into an air-conditioned train. The idols of the country''s deities were hung on the walls in two long rows that reached the altar. There were about 300 such idols.


    "These are all straw dolls!" I said in surprise.


    Just like the ''Japanese voodoo''! A shiver ran down my back all the way from my neck. This type of idolatry was just too extreme for me.


    "Don''t you pray to such gods?"


    A guy with the sushi hairdo suddenly blocked my way to the door with his back. He had at least seven or eight comrades with him. This gave me a bad feeling.


    "Not very often," I answered. "Maybe I pray more often to the god of baseball." Not that it had made me any better at the game.


    The men closed around me, hands on their swords. Did they want to shred me into pieces inside their own church?


    "As long as you keep your mouth shut we won''t kill ya."


    I heard noises coming from outside. Then the explosive sound of the door burst open.


    "Come on, let''s get out of here!" shouted Gwendal.


    I made a move to run away. But somebody grabbed me roughly and pulled down my hood. They held me from behind and peered into my face.


    "This is the one!"


    "Wh... what do you mean?"


    Thanks to the best Demon technology my disguise looked exactly like a normal human. There was not a trace of the revealing black. But why the hell would these guys want to capture me then?


    At that moment, Gwendal entered the church with a surly face, held by the soldiers. He probably would not spare time to appreciate the cool temperature inside the church. Although I wasn''t sure what I had done wrong, I immediately felt the dire need to apologise to my companion.


    "Even a demon warrior would find it impossible to use magic inside a church. Isn''t it so? This building was full of the power of our gods."


    "What do you want? Money?"


    The furrows on Gwendal''s brow deepened and his lips were slightly distorted. He was clearly angry.


    "Of course it''s about money! But we want much more than your pocket money. If we turn you two in to the authorities in the capital we''ll collect a very fat bounty!"


    Mister Sushi-Head held out a poster, the one I''d seen before.


    "It is you in this drawing, am I right?"


    "You think it''s us in those posters? But we aren''t candidates." I exclaimed.


    For a moment there was a weird silence. It was, apparently, not an electoral poster.


    "Don''t pretend you know nothing! These drawings look exactly like you."


    Excuse me? What do you have for your eyes, tomatoes?! This time even Gwendal was surprised. Did these guys seriously want us to believe that those bizarre portraits resembled us in any way? Two balloons with spiky hair on top - a drawing I would have made as a preschooler for Mother''s Day.


    Wanted! A tall male demon with grey hair and a human girl dressed as a boy. Both have eloped together. Whoever captures them will receive a bounty of fifty thousand gold pieces.


    "Eloping?" exclaimed Gwendal indignantly. "I''m eloping... with that?!"


    "What''s with that disdainful tone?" I shouted. "And what is this ''eloping together'' all about? Do you mean ''eloping'' as in: "Our parents are against the marriage, let''s run away together"? My god! That would be completely absurd! Do we look anything like a couple? In case you haven''t noticed, we are both... "


    Men! That was what I meant to say, but before I could finish protesting, Mister Sushi-Head forced his hand through the neck of my clothes, without my permission.


    "Arghhhhh!"


    "Man, the girl is as flat as a board, even if her breasts just started developing... "


    Committing sexual harassment right in front of everyone, yet he showed no sign of embarrassment. And growing tits wasn''t in my future agenda at all! My chest was just as it was supposed to be. With rigorous baseball practice, a lot of batting maybe, I might build more muscles on my chest, but nothing else!


    "Well, as long as she has a cute face... There''re always guys who enjoy girls that look like boys."


    "I''m not a girl, you stupid asshole! Grope me between my legs, while you''re at it!"


    My outbreak shocked the soldiers and they fell quiet for a moment. If G¨¹nter could hear the language unfit for a king I was using just now, he would burst into tears with disappointment. Truth be told, I sometimes thought he had a strange perception of me.


    Damn it! To clear matters once and for all, I would have wanted my clothes to be torn off. There wasn''t much to show off when it came to size, but at least there was something.


    Gwendal couldn''t control his ire either. He bellowed more furiously each time.


    "Drop that nonsense! We aren''t even remotely similar to that drawing!"


    "Exactly!" I roared too. "Or is it that I resemble Charlie Brown?!"


    A soldier grabbed my right arm and showed the back of my hand to Mister Sushi-Head.


    During the long journey through the sand dunes my hands had become red. In the middle of the sunburn area, a faint whitish mark was still visible, which I had seen somewhere before.


    "This is the proof! In our neighbour country, this is the mark for those who have eloped as lovers! Anyone who violates the marriage law will be branded on the back of the hand. You fled from there, and this proves it!" exclaimed Mister Sushi-Head.


    "Wait a minute... this is the Sea World''s stamp! It says ''Free Entrance for the Day.'' Don''t you know how to read?!"


    Of course they couldn''t read what it said, this wasn''t their language. Damn special ink! This was no longer about my freedom for one day, but my freedom for the whole lifetime.


    "Don''t make any foolish mistake, or I''ll break your little friend''s neck! Drop your weapon, come closer and put this on you and the girl."


    It seemed the soldiers were afraid to approach a demon. They threw a short heavy-looking chain at Gwendal''s feet instead. It made a muffled clanking sound of metal on metal. While Gwendal held his glare steady on the men, he stepped forward, slightly bended down towards the chain and picked it up.


    Never before had I had any problem with the police. And I would never have imagined one day I would be handcuffed in a church in a foreign land. Not only was I innocent, they even got my gender wrong!


    "Please don''t put it on my right arm... That''s my throwing arm." I told Gwendal.


    I breathed with difficulty as one of them was holding me by my neck. Gwendal put the metal rings on my left wrist and his right one. The handcuffs snapped into place with a clicking sound that seemed to extinguish all hope. Between us now hung a thick chain about thirty centimetres long. It was so heavy my shoulder dropped right towards the ground.


    Even a pig couldn''t have had such bad luck! I had to be chained to Gwendal, of all the people in the world. What a pair! It wouldn''t take more than a quick glance to tell which one was the police, which one the criminal. As the thought of crimes came to my mind, I suddenly remember the topic featured on Six O''clock News from last week: How should a woman defend herself from a stalker?


    "Urgh!" the man who had been holding me all this while groaned and dropped to the floor.


    I had given him a head butt and a kick to his crotch both at the same time, which caused me to bite my tongue badly. Instinctively, I reached for one of the idols, grabbed its head and held it out towards the men.


    "Don''t move! One single movement and I stick this nail right through the heart of your god!"


    In Japanese voodoo practice, you actually use a special long and thick nail, but one can''t always choose. The rusted nails the children had been playing with would have to do.


    Such sacrilege! To hold a deity hostage. If I continued doing such things, maybe one day I''d manage to become a true Demon King.


    However Gwendal''s lightning-fast attacks were much more effective than my old Japanese ritual curse. As he kicked his extremely long legs, three men went flying through the air. A High Kick, a Round Kick and even a Flying Knee Strike! Urgh! All his kicks hit their targets with devilish perfection.


    "Run!" cried Gwendal.


    He didn''t have to tell me twice. We ran out of the church to the bright and dusty road. Footsteps and angry voices followed us. Something sharp whizzed past my ear and struck the ground two steps in front of me.


    "Wow, it barely missed me!" I yelled and sped up.


    Our horse was waiting at the town entrance. Grass still hanging from his mouth, he seemed to be happy. Gwendal jumped on the horse, pulled me up by the chain and spurred him on. I didn''t even have time to ask if I could wrap my hips around his arms.


    (This translation was originally posted here. Please do not repost elsewhere.)

 Volume 3 - CH 4

    If His Majesty saw me in this embarrassing state, what would he say?


    Trying to remember his master''s smile with a brain almost numb with exhaustion, a beauty who could earn a fortune with just a flirtatious glance has one arm thrust into a barrel filled with water as he watches the laundry spin around.


    ¡°Lady Anissina.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    G¨¹nter raised a small voice in complaint to the female inventor who was standing by in a ¡®scholarly¡¯ way with her arms folded, making no effort to help at all.


    "This is difficult."


    "Of course. Tibby needs a bit of hard work."


    "Um, just what country''s language is this ''Tibby'' from?"


    "It''s an abbreviation for ''To Invent Better, I use Your Body''"


    If you abbreviate it like that, it comes out ¡®Tibyb.¡¯ [1]


    But I knew it, I knew it, I knew it ¨C I''m a guinea pig! The reason Gwendal avoided his childhood friend was because he didn''t want to be experimented on. I can understand why he makes such a bitter face just from hearing her name if this is what he goes through all the time.


    But it''s too late. G¨¹nter is now under her control.


    "However, as far as I can see, I can''t imagine this being anything than just a machine that''s using my power to spin around the water and clothes... how is this a new invention?"


    "In order for the cloth to not get tangled, I''ve put to use a theory of including an agitator. Although judging from your fatigue, it seems this totally automatic magic washing machine uses too much demon power. In this age where we demons will conserve energy, it seems this..."


    Her eyes flashed brightly.


    "Is a failure!"


    Not-Mad-Scientist-but-Mad-Magicalist Anissina von Karbelnikoff.


    Please say that sooner.


    I have no memory of it, but two times in the past I¡¯ve put on display some awesome magic. Magic so strong, even Magi Shirou would turn pale. [2]


    The first time was related to rain, the second time was with bones. If that¡¯s true, then that would make this common, first-year student from a prefectural high school a natural born magician. So then can¡¯t I do something about this situation I¡¯ve been cornered into?


    While being forced into a camp-for-two out in the wilderness half a day away from Svelera¡¯s capitol, I held my knees and muttered.


    ¡°If only I¡¯d been taught some sort of spell or something¡­¡±


    In the dry air and under the starlit sky, I figured I¡¯d at least try chanting something, but the horse just got scared and ran away. We¡¯ve advanced one step closer to total adversity. Gwendal only saw the horse off with a cold gaze and didn¡¯t laugh or even try to run after it. He¡¯s not surprised by stupid occurrences anymore.


    The way to the capital was desert-like, but, with its rocks, cacti and dry grasses, it seemed more fit for cowboy hats than Lawrence of Arabia-type clothes. If I had to compare it to somewhere on Earth, I¡¯d point at Arizona.


    In the shade of a rock, we crouched down and lit a fire: that was the end of our camping preparations. We don¡¯t have a tent or sleeping bags. We don¡¯t have any curry with potatoes or a roaring camp fire either. After a dinner of dried meat and water, I laid down because I had nothing better to do. I haven¡¯t spoken with anyone for a while. I feel like I¡¯m going to forget how to talk soon.


    Ah, the moon is blue, the stars are white. It¡¯s cold even if I go right up next to the fire.


    As I was starting to fall asleep ¨C from the cold rather than drowsiness ¨C I felt something itchy near my stomach. Thinking it was a scorpion or a rattlesnake, I reflexively jumped awake and above me...


    ¡°¡­ ah¡­¡±


    Gwendal was hovering over top of me.


    We were both speechless.


    Lowering my gaze slowly, I saw the eldest son¡¯s fingers hooked on my belt.


    No way!?


    ¡°Are even you thinking that I-I-I-I might be a girl and in order to check are unhooking, unhooking my-¡±


    ¡°Wait.¡±


    ¡°How can I just wait! Uwah this is an unbelievably huge shock! I¡¯ve lived my life honestly for 16 years and then I come here and people think I¡¯m a girl! Even though when I was in the boy¡¯s bath on my school trip, I wasn¡¯t that different from the average size!¡±


    ¡°Wait, calm down. I¡¯m not doubting your gender and I don¡¯t think you look like a girl.¡±


    The gap between his eyes and eyebrows is larger than usual. It seems he¡¯s a bit flustered.


    ¡°¡­ That¡¯s right, yeah? Whatever angle you look at me, I¡¯m just a normal guy, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°My face, my voice, the way I move, the way I talk and the way I eat are all masculine right?¡±


    ¡°Without a doubt.¡±


    Since he¡¯s not the type to be kind with his words, I guess I can believe in his affirmation. That¡¯s a little comforting.


    ¡°¡­ Then why were you trying to unfasten my belt..? Ah! Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve got the same hobbies as your little brother and were looking for a fight!?¡± [3]


    ¡°No!¡±


    He waves his right hand in front of his face in a move unlike him. Of course, the movement lifts my left hand up and it gets waved around with the chain.


    ¡°Owowow, that hurts!¡±


    ¡°Ah, sorry.¡±


    Timidly looking down, I saw that his long fingers weren¡¯t holding my belt, but the swaying blue ornament.


    ¡°¡­ Ah, I see. Bando-kun. You should have said so from the beginning.¡±


    It seems this man with a deep bass voice and an aggressive face had an unexpected love for small and cute things. I¡¯d only half believed it when I heard it, but judging from the interest he had for the dolphin keychain hanging from my belt buckle, it appears the information was true. When I unhook it and hold it out to him, the flame reflects off of the round blue eyes of the swimming mammal.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give it to you.¡±


    Gwendal softly grasps the acrylic as if he was receiving an expensive jewel.


    ¡°¡­ Is that alright?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t really like them anyway. I can never tell what they¡¯re thinking.¡±


    With those beady eyes, half-opened mouth, short body and heart shaped fins.


    ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡±


    ¡°Bando-kun¡­ or Eiji-kun.¡±


    They¡¯re even scarier in person.


    ¡°Hey.¡±


    I called my travelling companion¡¯s name as I looked up at the sky, thinking that now we won¡¯t be like graffitti compared to the Petit Julien and we can have a talk on equal terms. Gwendal von Voltaire, the unlucky demon chained to me with handcuffs.


    ¡°Gwendal, I¡¯ve been meaning to ask, but will Conrad and Wolfram and the soldiers all really able to get out of there? And even before that, how come I was the only one who could see the new-color-variation panda? And then, while I do feel it¡¯s my fault we ended up in handcuffs, how come we haven¡¯t even tried to break the chains with all these handy rocks along the way? If we really smash it, we might be able to do something.¡±


    ¡°You want me to answer all of that?¡±


    ¡°¡­ If you can.¡±


    Even though the gift put him in a better mood, I¡¯m still a coward.


    ¡°Fine. Starting with the sand bear, I can¡¯t say that we didn¡¯t let our guard down. But in reality, sand bears don¡¯t live in small sand dunes. Which means it¡¯s possible that those humans in Svelera have forcibly placed them there on their country¡¯s border in order to prevent travel back and forth. I can¡¯t say exactly as to whether they¡¯ve just been left there from the civil war or if they¡¯re there to stop smuggling. Actually, a few years ago esoteric stones were discovered in Svelera. Thaumaturges from neighboring countries want them so bad they practically have arms coming out of their throats. Black market dealers wouldn¡¯t let that opportunity pass them by. In order to prevent their precious esoteric stones from being taken out of the country, they¡¯ve probably placed dangerous traps along the border.¡±


    Even though pandas are an endangered species on Earth, they¡¯re just part of a trap here.


    ¡°Furthermore, this land¡¯s history of war is long. In other words, their thaumaturgy has been developed just as long.¡±


    ¡°Hey wait, what¡¯s thaumaturgy? What¡¯s the difference between magic and thaumaturgy?¡±


    Probably because this is more suited to a teacher of some sort, the wrinkles between Gwendal¡¯s eyes gathered together. But the effects of the dolphin are tremendous and he doesn¡¯t attempt to end the conversation.


    ¡°Magic is an ability only the demons have. Magic power is determined by the quality of the soul you are born with, so ultimately only those with the soul of a demon can use it. Conversely, thaumaturgy is a technique those humans have received by praying to their gods. Even those born without talent or exorcism abilities can train themselves to be able to use it. Esoteric stones supplement people¡¯s abilities and even those without any ability can use their power. Because there aren¡¯t many countries where they¡¯ve been discovered, they sell for quite a high price.¡± [4]


    ¡°So, in order to protect the outflow of those precious resources, they¡¯ve laid traps along the border¡­¡±


    ¡°It seems so. As for why you were the only one who could see the sand bear, it¡¯s likely because the deception of the thaumaturgy had no effect on you. I don¡¯t know why, but maybe it¡¯s because you¡¯re naturally thickheaded.¡±


    That might be true. Ever since I was a kid I¡¯ve never been able to get hypnotized or have any sort of subliminal message work on me and in my school trip¡¯s group photo, I was the only one who didn¡¯t see the ghost.


    ¡°Also, there are esoteric stones imbedded in these handcuffs. Trying to smash them with a rock would just be a waste of energy. It might be possible on the soil of demon lands where there is much of the essence that obeys us, but in this dry human land, trying to defeat thaumaturgy is difficult.¡±


    ¡°No way, we can¡¯t take these off? Then what are we gonna do!?¡±


    I imagined the two of us together forever. We¡¯d bathe together and sleep together. In sickness and in health ¨C we¡¯d even be piss-buddies whenever we had to go to the bathroom. I can¡¯t deal with that.


    As he examined the keyring, Gwendal spoke in a low and subdued voice.


    ¡°I had intended to wait for Conrart and the others to catch up to us in that town back there, but now that this has happened we¡¯ll head for the capitol. First we need to find a monk who can use thaumaturgy and get these annoying restraints cut off. Then we can deal with Gegenhuber and the Demon Flute.¡±


    Seems like he doesn¡¯t want to be piss-buddies either.


    ¡°But judging from that, Conrad, Wolfram and the others are okay right? Because it sounds like you think it¡¯s obvious we¡¯re going to meet up.¡±


    ¡°If a soldier as skilled as he was killed by a sand bear, it would be a story for the ages.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing. I¡¯d definitely lose if I had to have a sumo match with a panda.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I pulled you out.¡±


    Unable to deal with the fatigue and the cold, I pulled up my knees and curled into a ball and drowsiness immediately assaulted me. I¡¯ve become a bit more daring to sleep in the middle of Arizona. But that¡¯s because there¡¯s someone by my side. If I¡¯d been alone, the fear would have thrown me into a panic.


    ¡°Hey.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Come closer to conserve the heat.¡±


    ¡°¡­ You don¡¯t have to say it like having to do so is a misfortune.¡±


    As is the ironclad rule at parties conducted while stranded, we sat with our shoulders together. The chains between us made a heavy sound.


    ¡°Hey.¡±


    ¡°What now?¡±


    ¡°Do you like animals? Like rabbits and cats.¡±


    ¡°¡­ I hate orange rabbits. Cats are¡­ well, I like lions¡­ more than cats¡­ the white ones. White lions.¡±


    With that being the topic of the conversation right before I fell asleep, my dreams for that night were decided. [5]


    When the sun was at its highest, we reached the capital as I sang Country Roads in short gasps. Even though we¡¯re drenched in sweat from walking for half a day, there aren¡¯t any welcome drinks or showers when we arrive. Even so, just being able to take that last step was fine. If this was me a few months ago, I would have given up along the way. I guess that means I¡¯ve gotten some endurance. My grass-lot baseball spirit is exploding.


    Just as we passed through the gate, the weight of the chains returned. I didn¡¯t really notice it on the way because it seems my companion was holding them for me.


    Our fingers are so close, neither of us really knew anymore whether we were tied together with this unromantic chain or if we were just holding hands.


    ¡°It would be bad if people saw our chains, huh? They¡¯ll think we¡¯re fugitives.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    We skillfully wrapped our chains in a cloth so it looked like we had a bundle hanging between us. I heard a few whispers from a few girls passing by.


    ¡°Look look! They¡¯re carrying a package together! How passionate! Oh, but you have to do stuff like that while you still can, right!¡±


    Thank you for your nice reactions. But rather than doing stuff like this while I still can, this is the only time I will be doing this!


    ¡°Hey, doesn¡¯t it look like we¡¯re in a commercial for dishwashing detergent?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never washed a dish.¡±


    Damn bourgeois!


    As may be expected of the heart of the country, the scale of the city is different than the town on the border. The royal palace towered in the south and the traffic of the people was intense. However, the ratio of soldiers was high. The women, children and elderly were left tending the stores as most of the men were soldiers. All of them had the military cut, but it seemed that the colors were different depending on their unit ¨C red, yellow and light brown.


    It looked like a conveyor belt of just ikura, sea urchin and tuna salad sushi. Oh, now I¡¯m kinda hungry.


    Despite being the middle of the afternoon, the church with the pointed roof was deathly quiet. The tall doors were closed and locked from the inside. I saw the supposedly calm and collected Gwendal readying his long leg. Panicking, I matched his movements and the two of us kicked the door in at the same time.


    At that moment, the gazes of everyone inside focused on us. They all froze up like mannequins.


    Inside the church chapel, there were about a hundred people seated in attendance. On the other side of the straight course, a man and woman dressed in white and a priest stopped in their movements. He might be a pastor or a reverend.


    ¡°G-Gwen¡­ they seem to be in the middle of a wedding¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what it seems like. Should we leave?¡±


    ¡°Yeah we should.¡±


    The bride looked gentle in her pure white, sleeveless dress. Because the veil was covering her face, I couldn¡¯t see her look of surprise. Judging by the ikura sushi haircuts I¡¯ve gotten used to seeing, I instantly knew the occupation of the bridegroom. We can¡¯t get in the way of the young couple¡¯s special day.


    We take one step away.


    ¡°Perfect timing!¡±


    That frivolous person raised their voice the moment our manacled group turned their backs.


    ¡°Let¡¯s have this loving pair that has already gone ahead in life give us some words of blessing!¡±


    Huh?


    The hand of the elderly pastor-like man suddenly reached toward us and a clerk ran around the benches to hand us a megaphone in place of a mic. Having been swept along with the mood of the ceremony, the guests¡¯ eyes are teary.


    And the loving pair being asked to give a speech is us two.


    ¡°Loving pair!?¡±


    What does ¡®pair¡¯ mean? The parakeets we had in preschool were a male and female set and we called them a pair. The attendees don¡¯t think that we¡¯re a couple bound together by handcuffs, do they? But since we seem to be carrying a bundle, they shouldn¡¯t be able to see the chains.


    ¡°You¡¯re passionate enough to be holding hands, right? Please give some advice to these young people since you have gotten married one step ahead of them!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not married!¡±


    The eldest son and I said that in concert. The pastor exaggeratedly slumped his shoulders and the clerk with the megaphone put it right by our mouths.


    ¡°Then, what sort of relationship do you have?¡±


    ¡°This has been my younger brother¡¯s fianc¨¦ from the start.¡±


    ¡°EH!?¡±


    Strictly speaking, that¡¯s a bit wrong. At the tall and beautiful brother¡¯s answer, the place got noisy again for another reason.


    ¡°With his little brother¡¯s fianc¨¦¡­ that¡¯s all the more passionate.¡±


    ¡°Wha!? N-no! That¡¯s a mis-misunderstanding!¡±


    I feel this is going in a bad direction. Besides, aren¡¯t we both men!?... is the retort that I¡¯ve gotten used to saying, but it doesn¡¯t come out in time.


    The bride who was hanging her head slowly raises her face to us. She has a small, unexciting figure. For her, this good day is a once in a lifetime occasion.


    That special day shouldn¡¯t be ruined by some guys who barged in like an unlucky accident. It¡¯ll be unforgiveable if we turn around and escape, stepping all over their feelings.


    ¡°Um, well¡­¡±


    It¡¯s been a while since I used a serious voice and my adam¡¯s apple gets stuck in nervousness.


    ¡°Well, the important thing in married life is something called ¡®the three bags.¡¯¡±


    This is from my father¡¯s repertoire of family gathering speeches. Unfortunately, I¡¯m not sure about what comes after that. Gwendal pulls on my arm with a scowl.


    ¡°¡­ The first is Baghdad, the second is your emergency bag, and then the third¡­ is um, yeah, gloves which are bags for your hands.¡±


    That¡¯s weird, I feel like ¡®mother¡¯ was supposed to be in there somewhere. Maybe all three are wrong? [6]


    ¡°The third one, gloves, is the most important and you could also say you get slapped with them. Well, I guess you could say that it means that even the so-called fashionable domestic violence going around is hard to forgive¡­¡±


    The church is completely silent in curiosity and suspense. The young bride holding the fake bouquet has turned her entire body to face us. We¡¯re going to make them tired of waiting.


    ¡°But gloves are, uh it is said will not fit on another person¡­¡±


    Everything I¡¯m saying is 77% random words.


    The work gloves I used at home come in a set of a dozen and are all identical. Ignoring modern Japan¡¯s consumer society, let¡¯s make this into a ¡®kinda cool story¡¯ for here.


    ¡°So, what I¡¯m saying is that after the wedding, the husband and wife will always be two parts of one whole.¡±


    ¡°¡­ That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ huh?¡±


    Echoing her, I accidentally said that in a girly voice. Who said that just now?


    ¡°That¡¯s right, isn¡¯t it? Once you¡¯re together, you absolutely can¡¯t be joined with another person. Gloves mean that, right?¡±


    ¡°Mm, uh yeah, except for work gloves.¡±


    The bride lifted her head and threw away her veil and bouquet. Panicked, the pastor and clerk did a sort of diving catch. The next brides are you two!


    She has tanned skin that looks a bit like wheat and a boyishly short cut. She also has large, resolute eyes of a reddish brown color and eyelashes so long they make her bangs move. Lifting up the hem of her pure white dress, she barrels down the stairs. The groom and the pastor are so astonished they don¡¯t move.


    ¡°I was wrong.¡±


    ¡°Huh, about what?¡±


    ¡°Your words have made me realize it. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome¡­ but about what?¡±


    ¡°I was about to get married to someone else.¡±


    The elbow poking me in my side suddenly fell in exhaustion and Gwendal gave a low groan of defeat. I hadn¡¯t intended to offend the people here by saying something uncalled for.


    When she came to stand before us, someone from the attendees recovered from their shock.


    ¡°Hey, the bride is escaping!¡±


    Well, using that, let¡¯s escape too.


    The moment I thought that¡­


    ¡°Please, take me with you.¡±


    My free right hand was grabbed. Was my speech that touching?


    ¡°They¡¯re kidnapping the bride!¡±


    ¡°Huh!?¡±


    Escaping and kidnapping are completely different. If things keep going as they are, we¡¯ll be made into real criminals.

 Volume 3 - CH 5

    Luckily his hair was short. Lord Conrad Weller thought from the depths of his soul, as he secretly observed his half-brother riding a shaky horse next to him. With each step, fine grains of sand trickled down Wolfram''s blond hair which had become dull with dust.


    No wonder...


    When they had escaped from the sand bear''s lair through an air hole, they no longer knew whether they breathed in air or sand. Almost all had survived the quicksand adventure without a scratch. They owed this to the grace of the Original King.


    A soldier from Lord von Voltaire''s squad came galloping up. Conrad recognized him as the second or third son of a merchant from the south coast. He was not exactly the type of warriors who would gain utmost honor, but he had enough talent to command a squad. Gwendal had taken him as his adjutant. Lord Weller tried to recall his name.


    "I came to report to you, Your Excellency!"


    "I''m listening."


    "I''ve checked both horses and riders. Some soldiers have suffered burns from the saliva of the sand bears, but they are all minor injuries. None of them is in a critical condition. The horses, however..."


    "What about the horses?"


    "We now have two horses extra."


    "Two more?"


    The adjutant scratched his recently grown mustache awkwardly.


    Boyd, thought Conrad. His name was Boyd. He was the second son of the wealthy merchant family Boyd.


    "Probably the bear kept the horses in its lair as stock for later. They must have joined in with our horses when Your Excellency defeated the beast."


    "All right, we should make use of them then. Let them bear a part of our loads. Move some baggage from the tired horses to the new ones."


    "Yes, Sir! And there is one more thing..."


    "I''m listening..."


    "We have a deserter in our ranks."


    Conrad frowned and involuntarily lowered his voice.


    "Be careful what you say. We are not at war. We won''t treat anyone as a deserter. Let''s just say the man has left the troop. And? Who is it?"


    "It''s Ryan from your unit. We have tried to stop him, but he would not listen. He could only stammer incoherently. He had found his fellow sufferer, and he would one day see Your Excellency again in Hildyaard. Can you understand what that''s all about?"


    Ryan was known as a fanatical animal lover. He probably wanted to stay with the severely injured sand bear and tame him. He would be the first one ever to tame and train a sand bear.


    "Um ... No, but that''s okay. There is no need to search for him. I regret that you had to give such an unpleasant report, Boyd. Send two men to the vanguard of the troop. You are now responsible for the security of the expedition."


    After the soldier had ridden on to carry out the order, Conrad turned to his neighbor. The youngest brother stared frowning at the ground.


    "Come, don''t be so depressed."


    "Why can''t I?"


    "Spit out the sand in your mouth first."


    "Shut up! You don''t understand! Yuri is traveling with my brother ... With my brother! "


    "Yeah, and? What is the problem? Are you jealous? Since you''re officially his fianc¨¦, you should probably trust him a little more."


    "You know yourself how smitten Gwendal is with everything cute! And Yuri is a damn flirty lad. He is not even aware of it himself! "


    "And what do you think would..."


    Conrad meant to ask how intimate those two could be for Wolfram to consider it a breach of fidelity, but he changed his mind and hastily broke off his question with a cough.


    "All that trouble is because of you! I would have come out of the trap on my own. There was no need at all for you to follow me! Do you really have so little faith in my sword?"


    "What nonsense," Conrad tried to pacify the fuming blond and, thanks to a century of life experience, found his refreshing smile again. "I know you''re an excellent swordsman. I was only thinking about my first encounter with a sand bear. I got into trouble because I did not know his weaknesses. I wanted to show you what it takes. But would you really feel better if I had gone with the other two?"


    Wolfram furrowed his brow.


    "Just think. Yuri, Gwen and I, the three of us traveling together."


    "Right. I''d like it even less!"


    "Why haven''t you guys understood this yet?! What''s so hard about it? A fist is a stone, a flat hand is paper, and two fingers are scissors. The stone loses to the paper, which can be cut up by the scissors, and the scissors would break on the stone, so it loses there. Got it?"


    "But a crab has scissors in its claws that would never be able to cut paper," argued the girl.


    "Paper would be likely to rip if you wrapped a stone in it," observed Gwendal.


    "You two are making me crazy! I''ve already explained it too many times, dammit!"


    With the very first objection I have ever made at a wedding, I had apparently captured the heart of the young bride, so that she begged me to run away with her. The wedding guests did not interpret that to be the bride''s idea -- man, would you believe it, they blamed us for forcefully abducting the bride. What complete nonsense!


    Gwendal and I already were considered to be an illegally eloped pair, and had already been put in chains. Now in addition to that, kidnapping had been added to our criminal record. So actually, we had advanced up a level as criminals -- not that that was particularly flattering.


    "Why me!? We haven''t even done anything wrong!" I moaned.


    To hide a tree, you need a forest -- to hide a man, you need a crowd. Taking this motto to heart, we ran away to the market square, and thanks to our bundle we were perceived to be customers. [T/N: Gwendal and Yuuri wrapped a blanket around their chain, so it looks like they are carrying a heavy bundle between them]


    We were approached by a woman hawking some suspicious looking purple fruit, and by a child who held up a brown frog with long legs. Both objects were purported to have a Viagra-like effect. Just fantastic!


    To be truly safe from our pursuers, we needed to find a quiet place to put together a plan for what we were going to do next. In the movies, when the criminals seek refuge in a church, they always find a helpful priest to hide them under a table or some other convenient furniture, but the places of worship in this country had already done poorly by us twice.


    I made the following suggestion: Whoever loses at "Rock, Paper, Scissors" must decide where our hiding place should be. But we never got that far, because those two couldn''t manage to comprehend the game.


    "Okay, fine, we''ll just forget that," I finally said, resigned. "Gwendal, you decide. Where should we hide?"


    "No, you decide!"


    "Dammit, don''t do this to me! You get to decide! So come on, where?"


    "I don''t want to get an earful from you later when you don''t like it! You decide!"


    "You two are so cute!"


    "What the heck is cute about this!" we roared at the bride together, as if from one throat.


    We''d been sitting at the front of a pickle store for some time, like gang members more than anything, when a short, bald man approached us. Since he didn''t have a sushi haircut, he didn''t seem to be a soldier or one of our pursuers.


    "Peepee?" he asked us with a rough voice that would have stood him well at the auctions in the market halls at Tsukiji.


    Since I didn''t have to use the toilet, I was about to decline, when Gwendal spoke up and said, "Yes, peepee."


    "What? You never said that you had to..."


    "Me too, peepee."


    God in heaven, the bride too?! Had it built up in her during all that excitement at the church? She and Gwendal made deadly serious faces.


    "Forgive me, I''m really sorry, people! Man, you could have just said something, then we could have taken a potty break long before now!"


    The man indicated for us to follow him with a wiggle of his pointer finger. Since Gwendal went on ahead with long strides, I was dragged along. The girl gasped as she saw the chain that flashed out from under the blanket, but she ended up following us as well.


    The man''s bald head teetered back and forth as he hobbled on. Probably he had a bad leg, I thought. We made turn after turn in the labyrinth of countless narrow alleyways.


    So much effort, just to find a toilet!


    After we''d passed a bunch of identical looking houses, the bald man knocked on a light brown door. A child''s face peeked out from behind the door -- he looked to be about six years old.


    "We''ve got guests," said the man.


    After the young boy had ushered us in, he closed the door quickly and turned the key. Then he lowered the blinds on the windows, too. We were being locked in!


    On an old but sturdy-looking table, there stood an empty vase. But where in the world was the toilet?


    "I''m Shas, and this is my grandson Jilda." The grandfather had a crotchety face, but Jilda looked extremely cute with his light brown, curly hair and blue eyes. The two looked absolutely nothing alike.


    "One of you is without doubt a demon," said Shas. "But what does a bride want with an eloped couple?"


    "So it''s true after all! I knew it!" exclaimed the girl.


    "No, dammit!" How often did I have to say it, to hell with it all!


    "The blood of the demons also runs in your grandson," said Gwendal quietly to Shas.


    "That''s right. During the civil war, my only daughter fell in love with a demon who traveled from place to place as a messenger. He was a respectable, decent fellow. I would have liked to have him for a son-in-law, but then something happened to him on his travels. My daughter was sent to a labor camp, and my grandson was born there. Another demon brought me the newborn child. After that, I decided to help the demons whenever I can. There''s not a lot I can do for you, but look at it as thanks for my grandson."


    "I understand, that''s why you said ''peepee''," Gwendal said.


    "That''s right! You two wanted to find a bathroom! Why haven''t you gone, then? It''s not healthy to hold back for so long!"


    Gwendal shot me an ice cold glare. "''Peepee'' is a slang term for brother."


    Aha. And why didn''t anyone tell me that before?


    "This other demon has been here a few times since, to check on us. He even offered to take us to Jilda''s father''s homeland, if I should notice that Jilda is growing too much more slowly than the other children. If the demon blood in him is strong, then he can expect a long life, but also slower physical development. Because of that, he might be bullied by the other children. Despite his dignified and calm speech, this guy was a really quick thinker. He looked a little like you, actually."


    I pulled at Gwendal via the chain. "Why were the demons involved if it was a civil war in this country?"


    "Because of the decaying corpses," he growled in an extremely unfriendly voice, and then was silent.


    "Could you be a little more explicit?"


    The girl took up the explanation. "You see, it happened like this: The messengers of the demon folk brought us the remains of the soldiers that had fallen at distant borders. When I was a child, I was told that these people were devils who robbed the dead bodies. But that was wrong. Now I know that the demons are good people." The bride smiled as she reached the end of her speech, and her smile looked to be completely honest.


    For the second time, I took a closer look at the girl. I discovered that she actually did look like a girl, in that everything about her was small and thin. She had a deep tan from the sun, red-brown hair and lively eyes of the same color, that were full of feeling and expression. In comparison to the female demons of the empire, she had a rather small snub nose, and large ears. She looked average through and through, and possessed not a single hint of sex appeal.


    "Thanks for the explanation, um... Ms. Bride," I said.


    "My name is Nicola. I''m not a bride any more," said the girl and smiled again.


    She had a damn sweet smile, and something in her reminded me of a player at the shortstop position in softball. The midsummer sun and a sunvisor would look good on her.


    "N-n-n-n-nice to m-m-m-meet you, Nicola, I''m Yu-yu-yu-yuuri." I could feel myself just about to fall head over heels in love with her.


    "Nice to meet you too, Yu-yu-yu-yuuri."


    Dammit!


    Nicola tilted her head to the side like a little bird. "Won''t you introduce me to your sweetheart?"


    "That is not my sweetheart!"


    "But of course he is, you two have eloped together. Despite all the resistance from your friends and family, and --"


    "Why doesn''t anyone ever listen to me?! I''m engaged to his younger brother!" Oh God, had I lost it completely? My face began to burn, the veins at my temples filled with blood...


    Gwendal pulled a yellowed paper from his shirt. "Near the border, we were mistaken for this couple here," he said.


    In front of us lay one of those silly drawings, the unbelievable masterwork of a kindergartner who''d been allowed to run wild with his crayons for the first time.


    Nicola''s smile transformed immediately into shock. "That''s me!" she exclaimed.


    Not in this lifetime! That was Charlie Brown, nothing more! "Nonsense, that can''t be you. Even if it were, then who is this other guy supposed to be?"


    "That''s Hube and me, one month ago."


    This name rang a bell.


    Gwendal slowly crossed his arms over his chest. It was accompanied by the sound of clanking metal, and my left arm was dragged upwards, too.


    "Surely you don''t mean Gegenhuber Griesela?" asked Gwendal.


    Nicola nodded. "His hair and eye color is a little different, but at first glance you two do look alike, with your grumpy dispositions. But actually, Hube is a really dear man. Oh, my Hube..." sighed Nicola and turned her gaze down to the floor.


    Then her tears rolled down her knee. They''d fallen directly out of her eyes, without touching her cheek or chin.


    "I miss him so much," sobbed the girl.


    "Come now, don''t cry," I said, somewhat confused. "If you''d eloped with Gegenhuber, then why did you want to marry that soldier back there?"


    I stretched my hand out to console Nicola, but I couldn''t reach, the chain was too short.


    "I''m going to break the damn fool''s neck!" rumbled Gwendal with a growl in his voice.


    I didn''t have the courage to ask who he was talking about.


    (This translation was originally posted here. Please do not repost elsewhere.)

 Volume 3 - CH 6

    Conrad and his companions noticed the faint shape of the city despite the sand storm that had recently raged over the sand dunes. Everyone felt relieved. Yuuri and Gwendal must have also stopped at this city to stock up water and to change horses. With some luck, they would be able to find both of them there. Everyone harbored the hope that they would soon see their King and their Chief Commander safe and sound again.


    Conrad gathered his men in the lee of some rocks. He dismounted and prepared to explore the situation in the city himself.


    "Your Excellency, but you can send one of the men out as scout," protested Boyd.


    "That''s right," waved Conrad. "However I''m probably the best among us all to deal with the locals. For this purpose, it''s best to blend in. It''s time I take advantage of my appearance." Boyd''s face looked slightly embarrassed as Conrad went on, "You all know I understand the human well. Moreover, I myself am half human."


    "Conrad!"


    The voice of the handsome Ex-Prince had returned to normal, a sweet tenor tone. Although he dressed like a police officer in tropical climate, his outfits made him look like a boy scout. It would be no problem in the evening, but during the day, exposing that much skin under the scorching sun was suicidal.


    "You have to let me know right away, if you should find Yuuri and my brother," Wolfram said nervously.


    "I promise."


    Wolfram put both hands on his hip, puffed his chest up and said with a haughty voice: "And if you do not want to join in the search for the Magic Flute, that''s not a problem. You can always turn back."


    "Why do you say that?"


    "I know you don''t want to face Gegenhuber. And if we find the Magic Flute, that guy must be near by."


    Wolfram''s tone towards his brother was still far from being respectful, but at least he seemed to care about Conrad''s feeling. Compared to his behavior a few months ago, this was by all means a huge progress.


    "Besides, Yuuri would pay more attention to me when you''re not around."


    "Yes, yes, I got that already."


    Conrad held up his left arm to protect his eyes from the sun and walked away.


    Almost all the shops in the city, the rows of houses that wriggled like an eel through the dunes, were already closed. The entrance was guarded by many soldiers. They were distinguished from all others by a very strange hairstyle. Conrad remembered the strange people he had seen during his stay in London: The hairstyle of these soldiers was actually very similar to those Englishmen, who pierced holes everywhere on their bodies and were called punks.


    Conrad wondered briefly what would be the best way to approach these men.


    "Damn it, if only the men of Suberera could share some of their strength with my companions," he spoke to them.


    The punk-heads grinned. Conrad was pleased with the result.


    "They are delicate like flowers. The sand storm is just too much for them. Are there any hotels in this city?"


    "We ourselves don''t have enough water and women, but there are plenty of liquor and beds."


    "Beds would be just fine. If we had to camp out tonight, I would probably wake up tomorrow morning all alone."


    "That must be the case, if you have only wimps around you."


    "Tell me about it. One more question though: Have you seen two strangers in the city? They have very different builds, one taller and one shorter. Do you happen to know where they stay for the night?"


    "What, you know these two?" Excited, the soldier tapped his finger on a leaf of paper that his subordinate handed to him. "Surely you mean these two here. Yes, they were here. We almost arrested them, but they ran away hand in hand!"


    Conrad looked skeptically at the hand-drawn pictures on the wanted poster.


    "They look quite different from this drawing..."


    "You are looking for them? You got to be the one cuckolded, am I right, old boy? So it''s your girlfriend or wife-to-be who ran away."


    "I can''t quite follow you."


    "No wonder. You don''t look that bad at all, but this demon was really a first-class specimen. There''s only one thing I can''t comprehend still: how the hell did that chick manage to wrap one guy after another around her finger? Really, she didn''t even have decent tits! Isn''t that so, guys?"


    A soldier with a red face nodded.


    "She''s flat like a board. But amazingly strong for a girl."


    That must be the result of his training.


    "And a dirty mouth too."


    That would be the gift he had been born with.


    "Boy, boy," the leader continued. "She might have been quite good-looking, but for a girl, she''s not that attractive. Tell me, what is it that you like about her?"


    The conversation had taken a strange direction. Conrad was indeed looking for two people of different heights, but certainly not a couple. Or perhaps the soldiers had mistaken one of the two for a woman?


    "But they couldn''t have gone far. We have chained them together. Sorry, old boy, but my comrades will certainly track them down before you. After all, you''ll earn a decent sum if you capture a pair of elopers. The government pays a huge reward, I''m sure you know that."


    Conrad could not believe his ears: A pair of elopers chained together! How on earth would he break this news to Wolfram?


    I waited and waited and still no one brought us water. Although I was in a stranger''s house, I eventually decided to go looking for water myself. The thirst was simply unbearable.


    Just when I stood up from my chair, the boy called Jilda came running holding a huge fan in his hand. He seemed on the verge of tears with embarrassment.


    "You do not need to bring me fan," I said. "I would just like to drink a glass of water. Maybe you could take me to the kitchen?"


    "Hey, boy!"


    Gwendal waved for Jilda to approach him and thrust a handful of banknotes into his hand.


    "Use this to buy some alcohol, a drink without alcohol, and something for dinner. You can keep the change. Can you do this without losing the money?"


    "I''m already ten," said Jilda.


    He didn''t look that old at all. I would have thought him to be no more than six. Or maybe he had a long life expectancy and so he developed slower than a human child? Without a trace of fear of the demon General, the boy nodded.


    It was probably because of the boy''s puppy eyes that Gwendal suddenly became so unusually amiable. Since this scary blue-eyed man had a soft spot for anything cute, his heart must have softened.


    Shas the bald man and I responded in surprise.


    "Listen, you don''t need to trouble yourself for me," I said. "It doesn''t have to be mineral water. At home I drink water straight from the tap."


    And Shas said in protest to Gwendal: "You are our guests. We do not accept charity!"


    "The same applies to us," Gwendal replied. "We also do not want to accept charity."


    "That''s why you only need to bring me some water," I tried to appease both parties. "If there''s no tap water, I''ll drink well water. That''s okay."


    "There is no water in Suveria..." Nicola said in a soft sorrowful voice.


    The tears that she had shed for Huber had dried up quickly and left white streaks on her cheeks.


    "There has been no rain for almost two years. Even the groundwater has slowly run dry. We have no choice but to import alcohol and fruit from other countries. There are a small ration of drinking water for everyone, but it''s only enough to survive. "


    "You can''t get water from any neighboring countries?"


    "Our country is finally independent! All others around us are enemies," cried Nicola.


    Never in my life would I have expected that I would hear from this girl, who still wore her wedding dress and whose smile felt like a ray of sunshine, the word "enemy" spoken in such horror and hatred.


    Meanwhile Jilda rushed out of the house.


    Nicola continued: "If only it would rain! Then even poor children and their parents would have enough water to drink. The crops would grow; the cows would produce milk... Huber was searching for an object that could make it happen. He has promised that he would help us."


    "Did Gegenhuber really say that he would himself use this object to help the human?"


    Gwendal voice had regained its usual threatening tone.


    "Yes, he did," Nicola affirmed.


    "I swear I''ll break his neck!"


    "Why do you say such awful things? What do you have against Huber? He was the one who showed me that demons are actually good-natured. Through him I learned that when you''re in love, it doesn''t matter if the other is human or demon. To save Huber, I was even willing to get married to this soldier whom I have no feeling for. They promised me that they would then release Huber."


    She started crying again.


    Gwendal looked grim, arms folded on his chest. Despite Nicolas'' desperate tears, Gwendal''s composure didn''t change one bit.


    "Please don''t worry," I tried to calm the girl. "Under no circumstances will I allow anyone to take your lover''s life. I know it doesn''t look that way, but I do have a little bit more authority than this guy here. By the way, even though he always says nasty things, as soon as there is something small and cute in front of him, he will become quite gentle."


    "Really?" sniffed Nicola.


    "Yes, really."


    "Stop that nonsense immediately!" Gwendal snorted.


    "He will not take my baby away?"


    "Good heavens, no! Babies stay with their mothers!"


    Wait, what was that? A baby? Which baby?


    "You have already planned for a baby? When?"


    "Quite soon. The baby is already growing inside me."


    Nicolas'' smile brightened up her face again.


    "But please don''t think anything bad of me. It is of course Huber''s child," she said.


    What? She wanted her bridegroom to foster the baby of another man? The world burst and shattered into pieces in me.


    "This... this damned bastard!"


    The color on Gwendal''s face kept changing. First, it became pale, then dark red. Any moment now, the veins on his temples would be swelling and throbbing.


    "Stay calm, Gwendal! Take it easy, cool down! "


    "Shut up," he snapped at me. "I''m as cool as a cucumber! It does not concern me at all if this girl brings Huber''s brat into this world or if the bastard himself kicked the bucket!"


    I grabbed his arm. We looked like the couple in the bronze statue "The Golden Demon" I had seen in Atami.


    Nicola stared at Gwendal, her mouth half opened in horror. The fingers she pressed against her lips trembled slightly.


    "Gwendal, you can''t frighten her like that! It is not good for the baby! Oh my God, the baby," I shouted in panic. "How are we supposed to take care of him? I have no experience with such things. What do we do now?"


    "How should I know?" Gwendal roared.


    That was of course a justified question. After all, men don''t have babies. Except, of course, Arnie in the movie.


    "You surely have one or two secret children with your mistresses, don''t you? Having love affairs is hardly avoidable. Besides, you have two younger brothers. You must have been probably there when they were born."


    "No," said Gwendal.


    "What, no? But you''re still an older brother," I replied.


    "Everything is just fine. Stop making a fuss there," our host suddenly said.


    Gwendal righted his fallen chair, while Shas looked thoughtfully at Nicola with a warm smile. What did he see in her, perhaps his own daughter, who also had a child with a demon? In any case, his dark face visibly brightened.


    "How have you ever got into such a complicated situation?"


    Nicola turned her attention to Shas.


    Gwendal had finally decided to sit down again, but his fingers fidgeted on his knees as if he was operating a joystick. He always did that when he was irritated.


    "I lost my parents during the civil war, so I grew up in an orphanage near Zorasia. At sixteen I was to marry into a family chosen by the Church and lead a normal life. In the village there was a mine of exorcist-stones; all the women worked there. You surely know that only women can harvest these stones."


    "Why?" I quietly asked my handcuffed companion, but received no answer.


    "About half a year ago, while a terrible sandstorm raged through the area, Huber came to my village. Everyone was afraid of him because he was a demon, except me. After all, it was a demon messenger who brought my fallen father''s remains back to us. Our souls have found each other quickly."


    "Not to mention your body," I heard Gwendal mutter through grinding teeth next to me.


    "A dark past weighed on poor Hube. Great pain in his soul had left its mark on him. He was afraid to love, but together we have overcome that fear."


    "Did he tell you?" asked Gwendal.


    "What do you mean?"


    "Did Gegenhuber tell you what he had done in his past?"


    Nicola frowned and slightly shook her head.


    "No, Huber didn''t say anything."


    Gwendal let out another growl.


    "Now calm down already! This is not good for your blood pressure," I tried to soothe the bad-tempered man. "I have an idea. Whenever you get angry, you should caress something soft and fluffy to calm yourself down."


    Gwendal grabbed my head between his huge hands and squeezed.


    "Arrrgggghhh!" I shouted. "Not me! I''m not fluffy!"


    Nicola went on, "One day Huber told me that he was looking for a precious treasure. He had already found a part of it and hidden it in a safe place. No one could ever find it there. The missing half was rumored to be in my village. He said the treasure would be a wonderful instrument, and when the right person plays it, it would rain. So, I stole the key from the church, and we sneaked into the excavation site a couple of times. There, we found the second half of this legendary treasure."


    "I can''t help thinking that this man used you," I sighed.


    The girl, deeply in love, ignored my comment.


    Could this instrument really be the famous Magic Flute Gegenhuber had been searching for?


    "What does it look like?" asked Gwendal.


    "It''s a dark brown pipe," she said.


    "A pipe?" I repeated.


    "Yes. And I think it has affected the place somehow. Since we removed it, there are no more exorcist-stone in that excavation site. Not the smallest speck, nothing. You could dig as much as you want, you wouldn''t find anything. People from the village did not know that we were the cause; still we had no choice but to run away. Otherwise we would surely have been arrested, sooner or later."


    Big tears were rolling down again from Nicolas'' large and lively eyes. She was like the weather in the mountains, sudden rain, then sudden sunshine. No girl in my class let their feelings run so blatantly unchecked.


    "They discovered we were an eloping couple and they distribute the arrest warrant for us all over the country. Huber wanted to take me to his homeland. He said that his Queen was very tolerant of love affairs between humans and demons. There we could be together as a couple openly in front of everyone. In my dreams, that place was paradise."


    Well, I thought. Was it really? Was the empire of the demons really paradise? It still did not deserve this name, but had I helped to make it better?


    You need to know, Nicola, now I am the king of your dream land. At least I try to make it a better place...


    Suddenly, I wish someone would pat my back encouragingly. I wish someone would tell me that everything would be fine. I longed for the crazy praise of Conrad and Gunter - even if they were mostly thin air.


    Nicolas'' fine and clear voice brought me back to myself. "We wanted to bypass the capital and make our stop at another city. There too, the wells had dried up. When I saw that even the children had to suffer from the thirst, I could no longer contain myself. At a hostel, while Huber was not there, I brought this tube out, examined it, rubbed it, and tapped on it. At last, I tried to play it. But nothing happened, the rain didn''t come. And unfortunately, the village elder caught me right then. He said that would be the Magic Flute of the Demon King! And since it was in my possession, I must therefore be the Demon King himself! "


    "Then you tried to escape from the hostel!" I said.


    "Yeah! But we were immediately captured. How do you know? "


    I couldn''t answer her question, but that was the only way the story of the arrested double who bolted without paying could be explained."


    "Then you were almost executed," I said.


    "Yeah! But the son of a prominent person in the capital had strangely taken a liking to me. They told me if I marry him, maybe they could release Huber as well. That is why I was at the wedding..."


    "So you are the double!"


    I jumped up. Nicola fell silent in surprise.


    The surprise, however, was rather on our side. Who would have thought that the primary mission of this trip - to save the double - had already been carried out successfully? And that my double was actually a girl!


    "But we don''t look one bit alike, do we? Gwendal, could you see any resemblance?"


    "No," he said curtly after taking a quick sharp look at both of us.


    "So I said! There is absolutely nothing to mistake one of us for the other! I am a boy, Nicola is a girl. We may be about the same size, but the shoulders, upper body and the muscles give us completely different builds. "


    "Hair and eye color are somewhat similar," Shas said cautiously.


    But only a little! The people from Suveria were confused because they had no idea how the 27th Demon King Yuuri Shibuya really looked like. And because Nicola had the Magic Flute.


    "Do you mean to say that... that I was mistaken with you?" Nicola was astonished.


    "That''s right! And then Gwendal and I were mistaken with you and Gegenhuber."


    "What happened to the pipe?" Gwendal interrupted.


    "Don''t you want to know what happened to your cousin Huber?" I replied.


    "You''re the cousin of Huber? This is Huber''s cousin?" Nicola was absolutely over the moon. Hopefully, the excitement didn''t harm the baby.


    "Oh, good heavens! It never occurred to me. I''m all confused now. I am very happy to make your acquaintance. My name is Nicola. I have allowed myself to enter into a serious relationship with Huber. My God, Yuuri! Do you also end up being a relative of Huber? If you are Gwendal''s treasure, then... "


    "I''m not his treasure!"


    "What happened to Gegenhuber and the pipe?" Gwendal impatiently interrupted again.


    "They should have released Huber, but I haven''t seen him for the last two weeks. The pipe..."


    Nicola had lost all the excitement and was again on the brim of tears, as she put her hand through the neckline of her dress.


    "It''s here," she said and pulled something out.


    "What? This strange object?" I exclaimed in surprise.


    The dark brown tube was a little thicker than a thumb. On the front there were three holes, and on the back, one hole. It was at most four inches long. If my memory did not deceive me, I had seen something very similar once before.


    "Huber and I have tried to make it rain in this country, but the pipe has brought no miracle. I think a treasure of the demons would only give the demons its blessing."


    ''Well, do you really?"


    If Nicola was right, this thing was damn stingy. Perhaps it had indeed a soul...


    Nicola gave the object to Gwendal. After he examined it carefully, he put it in my chained left hand.


    "What do I do with it?"


    "It''s yours," said Gwendal.


    "But I cannot handle this thing anyway. I would feel better if you take care of it. "


    "It was made just for you. It only listens to your commands. Remember Morgif?"


    Morgif was the legendary sword that only the Demon King could handle. It had a weird face, from which it had spat a yellow liquid all around. It could moan pitifully and it had bit my finger before. The experience was very unpleasant.


    What should I do if this treasure turned out to be just as rebellious?


    "All right. I''d try my best to elicit some tune from this thing. Watch out, maybe I''ll ignite even a storm!"


    The size of this flute was more like an ocarina than a piccolo flute. I carefully placed my lips on one of the holes and tried to play it as I would a flute.


    But wait...! But that wouldn''t be an indirect kiss, would it? The idea that the lips of this cute girl had also touched this flute drove me crazy. Blood rushed to my head and my face turned red.


    Fffffft


    "Funny..."


    Ffffffft


    "Are you really sure this is a flute?" asked Nicola.


    The stupid thing did not make a sound. Even the whistle of our sport teacher was more of a flute. Even the fart of my brother was more melodious. The demonstration was more painful than expected. It was fortunate that Wolfram wasn''t there. Imagine the insults he would have hurled at me if he had witnessed my poor performance. But I could not allow myself to back down.


    "Maybe you didn''t hold the flute correctly," Gwendal said. "Try playing it from the end, not from the side."


    "Lengthwise? Like this?" I mumbled, and I put the flute as a stick in my mouth.


    I took a deep breath, filled my lungs with air, then blew violently into the pipe. Unfortunately, I had forgotten that to play wind instruments, I had to draw air from my abdomen.


    Fffff ...


    Ahhhhhhhhh!


    "Damn, what was that?" I shouted out in shock.


    A flute that uttered a cry of alarm when we played it? How disgusting!


    (This translation was originally posted here. Please do not repost elsewhere.)

 Volume 3 - CH 7

    If Lord von Kleist couldn''t even manage this trifle, his powers were sorely lacking. No wonder one had to listen to people saying again and again these days what sissies the men of today were, along with their magic.


    Lady Anissina von Karbelnikoff''s bright blue eyes flashed as they bored down on their prey. Gunter stared intently at a point on the ground and muttered softly under his breath.


    "His Majesty must have already found Gegenhuber. He must have given a wonderful performance on the Magic Flute. Ahh, my beloved Majesty! How pure and classy and beautiful these songs must be. And eye-opening as well!"


    And so Gunter went on singing praises of his beloved king.


    "The flute calls the rain, no, the storm forward. When the fine, silky black hair of His Majesty gets wet, it becomes even darker and shines even more beautifully..."


    "You said the Magic Flute would make it rain?"


    As Gunter heard the voice of the demon, shivers ran down his spine.


    "I also heard the name Gegenhuber? I do not like this man at all. He still holds on to this obsolete idea that love between men and demons is wrong."


    The unfailingly calm way she spoke proved that she would not let herself be ruled by her anger, and that inspired boundless fear. Gunter did not dare turn around to look at her.


    "How much had Susannah Julia suffered because of this man..."


    When she spoke longingly of the name of their deceased friend, her voice trembled ever so slightly.


    "Sending Gegenhuber on the search for the Magic Flute was one of the few decisive measures Gwendal ordered. Still, I did not expect that he would really find it."


    "Anissina ...?" Lord von Kleist timidly asked.


    The Red Devil had carried in an enormous green shield with a precious jade plate on top. She grabbed the retreating Gunter, dragged him to the shield and put the plate on his palm.


    "Right, and now just imagine in your head that it''s raining."


    "If you would be kind enough, perhaps briefly explain to me first, what effect would this strange design have?"


    "Don''t ask unnecessary questions. If you provide the magic, you''ll see for yourself."


    Gunter had feared this. But after a sleepless night, he had already come up with an excuse for this specific situation that he now found himself in.


    "But... that will not do, my dear! You could be planning to overthrow this nation and commit the high treason against His Majesty! If you want to improve your technology for this purpose, I would never assist you in any possible way. That would make me an accomplice in your plot. You must know the purpose of my life is solely for the protection of His Majesty... "


    "It''s a rain spell, Gunter."


    "A rain spell? What a vile deed! Ah... Excuse me? Did you say a rain spell?"


    Thrown completely of his track, Gunter couldn''t say another word.


    "Exactly. We will no longer have to depend on the unreliable power of the Magic Flute. From now on we can use our own magic to make it rain. I have heard that our neighboring countries have been suffering from water shortages for some time. If my invention proves successful, with one blow, our demon tribe will command awe and terror all over the world! I hereby present to you the magic rain spell device, the ''Rain Frog''!"


    "The ''Rain Frog''... I''m suddenly overcome by an uncontrollable appetite for insects." Was it perhaps because of the fact that the green shield and the jade plate Gunter was now balancing on his back and his head make him look like Kawako, the Japanese water spirit who has the appearance of a frog?


    It was a child, not the flute, which had let out the cry.


    The child''s loud cry came in from the street. Shas was the first to run out of the room. I hurriedly followed, pulling a grumpy Gwendal behind since he was still chained to me. He told the bride, still in her wedding dress, to stay inside.


    "Leave my boy alone! Don''t you dare touch him!" Roared the grandfather.


    Surrounded by five children, who had thrown him on the dry ground, Jilda was howling from the top of his lungs. His bag had been thrown on the street, from which some of vegetables had rolled out. Suddenly, the grandfather fell tumbling to the ground - the kids had brought him down and started fighting ruthlessly for the contents of the bag. This robbery took place openly in public under the most beautiful purple evening sky. The children were ten years old and they were all bigger than Jilda. This had clearly gone too far!


    "Hey! Hey! It''s quite cowardly to rob a smaller child!"


    The children picked the fruit and the bottle of water from the bag and stood up, turned around to leave. Shas crawled over to his grandson.


    A boy from the group looked at me.


    "Small? He''s much older than us."


    Damn, they were right of course. I had forgotten that Jilda was half demon.


    "Even so, he''s still smaller than you! Give the bag back right now and leave them alone. And apologize yourselves... "


    One of the boys threw something at me.


    Yes, think! Although I had never left the reserve bench, I still had more than a decade of experience as a catcher. Even without a glove, I would be able to catch the balls from the tiny tots of the Little League.


    I wanted to bow my head to the front left, but I could not lift it because of the heavy chain. I tilted my head to one side instead and missed the dangerous ball in a hair''s breath. It got Gwendal behind me. Not a good idea, children!


    "He just doesn''t grow," shouted a boy. "It doesn''t make any difference whether he eats or not."


    There was neither sarcasm nor hatred in his voice. His tone was as if he was stating a matter-of-course fact in the world.


    "And if he does not grow, he will not grow. Then he can''t become a soldier to earn his own living. Why waste food on a dwarf like that, who will eventually turn out to be no good. It''s true!"


    "Who has put this horrible nonsense into your head?" I exclaimed in shock. "Try saying that to your parents or anyone else! How messed up are you?! There is no need for everyone to sign up as soldier!! Don''t you have any dreams?"


    "We can''t drink dreams," replied one of the boys.


    "Will dreams make the cattle healthy again?" asked another, while he kicked Jilda with his thin legs. "Will dreams make the fields green again? If I can have more food by dreaming, I''d happily sleep for days at a stretch! As much as I can!"


    These were his last words before he flew three yards through the air. Gwendal had resorted to the law of the jungle. He bent down and meticulously picked up the scattered coins.


    "I had said that the boy can keep the change. Not you."


    "To hell with your money!" the boy cursed.


    Without standing up, he quickly slipped away from Gwendal. The other children slowly moved backwards to secure the escape route.


    "We do not want your dirty money! I can see your chain, you are but criminals on the run! How could you be so stupid, hiding away in this old man''s house? Shall I tell you something...?!?


    Darned, we forgot to hide the chain!


    Shas, who could finally free his legs, picked up his grandson. Jilda was still sobbing quietly.


    "The old man sold even his own daughter to the authorities for money."


    "Don''t give me that crap," I shouted.


    That had to be a lie! Shas was the grandfather of a half-demon child, who approved of his daughter''s marriage to a demon. After all, he had helped us.


    Suddenly we could hear the footsteps of some dozen pairs of boots around us. At dusk, the lights lit up the streets from all directions and in no time we were surrounded by a group of people.


    "Do not move!" a voice commanded.


    "Please tell me this is not true," I moaned.


    But unfortunately, we were indeed surrounded by about thirty soldiers with guns in their hands.


    The grandfather dodged my eyes and turned away. He held Jilda in his arms.


    What had these children said? How would one earn his living, if he couldn''t become a soldier?


    Shas had no sushi hairstyle, and, on top of that, he limped. In addition, he was too old to join the Army.


    "Well, yeah. He''d do everything for his grandchild, "I said.


    "We were informed that fugitives were hiding here!" bellowed a soldier. "Identify yourselves! What is your crime?"


    I would also have liked to know that!


    A man with a double chin, who could''ve easily been mistaken for Johann Sebastian Bach, had asked that question in an authoritative voice. Probably he was the boss. His Bach-face was crowned by a sea urchin sushi haircut.


    "Gwendal, what do we do now? Our criminal file keeps getting thicker."


    "How should I know!"


    "Oi, we''ll have no whispering!" called the soldier. "This afternoon, a bride was kidnapped from the church, and you two match the description of the culprits."


    The bride! I''d almost forgotten her. Gwendal and I were sure to figure something out, but Nicola was pregnant.


    "No idea what you''re talking about. We haven''t seen any bride!" I said, intentionally loudly.


    The food had been carted off, and the boys had all disappeared. Any curious onlookers had been chased away by the soldiers, and even Shas had retreated a few steps with Jilda in his arms.


    More than anything, I just wanted to start crying, but I couldn''t allow myself that. Nicola was more important.


    "Have you seen a bride here anywhere?" I asked Gwendal in the hope that he would play along.


    Lord von Voltaire took the stage with fierce, flashing eyes, exuding self confidence.


    "It''s true, we are really on the run. But as you all can see, we are just an eloped couple," he said.


    "Yes, exactly!" I said and presented the back of my right hand, with the Sea World stamp.


    "Why would we possibly be interested in other people''s women?" Gwendal continued.


    "Well said, darling! We are so in love, we only have eyes for each other. Isn''t that so?"


    "How right you are." The honest face that Gwendal pulled at these words was worse than creepy. I stretched as far as I could to try and put my arm around Gwendal''s shoulders. The chain was too short though, it didn''t quite work.


    Someone kicked me in the gut, and I sank hard to my knees. "If you are hiding the bride, you will bitterly regret it!" roared the boss.


    "Boss!" a younger man called over to us. He sounded like his voice was breaking with puberty, and he waddled as he carried an armful of white material. "I have the bride''s dress!"


    "Good, look over there, men!"


    Excellent, Nicola had escaped! But without her dress. What was she wearing now as she ran through the streets? Could she be naked? Oh no, no pregnant bride would ever do something like that!


    "How boring," murmured the boss to himself and snapped with his tounge. "Arrest them! But first, logistics. What are your names?"


    Hm, good question, what were our names again? Nothing occurred to me. Luckily Gwendal was more successful.


    "My name is Yanbo," he said.


    "And my name is Mabo," I said quickly.


    Yanbo and Mabo -- the droll little mascots of the weather report on TV. It''ll be hot and sunny again tomorrow!


    It wasn''t exactly the ideal time for it, but as our well-guarded carriage rocked back and forth, I fell asleep. The stress and the extreme exhaustion had finally forced me to find some rest. Even the clattering jolts from the wooden wheels seemed as relaxing to me as the rolling of the waves at sea.


    "Good show, little one!"


    "Spare me your sarcasm, Gwendal," I murmured.


    "I didn''t say anything."


    Then it must''ve been the plump soldier who rode with us in the small cabin. As I woke up, I found myself leaning on Gwendal''s shoulder. I sat myself upright hastily. It was just as embarrassing as if I''d fallen asleep on the shoulder of a complete stranger in the subway.


    "Try to get some more sleep," said Gwendal.


    "I can''t do that if it''s just me who gets to make himself comfortable," I protested. "After all, you are also exhausted, and you''d certainly have a right to be annoyed if the person right next to you snores happily away. And anyhow, for the time being we''re still considered an eloped couple. We can''t let any bad feelings seem to come between us."


    The older brother snorted quietly. Was that a laugh?


    "I think maybe you are something of a freak."


    "I am a freak? Are you trying to rile me up? Wait just a minute, if we''re not careful, the guard can hear everything we say."


    "Use the high language of the demons. It''ll be very difficult for them to understand what we''re saying then."


    And just what was that, again? I had never heard of it. But it didn''t matter, our guard was in the middle of a nice nap, so we could speak normally.


    "Why are you always so keen to get yourself into trouble?" Gwendal stared stiffly ahead as he spoke, his scowling eyes not looking at me. "You are the king. You had the opportunity to leave all the state responsibilities to your underlings while you reveled in hedonism."


    "Unfortunately I have no idea how to revel in hedonism," I replied.


    "Isn''t there anything that appeals to you? Riches, delicacies, women?"


    Naturally I didn''t have anything against those things. It''s true that I''d never found myself in the possession of much money, or a gourmet kitchen, and especially girls, but surely I would like all those things. "At the moment, baseball is the most important thing to me," I said in the end.


    "Then why don''t you just occupy yourself with baseball?"


    "I''m already doing that, have been for almost ten years."


    "So, baseball is not dependent on the office of the demon king?"


    "No, enthusiasm is the only thing that one needs."


    "Then find a more expensive hobby."


    "Why?"


    Gwendal turned to face me -- I''d never seen such a clueless expression from him before. His scowling eyes had lost a tiny bit of their confidence.


    "Is the role of the demon king to while away the tax money of his people? Do you really think that that''s the way a demon king should behave?"


    "No, but... up until now, all the demon kings that have been chosen from the ranks of the commoners have acted in that fashion."


    "I didn''t know that." After all, I was chosen through a public toilet, out of the clear blue sky. When I was informed that I was supposed to be the demon king, I knew absolutely nothing about the world of the demons. I hadn''t been prepared, neither mentally nor spiritually.


    "I''m just a baseball boy, like you find on every corner. It''s impossible for me to be able to do the job as well as you could. There''s nothing I can do but follow my instincts to decide what is right. Maybe I''ll go down in history as a bloody beginner, a weakling, and the worst leader of all times. But what else can I do? I have only my puny sixteen years of experience to draw on."


    Since the reassurance I craved never came, I lost my courage then. The carriage abruptly began to swing back and forth, and the soldier spoke some nonsense words in his sleep. Through the barred window, the sky, long since gone dark, could be seen.


    "And if I do make a really backwards decision, then there are enough competent people around to stop me from doing anything too stupid." Luckily I would always have G¨¹nter, Conrad, and Wolfram, my unintentional fianc¨¦, on my side. And let''s not forget Gwendal, who would watch my every step with an eagle eye, and who loved his country more than anyone else.


    "Gwendal, you''d definitely stop me, right?"


    Gwendal relaxed his jaws, and a bunch of little wrinkles built up around his eyes. His smile was so peaceful and warm, like I''d never imagined possible.


    "Can I ask you something?"


    "What is it?"


    "Who''s Yanbo? How did you come up with that name so quickly?"


    "Ah... that''s the name of the little one I was taking care of not long ago."


    "I knew it, you do have secret children!"


    "Yanbo is a bunny rabbit."


    Just a second, come again?


    "Did you really say ''bunny rabbit'' just now?!"


    Before I could get an answer, the carriage came to a halt. The door was opened, and we stepped out, flanked by guards to the left and right. If there were sunglasses and pipes, our entrance would have been perfect. Then we''d have looked just like General MacArthur in the schoolbooks of Japanese history, as he strode up the gangway. Wasn''t this contingent of soldiers extremely overdone, just to accept an eloped couple into custody?


    We were led into a stone building that looked just as if the first floor of the parliament building had been transported into it. At the entrance there was a sign, but as always, I couldn''t read the letters.


    "What is this place?" I asked Gwendal.


    "The family court."


    We stepped inside. In the background, music that sounded like it belonged in a horror film was playing.


    "Gwendal?! What''s wrong with you? You look terrible." His forehead and neck were covered in sweat, though it was relatively cool in the building.


    "The power of exorcism... the entire building is full of it..." Gwendal murmured resolutely.


    "What do you mean by that? I don''t smell any incense, and I don''t see any smoke around, either. Or does it have something to do with the weird music?"


    "What music? I don''t hear anything."


    He could only move forwards very slowly and all hunkered over. I didn''t feel bad myself, but the demon stone that lay against my chest had become hot.


    "In there!" shouted a soldier, and gave me a push.


    When I stumbled inside, I found myself in a sort of courtroom. It was medium-sized; about the size of a lecture hall. The walls and floor were made of highly polished, milky white stone. Four old men sat at a podium; presumably the judges. They each had just enough white hair remaining to be built into the standard Iroquois hairstyle. Although there were seats available, I didn''t see one single spectator. On the other side of the wooden railing, there were neither lawyers nor witnesses.


    In the middle of the room were three people, arguing with each other. Two men held a loudly crying woman by each arm and seemed to be playing tug of war with her; neither would let go. One of the man eventually fell over backwards, and apparently, the decision was met.


    The puffed up guy, who had never let go of her arm, left the room. His chest was swollen with pride, and he had the woman, who''d lost consciousness from the pain and shock, slung over his shoulder.


    "Just" was not exactly the right word for what went on here.


    "Next!"


    Since no one else was around, apparently it was our turn.


    "Yanbo and Mabo!" called one of the judges. "Ohoho, two men!"


    As we were shoved front and center, I realized that one of the judges was not nearly as old as I''d thought. He seemed to have dyed his hair white on purpose. His head was the only thing sticking out of his spherically-shaped clothing. It was brown from the sun and had deep laugh lines -- he looked like a Japanese good weather doll.


    "Those chains look quite heavy," he said to us. "The tall one is Yanbo? You are a demon? As I see it, you don''t look too well, but that''s not surprising. This building is protected with the power of exorcism. For demons with magical powers, this place is far from comfortable. So, let''s get this done! You two will surely be relieved to get out of those handcuffs, am I right?"


    This man didn''t give the impression of a judge at all. He was more like an amiable uncle who talked fast. His speech was not authoritarian, nor did he use complicated expressions to make himself seem important. Perhaps we had a chance, if we explained our circumstances honestly. A "not guilty" verdict even suddenly seemed within the realm of possibility.


    "I was told you''d eloped," the friendly uncle continued. "Although I looked for a search warrant, I couldn''t find any that matched you, oddly enough."


    "You see, it was like this," I began, but was immediately interrupted.


    "In order for us to remove the chains, you must convince me that you are really going to separate. You must swear that you will reunite with, and marry, your predetermined lawful partner, and start a family."


    "Bu...but that thing about the law..law..lawful partner is n..n...not that simple," I stuttered.


    "You were persecuted, and everywhere you went people pointed their fingers at you -- a life of shame. If you''d known before that all of this stood before you, you surely would have remained reasonable and not gone against the will of the Gods, not fallen into the puddle of sin of such a reprehensible relationship."


    "Puddle of sin?" I repeated in disbelief.


    I had a bad feeling about how fast and happily this uncle could prattle on. He didn''t listen to others at all! This judge just hauled off and ranted about his world views. He openly spoke about his opinions on men and women and same sex marriages. And then finally he spoke himself out.


    "How foolish your deeds were, you''ve had to experience for yourself," he said to us. "Here and now I want to hear from you two, how very abhorrent you find each other."


    How stupid could this get? I mean, no couple would elope together if their feelings were so superficial that they''d allow themselves to be convinced to separate merely with a bit of chatter. But whatever. Getting rid of these damn handcuffs took top priority.


    "You are so right," I began. "To be completely honest, I really regret it. What could I have been thinking?! I must have been crazy."


    The judge gestured at me to continue with his right hand. The other three judges didn''t move a muscle.


    "Actually, it was clear to me from the beginning, that it would never turn out well with this guy here. We don''t get along well at all. To him, I''m nothing. He always treats me like a dumb kid and is gruff with me. It''s true, isn''t it?"


    "Mhm..." rumbled Gwendal.


    It really looked like he was sick as a dog. We needed to see to it that we got out of there as soon as possible.


    "When I wanted to elope with him, he was always going on about how I was just a dead weight around his neck. We can''t even talk normally to each other."


    If I''d done as Gwendal had demanded, and stayed out of this, we would never have gotten to this point. I would be spending my hours in that vacation home in Karbelnikoff, and enjoying the feel of the sun on my stomach at the beach. Gwendal might have found his cousin and returned with the magic flute by now. The thing at fault here was my pigheadedness!


    I wanted to do what I thought was right. That''s what landed us in this mess. All of my decisions had been wrong. I hadn''t come one step closer to being an ideal king -- not one single millimeter. But I was an expert at making trouble for my companions. Since I''d come to this world, people were always having to pull me out of my own self-created messes, even Gwendal. And I had constantly accused him of hating me. It was high time for an apology.


    "I''m so sorry, I was an idiot," I said to him.


    "Not necessarily."


    Gwendal''s thundering bass usually shuddered through all your bones, but it had gone weak, quiet, and hard to understand. Although he was barely managing to keep to his feet, he straightened his back.


    "In my eyes, you are not such a terrible king," he said.


    "That is not very convincing!" said the judge. "You must hate each other enough that you never want to see each other again. That''s not the impression I''ve got right now."


    He threw an elongated, gleaming piece of steel at our feet. A clanging noise rang out.


    "Pick that up!" ordered the judge.


    I stopped short. Before us lay a shortsword with a blade of about twenty centimeters length. The grip, that looked like ivory, was decorating with carvings. Rust-colored flakes had been left behind in the fine grooves. That was blood!


    "Pick up that blade! One of you must stab the other with it."


    "W...what?" I stuttered.


    "Even if it ends in death, no one here will be blamed for that. Come on! Get it behind you. You want to be free of your chains, surely!"


    Of course we wanted that! But not like this!


    Gwendal slumped unsteadily down to a crouch and picked up the shining blade.


    "Gwendal...?" I said tentatively.


    He had set one knee down to the ground. Perhaps he didn''t even have the strength to stand any more. He looked up at me and pressed the sword grip into my hand.


    "You''re right handed?"


    "Yes, but... I... I can''t do this."


    "You don''t have to kill me straight away."


    He touched his left shoulder and watched me with his scowling and cool expression.


    "This spot would be relatively bearable. Come on, do it already!"


    My fingers trembled pathetically.


    "What''s wrong?" said Gwendal with suppressed impatience and irritation. "It''s not the first time you''ve held a sword. Do it just like last time."


    Last time? But those were completely different circumstances! I''d had a much longer and mightier sword in the duel with Wolfram and with Morgif in the arena. And this time I wasn''t being attacked. I just had to reach out and stab. Probably it wouldn''t even bleed that heavily. Nonetheless!


    "This is just crazy," I murmured. I couldn''t see my way through it, to injure someone without a battle or any provocation. "We aren''t even mad at each other! On the contrary, we have just barely begun to understand ourselves better. If you think that it''s so easy, then you do it! Could you really stab me for no reason with this filthy weapon?"


    Gwendal''s mouth opened slightly as he pulled a face that said this was no more than he''d expected. In this short moment, Conrad''s tortured smile was mirrored in his face. Yep, they were in fact brothers.


    "No," Gwendal finally said.


    "See, I told you! This whole thing is just completely sick. Absolute rubbish! We should prove our intent to separate by going at each other with a knife? This isn''t the middle ages! And all of this in front of a theoretically dignified judge, who looks on smiling with happiness? You''ve all lost your marbles! And do you know what stinks the worst?"


    I pulled Gwendal back to his feet, then turned back to the four men in the judges'' seats.


    "I hate it when people like you try to tell me how I should manage my own personal relationships! If I want to hate a person, I don''t need any outside help to do it! And when I like a person, it''s the same! I won''t let anyone give me orders me about whether I should separate from someone. I won''t let it happen! Yanbo and Mabo will draw no blood!"


    I snatched up the ivory grip and flung the sword to the ground. At the clang of metal, all the guards in the room drew in a quick breath.


    "Come on, Gwendal, we''re out of here! We''ll find someone else who can get these chains off of us."


    "Stop! Those chains can only be removed here!" There was impatience in the judge''s voice.


    "What now?" Gwendal asked me, as if it were no big deal. He never even bothered looking at the judge.


    I turned around and wanted to go after the short sword. The judges eyes went wide, and they laughed. Cold sweat ran down my back. I


    couldn''t tell which of the four judges it was who spoke.


    "You''ve made your feelings on the situation quite clear. If that is truly your position, you don''t need to let yourself be swayed. It is my decision that the chains shall be removed."


    "Really this time?" I asked in disbelief.


    "Yes."


    But just as I began to believe in our luck, a cold pain at my neck rang through my body. My eyes went dark, and it only took a few seconds for me to lose consciousness.


    "Yuuri!" I heard a voice in the distance.


    For the first time, Gwendal had called my name.


    (This translation was originally posted here. Please do not repost elsewhere.)

 Volume 3 - CH 8

    At this time of the day, the shops that still had lights on were mostly pubs and brothels.


    Since Yuuri was summoned to the Empire of the Demons, Conrad had come to stay in the royal palace. But during the recent decade, he had had numerous opportunities to travel to foreign countries.


    The capital of subera was large, but at night the streets were deserted. The bars were bursting with drunken soldiers, but there were no young women in the brothels. Perhaps there weren''t enough customers, since all the men were faithful to their wives and only prudish romantic relationships were allowed?


    "I don''t feel well," Wolfram murmured after trotting in silence next to Conrad for a long time. "This city is full of elements that obey the exorcism. And the number of exorcists themselves is huge."


    Since he was not sure if their aimless wandering would be fruitful, Conrad said: "I have no spark of magic in me, so I feel nothing. But if you can''t stand it anymore, you can rest in a hostel..."


    "Oh, shut up."


    As long as Wolfram had enough strength to make insolent retorts, he would not collapse yet, Conrad thought. Given his headstrong younger brother, he sighed and gave up trying to urge him to return.


    Since the mining of exorcist-stones was encouraged, the climate of this country had become strange. Although the region had always been suffered from drought, the rainy season used to bring enough rainfall. But those days were over. The crops withered in the fields and the cattle died - the amount of food domestically produced had reached the lowest point and the country was no longer self-sufficient. Instead, the rare exorcist stones were now traded for food in the international market. High-quality stones were sold at horrendous prices, while those of inferior quality were squandered at dumping prices in the domestic market.


    Only the privileged wealthy class was able to further increase their wealth, while the majority of people suffered from hunger and thirst. The fact that no one had died from famine so far was probably because at least one member from each family toiled in the mines. It was believed that high-quality exorcist stones could only be excavated by women and children.


    After they passed by a brothel without seeing any women, Conrad asked about his other half-brother''s strength.


    "Would Gwendal be able to use his magic in this city where so many elements obey the exorcism?"


    "My brother would still be a great warrior without his magical power. But yeah, I know very few who would still have full command of their magic in a territory so hostile to the demons. Our mother would be able to do so."


    His emerald-green eyes darkened, his handsome eyebrows drew together. It was not often that Wolfram hesitated.


    "And perhaps Julia Susannah too. I can think of no one else."


    "That does not sound good," said Conrad, but he tried not to look too worried."


    They walked toward a two-storey building around the corner. As soon as they left the main street and turned into a small alley, they were immediately swallowed in darkness. There were no streetlights. Without the lights from the houses and shops, their eyes could rely only on the dim light from the moon and the stars.


    "I just hope that at least one of our troops finds His Majesty," Conrad said.


    "We were supposed to meet in the capital, that was settled. I can''t imagine that they would not wait for us. I''m sure we owe it again to Yuuri''s thick skull that they aren''t staying at a hostel. It seems the whole thing was mistaken for a pleasure trip."


    And that too from your mouth, Wolfram, Conrad thought and he could only manage to suppress a laugh.


    As they were passing by the back side of a brothel, a slender shadow darted out from a stone staircase into the street. Since neither had the time to step aside, they inevitably collided.


    This person was bigger than a child. Judging from the body, it could very well be a boy.


    "Oh, excuse me."


    "Yuuri, is that you?"


    Conrad was shocked at the name coming out of his lips. This person, from the depths of his memories, did not even bear a close resemblance to Yuuri.


    "How could this be Yuuri?" Wolfram exclaimed with an irritated voice. "Do you have tomatoes on your eyes or what? Yuuri is a lot more gentle and elegant. Moreover, this is a girl - even if she is flat as a board."


    "You know Yuuri?" The girl said in amazement.


    She took the scarf covering her head down, and stared at the others in the moonlight. She looked alternately at Conrad and Wolfram, and finally her eyes rested on the blond, pretty boy.


    "You''re a demon, right? You have an extremely beautiful face. Are you friends of Yuuri?"


    Conrad hesitated, but Wolfram snorted irritably: "Friends? This must be a joke! Yuuri is my betrothed."


    "Really?" Cried the girl.


    She was perhaps sixteen or seventeen years old. Without concealing her feelings, her large eyes wandered back and forth uncontrollably under long and dark lashes.


    "That would mean that ... that you''re ... So then you''d be..." she stammered.


    "What?" Wolfram said impatiently.


    "Then you are the younger brother, whose fianc¨¦ has run off with your own elder brother?"


    "What are you saying?"


    In an instant, Wolfram''s face had turned visibly red even in the pale moonlight. At the same time, steam seemed to be rising from his head.


    "Conrad, what does that mean?" He yelled. "My brother and Yuuri! This cannot be true! I knew it! He''s a wimpy cheater! "


    "Wolfram, calm down. It is certainly not what it looks like."


    "But yes, the two are surely a couple," the girl said. "I''ve seen them with my own eyes. The poor guys were on the run. They were chained together with handcuffs."


    "Chained together?"


    It had to be boiling water inside Wolfram''s head.


    "Please don''t be angry with them. They seemed very happy to be together. They even picked matching fake names for themselves."


    "There must be a good reason for this," Conrad tried to mitigate the situation.


    "That I don''t know. But Yuuri and this tall cousin of Huber''s get along very well. Please, can''t you forgive them and rescue them? I would have liked to help them, but I could barely escape myself. I thought maybe I could gain some time if I hide in a place where there are many young women. So I went to this brothel. But you know what? There is no woman here at all! Only young men! I''m seriously worried about what will become of our country!"


    The Lord Betrothed has gone completely out of his mind with fury and was by then torturing an innocent garbage can with his feet. Conrad decided to let Wolfram vent his rage. He turned around and put a hand on the shoulder of the girl who was about to break out in tears.


    "Do you know where His Majes ... I mean, Yuuri and his companion had gone?"


    "At least I can tell you where they were taken. I would have shared the same fate. They would have to stand trial. And if they do not formally swear that they will forever part ways, then ..."


    She nervously rubbed her palms on her clothes that did not fit her very well.


    "... Then one of them will be thrown into the camp."


    The sound of a large and heavy piece of luggage thrown on the floor penetrated my ears, and I slowly came back to consciousness. My arms and legs didn''t seem to belong to me. Even if I wanted, I did not have the strength to lift them.


    It took me some time to figure out that the piece of luggage was myself. Above me I heard voices. Based on the conversation they were sharing, I had the impression that they weren''t particularly bright people.


    "Man, look at that, ey. That''s not a girl, ey! Isn''t it totally crazy to bring a boy here? He can still dig no exorcist-stones, ey."


    "Don''t you stop to think, ey. It fits. Man, we do what we say. They put the bigger one into prison. Since there is but one camp for the women, they had no choice but to put the kid here, ey. Otherwise, the two guys would be back together again."


    If I understood correctly, Gwendal and I were not together anymore. As promised, the white Iroquois had taken the chains off of us, but apparently we had jumped out of the frying pan into the fire. Gwendal was in prison, and I could not even move yet.


    "It has recently become very common in the capital, ey."


    "So it has become."


    "Yeah man, so it has become, ey."


    I heard the loud crash of a door brutally flung open. My spine landed on the ground. At last I could feel something, even if it was searing pain. I opened my mouth trying to speak and tried hard to pull open my clamped eyelids.


    "Ah... Ouch... "


    Many pairs of feet approached trampling on the wooden floor. In my vision, blurred as if covered by a thin veil, I saw pale sky through a small ceiling window: a new day had dawned. Suddenly a face shoved into my sight, right above me - then another and another and another and another.


    "Look how young! Are his skin and cheeks as soft as they look? Oh shame, unfortunately they aren''t."


    Those women touched me in all imaginable places - it was both pleasing and embarrassing at the same time.


    "If the boy landed here in the camp with us, that means he is also ..."


    "Enough now, girls! It will be morning soon. Let him rest a bit," said an authoritative voice.


    They quickly prepared an additional sleeping place in the hall. The lady ordered four women to move over there. I could only see her face dimly, but given the way she commanded the women, she was probably the leader of this group.


    The bed was more like a cot with a thin blanket on top. It was as comfortable as a park bench.


    "Uh, excuse me? What type of facility do we have here?" I asked as politely as possible.


    "This hole is where they dispose of the women who have rebelled against the gods and the community, and have lost everything. They say that even sinners like us can still be of benefit, by digging exorcist-stones," the boss said sarcastically, but once again her voice took on a caring tone. "But why is a boy like you in such a place?"


    "I was falsely accused of running away."


    "You ran away? Martha, who is sleeping over there, did the same thing."


    The boss looked at the bed next to us. In the dim light, I could see a girl with dull blond hair rolled-up in her sleep. Her back turned toward me, I could see the curve of her back under the plain old dress.


    "This girl had an affair with her married employer. They had planned to flee to the neighboring country, but her lover did not show up at the appointed place. He had got cold feet and withdrawn."


    Even if Martha could overhear our conversation, she didn''t show it. She lay still like a fetus, her knees pulled up to her chest.


    "This guy is probably still leading a peaceful and comfortable life in the city. Even Martha''s newborn child has been taken away. Since then, she no longer says a word," the boss said with a sigh.


    Given what usually shown in historical movies, she seemed very young to be the leader of a group of prisoners.


    "But if they have planned to run away together, both must be punished!"


    "Wrong. It''s always the woman''s fault, for she has seduced the man. And since the guy has sworn that he was tricked and he didn''t want to have anything to do with such a woman, he was set free. Your partner has been thrown into prison?"


    "Apparently, yes."


    "That means until the end he did not abandon you.You are to be envied, being loved so much."


    I couldn''t help having goose bumps all over. But this is definitely not the way things happened!


    With the daylight, the room gradually became brighter, and I could see what it looked like. Five bunk beds stood against the left and the right walls, leaving only a narrow passage in between. The room was cramped, dark and grim - similar to the prison from which the young Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke has broken out.


    The woman, who talked to me, had shockingly skinny hands and legs, with knuckles bulging out. She looked over thirty, but probably she was much younger. She was not exactly a beautiful woman, but her eyes shone with a strong will, and they gave the impression of strength and self-confidence.


    Outside, a trumpet blared. My roommates, who had slept till now, immediately sprang from their beds. With incredible speed, they slipped into their work clothes. If they had been in a late-night TV show, they could have won a tight competition for 10,000 yen.


    "What''s your name?" the boss asked me, while she tied her shoe laces.


    Who was I again? Oh yes!


    "Mabo! My name is Mabo!"


    "I''m Norika. Well then, Mabo! The jailer will be here soon. If you''re not ready by then, there won''t be breakfast."


    I managed to sit up. My muscles and joints hurt as if I had played a double-header game the previous day. If I did not do some stretching, my body would have to bear unpleasant consequences the whole day.


    "Stand up!"


    As typically shown in American movies, a prison guard opened the door, a club dangling on his hip. His eyes immediately fell on me because I still had not been able to stand up straight.


    "Collective punishment!" He shouted, and disappeared again.


    Angry voices and sighs filled the room. It was clear that they would have to start the day on an empty stomach.


    "What was that? Was that my fault? I''m sorry, please forgive me," I shouted to everyone in the room.


    "It''s okay. After all, you had no idea. Things never go well on the first day," Norika laughed feebly, trying to comfort me.


    Still, I felt guilty. No one would get breakfast, it was not healthy at all.


    I tried to make my aching muscles move so that I could at least make it to the roll call.


    "Why did they put me here in the women''s quarter?" I asked.


    "Where else? There are only women camps around here."


    "Oh."


    I followed the women out.


    Endless dry land spread out in front of me, with nothing in sight but a rocky mountain, sand, and some withered trees. A miniature Ayers Rock. The facility itself housed six cabins with a total of over one hundred inmates.


    The bare rock surface was riddled with numerous holes. The women formed lines and climbed into the shafts one by one without saying a word to each other. Everything went quietly and in order. The workers were all skinny, dirty and exhausted. They were bound together with chains around their hips.


    Not another chain, I thought.


    The sun already shone very strong. Sweat immediately poured out from every pore on my skin. It was impossible to see how the mine was designed, but it couldn''t be very comfortable inside.


    This was clearly forced labor!


    Just because they fell in love with someone they were not supposed to be in love with, they were forced to be slave laborers. What was going on with this country?


    I was instructed not to enter the mine. Along with four or five other male convicts, I was to haul heavy bags under the blazing sun. The women dug up mountains of spotted stones, among which there were shiny gold pebbles now and then. Everything was pulled out of the mine on carts. In a square area outside, older women sorted the output into piles of comparably sized stones and filled linen pouches with those. These pouches were then packed more carefully into bags, which we carried to the warehouse.


    This was a mine of exorcists-stones.


    The other men were all bearded, burly guys. Since I had no desire to be plagued by nightmares for three nights, I avoided them. I imagined the circumstances that brought them here.


    At any moment, the guards were ready to pound down on the prisoners with their sticks, sometimes even with shovels and hoes. After having towed a few bags, I began to believe that this horrific and surreal scene could be just a bad dream. In the middle of a summer holiday in the 21st century, I was torn away from the Sea World in Saitama, Japan, and thrown into a forced labor camp. And it might not be for just one day. In the end I might have to drag these heavy bags of shit at the foot of this mini Ayers Rock for all eternity. Perhaps I would never be able to get out of here again.


    Or maybe it was all just a dream! I might be in fact taking a nap on the floor at my home in Japan, and something like a beast was sitting on my chest, which caused me this nightmare. I tried pinching, cutting and kicking myself to wake up, but it didn''t help. The damned dream went on and on and on.


    A small corner of my soul trusted that someone would come to my rescue. I only needed to grit my teeth for a little while longer. I was certain Conrad would eventually show up and save me. I kept looking out for him with each trip to and from the mine.


    But how about Gwendal? The dungeon was definitely no picnic either.


    My ears turned red with shame for my own selfishness. I''m fine, Conrad. Please save your brother first. I can stick it out for at least another week. I could imagine that I was in a super tough training camp for professional baseball players. I had to consider this whole thing as nothing more than a hard basic training, although I could not get rid of the feeling that I was building some unnecessary muscle groups here. I struggled with bags after bags full of stones that pierced into my shoulder, staggering toward the warehouse, a construction much more splendid than our quarter. I would have been much more useful if I had had a bath and breakfast.


    After the lunch break, for which we got only a tiny ration of water, a guard grabbed my collar and dragged me to a hut. The sun glared down relentlessly through the sky.


    "Is this the new boy we got today?" Asked a voice.


    The funny man who just spoke to us sat in a rocking chair on a wooden porch, sipping a glass of red liquid, as if he was enjoying his holiday. His hair, eyebrows and beard were of different colors. I immediately gave him the nickname Tricolor.


    "Yes, that''s the boy, Master Togrikol."


    Hey, I had almost hit the mark!


    Togrikol''s small son sat on his knees. The boy looked about six years old. Unlike his father, he had ordinary brown hair and eyebrows. Of course he hadn''t got a beard yet.


    "Who''s that?" I muttered gruffly.


    The heat and the empty stomach had made me throw all my manners to the wind and even ignore the possibility that this man could be an important person.


    Tricolor-Junior, who had clung to the knee of his father, raised his little voice like a child star in a musical show.


    "My father is an important man, he will find in this mine the best exorcists-stone in the world!"


    "For all I care," I said, "he should kindly climb into the shaft and dig himself."


    More than ten workers nearby turned around and shot sharp glances like arrows in my direction. They probably feared another collective punishment.


    Togrikol stroked his red beard, and turned to his son.


    "Nello, do you want to play with this boy?"


    "Yes, plaaaayyy!"


    The child hopped down the steps and threw himself hard against my hip. Although he was only a small preschooler, I began to stumble and fell. All who had observed us went back to what they were doing.


    But if I slacked off, I wouldn''t even get dinner. I started to move back towards the square area where the women were filling up the bags. Tricolor-Junior had, however, clung to my legs so tightly that it was incredibly difficult to lift them up.


    "Plaaaayyy, plaaaayyy, plaaaayyy!"


    "Okay, okay! But only if you can guarantee me a dinner," I growled.


    "You can have dinner at our home. Our chef cooks delicious food!"


    "You guys have your own chef?"


    This boy looked strong and muscular for his age, which brought back in my mind the image of a little boy, falling and crying in the small alley, Jilda. They had the same height, but Tricolor-Junior had thicker shoulders and neck. Was it just because they were born into different families that they would grow up to be so different? Clutching at my hips, Nello looked up to me with begging eyes.


    "Okay, okay, all right, I''ll play with you." Since his father was the chief warden, I probably wouldn''t get my head bitten off if I did not return to work.


    "What do you want to play? Wait, I know! How about throwing balls?"


    "No, horse!"


    Instinctively I looked around but there were no horse in sight.


    "How about we go to the large sand dune over there, and I''ll draw a horse for you? But you must not expect too much, I''m very bad at drawing."


    "Horse!" Tricolor Junior cried again.


    "Okay, okay, I''m drawing your horse now. I''ll try my best not to make it look like a giraffe... woa!"


    Tricolor Junior had jumped on my back without any warning. My spine groaned under the weight of this well-fed six-year-old.


    "Oh, I am supposed to be the horse? But this is a stupid game."


    "Run!" Nello yelled and slapped me on the butt. It would be useless talking to such a little preschooler about human rights.


    The boy squealed happily and I ran. No other choice. Strictly speaking, I crawled on all fours. I tried to convince myself that this was also a work out for certain muscle groups. At any rate I didn''t make quite an elegant sight as the Black Beauty.


    When we had gone for about 200 meters away, we noticed a strange scene in the shadow of the rocks. A guard was holding a bundle under his arm while another was digging into the sandy ground with a spade. In front of us were innumerable small mounds the size of basketballs.


    "What are they doing there?"


    "These are graves. They must be burying a baby again," said Nello, his voice showed absolutely no emotion as if he was stating a matter of fact.


    "They are burying what?"


    "A baby. These are their tombs. The larger ones over there are tombs of the adults."


    On the graves there were neither tombstones nor flowers.


    Since I had shown interest, Tricolor-Junior rose from my back and proudly explained.


    "These women are bad people who don''t actually deserve any grave. But because my father is great and gracious, he still has them buried when they die."


    "But why are the babies here?" I asked.


    "Well, women make babies, stupid."


    I felt a strong desire to smack the boy across his ear, but I held back. These were certainly not his own words, but those his father taught him.


    "All these women are bad, because they se...se...seduced the men. That''s why they are brought here. Then they bring the babies into the world. But no one wants these babies, so they die."


    "Say that to your mother."


    Tricolor-Junior was a bit surprised. Still smiling, he asked:


    "Say what to my mother? What I''ve just said? "


    "Yes, tell her what you''ve just said. In fact, tell your teachers as well, and see what they have to say to you."


    "Okay, I will. But why?"


    "Because what you just said is wrong. And you may only complain about women when you have had your heart broken after your first love."


    My first love was a glamorous woman with extremely beautiful legs that she liked to show off. Although she was Japanese, she had soft curly blond hair. I, an innocent preschooler, used to follow her like a stalker.


    Then one day, in a public bath house, I saw her going into the men''s bathroom. My first love was a man, a drag queen! Enough about this topic.


    While I talked to Junior, the guard struggled with the spade. He dug a hole that was barely large enough for a rugby ball. The other put the bundle under his arm to the ground. It was a shapeless lump wrapped in a dirty cloth.


    "Strange..." I muttered. I had the impression that the bundle had moved, almost imperceptibly.


    Suddenly I heard the screams of women. When I looked around, I saw a group of women running towards the graves - Ms. Norika, the leader of my group, along with our roommates.


    "Please wait! That''s Martha''s child! Four days ago he was taken away from her right after birth. She says that the child was still alive."


    "Do you women really think that we would bury a living child? He neither cries nor moves. He''s dead. We just want to give him a final resting place, damn it!"


    Other guards came running; six of them pulled the chains on the female prisoners. One of the women let out a shrill cry, tore loose from the guards and tried to run to the grave.


    "Damned woman!"


    Tricolor quietly approached with several guards following behind. Stroking his beard, he looked at the prisoners, who were being beaten with batons and spades.


    "What are they screaming about?" He asked.


    My temples swelled briefly, but with an astonishing self-restraint, I immediately brought my emotions under control.


    "She thinks that her baby was still alive, and she wants him back," one of the guards said with a greasy smile.


    "Nonsense!" Tricolor laughed out loud.


    Impulsive actions were never good. So far my hasty sense of justice had not brought anything good. At this moment, I must stay calm and bear with it. In any case, Conrad and Gunter were both not here to back me up. Even if Gwendal and Wolf had been here, they would have had their own problems to deal with. However, all my determination vanished as I heard what Tricolor had to say next.


    "Even if that''s the case, does it make a difference whether the bastard is still alive or dead?"


    That was too much. My self-control was gone, never to return. I clenched my fists and bit my lip.


    Last Friday evening, I saw a movie scene in which Bruce Willis, still had lots of hair on his head, single-handedly fought against a group of terrorists. My father said: "It''s very difficult to fight against an overwhelmingly large number of the enemy, and he is all alone. He can''t win."


    But, didn''t he win? Fighting against the enemy all alone was surely difficult, but there was still a difference between ''difficult'' and ''impossible.''


    "Stop!" I cried. "Of course it makes a difference! And even if the child is already dead, you ought to respect the dead a bit more! You could have at least read some prayers, and let the mother say goodbye to her child. That is how it should be done! You want to be a great chief warden? A disgrace to the title, that''s you!"


    "What''s the problem with that new boy? Is he a preacher?"


    "Hey, boy, shut your mouth up at once! Otherwise we''ll throw you into the hole!"


    The greasy smile on the guard''s face was gone. He rushed up to me to stuff my mouth. With the I bent my upper body to dodge him, escaped his paws and head butted Tricolor.


    "You can''t silence me! There are still a few more things I have to say! What is all this nonsense? You can''t clap with one hand! Why is it that you condemn the women only when they are involved in an illicit relationship? It takes two to fall in love and to make love; you can''t blame it all on one!"


    Now there was no turning back. I went off like a rocket.


    "We must honor the equality between men and women in all situations. Besides, you are violating all basic human rights in this camp! An inspection of the UN would hold you accountable, you can bet on it!"


    Togrikol glanced at me fleetingly out of the corner of his eye and turned back to look at the center of action.


    The dust whirled up from the dry earth. More and more women came running, wailing and screaming. More and more guards joined in thrashing them. A small woman with disheveled hair and outstretched hands let out a shrill cry. The guards grabbed her clothes and dragged her backwards. Every time she would fall heavily to the ground, and every time she would relentlessly pick herself up, trying to move forward.


    "He''s alive! He''s alive! I know it, she cried. "He is my child!"


    It was the silent Martha, who had finally found her voice.


    While his subordinates tried to bring the upheaval under control, the chief warden lifted the bundle. He obviously wanted to throw it into the grave.


    Before I could convince myself that I had perhaps just become the victim of a hallucination, I already stormed off.


    The bundle had moved!


    Maybe the wind had just played me a prank, but in a flash of the cloth, I saw something dark red definitely moving.


    "Stop!" I shouted.


    The white-brown lump was thrown into the air. I saw him fall as if in slow motion, the torn cloth fluttering behind. The hole was exactly the right size, as if it had been measured. It was anxious to swallow the new inhabitant.


    With all my strength I stretched out my arms, eyes firmly fixed on the bundle. The sand ruthlessly scalded my arms and elbows, but I pulled a head-sliding straight out of a textbook. My fingertips caught the bundle just in time. Quick as lightning I drew it to me and secured it.


    "He moved!" I screamed.


    And he did indeed! Through the thin fabric, I could even feel gentle warmth.


    "He is still warm. He is not dead! This child is still alive!"


    I was overwhelmed by my emotions, and could speak no more. With trembling fingers, I began to remove the wrapping cloth. The women were frozen in the air. Only Martha tearfully prayed in a croaking voice.


    I sat on the floor; the warm, soft bundle lay on my knees. I anxiously lifted the last shreds off of him.


    My mind froze for a moment. I was shocked, horrified and paralyzed.


    "What have you done to him?" I finally asked in a hollow voice.


    The baby was breathing. Even if only slightly, his narrow and dark red shriveled breast raised and lowered. Both eyes and mouth were closed, his skin was completely dry. Also, the clenched hands were not moving; the left arm was lying sideways on the belly. His right arm and his right leg were twisted unnaturally.


    "What did you do to this child? How could you ..."


    He was not even crying.


    The mother had escaped the men and took her son into her arms. The other women were surrounded together in a circle, clubs and spades kept pounding down on them.


    What barbarians!


    The demon stone on my chest was burning hot on my skin, I could hardly breathe. In a corner somewhere in the depths of my skull, an electrical spark rushed through the synapses. The shock crept along my spine and, resonating with my heartbeat, exploded in my ears. The low and high-pitched ringings in my head struggled with unbearable ferocity against one another.


    As in an explosion, where there was a yellow stretch of dry land, now I could see nothing but snow-white smoke. I was suddenly flooded with a euphoric bliss. One of my brain cells brought back the name of a person of unsurpassed beauty.


    I will...


    Who would?


    What happened after that, I do not know.


    (This translation was originally posted here. Please do not repost elsewhere.)

 Volume 3 - CH 9

    Including those on the other side of the gate, the number of guards easily exceeded two hundred. In all likelihood, it was but a women''s camp housing inmates who had violated the marriage laws.


    "But why would they need such a strong defense?" wondered Conrad.


    Crouching and sliding down the slope, he returned to his taciturn younger brother. Wolfram was leaning against a plant, frowning, his arms folded on his chest.


    There were presumably a large amount of exorcists-stones in the area. These stones caused great pain to those who possessed strong magical power. Since Wolfram had earlier complained about headaches, Conrad himself was uncertain whether he could count on him in battle.


    "You should better decide now if you can bear it or not," he turned to Wolfram. "I will not be able to cover you in battle."


    "Who do you think I am? I can perfectly handle it myself!"


    "Good to know."


    Conrad had sent six men to help Gwendal break out of prison. He only had as few as fifteen men left to deal with two hundred guards. There was only one tactic to handle such an overpowering force: they had to raid the camp and cause as big a chaos as possible.


    "Wolf ..."


    "What? You''re getting on my nerves!"


    "You''re leaning on a cactus."


    Wolfram yelped and covered his mouth with both hands. Twenty to thirty thick spikes had pierced through his clothes.


    "Why didn''t you tell me sooner, dammit!"


    "I thought you knew."


    Despite the tense situation, a wry smile slipped upon Conrad''s face. The figure in front of him, with folded arms and frown lines on his forehead, suddenly reminded him of his older brother.


    "Are you still torturing yourself with that matter?" Asked Conrad.


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about."


    "Don''t pretend, now. You know what I mean. The matter regarding His Majesty and Gwen."


    "That''s not what I''m thinking about at all!"


    "Actually you don''t need to worry. You know they don''t get along well. If you do not trust His Majesty a little more, one day he will really have enough of you."


    "But I''m not worried!"


    "That''s fine then."


    "Why do you understand him so well?" Wolfram asked quietly.


    "Our King? I already knew and liked him, even before he was born, so to speak."


    As he did not say more, Wolfram had to be content.


    "But, why do we have to make matter worse to help this woman? Why do we have to care about such a person?" he grumbled.


    "Nicola has given us information."


    Without that piece of information, they might have never figured out the whereabouts of Yuri and Gwendal. Even if they could eventually, it would have taken much more time. After she had done them a big favor, they couldn''t refuse her request to be taken to the Great Demon Empire.


    A soldier''s horse snorted peacefully and wagged his tail to chase insects away.


    "Still! She is Gegenhuber''s mistress! Had it not been for him, you would have long since become Lord of Wincott''s Manor!"


    "It''s not important."


    "And what about Julia''s death? Is it also unimportant?"


    "Wolfram ..."


    At that moment, it occurred to Conrad that right after his birth, this brother of his, who looked exactly like their mother, had let no one but him hold him in his arms. Since then Conrad had been the one who took care of Wolfram each and everyday. Until the little boy learned that his second oldest brother was half-human. Thereafter, the immaculate Gwendal became Wolfram''s object of admiration and reverence.


    Conrad shook his sword scabbard forcefully to rid it off the fine sand grains.


    "That was a long time ago," he said. "Everything was a long time ago. Even if Huber had not caused things to unfold the way they did, Julia and I... I just can''t explain why he has fallen in love with a girl like Nicola."


    Gegenhuber was in fact an outspoken hater of human race.


    "Well, after all it was possible with you."


    "Don''t change the subject!" Snapped Wolfram. "Have you forgiven Huber''s crime? Is that why you agree to take his wife to our country and ..."


    "No, that''s not the reason."


    Yuri would not have wanted otherwise. Although he had not heard from him personally, Conrad was convinced. Yuri would gladly take the women who loved the demons to his country.


    Lord Weller let his thin sword slide back into the scabbard. He squinted his eyes to look at the faraway horizon behind the fence.


    "I just want to fulfill the wishes of His Majesty," he said.


    The setting sun became redder, the shadows longer. If they hadn''t needed the protection of darkness, Conrad would have liked to start the raid immediately.


    "Let''s discuss our tactics again. I know it''s dangerous to move forward in groups of three, but we don''t have any other choice... What happened over there?"


    An incoming message suddenly caused a commotion among the guards who posted outside the gate. Since the rock they were hiding behind provided a large enough cover, Conrad did not think that they had been discovered.


    He could hear screams and explosions from the other side of the high fence. The soldiers who had been standing outside the fence rushed inside one after the other.


    "Something has happened. Maybe a disturbance or a riot. I just hope that His Majesty is not in danger."


    "It''s impossible..."


    Wolfram pressed his left hand against his forehead, knelt down on the ground and lowered his head.


    "A strong magic ... in a place full of exorcism forces ... That''s impossible ... "


    "You feel something?"


    "A magical force... strong and awful ... not to say nasty. Wait, I have felt something like this before..."


    A nightmarish doomsday scenario flashed through Conrad and Wolfram''s minds. They both recalled Yuuri''s uproar on the pirate ship.


    "Is it something to do with His Majesty..."


    "Yes, that''s him."


    To sneak secretly into the camp, Conrad and Wolfram robbed uniforms from a couple of wandering soldiers. The rest was a breeze: no one stood in their way, they were able to infiltrate undetected.


    They ran to the other side of the low rock hill, in the direction where the screams and the furious roar came from.


    "It is indeed..." Wolfram murmured dumbfounded. The sleeves of his uniform were too long for him.


    Numerous mounds of earth, large and small, were scattered all over the area. Although there were no tombstones or flowers, these seemed to be graves.


    His Majesty was standing in front of the graves, legs slightly apart, chest thrust out. He looked weary, but he had not suffered from any major injuries.


    Conrad let out a sigh of relief. Wolfram looked as if he would have liked to run toward Yuuri and pull him into his arms. But to rashly interfere with Yuuri in this condition could bring more harm than good. Conrad couldn''t help thinking that he looked as majestic as his title.


    He had seen a similar sparkle in Yuri''s eyes before.


    "Hey, something just flew out of his eyes," called Wolfram.


    "Those must be his contact lenses."


    Without the colored contacts, both Yuri''s eyes were jet black. Now that he had entered his Maou''s mode, there was nothing they could do but sit down and watch his performance.


    The terrified women were all paralyzed. The soldiers and the guards tried to find the best way to attack, but Yuri''s defense seemed quite solid.


    A mild tremor started, as if at any moment, a dragon would rise from the depths of the earth. At first they felt a swaying under their feet, then the vibration continued until it reached the core of their bodies.


    "These women had unselfishly sacrificed themselves in the name of love! They boldly devoted themselves to their lovers! But instead of admiration, they earned violence! The authority punished them in heartless and inhuman way!"


    Yuri spoke as if he was on the stage. He acted like an actor from one of his favorite old-time historical series.


    "Both parties were involved in the intimate relationship between men and women. Nevertheless, only the weak has to bear all the blame!"


    The tremors stopped - but only for a moment.


    "No one can judge two lovers! Separate them? Make them swear to part from each other? These are the outdated deeds from the days of the geisha! No one in the world has the right to condemn them."


    "Oh, His Majesty seems to have expanded his repertoire," Conrad muttered calmly.


    Master Tricolor was standing behind Yuuri, eyes wide open in disbelief. He was so surprised by the transformation of his son''s ''horse'' that he even forgot to stroke his red beard.


    "Violence, oppression, and misery prevail in this facility. Deprived of human dignity, the women had to bear even the utmost injustice: Their babies being buried alive! What a cruel tyranny! Even the devils from hell would be appalled at these actions!"


    Yuri raised his right arm to the sky and swung it down theatrically. His index finger pointed directly at Togrikol. He gave a brief yelp and fell to the ground.


    "It is not my intention to destroy and to take life, but ... I have no choice, I will smite thee with my sword!"


    There was only one catch: there was no sword in sight.


    Then came an eerie rattle sound. All eyes turned toward the graves at once. The faint-hearted fainted, even braver men shrieked.


    In the sunset, brown arms with curved fingers, like the claws of birds of prey, shot up from the graves and stroke with a reckless vengeance.


    First one, then two, and finally, innumerable arms broke out of the graves, followed by bodies that rose out of the ground up to the chest or the hip.


    Even Wolfram, who had been through a lot, stopped in mid air at the sight.


    "They...They are corpses. Zombies. "


    "The sentence should be executed!"


    The bodies spread their arms and rocked back and forth like seaweed.


    It was a creepy sight. Everywhere people were scrambling on top of each other, screaming and wailing. At Yuri''s feet, the word: "Justice" was drawn in the sand.


    "No, they are not corpses," said Conrad. "Even if they looks the same, these are not human arms. It''s all just sand and earth. They are but clay figures. "


    "Clay figures! But what do we do now ...? They made such a mess. I''ve never seen such a nasty magic before!"


    "So you say every time."


    The clay-zombies who had performed the seaweed-dance of the dead souls had melted and merged together, taking the shape of a giant human about the size of a Godzilla. As the giant made one step forward, people scattered frantically in all directions. All were afraid of being crushed to death under its feet.


    "Amazing! His Majesty has mastered the special-effects in the making of monster movies."


    "Co. ..Co. ..Conrad, now is not the right time for praises!"


    Even though children would usually love monster movies, the son of the head jailer was so frightened that he had soiled his pants.


    "Arms forward, then sideways! Now comes the exercise for arms and legs! "


    For some reason, Yuri''s commands sounded like an aerobics teacher''s instructions.


    Every time the clay giant moved according to the instructions, it demolished a part of the mine. The mine openings were smashed beyond recognition, dust and dirt rising everywhere.


    Togrikol, stricken by immeasurable horror, crawled away trying to escape.


    "A devil! A messenger from hell!"


    "A messenger from hell? Have you forgotten my face?"


    When they heard ''ultimate-mode'' Yuuri''s lines, the soldiers and the majority of women fell to their knees, even though they had no idea who he was.


    "So, how can we stop him ?"


    "Me? Don''t ask me. Ahhhhhhh, it''s because it''s moving! The skin on its face is melting and falling off because it''s moving, but since it''s sand, it returns to the ground."


    It has the ECO mark.


    Suddenly the crowd broke apart to make way for a military horse coming through, galloping and snorting violently. As it went past the legs of the clay giant, its rider jumped out of the saddle toward Yuri. Without hesitation, the man came up to him and grabbed his collar with his left hand.


    "Gwendal?" cried Wolfram, but Lord von Voltaire, covered with wounds all over, did not hear him.


    "What is ... the point... of that ...?!" Gwendal yelled at Yuri. "How many people must you kill to be satisfied? Huh?"


    "Who are you ...?"


    "Listen, Yuuri! You must stop this right now. Return the monster to dust!"


    Gwendal shook Yuuri back and forth violently, bringing some senses back to him.


    "You selflessly put yourself in danger to stop me! What a daring courage! Given your brave heart, for now... I''ll retreat."


    Yuri then collapsed to the ground, unconsciously.


    (This translation was originally posted here. Please do not repost elsewhere.)

 Volume 3 - CH 10

    In the meantime, the melodies of "The blue Danube" by Johann Strauss kept playing in my head. And it was not the full-scale version performed by an orchestra, but the cheap version the like of a call center''s hold tone.


    The scorching sun earlier had burnt my skin had now become milder. Even if I slept out in the open with no sun protection, I wouldn''t suffer from a sunburn. By night fall, the temperature dropped rapidly. The cool gentle breeze caressed my skin and brought me back to consciousness.


    Vaguely feeling like being rocked back and forth, I woke up to find myself lying on Tricolor''s rocking chair. Still sleep-deprived, I carefully forced open my eyelids, stuck as if being glued. My eyes were dry and sore.


    "What ..." I mumbled.


    The first thing that I could see was thick golden strands shimmering in the moonlight. Before I had time to appreciate this beautiful sight, someone was already yelling at me.


    "Why do you always do this?"


    "Wolf?"


    "What?"


    "Wa...Water..."


    That didn''t seem to be the response he expected. His eyebrows squished together in anger. He grabbed my head and pushed my face into the water basin nearby.


    "Drown in it!"


    I drank. Water went inside me not only through my mouth but also through my nose and ears.


    "Ouch... Stop it! I''m drowning, I''m really drowning here. Please forgive me!"


    "Do you know how worried I was about you?"


    Angering a bishounen, even if one was not at fault, would result in painful consequences. At the same time, I felt tremendous guilt since it was indeed my own impulsive action that caused trouble to everyone.


    "Wolfram, what are you doing here? Where is Conrad? And what about Gwendal!? We must get him out, or he''ll be executed!"


    "My brother has already managed to break out of prison. Now you kindly answer me. Do you even know how worried I was about you?"


    Even though I perfectly knew that we were both guys, being pursued by such a beautiful boy like him still caused my heart to skip a few beats. At times like this, the most effective solution was to avoid looking at his face and keep chanting "He is 82 years old" like a mantra.


    I shift my gaze away from Wolfram to the darkening surrounding. I could see neither the women nor their slave-driving guards. Since I had slept the whole time, I could not explain how they had been released, by which miracle. I must have done something horrible and frightened everyone. That was why they looked so pale, wasn''t it? I must have scared the hell out of them...


    "Yes, yes, I know you''ve been worried. I was worried myself. I know exactly how you felt."


    "You sure can talk the talk! Now sit still, I''ll get something for you to eat."


    After throwing in my face a cloth that smelled like sun, he stomped off noisily toward the hut that used to be Tricolor''s office. Yes, food sounded like a good idea. I could not even remember when I had my last meal. As a punishment, we had not been given any breakfast.


    What had become of my poor roommates, who were also punished for my mistake? Where was Norika, the leader, or Martha and her half-dead baby? How long had I slept?


    I got up and slowly walked down the steps. Somewhere in the direction of the graves, I saw a small flame flickering. Although cold sweat ran down my back at the thought that it could be a ghost or a walking fire, I was inevitably drawn there. The fluctuating light moved now and then, sometimes lowered down to the ground.


    As I got closer, I saw shadows of human beings reflected in the dark. At least that was somebody, not a walking fire. But who would wander in a cemetery at night? There could only be two possibilities: someone visiting a grave or the dead resurrected.


    "Hey, you over there! Do you happen to be zombies? If so, no problem! I would not do anything to harm you! Nice to meet you."


    "Is it you, Your Majesty?"


    A zombie wouldn''t be able to ask me that question. Thank God, it was only Conrad, holding a torch in his hand. He lit up the ground for someone who was digging furiously.


    "Mrs. Norika, is that you? Why are you digging here in the middle of the night?"


    "I''m looking for something."


    Conrad shrugged his shoulders and smiled, as if that were the most normal thing in the world. He raised the torch into the air. Now I could see things around us.


    "This will the last one," Conrad spoke to Norika.


    The mounds of earth, which as I remembered used to be in neat rows, had all been dug up but one. In a different situation, this would have been considered grave desecration, a serious crime.


    I squatted down to help the woman who was working like a demon.


    "Never mind," Norika stopped me. "It is my child after all. I want to find him myself."


    "Your child?"


    Norika lifted her face up a little bit and smiled faintly as she looked into my eyes. Damn, where were my contact lenses when I needed them?


    "Thank you for saving Martha''s baby. And thank you for giving these guys a lesson."


    So there! I had apparently struck again. My guardian, who must have witnessed everything, said nothing as usual. His face had the same calm and composed expression, except the corner of his lips lifted a little bit.


    "Your real name is not Mabo, is it?" asked Norika.


    "No.But weren''t you afraid of me? Everyone I''ve met so far was shocked when they saw my black eyes."


    "Why should I be afraid?"


    She touched my cheek with her fingers, still covered in sand and dirt. She smiled, lines forming on her tan wheat-colored face around her eyes.


    "Let me look at you closely. Would you mind bringing the torch a little closer please? Wow, really, your eyes are of a deep, clear black. I''ve never seen such beautiful eyes. My husband said he had once seen a beautiful old portrait of the revered Sage in the Royal Castle.He even told me several times that the noble and intellectual Sage had a pair of black eyes, just like yours, and shiny smooth hair of the same color."


    "Who was he?"


    "He was a demon, same as you two."


    A soldier with a familiar face approached to report to Conrad. After receiving a short answer, he returned to his post.


    Norika set out to work again, pushing soil aside with bare hands.


    "I''ll fetch a spade," I said.


    "No, it''s okay. I want to dig him up with my hands. With these hands I want to find my beloved son whom I have given birth to.They told me he was a stillborn. They didn''t even let me see his face. I gave up. Maybe he could still be saved, like Martha''s baby. There''s nothing I can do about that though, it''s been ten years. But I''ve sworn that if one day I could get out of here, I would not leave without my child, under any circumstances. Even if all that''s left of him is a bone, or a strand of hair."


    Probably she had fallen in love with a demon, just like Nicola. Unfortunately for her, someone must have found out and she ended up being persecuted and forced to work like a slave in this place. However, the fault actually did not lie with these women, but with those who harbored discrimination and deep-rooted prejudice.


    "I wish Yozak had been just as lucky."


    Conrad looked up to the sky for a moment.


    "Countless women and children have been imprisoned in this place. They all shared the same fate. Some have even laid down to rest here forever. Although they are not related to me, but seeing how they were treated, I wish they would be freed."


    "Then, have they all been freed?"


    "I would say so. The living, and the dead, too. The problem is that the guards have all fled away, so probably their reinforcements will arrive very soon."


    The torch was held such that light fell on Norika''s hands but Conrad''s face was hidden in the dark.


    "Yet you seem to be very happy."


    "You can tell that from my voice?"


    "No, not your voice."


    I did not need to see his face to know its expression.


    "I''d like to leave this place tonight to gain some ground on them." Conrad brought us back to reality. "Gwendal and his men are already busy preparing for departure. You should also start getting ready, Your Majesty."


    "But what has become of all the women?" I asked.


    Norikas fingertips touched something. She cried out softly and continued digging.


    "They have gone through terrible things. They were chained together and sent into narrow, hot pits. I do not know how valuable the exorcist''s stones are, but these women have been exploited shamefully. Can they still return to their families?"


    "We have opened the prison''s gates. At least for now, they are free to do as they wish. That''s all we can do from our side. Now it is entirely up to them how they want to lead their lives in the future. If they return to their homes, it is possible that they will be captured and enslaved again. Perhaps they can seek help from their families and other sympathetic people and escape the dark fate. Anyway, the decision lies with the women themselves, not with us. However, there is one thing ... "


    It was very unusual for Conrad not to come out immediately with what he had to say. After shifting his weight from one foot to another a few times, he put on a serious expression.


    Although he already knew my answer, he got a kick out of keeping me hanging in suspense.


    "There were about forty women who had been in a relationship with demons. And all of them want to go to their husbands'' homeland."


    "We''ll take them with us of course!" I cried. "After all, we have Madame Cherie and her support for the pursue of free love! I will definitely not allow anyone to mistreat these women, ever. They''ll come with us, that''s the King''s wish!"


    "Gunther isn''t here, I''ll take over his role for a moment, Your Majesty: Sometimes you must first think about your decision. This is what Gunther would say. However, my personal opinion is that in some cases, it is best to follow your instincts."


    "Then we''ll follow them!"


    Wolfram called out to me from a distance. Apparently he had found something for me to eat. When he saw that I was together with Conrad, he immediately started walking over.


    Suddenly I heard a muffled sob that scared me stiff. After all, I was standing in a cemetery, who could be weeping here at the middle of the night? It was neither a ghost nor a zombie, but the mother who had been searching for her child, Norika.


    "I cannot find him...There was no bones, no hair, absolutely no trace of his existence."


    "Ten years is a long time," I said.


    I wanted to comfort her, but could only come up with trite things. How many year would it take for a body to return to dust? Through which channel would a soul go to heaven? With no deep knowledge in science, biology or religion, I did not know what to say.


    I put my hand into the deep hole that Norika had dug. The heat of the day was gone and the earth felt so cold that I could almost feel a shiver running down my spine. With a click, my fingernails hit something hard.


    "What can it be?"


    I pulled it out. The object was long and narrow. There were small bumps along its length. For a bone, it felt too smooth.


    "I''ve found it too," Norika said. "But that''s not my son. It''s just a simple pipe. Probably a part of... "


    A pipe ...?!


    A part of something?!


    "Impossible!" I cried.


    Unbelievable! Could it be? Here in this place? Without maze and treasure map?


    From my chest pocket, I took out a dark brown pipe slightly thicker than a thump. It was the pipe Nicola had given us. When I was sent to the labor camp, the guards had thoroughly examined my belongings, but no one confiscated it because it did not look like a weapon. The pipe I had with me was about 10 cm long, with three holes on one side and one on the other. The other pipe I just dug up actually consisted of two parts. They were still covered in mud, but one was clearly round and short while the other had a sort of triangular shape.


    "This... this beige contrasts with the dark brown..."


    I tried a few random combinations, and finally manage to put the three parts together. It was the Magic Flute!


    The Magic Flute was the precious treasure of the demon tribe, could it be such an ordinary flute? But even though it looked ordinary, it might produce heavenly sounds. Instruments should not be judged by appearance, and there was only one way to tell. I wiped my dirty hands on my clothes. Then I took a deep breath ...


    Tat¨¹¨¹¨¹!


    "With all respect, Your Majesty! You hold the instrument in your hands for the first time and you could already elicit a nice tune," Conrad said appreciatively. "Isn''t there a Japanese saying that goes ''peaches take three years, persimmons take eight''...?"


    In this situation, would that mean I''d get good results after 3 years of practice, and become proficient in eight?


    "I have the feeling it''s not the first time I play an instrument like this, as if I''ve seen it before," I said.


    "Something like a deja-vu?"


    "No, not really."


    If this object was truly the Magic Flute, then all the boring music lessons I had taken at school would not be for nothing. That year we had been required to take a music course and participate in a contest. Half of my classmates had thought it was useless since we would not need this skill in the future. But who could have predicted the future? Sorry I didn''t take you seriously, music teacher!


    "Where did you find the other part?" asked Conrad.


    "Nicola gave it to me. Nicola and her boyfriend Gegenhuber found the flute... Ah, I see now!"


    The past events flashed through my mind like movie scenes. How we ran through the capital of Suveria. The bride who wanted to marry a man she did not love to save Huber. The bride in snow-white wedding dress entering the chapel. The priest, who caught the bouquet. Okay, no useful details there ...


    A bald-headed man, who had introduced himself as a supporter of the demons, and his ten-year-old grandson, who grew too slowly. His mother, after being taken away for violating the marriage laws, had given birth to a child. Ten years ago, a demon who looked exactly like Gwendal had brought a new born baby to the grandfather.


    "It was Huber! All threads lead back to Gegenhuber," I cried.


    Meanwhile Wolfram was approaching us. When he heard the name of his relative, his mood sank through the floor.


    "What about Huber?" He asked.


    "He had hidden these parts here! In the fresh grave of a baby! The baby was separated from the mother immediately after birth, but Huber dug him up again!"


    The mother, who did not understand half of my statements, absentmindedly ran her fingers through her hair.


    "Norika! Your child is still alive! I think we can help you find him!"


    "My son is still alive?"


    "Yes. What is your father''s name?"


    Though I already knew her answer.


    "Shas."


    "I knew it! He is slightly cripple, right?And your father ... he informed on you? "


    Norika slowly shook her head and said no with a smile and tears in her eyes.


    "It was the owner of a fruit shop who sold me to the authorities. I foolishly trusted her."


    Wasn''t it wonderful? Now she could return to her family. I would make it happen, I guaranteed!


    "But where has Gegenhuber gone after all?" Wolfram changed the topic.


    "Well, I''d also like to know," I sighed.


    (This translation was originally posted here. Please do not repost elsewhere.)

 Volume 3 - CH 11

    I was reputedly accountable for the destruction of the exorcist-stone excavation sites, and for the avalanche that shook the mines shut. But given my average body size, how could I have demolished a stone mountain? With a bulldozer?


    I had tried to wrestle this information out of both Conrad and Wolfram, but both of them just retreated into a deep silence. Probably, I had pulled off another totally embarrassing display of magic in front of everyone. My God, I hope it didn''t involve a striptease.


    We wanted to set out before Suberera''s army could mobilize against us. The troop heading back towards the sand dunes at the border was twice as big as it had been on the prior journey.


    Some of the women had decided to risk an escape attempt with us; they wanted to start new lives. Most of our soldiers marched on foot, since it was decided that the horses should be assigned to the women. The king himself traveled comfortably, naturally, which did not please me at all.


    "I have a guilty conscience, riding in this silly carriage," I said to Conrad.


    "That''s not a carriage; it''s a sleigh, Your Majesty. A horse-drawn sleigh."


    Fine, whatever, then Nicola, Wolfram, and I were sitting in a horse-drawn sleigh, which didn''t make it any better at all. It felt like a luxury trip on the Orient Express. At first, they''d also thundered at Gwendal to ride in the sleigh, but since he, unlike me, knew how to assert himself, he was now riding upright in his saddle. And that too with two broken ribs.


    As if that weren''t enough, I had to lay down across two seats, my head softly cushioned on the thigh of Lord Bielefeld!


    "Does my pillow have to be a man''s lap, of all things?!" I wailed.


    "Every time you do some huge magic, you sleep for two to three days," declared Wolfram, unmoved. "This time you only slept two hours. And after such a formidable performance, too. Please be so kind as to stay right where you are. You need your rest."


    "All right, all right! But why the heck does it have to be with you as my pillow?!"


    "Doesn''t it make you happy?"


    "Do I look like I''m happy?!"


    "Oh, you two are truly one heart and one soul," sighed Nicola with shining eyes.


    When she found out that we hadn''t been able to locate Hube, she''d cried very intensely again. But her mood improved quickly when we offered her the opportunity to live in her lover''s homeland. Nicola was a refreshingly positive thinker, brimming with optimism. Her smile was getting brighter all the time, and you couldn''t help laughing along with her.


    "Yuuri, which of the two are you actually in love with? The older or the younger brother?" she asked.


    "In love...? Neither, of course!"


    "You''re not? But then why did you elope?"


    "I never eloped!" I groaned.


    Conrad, who had ridden up next to us, pushed the sleigh''s curtain open from the outside. "We''ll be arriving soon at the border city.Your Majesty? Oh, there you are! I didn''t see you down there at first."


    "Conrad, help me! Please let me ride normally, just let me ride behind you on your horse!"


    "Unfortunately I can''t grant your request, Your Majesty. After all, you''re classified as injured."


    "But I''m feeling sick from riding in here. I need to breathe some fresh air, so please get me out of here!"


    Finally Conrad arranged it so that I was able to get off the sleigh. I took my place behind him. The morning sun was so dazzling that it was hard to even look forward. I clung to Conrad''s hips and used him as a shield against the sun. In the shadow of his back, the journey passed in a rhythmic sway. I gradually became sleepy. Voices drifted quietly and pleasantly past my ears.


    "Gwendal scolded me," Conrad said out of the blue.


    "Scolded?What for?"


    "Because of your hands."


    My hands? But why? My left hand was free again, and it caused me no problems. The handcuffs had only left me with a light abrasion. Gwendal, on the other hand, didn''t get off so lightly. Because of his strong magical abilities, the exorcist-handcuffs really affected him. The wounds weren''t dangerous, but his skin was pretty well burned, and his jailbreak had left him with two broken ribs. His entire body was covered in wounds, actually. In his place, I''d have been a wailing pile of misery.


    "Why, what''s wrong with my hands?" I asked.


    "He has probably noticed the calluses on your right hand, when he touched it. At first, he was pleased; he thought they were the result of daily sword training. Until he realized that they weren''t normal sword calluses."


    "Sword calluses?" I grumbled. "Where would I get sword calluses? The only thing I swing is a baseball bat."


    Every evening, one hundred practice swings! Recently, I''d even traded up to a wooden bat.


    For someone who''d quit the team in middle school, that wasn''t a bad accomplishment!


    "He accused me of doing a bad job of teaching you," Conrad continued. "The correct way to hold a sword is the first thing every beginner must learn."


    "But why should that be a problem? Just tell him it''s not your fault."


    "You try telling him that."


    Well, yeah, when you put it that way. Like I, just a kid, was going to convince the great Gwendal to change his opinions. It''ll never happen!


    "You two seem to be understanding each other better now."


    "You think so? I''m not so sure."


    I gazed toward the older brother, who''d ridden pretty far ahead of us. He sat steadily with perfect posture on the horse. No one would ever have guessed that he was injured. The guy was pretty determined, you had to give him that.


    "Well, I no longer think Gwendal hates me, anyway."


    "But I''ve been telling you that the whole time, Yuuri! It is not remotely possible for my brother to not like you."


    Well, our first meeting was disastrous. And our personalities aren''t that easy to reconcile, either. No one could expect me to just accept that as fact.


    "Who knows, maybe my stock took a nose-dive," I said. "It''s because I absolutely had to get my own pigheaded way that Gwendal ended up with all those wounds."


    It had been important to Conrad to convince me that Gwendal was really a stand-up guy. So it was only fair to bring him up to date. My opinion of the oldest brother had changed. If I were to get along with Gwendal better in the future, then Conrad was surely the one who would be most pleased by it.


    "It''s always a good thing, when you can get to know someone better. And our adventure was perfect for that. Now I know that even Gwendal has his weaknesses and can become emotional. He can even laugh -- even if it''s not very often."


    Conrad sullenly muttered something to himself.


    "What was that?" I pressed.


    He turned around to face me. "I said, dammit, now you''re a step ahead of me." Then he smiled again as always.


    "Nonsense. You two are brothers, you''ve had much more time to get to know each other. You should try talking one night out under the stars, that would definitely work."


    When Conrad looked back, his face darkened. In the distance he''d noticed clouds of sand rising up.


    "We are being pursued. That was fast."


    Conrad gave orders to some of the soldiers at the head of the troop, then he tried to deliver me back to the sleigh.


    "If they shoot with arrows, the cover could save your life," he tried to persuade me.


    "Then it would be better to let as many of the women as possible take shelter on the sleigh!"


    "When are you finally going to understand what this is all about? How often do I need to repeat it? Your Majesty''s life is the top priority."


    "But..."


    I didn''t get any further, because I suddenly spotted something very unpleasant. Further in front of us, I saw a cute figure wriggling around in the sand dunes. Its arms were spread out, and waving up and down, like a drowning person grasping out with their last strength. What a masterly achievement of stagecraft! However, we already had enough experience from our previous journey to know that this animal really wasn''t about to drown in the sand.


    "There''s a sandbear over there again," I moaned.


    "Where, Your Majesty?!"


    Just like in our previous encounter, no one but me could see the bear. Gwendal had said that it was probably a trap that the exorcist-magicians laid over the area.


    The situation became quite tricky. We couldn''t turn back, because we''d run right into the arms of the soldiers from Svererra. We also were afraid the women would panic, if they realized how much danger we were in.


    In front of us, a murderous panda, behind us, an Iroquois army. We stood under red alert.


    "If we could at least delay those soldiers chasing us," said Conrad with agitation in his voice, and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. My hand went instinctively to my hip as well, but there was naturally no sword there. But there was something else -- the flute. I grasped at it.


    Could this object actually be good for something? I doubted it, but it was worth a try.


    Attention please! Here the Master Flautist!Taaaaaaaaaaaaaae!


    The first note sounded like an old woman screaming, and every face turned towards me. The sand dunes remained hot and dry; there was no sign of rain.


    But what kind of wimp throws in the towel after his very first strike? I faced the challenge again and tried a piece I had practiced many times before: the famous song "The brown bottle," the one almost all elementary and middle school students in Japan could play. I had received full mark for this piece in my music class. The soldiers gave me a little courtesy applause.


    I was unstoppable. I played the anthem of the Seibu Lions, the anthem of the new club, then the anthem of the baseball team, followed by the theme song of "Kimba - The White Lion."


    Everyone around me was busy taking the battle formation in preparation for the attack. The audience of my inept solo concert was getting thinner and thinner. My bag of tricks was exhausted. Now I had only a very short piece I knew by heart until the last note.


    "Ryan...?? Conrad suddenly muttered in surprise.


    A great human shadow was running towards us from the direction of the sandbear.


    Ryan? I''ve heard this name before. Ryan, who was that again?While racking my brain trying to remember the name, I played the Tsutomu-Ito march. I could hear some rumbling sound mixed in the music from below.


    "Drat!"


    My stomach had protested loudly. Embarrassing, embarrassing, as if I could only think about food.


    "A thunderstorm!" shouted someone, and an upheaval erupted.


    "That was just my stomach, sorry!"


    The yellow sand was turning gray. The sun that had scorched my neck disappeared. When I looked up, the sky was covered by black clouds. The first drops splashed on my face. Shortly afterward, the rain already became a downpour. Thunder roared and lightning crisscrossed the sky. That was a true-storm!


    "Ryan took less than five days to tame the wild sandbear?" cried our tutor, his eyebrows shot up in an exaggerated way.


    He had wrapped the Magic Flute in a cloth to protect it from fingerprints. If Gunther had known that it had been buried in a tomb instead of a corpse, he would probably be whining all over the castle halls.


    "Yes, I was surprised too," replied Conrad.


    "And so was I," I confirmed.


    The downpour had caught the enemy troops by surprise. This gave us the necessary time to follow Ryan''s lead to the hide-out built by the tamed sandbear. The rain beat down on Suberera''s sand dunes as if the eternal sunshine had become but a dream. The rest of our trip was pretty pleasant and uneventful.


    When I finally arrived at the royal capital, we found Gunther completely frightened for some unknown reasons. Apparently a cruel demon had abused the poor fellow as a Guinea pig. Since we took the shortcut route to the Royal Palace instead of traveling through the Kavernikov area, that I did not get to know Lady Anissina, the terror of all men. Well, thank to my luck!


    As we could not find out the whereabouts of Gegenhuber, Nicola kept alternating between crying and laughing. Fortunately, his family accepted her as their daughter-in-law and provided a home for herself and her child. Since Huber, their heir, hadn''t returned for almost twenty years, the Grieselas were very happy to have a new family member. And the child would even be named after me!


    I was also surprised to find out that Gunter''s taste in clothes had changed radically. He now had his iron-gray hair tied neatly at the back of his head, and while he still wore his narrow, elegant glasses, he was not wrapped in a creamy white monk''s robes as usual, but sporting an exact copy of my T-shirts.


    "As an emotional attachment to Your Majesty, to come closer to you, I have taken the liberty to have this garment prepared. Even if we are apart, our hearts remain one. I can always be with you! Isn''t that fantastic?"


    "Um, to be honest... Isn''t your shirt too tight? "


    Gunter had imitated not only the design but also the size of my shirt. The fabric on his chest and shoulders was tightly stretched. One wrong move and you could clearly see his navel. In addition, the letter >E< printed on the front was upside down.


    Murata Ken always said my fashion sense was the worst. Imagine the consequences if this sort of fashion spread all over the country!


    "Your Majesty, I am impressed!" Gunter sang his song of praise. "Although you played The Magic Flute for the first time, you have already mastered it, by all measures. Even in the musical field, you are blessed with an exceptional talent!"


    "Almost all children in Japan can do that."


    "What a fine music lesson!"


    Yes, exactly.


    Gwendal had gone to see the Grisela''s as Nicola''s sponsor. In his name, I was presented with a knitted stuffed animal about 30 centimeters long. Maybe it was a thank-you gift for the dolphin keychain.


    "Aw, what a cute white pig!" I said.


    Conrad tried to suppress his smile.


    "Your Majesty, actually I believe that what you''ve got there is a white lion."


    "Oh! "Oh! But then where is its mane? Or maybe it''s a female? Then I''ll name it Leonie."


    By no stretch of the imagination did Leonie look like a white lion. But after all, it''s the thought that counts.


    (This translation was originally posted here. Please do not repost elsewhere.)

 Volume 3 - CH 12

    "Yuri, I never would have thought that you are capable of such a bold initiative," Wolfram said in surprise after I decided to knock on his door.


    The delicate pretty boy did not know what to make of the whole thing. He tilted his head to one side and, his lips slightly open, waiting in silence for an explanation.


    "I just want you to have a bath with me. If you feel embarrassed, you can keep your swim trunks on," I said.


    "If it''s just the two of us then there''s nothing to be embarrassed about, but... "


    "Then let''s go! I''m in a hurry! A towel and a pair of trunks would be enough!"


    In a corner of his room, Wolfram was busy digging for some strange object. Was he looking for a rubber duck to take with us?


    I pulled the broadly grinning Wolfram, and head towards the familiar royal bathroom.


    The private bath of His Majesty the Demon King was luxurious - the huge cream-colored pool could have easily held the world swimming championship. It was so hot in this country but there was no public swimming pool. I really wished I could share this bathroom to everyone.


    The sexy queen Lady Cherie and the menservants who normally asked to wash my back were not there today, but the water still poured steadily out of the five taps shaped like lion heads. I could finally swim however I wanted to.


    "One and two and hop!"


    I held my nose and jumped into the pool still wearing my uniform. For a brief moment, I dived and almost touched the bottom, but I immediately came back up to the surface.


    "What are you doing?" Wolfram asked, dumbfounded.


    I flopped on the edge of the pool, water dripping from my hair and shirt.


    "Can you push me into the pool?"


    "What?"


    "Come on now," I grumbled.


    "What kind of foreplay is this?"


    Wolfram pushed me into the water, but I immediately resurfaced.


    "I don''t understand," I muttered. "Hey, what are you doing?! Did I tell you to jump in too?!"


    Wolfram emerged again, his blond hair totally soaked. The image was like the scene of an angel bathing. Luckily he had kept his clothes on, just like me. With two strokes, he swam over to me.


    "Why did you dive in? I only wanted you to push me."


    He wrapped his pale arms around my neck.


    "Don''t hug me!"


    "Didn''t you want to try a totally new way of doing it?"


    "Way of doing it...? Wolfram, you were expecting to do something naughty, weren''t you!?"


    Even though I was completely desperate, my partner was shamelessly indulging in his own happy fantasies. I hung my head and swallowed my growing anger. In another attempt, I put my feet firmly on the bathtub floor, and slowly stretched my knees.


    There was still no suction pulling me into the depths.


    "I can''t go home," I quietly said.


    "Aren''t you already home?"


    "That''s not what I mean. It''s true that I''ve come back from Suveria to Shin Makoku, but now I want to go back to my home!"


    Like a small child, I flapped both my arms around, hitting the water surface furiously. In order to avoid the splash hitting his face, Wolfram stood up and took a small step back.


    "I can''t go back, to my home, to earth, to Japan!" I cried angrily. "I thought it would be just like last time, I could return through the bathroom again. But no matter what I did, nothing happened at all! I thought if I was forced into a corner, I would enter the star journey to escape from danger... But even when you pushed me into the water, still nothing happened."


    "What?"


    "Wolf... why is that grimace?"


    Numerous creases gathered above his nose and between his eyebrows. The ex-prince lifted his chin and pulled his shoulders back.


    "You used me for this small thing?"


    "It''s not a small thing! This is incredibly important for me, don''t you understand that much?"


    "You are now the king of this country, you can''t run around anymore! You''ve got to stay here. Yuri, your home is this castle! And that''s forever!"


    Every time this bishounen scolded me, I would feel the numerous wounds his words caused. As hard as it was to accept, Wolfram was probably right. My diving attempts were pointless. But what other choice did I have? I had never thought that I could never see Japan again.


    "But it has always been like that so far. If I successfully completed the mission, I would be able to go back again. This time I have found the Magic Flute, and brought my double back safe and sound. The mission was successful. Why am I still stuck here, dammit! Could it be because the game was stuck at this point? If I couldn''t return to Japan and remained in Shin Makoku forever, what would happen to me?


    "You would carry on your role and your life as the Maou, what else?"


    Yes, true, I was the king. I had taken up this office and made my oath in front of everyone.


    "But I still didn''t expected to have to stay here forever. How would I know if the Lions won the champion or not? I can never go to a baseball game again!"


    "Then found your own baseball team here. You''ve said that you wanted to make this game a national sport."


    "But I''m still not good enough at the game!"


    The soaked clothes weighed heavily on my body. Nevertheless, I did not sink into the depths.


    "What about my team, my school, my friends? If I don''t come out of the dolphin pool, Murata would suffer a blow and blame it all on himself."


    Perhaps this was it. Perhaps the Yuri Shibuya from modern Japan had died in an accident during the dolphin show? And that was why I could not go back?


    "It''s just that... what am I going to do?... What will I tell my family?... No, actually, I might not be able to say anything to them anymore. It''s just that ''my wife and child''..."


    "You have a ''wife and child''!?"


    "Don''t pick at my words! I meant ''my parents and sibling''. It''s just that I have parents and a brother, and I can''t believe that I suddenly I can''t meet them again... That''s crazy, it''s unfair."


    "You''re unbelievably dim-witted," Wolfram groaned and brushed his wet bang back from his forehead.


    His seemingly arrogant green eyes stared at me fiercely. He really does have an angel''s face, but his words draw blood with each syllable.


    "You belong to this world. You cannot escape, your soul is at home here."


    "No one told me so."


    Even I could hear the tremble in my voice.


    "Don''t say you didn''t known what you were in for."


    I had no answer to that. I had taken things too easy.


    If the silence continued, I might do something stupid. So I decided to try again. I dived in hot water and repeatedly pushed myself against the bottom floor. I stayed under the water as long as I could and desperately looked for a possible opening in vain.


    I couldn''t abandon my resolve, I had to calm down. Hadn''t the commentator in the last baseball game said "a crisis point is a turning point"? Even when forced into a situation with no escape in sight, I must stay calm and collected. If I didn''t carefully analyze the surrounding, I would never find the way to break out of the deadlock.


    But no matter how hard I tried, the strange whirlpool from before refused to appear.


    "Hey," Wolfram called, and fished me out of the water.


    I had completely forgotten to breathe.


    Well, that was it then. I had to accept reality. Never again Japan. No more baseball. Never home again. The king got stuck in real deep shit.


    (This translation was originally posted here. Please do not repost elsewhere.)

 Volume 4 - Prologue

    Yeah, so I know I soared through the last chapter I translated in like, a day, but this one took me a whole week XD  It would have taken me a lot longer if la_prime hadn''t hooked me up with a scanned version of this book ~<3  I do own a physical copy of the book, though.  Actually, I own two copies.


    Prologue


    Hey, Shibuya.

 Volume 4 - CH 1

    Yeah, so I know I soared through the last chapter I translated in like, a day, but this one took me a whole week XD  It would have taken me a lot longer if la_prime hadn''t hooked me up with a scanned version of this book ~<3  I do own a physical copy of the book, though.  Actually, I own two copies.


    Prologue


    Hey, Shibuya.


    I¡¯m thankful for you saving me, but I¡¯m telling you I¡¯m definitely not a person who gets bullied all the time.


    If it¡¯s the first time you¡¯ve been cornered by bad classmates, then it¡¯s the first time you¡¯ve been extorted for money.


    And while I¡¯m at it, grades are my life?!  Like, high test scores and stuff? Don¡¯t go spreading stereotypical rumors when you don¡¯t know anything about me.  I know that I used to fade into the background, but in order to train my body and mind, I¡¯ve learned martial arts.  Like karate, uh¡­ through the mail.


    Anyway!  Even I don¡¯t even know what kind of person I am so please stop making conjectures about me.


    And anyway, knowing the kind of person you really are is an eternal mystery to mankind, right?  That¡¯s why self-exploration books are always best sellers.


    So, I¡¯ll try asking you.


    What about you?


    Why were you born and why are you alive?


    Ah!  Don¡¯t get all absorbed in thought!  Nobody knows that sort of thing.


    [Spoiler (Scans of Character Profiles)]


    Chapter 1


    Have I drowned?  Is that why it¡¯s so hard to breathe!?


    ¡°Ugh¡­ Bando, Eiji, you bastards¡­¡±


    ¡°Please wake up, Your Majesty.¡±


    Even though it¡¯s morning, peering at me is Lord Weller, his usual charming self without puffy eyes or tousled hair.


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me Your Majesty. You named me.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, it just slipped out.  But the alarm bird has cried three times already.¡±


    ¡°Really!?¡±


    According to my G-Shock, which is still continuing to valiantly keep the time, it is currently 8 o¡¯clock in the morning.  By the way, it¡¯s also November 30th and the first month of winter in this world.  One day here seems to be 24 hours, and there isn¡¯t any noticeable deviance in their clocks.  So that means that the size and rotation of this planet is about the same as Earth¡­ ah, I can¡¯t really understand complicated things.


    Anyway, it¡¯s been almost 120 days since I went with Ken Murata to Sea World because he was rejected by a girl, shook hands with a dolphin named Bando, went on a Star Tours, and got sucked into this swords-and-magic world.


    Because this was the third time I¡¯ve come to this country, it¡¯s about time I was considered a regular.  Even if everything hadn¡¯t gone well, I somehow managed to solve the designated problem and was completely ready and waiting to return to modern Japan ¨C I even changed into normal boxer-type underwear.


    However¡­


    As I was struggling to get up, Conrad rubs the corner of my eye with his thumb.


    ¡°Were you dreaming of Bando again?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡­ I wasn¡¯t able to go back.


    I wasn¡¯t able to go back to the Japan where I wasn¡¯t Yuuri(Helping Village) or Yuuri(Gentle Pear Tree) or Yuuri(Distant Lapis Lazuli)(1), where I heard the familiar ¡®Shibuya Yuuri Harajuku Furi, where I was the organizer of a grass-lot baseball team even though I was just a high school student, where I was captain and Number 8 and the designated catcher.


    ¡°¡­ Even though it¡¯s already been four months¡­ Ah!  Now¡¯s not the time to be worrying about that!  I thought it was hard to breathe!  He¡¯s completely on top of me!¡±


    Wolfram von Bielefelt, with the sleeping face of an angel and the sleeping habits of a devil, has got both his arms and legs wrapped around me, disturbing my peaceful sleep.  He had on a frilly-laced, silk nightgown.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t funny.  If G¨¹nter saw this¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m already here!¡±


    Lord von Christ is yelling as he bangs on the thick, heavy wooden door.  His pretty face is probably distorted in unease and impatience, his hair in a disarray.


    ¡°You¡¯re Majesty!  What has happened, Your Majesty!?  Please open the door!  Please open the door-!¡±


    My body guard, who has taken the position of ally and protector, rolls over the half-awake Wolfram.


    ¡°I locked the door, just in case.¡±


    ¡°Awesome, Conrad!  You saved me.¡±


    I quickly put on my custom training wear.  It has a design that you only see on variety shows on TV ¨C green with two thick white stripes down the side ¨C and the lack of elasticity is a bit troubling, but it¡¯s easier to move around in than my black school uniform.


    I burst through the door, uttering a quick ¡°I¡¯m going running¡± to Gunter and slipped past him.  Behind me, I hear a girlish shriek.


    ¡°Why are you in His Majesty¡¯s room!?  And in his bed!¡±


    Leaving the soon-to-be scene of carnage behind me, even I have to wonder about that.


    ¡°Why is Wolf living with me?  In this huge place, there should at least be one or two guest rooms.¡±


    No before that, why is he even living here at Blood Pledge Castle?  His headquarters should be in the Bielefelt region.  This place with the creepy name is supposed to be my castle.  That¡¯s right.  This completely normal baseball kid, Yuuri Shibuya, was made the ruler of a country just before his 16th birthday.  And not your normal king, either.  While it¡¯s true that I laughed a bit at the King of Japanese Rock, my title is even more impressive. (2)  I was just supposed to be a normal high school student with my completely average height and completely average appearance and even my completely average intelligence¡­


    But I was the Demon King.


    After being unbelievably and miraculously flushed down a toilet, being randomly surrounded by good-looking guys, and being told that ¡®starting today, you are the Demon King,¡¯ anyone would think that they were dreaming. I thought so, too.  If this is a dream, let me wake up quickly.  I prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed some more to someone called the True King to let me go back to my reality.


    But I¡¯m past that.


    I have no time to be depressed.  I have a mountain of documents I need to sign and endless problems to think about.  I have to meet so many important people you could make a huge line of them like at a popular store.  And of course, I can¡¯t skip my daily training.  When your occupation is the Demon King, your body is your wealth.


    Seeing such an exemplary king, my tutor and royal advisor G¨¹nter has been busy crying and being ecstatic. Well, since I¡¯m a guy whose brain seems to just be made out of muscle (a Muscle-Brain Guy, for short), the one who¡¯s been doing all the miscellaneous work is him.


    I¡¯ve been slowly learning how to read and write.  Right now I¡¯m at the level of an accomplished three-year old, but I¡¯ve been able to read complicated words in book titles that I haven¡¯t learned yet just by running my finger along them.  Maybe it was like in the propaganda in those English class flyers that say you¡¯ll suddenly find your talent like a flower blooming or something.


    Stepping off the grey stairs and into the courtyard, I start running before the guards have time to pay their respects.  Bathed in the morning light, the wintry lawn was sparkling.  Under the grass, there were little icicles.  My breaths are white and even the tips of my clenched fingers are getting numb and breathing in the clear, cold air hurt my nose so much my eyes teared up.


    ¡°You alright?¡± Conrad asked shortly, running beside me.  He asks that same question every once in a while.


    ¡°Why do you ask?  I¡¯m fine?¡±


    The blue stone swaying at my chest is making me colder.  With intricate silverwork and a color bluer than the sky, this Lion¡¯s Blue magic stone helps me remember my responsibilities (3).


    ¡°Wow, Yuuri!  And you look like you wouldn¡¯t kill a fly.¡±


    Nicola, that¡¯s not the right word for that metaphor.


    G¨¹nter, still on the floor, has started convulsing.


    ¡°Even if I killed mosquitoes or cockroaches I wouldn¡¯t father a child!¡±


    ¡°And, this person claiming to be the illegitimate child is where?¡± My amazing bodyguard calmly prompts the soldier-turned-news-bearer.  He definitely believes that there¡¯s no way the king could have a hidden child.  Either that or he learned how undesirable someone like I was while in America or somewhere.


    ¡°Actually¡­ they¡¯re already here¡­ They had a Great Demon Kingdom insignia that only the previous Demon Kings and their relatives can inherit so it seemed improper to not let them pass¡­¡±


    What¡¯s that?  Is that like a commemorative championship ring that¡¯s only given to the winning baseball team from the regular season?  Perhaps having his interest piqued by the soldier¡¯s words, the hands of my ¡®dear¡¯ fianc¨¦ loosen from my neck.


    ¡°The insignia?¡±


    ------------------------


    OMG, footnotes for days on this first part o.O!


    (1)    This is just a list of some of the more common kanji used to write ¡®Yuuri¡¯ that he has, in the past, wished were used to write his own name.  Personally, I thought they were a bit girly, but I¡¯ve been assured by my Japanese linguist friend that they are indeed unisex if read as ¡®Yuuri.¡¯  They only get girly if you read them as ¡®Yuri.¡¯  Incidentally, they can all be read as ¡®Yuri¡¯ whereas the kanji actually used to write his name can only really be read as ¡®Yuuri¡¯ in case anyone is interested in that random info.  I¡¯m a linguistics major so I love random info like that XD


    (2)    He¡¯s referring to this guy.  He sings rock songs directly translated to Japanese.  Directly.  Even if the words don¡¯t really fit all that well XD


    (3)    Baseball!  The Seibu Lions¡¯s color blue.


    (4)    An actress/singer.  She was Jean Reno¡¯s daughter in Luc Besson¡¯s film, Wasabi.  She was also in Departures but that movie didn¡¯t exist yet ;p


    (5)      Conrad uses a word here that specifically means a non-sexy kind of sleeping together: zakone.  When you hear zakone, you immediately think of a bunch of your friends sleeping all over your floor in a slumber party kind of situation.  I honestly couldn¡¯t think of a way of translating this without it either sounding sexy or turning his brief comment into a long, convoluted monster.  So, I settled on sexy XD


    (6)      Golgo 13 is a manga about a professional assassin of the same name.  It¡¯s been serialized since 1969 and is the oldest manga still in publication.


    The more you know! ¥ß¡î


    *.*.*.*.*.*


    I climbed the gently sloping hill road while swaying on the back of a horse.


    The afternoon air was hot enough to make me sweat under my jacket.  I hadn¡¯t expected to wear a down jacket in a sword and magic world.


    But now that I think about it, there are both birds and cloth here so it isn¡¯t really all that strange for down jackets to be a favored way to protect against the cold.  Although there might be a flaw in the design because it¡¯s as heavy as a leather jacket.  That makes it pointless.


    Although it¡¯s only about as arduous a climb as would come up in an elementary school trip, the men who pass us all greet us with one hand like they¡¯re following a rule of mountain men or something.  There were a few who were startled when they noticed the color of my hair and eyes hidden under my hood, but strangely they all nod in understanding once Conrad gives them a sign to be quiet.  Maybe they think we¡¯re ninjas.


    ¡°Everyone¡¯s walking.  I want to get down and walk, too.¡±


    ¡°When your ankle is completely healed.¡±


    ------------------------


    (1)    School sports team managers in Japan are different than their western counterparts.  Their main duties are to keep score, wash the player¡¯s uniforms, keep their equipment in order, etc. and it is almost exclusively a girl¡¯s job.


    (2)    The original exchange was  ¡°¡­ Ugh, I¡¯m a young man living with the aid of a stick (sutekki)¡±  ¡°It¡¯s wonderful (suteki), just like an English gentleman, Your Majesty.¡±  I tried really hard to think of another pun to put in there that would sound just as possibly-accidental as the original sentence.  I kinda suck at that kind of thing, though, so I think it¡¯s a bit awkward ^-^;;


    (3)    Uffoon (uffun) and ahhan are stereotypical sexy noises.  I would have made English versions of this, but uh, that didn¡¯t work out so well XD  Anyway, basically it''s like everyone on the mountain is yelling out sexy noises.  Takabayashi-sensei, you scandalous, scandalous lady ;)


    (4)    This is the infamous Alaska joke.  Just to keep the ¡®Alaska,¡¯ I was thinking of using ¡®Alaska¡¯m to be patient¡¯ but that was just way too good of a pun for Conrad¡¯s standards (jk, it¡¯s pretty lame, too XD).  Also, if you say it, it¡¯s kind of hard to tell that it¡¯s a pun.  Go on, try it.  I wouldn¡¯t realize that was a joke unless I saw it written.    ¡­ I hope the fangirls don¡¯t kill me for changing that o.o


    ------------------------


    End of Chapter 1!

 Volume 4 - CH 2

    <-- Previous Chapter


    ¡°A-Anissina.  I want to take my fingers out of this already.¡±


    ¡°Not until the weaving is finished.¡±


    On the other side of Lord von Voltaire¡¯s hands, a small loom has been installed. The yellow warp that has been strung up is being woven through with yellow string.  It¡¯s currently in knitting mode, but with just a change of a head, it can quickly be turned to fabric mode.  It¡¯s a complicated pattern, but it¡¯s somehow being made with the mysterious inner-workings of the machine.


    ¡°Cut-cut the power!  Just stop Mr. Fast-Knitter for a moment!¡±


    ¡°How lazy.  This is why people say that demon men have become weak lately.¡±


    She¡¯s the one who¡¯s been saying that.  Lord von Voltaire¡¯s childhood friend and knitting teacher, the woman who has written in her diary ten thousand times that she will devote her life to the advancement of The Great Demon Kingdom, the Mad Magicalist, has put her hobby to a practical use in researching magic to make the lives of demons all the more affluent via daily experiments like these.


    At first glance, she seems to be a petite, slender and perhaps a slightly strong-willed beauty, but as one of The Great Demon Kingdom¡¯s Three Great Witches, her power is on par with Lady Celi.


    ¡°Shit¡­ maybe The Great Demon Kingdom¡¯s Three Great Nightmares¡­¡±


    ¡°Did you say something?¡±


    Taking out the finished product from Mr. Fast-Knitter, she examines the fabric closely.  The knit and consistency is perfect, but it seems to be lacking in refinement.


    ¡°Hm, as expected, if there¡¯s no feeling of having passed through a person¡¯s hands, it just doesn¡¯t have that transient feel.  It follows that this¡­


    ¡°¡­ You¡¯re going to say it¡¯s a failure, right?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you guessed it.¡±


    Of course.  It¡¯s been close to 150 years that they¡¯ve been going through this same thing.  Gwendal collapsed on the desk with a mutter.  Why does she keep making these unnecessary machines?  But still, that meat grinder was awesome.  It was a masterpiece in every meaning of the word.


    ¡°What are you complaining about, Gwendal!?  It¡¯s because you just knit white pigs and bears and stuff without even trying to make something epic that you can only just barely make something like this.  Passion and a fighting spirit is the deciding factor in knitting.  You need more discipline!¡±


    What he wishes above all is to never be seen like this.  In actuality, he¡¯s only convincing himself that no one knows.


    Everyone knows.


    *.*.*.*.*


    Package tours are where the company takes care of everything and are thus super easy.  From transportation tickets to accommodation reservations, the company arranges everything.  Sometimes, even the souvenirs are included.  On two-hour specials on TV, there¡¯s always talk about someone getting murdered on one of these vacations, but in reality they¡¯re not that dangerous.  If there was one drawback, it was that you might get stuck riding with annoying tourists that you can¡¯t get away from for the whole day.


    Kind of like now.


    Putting our elbows on the railing, we faced the coast that had long disappeared over the horizon.


    The four of us.


    ¡°¡­ Why are their four of us?¡±


    Our original reservation was for two men.


    Because he would have definitely objected, I left a note for my overprotective tutor in the writing I had just learned saying that ¡®I¡¯m going out for a little rehab.¡¯  But that was no good.  First of all, he wouldn¡¯t understand what rehab was. (1)  So, I thought I¡¯d write ¡®I¡¯m leaving the castle,¡¯ but I couldn¡¯t remember how to spell ¡®castle.¡¯  In the end, I figured I¡¯d at least let him know I was coming back. With that, the note became as so:


    ¡®I¡¯m going out for half a month.¡¯ (2)


    ¡­ Was that too vague?  No, he¡¯d be able to figure it out.  Now I just hope that I got the sentence structure right¡­


    Our destination is a temporarily neutral land so there¡¯s no problem if we¡¯re recognized as demons.  But even so, black hair and eyes stand out too much so I¡¯ve got on a brief disguise:  round sunglasses that you would only find on a villain in a video game and a pink knit hat that¡¯s very fitting for this cold weather.  Combined with this cane (Windpipe No. 1), I look like a suspicious old man.


    Finished with my preparations, I rolled my huge trunk to the designated meeting spot.  Waiting there in light clothing was the second son, seasoned traveler.  But¡­


    ¡°You¡¯re late, Yuuri!¡±


    ¡°¡­ huh?¡±


    Also standing there was the third son of the three brothers that look nothing alike.  If he kept his mouth shut, he was an unrivalled pretty boy, but in reality he was just a spoiled brat made all the more intimidating by the beauty he inherited from his mother.


    ¡°I¡¯m your fianc¨¦ so it¡¯s my duty to supervise you on your travels so you don¡¯t get caught up in some sort of love affair!  Especially since you¡¯re a flirt, a cheater and wimp!¡±


    Wolfram von Bielefelt, flirts and cheaters become flirts and cheaters because of their true feelings... is what I didn¡¯t feel like explaining to him so I just said:


    ¡°¡­ Don¡¯t call me a wimp.¡±


    ¡°I apologize for letting him have his way like this,¡± said Conrad as he faced the ocean breeze, not looking apologetic in the slightest.  I¡¯m getting throttled here- hey you¡¯re not enjoying this, are you!?  I want to know.


    ¡°At any rate, I was more shocked by Your Majesty¡¯s plan.  Scandalously hiding a girl in your trunk.  It was impressive.¡±


    ¡°I thought I¡¯d pulled it off perfectly¡­¡±


    The fourth person was inside my huge trunk and was wheeled here by me.  They were that small.


    When he looked inside, Conrad didn¡¯t get angry, but instead looked like he was about to laugh.


    ¡°Well, if it isn¡¯t the assassin!¡±


    While he usually manages to predict my actions and is able to just shrug and say ¡®I thought it¡¯d turn out this way,¡¯ it seems that this time I really blindsided him.  As he pulled the assassin out of my luggage, his shoulders were shaking slightly.


    ¡°Unbelievable!  What did you say to the guards?¡±


    ¡°That I wanted to have a private talk as father and child.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s like acknowledging the claim.¡±


    I keep on telling you it¡¯s not true.


    Even I know it¡¯s crazy to take the person who tried to kill you with you to rehab.  But, she¡¯s only about ten years old and if I left her at the castle I don¡¯t know what G¨¹nter would do to her in his rage.  He¡¯s beautiful and wise, but when it comes to me, he loses his head.  I can only think he suddenly gets stricken with some horrible illness or gets possessed by an animal spirit.


    ¡°How stupid are you?¡± Wolfram asked.  ¡°On what planet is there someone who takes the person who tried to kill them on a vacation?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s one person on this planet.  Sorry for being stupid.  But no one¡¯s been able to get her to say why she tried to kill me or where she got the insignia from, you know?  Would you be able to stand not knowing why an elementary school student tried to kill you?  I wouldn¡¯t.  I want to ask her.  But I still can¡¯t get her to tell me her name.¡±


    If I look to the side and down, there¡¯s some curly red hair.  The too-small waves look a little like the perm my mother had a few years ago.  The look was super popular for a time, but as a baseball brat that was always starving, every time I saw it I thought of wavy noodles and had to eat some instant ramen.


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s your name?  If you can¡¯t tell me your last name, just your first name is fine.¡±


    As the cold ocean breeze painted her cheeks red, she grasped the railing with her small hands.  She¡¯s glaring at something in the air as her manly eyebrows and long eyelashes tremble.  Even though I haven¡¯t met her eyes or heard her talk, I got the feeling that she¡¯s keeping people at a distance and is pretty much rejecting everything in the world so I hesitated to call out to her.


    Even so, I make myself keep asking.


    Who are you?  My what?  Why did you want to kill me?


    ¡°Hey, if you don¡¯t tell me your name I¡¯m just gonna make something up.  Like Instant Noodles or Maruchan.  Oh, but I don¡¯t mean Martinez who used to be in Seibu.¡± (3)


    ¡°It seems now¡¯s not the time for that.¡±


    Conrad puts his hand on the girl¡¯s forehead while standing behind her.  For a moment, I¡¯m jealous of how easily and naturally he touched her like that.


    ¡°She has a fever.  Probably because she¡¯s been out in the wind too long.¡±


    ¡°A fever!?  Then she won¡¯t be able to go in the hotsprings!?¡±


    The ship¡¯s destination, Schildkraut, is separated from The Great Demon Kingdom by ocean and is the port city of Hildyard.  From the impression I got from it when we passed through on the search for the demon sword, it was a free and neutral-seeming trade city.  There are a lot of business-like people who bear no hostility towards us demons.


    It seems they¡¯ve overcome discrimination and prejudice with their hardcore merchant spirits.


    A bit inland from Schildkraut is Hildyard¡¯s world famous resort town.  Gathering all the pleasures known to man, it¡¯s a town that has stretched luxury to the limits.  It¡¯s a theme park of the adult pleasures of gambling, drugs and sex.  There aren¡¯t any dancing, human sized mice though.  The image I¡¯ve drawn in my mind is a neon-lit Las Vegas.  Yes, a Las Vegas town where people from all over the world gather and have dangerous fun, enjoy drunken entertainment and the night never ends¡­


    ¡°We¡¯re not going there,¡± said Conrad.


    ¡­ and its adjacent hotspring town whose waters are reputed to cure most any illness.


    If you bathe in this abundantly flowing water for one day you¡¯ll live three years longer, two days and you¡¯ll live six years longer, three days and you¡¯ll live until you die.  That calculation is a bit strange.


    ¡°The waters really do work.  I¡¯m told my father recovered from serious, life-threatening injury after drinking the hotspring¡¯s water.  I myself have had the pain in my sword arm¡¯s tendons completely healed after a two-week stay here.  For strengthening an ankle after a sprain, ten days would be enough to make it even stronger than before.¡±


    ¡°Ooh, I like that, stronger than before.  Then if I soak up to my shoulders maybe I¡¯ll get rocket arms.  And if I dive under, maybe my IQ will rise, too?¡±


    ----------


    (1)    Rehab is written in ¡®Japanglish¡¯ here as ¡®rihabiri/rehabili¡¯.  Oh, I also forgot to mention that Conrad used straight up English to say rehab in the last chapter ^-^;;   The two of them use a lot of English. Yuuri especially.  I should probably point that out more often¡­


    (2)    The real note says ¡°I¡¯m leaving home.¡± He chose home because he couldn¡¯t spell castle and then figured, hey, it¡¯s the place where I live so I could call it my home.  And then Yuuri¡¯s like, ¡®does that make me a runaway?¡¯  I changed it because of a(n embarrassingly lame/forced) joke later on.  But!  I promised myself I¡¯d translate everything, so that means I¡¯ll have to embarrass myself with my lameness XD


    (3)    Two things in this footnote!  The first is Maruchan (which I¡¯m not even sure I need to footnote, but you never know).  Maruchan is a company that makes instant ramen.  The second is Martinez!  Domingo Martinez played for the Seibu Lions and his nickname was Maruchan.  It¡¯s got nothing to do with the ramen company, though.  Martinez was a bit on the roly-poly side, and Martinez written in Japanese is ¡®Marutinesu,¡¯ so they took the ¡®Maru,¡¯ which means ¡®round,¡¯ and stuck ¨Cchan on the end for a cutesy nickname.  Basically, Maruchan is a friendly(?) way of calling him¡­ well, roly-poly.  Here¡¯s his trading card XD


    *.*.*.*.*.*.*


    When you receive a letter from an important person to you, just breaking the seal can cause your heart to pound.  And then, if it¡¯s the very first composition from a person who hasn¡¯t been able to write until now, you wouldn¡¯t be able to read it without tears in your eyes.


    When G¨¹nter von Christ discovered the thin yellow paper left behind on top of the desk in the Demon King¡¯s deserted office, he did a little dance.


    ¡°That His Majesty would leave a letter for me in the Demon Language he has just learned!¡±


    So moved that he even had ¡®tears¡¯ coming out of his nostrils, the tutor studied the slip of paper.


    One brief sentence was written there with large, thick, and awkward letters.


    ¡°Oh, what strokes brimming with boldness and self-confidence! As expected of the calligraphy of the one who supports us demons.  It makes me proud to teach him.¡±


    If you look at it from the side, the size and flow aren¡¯t balanced and there¡¯s no sense of any sort of layout. It¡¯s a note of an absolute beginner level. Even if you compare each character to the Nazca geoglyphs, you can just barely recognize them as letters.  However, love seems to have an awesome power that turns a wise man into a fool.


    ¡°Now then, even though I¡¯m alone, I¡¯ll read this heartfelt composition aloud.¡±


    ¡®I go out half monfh.¡¯


    Yuuri was extremely hesitant about whether spoken language and written language was different, so he just wrote it in the subject-verb-object order he learned in middle school English class. If you took some artistic liberty in translating it, it meant ¡®I¡¯m going out for a bit,¡¯ though.


    ¡°I¡­. go¡­. monf¡­.?¡±


    His slender white fingers were shaking so much that the paper was wrinkling.


    ¡°¡­ Monf?  I¡­ go monf¡­. monk? ¡­. go monk?  ¡­ Monk!?¡±


    Academically translated, this reads as: ¡®I¡¯m becoming a monk.  Don¡¯t look for me.¡¯  ( 1 ) **you should definitely read the footnote XD


    Normally in Japan, saying you¡¯ll become a monk just means something along the lines of joining Buddhism, but for demons it means to send your life along with a prayer to be under the care of the True King¡¯s spirit.  It¡¯s the same as saying you¡¯re getting ordained.


    ¡°Why is His Majesty becoming a monk!?  Was he not satisfied with me!?¡±


    No one would become a monk for a reason like that.  But for G¨¹nter, whose thinking ability had flown away, telling him that would be like reading The Great Demon Kingdom¡¯s Constitution to a horse. (2)


    A soldier rushed out onto the opal floor of the office, not even pausing to knock on the door after running down the hallway.


    ¡°I have an announcement!¡±


    ¡°Is it about becoming a monk!?¡±


    After being faced with such a ghastly visage, regardless of whether he was of an age where he could still be considered young, the messenger took a few steps back.


    ¡°Huh?  N-no.  I have no such joyful news.  We believe that the perpetrator of the high treason crime of attempting the assassination of the king has escaped.  And, well¡­ according to what I¡¯ve heard, it seems likely that His Majesty himself let the criminal out in order to have a private talk with his child¡­¡±


    ¡°Now I understand everything!¡±


    There¡¯s no telling what goes on in the brains of the ten nobles.  The middle-aged soldier who brought the news slowly backed away from G¨¹nter, who was breathing wildly through his nostrils.  How does he understand everything with just that little bit of information?  The one he served before was like that, too.  They were definitely born into the ten nobles, but all they did was invent bizarre things.  From his view, it was mind-boggling why they spent so much time making those complicated machines.


    After all, even if you make a magic-powered meat grinder machine, there are virtually no dishes in Great Demon Kingdom cuisine that use ground meat.


    This is why normal citizens can¡¯t understand the thought processes of nobles.


    ¡°His Majesty is so kind.  Even though he knows it¡¯s not his child, he was likely unable to not attempt to save them from the path of evil!"


    ¡°Y-yeah¡­¡±


    ¡°In order to heal a young girl¡¯s twisted heart, borrowing the power of faith is certainly effective.  I expect nothing less from the man I admire.  His every thought is full of wisdom.  But Your Majesty, that doesn¡¯t mean that you have to become a priest as well!  Sometimes love that runs too deep becomes self-sacrifice!  While it¡¯s one of his charming qualities, it¡¯s such a waste that he¡¯s squandering all that beauty and intelligence on one child!¡±


    Wondering if he¡¯s reciting some script, the only spectator becomes uneasy.


    Drawing his graceful eyebrows together, the tutor gazed at the heavens and made a fist.


    ¡°I have to do something¡­.¡±


    ----------


    (1)    OMG, this was painful!  I¡¯m really bad at this pun stuff!  I¡¯m so sorry! x.x It was a highly untranslatable joke where kanji characters accidentally form the word for ¡®becoming a Buddhist monk.¡¯


    This is the real joke.  Yuuri wrote, ¡°I leave home.¡± (Ore, deru, ie wo).  The characters that G¨¹nter couldn¡¯t read were written in katakana(bold-italic approximations, here).  So it was like he was going, ¡°I¡­ lea¡­ ho¡­?¡±  Basically, all he could read was ¡®I¡¯ and the kanji.  Anyway, the kanji for ¡®leave¡¯ and ¡®home¡¯ form the word ¡®shukke¡¯ which, as I mentioned before, means becoming a monk, so that¡¯s how G¨¹nter comes to his conclusion.  Geez, that was difficult just to explain o.o


    So anyway, yeah.  I made it a spelling mistake + un-readability.  I¡¯ma go hide under a rock now XD


    (2)    This was a joke too.  It continues on the whole Buddhist theme here.  There¡¯s a saying in Japanese that goes ¡®a Buddhist prayer on horse¡¯s ears¡¯ (uma no mimi ni nenbutsu).  It means something along the lines of doing something pointless.  It¡¯s kind of (but only kind of) similar to ¡®pearls before swine.¡¯  Takabayashi replaced the ¡®buddhist prayer¡¯ with ¡®The Great Demon Kingdom¡¯s Constitution.¡¯  Anyway, I thought it made sense literally translated so I left it as is ^-^


    *.*.*.*.*.*.*


    I woke to the sound of moaning.


    I freaked out a bit wondering what I would do if it turned out to be a soaking wet girl sobbing in the corner of the room or a horde of fallen soldiers looking at me, but the moaner was the Assassin Girl because her fever had risen.


    Conrad had gone to the ship¡¯s sickbay for some children¡¯s medicine, and I was left alone with the suffering girl in the small cabin.  Because we had asked for a trip where we wouldn¡¯t have to worry about standing out, the cabin was plain as opposed to last time¡¯s luxurious passenger ship¡¯s stateroom.  Because we had turned a double into a room for four, it was kind of like a boarding house.  Wolfram was sleeping soundly in the next bed.  What¡¯s up with the angelic pretty boy snoring with a sound like ¡®Gghgpihh-ghgpihh.¡¯


    The sweat that appeared on the child¡¯s forehead shone in the dim light of the small lamp.  The rolling of the deep black waves spread out on the other side of the round, inset window.  I felt minute vibrations from them like a stronger version of a cell phone¡¯s vibrate function.  If giant squids had a territory fight near the ocean floor, it seems the boat will feel the effects as well.


    The girl who still hasn¡¯t told me her name flipped over in her sleep and turned her back to me.  Her tanned arm was uncovered.  With the intent of fixing her blanket, I grab a hold of Windpipe No. 1 and stand.


    When I caught the flu, for three days I could just barely make it to the bathroom.  It was painful to eat and drink.  I could only eat my mother¡¯s porridge or ice cream.


    ¡°¡­ Ice cream would be great, right?   More than that ¡­ it¡¯d be great if her mother was here.¡±


    Since husband and wife equally take part in raising their children, I guess a father would be okay too.


    ¡°Hey, where are you from?  What house in what country can I give you back to?¡±


    ¡°¡­-ome.¡±


    I thought it was some random babble.


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    With her back still facing me, the girl repeats herself in a hoarse voice.


    ¡°I can¡¯t go back home.¡±


    ¡°Why?   Is it money related?  If you need a train ticket or¡­ ah, there are no trains, huh?  But your parents are probably worried, so I could always just take you back home myself.  Do you  know your address?  Oh yeah, what¡¯s your name?¡±


    To offer to pay transportation fees for the person who tried to kill you¡­  I¡¯m really something else.  The girl clammed up again and, due to her fever, curled herself up into a fetal position as if she were cold.


    Giving up, I move to grab the blanket and cover her exposed left arm.  On her olive-colored, thin shoulder, there was small black writing.  Ten is a really young age to have a tattoo.


    ¡°I¡­¡­ Izu¡­ra.  Is that a name?  Or is that an encouraging word or something?  Izura¡­ sounds like a girl¡¯s name.  Then I¡¯ll call you Izura.¡±


    ¡°No!  Izura is my mother¡¯s name!¡±


    ¡°Then what¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Greta,¡± she said bluntly.  There wasn¡¯t a ¡®my name is¡¯ or a ¡®pleased to meetcha¡¯ or ¡®let¡¯s get along¡¯ or nothing. (1)


    Ah well, for now let¡¯s just do introductions.


    ¡°Greta, I¡¯m Yuuri.  Shibuya Yuuri Harajuku¡­..¡±


    I started to say it out of habit and caught myself.  Here there are no kanji and no Harajuku.  This introduction will never be useful to me again.  I¡¯ll probably never have another chance to use it.


    ¡°No, never mind, just Yuuri is fine.  And, can you tell me your address?  Where do you live?  A cold place?  A city?  If you¡¯re cold, I¡¯ll get another blank¡­¡±


    Without any clear intent, I touched her hair.  I might have been going to pat her head.  I didn¡¯t think anything of it.


    Greta screamed.  It was so loud you wouldn¡¯t even think she was sick.


    ----------------


    (1)    Just wanted to point out that Yuuri says ¡®My name is¡¯ in English here.

 Volume 4 - CH 3

    <-- Previous Chapter


    *.*.*.*.*.*.*


    ¡®Neon-lit Las Vegas, the city without night, ah, Las Vegas of youth, the brief life of Las Vegas.¡¯  I sang a little song of praise to Vegas as the scenery unfolded before my eyes.


    ¡°¡­ but, is this Atami?¡±(1)


    ¡°It¡¯s not ¡®Atahmee,¡¯ it¡¯s Hildyard¡¯s resort town, the world famous pleasure town.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it supposed to be a place where all the pleasures known to man are gathered and where luxury is stretched to the limits?¡±


    ¡°I believe they are all gathered.¡±


    ¡°But, this isn¡¯t anything like Las Vegas!  There aren¡¯t any roller coasters or pyramid shaped hotels or fountains or stages or musicals.¡±


    ¡°Vegas isn¡¯t a city like this?¡±


    Even if he went to America, it seems he didn¡¯t travel the entire country.  This is definitely not the West Coast.  Well, I haven¡¯t been there either.


    Rather than strong old men with slumped shoulders going home from being exploited at the casinos, it seems more suited for guys wearing large kimonos and wooden sandals happily shooting porno writers at a gun range.  Of course, the people who are really walking around here are all blondes and brunettes and their clothes and shoes are all of an other-worldly design and there is nothing Japanese here.  But it¡¯s still like Atami.  I wonder why?


    There are a lot of lively tourists and the touts are shouting enthusiastically from the never-ending shops on both sides of the road.  The buildings are at most three stories high and there isn¡¯t anything taller around.  Here and there are trees that look a bit like small palms that have thin green leaves despite it being winter.  Cats are stretched out randomly on the stone-paved roads.  This may be because of the hot springs, but it¡¯s warm for the season.


    ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s great that we got here safely.  I don¡¯t know how much more of being in that boat I could have took.¡±


    The latter part of the sea voyage was awful.  If I got hungry and went out to the mess hall, I¡¯d hear gossip along these lines: ¡®That¡¯s the guy with the fianc¨¦ with morning sickness and the hidden child,¡¯ ¡®He¡¯s a lot younger than I thought,¡¯ ¡®Having an illegitimate child at that age?¡¯ ¡®Oh, but I wonder who that sort of good-looking man with them is,¡¯ ¡®Isn¡¯t he the father of that illegitimate child?¡¯ ¡®Eh!? Then is that guy a girl even though they look like a guy?!¡¯  And then if I had room service bring me meals in my room, Wolfram sent it all back (half digested).  It was such a horrible two days if it got turned into a one hour special on TV, it¡¯d be called ¡®A Crappy Journey, Feeling like You¡¯re in Hell.¡¯


    Greta¡¯s fever subsided, but now I feel like staying in bed from anxiety.


    ¡°Anyway, I want to check in at the hotel and get in the hot springs as soon as possible.¡±


    At the entrance to town, Conrad pays a bellboy and hands over my trunk.  When I look up, there is a red, Torii-shaped gate in front of me with a round mirror at the top. (2)  Immediately, the second son explains.


    ¡°That is the symbol of the resort town, the Demon Mirror.¡±


    ¡°The Demon Mirror?  Does that mean we¡¯ve discovered another treasure of the demons!?  Should we rip that down and take it home?¡±


    ¡°No, that doesn¡¯t belong to us¡­ look here.¡±


    Diagonal rays of orange light from the setting sun stretched towards the mirror.  I thought they¡¯d get reflected, but the light shined right through it.  In the center of a circular area of the stone paving, several designs appeared with that orange light.  All of the tourists passing by gave a shout of joy.


    It was magical and beautiful.


    ¡°That is the true form of the Demon Mirror here.  At first glance it seems to be a completely normal mirror, but if light hits it from a certain angle it passes through without being reflected and projects several patterns.  I think it¡¯s supposed to have something to do with this country¡¯s god.  In the morning, there¡¯s another pattern on the other side-¡±


    ¡°It all depends on the skill of the artisan.  The quality differs from the demon mirrors belonging to demons who have supernatural abilities.¡±


    Stealing his older brother¡¯s words, the third son lifted his nose in the air.  I suppose that means there are other demon mirrors.


    ¡°Our Great Demon Kingdom¡¯s most valuable treasure, the Demon Mirror of the Water¡¯s Surface, has the beautiful and terrible power to show the true face of anyone who looks into it.  Although, it seems to not be in the kingdom at the moment.¡±


    ¡°We haven¡¯t come here to go looking for that treasure, but to get some treatment from the hot springs, right?  Just to be clear, I¡¯m not searching for any treasure.  I¡¯m here to take it easy soaking in the water and healing my foot.¡±


    And anyway, that whole ¡®true face¡¯ thing sounds like a bunch of crap.  What¡¯s reflected in a mirror is your own face just the way it is.  There¡¯s no ¡®truth¡¯ or ¡®lies¡¯ to that.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.  We came here for the rehab of His Majesty¡¯s foot so we shouldn¡¯t worry him needlessly.¡±


    Dodging the people going in the opposite direction, we head south down the Atami street.  The smells of all the food from the various stores are mixing together to create a complicated stench.  Is it like a new variety of stateless cuisine?


    ¡°¡­ Actually it¡¯s more like over-boiled eggs¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s sulfur.  From the hot springs.¡±


    Oh so that¡¯s what it is.  I¡¯d been thinking it was a really unappetizing smell.


    Coming out of the shopping zone and into the amusement zone, there¡¯s target practice (but with bows and arrows) and ring tossing, and inside the buildings there is drinking and gambling.  In the plaza, there are some wooden buildings and whitish tents.  It makes me remember the circus I was taken to when I was in preschool and couldn¡¯t even tell left from right.  Maybe I was just scared of the make-up, but I dreamt of clowns chasing me.


    A bizarre old man with a protruding belly is yelling while collecting tickets.


    ¡°Hey boys and girls!  Want to go see the freak show?  You won¡¯t be turned into vampires or anything.  You¡¯ll just have a fun thrill before you go home.¡±


    There¡¯s a picture of a monster on a showy billboard with red writing.  It¡¯s a short phrase that even I might be able to read.


    *.*.*.*.*.*.*


    Baths, baths, baths, as far as the eye can see.


    This is a hot spring paradise.  The Super Bath-House and Health Land in my neighborhood just can¡¯t compare.  Several dozen baths surrounded by rocks are lined up neatly and there are so many people coming in and out of all the entrances that you can¡¯t even slip between them.  It¡¯s kind of like there was a hot spring trade fair at the Tokyo Dome.  And they¡¯re all mixed baths.


    ¡°Wow, awesome!¡±


    With just a towel wrapped around my waist, I start walking towards a nearby bath.  I can¡¯t use Windpipe No. 1.  It doesn¡¯t have the miracle cure that the hot spring treatment can provide.  The people already in the bath are around ten women.  They¡¯re blatantly pointing at me and whispering amongst themselves, but I can¡¯t let myself be embarrassed just by that.  The sign said mixed bathing was a go so there¡¯s no need to hold back.


    ¡°Hold on, Your Majesty¡­ I mean, Young Master.¡±


    ¡°I know, I know, first I have to wash off first, right?  I¡¯ve got to be clean before I get in.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not why I stopped you.¡±


    ¡°What are you doing, Yuuri?  That¡¯s a bath for beauty.  What am I going to do if you get even more beautiful?¡±


    Blathering on with his weird aesthetic sense, Wolfram quickly walks away.  I guess baths for bruises and sprains are farther in.  For someone who looks like a prince, the fact that he isn¡¯t even wrapping a towel around his waist isn¡¯t very manly.


    As he walked past me, I caught sight of something like a tail flapping.


    ¡°¡­ No way.¡±


    When I turn around, I see an adorable Greta standing there dressed in a school swimsuit holding a little ducky.  Conrad, in a risqu¨¦ speedo, is holding out swimming trunks for me and laughing.


    ¡°They¡¯re for swimming.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Are you kidding!?  This is a thong bikini!  And it¡¯s mustard yellow!?¡±


    On top of that, there¡¯s tails on the butt part like a tailcoat!?


    This is too embarrassing.  It¡¯d be better to just have my butt out on display!  I tried to protest for a time, but for someone who loves baseball, I¡¯m weak against things that are written in a rule book.  When in Rome, do as the Romans do.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.  If wearing this bikini thong (with tails) is going to heal my ankle, then I¡¯ll just have to think of this all as a lost bet.


    So, I got in the baths in a swimsuit so embarrassing if someone took a picture of me I¡¯d cry.  The bruise and sprains bath is right next to the sword wounds bath and there are five scary old guys bathing there who say nothing to us, but when they stand up, they¡¯re all wearing the same thongs.  It took all I had to not laugh.


    The effects of the hot springs were immense.  Even though I knew it was healing, somewhere in my heart I was still a bit apprehensive about putting weight on my right ankle, but now I can walk firmly on it without the cane.  If I keep this up for three days, then the bones will strengthen.  Even if I have to embarrass myself in front of everyone, I¡¯ll come here just to get in the baths.


    Two hours later, after having my fill of all the baths, I aimlessly walk around the Atami-like town.  In the restaurant zone said to hold tastes from all the corners of the world, I try a Kirdar dish that Lord Weller recommended.  I thought it was baked eel, but when they told me it was actually an insect I worried about what to do (I ate it, though).


    Compared to our rough treatment on the ship, the hotel was first class and comfortable.


    That was due to Conrad kindly changing our reservation to two twin rooms.


    Because it would be a problem if the assassin and the target were paired together, Wolfram and I are in the same room.  It¡¯s the same as usual.


    There were sounds coming from the adjacent room for a while, but by the time my digital analog G-shock told me it was nine, it was completely quiet.  The last thing I heard as I was on my 50th sit-up after throwing my sheets aside was a door shutting and footsteps leading away.


    ¡°¡­ Conrad went out!¡±


    The third son, who had turned off the lamp and was slowly drinking some local wine in the moonlight, showed no interest.


    ¡°Hey, Conrad went out.  I wonder if he went to go see that woman from before.¡±


    ¡°I doubt that.¡±


    ¡°Why?  Even if you are brothers, aren¡¯t you a little too confident?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not interested in that sort of woman.¡±


    When I first came here, he wouldn¡¯t even acknowledge that he was a demon, let alone his brother.  I wonder what changed that he would actually know what sort of woman Conrad preferred.


    ¡°Then what kind of woman does he like?¡±


    ¡°He likes them more pure, or should I say plain, maybe even rude.  I guess... girls like Suzanna Julia.¡±

 Volume 4 - CH 4

    <-- Previous Chapter


    *.*.*.*.*.*


    Just in case, I wait until I can hear Wolfram¡¯s signature ¡®Gghgpihh-ghgpihh¡¯ before I get dressed and leave the room.  I don¡¯t really think I need it, but to alleviate some of my guilt, I bring along Windpipe No. 1.  Wearing round sunglasses at nighttime and a flashy pink knit hat and using a cane even though I can walk perfectly fine, I¡¯m a very suspicious nightwalker.


    I believe that those under 15 shouldn¡¯t be allowed to spend the night somewhere and those 15 and up have a curfew of 11.  By Earth standards it¡¯s only 9:32 pm so it¡¯s perfectly fine to enjoy some light target practice.  Besides, I luckily had some change in my wallet and this is the town where the night never ends, Las Veg¡­ Atami!


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Opening the door at almost the exact same time, a little girl all bundled up comes sneaking out.  She sees me and immediately stops.


    ¡°You¡¯re not¡­ on your way to the toilet, are you?  It¡¯s a little shabby here, but there¡¯s a bath and toilet connected to your room.  So that means, you¡¯re running away?¡±


    Greta silently shakes her head.  I find it hard to believe that a ten year old would sneak out for a night on the town, so I can only assume that the elementary school girl¡¯s leaving is an assassin¡¯s escape.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s fine.  If you¡¯re going to escape, now¡¯s the time to do it¡­ is what I¡¯d really like to say.¡±


    Letting a little girl walk around alone at night and perhaps letting her get involved in some sort of accident is weighing on my conscience.        Pushing open the door, I point to the two empty beds.


    ¡°Go back to your room and go to bed.¡±


    *.*.*.*.*


    Even though he¡¯s a white man no matter how you look at him, he¡¯s got a crew cut and Japanese style twisted headband.  His eyebrows are prominent and scraggly, and his bulging chest is peeking out of his animal hide jacket.  I wonder if he¡¯s gotten all macho-muscled from making noodles every day.


    ¡°Brother, you¡¯re a real man for lending a woman your jacket nei?¡±


    ¡°¡¯Nei?¡¯  Well, I am a man¡­¡±


    Eating ramen on a cold night is appealing, but what was handed to us was a soup that¡¯s hard to call a Chinese dish.  The bowl is filled with amber-colored broth right up to the brim with a shrimp and clam topping and the noodles are 100% semolina flour cooked to a perfect al dente.  The contents of this bowl are¡­


    ¡°¡­. Seafood spaghetti?¡±


    ¡°No, hinomokou.  It¡¯s food they serve at the palace in Zorashia nei.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s palace food!?  But, what¡¯s ¡®nei¡¯¡­¡±


    Deciding children are first, I push the bowl in front of Greta.  I lightly tap the wobbly bench next to me for Izura, who looks like she¡¯s uncomfortable standing.


    ¡°Sit down, Izura.  I¡¯ll buy.  Think of it as thanks for saving us.¡±


    ¡°But-¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s nice nei, seeing a customer treating a prostitute to some warm food.  You¡¯re going to make me cry nei.¡±


    ¡°Prostitute!?¡±


    Maybe because my voice sounded hysteric, Greta raises her face out of the bowl.  The strand of spaghetti she was slurping up is hanging out of her mouth.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you just messing around for some change?  A prostitute is well, you know, a profession, and if you¡¯re in a profession that makes you a pro!?  A professional¡­ uh, sex worker?  A person in the sex industry?¡±


    I wonder if that¡¯s the proper term for it.  From a modern-day Japan, sports loving high school boy¡¯s perspective, I only ever hear the term ¡®prostitute¡¯ in old, drunken songs my father sang.


    ¡°The sex work¡­ or rather, prostitution I guess¡­ even though you¡¯re so young!?  You¡¯re still in your teens, and not even halfway through them yet.  Even if you gain four or five years you still won¡¯t be legal, you know!?  You absolutely should not be involved in sex work or prostitution!  Uh well, minors pursuing jobs in the sex industry will create a problem in the infrastructure of the country¡­¡±


    While I¡¯m spouting out ideals from the side of my personality fueled by middle-class justice, the imagination of the ¡®healthy and dirty-minded 15 year old boy¡¯ side of my personality was going ahead at full speed.  A girl this young and cute doing ¡®this¡¯ and ¡®that.¡¯  Once the image pops into my head, I can¡¯t get it out no matter how hard I try.


    ¡°Anyway, stop that sort of work immediately!  If there¡¯s a problem with your boss¡­ ah damn it!¡±


    I¡¯m so embarrassed I feel like my face is going to light in fire.  I feel like, no I want to explode from my feelings of guilt and disgust.


    ¡°What are you thinking, damn it!?  You should be ashamed of yourself!  In any case Izura, you can¡¯t continue prostituting.  You shouldn¡¯t ever go back to that shop.  If you have nowhere to stay¡­ ah.¡±


    After taking two, three steps back and clasping her hands together, she turns on her heel and runs.  With her athlete-worthy legs, I can¡¯t even see her back after a few moments.  Did she realize her lack of morals or was she just not able to eat my ramen?


    ¡°Clothes,¡± said Greta, her head still turned in that direction.  Wild Goat Girl had run off wearing my jacket.


    ¡°Who cares about the coat!  Ah, I¡¯m horrible!  While I was saying all that, there was some unbelievably perverted stuff going on in my brain¡­¡±


    ¡°Brother, don¡¯t get so down on yourself.¡±


    The old man in the shop, pectoral muscles twitching, gives me some spaghetti soup.  In the middle of the steaming bowl, there was a curled up, scarlet shrimp.


    ¡°You¡¯re a good person nei.  I¡¯m impressed.  At the very least, have some hinomokou poured in this family heirloom, cheer up and get home.¡±


    ¡°Family heirloom?¡±


    It¡¯s a ramen bowl that is clashing with the romantic, swords and magic atmosphere of this world with its bright red, Chinese style patterns.  I imagine if I ate it all, there¡¯d be a dragon painted on the bottom.


    ¡°You might even be able to see your future on the surface of the clear broth.¡±


    ¡°My future?  No way.¡±


    When I casually look down, there¡¯s a woman¡¯s face showing on the surface of the thin, amber broth.  She has short hair and a boyish face and eyes of a strange color I¡¯ve never seen before.


    ¡°Uwah!¡±


    My back straightens reflexively. That¡¯s my future!?  That was a girl¡¯s face, not mine.  So does that mean I¡¯m going to date that girl in the future!?  I can finally get a female girlfriend!?  Well guys can¡¯t be a girlfriend, anyway.


    Glancing to the side, I see Greta peering into my bowl.  Oh, that¡¯s the face that was in my soup.


    ¡°It was you.¡±


    That¡¯s right.  The future isn¡¯t something you can easily understand.  Like I¡¯m going to let some old guy in a ramen stand tell my future.


    Paying with the change in my pocket, we left the hinomokou store.  However, since we ran so much, I have no idea where we are.  I couldn¡¯t see any hints in the dark as to which direction the hotel was.


    Greta has nestled her warm body against mine and is grabbing onto my right hand.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine.  For now, let¡¯s just go towards where there¡¯s light.  Once we get out on the main street, it¡¯ll be easy to figure it out.¡±


    I¡¯ve got Windpipe No. 1 in my left hand and a child in my right.  Luckily, at least my stomach was full so I could walk forward without worries.  The alley gradually widened and we came out into the open.


    Under the high moon and twinkling stars, there are several huge tents lined up.


    ¡°Ah, this place was on the way.¡±


    I looked around for the main street in the circus plaza.  If we can cut through the back way here, it¡¯ll be a straightforward walk back to the hotel.  In the far distance, I can see a bright haze.  The front entrance must be over there.


    ¡°It¡¯s pretty far, but can you walk?¡±


    I can feel her nod through my arm.


    The events for the day seem to have ended and the surroundings are growing quiet.

 Volume 4 - CH 5

    <-- Previous Chapter


    ¡°Why are you suffering, Dacascos!?¡± said the lead monk as he closed the green book.  Perhaps because his face is so hairless, it¡¯s practically emotionless.


    ¡°I¡¯ll confiscate this as well until the last day.  However¡­¡±


    However?


    Both G¨¹nter, who¡¯s almost in tears, and Dacascos, who¡¯s covered in tears, freeze while waiting for the next words.


    ¡°To record the days between you and His Majesty the Demon King as a love story¡­  I feel this is something that a humble servant and body of one who serves the noble soul of the True King shouldn¡¯t say but¡­¡±


    ¡®Then don¡¯t say it!¡¯ Dacascos says in his mind.  There wasn¡¯t really a pause for it though and the mental thought overlaps with the lead monk explaining with a pitying face that all life under the True King is equal, but¡­


    *.*.*.*.*


    As there are all sorts of types who like animals, if there¡¯s someone who deserted Conrad¡¯s troupe after falling into a sand bear hole, then there¡¯s someone similar who¡¯ll be calmed down by being in this room.


    ¡°This is great huh, Greta, it¡¯s a whole bunch of freaky animals.¡±


    From the walls of the room, there are a bunch of beast heads sticking out.  The large ones are deer, bear, hippo.  The small ones are rabbit, ferret, weasel, mink.  They even have them here?


    ¡°¡­ This is¡­ a, a mini stegosaurus, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a zomosagori dragon!¡±


    That¡¯s one of the animals in my limited imitation repertoire.  Dinosaurs are popular with children in any world.


    Dragged from the tent circus true to its name by the scruffs of our necks, the place we¡¯ve been thrown into is a stuffed animal hell.  The cold glass eyes are creepy.  It¡¯s like they¡¯re not thinking anything.


    The door won¡¯t open even if we ram into it or kick it.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± A forlorn voice called from farther in the room.


    I turn around in the weak light.  Huddled together against the curly grained wooden wall are two figures.  One is lying down on the floor, obviously not feeling well.


    ¡°Izura?¡±


    Red-brown eyes turn to me.  The girl lying next to her also opens her eyes slightly to look in my direction.  Thinking she looks familiar, I remember she¡¯s the girl I met this afternoon.  Instead of a blanket, what¡¯s draped over her is the down jacket I¡¯d lent her.  The warmth in my hand leaves me and Greta runs forth and places a hand on Izura¡¯s cheek.


    ¡°Why are you here?  What happened to your face?  Who hit you!?¡±


    ¡°I should be asking about you, mister-¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Yuuri!¡±


    Surprised, I stare at the back of her instant ramen head.  After lowering her voice from a shout, the child repeats my name.


    ¡°It¡¯s Yuuri and Greta.  Right?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yeah.¡±


    She was so uncharacteristically emotional, my response was a little late.  The girl lying down gives a low moan.  Coming closer and looking into her face, I see she looked really bad.


    ¡°Nina¡¯s cold has gotten worse.  I¡¯m fine.  I just got hit because I couldn¡¯t find any customers.  But, I¡¯ll just be in the way until I can appear in the store again.¡±


    In other words, this is the stuffed animal storeroom for Izura¡¯s store, and the counterfeit money I found is deeply related to these people.  As a violent brothel making minors work in the sex trade and creating counterfeit money, they¡¯re like a den of evil.


    ¡°Do you have any medicine?  Her fever hasn¡¯t gone down since this evening.¡±


    ¡°In a cold place like this, you wouldn¡¯t get any better.¡±


    I end up stripping off another piece of clothing for Izura in her slip dress and placing a hand on Nina¡¯s cheek.  Just as I thought with her pale face and dry lips, her skin is hot.


    ¡°Yuuri can heal her.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Hey hey, I thought you were done speaking.  What are you saying now?


    ¡°You can heal her right?  You healed my fever.  You healed it just by holding my hand.¡±


    ¡°Hey now, there¡¯s no way I can perform that kind of spirit healing-type technique.  That was due to the anti-fever medicine. You took some medicine, kept yourself warm and got lots of sleep¡­¡±


    It¡¯s too late.  The three girls are staring at me with hope.  Well, I might be able to at least give them some peace of mind.  If I believe Gisela, it¡¯s not impossible for me.  Remembering what she did, I softly grasp Nina¡¯s pale and dry wrist.  Was it talk to them and draw out their vitality?


    ¡°Um¡­ you have to want to get better.  What do you want to do when your fever goes down?  It¡¯s winter so, that¡¯s right, how about baseball?¡±


    ¡®Is that all you think about?¡¯ I berate myself.


    ¡°¡­ When I get better¡­ I¡¯ll work and get money.¡±


    Maybe it¡¯s because she hasn¡¯t spoken in a while, but her voice sounds hoarse and stuck in the back of her throat.  Her light colored eyes are cloudy with fever.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get lots more customers and I¡¯ll even be able to send money back home.¡±


    ¡°No, aren¡¯t there any better jobs?  You¡¯re still a middle school student so you should go back home and look for work there.  Like at a convenience store or a family restaurant, you¡¯ve gotta find a part-time job suited for girls.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing in Svelera,¡± Izura interjects, hugging her knees.  It was an empty and cold voice.

 Volume 4 - CH 6

    <-- Previous Chapter


    ¡°I knew it as soon as we crossed swords.  He is Gegenhuber.  I don¡¯t know why he¡¯s here though.¡±


    ¡°Hey wait, so you knew he was Hube and you cut him down anyway!?  He¡¯s a demon, and not only that, but someone you know.  You almost killed him without going easy on him at all!?¡±


    ¡°If I¡¯d gone easy on him¡­ I¡¯d have ended up like that.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Greta very patiently continued to press the coin into the casualty¡¯s hand while speaking to him.


    ¡°You know, I did what you said, but the king wasn¡¯t a woman.  But since Yuuri¡¯s a really good person, he said I was his hidden child without even showing him the seal.  So, I¡¯m giving it back to you!  I¡¯m giving it back so please don¡¯t die.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the insignia,¡± Wolfram murmured, holding my elbow in place of the second brother who had to stop his bleeding.


    ¡°That¡¯s probably the insignia passed down through the Grisela family.  If you had something like that, the soldiers would definitely let you pass without question.¡±


    ¡°So, that means he really is Gegenhuber Grisela?  Then why did he try to kill me?¡±


    Did he hate me even though we never met?


    ¡°Uhahahahaa!¡±


    The villainous merchant Luis Biron pointed at me with a laugh that if you gave a survey to a bunch of girls, 8 or 9 out of ten would rate as unpleasant.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need money or women.¡±


    ¡°¡­ What, then you want to just be a little taller?¡±


    ¡°I know what I want you to bet now.  If I can win Mr. Mitsuemon, I¡¯d gladly bet the deed to the western district.¡±


    Why me?  (8**)  I haven¡¯t even revealed since coming in this room that I¡¯m the Demon King.  Then why is Biron pointing at me and laughing with a collector¡¯s expression?


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    I finally realize that my vision is clear and naturally colored and hurriedly pick up my sunglasses from the floor.  It¡¯s too late since the merchant has arbitrarily decided my value.


    ¡°Two people with black eyes and black hair never appear in the same world.  And it¡¯s said that if you boil their bodies and extract the essence and drink it, you¡¯ll gain perpetual youth and be cured of any illness.¡±


    Hey now, am I being treated like a Chinese herbal medicine!?  If you want my leftover bathwater, I¡¯d gladly pump it out for you any time.


    ¡°There are many people around the world who want a Twin Black!  Among them are nobles who would gladly give up an island or two.  They would never be able to stay quiet if I brought a rare beast like that in front of them.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re treating me like a rare beast!?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve decided, Mr. Hyscliff!  If you¡¯re willing to bet this living treasure, I¡¯ll put forward my deed.  This can all be quickly-pon resolved.¡±


    Uuugh and now I¡¯m being called a treasure.  It would be cool if you want to call me the MVP of such-and-such like Ichiro, but when you say ¡®treasure¡¯ in a hot spring town, the only thing I think of is an adult treasure house. (9)


    Even after looking at my black eyes, Mr. Shiny didn¡¯t seem tempted by the villainous merchant¡¯s offer.


    ¡°To be strung along by some baseless folklore and look at such a splendid person as a prize to be won in a bet!  You are a shameless person, Luis Biron!¡±

 Volume 4 - CH 7

    <-- Previous Chapter


    *.*.*.*.*.*


    According to The Hot Springs Doctor (which is a fake-sounding name) who claimed to have never seen demon injuries before, even though they gave him pain suppressants and infection suppressants and all kinds of suppressants and he¡¯s probably not in too much pain at the moment, there¡¯s no guarantee that he¡¯ll survive.


    ¡°Right now, he¡¯s on the bank.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you mean ¡®the brink?¡¯¡±(1)


    After my impulsive and flashy declaration of ¡®I challenge you!,¡¯ we put the near-dead Gegenhuber on a stretcher and left in a fairly plain fashion with a ¡®Well, let¡¯s call it a night.¡¯  It took a while to get back to the hotel and it¡¯ll probably be dawn soon.


    After placing the just barely breathing man on Conrad¡¯s bed, Greta hasn¡¯t left his side.  I was burning with jealousy.  Fathers are childish at times like these.


    ¡°Your Majesty, don¡¯t get close.  If possible, stay with Wolf in the next room.¡±


    ¡°Why?  He doesn¡¯t have the strength to hold a sword anymore.  Even I¡¯m not afraid of getting assassinated by someone so gravely injured.¡±


    ¡°No, you can¡¯t let your guard down.  It¡¯s gotten to the point where I want to record your wimpiness in the Airhead Book of World Records or something,¡± Wolf said as he leaned his head against the wall, his eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep.  Is he praising me?


    ¡°But I just don¡¯t get it.  Why did Gegenhuber target you?  Disregarding the ill will between him and Conrart, he wasn¡¯t against the royal authority.¡±


    ¡°Hube can¡¯t have known that Yuuri was the Demon King.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see.¡±


    Conrad¡¯s eyes above me suddenly cloud over and darken.  The little flecks of silver change their appearance to shine coldly.


    ¡°I am that sort of man.¡±


    ¡°Conrad.¡±


    ¡°If it''s going to endanger you, I¡¯ll abandon Hube.  I am that sort of man.¡±


    The charming, attractive, young, real-life nice guy Conrad.  The man of which everything about is perfect, except for his bad jokes, Lord Conrart Weller.  If a timid person was met with this sort of expression from him, they¡¯d be unable to defy him.


    ¡°¡­ If I wasn¡¯t the king¡­ you wouldn¡¯t have stopped me.¡±


    ¡°Not at all.  If you weren¡¯t His Majesty the Demon King, I wouldn¡¯t have made these irritating explanations and I''d have simply carried you from the room.¡±


    ¡°How long¡¯re ya two gonna go on widdall that complicated talk?¡±


    Half asleep with his eyes half open, Wolfram bites back an indiscreet yawn.


    ¡°Ya¡¯anna heal Gegenhuber with healin¡¯ magic, righ?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not speaking properly.¡±


    ¡°Why ¡®on¡¯t you ask me?¡±


    My powers of comprehension can¡¯t keep up with this unexpected utterance


    ¡°Because Wolf¡­ did you have that kind of skill?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not as skilled as Gisela, but I do have some experience with raising people¡¯s natural healing.  There¡¯s no way I can¡¯t perform a technique that even the likes of you can do.  Because you¡¯re a-¡±


    ¡°Wimp.¡±


    The Pretty Boy gives a satisfied snort and repeats ¡®are you asking me?¡¯  I do so without a second¡¯s hesitation.  I don¡¯t care if he calls me a wimp.


    ¡°Alright Yuuri, watch closely.  This is how you use the healing arts.  Hey Gegenhuber!¡±


    Rather than hold his hand, he grabs his wrist, roughly shakes it around and yells at him.


    ¡°You listening, you injured guy!?   I don¡¯t want to help you, but I am because Yuuri said ¡®please!¡¯  If you live any longer, thank him!  Promise you¡¯ll devote your loyalty to him for the rest of your life!  You¡¯ve got some serious nerve getting seriously injured and making me treat you.  I don¡¯t care if you die, but that woman and Yuuri will grieve.¡±


    After that, he kept piling on the vilification and he even took on the audience¡¯s animosity.

 Volume 4 - CH 8

    <-- Previous Chapter


    The dragon, wide as a reinforced concrete pipe, swallows him whole and sends him down the tube to its stomach.  Right around where ¡®Justice¡¯ was written.  The appearance of the man with his arms flapping around his lower back is not unlike that of a grotesque sea angel.


    ¡°This is strange,¡± Wolfram murmured with a skeptical expression.


    ¡°Dragons?  It¡¯s strange; there¡¯s no way his magic could be so refined.¡±


    ¡°Wolf, I think that¡¯s a bit rude.¡±

 Volume 4 - CH 9

    <-- Previous Chapter


    (2)    Rokkou Oroshi is the theme song for the Hanshin Tigers.  So much baseball!  My mind can¡¯t take it XD


    (3)    Baseball again!  1000 knocks is baseball training.  Someone hits a ball out and they have to quickly catch it and get it back to home base.  This is called ¡®one knock.¡¯  So they do it a bunch of times and it becomes 1000 knocks.  In this case, 1000 is actually a way of saying ¡®endless¡¯ and they don¡¯t actually count or anything, though.  I feel like this series is forcing me to know more about baseball than I want to o.O


    (4)    I realize there¡¯s nothing ¡®un-cute¡¯ about ¡®it is the same¡¯ in English, but in Japanese, it was said in a very boyish way (which is how Wolfram speaks all the time).  The boyishness doesn¡¯t translate at all, though.  Sorry? o.o

 Volume 4 - CH 10

*.*.*.*.*


    *.*.*.*.*


    *.*.*.*.*

 Volume 5 - Prologue

PROLOGUE

 Volume 5 - CH 1

    CHAPTER 1


    "A question, Father."


    "What is it, Yu?"


    "Is there maybe somebody in our family who is anti-alcohol?"


    "No, your mother and I don''t hold ourselves back entirely when it comes to drinking."


    "But then why is there so much alcohol-free beer in our refrigerator?"


    "It''s there for you, of course. Middle school students always feel the need to go behind their parents'' backs to try cigarettes and alcohol, isn''t that right? After all, kids are full of curiosity at your age. But unfortunately, alcohol and puberty don''t go together well at all. It hinders physical development, weakens the brain cells and makes the child lose enthusiasm. That''s why Mama and Papa decided to keep only alcohol-free beer in all the places you could find. I know it''s cold comfort, but anytime you like, I can describe the taste and effects of real spirits to you with words! So, Yu, pay attention now, here goes: glug, glug, glug. Ask me now, right away -- wow, man is that good!"


    In spite of these mean little games of my father''s, I remained abstinent. As an athlete, I didn''t want to put even a single millimeter of potential body height into jeopardy.


    But one fine day, when I have presented myself to the entire world as a baseball player, I''ll enjoy a bottle of beer without restraint. Ah, what a glorious image! I wouldn''t refuse anyone the right to hose me down with fresh beer! Until it burns my eyes and fills my nostrils, until I can''t breathe and have to cough it up... and...


    "Gurgle... hmphaaaaah!"


    Fluid pressed into my head, not just in my nose but also in my ears. It hurt so much I had to close my eyes. I tried to breathe but I couldn''t sense a hint of air anywhere around me. I wanted to struggle, but I found I couldn''t stretch my limbs out at all. When I rose up, my head banged against some kind of obstacle. Where the heck was I?! It felt like someone had locked me up inside a beer keg. And it tasted like that too.


    Oh my god, could it be that it actually was a beer keg?!


    I located a paper thin layer of oxygen in the vicinity of the ceiling, pressed my lips against the wooden lid, and breathed. Full of doubts, I kicked against the walls that closed me in. In truth, the thing was very sturdy.


    I marshaled all my strength and threw myself to the left. The keg lurched to the side. After it had completed three full rotations on its rim, it tipped over. The violence of impact broke it apart with a crash. I found myself gasping for breath on the ground, in the middle of a lake of beer. I wonder if Momotaro, the peach boy, also felt like this?!


    After I had more or less collected myself and was taking in my brightly lit surroundings, a few women immediately caught my eye. They wore ultra-short mini-skirts and blue aprons just like the one I had. They flitted busily here and there between the tables, supporting crockery-filled trays high in the air with both hands. The tables were nearly all occupied. Various shouts came from all around; I couldn''t tell whether they were drink orders or sexual harassment.


    So I had landed in a bar? That was new. In the middle of the room, a group of people had clasped shoulders and were singing a song at the top of their lungs. In the corners sat men who preferred solitude, nursing their beers alone. Someone at the nearest table pointed at me and shouted, "Hey, look! That waiter broke a beer keg! Look here you, we could have drunk that!"


    "Since when does this joint hire male waiters? Hey, what kind of a guy is that, anyway?"


    The red-faced drunk guy stared at me. Shoot! I hastily pulled my cap down over my face. In this world, black hair and black eyes had a certain meaning. It could be dangerous to show them around casually.

 Volume 5 - CH 2

CHAPTER 2

 Volume 5 - CH 3

CHAPTER 3

 Volume 5 - CH 4

    CHAPTER 4


    Without managing a single coherent thought, I passed a wasted afternoon carrying loads at the docks. The heat was not as intense as it had been back at the beach, but the condition of my exhausted body combined with the meditative silence in my brain lead to hallucinations: I felt as if I were on the playing field at the height of summer, training by running from one base to the next. I wasn''t sixteen yet; in the third year of middle school, I was still on the school team. I hadn''t been thrown off the team for letting the coach have it. Along with my underclassmen teammates, I spent my last baseball season of middle school full of enthusiasm. We lost in the semi-finals of the state championship in a close game. And even though I was only a pinch hitter, I howled with disappointment. But of course that kind of summer was just a dream.


    In reality, I had punched the coach and left the team before summer vacation. After that I began my life as an ordinary upperclassman. I kept myself away from baseball and tried very hard not to even think about it. I couldn''t let go of it emotionally, though; it was miserable.


    If I''d only held my anger in check back then, I''d probably be a rookie player on the high school baseball team now. And maybe, if I''d spent every day in training since the early spring, from dusk till dawn, maybe I would never have been flushed away to this world in the first place? Then I also wouldn''t have this fear for my friends'' lives, and the terrible worries of a foreign country wouldn''t rob me of sleep at night.


    "Shibuya!"


    "Hm? What is it?"


    "We''ve got to get in line! Otherwise we won''t get paid."


    As I came back to myself, I realized the temperature had fallen. The gently swaying waves mirrored an impressive sunset. The sea was dowsed with orange light; the heavens glowed purple.


    We took the money we were due from the work we''d accomplished and secured ourselves some new clothing. We also bought undershirts and jackets so we''d be prepared for the sudden cold that could come after sundown.


    The harbor workers were freed from their identical work uniforms. Some carried groceries home, others streamed into the same restaurant from lunch. Presumably it served as a bar in the evenings. Turning our backs to the harbor, Murata and I set off down a street paved with large stones. Houses with faded yellow paint were lined up one after the other to either side of us. In front of the entryways, skinny kids and dogs sat on stone steps. To my relief, they did give the impression of being healthy.


    "Excuse me, where can we find the Japanese consulate?" Murata asked the residents over and over, but no one could help him. No wonder, since there was no Japanese consulate in this country -- there wasn''t even a country called Japan in this world!


    With a heavy heart, I waited for the right moment to let the cat out of the bag.


    "Man, there really doesn''t seem to be a Japanese consulate here at all! But we are in a small town that I''ve never seen on any map before. Makes sense that there''s no Japanese community here. It doesn''t matter, we''ll just have to look for protection from another country. America, England, Germany, whatever."


    "I have to tell you something, Murata."


    "Hmm?"


    "Don''t take it too hard if we don''t find any help at all in the end."


    Murata snorted. "That''s coming from you? You''re the one that''s been moping around the entire time. Okay, so they''re not going to throw us a welcome party, but at least they could notify the Japanese officials. And if not, we''ll just have to take matters into our own hands. They would surely have to let us make one telephone call."

 Volume 5 - CH 5

CHAPTER 5

 Volume 5 - CH 6

    CHAPTER 6


    Lord von Bielefeld paused silently before the mountain of mud. The motions of the soldiers, who had spent the entire night performing the search operation, had become sluggish from exhaustion.


    They had not been able to recover the smallest object that could be matched to the missing persons, neither from the space behind the church nor the territory on the slope affected by the avalanche. There was still only the presumed left arm of Lord Weller that had been found at the beginning. They hadn''t gotten a single step farther.


    If they''d been carried away by the landslide, then why hadn''t the bodies been found? Everything had been dug up. Even if the explosion had ripped them apart, the blue demon stone at least should have been there. Conrad''s sword, a collar pin, a soldier''s boot, something. Yet even though every stone had been turned over twice, nothing had been found. Thus the chances of survival for the two of them were continuously increasing.


    "Hey!"


    At Wolfram''s call, the soldiers lifted their heads from the dirt.


    "As soon as the reinforcements get here, you will be relieved from duty. Until then, take a rest."


    "But Your Excellency, don''t we need to work as fast as possible...?"


    "No. The rain has stopped. The work can wait until mid-day. Morgan, has there been any news from the castle?"


    "No, not since we learned that His Excellency Gunter had regained consciousness."


    "All right. I''m heading back there anyway to try to ascertain the current state of affairs. As for the rest of the search, I''m relying entirely on you.


    "Yes, sir. But Your Excellency...?"


    "What is it?"


    The soldier couldn''t hide his concern from Wolfram, who had jumped up onto his horse smoothly.


    "Please take an escort with you for your protection."


    Although more riders were going in and out than usual, an air of peace lay over Blood Pledge Castle.


    The people could not be allowed to discover that an assassination attempt had been made on the king''s life, and that his life was still feared for. The city lay right at the foot of the castle. Even the smallest sign of disturbance would be noticed by the civilians. One couldn''t be careful enough.


    After riding slowly through the city, Wolfram increased his pace. He passed the castle gate and turned his horse to the north, towards the foothills of the mountains. Spring was on its way, and a delicate green began to line the path. When they reached the mountainside, the animal was exhausted, and further progress could only be made on foot. Silently, Lord Wolfram von Bielefeld tackled the incline.


    Fire burned day and night in the Ancestral Temple of the Original King. Without permission from the priestesses, entrance was forbidden to men. A burly female soldier guarded the entryway.


    "Lord Wolfram von Bielefeld? What is the reason for your visit?"


    "I have a question for the priestesses. I''m coming in now."


    "Please wait, Your Excellency! Even though you are a man of high rank, you can''t enter without an invitation from the Original King or his priestesses."


    "This is an emergency! Out of the way!"


    "But Your Excellency!"


    Shaking off the guard, Wolfram forced his way into the building. His quick steps echoed to the tall ceiling. His swirling hair was mirrored in the highly polished black floor. He had visited this place a few times before, following the laws of etiquette, but this was the first time he''d done so on his own initiative. In the wide hallway, he passed young women keeping a close eye on the intruder. They whispered things to each other with their mouths hidden behind their sleeves. Most of them were still in training to become priestesses and were still wet behind the ears. They still wore their hair at the customary hip length.


    "Your Excellency Wolfram," a voice suddenly called. When he turned around, a young woman with a bowl of fruit was coming towards him. It was Lord von Kleist''s daughter, a talented military doctor. She looked different than usual: her hair was up and she wasn''t wearing a military uniform. Her green eyes darkened with concern as she gently reprimanded the colleague she''d known since childhood.


    "What''s happened? Men aren''t allowed to enter the temple without permission and an escort."


    "Gisela, I''m in a hurry. What are you doing here, anyway? You''re obviously not on duty."


    "That''s true. After my father''s life was saved, I wanted to pray for the safety of His Majesty and Conrad... I mean, His Excellency Conrad."


    Even though Wolfram now found himself in the company of a woman, he would never dream of slowing his pace. This inconsiderate behavior was one of the reasons he wasn''t particularly sought after by the opposite sex. Gisela, on the other hand, didn''t place great importance on the special treatment of women, and so they hurried forwards together at a soldier''s tempo.


    The deeper into the Ancestral Temple they pressed, the higher the rank of the priestesses they came across. They became aware of younger girls at the side of the hallways and behind the doorways, hanging their heads. The collective sadness seemed strange.


    "It seems to have hit them very hard that the priestesses lost track of His Majesty," said Gisela.


    Just before the entrance to the inner sanctum, a female soldier barred his way again. Behind this door lived Ulrike, the highest and oldest of the priestesses; the receiver and herald of the venerable word of the Original King.


    "The Oracle Priestess Ulrike receives no one."


    "This is an emergency!" Wolfram barked at her, but she didn''t so much as bat an eyelash. Although she didn''t appear to be particularly athletically built, she made no move to retreat even one step back from Wolfram.


    "Holing yourself up in there just because you botched Yuri''s return trip is pointless!" Wolfram roared. "Open the door immediately!"


    "Your Excellency! You could be a little more considerate," Gisela commented.


    "Do you want money? A financial sacrifice? Is that it? If so, name your price! I''ve had enough!"


    "Your Excellency! That''s a shameful sacrilege against our priestess! Venerable Ulrike! Please answer as quickly as possible! This person might dare to break down the door!"


    Wolfram''s pent-up feelings discharged in a powerful explosion. His threats had such an intimidating effect that even the guard looked down at the floor.


    "I''m going to break down this door here and now! I make no promises! If you drive me to it, I''ll even use magic right here in the Ancestral Temple!"


    Wolfram was out of breath; Gisela pushed him to the side and called out in a friendly voice, "Venerable Ulrike! Please open the door and tell us the whole story. Otherwise, this maniac will give you no peace. Venerable Oracle Priestess, you can trust me. I will personally vouch for your safety. I won''t allow him to harm even a single hair on your head."


    The stone double doors opened a fraction and through the gap, silver hair was visible. It was Ulrike.

 Volume 5 - CH 7

    CHAPTER 7


    Flynn Gilbit''s story dragged on for an eternity. We had to suffer through six whole years of her life. But people can demonstrate remarkable staying power when a beautiful woman is making a passionate confession.


    "The parliament will deal with Norman Gilbit''s death," the representative from Small Simaron eventually said. "But back to my original concern: Norman... no, Flynn Gilbit, is it true that you have spoken out against Small Simaron''s war plans and independently launched an anti-war movement?"


    "Absolutely not," was her answer.


    I was a little disappointed. Damn it, was there not a single, solitary pacifist around here?


    Maxine wasn''t convinced. "Then how do you explain the rumors about Gilbit?"


    "Which rumors?"


    Maxine helped himself to my chair, sat down, crossed his long legs and said, "I''m talking about the Wincott Poison."


    And so once again here in this foreign country, Julia''s family name became the topic of conversation. When Adalbert -- supposedly her ex-boyfriend -- heard this name, his eyebrows twitched slightly.


    "We heard that someone wanted to turn certain people into unwilling marionettes with the aid of this Wincott Poison."


    "Well, would you listen to that! And who might that be, if I may ask?"


    Despite the heavy accusations, Flynn responded with cold-blooded composure. Her delicate voice was long gone. Now she spoke like a true ruler.


    "That is precisely what we wanted to learn from you. The Wincott clan moved to the west long ago and settled in the Demon Empire. But we suspect the original poison is still to be found within these walls. Has it ever left this estate? Was it perhaps even sold?" Maxine demanded.


    Flynn tilted her head slightly to the side. The corners of her mouth formed a smile. Her beauty attracted all gazes straight to her.


    "But of course the Wincott Poison is stored in our cellars. And for the right price, we are always prepared to hand it over to a third party. Naturally, that includes you, Sir Nigel Weiz Maxine."


    Maxine''s lips contorted savagely amid his extravagant facial hair. Apparently, being addressed with his full name by Flynn Gilbit really rubbed him the wrong way. "Then why don''t you tell us who the last purchaser was?" he said.


    Meanwhile, Butler Baker sat in his chair again, and the maid who had taken such good care of him served tea.


    "I''m sorry. I''m not able to give you the answer to that question," Flynn said.


    Without her mask, she gave the impression of being extremely determined. Every sign of insecurity had vanished. She even took on a threatening attitude. In the three years of ruling under the mask, her face had surely looked exactly like it did in this moment.


    "You can''t escape me that way, my dear. It is the duty of a vassal state to answer to the colonial power."


    "You are beasts that take the form of men. Wolves should quarrel with wolves and foxes with foxes. Driven by greed you seek out human settlements, you shameless fools! This clever girl carries out her duties with a smile. And you dare to harm even a hair on the head of this enchanting creature?!"


    Those who were witnessing this display for the first time were speechless with terror.


    "With deadly poison, you play your game. And only for the question of its whereabouts was this brave person harmed. Doing nothing to stop this evil -- that is appalling. Should it be that such creatures come away unpunished? No, it should not."


    He pointed at the shocked duo of Flynn and Maxine in turn. He stepped forward on his toes and turned his side towards them. This supermodel pose had become second nature to him.


    "You are barbarians! Though it is repugnant to me to misuse such a valuable drink that should instead delight the palate, this evil must be detoxified. My wish was not to take lives, yet you leave me no choice. My sword will strike you down!"


    Although there was always some drivel about a sword from this guy, he had never made use of one.


    The broken teapot''s spilled contents, along with the remnants of tea in the teacups that had dropped to the floor, all flowed together into a large puddle.


    "W... what is that?!"


    Out of reflex, Flynn lifted her feet off the floor. Still sitting on her chair, she wrapped her arms around her knees like a child.


    Maxine, the other target of this punishment, assessed the situation in a more relaxed manner. What he was seeing for the first time in his life was the so-called "magic." The sight of it might be nauseating, but there were also some exorcists who let themselves be carried away into tasteless acts.


    Adalbert had torn the heaving maid out of Maxine''s grip. His attention was focused much less on the pool of tea slowly taking on humanoid form, and much more on the faintly glowing blue demon stone on Yuri''s chest. But that stone belongs to the Wincott family, he thought. Susanna Julia had always worn it, ever since birth. What was it doing hanging around the neck of this lout? Who the hell had given him Julia''s demon stone?!


    The red liquid, which had by now formed a veritable lake, stilled for a moment, resembling the surface of a calm sea. Everyone breathed out. But even before they could breathe in again, the liquid drew itself up into a human shape that nearly grazed the ceiling. With the four fingers of its hand, it formed a pistol and pointed it directly at Flynn and Maxine.


    "W... what? An angry tea-god?!" exclaimed Murata, the only one standing behind Yuri. He was undecided as to whether it was something to fear or something to laugh at.


    Again and again, the tea god fired red shots out of its fingertips at its targets. Fear was written across the faces of those being fired upon. To a casual observer, the whole thing might have looked like a fun game. Perhaps the Demon King was holding himself back, since there were few true villains in this arena.


    "The judgement will be enforced in a small scope!"


    Red liquid sprayed forth; both targets were soaked. For Maxine, every drop became a blade, and they saturated his arms and cheeks with cuts. The drops bombarding Flynn were about the dimensions of raindrops. She wouldn''t even get bruises from them. Thus, the Demon King remained ever the gentleman, even in undeserved cases.


    Adalbert snatched up a receipt that had fallen from the apron of a servant who had fainted.


    Why was it that Yuri was able to use magic on human territory? There really shouldn''t have been any elements in this small town that would obey the demons.


    Soap, de-wormer, black tea (from Kakil), he read. Aha! Kakil lay on the border of the Demon Empire. That''s why this black tea obeyed the orders of a demon.


    Meanwhile, Shogun Yuri seemed to be missing something. He looked all around searchingly. "Oh well, it doesn''t matter." He gave a resigned sigh, apparently not finding what he''d been looking for.


    But it was there! In the middle of the snow white tablecloth, a tea stain had formed the character for "justice."

 Volume 5 - CH 8

    CHAPTER 8


    Total chaos reigned in Flynn Gilbit''s dining room. Walls, ceilings, and even the window frames were completely drenched. The room was filled with the aroma of tea.


    But what was with those tattered rags that were crawling across the floor? It was a thoroughly cut up Nigel Weiz Maxine. Propping himself against a wall, he was finally successful in pulling himself upright. With a blood-smeared face, he looked down at me.


    "Don''t come too close!"


    Maxine pressed the back of his head against the wall. With his eyes closed, he tilted his head back. "I don''t have any serious wounds. It''s quite impressive that you were able to inflict these precise cuts on me. But who the devil are you? You seem to be a colleague of Adalbert''s."


    "A glance at his hair and eyes should be enough to answer that question," Adalbert grumbled.


    Only now did I notice that my cap had been torn from my head. It was lying in a corner. Murata picked it up and tugged it down over my skull.


    "So his hair and his eyes are black," murmured Maxine. After reaching his conclusion, he looked meaningfully in another direction. He''d probably had it up to his eyeballs with me already.


    Adalbert raised his hand as if to clap a good friend on the back.


    Mutely I turned away, seeking open spaces, but I was held fast by the shoulder.


    The man who once wanted to put the brand new Demon King on ice was highly amused by my rash behavior -- just like back then, when we met for the first time.


    "Captain Crusoe, if I''m not mistaken? I''ve got a couple questions for you."


    "I don''t want anything to do with you," I said. "Gunter and Conrad advised me not to get involved with you!"


    "Gunter and Conrad, aha. Where have those two got to? What is an inexperienced guy like you doing hanging around an area so far removed from the Empire, with an even more inexperienced comrade in tow?"


    Since the conversation had come around to him, Murata answered in a genial, conversational tone: "Oh, pleased to make your acquaintance -- I''m Robinson. I was in the same class as Crusoe in the second and third year of middle school."


    "Are you also a demon?"


    "Excuse me? A demon? Well, yes, I do have a modem at home."


    It''s a good thing his hair was bleached. It was just about impossible to tell that his hair had been black originally.


    I finally brought myself to ask Adalbert a question: "Why are you in cahoots with this homicidal maniac?"


    "Homicidal? Him? Nah, he''s just got a few bad habits."


    Murata had been watching us for a while with a smile. Now he clapped us both on the shoulder. "Well, look at that! In spite of the age difference, you two get along with each other just great! That''s a really nice story. Two people from different nations celebrating a grand reunion in a foreign country. What karma! Maybe you were teammates in previous lives. It could be, right?"


    "Mu... Murata... please..." I stuttered.


    I found it hard to believe there could ever be a team, in this life or any other, that would have room for the both of us.


    Suddenly, Adalbert grabbed me by the neck and stuffed his hand down my collar. He was after the demon stone that had belonged to his previous fiancee. The demon stone changed color just slightly in his hand.


    I screamed.


    My whole body was in pain. Something was tearing my arms and legs apart. Blood sprayed from my fingers. All my fingernails felt like they were being torn out. My spine was bent backwards. My head hung from my neck as if it were going to fall off at any moment. I was yanked back by the hair. Something shot hot and cold through my throat, my windpipe, and my intestines. Claws gripped at my heart and my head felt like it was on fire.


    But I wasn''t screaming in pain. I was screaming in anger.


    One half of my field of vision was snow white, the other clear as glass. It was as if four rifle scopes were attached to my head. It seemed to me that I was in the center of a powerful sea. Through the pressure of the surging waves, everything was washed in water. The all-encompassing destructive frenzy of the waves swept the world away, but I myself was surrounded by a man-height, soft, clear wall.


    There was something at my hips; it had grabbed onto me. I had to make sure it found shelter inside my protective wall. Otherwise the raging storm would immediately engulf it, throw it against a cliff, and crush it. And if it was no longer with me, I would lose the power to scream. And if I couldn''t scream any more, my anger would go away, and without my anger, I wouldn''t be who I am.


    She walked along with bare feet.


    The third story had been almost completely destroyed, even windows and walls had been broken through. Water fell from the ceiling to the floor unceasingly.


    This was how it had been in the flood of the century, when the whole estate had been flooded. But no, if she remembered correctly, the water had only reached the second story then. The stone walls and ceilings had held out. Only the window panes and wood frames had been destroyed. It was nothing compared to the doomsday scenario that was playing out before her eyes at this moment.


    When one wants to bring the entire world under their power, many things will stand in their way.

 Volume 5 - CH 9

    CHAPTER 9


    The three Viyah Islands were situated at the western edge of the territory ruled by Simaron. Ships sailed from Van Noh Viyah towards the motherland. Wolfram asked himself how far this trip was meant to go -- presumably they all had the same goal.


    At long last, Wolfram loosened his right fist. Inside lay the small shell design, moist with his sweat and half burned to black. Perhaps Gisela needed this object more than he himself did.


    "This cuff link belonged to Conrad," he said.


    "It''s from his arm?"


    "Yes. If you''d like to have it..."


    Gisela took it between her fingertips, lifted it up to the light, and examined its shape. Then she laid it back in the hand of the younger brother.


    "I think you are laboring under a misunderstanding, Your Excellency," she laughed joyfully, which she hadn''t done for a very long time.


    "Misunderstanding?"


    "You surely think I have a certain kind of feelings for His Excellency Conrad, isn''t that so?"


    "Am I wrong then?"


    She swung herself light-footedly into the saddle and rode ahead.


    "I once gave a promise to a friend of mine that I want to make good on now. That''s all."


    Who was this friend supposed to be? And what kind of a promise? She surely didn''t mean Yuri -- or did she?


    Wolfram snatched the horse from a soldier who had been heading for the stables, and rode after the traveling party.

 Volume 5 - CH 10

CHAPTER 10


    In my dreams, Gunter and Conrad were doing well. Only I stood alone in a faraway place. A song was coming from the box in my hand. But when I held my breath and pricked my ears, it was only the cry of the wind.

 Volume 6 - Prologue

PROLOGUE

 Volume 6 - CH 1

ode down a street so broad that all kinds of carriages could speed down it comfortably at high velocities. Thanks to the evenly-laid paving stones, the swaying was held more or less to a minimum. Although the trip had already lasted four days, my backside didn''t hurt that badly.

 Volume 6 - CH 2

CHAPTER 2

 Volume 6 - CH 3

CHAPTER 3

 Volume 6 - CH 4

CHAPTER 4

 Volume 6 - CH 5

CHAPTER 5

 Volume 6 - CH 6

    Hi!  Long time no see!  I finally got around to doing chapter 6 of Itsuka Ma no Tsuku Yuugure Ni! (Someday in the Ma!Twilight!  aka ItsukaMa), Novel 6!  To be honest, I didn''t really like this chapter because Yuuri was irritating me so I was dragging my feet with it... BUT! The main reason this took so long was because this came in the mail recently:[Picture Spoiler].  Please excuse the Instagram quality.


    ¡°Speak to me, Murata!  Tell me everything!  Hey, he was a guy that looked like an awesome fencer, right?  He was a guy that¡¯s ridiculously charming and the girls would all love and, you know, is like a handsome supporting actor in a romance film that you can really relate to, right?  Hey, that¡¯s right isn¡¯t it!?  Who did he look like?  What famous guy did he look like?¡±


    ¡°Hm, I didn¡¯t really get a good look.  The candlelight was dim and I¡¯m afraid of rats and I was nervous and shaky since it was my first night¡­ maybe Bergkamp?¡± (7)


    I forget to even comment on that.


    ¡°Tell me a baseball player, please.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Uhhhh¡­  I gueeeeess then¡­ Kakefu?¡±


    Murata, are you Kunihiro Matsumura? (8)


    But Conrad¡­


    Gazing at the stars above me, I listen to Ken Murata drowsily prattle on with his soccer lingo as he drifts off to sleep.


    If that¡¯s true, then why aren¡¯t you here?


    (1)    This is an extension of the loooooong (and awesome) joke that Murata was doing when he was being ¡®Tokyo Magic Robinson¡¯ in chapter 3.  The Tokyo Comic Show was a comedy/magic act.  Here¡¯s a vid on Youtube.  It¡¯s not subbed, but I think it kind of makes the Magic Robinson scene funnier if you know what the dude looks like. OH, and this is the background music that Murata was providing himself with.   The German version neglected to mention that he was doing that right before he fell on his face.  Chalalalalaa- uwah! BAM! XD  ¡­ Ahem, the show came out a year before Murata and Yuuri were born (this is the reason why Yuuri kept on wondering how old Murata was in that scene).  ANYWAY, the only things that they¡¯ve said so far are ¡®Tokyo Magic Robinson¡¯ and ¡®Tokyo Comic Romantica¡¯ (which was another joke and Flynn wasn¡¯t even around when they said that) so yeah, they¡¯ve got every reason to be completely floored that Flynn said ¡®Tokyo Comic Show,¡¯ especially since all of these words are in English XD


    (2)    He¡¯s talking about this song.  The original song is Molly Darling.


    (3)    Okay, I have to admit, this is the first celebrity related joke in this series that made me laugh. Akiko Wada and Aya Matsuura are both singers.  I made their names links to songs they sing.  Fun fact:  That Aya Matsuura song was released a few months after this book.  I was on exchange in high school at the time and I heard that damn song so many times I wanted to gouge my ears out.  Could not go ANYWHERE without hearing it!  That yellow/orange poofy dress thing brought back bad memories XD


    (4)    Why yes, Yuuri did just use Luis Biron¡¯s ¡®-pon¡¯ from novel 4.


    (5)    This is yet another Mito Koumon joke.  At the end of just about every episode, he¡¯d raise up his medicine case and declare who he was, after some huge fight, of course.  Kind of like Sailor Moon¡¯s ¡°I¡¯ll punish you¡± speech¡­.  I can¡¯t believe I just compared Mito Koumon and Sailor Moon XD


    (6)    This is the song from the first footnote~  El Bimbo, or ¡®Oriibu no Kubikazari¡¯ in Japanese, is the song Murata was singing in chapter 3 when he was being Tokyo Magic Robinson.


    (7)    Dennis Bergkamp.  Soccer player from Amsterdam.  Here¡¯s his Wikipedia page.


    (8)    Combined footnote!  Masayuki Kakefu is a former baseball player for the Hanshin Tigers and is now a commentator.  His commentating style has a lot of drawn out syllables.  Kunihiro Matsumura is a comedian famous for his impressions and his impression of Kakefu is one of his better known ones.  So, since Murata was drawing out his speech, it sounded like he was doing an impression of Kakefu.

 Volume 6 - CH 7

    <--Previous Chapter


    *.*.*.*.*


    It¡¯s already been half a day since he altered the advance party¡¯s trajectory to head towards the Calorian border.  The fastest group had already landed in Small Shimaron.  Also, the two units who had quickly went around the Gilbit harbor town should have started gathering information in the autonomous region of Caloria.


    Lord von Voltaire had headed down to the research room from hell in order to tell Greta the news.  However, why exactly does he have to keep visiting that place?  Since he¡¯s in charge of the investigation and is supervising all the soldiers in this state of emergency in absence of the king, it¡¯s strange that he¡¯s constantly going to report all of the insignificant details personally.


    Next time, he¡¯s going to call them to his office.  Gwendal decides this as he pushes open the door.


    The soundproofing is perfect as always.  As soon as the heavy doors opened, really loud noises drift out.


    ¡°Ngaah!  That¡¯s not fair Anissi-agh!¡±


    It¡¯s the scream of a child crushed to death.  Thinking she might be committing abuse, he runs into the room, but it was just the descendant of the Wincotts, Lindsey, getting his nose pinched until it turned red.


    *.*.*.*.*


    His body just won¡¯t get used to civilized living after such a long time.


    ¡°¡­ These clothes are somewhat prickly.  But I only spent a little time naked¡­ at this rate, His Majesty will come to hate me.  His Majesty likes me better when I wear clothes.¡±


    ¡®You tried otherwise!?¡¯ was what only one person retorted in their mind.


    His speech patterns have completely returned to normal.  Lady von Karbelnikoff, knowing nothing of restraint or going easy, had reinserted his jaw bone.  Completely dressed, Lord von Christ returned to the headquarters of Blood Pledge Castle for the first time in ten days.  He starts spouting off little words of wonder.


    ¡°Ah¡­ my office I haven¡¯t been at for a while, the castle air I haven¡¯t breathed in a while¡­ achooachooachooachoo ACHOO!  The dust- achoo!  Damn it all!¡±


    Or not.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that it¡¯s sad that His Majesty isn¡¯t here, it¡¯s sad that I can¡¯t be by His Majesty¡¯s side.  Ah, Your Majesty¡­ I offer up the 72nd song of praise of Your Majesty¡­ His Majesty that loves winter, the something something person~¡±


    He¡¯s horribly messing up the lyrics.


    Gwendal clicked his tongue.  Where did all that determination from before go?  With him like this, becoming Real G¨¹nter won¡¯t change anything, will it?  Greta, who had been sticking her head out the door, quickly drew her head back in.


    ¡°Someone¡¯s coming!  They¡¯re carrying something huge.¡±


    ¡°Your Excellency!  I am reporting without delay!¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    It seems that the guard knows which one of them is safer to receive their orders from.  The guard who had run up out of breath kneels in front of Gwendal and showed him his back.  What he was carrying was a limp model skeleton on the verge of death.


    It was an Ubasuteyama with an uneasy conscience. (1)


    This was the first time the heir of the von Wincotts, Lindsey, had seen one of the tribe so he was really excited.


    ¡°Please excuse my rudeness.  He¡­ this flying skeleton has passed its limits with its continued mind connection and has exhausted itself into immobility.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine.  Just tell me the facts.¡±


    ¡°Frankly, one of the members of the tribe¡­ Um, I can¡¯t really understand it well.  It said it received words from His Majesty.¡±


    ¡°Words?  Did it meet him directly?¡±


    ¡°It seems so.¡±


    ¡°And just what was it told?¡±


    The soldier tilted his head to the side and turned his face to his back and the skeleton made a noise like air being let out.


    ¡°He said ¡®evenin.¡¯¡±


    That¡¯s a greeting, probably.  Lord von Voltaire sits at the desk he¡¯s become accustomed to and waves his right hand for the soldier to continue his report.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll translate¡­ member, of tribe, His Majesty, saw.  Travelling, he was, river, by boat.¡±


    ¡°Not the direct translation.  Please translate it liberally.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir.  My father¡¯s father¡¯s father, a relative of a far lineage, departed on a journey on a flowing river.  He partook of alcohol with a comrade and exchanged the stories of their lives.  The river divides the land and flows to the vast ocean.¡±


    The Flying Skeleton Tribe is quite poetic.  All present in the room make this new discovery.


    ¡°This fortuitous meeting in a strange land was heard on the tidings of the wind by a friend.  Those beautiful black eyes gazed fondly upon our ghastly visage.¡±

 Volume 6 - CH 8

    <-- Previous Chapter


    ¡°No.¡±


    Arms thin yet filled with life, along with the heat characteristic of children, wrapped around the adult¡¯s back.


    ¡°Yuuri would hug me tighter.¡±


    The reborn Lord G¨¹nter von Christ sniffed discreetly so no one would notice.  He pretends to be oblivious as he walks past everyone and stands in front of Gegenhuber.


    ¡°Even if others say they do not want to listen¡­¡±


    The man¡¯s right eye looked up at the beautiful royal advisor.


    ¡°I will listen to you.  Even if everyone becomes disgusted and leaves the room.  Assuming that this is in fact for the sake of the king and the kingdom and for the sake of us demons.¡±


    Yes, my place of work is here.


    There is no one else besides me who can support the king by serving at his side for the sake of the kingdom, the demons and even for myself.


    --------


    (1)    Language note!  The word for ¡®relative¡¯ here is a word that is used when that relative is someone you have to support and it has the implication that this person is being an encumbrance and a burden to you.


    (2)    Another language note!  Hube uses a really old form of ¡®I¡¯ that samurai used to use, ¡®soregashi,¡¯ and he actually does speak very much like a samurai.  I wanted to point this out because this is the third samurai-like thing with Hube.  The first time was him disguised as a komusou, then there was the old-timey way of saying ¡®I¡¯m in your debt¡¯ (that Yuuri isn¡¯t sure if he actually said or not), and now soregashi.  Samurai Hube!


    (3)    Greta struggled with the word ¡®cute¡¯ in English here so I figured I¡¯d just make it the Japanese word for ¡®cute¡¯ (kawaii) to get the same effect.


    *.*.*.*.*


    I believe you know that I continued to search for the Demon Flute without returning to the kingdom by the order of His Excellency Gwendal.  The result is that I discovered a piece of the Demon Flute in Svelera, buried one piece in a grave in place of the corpse of an infant and another I entrusted to an acquaintance I met on my travels.


    However, I was in no way satisfied with the fact that the Demon Flute was in an esoteric stone excavation site.  Why should the pride of the demons not only be in the middle of a rock formation full of esoteric stones, but also stored deep within it?  I¡¯d think that the esoteric stones that aid the human¡¯s techniques would not be compatible with the Demon Flute that is said to be the embodiment of magic itself.


    If you think that it passed through the hands of blasphemous fellows buying and selling treasures, it¡¯s strange that it was deep within such a place.  It would be appropriate to assume that it was in the treasure vault of a collector.


    On the contrary, if it was in that place ever since some unknown person took it out of the kingdom two hundred years ago, it¡¯s possible that someone intentionally hid it in that rock in Svelera for an important purpose.  I was consumed by such thoughts and wandered in search of the reason.


    At that time, the kingdom of Svelera had put much effort into the procurement of their esoteric stones for the betterment of the kingdom and many of the unemployed citizens began to work in the mines.  I¡¯d even heard that the raw ore of superior quality had a mysterious nature and could only be handled by women and children.


    That was another strange thing.


    *.*.*.*.*


    Grasping the magic stone that warmed at my chest, I gazed upwards.


    The sky above the Longalbalu river was a light grey and completely different than the stone¡¯s Lion¡¯s Blue.  It feels like I haven¡¯t seen a clear sky in forever.  I wonder if it¡¯s the normal weather for this place.  The young salesman from Copperfield¡¯s had also said it was a strange sky.


    ¡°With this slow flow, it seems it will take about three more days to get to the mouth of the river.¡±


    Flynn, done with her never ending tea party with Commander Mountain Range, quietly sat down next to me.  She adjusts the front of her leather jacket.  I wonder if it¡¯s a bit too heavy for a girl.


    ¡°Those men are unfortunate.  They were born in different places, but they were all rounded up for the dispute with Small Shimaron and when the battle ended, they were treated as prisoners from a defeated army.¡±


    ¡°In that situation, isn¡¯t there a way to swap prisoners of war?  Weren¡¯t there negotiations to return the Shimaron soldiers captured by the¡­ other country?¡±


    ¡°We did.¡±


    That¡¯s right.  Her country, Caloria, was beaten by the same country and forced to become their territory.


    ¡°Norman desperately negotiated to get back the soldiers left behind in battle.  It was a battle that was completely defensive so the only ones sent into enemy territory were intelligence scouts and there weren¡¯t many of them, but¡­ it was futile.  In the end, we were the defeated country and we couldn¡¯t raise an objection against the victor.  The prisoners of war from Shimaron in Caloria were all sent back, but the ones who returned here were only a lucky few¡­ I¡¯m sure it was similar for other countries.  And even now there are men like them within Shimaron who are enduring outrageous manual labor and treatment.¡±


    Flynn rested her chin on her knees and gazed at the river¡¯s flowing surface.  She looks at least five years younger holding her knees sitting here than when she was in the estate covered in extravagant clothing.


    ¡°¡­ It¡¯s horrible, war.  I hate it.¡±


    ¡°I do too.¡±


    Since she spent her youth in an organization like the Plainsmen, she is fully knowledgeable of the life of a soldier.  She¡¯s definitely far more knowledgeable about how those men will act in an emergency and how they are treated than ladies in other countries who live in castles.  Of course, more than me, a Japanese person, as well.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m taking you to Big Shimaron.¡±


    Now that she¡¯s talking about me, I hurriedly turn away from watching the shadows of the fish in the river.  At the stern of the boat, Murata is struggling with his fishing rod and is yelling ¡°I got a big one!¡±


    ¡°I promised I would explain properly, didn¡¯t I?  I¡¯ll tell you everything, no lies.  Once you hear it, you may think it¡¯s a joke.  Or, you may even approve of it.  But whichever way it turns out, I can¡¯t just keep leading you around without telling you the reason.  If I did, I¡¯d end up just like Lord Saralegi¡­ I don¡¯t want to be like him.¡±


    I¡¯d heard the name ¡®Saralegi¡¯ before.  He¡¯s the king of Small Shimaron.  The large text in the two page ad says he¡¯s very much not like an idol.  Like, he sleeps with both eyes open?


    ¡°Although Caloria is autonomous, it is a territory of Small Shimaron.  If they are going to fight with the demons, then we have no choice but to abide by that.  They¡¯ll take our goods and fortune and, most importantly, they¡¯ll steal all of our young lives¡­ I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re away from your country, but you were born amongst the demons, right Captain?  The Wincotts are one of the founding families of the nation, after all.  What about your country¡¯s soldiers?  Are they also enlisted at 12?¡±


    ¡°No way!¡±


    Since Wolfram, at the age of 82, looks the same age as I do, I can¡¯t even imagine what a pure demon at the age of 12 would even look like.  I¡¯ve heard that they decide their lives at 16, so I¡¯m sure they¡¯re allowed to be children until that point.


    ¡°Yes, the swords are too heavy for them to even lift at age 12.  But 12 year old boys are disappearing from Caloria¡­ and from the port town of Gilbit as well.  In order for them to become splendid Shimaron soldiers, they¡¯re called together every year.  I didn¡¯t want to see that anymore.  I also hated that the children who were already taken would be sacrificed after the war started.  It¡¯s probably a sentiment that a military man wouldn¡¯t understand.  It¡¯s okay if you call me effeminate.¡±


    ¡°¡­ I think so too.  I¡¯m always saying that we can¡¯t have people dying in war.  I¡¯ll say it as much as I need¡­ Right now, you¡¯re calling me a captain, but in reality¡­ in reality¡­¡±


    I¡¯m the Demon King.  But I can¡¯t say that.  I¡¯m not really someone called Captain Crusoe.  I¡¯m not really a descendant of the Wincotts!


    ¡°A secret messenger from Big Shimaron came with a proposition.  The Wincott poison is supposed to be in the recesses of the Gilbit Estate.  They wanted that terribly.  Furthermore, they were in a great hurry.  It is the only substance in the world that will let one control another at will.  If a body is afflicted by that poison, it will become a puppet of the descendants of the Wincotts.  Whether it¡¯s alive or not.  I gave them that poison.  In exchange for the lives of the Calorian soldiers.¡±


    ¡°Their lives?  What sort of deal was it?¡±


    ¡°Big Shimaron negotiated with Small Shimaron and reduced the military allotment of my country.  Of course, the fact that a secret agreement took place was not brought to light and it was supposedly to deal with the lack of workers loading and unloading cargo at the harbor which they have joint ownership of.  The child soldiers returning to us are, in reality, very few, but those children were freed.  Soon, the second group will come back.  They no longer have to go to battle.¡±


    Flynn smiled a heartfelt smile that looked almost motherly.  It¡¯s indicative of the fact that she had thoroughly thought out how she was going to raise her children even though she didn¡¯t have any with Norman.


    Murata fishes up a boot.


    ¡°But then why did the bigger Shimaron want the Wincott Poison?  Why did they want something like that?  What could they want to do by turning someone into a puppet¡­ Oh hey, it looks like we changed directions.¡±


    At the end of the ship, there¡¯s an apparatus for setting the ship¡¯s orientation that the helmsman operates.  Two of the boards that look like a huge fish¡¯s tail and fins are lined up parallel.  They¡¯re gradually changing their angle and the current at the bow has begun flowing diagonally.  It¡¯s slowly slanting to the left.  Maybe it¡¯s going to head near the western bank.


    ¡°They might be getting some more cargo.  They have a great number of boxes like that.¡±


    The nearly cubical, wooden containers are cramped together on the deck.  At night they block the wind and during the day, they provide shade against the sun.


    ¡°¡­ Big Shimaron also got their hands on a ¡®box.¡¯¡±


    It might have been the wind running across the surface of the river, but she shivered.


    ¡°If that box is opened, an immense power sealed long ago will be awakened¡­ It is said that there are four things in this world that must not be touched¡­ Big Shimaron has gotten their hands on one of them.  If it is released with the proper key, that power will bow to the master and those he deems worthy and it can become a virtuous or an evil weapon.  The secret messenger from Big Shimaron said this:  They¡¯ve already found the key.  Now all they need is to use the Wincott Poison and manipulate the key to their will.¡±


    ¡°The proper key that will open the lid is a person!?¡±


    ¡°They didn¡¯t say it was a human.  But, they also didn¡¯t say it was a demon.  The messenger stayed in Caloria for a while and I heard from him that they had used the Wincott Poison somewhere.  I don¡¯t know how they did it, but he said that they had successfully made the one who was the key into their puppet.  However, that is something that I and my country should not pry into.  I¡¯m only fighting for as many of Caloria¡¯s children as possible to not have to go to battle.  That¡¯s when you, Captain Crusoe, appeared.¡±


    ¡°¡­ With the magic stone that had the insignia of the Wincott family?¡±


    *.*.*.*.*


    Yes, they were looking for a box.


    Naturally, the king of Svelera did not know the significance of the box nor the power it had.


    However, for those that are attempting to gain authority, it seems that the box is a source of immense power.    For those that are attempting to gain riches, the box can become a great treasure.  While Svelera was digging for esoteric stones, they finally dug that up.  Deep, deep within the rock formation, where only emaciated women and children can reach, in a place like a labyrinth.


    And near that place, the treasure of the demons, the Demon Flute, was sealed.  As soon as they discovered the box and brought it out of the esoteric stone pit, I had my acquaintance inconspicuously sneak down there and secure the Demon Flute.  The power slowly leaking out of the box over hundreds of years may have slowly changed the surrounding bedrock into esoteric stone.  Or, the part of the earth fighting against the power of the Demon Flute may have resulted in its quality being changed.  At any rate, once the two objects were removed, for some reason esoteric stones completely stopped appearing and the Sveleran citizens lost their jobs.


    There are four objects in this world that must absolutely not be touched.  The humans do not even try to know just what sort of mechanisms are built into the box to seal that unknown power or the intentions of the ancestors and how ghastly their history is.  Among the demons, all children know of that horrible evil¡­


    As someone who knew of that danger, as soon as I learned that the box had been brought to the royal castle I met with the king to persuade him one way or the other to return the box to its original place.  However¡­ did you know?  Did you know what the key is for the box buried at the bottom of the earth?  Each box has its own key.  Each of the four boxes has its own proper key and if you attempt to forcibly open the box with a false key, an uncontrollable atrocity will occur.  The Sveleran royal family eventually tested this with the left eyeball of a certain bloodline of a certain species.


    ¡­ That is where I received this wound.  It seems that my left eye, while similar, was not in and of itself a ¡®key.¡¯  Considering that a calamity could have come rushing out when they unthinkingly opened the lid there, I¡¯m actually grateful that the result was only this minor wound.


    While I was spending my days regretting my own worthlessness in prison, I met that girl over there.  I entrusted the insignia to her so that she would be able to return to the kingdom.  If it was the previous king¡¯s regent, His Excellency Stuffel, I¡¯d hoped that he¡¯d seize the insignia and send someone to investigate, but¡­  it seems Greta has held on to the insignia for me till this day¡­ However, I also couldn¡¯t trouble the country by bringing unreliable information after I had been driven out.


    I survived and searched for the box after I escaped Svelera.


    Since Svelera did not have the key ¨C the left eyeball of a certain bloodline ¨C and could not open the lid, they sold it to a large country.  The middleman was Luis Biron and I gained that man¡¯s trust and began to tactlessly search around, but¡­ the only important information I was able to find out was that the box was sold to Small Shimaron.


    The name of the box is ¡®The End of the Land.¡¯  It is said to bring betrayal, death and despair to the world. (1)


    ------


    (1)    A language note.  Both boxes are ¡®The End of ____¡¯ but the ¡®ends¡¯ are different.  The End of the Wind is fairly straightforward.  The wind stops blowing, no more wind anywhere.  The End of the Land, however, doesn¡¯t mean that there isn¡¯t going to be any more land left like the box is going to destroy it all if it opens.  The ¡®end¡¯ used here means the limit or boundary.  As in, you were walking and all of a sudden there¡¯s a huge cliff and you can¡¯t go anymore.  That sort of end.  The names are both taken from the wiki page, so I¡¯m not going to change them, but I did want to point the meaning out.


    ¡°What did you say!?¡±


    Having listened up to that point, Lord von Voltaire¡¯s boiling anger was replaced by surprise.  His clenched fists slowly cooled.


    ¡°The box Shimaron got a hold of isn¡¯t ¡®The End of the Wind!?¡¯¡±


    ¡°No, I definitely heard¡­ ¡®End of the Land¡¯¡­¡±


    G¨¹nter finally stood up from his sadness over the absence of the king.


    ¡°Please calm yourself, Gwendal.  Shimaron is divided into Big and Small.  That being said, they definitely do not have an amicable relationship.  If one of them got their hands on ¡®The End of the Wind,¡¯ the other would definitely feel pressured.  It¡¯s not unsurprising that they would then get their hands on ¡®The End of the Land.¡¯¡±


    Even though he¡¯s trying to calm the other man with his words, his own face is pale with tension.  His still wet hair is falling over his shoulder and lying on his chest.


    ¡°That means that two out of four boxes have made their way into the hands of humans.¡±


    ¡°There are four boxes?¡± Greta asked an innocently.  No one answered and silence fell in the room.  Eventually, the impatient Anissina explains to the child.


    ¡°Yes, there are four objects in this world that must not be touched.  If you open the lid, an atrocious power and an evil being will be released and the mountains, rivers, land, people and cows will be mowed down and destroyed.  It is something that was sealed thousands of years ago before we became demons.  It seems that the humans believe that they can control it, but it¡¯s not something that can be controlled.¡±


    ¡°Destroyed as in die!?¡±


    ¡°In most cases, yes.¡±


    ¡°Poison Lady Anissina is in the box!¡±


    The Wincott descendant, Lindsey, started crying.  Anissina simply commented ¡°If I could do something with my power,¡± and bit her lip.  Information on the other two is limited.  If the humans abuse that power until then, not only will The Great Demon Kingdom¡¯s existence be short-lived, but the majority of the planet as well.


    ¡°This is unacceptable!  Why did you not report something so important to someone with ties to the king!?  Even if you were not allowed to return, there were countless other ways to do so,¡± Gwendal yelled.


    ¡°Your Excellency¡­ but I reported the bare minimum of the information.  Since I was not accompanied by even the Flying Skeleton Tribe on my journey, I had to rely on commercial messengers.¡±


    ¡°Like from ¡®Fly Fly White Pigeon?¡¯  I haven¡¯t received a single letter from you.¡±


    ¡°Like I said¡­ I sent them to Lord Stuffel von Spitzweg.  I hadn¡¯t known that Her Majesty Cecilie had retired¡­¡±


    Very nearly letting ¡®useless ass¡¯ come out of his mouth, Gwendal violently hit the wall.  No, he punched it.


    ¡°That man¡­ Someone find Stuffel!  Drag him here even if you have to put a rope around his neck!¡±


    Sensing the urgency of the situation, the soldiers who had gathered in the hallway take action.


    ¡°Gegenhuber, is there anything left you have to say?¡±


    ¡°My¡­ there¡¯s something about my left eye¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, that was unfortunate.  I¡¯ll send experienced healers to the Grisela Estate.¡±


    His voice was unsympathetic, but that was the best he could do.  He wants to end this discussion.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I meant.  Your Excellency¡­ Your Excellency should take care.¡±


    ¡°You seem to be implying something.¡±


    There¡¯s no way he¡¯d just let it go after being told something like that.  Gwendal crosses his arms and looks down at his cousin who has yet to stand up.


    ¡°Like I said, each box has its own key.  The humans know that.  Things that are not keys have no effect, but using things that are similar to the key or even the wrong key will bring about something terrible¡­ Your Excellency, please be careful.  One of the keys to the four boxes is the left eye of a certain bloodline.  And another is-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡±


    ¡°Please wait,¡± said G¨¹nter, having more of a reaction than the person being warned.  ¡°Why did they use Lord Grisela to test it¡­ No, that is one of my questions, but¡­ are the other three keys to the boxes body parts from special bloodlines?¡±


    Interrupting the tutor¡¯s questions, the soldier who brought the flying skeleton in yells out.


    ¡°May I interrupt!?¡±


    Laying his bleached companion on the floor, he grabs the dry, thin wrist and lifts it.  It probably doesn¡¯t have a pulse.


    ¡°This flying skeleton¡¯s brother¡¯s wife¡¯s cousin told him that he received a telepathic message from his son!¡±


    The family tree of a flying skeleton is completely unintelligible.


    ¡°Translate it.  But no poems.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir¡­ ¡®Father, I am now in the breast pocket of the king¡¯¡­¡±


    Breast!?


    ¡°Bfa!¡±


    Blood shot out of Real Lord G¨¹nter von Christ¡¯s nose with an odd noise.


    ------


    That''s the end of this chapter!  Lots of info this time around!  Pretty tense chapter too.  Lots of long, convoluted sentences as well that were resisting becoming English x.x


    Random note: I''ve noticed that cows keep on coming up in random places in this series.  Especially when discussing powerful objects XD   Seriously though, they''ve been mentioned in almost every book I''ve read in the series.

 Volume 6 - CH 9

<-- Previous Chapte

 Volume 6 - CH 10

    <-- Previous Chapter


    Maxine conspicuously raises his voice and the bees in my head increase by ten thousand.  Are they reacting to Cropped Pony¡¯s voice?  Or is there some other reason?


    ¡°Probably, yeah probably.  I think those guys standing there like monks are sending out some sort of radio waves,¡± said Murata.

 Volume 6 - CH 11

<-- Previous Chapter


    *.*.*.*.*


    The clear blue water wells up at an unbelievable speed and catches the people about to fall into the fissures.

 Volume 7 - Prologue

    I only learned how to ride a bike when I was fairly old.


    The location is the park, the equipment is a child¡¯s bike without safety wheels. On the blue frame with cartoon pictures, there are also the many baseball stickers my old man insisted on.


    ¡°Promise, you won¡¯t let go!¡±


    My father nods, crouching as he holds on to the rack at the back:


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! Yuu-chan, I definitely won¡¯t let go, and even if I do I¡¯ll tell you beforehand.¡±


    We made a pinky swear.


    And so my feet, trembling with excitement and nerves, pressed down on the heavy pedals. Every time the pedals make a full round, the early summer breeze kisses my face, and my short fringe pats my forehead. My father¡¯s footsteps become hastier, I know he¡¯s running as he helps me keep the bike steady. When the footsteps stop, I get excited beyond my wits, and even the pedals feel half as light as they did before. I¡¯ve finally learned how to ride! Although measuring the distance, it was only around a few hundred metres.


    At that moment, full with a childish sense of accomplishment, I turned back to look for my father, who was supposed to be standing in the distance.


    ¡°I¡¯ve learned how to ride¡­ Eh?¡±


    Father was still holding onto the rack, his face red, breathlessly saying,


    ¡°You see¡­ Papa¡­ kept his¡­ promise¡­ and didn¡¯t let go¡­ right?¡±


    Every time I think back to that day, I feel embarrassed.


    ¡­¡­Honestly, though, anyone else would have let go halfway, right?

 Volume 7 - CH 1

    vivarina


    Just be warned that the characterizations of some people are very different from what was shown in the anime. Yuuri, for instance, does have a darker side and is not as na?ve or sweet-tempered all the time. In this chapter he was a bit pervy¡­


    Novel 8 starts after Yuuri is rescued by Wolfram from the cliff, they¡¯re in Caloria after Maxine opened the box. The story is from Yuuri¡¯s point of view, unless stated otherwise. Also note that the novels are starting to really differ from the anime after this, as season 2 of the anime is not based on the novels, but written by the animators themselves¡­.


    And¡­ my translation is definitely not perfect, sorry. Most of the problems in that are regarding translations of names that never appeared in the anime, so¡­ maybe someone can help me? Also, there might be mistakes I made, so anyone who has read the novel, in fact, anyone who notices any mistakes, please tell me¡­


    Novel 8: Chapter 1


    I only learned how to cycle at a not so young age.


    The location was the park, my bicycle was a child¡¯s bike without training wheels. On the blue body of the bike, which had cartoons all over it, were baseball stickers that my father had insisted that I paste.


    ¡°Promise me, you won¡¯t let go!¡±


    My father half squatting and gripping the bike rack nodded to me.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! Yuu-chan, I definitely won¡¯t let go, even if I do I¡¯ll tell you first.¡±


    Let¡¯s make a pinky promise.


    I started pedaling the heavy bike pedals with my legs, which were shivering because I was so nervous and excited. Every time I completed a cycle on the pedals, the breeze of early spring blew gently against my face, my short bangs flapping against my forehead. Father¡¯s footsteps gained momentum, I knew he was jogging along while supporting my bike. When I couldn¡¯t hear his footsteps anymore, I was filled with excitement, the pedals seemed to be half their original weight.


    I finally learned how to cycle! But looking back at the distance I covered, it was only a few hundred meters.


    Filled with a childish sense of pride, I looked back at my father who (I thought) was standing a long distance away.


    ¡°I finally learned how to cycle¡­..huh?!¡±


    Father was still gripping my bike rack, red in the face and panting.


    ¡°See, daddy¡­ did keep¡­ his promise¡­didn¡¯t let go¡­right?¡±


    Every time I remembered this incident I would feel so ashamed.


    ¡­.Honestly, most people would release their hold along the way, right?


    I think the expression on my face was not exactly pleasant right now.


    Although it was now winter, wearing this iron mask was suffocating.


    ¡°Poof! And it makes it hard for me to breathe!¡±


    Bearing the pain of my eyelashes being pulled (along with the mask), I plucked the mask off my face forcefully. Air rushed in through my nostrils, helping my overheated face to cool down.


    ¡°Really¡­I have to hand it to Fluurin and Norman Gilbert, wearing this mask for so many years.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because they haven''t been running around like we¡¯re doing now.¡±


    After getting off our horses at the intersection, we could only walk to get to the harbor. The stone slabs covering the road were cracked and uneven, we could see collapsed buildings and overflowing drains everywhere along the bumpy road. Not only that, citizens who had lost all hope were sitting anywhere they wanted to along the road, children who were trying to find their parents or food were crying out agitatedly while running through the streets, so that it was impossible for horses to get through this area.


    We must not touch those four boxes ¨C because Small Shimaron used the wrong key to open The End of the Earth, part of the sealed unknown force became uncontrolled, causing massive damage to the Midwest section of the land, including Caloria.


    The strong Fluurin Gilbert never shed a tear, she just spent all her efforts on patrolling and comforting the citizens. After getting back to her family estate, she started shouting orders to her soldiers to distribute water and food among the citizens immediately. Even I, wearing the mask of Norman Gilbert, joined in on her efforts.


    Fluurin, gritting her teeth and dragging her tired body along, did her best to fulfill her duties as the wife of the regent of the land. Despite her fever and stomach pain that prevented her from getting up from the chair, she still summoned all the rulers of the counties to gather in the meeting room, and according to her promise divided the rations equally among the all the counties of Caloria.


    But just relying on the rations in the estate would not be enough to satisfy the hunger of all the people.


    I never thought that Caloria, after regaining peace through much difficulty, would be almost totally destroyed like this.


    I forced Fluurin, who was now completely unable to move (due to her pain) to remain in her room, and made my way to the Gilbert business harbor. The harbor, originally so full of life and thronging with people, had been destroyed so much that there was no trace of its original splendor, the remains of the beautiful stone slabs were in pieces all over the place. There were several deep and wide ditches across the land, causing the peaceful farmlands of the inland to be flooded by seawater, and the earth and grass to wither up.


    The kindly citizens of a few days ago had turned into violent rebels who robbed the collapsed shops; the originally peaceful neighbors would attack each other over fighting for water wells; hungry children, with no more energy left to cry, would be sitting with dull expressions on the ground.


    This kingdom had been lacking in young people originally, both manpower and rations were now seriously lacking.


    The women, children and old folk, forced to endure the cold without shelter, were shivering, only the cargo ships anchored at the harbor had lights on in the evening.


    Some people, trying to get the citizens to gather around, were shouting with all their might at the depressed people. However, a loud-voiced man was standing at the corner of the street, shouting, ¡°It¡¯s the end of the world!¡±


    ¡°He might be right you know¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯re you talking about? The end of the world? Don¡¯t be silly, he¡¯s not Nostradamus.¡±


    I was just going to answer Murata¡¯s opinion, but my tone had become sharp without my noticing. This was the first time I had seen such destruction, and my palms were sweating. No, not just my palms, the sweat pouring from my neck and back were taking away my body heat, making me shiver.


    ¡°¡­We must find a way to help.¡±


    We have to find someone else for that.


    ¡°Darn it, but I really don¡¯t know what to do¡­.although I¡¯ve been living in ¹Ø¶«, and have put effort while participating in drills (for disasters), but once I really face them, I still don¡¯t know what to do¡­.¡±


    ¡°We should thank television, Shibuya.¡±


    I stared blankly at Murata, thinking, ¡°What should I say at a moment like this?¡± But my friend, with his dyed blond hair and wearing his colored contact lenses, was smiling serenely while gazing at the other end of the harbor.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t there usually news reports on tv about disasters and refugee camps? Even if this the first time for you, you should know what to do.¡±


    He was right, in the past I did see a lot of similar scenes. Like on the news, documentaries, movies or dramas.


    ¡°But just relying on those is not enough right? I¡¯m not the type of person to just watch baseball and cartoons (so I know that its not enough). By the way, I¡¯m a good kid that watches tv in good lighting and at a distance of over 2 meters, you know.¡±


    My secretive friend cocked his head slightly and narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°This is a world without television or radio, yeah, that does make me feel so familiar with it.¡± (I think Murata is actually mocking Yuuri who seems stuck back on Earth when considering rescue efforts)


    ¡°And there¡¯re also no vehicles¡­ wait, Murata, what¡¯re you¡­. argh, just forget it.¡±


    Whether Murata has SKY PERFECT TV is not important right now, what was important was whether I had knowledge on dealing with situations like this. (SKY PERFECT TV is a cable channel in Japan which broadcasts various programmes on sports, entertainment etc. Yuuri means that Murata could have gained knowledge on rescue efforts through watching it). Although I had never dealt with disasters before, I could just do what I had seen others do before (on tv). This reminded me of the day I first pitched a baseball, after standing by and watching my brother and father practicing for so long.


    ¡°Food¡­ no, water is the most important thing. Gather all those who still have energy left and divide them to all the areas to help¡­ then set up a tent for food preparation. Hm... seems like we still need to set up a headquarters dealing with any unexpected situation, Is there a United Nations or Red Cross society here?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re doing this upon your own insistence.¡±


    That¡¯s right.


    I gripped my silver-colored mask tightly. At this moment Wolfram and Dakaskos returned from the few ships that had not sank. Yozak, in his white apron, was with them. He probably wants to be a white angel (nurse). He was leading a strange man, who had his arms full of sacks of goods. Upon seeing me, the man dropped all of them at once. His slightly aged face had an expression similar to bursting into tears of happiness.


    ¡°Thank goodness you¡¯re alright!¡±


    He ran past Wolfram and Dakaskos towards me, kneeling down at my feet.


    ¡°Aah! Wh... what is this?¡±


    ¡°Thank God you¡¯re alright¡­.¡±


    The man, bowing his head while his eyes filled with tears, had very little hair on his head. With the weak sunshine shining on him, he looked just like St Francis Xavier.


    ¡°Just as I thought, that was a ship from our own kingdom. Although resembling a cargo ship on the outside, all the crew are soldiers under the orders of this man. This is Captain Saismoya.¡±


    The third son of the ex-Maou was kicking at the hemp cloth sacks while speaking, with an expression of disgust on his face. He probably was not pleased at being overtaken by the captain.


    He is an angelic-looking bishounen with a head of shining golden hair and emerald green eyes that reminded me of a lake. However, after knowing him for a few days I discovered his true nature, he is actually a stubborn brat that likes to make snide comments¡­.. that was what I thought anyway! But lately Wolfram von Bielefeld had been somehow different from the person I first met. The three brothers originally had no similarities between them. However, lately I could see the similarities of Wolfram¡¯s eldest brother, who was constantly frowning, and his second brother, who had thick skin, in him. If I had to be more definite, he would be a cool-looking and fashionable bishounen?


    My¡­ my god! I can¡¯t compare with him in looks.


    ¡°The other ships in the original fleet will arrive in two or three days. I never thought that my eldest brother, usually so calm, would send out a quarter of the navy after receiving the letter delivered by the Kohi.¡±


    ¡°A quarter? Why?¡±


    ¡°THIS¡­ IS¡­ ALL¡­ TO¡­ FIND¡­ YOU!¡±


    Wolfram gritted his teeth while spitting out the words one by one, his furious face approaching me.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you understand your own situation?! You disappeared from the kingdom without a clue under dangerous circumstances!¡±


    ¡°S...s¡­ sorry.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re hopeless. Now Gunter has become like that, and Conrad¡­.¡±


    He stopped speaking for a moment, then started again, avoiding my eyes. Maybe he was hoping that Conrad¡¯s situation was not as bad as it seemed.


    ¡°Anyway, the rest of the ships will be arriving soon. The Duchars¡¯ ship will probably be out in the sea by tomorrow, they¡¯re the best in naval war, and their ship is fast beyond belief, because there¡¯s a Karbelnikov¡¯s speeding device installed on it. Boarding that ship will the safest way to get back home.¡±


    ¡°Back home? Who?¡±


    ¡°Do I need to explain? Of course I mean everyone! Although maybe we can¡¯t ALL get on the same ship!¡±


    ¡°Everyone? I can¡¯t go back yet! I can¡¯t just abandon all these people and leave by myself. Caloria is devastated, and all this business of the boxes have me worried, and Conrad¡¯s arm¡­.¡±


    Every time I thought back about what happened to Weller-kyo, I would have to stop breathing and speaking. It¡¯s not that I haven¡¯t dealt with all that I feel, it¡¯s actually that I didn¡¯t dare to deal with it.


    ¡°¡­. I can¡¯t go back without dealing with all this¡­. Although I¡¯m just masquerading, but now I AM Norman Gilbert. All the people here believe that I¡¯m the leader here, leaders have to be at disaster areas to lend support, this is important to maintain the people¡¯s hopes and willpower. And also umm¡­ does the term morale exist here? And the speed of rebuilding will be different?¡±


    A speechless Wolfram pulled my ear, saying, ¡°How many times do I have to tell you?! Are you a fool?¡±


    The feeling I got (from what he said) was more like ¡°ARE¡­ YOU¡­ AN¡­. IDIOT?!¡±


    ¡°What responsibilities do you have towards this land? Is this your kingdom? Are they your people? If you insist on helping them, you can just leave a medical team and rations for them! We have experienced soldiers to help as well, if we could just find more people to repair the roads¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh yes! You¡¯re right! Gisela is a healer, if we could just use all the manpower here, the rescue efforts would be so much easier!¡±


    ¡°Yuuri! That wasn¡¯t what I meant!¡±


    Wolfram glared at me. His tone had changed completely. Maybe he hadn¡¯t noticed, but the way he frowned looked exactly like his eldest brother.


    ¡°Captain Saismoya, are there rations and water on your ship?¡±


    ¡°Rations?¡±


    Maybe my question was too unexpected, St.Francis Xavier had resumed his normal voice.


    ¡°In preparation for any unexpected events, we more or less have some¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great! Can you distribute them immediately among the people? Please do it fairly, give all that we have, and ask them to queue up while receiving the rations. Wait, are all the crew of the ship soldiers from our kingdom?¡±


    ¡°Of course. They¡¯re prepared to sacrifice their lives for you upon a word from you, Heika. And they were selected by His Exellency Gwendal, they¡¯re soldiers most resembling humans, so if you want them to spy on our enemies there should be no problem either.¡±


    His soldier¡¯s pride made him stand up erect inadvertently. Probably he was believes fully in his underlings¡¯ capabilities.


    ¡°That¡¯s even better! That means they¡¯re qualified to be voluntary rescue teams?¡±


    ¡°Vol¡­ what¡¯s their mission?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a mission! It¡¯s voluntary, so it¡¯s up to whether they want to or not. This is great, Murata, it¡¯s up to you to select suitable people! Next we need temporary shelters and portable toilets. Oh! It would be even better if we had diapers and milk powder for the babies. Although now we have Gisela and her team healing people all around the place, it would be better if their medical team is bigger, and they also need medicines and medical supplies. Aah! Darn it, it¡¯s not enough! Rations, materials, manpower... they¡¯re all not enough!¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you make a wish?¡±


    Murata grabbed the long, thin white object hanging in front of my chest. It was a paper cutter I had bought from a young boy in a ¿¼°Ø·Æshop near the¡¿¨°Íriver.Although the paper cutter cuts paper, it doesn¡¯t cut ²ÃÁÖ¼ÒÖ½×Ó(²ÃÁÖ¼ÒÖ½×Óis the surname of an acting couple that specialize in stand-up comedy, famous for taking candid shots of each other. Yuuri is making a joke here as paper and ²ÃÁÖ¼ÒÖ½×Óhave the same pronunciation in Japanese). This paper cutter is a cultural relic made from the bones of an unidentified being.


    ¡°Make a wish on it.¡±


    ¡°If a cultural relic can grant my wish, we won¡¯t be needing temples or shrines!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a relic! It¡¯s so obviously part of a Kohi.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    I almost dropped the light and dry blade.


    ¡°If that¡¯s true, this is human bone? ! It¡¯s human?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not human, it¡¯s Kohi. Or it might be Kodi, which gather in flocks to lend emotional support, and can communicate through thinking. If they¡¯re lucky they even become spies. Hence our Mazoku soldiers will always bring tablets along to communicate with them. Those troops that started out late learned about your whereabouts because of them. But I didn¡¯t rely on the Kohi, I found you all by my own efforts¡­¡±


    ¡°Wow, I see that they¡¯re really good poets, who would¡¯ve thought, looking at them¡­¡±


    Murata made a really off-topic comment, cutting off Wolfram¡¯s bragging. I was staring at the object in my hand, and decided to try again.


    ¡°I said I wanted food, medicines, temporary shelters, milk powder and¡­¡±


    ¡°Just in case, why don¡¯t we try this?¡±


    In front of everyone, a bird flew out from the front of Yozak¡¯s chest. It was a beautiful white dove which had its wings shut.


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s so like Mr. Maric!¡± (Mr. Maric is a famous magician in Japan)


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s not nice! Heika, I¡¯m Yozak!¡±


    ¡°Come to think of it, this is the first time I saw a dove fly out from someone¡¯s chest. Tokyo¡¯s Magic Robinson would be so envious¡­¡±


    Influenced by my friend¡¯s (Murata) envy, I shifted my eyes down, and discovered that Yozak¡¯s right chest had gone flat. It seems like he used doves to pad up his chest¡­


    Suddenly, Captain Saismoya turned back to stare at the medium sized ship that had just entered the harbor, then resuming his original tough navy voice, ¡°I was wondering why there were such disturbing sounds of waves lapping (onto shore). Seems like Shimaron¡¯s communications boat just entered the harbor.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Then they¡¯re after us?! They sent out soldiers to get us?¡±


    About ten days ago, we were still in Small Shimaron being treated as experiment samples. But Maxine, the ¡®dog¡¯ of the king of Small Shimaron, Saralegi, had used the wrong key to open the box, causing part of the unknown force to lose control and leading to a massive earthquake in the land. We managed to escape during the chaos, preparing ourselves for death any time while making our way here.


    However, judging from the destruction there, Small Shimaron could not have sent soldiers to get us, and Maxine was not supposed to know that I was a king.


    ¡°That¡¯s Big Shimaron¡¯s flag. I can never forget the war on the SarafianSea, they used an underhanded night attack, thank goodness we managed to gather up our forces and burned up all those countless and hateful flags! Just thinking about the burning flags of the enemy ships all over the glowing red sea, even now it makes me shiver with excitement¡­.. aah, Heika, I¡¯m so sorry! Seeing those hateful Big Shimaron ships make me lose myself.¡±


    It seems like he is very easily excited.


    ¡°Fluurin Gilbert has always been on the side of Big Shimaron, so there probably won¡¯t be any trouble. However, why have they sent people over during this hectic time?¡±


    ¡°They have a green triangular flag, so it means they¡¯re ambassadors visiting various kingdoms. Yuuri, remember, even if we¡¯re at war we never attack representatives, ambassadors are neutral, so everyone at sea is prohibited from attacking them.¡±


    ¡°Oh I see, so the Searex colors of their flag means ¡®no attacking¡¯¡± (Searex is a baseball team of the ÏæÄÏdistrict in Japan).


    The medium sized ship slid smoothly into the harbor mouth, its light green triangular flag flapping underneath their yellow national flag. Maybe due to the expertise of the person steering the ship, their craft deftly avoided all the sunken ships at the harbor to reach shore.


    Two very slim youths stepped elegantly down from the ship. They first reached out with their toes, followed by their heels, just like a bride stepping out on a red carpet.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to hide your face? At least cover up your hair and eyes.¡±


    I only noticed after Murata reminded me. I quickly pulled on Norman Gilbert¡¯s silver-colored mask, strapping on the leather strap at the back of my head.


    I must meet ambassadors from human countries in the role of Caloria¡¯s appointed leader.


    I just don¡¯t know if they were aware that the original leader Norman Gilbert had passed away. But as Fluurin was resting now, only I, ¡®the man in the iron mask¡¯, can represent Caloria in greeting ambassadors.


    Yozak and Saismoya moved to either side of me. As Wolfram was a startlingly conspicuous bishounen in this human part of the world, I pushed him behind me with my elbow, then also made sure that Murata was behind me.


    The two slim men floated towards me as if they were on clouds, then greeted me civilly. From their unenthusiastic tone and gestures, this was just a formality (for them). But what made me tongue-tied was not their attitude, but the difference between our appearances.


    ¡°Wh¡­ what beautiful hair¡­.¡±


    According to logic, a man would not be happy to hear someone praising his hair. However¡­.


    ¡°Thank you for your praise, long hair is the pride of us soldiers of Big Shimaron, we nourish it everyday with egg yolk oil.¡±


    It turns out that there are men who feel happy after praise like this.


    At this moment Murata behind me interjected, ¡°Please dial the toll-free number 0120-78641438.¡± (0120 is the code for all toll free numbers inJapan, 0120-78641438 has the same pronunciation as ¡®Shimaron¡¯s soldiers have long hair¡¯ in Japanese)


    Hey, there is also the ponytail hairstyle (in Shimaron)!


    I just never thought that ponytails would be the norm in Small Shimaron, while Big Shimaron would have long floating hair as the main hairstyle, seems like Big and Small Shimaron do have a difference. The places are not the same, the styles are not the same, even the water flowvolume is different.


    The two ambassadors, in the main colors of yellow and brown, had slightly curling light brown hair that reached the middle of their backs. Every hair was thick, soft and light. If there were a battle in the forest on a rainy day, it might not be to their advantage.


    Both of them had reddish-brown eyes that were merely presentable but lacked character.


    ¡°Are you the appointed leader of this colony of Shimaron ¨C Norman Gilbert?¡±


    I could only mumble my answer, in a tone that was neither too high nor low. The man on the right, the one in charge of explanations, irked me when he said ¡®colony of Shimaron¡¯, this was supposed to be Small Shimaron¡¯s colony.


    ¡°The disaster this time seems to have brought you great damage. We representing Shimaron wish with all our hearts that you can recover soon.¡±


    ¡°Th.. thank you.¡±


    Upon hearing such a polite and formal tone, I, who had grown up in a normal family (and unacquainted with grand situations), did not know how to respond.


    ¡°Today we came especially to inform all Calorians of the opening ceremony of Big Shimaron¡¯s annual elimination Olympics that celebrate intelligence, speed and skill! It¡¯s the gathering of the best talents under the sun.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    The ambassador was not annoyed at my response which had slipped out unwittingly; instead he repeated again, ¡°It¡¯s the opening ceremony of Big Shimaron¡¯s annual elimination Olympics that celebrate intelligence, speed and skill! A gathering of the best talents under the sun.¡±


    This sounded like a swimming competition like those they organize for celebrities, and most participants would be female, I wonder if there would be any unintentional breast revealing?


    ¡°Hopefully under the leadership of Gilbert the regent (of Caloria), skilled contestants can be found to represent Caloria the colony of Shimaron in this event.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯re you talking about?! It¡¯s not as easy as just opening a letter¡­.¡±


    But the duo with the floating hair had handed me a roll of rough paper after their speech, then turned and went back the way they had come. Maybe they were anxious to get to the other countries.


    ¡°¡­ What did he say, what elimination contest did he mean?¡±


    ¡°Ten times.¡±


    Murata was scratching his chin in awe.


    ¡°What ten times?¡±


    ¡°They number of times they mentioned Shimaron! If we include what they said in their farewell speech then it¡¯ll have exceeded ten times.¡±


    ¡°Even if you calculate so precisely, there won¡¯t be anyone to test you on that, you know.¡±


    ¡°Hmph, that¡¯s the way most humans act.¡±


    Wolfram, who I had pushed behind myself, was commenting scornfully.


    ¡°They kept repeating ¡®Big Shimaron¡¯ to remind you that this (Caloria) is their colony. I never thought that they would resort to such underhanded measures to emphasise their power.¡±


    ¡°Wolf, as an ex-prince you shouldn¡¯t express yourself in such an ungentlemanly way, should you?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t the people back there (in Shin Makoku) do the same thing (as the ambassadors of Big Shimaron)?¡±


    Murata¡¯s casual remark was completely innocent, but it sent a chill down my spine.


    ¡°That tactic (the tactic used by the ambassadors) might be simple, but it it¡¯s also effective (in instilling a sense of their power), right?¡± (this is still Murata speaking)


    ¡°¡­.Hmph!¡±


    The striking and angelic-looking bishounen was obviously losing his temper. Even if he didn¡¯t speak, just standing next to him I could feel his temperature rising and his blood starting to boil.


    ¡°Yuuri!¡±


    ¡°Aah! Wh.. what is it?¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t still thinking all that nonsense (of remaining in Caloria) are you? Listen to me clearly, You¡¯re going back to Shin Makoku this instant! You aren¡¯t obligated to attend a ceremony for humans! You¡¯re a king really lacking in self consciousness! There isn¡¯t anything that can make me more ashamed to be from the same kingdom as you than this!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t pick on me only! Come on, don¡¯t just vent your anger on me!¡±


    Wolfram, who had a high sense of self-pride, hadn¡¯t reacted to Murata¡¯s remarks. Although I couldn¡¯t be sure, there seemed to be a mutual understanding between them. No matter how sharp Murata¡¯s remarks were, the third son (of the ex-Maou) would only vent his anger on me. According to my private observations, they would even purposely avoid each others¡¯ eyes.


    Although Yozak and Murata had met at the Gilbert family estate, but Yozak had greeted him in a way unfamiliar to me, and he had adjusted himself to this world at an unusually quick speed, this seemed incredible to me.


    Murata, who are you¡­ who are you really?


    But I choked back the questions that came to me.


    If I asked my friend this question, then I would have to disclose all my secrets to him as well. If I suddenly proclaimed myself (to Murata) as the Maou, he would not believe me, just like any normal human being. And if I let him know that I was engaged to an 82-year old bishounen, I simply did not dare to gauge his reaction. If he went back to Japan and spread this around, then I could lose any hope of ever getting a girlfriend, it would be a fate too horrible for me.


    To reach this rosy future (Please! You HAVE to come), I would just have to contain my curiosity.


    ¡°Alright, no matter you want to participate or not¡­.¡±


    I unrolled the roll of paper that had been forced on me while talking in a voice that did not belong to ¡®the man in the iron mask¡¯. It was the voice of the wimpy and clueless Maou that was trying his best even when he¡¯s stuck in a foreign country.


    ¡°Caloria¡¯s real leader is Fluurin, this time we should ask for her opinion right?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to ask, after all we¡¯re going back.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter with him? He¡¯s not small anymore, how come he misses home so much?¡±


    Aah¡­ that Japanese boy¡¯s thoughtless remark was starting to make Wolfram¡¯s blood boil again.


    But if Murata found out his real age, he would definitely be so shocked that his glasses fell off.


    Well, the above is my first attempt at translating these novels. Hope I made the meanings clear.


    ¹Ø¶«, ²ÃÁÖ¼ÒÖ½×Ó, ¡¿¨°Íetc are names in he Chinese translation that I wasn¡¯t able to translate into English. Since kanji and Chinese characters are similar, maybe someone who knows kanji can help? Or maybe someone who¡¯s read the novels can help?


    Kodi and Saismoya are guesses on my part, as Kohi is¹Ç·É, so¡­ I guessed¹ÇµØis Kodi. Saismoya is the pronunciation I got from the Chinese version. Someone please tell me if I¡¯m wrong ^^.


    Also, I forgot what they called the arena event in Big Shimaron¡­ can someone tell me the actual term they used?


    And can anyone tell me the full names of Anissina, Yozak, Maxine? I need them in future translations. Also, what¡¯s the name of the doll Gunter¡¯s soul(?) is transferred into after he was poisoned? And what¡¯s the name of the book written by Anissina?


    Sorry for all these questions, my translation is not perfect, but it¡¯s the best I can do now¡­

 Volume 7 - CH 2

    vivarina


    Here¡¯s chapter 2 of novel 8. Again, it¡¯s not perfect, and since I translated from the Chinese translation the sentences might be a bit weird, my apologies for that. Big thanks to everyone who answered my questions and clarified my doubts^^.


    Just in case anyone was wondering about that seemingly random ¡®bicycle¡¯ memory in the previous chapter:


    Since the ¡®cliff rescue scene¡¯ happened at the ending of the previous novel (novel 7), Yuuri might be associating the memory of his father talking about ¡®not letting go¡¯ with what Wolfram had said, which was about ¡®not letting go¡¯ too.


    However, it¡¯s actually open to our own interpretation.


    Just one thing is for certain, Takabayashi sensei¡¯s writing has a deeper meaning than is apparent on the surface, and seemingly random parts are really not that random at all. I can only try my best to get the meanings across XD. Sentences in brackets are explanations, sentences between asterisks * are my own comments, feel free to ignore them.


    Novel 8: Chapter 2


    ¡°Did you say Dai Shimaron¡¯s annual elimination contest involving running, attacking and defending? The World¡¯s Best Fighter Tournament?¡±


    Flynn Gilbert, in a plain sleeping gown, stumbled out from her room.


    ¡°¡­.I think that wasn¡¯t quite what they said.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­ maybe I got the name wrong, anyway they kept repeating ¡®Shimaron, Shimaron¡¯, and the ambassadors had long flowing hair. I think there¡¯re further details on the letter.¡±


    After getting past all the obstacles to return to Caloria, Flynn soon fell sick and had to rest in bed, maybe due to witnessing the destruction of her homeland by that uncontrolled power, or maybe just because the taxing journey back had exhausted her. But this was hardly surprising, she hadn¡¯t planned on falling into the trap laid by Shou Shimaron, or being experimented on by them either. Although her own land was a colony of another kingdom, Flynn, as the wife of regent of the land, was surprisingly strong in the face of so many difficulties.


    ¡°Then it means that this year is the fourth¡­ I didn¡¯t notice¡­¡±


    ¡°Do they hold this event every four years?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Every kingdom will seek out representatives to participate in Dai Shimaron¡¯s tournament.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s similar to the Olympics?¡±


    Flynn placed the letter onto the table, keeping its four corners down with animal-shaped paperweights. She looked awful, even her beautiful light golden hair had lost its original luster.


    ¡°Flynn, I still think you had better lie down and rest¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I should move round a bit. And we¡¯re not married or lovers, it seems rather inappropriate that you (as a male) should march into my bedroom, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    Wolfram¡¯s mood seemed to improve greatly after hearing that. The first time he met her, he had interrogated me, ¡°Who¡¯s that woman? Who is she to you?¡± He had even questioned the relationship between Flynn and me.


    ¡°¡­.the elimination tournament that tests intelligence, speed and skill! The World¡¯s Best Fighter Tournament is about to begin¡­. Anticipating Caloria to send their best warriors to participate¡­. They already know that we don¡¯t have any time to seek out participants at this time (of emergency), and yet they send their ambassador with this news.¡±


    ¡°What kind of competition is this? Is it like the baseball tournament in Japan, or the World¡¯s Baseball Tournament or wildcard competitions?¡±


    ¡°All you¡¯re talking about is baseball! Can¡¯t you at least mention the World Cup or the Toyota Cup?¡± (The Toyota Cup is an annual international football competition sponsored by the Toyota company)


    And aren¡¯t you talking only about football?


    I was thinking about Murata¡¯s own shortcomings, while trying to imagine what the World¡¯s Best fighter tournament would look like. Ninja Turtles, ÈüÑÇÈË¡¢³¬¼¶ÈüÑÇÈË¡¢³¬åó¼¶ÖÕ¼«³¬¼¶°ÙÍò¶Ö¡­¡­ superheroes of the turtle variety.


    (ÈüÑÇÈË¡¢³¬¼¶ÈüÑÇÈË¡¢³¬åó¼¶ÖÕ¼«³¬¼¶°ÙÍò¶Öare all superheroes popular in Japan)


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen the World¡¯s Best Fighter before either.¡±


    ¡°World¡¯s Best Fighter?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the World¡¯s Best Fighter, is there anything wrong?¡±


    I was only surprised at that term, it sounded like the remains of noodles or the name of a strange exotic dish.


    (I think this is due to the Japanese pronunciation)


    ¡°Caloria has never entered before. Not only because of lack of talent, but also because we don¡¯t have any suitable young people to participate in a challenge they can never win.¡±


    ¡°So you mean that you don¡¯t know what the competition is about?¡±


    ¡°Yes. But I think that the winner of all three events of intelligence, speed and skill will be awarded a special honor.¡±


    ¡°What do you think it is?¡±


    If it was just the awarding of a medal, I think the winner would definitely lose his cool on the podium.


    Flynn sighed and said, ¡°It¡¯s an honor that everyone desires, but no one will ever get it.¡±


    ¡°Then could it be a wish that will come true?¡±


    ¡°But what do you mean by a ¡®wish¡¯? Is it for the well-being of your whole family or for great wealth?¡±


    ¡°Shibuya, they aren¡¯t god.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter! Just imagine, you could wish for a land of your own, or to regain the power and wealth of your famlily, or even gold and diamonds¡­. Anything you wish will come true! On the face of it anyway.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I know! The winner gets to marry the princess of Shimaron? I see, that¡¯s so romantic. Going beyond nationalities for love, burning passion, wild wayward youth!¡±   *their imaginations are going quite far isn¡¯t it? XD*


    I see, let¡¯s not imagine it like Dragonball, it could be more like ancient Roman gladiators.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s impossible, Shimaron doesn¡¯t have a princess. And no one has ever thought about such a romantic notion, nor has anyone ever had a wish come true.¡±


    ¡°Then what does it mean? Are they just playing around with us? Enticing us with rewards, then letting us down?¡±


    I pointed at the lower half of the thick and rough letter. But maybe because of the overly cursive writing, I couldn¡¯t understand even a word.


    ¡°Look here, the winners of the first tournament ¨C Dai Shimaron. Winners of the second tournament ¨CDai Shimaron¡­. All the winners from the first to the latest tournaments have been Dai Shimaron. Just looking at this, it¡¯s impossible that anyone else can win!¡±


    She rolled the paper up again, smiling self-deprecatingly.


    ¡°However according to our present condition, there won¡¯t be many participants. Most of the kingdoms in the mid-west region of the mainland are busy rebuilding, and the last day for entering is six days later. Getting from here to Donierson would take at least twenty days even if we went at full speed.¡±


    ¡°Then we just give up without trying?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, there¡¯s nothing we can do about it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s such a pity¡­ it¡¯s not easy to get a chance to make a wish¡­.¡±    *why¡¯re you still stuck in that ¡®wish¡¯ fantasy of yours Yuuri?*


    However my brain started working furiously. Maybe it (the prize) was new baseball shoes, baseball gloves, or lighter equipment than the ones I used. Or maybe shin-guards that could go with ʨ×ÓÀ¶Ê¯ (maybe a team in Japan?), protective goggles like those worn byС¹¬É½Îò ( a professional baseball player in Japan). However there shouldn¡¯t be baseball equipment in this world, where would they find the¹âÀ¯Ê÷ (tree of which the wood is used to create bats)to create baseball bats anyway? Wait, wait, wait, if we thought about the whole (baseball) team, first we must have a clean storing space¡­.


    ¡°¡­storage¡­.. is it?¡±


    Murata who had just figured out what was in my mind, although so surprised he could hardly speak, took the words out of my mouth. I didn¡¯t hesitate, instead I just said what was in my head.


    ¡°What about asking for the box?¡±


    ¡°Box?¡±


    Flynn tilted her head like an innocent girl, it seems like she hadn¡¯t quite understood what I meant.


    ¡°Yes, the box. If we win then we can ask for the box as a prize, maybe they¡¯ll be so surprised they won¡¯t know how to refuse?¡±


    Wolfram was very excited, hitting his knee hard (in realization).


    ¡°Dai Shimaron has ¡®The End of the Wind¡¯!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! It¡¯s because they have that box that you want to bring along descendants of the Wincott family isn¡¯t it? Because you want to use the Wincott poison to control the person that¡¯s the key to ¡®The End of the Wind?¡±


    According to my faithful G-SHOCK, that had happened about five hundred and four hours ago. Concealing the death of her husband Norman Gilbert, Flynn Gilbert had protected Caloria in the role of ¡®the man in the iron mask¡¯. She had had dealings with Dai Shimaron secretly despite the objection from Shou Shimaron.


    She had stated, ¡°Those who had ruled this land in the past concealed the Wincott poison, which can control anyone, in the depths of this estate. I¡¯m willing to hand it over, but on several conditions. You must reduce the number of Calorians that are recruited as soldiers for your kingdom, and also let our youths return to our country (as I can no longer stand losing our own citizens in the wars your own kingdom engage in).¡± In the end Flynn had succeeded in closing the deal, handing over the poison to Dai Shimaron.


    At that time, we had also lost our way here. We had concealed our identities by claiming to be Wincott descendants. The jewel I had worn had the same fittings as the insignia (of the Wincotts), which was not surprising. This was because it had been the property of Susanna Julia Wincott, who had escaped to the West and became a Mazoku.


    It was then that Flynn had had an idea.


    Only those with the blood of the Wincotts can control the humans who had been poisoned. If they could hand over the one with Wincott blood (Flynn had thought it was Yuuri) to Dai Shimaron, they would find it easier to control the person who was the key. If the deal had gone through, the Calorian youths would have been able to s=come back to their country.


    Without considering the ethics of that action, her plan had been quite brilliant, the ones who blundered had been Dai Shimaron.


    Because they had found two targets, one who was now in a semi-death-like state, the other whose whereabouts was now unknown. Although Conrad had only been hit by the poisoned arrow, he had lost his left arm, and had also been involved in an explosion¡­..


    ¡°Darn it!¡±


    I slammed my fist against the wood-carved table.


    That arm definitely belonged to Conrad, I just couldn¡¯t figure out why the arm that had been chopped off would wind up in the hands of Shou Shimaron. What puzzled me more was that since it had been the wrong key, why had Conrad been the target?


    And¡­


    Conrad¡­. You¡¯re still alive aren¡¯t you?


    Would you come back to my side alive?


    I had covered both my eyes with my palms without noticing it. I removed my fingers one by one, moving my right hand slowly from my face.


    As I exhaled the air slowly from my lungs, I could see Wolfram¡¯s disappointed expression. Really, he needn¡¯t have worried, I wouldn¡¯t have cried in front of everyone.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    The ruler of Caloria had gripped her own throat with her right hand, looking as if she felt like strangling herself.


    ¡°I had wanted to use you, I was prepared to betray you to fulfill my own dreams for the kingdom.¡±


    Von Bielefeld-kyo¡¯s sword clanged as he drew his sword out from its sheath a few centimeters. If I consented to it, he would have killed this woman on the spot. Actually he had said this many times, he probably had been serious, but¡­.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like this, Wolfram, I don¡¯t want you to do this. Flynn has¡­. Anyway let¡¯s settle this later.¡±


    ¡°But..!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all because of that box!¡±


    I cut off her pained voice with (the name of) that cursed object.


    ¡°If it hadn¡¯t been for that ¡®The End of the Wind¡¯, all this wouldn¡¯t have happened. If the humans¡­. If Dai Shimaron hadn¡¯t gotten that weapon, they wouldn¡¯t have gone after Conrad and Gunter, we wouldn¡¯t have lost our way in this strange place, and there¡¯s more¡­.¡±


    This world had four objects that should never be touched. Men hadn¡¯t known what a terrible experience that their ancestors had gone through in sealing that horrifying power, nor did they know that tragic history.


    Men now dreamt of claiming that power as their own, and were confident in their ability to control that power.


    In the end, they had been so anxious to release that evil power, they had used the wrong key.


    ¡°If those idiots of Shou Shimaron hadn¡¯t experimented with the wrong key, this kingdom (Caloria) wouldn¡¯t have been destroyed. What¡¯re the names of the boxes they have again? They¡¯ve ¡®The End of the Wind¡¯ and¡­.¡±


    ¡°¡¯The End of the Land.¡±


    Murata answered in a toneless voice.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, ¡®The End of the Land¡±, they still have it, they still have ¡®The End of the Land.¡±


    At this moment I felt as if I had had a strong dose of mint, I felt a shudder vibrate through my head. Then, in a voice so calm I couldn¡¯t believe it was my own, I said, ¡° ¡­¡­.it can¡¯t fall into the hands of those foolish humans¡­.. only we can have them.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    My friend responded in a very unnatural yet dramatic way.


    ¡°Why¡¯re you breathing so heavily, are you high?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Wh¡­.what? What did I say?!¡±


    I had changed back to the weak and clueless Heika, flipping my bangs embarrassedly.


    ¡°I¡¯m not high! You know very well that I¡¯m against drinking and smoking.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying that you¡¯re drunk, I meant that you¡¯re undergoing a ¡®natural high¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think about saying I¡¯ve a ¡®natural high¡¯, I don¡¯t even feel sick when I¡¯m boarding public transport! It¡¯s Wolf who gets seasick!¡±


    ¡°Really? Then you don¡¯t have anything to worry about our school trip after graduation.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! Anyhow our school¡¯s graduation trip involves a full-day bus trip on the first day, unlike your private school that involves a plane trip, so¡­.. huh? It¡¯s not the time for discussing transport is it? Back to what¡¯s important, we should be talking about the boxes! The boxes¡­..¡±


    ¡°I never thought you would think of such a good plan, wimp.¡±


    Seeing that Wolfram had withdrawn his right hand from his sword, I heaved a sigh of relief. I understood his hatred of Flynn, but I couldn¡¯t let him, who hadn¡¯t been here at that time, inflict punishment because of how he felt.


    ¡°The boxes can¡¯t fall into the hands of the humans, that¡¯s perfectly right. But what do you say we should do? Do we attack Dai Shimaron before they discover how to use them? Anyway the naval forces will gather tomorrow, although they aren¡¯t fully armed, the emergency task force is made up of highly trained soldiers. If you¡¯re willing, I can teach you how to direct an army from the beginning.¡±


    ¡°You want to teach me? Oh, I didn¡¯t mean that! Sorry, I probably used the wrong words! I didn¡¯t mean that I don¡¯t trust you, I didn¡¯t mean that at all! Really, I didn¡¯t mean that! Haven¡¯t I said so before!? I don¡¯t want to start a war, not under any circumstances.¡±


    Hey, don¡¯t yell at me so loudly!


    ¡°I¡­. well, that elimination contest about running, attacking, defending! The world¡¯s fighting pageant?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the elimination contest involving the combination of ¡®intelligence, speed, and skill¡¯! The World¡¯s Best Fighter Tournament!¡±


    ¡°Right, if we win the title of World¡¯s Best Fighter, I think Dai Shimaron will have to give us the box.¡±


    Everyone responded with ¡°Ah?¡± and ¡°Yii?¡±, the combination was the hilarious ¡®Ah yii¡¯. (Ah yi means aunt in Chinese, don¡¯t know about the original Japanese text, sorry)


    ¡°They¡¯ll give the box to the champion¡­.!?¡±


    ¡°Thanks, everyone for being so simultaneous in your disbelief, thanks a lot.¡±


    ¡°Do you mean it? Yuuri!? Do we have to waste so much time? Actually we can just launch a sudden attack, can¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute, Caloria doesn¡¯t have any potential participants now! Also, didn¡¯t I tell you what had happened before? It¡¯s impossible to win the championship!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk at the same time, you two!¡±


    Only Murata was beaming without saying a word. I breathed in deeply before saying, ¡°Please calm down, you two. First, Wolf, as I had said before, I¡¯ll never declare war. Then, Flynn, participating in such tournaments is actually meaningful, even if we don¡¯t win we won¡¯t suffer any loss, right? Even if we can¡¯t find any skilled participants, we can¡¯t just give up.¡±


    ¡°Participating in tournaments is meaningful¡­. That¡¯s the first time I heard of such a thing.¡±


    Flynn put a hand to her forehead, bowing her head and trying to calm down.


    ¡°But didn¡¯t I tell you before, even if we went at full speed we¡¯ll have to spend at least twelve days to get there. Even if we start off now, we won¡¯t make it for the registration day!¡±


    ¡°When you said full speed you meant traveling by on land, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    I said a bit proudly, ¡°Then what if we travel by sea? Don¡¯t we have that Duchars¡¯ speedcraft?¡±


    TBC

 Volume 7 - CH 3

    vivarina


    This is chapter 3 of novel 8. It¡¯s personally among my favorite chapters, as it really gives us a clear look at the difference of the characterizations between the anime and novels.


    There¡¯s a scene of Yuuri getting slapped by Wolfram, yes, NOT the other way round, too bad they cut it from the anime¡­.


    It¡¯s also a very funny chapter, really, I was laughing as I translated XD


    Translation of chapter 3, novel 8


    The Duchars¡¯ speed craft was zooming ahead at three times the normal speed (compared to usual boats/ships).


    Its hull was painted bright red, and it also had that extra air of grandeur, having been involved in the second naval war on the ÖÐÑë²èsea, hence people tended to call it ¡®The Red Starfish¡¯.


    ¡°The Duchars have been warriors of the sea for generations, and this would have to start from the tale of Mindair Duchar-kyo, who fought the pirates in the north by himself¡­.¡±


    And so, our companion rambled on about the long history of the Duchars.


    There was a golden (colored) sign mounted on the speed craft, with some text inscribed on it. I read the text by following it slowly with my finger, it would have been good if the books back in Shin Makoku were this simple.


    ¡°It¡¯s still somehow hard to believe that this craft is called ¡®The Red Starfish¡¯.¡±           (Murata speaking)


    ¡°It sounds like Gaia.¡± (Gaia is a character in »ú¶¯Õ½Ê¿¸Öµ¯, an anime in Japan. The nickname of Gaia is ¡®The Red Comet¡¯, comet and starfish in Japanese sounds similar) (still Murata speaking)


    ¡°Who do you mean? That German footballer?¡±    (Yuuri speaking)


    Since I¡¯m a complete idiot with regards to football terminology, what I had said made Murata frown. Probably deciding that there was no point in continuing our conversation, he just waved his left hand. Hey, don¡¯t look down on me! At least I do know about the Series A of the German League and the Italian League.      (Don¡¯t know if I used the correct terms for the football part, sorry. Guess I¡¯m as bad as Yuuri)


    Anyway, if I had to describe how it feels like to travel across the sea at three times the normal speed, I would immediately think of watching a video recording at three times the usual speed. Our surroundings slid past us in a blur, there was the ocean, the waves, the sky, the clouds, the seagulls and the algae. As we were going round the coast of the northern shore, a normal ship would take nearly fifteen days for us to get to Dai Shimaron. However, as this was the incredible ¡®Red Starfish¡¯, it would only take us approximately five days to get there.


    ¡°Five days is still too slow, we need to get there in four days!¡±                (Yuuri speaking)


    The ship¡¯s owner Descuss Duchar the Second (who had been talking about the history of the Duchars) told me assertively, ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡±


    ¡°¡­.then I guess five days would do just as well¡­..¡±


    Although I was secretly coveting the experience of a real disaster on the sea, imagining situations where there would be speeches such as ¡°Captain, we¡¯re going down!¡±, ¡°How long will it take to repair the speed device?!¡±, ¡°We¡¯ll need five hours!¡±, ¡°That¡¯s too slow, we¡¯ll need to get it in shape within half an hour!¡± and other similar adventures, in reality I was no captain, and I really am so weak that I don¡¯t seem like a king at all.


    We had been busy making preparations to embark on the journey, we were prepared to leave the Gilbert business harbor the next day.


    I, forced to wear a mask when there was anyone else around, had been detained by the children who had risen early, in just a few moments I had been surrounded by a large crowd of them. These few days I had been playing the part of a good leader, constantly meeting with the people.


    ¡°Regent Norman, where¡¯re you going?¡±


    ¡°Are we ever going to see you again?¡±


    From their perspective, they had just undergone a sudden and incredible disaster. It was perfectly natural for them to start to have their doubts again when they learnt that their leader was going to leave the land, especially since the Calorians hadn¡¯t seen Norman Gilbert for more than ten years. Just as their regent had come back, he had wanted to take his wife out for a trip on sea. No wonder they felt uneasy. Those little hands had been about to grip at my clothes, but they shrank back almost immediately.


    Probably those children were hesitant to touch their noble leader so straightforwardly.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t go, Regent Norman¡­.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll come back, won¡¯t you?¡±


    Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll come back, I¡¯ll definitely come back.¡±


    I felt an emotional turmoil inside me as I answered them.


    It was because the real Norman Gilbert would never ever come back to this land. He was now lying in a cold grave, or maybe he was enjoying himself in paradise. Now, the person wearing the silver-colored mask was not the scar-faced regent, but was actually the wimpy Maou who had come from Shin Makoku, which was far away on the other side of the horizon.


    At this moment I felt that I was betraying these children¡¯s trust with this big lie of mine.


    Actually you¡¯ve all been fooled! All fooled! Don¡¯t look at me with your innocent eyes. This isn¡¯t the real Norman Gilbert standing in front of you! However, all these children and their parents, they all believe that this stranger is their regent, they had even handed over the ruling of their land and their lives to me, a stranger.


    ¡°Hey, my friend!¡±


    Murata, who had been about to board the ship, was turning around to talk to the children. His voice floated down from above.


    ¡°We¡¯re about to represent Caloria in a battle with Dai Shimaron, you know!¡±


    ¡°Battle? Is there a war?¡±                    (the children are asking)


    ¡°No, no war, just a sport¡­. Hm¡­ I should say a competition. He¡¯s going to participate in the elimination tournament involving the combination of intelligence, speed and skill! The World¡¯s Best Fighter Tournament. That really needs talent, you know¡­! We might even have to use phrases such as ¡®For the honor of Caloria¡¯!¡±             (Murata talking glibly to the children XD)


    The children¡¯s eyes shone.


    ¡°Representing our country in a tournament?¡±


    ¡°Because Norman Gilbert is our regent, so we as Calorians are the best?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, remember to tell your friends! Tell them he¡¯s going to participate in the World¡¯s Best Fighter Tournament.¡±


    ¡°For god¡¯s sake, don¡¯t exaggerate so much.¡±             (Yuuri speaking)


    Although in the past baseball had been the mainstay of my life, I hadn¡¯t even qualified to become a catcher in my school team. Now I was in charge of the ruling of a country, and also about to represent that country in an important competition. Isn¡¯t this the equivalent of skipping past state championships and the leagues to represent Japan in the Olympics?! I don¡¯t think there would be anyone else on Earth who had taken such a great leap ahead.


    Oh, my God¡­.., what has my normal life turned into?


    However, asking God about the fate of a Mazoku (demon), that seemed a bit unreasonable¡­¡­


    ¡°Lady Flynn, are you leaving?¡±                                  (one of the children talking to Flynn)


    ¡°Yes, Cara, but I¡¯ll return as soon as the tournament is over. And Meg, go and help your mother! Although your fathers, brothers and the other men will be coming back soon, your help will still be needed for now, you know!¡±


    Flynn was stroking the cheek of the little girl, her long hair almost dragging on the ground. All the children were reluctant to leave, looking back frequently as they made their way back to the shelters.


    ¡°You know all of them?¡±                  (Yuuri speaking to Flynn)


    ¡°They always come to this area, but I can¡¯t really remember ALL of their names, it would be so much better id I could.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­.¡±


    I suddenly felt that I had lost (to her as a ruler), I could just look away. She really was a good leader, if the ruling kingdom (Dai Shimaron) hadn¡¯t had a law forbidding women to rule, she might have been a wonderful leader, maybe even a good wife.


    ¡°This question might be a bit weird¡­. But I can¡¯t really think of any clever questions anyway.¡±          (Yuuri speaking)


    ¡°What¡¯s your question?¡±


    ¡°¡­.do you like children?¡±


    Flynn looked confused, then shook her head quickly. Her bangs floated up in mid-air.


    ¡°Wh¡­what? I don¡¯t have any!? I don¡¯t have any illegitimate child!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re mistaken, I didn¡¯t mean to imply that. The one who has an illegitimate child is me.¡±         (Yuuri speaking)


    ¡°Huh?! You¡­.you have a child?! Then¡­that must mean¡­.you¡¯re married?¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­ well, I¡¯m a single parent¡­.. Aah!¡±


    A familiar sword had sliced down onto the cracked pavement between us.


    ¡°You dirty human female!¡±


    ¡°Dirty¡­..¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think about flirting with my fianc¨¦!¡±


    The beautiful 82-year old bishounen was glaring at us with his veins popping out from his forehead. However Flynn had not been shocked by the attacking weapon, in fact she seemed more intrigued by the complicated relationships between the Mazoku. She was pointing at Wolfram and me while gasping, ¡°F¡­fiance? Th¡­that must mean one of you had given birth¡­..¡±


    ¡°Aah! Please, stop asking for more details¡­.!¡±                (Yuuri XD)


    Murata can hear us here!


    Just then my friend sauntered over to us, beaming and holding an iron box in his arms.


    ¡°Wow, Shibuya, you¡¯re engaged? You¡¯re just a high-school student! I see, that¡¯s why you aren¡¯t interested in girls your age.¡±


    ¡°W¡­what?!¡±


    ¡°I never thought you would be like this, I was thinking maybe you were only attracted to older women or Lolitas. Ah, I see, you¡¯ve reached the age for marriage unknowingly?¡±


    I had just realized¡­. Talking about age, Wolf was a lot older than I was.


    ¡°W¡­wait, wait, Murata! Actually this whole business is very complicated¡­. I would advise you not to ask more!¡±


    ¡°Heika, what¡¯re you talking about? The engagement between His Excellency Wolfram and you is a great event of the country!¡±


    ¡°The whole country¡­.?!¡±


    I was sabotaged again by another person who was passing by. It was Dakaskos, Gunter¡¯s bald underling, he was holding a stack of boards in his arms, I wonder what he wants to do with them¡­.


    ¡°No¡­no¡­.It can¡¯t be?! The whole country?!¡±


    ¡°Of course, I think His Excellency Gunter was so agitated, he was crying while dancing in the midst of flying feathers! They say he tore open seven pillows!¡±


    ¡°Heika, when are you going to celebrate this grand event?¡±


    Even that usually silent Captain Saismoya had butted in on the conversation.


    Everyone knows¡­.. there¡¯s no way for me to turn back anymore¡­.


    ¡°Argh¡­. Pikakos¡­. Please don¡¯t talk about this anymore.¡±


    ¡°My humble name is Dakaskos, Heika.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right, Dakaskos. This might be public news in our own country, but please don¡¯t talk about it here.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯re you stopping him from talking about it?! Yuuri! I¡¯m not allowing you to keep it a secret!¡±                 (Wolfram XD)


    Are you planning on spreading this news everywhere?! Is there anyone who can tell him for me, we¡¯re both boys!?


    Murata¡¯s reaction was the exact opposite of Flynn¡¯s, he didn¡¯t look surprised by the news at all. Maybe he had a relative who had that kind of interest.


    ¡°Hm¡­. Don¡¯t you sound like you¡¯re just hiding something¡­.?¡±              (Murata speaking)


    ¡°Murata¡­.. are you my friend or foe?!¡±


    As the speed craft was preparing to leave, a crowd appeared at the harbor. The children were reaching out to touch the ship, they were busy waving their handkerchiefs or shirts, shouting the name of Norman Gilbert simultaneously. There were even people who burst out crying from emotion, it all looked like a grand farewell party, they stayed there for a long time.


    The journey on sea was quite alright. Although this was a craft designed for maneuvering through narrow spaces, ¡®The Red Starfish¡¯ still had enough facilities for more than ten people. As it was basically a craft built for war, there were no double beds. Although the three of us (Yuuri, Wolfram, Murata) slept in the Captain¡¯s quarters, it was not really comfortable.


    Not only were my days spent out on the deck, even my nights were spent in my stargazing. As nearly all our time were spent on deck, we really would have to make winter preparations.


    Jozak had concentrated on his beloved woodwork from the very first day; Dakaskos, with his pencil behind his ear, was helping him with the coloring. Maybe Saismoya was not used to spending his time on board someone else¡¯s ship, he kept pacing up and down (on deck). Only Flynn spent all her time in her cabin, probably she was worried about leaving the rebuilding of Caloria in the hands of a foreign rescue troop (from Shin Makoku).


    However, thinking about the rescue troop from Shin Makoku¡­ it was led by Gisela and made up of many healers. It was definitely better to leave the rescue mission in the hands of experts rather than let someone inexperienced handle it. Flynn would not be wrong to trust me on this.


    ¡°It¡­. It really is quite c¡­.cold.¡±                         (Murata talking to Yuuri)


    ¡°And¡­.and w¡­w¡­we¡¯ll have to b¡­b¡­.be careful not to b¡­.bite our t¡­.t¡­tongues w¡­while talking.¡±


    As we were moving forward at three times the usual speed, we would have to be prepared to face three times the force (of the wind). The motor of this little craft was in really good condition, the inner portions of the motor had a strange smell. According to local customs, this proved that the magic speed device was functioning properly. If that¡¯s the case, why is there the smell of sulfur?


    This (the speed device) was the proudly made product of Anissina von Karbelnikoff-kyo, it was definitely different from the other products on the market.


    ¡°W¡­what ¡®s the b¡­.b¡­bishounen doing?¡±              (Murata speaking)


    His voice sounded like the wailing of a ghost.


    ¡°Wolf? H¡­he¡¯s t¡­t¡­throwing up at t¡­.the other s..s¡­side of the sh¡­ship! H¡­he gets s¡­seasick v¡­v¡­very easily. Ouch!¡±


    ¡°A¡­.actually he¡¯s t¡­t¡­trying h¡­his very b¡­b¡­best, you know.¡±


    Murata was gripping the railings, straightening himself as he faced the sea. His sun-bleached dyed-blonde hair was floating in the wind, revealing his forehead. Thank heavens he wasn¡¯t wearing a wig.


    ¡°Wolf is t¡­.trying his b¡­b¡­best? W¡­why would h..h¡­.he try his b¡­best?¡±


    ¡°To help you become a good king.¡±


    He was still looking at the ocean.


    ¡°I just hope that for all his efforts, he¡¯ll get what he really deserves.¡±


    After that he looked over to me slowly, blinking while taking out his colored contact lenses.


    The two of us have eyes of the same color.


    ¡°Who¡¯re you?¡±                                           (Yuuri speaking)


    I had my back to the waves, my hands reaching backwards to grip the railings. I could feel the cold steel bars of the railings against my waist, there was no more space for me to back down against anymore. Taking another step back would mean my falling into the ocean, and I didn¡¯t plan on doing that.


    ¡°Who¡¯re you really?!¡±


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s not nice! Shibuya, what¡¯re you talking about?  We were classmates in the same secondary school¡­.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not just that, is it?!¡±


    Jozak was looking up from the deck while waving a saw and calling out, ¡°Your Highness, is this alright?¡±                       (Jozak is talking to Murata)


    ¡°Hm¡­ I¡¯ll go and take a look now¡­.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t go!¡±


    I grabbed at my friend¡¯s arm.


    His name is Murataken. A bookish classmate from my second and third years in secondary school, and now a scholar in a really famous and distinguished private school. Since he had no girlfriend, to get over his summer holidays quickly, he had been working part time in a shop of his relative¡¯s at the beach. It had seemed that way, but¡­..


    It really would have seemed that way, but¡­..


    ¡°What had they meant by ¡®Your Highness¡¯? Why can you communicate with Jozak when it¡¯s the first time you¡¯ve come to this world?! Is the reason Wolf refuses to respond to your comments due to this title of yours?!¡±


    As my questions burst out from my mouth, I couldn¡¯t stop myself anymore.


    ¡°And your language! Even if you know a bit of German, it¡¯s impossible for you to speak so fluently as soon as you get here?! And don¡¯t you feel puzzled when the others call me King or Heika?!¡±


    Murata¡­. Or at least the person I had thought was Murata, remained silent even when I grabbed his hand. But maybe because of the force exerted by my fingers, his flesh seemed to react slightly (to that force).


    ¡°Also¡­. In Shou Shimaron¡­. What had you meant on that battlefield? It might be because you¡¯re smart, so you could speak glibly about international matters, social problems, or you might just have been reacting to the stressful conditions then.¡±


    He had mentioned strange things then.


    He had talked about traveling with me, getting lost in the desert lands, escaping pursuers.


    ¡°But I don¡¯t remember going through those with you! I never saw cacti when I was together with you here, (your mentions of) the sun, the moon, a guardian, I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re talking about!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I said you might not have remembered isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°How could you know about that?! When did you mean? Which desert? Who was my guardian?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Weller-kyo.¡±


    Hearing the name that I had guessed he would say, my voice was shaking as I asked, ¡°How could you have seen Conrad, Murata¡­..?¡±


    ¡°I never saw him face to face. At the time I had meant, you and I weren¡¯t even in human form yet, even our destination hadn¡¯t been determined.¡±


    Jozak, who had realized something was wrong, had hurried over to poke me lightly with his finger.


    ¡°Heika.¡±


    He was trying to control me from behind, plucking my fingers off from Murata¡¯s arm, one by one. I felt suddenly weak, and had no more will to resist. A wave of nausea came over me, making me collapse backward. I could feel a pair of strong arms holding me back up instantly.


    ¡°You¡¯re just pretending to help me, actually you¡¯re trying to gain control over me and not let me attack him, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°No, Heika, I don¡¯t think you¡¯d have attacked him.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re all confusing me. Even if you say so¡­. Murata, he¡­.he has good brains, and he¡¯s got the gift of gab¡­. Plus he¡¯s a Japanese, so he¡¯s got black hair and eyes. He¡¯s not like me, I¡¯m wimpy and useless, unable to perform the duties of a king¡­. Maybe you¡¯re all thinking that it was a mistake to let someone like me become king, so you¡¯re trying to find another candidate, that¡¯s why you¡¯ve brought this fellow over here, isn¡¯t it?! As I¡¯m impulsive and stubborn, unwilling to listen to your advice, as long as you can find someone better and more talented than I am, you can switch our places, that¡¯s why Murata¡¯s here, isn¡¯t it?!¡±


    I was repeating what someone (Adalbert) had once told me before, I had almost forgotten them, but I was reproducing them one by one. My head was starting to prickle with heat, even my voice sounded so far away. Actually, it might be because of the humming in my ears that I couldn¡¯t hear the noises around me anymore.


    My sight was tinged with red, just like a blood pool spreading outwards.


    A part of me, which not quite belonged to me, was making me spit out from my mouth, ¡°¡­..but¡­..unluckily, he¡¯s a Japanese just like me, you can say he¡¯s human. I sincerely doubt that he has the Mazoku blood, which you all love, flowing in his veins! Actually the two of us can only count as half-Mazoku!! Even if we¡¯re double blacks or if we¡¯ve dark powers, our bodies are made up of the flesh and blood of filthy humans, not fit for the role of a Maou! Because we¡¯re borne from the bodies of despicable human females¡­¡­¡±


    Suddenly, I felt a force bearing down on me from the left, making me bite down on my inner left cheek. It took me several seconds to realize that I had just been slapped. This kind of situation had happened once before, at that time I had also been slapped, loudly and sharply.


    The other (person) was looking back at me blankly; it looked like he wasn¡¯t planning on attacking me at the moment.


    I was in a similar state (not planning on attacking either), looking silently at the one who had slapped me.


    ¡°Insulting someone¡¯s parents, that¡¯s a despicable act!¡±


    ¡°¡­..Wolf.¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t that what you had told me before?¡±


    He was looking at me directly with his emerald green eyes which reminded me of calm lake water. My head and the back of my throat felt as if they had been dosed with overly cold mint, it still felt a bit painful.


    ¡°¡­.what did I just say to Murata¡­.¡±


    ¡°The exact same thing I said about your parents last time.¡±


    I could never forget those words, but I hadn¡¯t meant to say all that (to Murata), really. I¡¯m not just stubborn, I¡¯m also impulsive and a coward. No matter from what angle you look at me, I¡¯m not mature or spirited enough. It¡¯s easy to see who would be the better leader just by comparision.          (Yuuri compared to Murata)


    But even so, I never thought that the Mazoku tribe would betray me.


    (Thinking of) the relationships we had built from the very beginning, I never thought they would be so heartless.


    I¡¯m not wrong (in thinking the Mazoku aren¡¯t heartless), am I?


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Murata.¡±


    Gripping something with my right hand to regain my balance, I forced myself to look my friend in the eye. Of course, my face was red (with shame).


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. We¡¯re already high school students, I won¡¯t be angry at you over something like this.¡±


    ¡°Huh?! But he (Wolfram) lost his temper!?¡±


    The bishounen grabbed at my collar at once.


    ¡°Remember, my anger is as explosive as fire! But it seems like you still can¡¯t control your own self-inferiority and feelings.¡±


    ¡°Wh¡­what? What self-inferiority and feelings?! And what do you mean by I can¡¯t control them?!¡±


    ¡°Thank goodness I knew how to push you by angering you, succeeding in making you propose to me, otherwise I would still be having a one-way crush! Just thought I would mention that.¡±


    Putting his hand which he had used to slap me on his hip, he cleared his throat and said confidently, ¡°This is an old Mazoku tradition, I think now you could call it a ¡®reverse proposal¡¯.¡±


    (Explanation on the ''reverse proposal'' thingy:


    Actually, I feel that Wolfram really slapped Yuuri to open his eyes and regain his senses, stopping him from hurting Murata and Yuuri himself further.


    So....I''m thinking that the ''reverse proposal'' was just an excuse Wolfram used to lighten up the atmosphere.


    The ''reverse proposal'' he meant might be that he had purposefully angered Yuuri into slapping him and thus accidentally proposing to him (at the beginning of the novels), but I think it''s just his excuse since he probably wasn''t feeling anything for Yuuri at that time yet.


    ¡°Reverse root?¡±          (root and proposal has the same Japanese pronunciation)


    What is that thing? Is it the type of root that you dig up after it blooms in spring, then replant the next year? Or is it the last single recorded by my father¡¯s favorite band before they split up?


    ¡°What? Shibuya, so you were indirectly admitting your feelings?¡±     (Murata speaking)


    ¡°Of¡­. Of course not!¡±


    ¡°Well, at least no harm came from it. But I never thought you would be reluctant to give up your title (as ruler), looks like you¡¯re starting to lust after power, but Shibuya¡­..¡±


    ¡°Aah!¡±


    He was examining me like an eye surgeon, flipping my eyelid outwards.


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem like the type of person unwilling to relinquish power, you know.¡±          (Murata speaking)


    ¡°Why¡¯re you talking like a psychiatrist!?¡±


    ¡°Now is a good time to get things clear. Murata, who¡¯re you really?¡±              (still Yuuri)


    Jozak was trying to explain in an apologetic tone.


    ¡°Heika, actually he is¡­.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me!¡±


    I cut him off abruptly.


    ¡°I would like to hear his own explanation.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, we should talk things over in different surroundings.¡±


    After undergoing tremors three times repeatedly, the boat¡¯s speed had suddenly reduced dramatically. Captain Saismoya came towards us, cupping his hands around his mouth and shouting, ¡°Everyone please go into the cabin! Quickly!¡±


    Wolf was asking, ¡°Do you think that was a giant squid?!¡± while drawing out his sword. Why does he seem so happy?


    ¡°Is there anything wrong?¡±               (Yuuri)


    ¡°No, Heika. Do you see what¡¯s in front of us?¡±             (Jozak)


    Looking towards where Jozak was pointing, I could see the rocky surface protruding from the shore in the distance. There were yellow sails (of ships) flapping in the wind while approaching us.


    ¡°It¡¯s the shore patrol, nothing to worry about. We were invited by them (Dai Shimaron), remember? Nothing wrong will happen!¡±              (Jozak speaking)


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why do we have to go into the cabin?¡±                (Yuuri speaking)


    ¡®The Red Starfish¡¯ had almost completely stopped.


    Jozak was happily patting Murata and my shoulders.                       (Jozak is always happy to fight XD)


    ¡°Those who get selected for patrolling the sea are mostly really bad-tempered. If something should happen to either of you, we¡¯ll get slain by Shinou. But even if there¡¯re any problems, they¡¯ll only be minor fights, there won¡¯t be any real trouble.¡±


    To avoid any trouble, it seems that we had better listen to him. I pushed open the cabin door with my foot, tugging at Wolfram¡¯s sleeve.


    ¡°Wolf.¡±


    ¡°Come in.¡±          (still Yuuri speaking)


    He shook his head lightly.


    ¡°I¡¯m not planning on going in.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­?¡±


    Before I could ask him about his reason (for not going in), I had been pushed into the cabin and the door shut in my face.


    TBC


    Here are my comments, feel free to skip^^.


    As I¡¯ve mentioned before, Yuuri in the novels is quite unlike the one we see in the anime, and it¡¯s apparent in this chapter, isn¡¯t it?


    Just like he did in the last chapter, he can lose control of himself when he¡¯s under stress or agitated, unlike in the anime, where he¡¯s always the sweet and na?ve young king. I always feel that there¡¯s still something unresolved about this power of Yuuri¡¯s in the novels. He can¡¯t really control his powers yet.


    That¡¯s why I think Wolfram¡¯s slap can be summed up in this sentence by Murata: ¡°To help you become a good king.¡±


    Yuuri certainly regained his senses quickly enough XD.


    Also, it¡¯s interesting to note that Wolfram slapped Yuuri for insulting Murata¡¯s (and Yuuri¡¯s own) human mother¡­..


    As for Murata, his character is so much more defined in the novels, I wish they could have showed it more in the anime.

 Volume 7 - CH 4

    So I didn¡¯t make a post about this novel¡¯s chapters that were already translated like I did for KittoMa and ItsukaMa because there really wasn¡¯t anything worth making a post about.  The Chinese version stayed really faithful.  There were a few jokes that were cut out and some that it seems like Vivarina just didn¡¯t know how to write in English (Like when Yuuri was imagining Super Saiyans because the Big Shimaron tournament is called the exact same thing as the Dragonball tournament ¡®Tenkaichi Budokai¡¯).  There were also times where it looks like she mixed up who was talking. Although, one time even I''m not really sure if it was Wolfram or Yuuri making the comment. It seems like it had to have been Wolfram because the next line was definitely Yuuri, but it also seemed out of character. It wasn''t anything really important though so whatever ^-^


    ¡°¡­ I¡¯m the Demon King.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Even though I was born in Boston and raised in Japan, the soul I have is a demon¡¯s and I was raised to become the Demon King.  It¡¯s funny, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°A little bit.¡±


    ¡°History, management, stuff like that?  How to be a king?  No one taught me anything like that.  When it comes to stuff I know there¡¯s baseball¡­ ping pong and baseball.  Forget college, I hadn¡¯t even gone to high school for that long.  But all of a sudden I¡¯m the ruler of a country.  I have to govern over hundreds of thousands of people.  It¡¯s crazy, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°It is.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡±


    Murata once again explains his position in a way that a high school student who only reads sports magazines and manga could understand.  As I chimed in with ¡®right?¡¯ and ¡®that sucks¡¯ every now and again, it was like we were chatting in front of a convenience store cheering each other up.  Eventually we ended up bragging about which one of us had a harder time, but neither one of us came out on top.


    Because neither of us felt that there was anything unfortunate about the parts of our lives we didn¡¯t talk about.


    Right now, I¡¯m talking about demons with my Japanese best friend from Earth.  We¡¯re talking about the road of fate we¡¯re stumbling down like we¡¯re discussing a drama.  At the opening ceremony of the second year of middle school, I never imagined I¡¯d have this kind of relationship with Murata.  Suddenly a warm feeling pours into my chest, spreads throughout my veins and reaches all the way to my fingertips.  The reassurance that there was someone I could talk about everything with spread throughout my body.


    But at the same time, I had cut off my one remaining, although narrow, escape route.


    ¡°¡­ But it¡¯s all real, isn¡¯t it.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°I just thought that this is now beyond a doubt all real.¡±


    Until now, I had met friends in a place that no one knew about and was the king of a country that no one had heard of.  The only proof I had was the Lion¡¯s Blue pendant swaying on my chest.  If I had been surrounded by a bunch of doctors in a pure white hospital room in Japan on Earth and they told me that it was all a dream, that it was all an illusion that I had seen, I wouldn¡¯t have had the confidence to defend myself.


    But now it¡¯s different.


    I have companions in this world and there is a friend who knows this on Earth.


    This is definitely real.


    No one can doubt it.


    ¡°I can¡¯t just explain it all away by saying it¡¯s a dream¡­ ah, huh?¡±


    On the other side of the window pane, a silver flash cut through the air.  It was the flash of steel.  There¡¯s only one thing I imagine it could be: someone had drawn their sword.  Hurriedly looking out the window, I see that even Flynn has appeared on deck.

 Volume 7 - CH 5

KKM Novel 7, Chapter 5


    *.*.*.*.*


    *.*.*.*.*

 Volume 7 - CH 6

    <-- Previous Chapter


    *.*.*.*.*


    Nigel Wise Maxine is the man who turned Caloria into Hell.


    He has the Small Shimaron trademark hair style and beard style, a thin face and white cheeks without muscle and, if I had to describe them, thin eyes with single-fold eyelids.  Because of that, his overall impression was sharp-witted and lethal more so than strong and fearless.  The nickname I decided for him was Cropped Ponytail, but I have no intention of using such a cute name for him.


    "Hey, Cropped Pony!  You got some nerve showing your face here!"


    Ah, I used it.


    "Oh, that voice.  Look who it is."


    As usual, he was wearing even the dark red mantle of the Small Shimaron military and his face - with even more injuries - distorted a bit.  He probably laughed.  He starts talking in his intentionally slow and subdued manner meant to intimidate.


    "The guest of Norman Gilbit of Caloria who, along with the gallant prisoners, volunteered for an honorable task in service of His Majesty Saralegi, king of Small Shimaron and then went missing after an unknown power went wild - Captain Crusoe or something... wasn''t it?"


    "I''d rather you shorten that introduction."


    And in any case, there are details that are conveniently wrong.


    It was a while ago, but it also seemed like just yesterday. This man carried out an experiment in the name of his king and, as we were headed to Big Shimaron on the western side of the continent (which received no damage), we were gathered together in a stadium along with a bunch of unlucky prisoners where he tried to release the horribly evil weapon, ''The End of the Land.''  With the wrong key that I have no idea where he obtained.


    Conrad''s arm.


    Maxine narrows his single-fold eyes and looked over my companions.


    "The demons are multiplying.  I''ve met your aide there, but this is the first time I''ve had the pleasure to meet this beautiful one.  Well I say, you''ve all gathered together.  Is this some sort of carefree sightseeing trip in Shimaron?"


    "What!?  You''re one to talk!  After doing all that to Caloria, to half the continent, you''re on a family trip with your daughters!?  Ah, you young ladies are not at fault here."


    "Daughters?"  The man who seems like he would even smell cold stands next to the twins in a heartwarming scene.  "Mine?  Certainly not.  Although I did name them."


    "You named them!?"


    I wonder if naming rights lie with someone other than the parents in this world.  But anyway, what''s up with naming beautiful twin girls Jason and Freddy?  Even though they''re so pretty and cute, if you get them together they''re Splatter Sisters who you never know when they''re going to start murdering someone.


    "Oh man, I-I''m so lucky that the man who named me didn''t call me ''The Ring'' Shibuya."


    "I might have ended up Zaku Murata.  That would have been bad." (1)


    "... Zaku, huh?  That''s a fitting name for a warrior," Wolfram says with a bit of appreciation.  Even so, do not name a girl that.


    "These people," said either Friday the 13th or Elm Street as they grabbed the cold man''s arm.  I want to be a good big brother and tell them that they must not be friendly with a man like this.  However, these girls might be like demons where you can''t tell how old they are just by looking at them.  They might be much older than I am.  I have never met a god in person before so it''s better to be safe than sorry.


    *.*.*.*.*


    ¡®Use your knowledge, speed and skill to win!  The World¡¯s Best Fighter Tournament,¡¯ audaciously abbreviated to ¡®The World¡¯s Best¡¯ was a contest true to its name.


    In other words, you can¡¯t get by with just being smart and you can¡¯t win if you have muscles for brains.  Even if you¡¯re wise and strong and smart, you can¡¯t be a slow tortoise like in my mom¡¯s favorite saying.


    ¡°As the schedule is now, the contestants will be thinned out during the ¡®knowledge¡¯ section first and then they will move on to the ¡®speed¡¯ event.  We need a vehicle and animal for this.  The starting point is Nilzon and all the territories participating will race to Big Shimaron¡¯s royal capital of Lambert.¡± (1)


    ¡°Wait!  Wait, that knowledge test, will I be okay with having enough technical skill to buy juice from a vending machine?¡±


    ¡°Shibuya, we¡¯re not chimpanzees.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard they are written questions, but¡­ it¡¯s the first time for me as well.¡±


    ¡°Gah!  A written test!  I¡¯m going to get disqualified!  I¡¯m only good with scantrons so there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll be able to get a good score on a written test in a foreign language!¡±


    To make matters worse, Flynn had written Wolfram, Josak and me into the three spots on the team member list.  We were so overconfident we overlooked the fact that we had to actually make it to the finals.


    After all, the finals are a fighting contest based on ¡®skill.¡¯  We will have to fight with Big Shimaron¡¯s strongest soldiers.  It¡¯s rude to say this, but I don¡¯t think that Mr. Robinson is very skilled in combat.  You, captain, don¡¯t seem to be much better in this respect, but you have an unfathomable amount of magical power.


    There was a really cheap jab in there, but she did her best to explain her reasoning.  It says that hired mercenaries are allowed, but there has to be at least one person from the represented area in the three man team.  It is also said that the opponents in the finals will be the victors of the previous tournament, Big Shimaron.  It¡¯s like an eternal seed for their perpetual authority.


    ¡°What does that mean?  So I¡¯m not entered as a mysterious demon or Captain Crusoe, but as the Calorian Norman Gilbit?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Yes.¡±


    ¡°Wow.¡±  So my failure is Norman Gilbit¡¯s failure and my victory is Norman Gilbit¡¯s victory?  Now that a dead man¡¯s honor is on my shoulders, my responsibility has doubled.  ¡°But don¡¯t the leaders in Big Shimaron know that your husband died a long time ago?¡±


    ¡°They have their doubts, but I believe they do not know for sure.  They came to me first.  The people in Shimaron thought that since Norman was a pure and noble man he would never hand over the evil Wincott poison even if it was for the benefit of the young people of Caloria.¡±


    Flynn gave a self-deprecating laugh and turned her gaze toward a nearby store.

 Volume 7 - CH 7

KKM Novel 7, Chapter 7


    *.*.*.*.*

 Volume 7 - CH 8

    <-- Previous Chapter


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, that was the Luttenberg Division.  All of the soldiers with mixed blood from all over the kingdom gathered together.  Among them were rookies who hadn¡¯t even finished training and young amateurs.  Everyone had gathered to give their lives to save the kingdom.  If we could gain trust through fighting boldly, the weak wouldn¡¯t have to suffer.  We thought they wouldn¡¯t have to be subject to prejudice and discrimination.  It was a special division composed of those with human blood¡­ We set out to the most important yet most hopeless battleground¡­ Arnold, on the brink of defeat.  Think about it, although he hadn¡¯t become a high level noble, he was still the legitimate child of the king.  There was no need for him to choose death.  There was no precedent for His Highness to set out to a battle with no hope of survival.  Stuffel commanded him to and Lord Weller said it would be an honor¡­  The outcome of the battle was decided the moment we arrived.  Even with the new recruits, we had a little less than 4000 and the enemy had more than 30,000¡­ It was hell.¡±


    I desperately tried to calm the trembling of my body in order to not wake up Wolfram.


    ¡°Arnold was hell.  The Shimaron army had exorcists, but they didn¡¯t have much war potential on demon lands.  We were also sent soldiers who could use magic, but due to the catastrophic state of the war, there weren¡¯t very many soldiers left who were skilled in powerful magic.  They could just barely use healing magic.  They had no use in combat.  In the end, it was a swordfight.  For those soldiers using light swords, after they cut several bodies they would become useless.  The blade would dull with fat.  For those using axes and heavy swords, the hilts would break and they wouldn¡¯t be able to hold them anymore.  When that happened, they would throw away their weapon and take the weapon emblazoned with the Shimaron coat of arms from whatever soldier they just killed.  If there was a corpse of a comrade nearby and it was grasping a bloodless sword, they would use that as well.  When that became useless they would take another.  When that became useless they would take yet another weapon.  In the end, no one was using demon arms.  Ironically, a large amount of the enemy was taken out with the weapons they themselves had forged.  And that¡¯s not all.  The worst part was that, by the hands of people who had the same human blood as them, they¡­  There¡¯s the possibility that if you looked up their family trees, there might have been distant relatives among the enemy.  I might have killed a child or grandchild or nephew of my mother¡¯s new family without even knowing.¡±


    With a look that seemed as if he might smile gently, Josak''s flame-colored eyelashes pressed together.


    ¡°¡­ Even so, we didn¡¯t waver.  Enemies and allies fell on top of each other and there were so many corpses you couldn¡¯t see the ground.  The grass shone red and, in the places you could see it, the ground was pitch black.  There was no time to avoid legs and arms and even if they were still alive you had to step across the fallen to move forward.  Arnold was hell, but at the same time it was equal.  Whatever blood flowed in their body, not a single person doubted their allies and soldiers who had just met the night before entrusted their backs to each other.  That was what we wished for.  Equality, faith.  In the end, we slaughtered the enemy until their numbers were less than a thousand and forced them into a miraculous retreat.  But many of our comrades had died as well.  Even if we survived, most of us were weak and wounded.


    ¡°What was especially tragic was that the new recruits we had sought to protect by ordering them to retreat early had been drawn into another skirmish, but¡­ Anyway, there were next to none in the battalion who were able to return in good health¡­ Even Lord Weller had sustained injuries so severe he couldn¡¯t move and he had half given up on life and ordered the few survivors to return without him.¡±


    Out of the scars he had shown me, the one on his side was the worst.  The person in question had laughed and said that he just kept walking while holding his guts in.  Just by remembering the twisted skin, the same spot on my body aches.


    ¡°We lost many, but we defended Arnold in the southwest to the last and prevented the enemy from advancing.  Using this opportunity, The Great Demon Kingdom made a comeback and the tides turned in the Grantz and Karbelnikoff territories.  We didn¡¯t pursue the enemy into their territory, but in naval battles the Dugald family and Roberski¡¯s fleet of unsinkable battleships used their power to corner the Shimaron forces.  The reason we eventually reached a ceasefire was because we won at Arnold.  We believe that.  In fact, with the sheer amount of honor from that military achievement, Lord Weller gained a social status equal to the ten noble families.  It was this that Stuffel had not desired and it had been approved with unanimous acceptance at a special conference.  He had set out to get rid of the threat to his political power and had instead bestowed upon him an unshakeable position.  However, it seems like my Commander had no interest in social class.  Not that I ever asked him personally, but it seems there was something even more important that had happened.¡±


    ¡°By the time Conrart had returned¡­¡±


    The weight from my shoulder had lifted.  When I turn my head, there was intelligence and strength shining in Wolfram¡¯s eyes.


    My left shoulder suddenly grows cold.


    ¡°¡­ Julia had died.  And ever since then, Conrart has never attempted to return to military service."


    ¡°Oh, did we wake you?¡±


    ¡°Of course.  There¡¯s no way I¡¯d be able to sleep peacefully with all that fearful trembling.  You really are a coward if a story has you scared.¡±


    By Julia he probably means Lady Suzanna Julia von Wincott.  Was a woman that wasn¡¯t even his lover that important to Conrad?  It might have been adultery¡­ I swallow the question that I hesitate to even ask.


    Now that he was facing the younger brother of the person caught up in all of that, Josak¡¯s expression softened.  Now he really has to pay attention to what he can and cannot say.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, he had finally gained the social status he should have started with, but then Lord Weller abandoned his successful career in the military. Not only that, he returned to his previous status and now,¡± for a short moment, he hesitated. ¡°¡­ He decided that there was no better life than protecting His Majesty.  And here I am, not having anything else to fall back upon, without my direct superior.  Now I¡¯m serving under Lord von Voltaire, for lack of any choice.  Even now there are still a lot of people who want to see Lord Weller reinstated.  The sheer amount of those who want to work under him is endless¡­ Well, that¡¯s not unreasonable.  He would lead attacks to cut through enemy lines while roaring out a war cry, he was strong even when wounded, the way he pulled his sword from an enemy corpse.  His unwavering gaze that only faced forward.  He knew who he should protect, but his figure splattered in blood was ferocious.  If one saw that part of him easily mistaken for a monster of war, they would want to run towards the very brink of life and death for that man.¡±


    Like a scene in a movie, I imagined an image tinged with red.  A national hero in near jeopardy brings to mind flames and the scent of blood.  Josak Gurrier held back his tone with a slightly self-derisive look.


    ¡°Not a single person there wavered in the slightest in giving up their life.  It¡¯s likely that Lord Conrart Weller is the pride of Luttenberg.¡±


    Forever.


    You could almost hear in his voice the word he didn¡¯t say.


    ¡°But¡­¡± without thinking of the situation, I murmur to the fire.  ¡°But I don¡¯t like that Conrad.¡±


    After I say this, I notice the dumbfounded looks the two demons are giving me.


    ¡°Uh, did I say something inappropriate!?¡±


    Josak gave a vague smile and Wolfram said ¡®damn wimp¡¯ to the sky.  I don¡¯t know if he was astounded or if he agreed with me, but to my right Murata clapped twice.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    For just a moment, something cold touched my nose.  It melted immediately and became a water droplet.  I take off my smooth leather glove and hold up my warm palm to the sky.  Small, light and feathery objects are swaying back and forth as they fall.

 Volume 7 - CH 9

    KKM Novel 7, Chapter 9


    <-- Previous Chapter


    DUN DUN DUN DUN!!  Finished it!  YES!  It was hard going for a while.  My cat knocked a bit of water onto my laptop and brought the grand total of non-functioning keys to 5.  Also, sometimes I need to hit the u/j/m key 3 or 4 times before it actually types the letter (note: some words might be randomly missing u''s j''s and/or m''s XD).  My poor laptop.  She''s so old :(


    Anyway, enough of that!  On to the chapter!


    Chapter 9


    ¡°Huge ditch straight ahead!  Evasive maneuvers to the right!¡±


    ¡°Roger!¡±


    ¡°A small herd of nocturnal animals closing in from the north!  Reduce our velocity and pass through them!¡±


    The super-compact, magic-powered telescope ¨C most likely invented by Miss Anissina ¨C was very effective for travelling at night.  I was sitting next to Josak in the driver¡¯s seat functioning as the rallying navigator.  If we avoid the bumps and ditches in the road, that will reduce the risk of one of our wheels flying off.  Even if we¡¯re only temporarily gaining ground, it¡¯s an effective way of driving.


    ¡°Get close to the center of those lined up rocks and pass through them with a hard left¡­ The snow¡¯s started to pile up for real, huh?  If it keeps going like this, the wheels might get pulled off and we won¡¯t be able to move.  We did pass that one carriage getting repaired back there¡­ ah!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    I reflexively take my eye away from the telescope.  I saw something I should not have seen.


    ¡°I, I saw it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, what?  Desert turtles mating and giving birth?  If you see something like that during puberty then you¡¯d toss and turn in your sleep, huh?¡±


    No.  It wasn¡¯t some secret of the wild like that.  What I saw was something that would be a jump scare in a TV show about ghosts: a clear image of an occult girl.


    A girl with a white face, white clothes, and white hair was standing all alone in the still-gloomy early morning hours.  On top of that, there was bright red blood flowing from her forehead and she was giving me a resentful stare I could see even through the lens.


    ¡°Whoah, there must have been an accident or something!  What do we do?  What do we do if we end up cursed for the rest of our lives?  Please go and pass on peacefully into your next life!¡± (1)


    ¡°Shibuya, this isn¡¯t a Buddhist country.¡±


    For someone who moved the planchette on the Ouija board all on their own, I¡¯m someone who is incredibly weak against ghosts.  Just the other day I went through a horrible experience at the summer training camp for my grass-lot baseball team when I heard rumors that a ghost comes out at the lodging house we were staying at.  A stain on the wall looked like the face on BOSS coffee cans and red, metallic-smelling water came out of the faucets¡­ and there was no water in the toilet.


    ¡°Oh, it looks like she¡¯s still there.¡±


    ¡°What!?  You can see her too, Murata!?¡±


    ¡°Anyone can see her.  And anyway, that girl isn¡¯t a ghost.¡±

 Volume 7 - CH 10

    After the Shou Shimaron team competing against us was no longer in sight, the sheep started to increase their speed.


    ¡°There¡¯s someone coming?! Are they catching up with us?!¡±


    Murata, sprawled on the loading rack, was shouting, ¡°I can only see a blur of red! And it¡¯s very probable that they¡¯re going to catch up. Eh? Those aren¡¯t horses¡­woah¡­..my god! It¡¯s a man-powered carriage! A man-powered carriage!¡±


    ¡°Musclemen?!¡±


    Muscles, musclemen, the team of musclemen, that¡¯s the Nagoya style of training muscles. Twelve very developed musclemen were pushing forward amidst the snow. I could see steam rising from their flushed half-naked bodies. However, the sight of their grim and determined expressions would make people want to avoid them.


    ¡°They¡¯re so barbaric, why aren¡¯t they wearing any shoes?¡± (Wolfram)


    ¡°Your focus is wrong, Wolf, the main problem we have now isn¡¯t that, now the main problem isn¡¯t that at all.¡±


    The musclemen carriage had sleighs attached to the bottom, so they would be able to travel faster on a wet muddy road covered with traces of rapidly melting snow. If our speed were to reduce by even a fraction, it was highly possible they could catch up with us.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re rounding a bend! Young sirs! Hold on tight! If you get shaken off, this carriage won¡¯t be assuming any responsibility for that!¡± (Jozak)


    ¡°Hold on tight then¡­. Woah, I bit my tongue!¡±


    We made a 90 degree turn around that last bend at such a super high speed that the back portion of our carriage almost disintegrated. I never thought that I would get the chance to experience a tossing motion on board a tank pulled by livestock. The huge arena was visible a few hundred meters ahead; the bright brown walls made it look like a baseball stadium from afar.


    Based on the excited expressions on the civilians along the roadside, we weren¡¯t far from the finish line. However, just like when we had first landed on Donierson, they had their pinkies up while shouting. Children who were restrained by their mothers to prevent them from running onto the road were waving yellow flags with all their might.


    ¡°This is so exhilarating ~ the atmosphere reminds me of the welcome reception for marathon runners.¡±


    ¡°Yuuri, don¡¯t tell me you think they¡¯re here to welcome and encourage us¡­. That¡¯s impossible. No matter how wimpy or na?ve you are, you should have some limitation to your self-importance.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Just when Wolf was calmly telling me this, a white spherical object brushed past my cheek and smashed against the hood of the carriage. Sticky light yellow semi-transparent liquid flowed out.


    It was a rotten egg.


    ¡°This can¡¯t be, why are we so hated? I thought even opponents in this competition should have a crowd to cheer them on?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget, this isn¡¯t Shin Makoku, it¡¯s Shimaron, and this is the capital Lambel! All these people want is to see Dai and Shou Shimaron against each other in the finals, they don¡¯t care about the other contestants.¡± (Wolfram)


    ¡°You can say that this makes it more complicated.¡± (Murata)


    Murata was fanning his right hand in front of his nose because of the pungent stink of the rotten egg.


    ¡°They probably don¡¯t want competitors from another place to win, that¡¯s why they attacked all the competitors with abusive language and petty actions. Shibuya, this is the hosting country after all, just like in baseball, we¡¯re the guest team.¡±


    ¡°¡­.even if their opponents are guests, they should just sit back and watch their performance on the battlefield, as practiced by the Pacific Democratic Union, this should be common knowledge everywhere?¡± (Yuuri)


    ¡°I can¡¯t think of anything else to say, Shibuya, you¡¯re too full of sportsmanship.¡±


    ¡°If even athletes don¡¯t have the spirit of sportsmanship, what difference do we have from beasts?¡±


    ¡°The Beast is actually quite cute¡­! Don¡¯t you often see him on entertainment programs?¡± (The Beast here refers to wrestler Bob Sharp in Japan)(Murata speaking)


    ¡°I say young sirs, are you done with your discussion?! Do you want to win or not?¡± (Jozak)


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    This was the reason we had come this far. After Jozak had made an ¡®ok¡¯ gesture with his hand, he swung the whip towards the side of the driver¡¯s seat. T-Zou reacted quickly to this and cried out sharply to his team-mates.


    The sound he made reminded me of my mother.


    Run! Sheep, sheep, run along! This sounded a bit like Ì«Ô×ÖÎ (Ì«Ô×ÖÎ is an author who wrote the book ¡®Run, Milos!¡¯)


    When we reached the final stretch of the racecourse, we saw the massive stone walls of the city ahead. There was an oval-arched entrance in the middle of the whole stretch of brown wall. In our process of getting there, the stuff the people threw at us was really rather rich in variety, other than eggs and fruit, we also had to duck to avoid strawberries and over-ripe tomatoes.


    ¡°Ah ~ now I remember, the Tomato Festival! The owner of my soul five past lives ago had been a Spanish baker¡­!¡± (Murata)


    ¡°Grandpa Murata, please don¡¯t talk about your past at a time like this¡­¡±


    T-Zou and the rest of Mary¡¯s Little Lambs were charging at full speed towards the entrance to the city. Suddenly, the snow on the ground had vanished and the sleigh made a harsh grinding noise against the stony ground (within the city). The sheep had rushed straight onto the dark streets in the city due to their acceleration and were now performing some emergency braking. When the braking was finally starting to have an effect, the people¡¯s angry cries were out of audible range.


    Heavy barriers had been released down over the entrance and the gates firmly locked. The musclemen team directly behind us crashed into the gates head on with a dull thump.


    ¡°Good job, musclemen! But that looked pretty painful.¡± (Yuuri)


    ¡°This isn¡¯t the time to pity others! They (Dai Shimaron) won¡¯t be giving us much time (to prepare for the next stage).¡±


    ¡°Huh? But we¡¯ve reached the destination in first place¡­.¡±


    Looking around suddenly, I realized that ¡®Light As A Dream¡¯ was now surrounded by more than ten soldiers from Dai Shimaron. Although the weather was freezing cold, every single one of them still managed to keep their hair light and floating. They were reluctantly informing us of our placing in the race.


    ¡°You¡¯ve won the ¡®speed¡¯ event, and thus have qualified for the finals. Get down from the carriage and stand erect, every one of you!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯d have got down without you ordering us around so loudly. Pfft, what kind of judges are these! So rough! Is this the way to behave to the winning team? I might report this to the International Judicial Committee!¡± (Yuuri)


    ¡°Forget it, maybe they¡¯re just local volunteers.¡± (Murata)


    Once we had gone under the shelter of the roof and were no longer under the snow, my nausea returned. This felt like the early symptoms of a cold, if I don¡¯t get some hot herbal soup later, I¡¯ll be plagued by a fever tonight. It¡¯s strange that the colder the weather gets, the better I feel. Had I been a polar bear or a penguin in my previous life?


    ¡°¡­.anyway, I¡­I feel like I¡¯m ¡®sheepsick¡¯ right now¡­¡± (Yuuri)


    ¡°What¡­what¡¯re you talking about? The¡­.finals¡­..are¡­..being¡­.held¡­.right¡­.now!¡± (Wolfram)


    Wolfram looked rather dizzy and shaken himself as he stood up, it seems like he himself wasn¡¯t in good condition.


    ¡°Huh? Don¡¯t we get any time to rest? But we just arrived? This isn¡¯t a triathlon. The hosts needed only to wait for us at the arena later. We¡¯ve eaten and slept out in the wilderness for the past few days, we¡¯re exhausted now.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s why they¡¯re doing this.¡±


    Jozak, who was the first to leap down from the driver¡¯s seat, extended his right hand to me. Do I look as bad as I feel?


    ¡°They¡¯re going to do their best to stop us from winning. If there¡¯s any chance at all, they¡¯ll force us into a disadvantageous situation and completely defeat us. After all, if the winners are from a colony of theirs, the hosts won¡¯t know what requests or wishes we might make.¡± (Wolfram)


    We had only one wish.


    Give back the box! Return the box to us!


    I think that Dai Shimaron won¡¯t be expecting representatives from Caloria to make such a request.


    ¡°Move faster! We¡¯ve already announced to the audience that the team that excelled in the ¡®speed¡¯ and ¡®intelligence¡¯ events has arrived. If you waste time like this, the two million people in the audience might go on strike¡­..no, you can¡¯t make His Majesty wait either.¡±


    A man who looked like the group leader within that group of yellow and brown uniforms was shouting out orders loudly. The ¡®His Majesty¡¯ he had mentioned was of course not me, but was the great figure in this country instead. Murata was frowning slightly, while I could hear the soldiers making snorting sounds with their noses.


    However, if the arena really is packed with more than two million people, then the atmosphere there would be more hectic than the baseball stadium on a non-holiday. Can we battle calmly under the scrutiny of all these people?


    I massaged my aching limbs as we were hurried along a windowless corridor. This was the so-called backstage, a room that resembled a temporary resting room for participants. I was summoned to approach some youths lined up in three rows, I could feel Jozak¡¯s watchful eyes from behind. This reminded me of safety precautions, Saismoya and the others should arrive soon. Although they were progressing along with us, they had followed a completely different route, plus the fact that we couldn¡¯t predict their time of arrival, hence there was only one guardian (Jozak) currently amongst us, and Jozak¡¯s burden had thus been increased.


    The closer we got to the entrance designed especially for the participants, the louder and wilder the atmosphere in the arena seemed. The area above our heads probably also consisted seats for the audience, and an earth-shattering vibration seemed to be traveling along the ceiling (of the space we were in), the people were probably stamping on the floor in impatience since we had yet to appear. The rhythmic vibrations were affecting the walls, I could feel a numbing sensation under my feet.


    The storage space (we were led to) resembled an open area typical found in baseball stadiums, there were no doors or partitions here. There was a whole array of dangerous objects on the long table in the middle of the room.


    ¡°On no, we should change quickly¡­.although I¡¯m not that confident of my abs at this moment, there¡¯s no more time to brood over such matters anymore.¡±


    Strangely, the Shimaron soldiers started to panic when they saw me loosening my buttons without ay hesitation.


    ¡°Wait a minute, participant! What¡¯re you doing?!¡±


    ¡°Huh? The audience and judges are all men anyway! It¡¯s no use protesting even if I¡¯m embarrassed or hesitant, isn¡¯t it? Since the rules stated that we males have to compete naked¡­.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯re you talking about?! This is a competition to be held in front of His Majesty?!¡±


    ¡°Shibuya, this isn¡¯t the ancient Olympics.¡± (Murata)


    ¡°This is just like you, this is exactly why I constantly nag at you for not being vigilant enough about matters.¡± (Wolfram)


    Murata had lowered his eyebrows in shock, while Wolfram was angrily refastening all my buttons.


    ¡°Listen to me carefully, Mazoku nobles aren¡¯t allowed to reveal themselves in public, even if you want to strip it¡¯ll have to be for an emergency situation!¡±


    ¡°Emergency? What¡­what did you mean by that? Anyway, sexual harassment can¡¯t possibly occur between members of the same gender. Since I can¡¯t strip, then let me don a uniform or a baseball jacket.¡±


    As we were representing a colony, we¡¯d have to march into the stadium with dignity. If we had all that heavy winter clothing on, all those fans wouldn¡¯t take a second glimpse at us. I just wasn¡¯t sure whether the Calorian cheerleading team would be there to spur us on.


    ¡°Just keep the clothing on yourselves! No need for extra measures, just select your weapons quickly!¡±


    The Shimaron soldiers doubling as workers in this competition were pointing towards that massive pile of murder weapons at the middle of the room. Under the bright illumination of the fire torches, every single weapon was glinting with a dull copper glow.


    ¡°How can we use weapons from the opposing country? I have my own sword.¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t do, these are contest rules¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, hey, hey, don¡¯t tell me you ¡­¡±


    The man who probably had the most potential in this competition was wielding an axe in his hands while speaking in a cold tone. (Yuuri means Jozak)


    ¡°You¡¯d have the nerve to give us low quality weapons so that we¡¯d lose the battle within a few seconds, wouldn¡¯t you?¡± (Jozak)


    The soldiers¡¯ expressions changed as they said, ¡°All of you low-down colonized people, watch your language and behavior! These are all weapons that His Majesty kindly prepared for all of you low-down people, since you don¡¯t have any proper weapons! Every single one of them is a high quality creation made by famous blacksmiths in our kingdom¡­.¡±


    ¡°They probably aren¡¯t that high class, anyway the quality is really rather poor.¡± (Jozak)


    Jozak had cut in on their talk. He was swinging his long and heavy steel axe above his head over and over again, so the soldiers in close proximity to him were forced to back off.


    Although Murata wasn¡¯t one of the competitors, he was inspecting the weapons one by one.


    ¡°Since this was decided by the committee, then there¡¯s nothing we can do about it. If we lose our qualifications for this competition by raising a meaningless objection here, then that really would be a double loss. Seeing that all the weapons here are sorted according to size and type, it wouldn¡¯t be that bad to select weapons from amongst them. What weapon would you choose, Shibuya? It¡¯s a pity there aren¡¯t any guns here, else this would be an opportunity for me to teach you the ¡®Gun[1]¡¯..!¡±


    ¡°Is that¡­.a new weapon?¡±


    I¡¯d never properly held a real weapon before this; moreover I wasn¡¯t the fighting type, so I hadn¡¯t had the opportunity to practice with my fists and my knees.


    In that battle with Wolfram before, it was Conrad who had selected a light and convenient weapon for me. After that, the ¡®weapons¡¯ I had held had either been a walking stick which could produce flowers or a Mazoku sword that would change according to the mood of the person wielding it. Anyway, I don¡¯t seem to have any relationship with a proper weapon.


    On the contrary, it was the third son who had dealt with weapons for more than two million and four thousand days who felt my arm then said, ¡°Your arm muscles are in pretty good shape. Why don¡¯t you select the bow and arrow, didn¡¯t you mention before that you were good at locking in on someone who¡¯s running then zooming in for the kill?¡±


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s rather different from assassinating someone who¡¯s running! Anyway what I had meant wasn¡¯t really attacking the runner with a real weapon, (I meant) I was throwing the baseball accurately to prevent the other team from scoring, that¡¯s (what I meant by) zooming in for the kill!¡±


    The soldiers who were listening to our conversation were calling out nervously, ¡°Arrows and bows are prohibited from the arena!¡± That really is rather wise; after all if a battling competition like this allowed the use of missiles, there would be an opportunity for villains to assassinate the king. ¡°Then what about the spear? Try to hold it.¡±


    I accepted the dull-hued metallic weapon. This was a weight I couldn¡¯t hold with just one hand, hence I placed the end of the long weapon on my right shoulder. However, my three companions all sighed in unison, ¡°You look like a farmer holding a plough while working in the fields¡­.¡±


    I obey the law prohibiting the use of guns, bombs, bullets, chemicals and blades, so no matter how many weapons they prepare, there would never be a weapon suitable for me. If I¡¯d known such a day would come, I wouldn¡¯t have worked so hard at playing baseball, but entered the kendo or archery societies. If that hadn¡¯t had any effect, I¡¯d have entered the air rifle society or the stick-fighting society, oh right, there¡¯s also the woodwork society¡­and the chain and saber society seemed quite interesting as well¡­. I went over the neatly arrayed row of weapons one by one to try holding them, but then Wolfram drew out his narrow sword and said, ¡°Any weapon about this length would do for him. Anyway Yuuri doesn¡¯t really need to go out and fight in the arena, he¡¯s just here to fulfill the head count.¡±


    ¡°Ah, really?¡±


    ¡°Of course, even the Kohi holding a sword would have more chance at winning than you have, and also we can¡¯t possibly let you face danger like this! Anyway we can win just by winning in two rounds, so leave it to me to get these two victories!¡±


    Jozak, standing behind him, was mouthing silently, ¡°Despite your childish face, your words are really rather good at stimulating people¡­!¡± I just wished that this prince could share some of his confidence with me.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    I had found a hilt that felt familiar to me, and I couldn¡¯t stop myself from cheering out loud.


    ¡°What about this? This¡¯ll probably do! Hey, madam, listen to me! This feels almost exactly like a metallic baseball bat!¡±


    Of course it weighed more than a wooden or even limited edition baseball bat, but the familiar texture and ice-cold feel of it was an irresistible temptation to me.


    ¡°Heika¡­that¡­..are you really fine with it?¡±


    However, Wolfram and Jozak had objections against its appearance.


    ¡°Although we¡¯ve to keep it a secret, you¡¯re still the Maou! A figure with such a high status wielding a stick as a weapon, that¡¯s not on par with your identity! And how can you live up to the reputation of all the past Maous?¡±


    Rather than call it a stick, let¡¯s say it¡¯s more a metallic stick, and there were even protruding objects on its surface. This weapon would appear with the ghosts and demons every Á¢´º festival. However, no matter if I grabbed it with both hands or stood in an open stance (a stance in baseball) and tried swinging it, my movements felt so smooth and natural. Also, after several trial swings, it didn¡¯t slide out of my hands.


    (This weapon resembles the one used by the Japanese every Á¢´º festival, where it represents the ghost, and people would scatter beans on it to represent exorcism).


    ¡°Mm, this feels quite okay.¡± (Yuuri)


    Contrary to the other two who had gloomy expressions on their faces, Murata who was covering his mouth with his hand and laughing seemed pretty happy. ¡°What does it matter? Anyway, there¡¯ve been heroes who defeated their sworn enemies using oars, so a miracle might occur here?¡± (Murata)


    ¡°Miracle, please appear! If there isn¡¯t a miracle, I really don¡¯t have any confidence at winning!¡± (Yuuri)


    We arrived at the entrance to the arena after being hurried along by the harried-looking soldiers. We stepped onto the smooth stone slabs and faced the heavy doors before they opened. When I reached out and pushed the ice-cold iron doors open, the loud resonating cheers cascaded down on me like an avalanche.


    ¡°Woah!¡±


    I hurriedly blocked the door with my back.


    ¡°What is it, Yuuri?¡± (Wolfram)


    ¡°Five¡­five million!¡±


    Oh no, this isn¡¯t even close to a large-scale baseball game. Based on the number of audience, their enthusiasm and their animosity towards the opponents, this was more like the grand finals held in ¸£¸Ô¾Þµ°. Also, the seats were taken up by dirty men, and their booing cries were really rather scary.


    ¡°¡­let¡¯s go back to the resting room and hold another pre-battle meeting.¡± (Yuuri)


    ¡°What¡¯re you talking about? There¡¯s no more time for us to be scared.¡± (Wolfram)


    ¡°Relax, Shibuya! Just try to think of the audience as potatoes.¡± (Murata)


    ¡°But potatoes don¡¯t make noises!¡± (Yuuri)


    ¡°Then think of them as scarlet-eared poison bunnies, their calls are really quite loud.¡±


    The mental image of a pink rabbit shaking its behind appeared in my mind.


    The two Mazoku grabbed me from both sides and led me to the door. Murata quickly pulled the door open.


    Loud and earth-shattering shouts and countless orange-ish light greeted us. Everywhere I looked, I could see torches that lit up the arena so that it seemed as bright as day. Only now did I discover that it was already evening.


    Just when I was about to step into the resting area that was connected to the entrance, I felt the sensation of being the subject of heated glares and also a rush of cold air. This was we were standing at a spot resembling that of the resting area for a team in a baseball stadium. Logically the audience wouldn¡¯t be able to see into that area, but at this moment the audience¡¯s gaze was able to penetrate straight into the enemy camp, this was pretty strange.


    ¡°Shibuya, your mask.¡±


    I quickly pulled off the goggles and with my woolen hat still on, I put on the shiny silvery mask. This had to be done because there must be at least one person in this trio to represent the colony (of Caloria). That¡¯s right, I¡¯m here right now not as Shibuya Yuuri, but rather as the leader of Caloria ¨C Norman Gilbert.


    ¡°I was about to comment on why it¡¯s so cold here, turns out that the architecture here isn¡¯t really like that of a baseball stadium.¡± (Yuuri) There was no roof over the arena, so I could see white particles drifting down from the dark sky which couldn¡¯t be illuminated by the torches. But to be honest, a roof wouldn¡¯t have been compatible with this arena.


    All the passion from the audience couldn¡¯t melt the snow, the arena was piled high with white snow.


    I raised my head and looked up at the darkened sky.


    The number of stars in the sky seemed to have increased.


    ¡°That¡¯s so strange ~¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°I think my flu symptoms decrease greatly whenever I come in contact with snow¡­ logically this is impossible. Just think about it! Who on earth should feel better when they come into contact with a cold wind? Usually it would just make someone feel worse, not better.¡±


    The ache at the back of my head, the difficulty in breathing, nausea, ache in my limbs, fear of the cold and even the stuffiness in my chest had disappeared mysteriously.


    ¡°Maybe I was a polar bear in my past life, it¡¯s a pity I wasn¡¯t a mountain lion.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because snow is very fair to every kingdom.¡±


    Murata placed his hand against my back as he mumbled a deep and incomprehensible response.


    ¡°The snow doesn¡¯t belong to any element, and they¡¯re drifting down from the clouds in the sky that were originally looming over another land and not this place, so no matter where the snow falls it will always be neutral.¡±


    ¡°¡­.what¡­what did you mean? What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±


    ¡°Forget it, I think you¡¯re a ¡®dog-type[2]¡¯ person, right?¡±


    Do you mean that I¡¯m the type that would rather run about happily in the courtyard, but would choose not to cuddle up in front of the warm fire? The arena was built in an oval shape rather like a stadium, and was encircled by high-rising seats for the audience; and to the north was a building of a similar color scheme with the stadium. It was rather too luxurious to be an institutional building.


    ¡°Can that be a hotel? Just like in Disneyland.¡± (Yuuri)


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, could it be a shrine? The kind where they sacrifice the noble spirits of warriors to the gods.¡± (Murata)


    That¡¯s for dead people?! That¡¯s so unlucky!


    There was a resting area for the team from the host country directly opposite us and it was at a great distance away. I couldn¡¯t make out any silhouettes in that darkened room, so I couldn¡¯t be sure about the physique of the competitors.


    ¡°Tch! They were rushing us along, but why is it that our opponents get to take their own sweet time?¡±


    ¡°I just hope that they aren¡¯t going to make us wait that long, or we might end up like С´ÎÀÉ¡­.¡± (in the battle between ¹¬±¾Îä²Øand С´ÎÀÉ, С´ÎÀÉhad lost because of his impatience due to ¹¬±¾Îä²Øbeing late on purpose)


    If we ended up likeС´ÎÀÉ¡­¡­..talking about periodic dramas, I thinkË®»§»ÆÃÅwould be more suitable for the role.


    The worker who had led us here raised his hand and stopped us from continuing our conversation. With a strange expression on his face, he announced, ¡°Be quiet! His Majesty is about to make his appearance.¡±


    About 70% of the audience had already stood up and were now facing the north. A shiny box-like seat was silently being lowered down from the roof of that building. The band started to play and the whole arena seemed to resonate with the singing of a male choir. However, listening carefully, I discovered that the singing was actually coming from the audience from the north, the others were just singing a few random lines. This happens in every baseball stadium as well.


    Murata was muttering, ¡°The real threat might not be this kingdom itself.¡±


    I was trying to listen to what he might say next, but all I could hear was that soldier muttering, ¡°His Majesty¡­.?¡±


    The person in that golden seat which had been lowered was not the king, but rather someone like a prince. Maybe he was appearing in place of his busy father? Or maybe His Majesty was ill in bed, although he was the ruler of such a large kingdom, he would have his own personal troubles.


    Although he was so far away I couldn¡¯t see his face clearly, just looking at the prince¡¯s clothing was a sight well ¨Cworth seeing.


    ¡°Ð¡¡­¡­Ð¡ÁÖÐÒ×Ó¡­¡± (Yuuri)


    Or maybe ÃÀ´¨ÏÜÒ».


    I never thought I would experience a sight like this in a kingdom so far away. His Highness was decorated by white, gold and yellow feathers , he looked like a human-sized ostrich, I felt that this was actually rather vulgar¡­..but the luxurious decorations did manage to attract everyone¡¯s attention. That carrier box which had delivered His Highness to his seat was raised back up at a speed much greater than how it had been lowered.


    ¡°Ah ~ the basket has flown!¡± (Yuuri)


    ¡°That¡¯s from Simon and Garfunkel!¡± (that sentence is the same as the lyrics from ¡®El Condor Pasa¡± by the famous 60¡¯s group Simon and Garfunkel) (Murata speaking)


    ¡°I really don¡¯t want to ask you exactly how old you¡¯re anymore..¡± (Yuuri) This decision of mine was really rather smart.


    When the (singing) ceremony had ended, our opponents finally made their move. Compared to our resting area which was very brightly illuminated by fire torches, the opponents¡¯ resting area was shrouded in darkness. Although I couldn¡¯t make out their appearances and gender, I could distinguish their heights.


    All three of them were about the same height, with broad shoulders, long legs and the ideal physical build for an athlete.


    ¡°Uh, darn it¡­! Why are all three of them so manly?¡± (Yuuri)


    ¡°Why are you looking ready to cry over this?¡±


    ¡°If we¡¯re judged by appearance, we¡¯ll definitely win. If we don¡¯t include Jozak.¡± (Yuuri)


    ¡°Ah ~ I¡¯m so sorry, Heika. If we¡¯re competing to produce breast milk, I¡¯ll definitely not lose ~¡±


    ¡°My god¡­! Why do I feel that we¡¯re now the perverted trio..?¡± (Yuuri)


    I was now completely engulfed by my low self esteem; I had already lost psychologically before the competition had even started. Two men who looked like they were judges trudged through the snow to the center of the stadium. Both of them had beautiful brown hair, these were typical soldiers from Shimaron. They gave us the ¡®thumbs-up¡¯ sign, probably this meant that the first round in the competition was about to start. ¡°Oh, right, we¡¯ve yet to determine the order of appearance in the arena, who wants to go first? I think we should let the weakest person go first, just to tire our opponents.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the last one.¡± (Wolfram)


    ¡°Heika is the last one.¡± (Jozak)


    Although the words they had used were slightly different, they meant the exact same thing. Murata, however, raised a very unique example.


    ¡°Shibuya, don¡¯t you usually read sports manga? In judo or kendo, they usually send out their weaker juniors first, they¡¯ll only send their main champ up at the very last moment. As long as the juniors defeat their opponents quickly, there won¡¯t be any need for the main champs from the opposing teams to face each other.¡±


    ¡°When have I become the weakest competitor¡­.¡± (Yuuri)


    ¡°That¡¯s actually a well-established fact.¡±


    Once something becomes public knowledge, even if the person in question has a high status, they (the Mazoku) won¡¯t be discreet about that fact in the least. Hence to the Mazoku, this type of behavior to their king was not in the least strange.


    ¡°If you want to know how good they really are, then I should go first¡­¡± (Yuuri)


    ¡°I¡¯m going.¡± (Wolfram)


    Nobody dared object to Wolfram¡¯s firm statement.


    ¡°If unfortunately I lose, then Gurrier should go up next, don¡¯t let Yuuri get up there.¡±


    ¡°¡­.alright.¡± (Jozak)


    Jozak was smiling and nodding in approval, they were completely ignoring my opinion. However, rather than say I was sad that they had ignored me, I was more concerned about what Wolfram had just said. If unfortunately I lose¡­.


    According to my understanding of him, it was really hard to imagine that he would actually think of losing. I might even say that he had never felt intimidated in the face of any opponent before, and could maintain his confidence to the fullest at all times. I¡¯d even thought that I¡¯d have to get someone to teach this proud third son the meaning of humility.


    ¡°Wolf!¡±


    I grabbed a sword from the wall. The weapon he had chosen was heavier than it looked, and the hilt was so rough it didn¡¯t look easy to grip.


    ¡°Ah? The King himself is handing me a weapon?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t joke about it, are you fine with such a heavy weapon?¡±


    ¡°Heavy? I¡¯d purposely chosen a weapon that closely resembles the weapon I carry about.¡±


    Von Bielefeld-kyo carefully accepted the weapon from me, drew out the silvery sword then unhesitatingly thrust its brown and insignificant sheath against my chest.


    ¡°This is for Heika.¡±


    ¡°What¡­.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind me, it¡¯s just my personal way of concentrating.¡±


    He stepped slowly up the stairs and prepared to enter the snow-piled arena. Instantly, the noisy shouts turned into cheers and the atmosphere was now even wilder than before. The opponent¡¯s representative had also appeared. Because they were too far way, I couldn¡¯t make out his appearance, but as he came up the stairs, he seemed to be chewing something in his mouth.


    ¡°Ah ~ he has his hair tied up in a ponytail! This is a sight we usually see in ramen shops.¡± (Murata)


    Murata was casually giving his opinion, but I wasn¡¯t feeling as at ease about the whole situation as he was. The man had on a yellow and brown army uniform, it seems that the first opponent we had to face was just an ordinary soldier from Shimaron. However, the unique blades he carried on both sides did make me feel very uneasy.


    ¡°Those are double blades!¡± (Yuuri)


    Those blades were curved and of a length similar to the one our representative was using. I gripped the sheath Wolfram had handed me and pulled on his sleeve as I spoke. At this moment my voice sounded like that of someone else.


    ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s Musashi! It¡¯s Musashi! Are our opponents sponsored by the Japanese media?!¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°I say Wolf, it¡¯s better to let Jozak go first! Those double blades look pretty powerful to me, and you¡­you once¡­.tied with me in a battle.¡± As I was bringing up something in the past, he was frowning as he raised his head and said, ¡°So that battle made you lose confidence in my combat skills?¡±


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t mean that at all! I didn¡¯t mean that at all¡­.¡±


    ¡°You really think I didn¡¯t go easy on you that time?¡±


    ¡°Mm!¡±


    This was completely up to my own judgment. He was right, I was completely inexperienced in battle, and at that time I had been a rare double black. It was highly probable that he had gone easy on me to avoid injuring me and causing something he might regret later.


    ¡°Then let me tell you this.¡± (Wolfram)


    His emerald green eyes were slightly narrowed, and with a smile extremely incompatible with a bishounen, he continued, ¡°I didn¡¯t go easy on you that time, you really did win then, and I hadn¡¯t dared to use any petty tricks that had the potential to kill. But don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t be as kind today. Because my opponent is someone I can¡¯t find any respect for no matter how hard I try.¡±


    After he had spoken to me, with his face close to mine, Wolfram turned his back on me and went out (into the arena). The fact that he had suddenly admitted that I had won actually made me feel like I had suddenly been attacked.


    ¡°¡­what¡­..that was too sudden.¡± (Yuuri)


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to put that down?¡± (Murata)


    Murata was pointing at the sheath.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you before, von Bielefeld-kyo is not delicate in the least?¡±


    ¡°But his opponent has double blades?! I really can¡¯t feel at ease about the whole thing.¡±


    ¡°Even if you have two baseball bats, you won¡¯t definitely get a good strike, right? At least trust him a bit more! And also, can¡¯t you put down that sheath?¡±


    ¡°¡­.no, I¡¯m fine with holding it.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t going to put something Wolfram had told me to hold for him on the ground, I could only watch his silhouette from behind as he left. The soldier from Shimaron who had also left his resting area reached the middle of the arena a the same time as he (Wolfram) did. Suddenly, I could feel someone looking at me, and my skin started to prickle nervously.


    I felt that somewhere from the northern audience seats, a warm and not unfriendly gaze was directed at me.


    ¡°Am I being too sensitive? I keep feeling that there¡¯s someone I know here, but there can¡¯t possibly be a friend I know amongst the audience.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a young and lovely girl from Shimaron who¡¯s attracted to you or von Bielefeld-kyo?¡±


    ¡°It would be lovely if that¡¯s the case, but didn¡¯t Flynn say that the World¡¯s Best Tournament prohibits women from entering the arena?¡±


    ¡°Ah, right! Then it¡¯s a cool and strong man from Shimaron?¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make me feel happy at all¡­.¡±


    Just thinking about a long-haired hunk holding a bunch of flowers reminded me of a live wrestling program.

 Volume 7 - CH 11

    There was a strange party of people heading towards Shimaron.


    ¡°I¡¯d say we look more suspicious than strange.¡±


    ¡°Mm¡­. I never thought that I, who¡¯ve been given nicknames such as ¡®The hero of the seas¡¯, ¡®warrior of naval wars¡¯, and even the terrible name of ¡®monster of the ocean¡¯ would have to perform such unimportant tasks on foreign soil. My god ~ ¡°


    ¡°What are you talking about? Captain Saismoya, this isn¡¯t an unimportant thing, it counts as sneaking into the enemy territory! This is actually a very important assignment! In the past, I¡¯ve even been the subject of the red devil¡¯s experiments! If only the Mazoku could give up their self-pride, they would be able to do anything they wanted to.¡±


    The silver-haired female at the very front of the group turned around and told Dakaskos and Saismoya, ¡°Ssh! It¡¯s the patrol. Are you ready? We¡¯re about to take action.¡±


    Then she faced the patrolling soldiers who were looking furious.


    ¡°How are you ¨C we¡¯re selling beverages¡­! We¡¯re delivering cold drinks to the audience in the VIP room¡­!¡±


    They were heading towards the shrine in the city of Lambel in Dai Shimaron while carrying a box covered by a light green cloth. The final round of the World¡¯s Best Fighter Tournament was being held in the grand arena next to it, this would be the very last stage of the competition. They could hear the enthusiastic cheers of the audience even though they were inside the solid stone building.


    ¡°¡­.this is great, they don¡¯t suspect us at all. It¡¯s probably because the size of this box is almost the same as a cooler, yeah, that¡¯s probably it.¡± The box was about as large as a small coffin and two men would be perfectly capable of carrying it. To avoid getting busted if it was checked, we had placed real wine bottles inside it. They ranged from high-quality wines to those common wines for ordinary citizens, this was really a plan that paid no heed to expenses.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not even discuss myself or Dakaskos, even Lady Flynn is disguised as a beverage seller. I¡¯m really sorry that the leader of Caloria has to demean herself like this.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, the colonel told me to stay on board the ship, but I insisted on coming. Anyway I¡¯m not the daughter of a noble family, I¡¯m just a simple girl from the flatlands. I prefer this simple getup compared to a gown that¡¯s so long it would trip me up.¡±


    They had succeeded in sneaking into the shrine so easily because of Flynn Gilbert and her experience in training the army ¨C she was truly the daughter of the flatlands. Most of the soldiers stationed around the city were from the flatlands. Even the soldier guarding this building was the same ¨C a middle-aged soldier with an out of date haircut.


    He had let them pass through after seeing Flynn disguised as a beverage seller, maybe he had been feeling a nostalgia for a certain dessert at that moment.


    ¡°However the Great Sage really does give us orders that are difficult to follow. Telling us to steal that box and substitute it with this counterfeit ¨C I never expected that Jozak had been working on this counterfeit all the time we were on the boat.¡±


    Placing the box on the polished floor, Saismoya stretched himself lazily. Dakaskos removed the cloth he had bound round his head and was wiping away the sweat on his forehead.


    ¡°You¡¯re right! The Great Sage has predicted that Heika wouldn¡¯t win. Actually Heika is quite reliable, that¡¯s why I bet all my money that Caloria would win. If I win (the bet), I can claim an infinite amount of reward money, and anyway there¡¯s still Jozak amongst the three of them, it¡¯s highly probable that they will win all three rounds.¡±


    ¡°Mm ¨C and Gurrier is one of those that returned from Artellino, he¡¯s among the best from the Ruttenberg troop.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, maybe they won¡¯t even need Heika or His Excellency to go out there, Jozak alone would be able to beat all three competitors!¡±


    Flynn felt rather confused after hearing so many strange names and places. She was debating whether to ask any further questions or not, she wanted confirmation of her suspicions yet she hesitated to do so. In the end she succumbed to temptation and interrupted the conversation between the two men.


    ¡°Wait a minute, before the two of you continue with your conversation, I need to tell you that I¡¯ve heard a lot about Yuu¡­ehm, Colonel Kelujin¡¯s and Robinson¡¯s real identities. Have you two obtained their permission before talking so freely about them in front of me?¡±


    However the look she got from them was one that was one of ¡®Haven¡¯t you discovered their identities before this?!¡¯ Actually she had more or less sensed the truth, but had felt that she should pretend not to know anything out of common courtesy, since the people involved hadn¡¯t actually confirmed her suspicions. And anyway¡­. A lock of hair worked free from the knot she had tied her hair up in and she toyed with that lock with her index finger.


    These people still aren¡¯t aware of the terrible things I did in the past, they don¡¯t know that Flynn Gilbert is actually a cold and ruthless woman who doesn¡¯t care what other people think of her.


    ¡°You can¡¯t talk about national secrets in front of me! I don¡¯t want to be responsible for any consequences from your actions! I might end up selling your secrets to others.¡±


    This was because she would do anything to obtain freedom for Caloria. As long as she could get back the ocean, harbor, land, people, her husband and the world she loved so much, she wouldn¡¯t even hesitate at betraying the gods. She had been doing this all along, she couldn¡¯t suddenly stop and reform at this moment, it was too late even though she regretted all this now.


    Even though she was feeling so much regret within it would be of no consequence to matters now.


    ¡°Why would you describe yourself as someone so scary, Lady Flynn? Don¡¯t let¡¯s talk about Dakaskos, but I¡¯m just an ordinary task-performing soldier. All the important information that would be dangerous if they were known to outsiders would never reach my ears.¡±


    ¡°Task-performing soldier?¡±


    ¡°Ah, there¡¯s actually no rank in the army with that title, but I reached the status of a soldier who performs tasks only after much perseverance.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you very close to Colonel Kelujin?¡±


    Dakaskos was rubbing his head, unconsciously adhering to an old habit of his. Of course, there was no hair there at all. He was rubbing his bald and shiny scalp while saying, ¡°Ah ¨C ! Does Heika call himself Colonel Kelujin now? The Colonel is actually very special, you know.he doesn¡¯t care whether you are a colonel or just an ordinary soldier, he¡­ he can talk with simply anyone and can get along with anyone easily. He doesn¡¯t care about status or ranking, he gets along with every single one of us, and is willing to treat us all equally and even demean himself to our status. He¡¯s a very unique person, to be honest, he¡¯s really very remarkable.¡±


    Saismoya was nodding with all his might, not minding that this would draw notice to his nearly bald head.


    ¡°Of course there are others like him amongst those with high status. However, most nobles and royals will give people the impression of being so high up. There really aren¡¯t too many people in the world who are like Heika, he¡¯s really very unique.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Since Lady Flynn and Hei¡­.and the Colonel are quite close, then you shouldn¡¯t be someone bad.¡±


    Dakaskos had smiled shyly, there was a blush spreading across the area around his receding hairline. Saismoya was gazing at his bald and shiny pate while saying enviously, ¡°Your hairstyle seems to be very convenient.¡±


    ¡°This? This really is very light and convenient! Does the Captain want to give it a try? You don¡¯t have to worry about the volume of hair left, and it looks so manly! Also, you can rinse your head while you¡¯re washing your face, it¡¯s both convenient and economical. However, the drawback of it is that when your wife calls you ¡®You bald donkey!¡¯ you¡¯ll feel the urge to cry.¡±


    Affected by Dakaskos¡¯ laughter, Flynn¡¯s expression lightened up as she said, ¡°You said that I¡¯m not someone bad¡­.¡±


    She never thought that she would get this kind of retribution. Logically she should have been hated, mocked and looked down upon, because she had been prepared to betray the Mazoku nobles to their enemies although she had been fully aware of the consequences.


    ¡°¡­..you said something that hurts me a lot.¡± (Flynn)


    ¡°Why, what is it, Lady Flynn?¡±


    The muscular man of the sea Saismoya had bent down to look at her. Flynn Gilbert shut her eyes tightly for a short while, then raised her head and said, ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing, it¡¯s really nothing. We should try to find the room where the box is stored within the shortest time possible, then substitute the real one with the one we have. If we succeed in getting ¡®The Ends of the Wind¡¯, I think the Colonel will be greatly surprised. I really wonder what expression he would have then, don¡¯t you?¡±


    She had purposely lightened her tone to spur herself on. The two men lifted the box and crossed the stone floor. If the box was really hidden in some part of the shrine, then that part would be the one most heavily guarded. Even if the three of them could find that room, it was still uncertain whether they could successfully enter that room. However, no one dared to voice this out loud.


    After ascending their third flight of stairs, they entered a space which was rather different from the ones before. The polished stone floors were now covered with an earth-yellow carpet, it felt so comfortable when their feet sank into it, giving them the urge to rest their tired feet then and there. Out of the five luxurious looking doors leading out from it, two were open, and one of the walls of that room was made entirely of glass. The arena was clearly visible from the room.


    ¡°This is great!¡±


    ¡°It seems that we¡¯re in the VIP room, this proves that the credibility of beverage sellers surpasses hat of others.¡±


    Flynn approached the window and touched the glass window with her trembling fingers. She didn¡¯t dare to look down.


    What if a tragedy that she couldn¡¯t accept happened?


    ¡°Ah! Captain, Lady Flynn! It¡¯s Heika! It¡¯s Heika! I think the first round just ended. Oh no, he can¡¯t stand up! Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s injured his foot? Ah ~ if only the Sergeant were here ~ ¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see the Colonel.¡±


    ¡°I think I saw him in that shaded area, that¡¯s probably the place where competitors prepare themselves before entering the arena?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great¡­.¡± (Flynn)


    ¡°I never expected that troublemakers would worm themselves into a place like this!¡±


    She hadn¡¯t even finished expressing her relief before she heard a familiar voice coming from behind.


    Saiamoya, the hero of the seas, had reacted before the other two people standing at the window. He rushed at the enemy by covering the shortest distance possible and thrust the tip of his sword against the enemy¡¯s chest.


    However the opponent had reacted even sooner. He stood unmoving at the entrance while a ripple of silver could be seen cutting through the air. The shiny wire extending from his fingertips had firmly trapped his target faraway.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡±


    Flynn was struggling to breathe, her fingers clutching at her pale throat. She was trying with all her might to grip at the wire entrapping herself, but was failing since the wire had sunk deep into her skin. Dakaskos whirled around and helped up Flynn, who had collapsed onto the floor.


    ¡°Stop moving! Else her head comes off!¡±


    Saismoya raised his sword to about the height of his waist, but took no further action. ¡°Sheath your sword then place it at your feet. If you don¡¯t do as I say, this lady will suffer all the consequences. You don¡¯t want to see her die in such an ugly way, do you? It¡¯ll be both ugly and filthy.¡±


    ¡°¡­.Ma¡­.xine¡­..why¡¯re......you¡­.here¡­¡±


    Flynn had spat out the name of this cold-blooded man with much difficulty. Nigel Weiss Maxine approached the center of the room carefully, reducing the distance between himself and Flynn.


    ¡°Why? I should ask you that question. I was wondering why I could see that familiar silver hair, then it turned out that it really is the famous leader of Caloria. Although her own people are struggling to survive on that completely destroyed land, the wife of the regent came here to sell beverages and make small profits, she even sneaked here to watch World¡¯s Best Fighter Tournament, I think the people of your land would be really disappointed by your actions.¡±


    Flynn¡¯s mouth was opened wide as she tried to get oxygen into her lungs. Every time Maxine pulled a bit harder at the wire, a red mark would be left on her neck. The man raised her chin with his thumb and pushed at her back from behind, causing her to fall down backwards.


    ¡°Why¡­.did this happen..?¡± (Flynn)


    Although it was forced out, there was still a hint of mockery in it. Even though her life was in the hands of her opponent, Flynn was still unwilling to surrender.


    Maxine looked exhausted, the complete opposite of what he usually looked like. His ponytail, typical of those from the Shou Shimaron army, had come loose, and his thin face was covered with injuries. His ragged army uniform was spattered with blood, and the fearsome impression he gave others had lessened because of his agitated and exhausted expression. His voice didn¡¯t sound threatening any longer, it sounded more like the hoarse voice of an old man.


    ¡°You asked me why I look like this? Don¡¯t pretend any more, Lady! No, Melind Gilbert, this is all thanks to your partner, that detestable Mazoku! He looks just like an ordinary brat, but he completely fooled me!¡±


    ¡°Hey! Be careful of what you say. The stars, the moon, the sun, even I won¡¯t tolerate something so disrespectful of Heika! I won¡¯t hesitate at killing you, although I¡¯m usually a gentle strong man!¡±


    ¡°Captain, coming from you, this doesn¡¯t mean anything¡­.¡± Maxine had twisted Flynn¡¯s arm with his left hand and pressed her face against the glass window. Maybe because he was overly furious, there was no trace of his usually calm attitude.


    ¡°How in the world did you get to know these Mazoku? Tell me! Did you lure him with your beauty?! That bastard! I only got the cooperation of those Shinzoku after much difficulty, and I even managed to find a carriage. Damn, just thinking of it all makes me so angry!¡±


    ¡°¡­let go¡­¡±


    ¡°And after arriving at the arena after much difficulty, I see puny little Caloria competing against Dai Shimaron in the finals?! Don¡¯t make me laugh! You¡¯re just a tiny country in the south with a rotten harbor! You think you can compete against others in the finals? Hey, you baldy!¡±


    ¡°What, moustache man!¡±


    Nigel Weiss Maxine gestured towards the cloth-covered box with his head.


    There had been an unexpected development in the arena.


    Of course I hadn¡¯t doubted von Bielefeld-kyo¡¯s abilities, because he had very easily dodged the attack of the double blades and had had his sword tip pointed against the opponent¡¯s throat within five minutes. I hadn¡¯t been so paralyzed by shock at his performance that I was unable to get up from my chair, definitely not. Right, definitely not, I had just been a little bit shocked. All the sweat from my tightly clenched fists had dried earlier on.


    The dedicated cheerleading group for Shimaron (almost all of the audience) had been furious at the overly short match, paper cups, waste paper, junk food wrappings, even the cushioning for the seats, all the rubbish they could lay their hands on were thrown onto the snowy ground. In other words, it had been Dai Shimaron and not us who had let the people down.


    ¡°The people of Dai Shimaron really have no class ~¡±


    It seems that the general theory of sympathizing with the weak was non-existent in Shimaron.


    Von Bielefeld-kyo, who had obtained a complete victory despite the disadvantage of having a smaller physique, was carrying his yet unsheathed sword and heading tiredly yet victoriously towards the resting room¡­.


    ¡°Wa¡­.! Wolf!¡±


    He had slipped and fallen face down while heading towards us. Walking on the hardened snowy ground had caused him to slip and fall, banging his waist and right leg hard.


    ¡°How come you fell down?! Are you alright?¡±


    Jozak and I hurriedly ran out and helped Wolfram up. Poor Wolfram seemed unable to walk on his own and was even gazing blankly into the sky while muttering, ¡°¡­.This¡­this is so embarrassing¡­¡±


    ¡°Relax, don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s really nothing to be ashamed of! We¡¯ll pretend that we didn¡¯t see that last scene. Your handsome and dashing appearance must have fatally charmed so many girls¡­.¡± (Yuuri)


    ¡°Getting noticed by human females is nothing to be happy about!¡± (Wolfram)


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! Your Excellency, females are prohibited from entering the arena, so it will actually be those disgusting men who get attracted to you!¡± (Jozak)


    ¡°Are you trying to make this worse?!¡±


    Loud cheers from the men were resonating throughout the arena, but this bishounen from the Mazoku tribe was not the type that liked being pursued by fans. Now he was scrunching his face and rubbing his waist because of the pain, it seems that it hurt him to make any small movement.


    ¡°Let me challenge my so-called healing powers.¡± (Yuuri)


    ¡°Don¡¯t do this sort of thing before the competition, don¡¯t waste your energy. Who knows what sudden situation will be waiting for us!¡±


    I got a scolding. But maybe because I was feeling relieved as we were leading by one point, it didn¡¯t feel too bad.


    However an unexpected progression in events occurred.


    Murata Ken, who was looking at the opponents¡¯ resting area with his hands positioned like binoculars around his eyes, suddenly let out a crazy yell, ¡°Ah¡­?¡±


    ¡°What is it? Murata, why that strange cry?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­the person preparing to battle against us in the second round is a man we know very well.¡±


    ¡°A man we know very well? Can it be Maxine? That¡¯s impossible isn¡¯t it? That fellow shouldn¡¯t be able to participate right? No, wait! What if he¡¯s got a twin brother?¡±


    Our opponent¡¯s second representative was supporting himself using a ¡®modern salmon weapon¡¯[1], his large high-quality army boots stepping firmly on the white snow.


    He had a head of golden hair that was illuminated by the firelight, a slightly crooked to the left but pronounced hawk nose, and a split chin, broad shoulders and chest, those would be evident even in an x-ray, and he had the nickname of ¡®Denver¡¯s Wild Horse¡¯. Just when I was distracted, he started calling out to me, ¡°Hi! What is it? You wimpy Heika, why do you look like a sheep that¡¯s eaten raw mutton?¡± What a polite greeting.


    ¡°Why is that American football player here?! And thinking about it, what does a sheep eating raw mutton look like?¡±


    Wolfram, who was sitting down, craned his neck to try and see what was going on, but had to give up because of his injured waist. Adalbert von Grantz was standing in the middle of the arena like a Transformer. His sword, which resembled a fresh salmon, was embedded into the snowy ground, and he was leaning with his right elbow on the sword handle. When I had first arrived at this world, he had toyed around with my soul, and even extracted the memories of the past languages I had known. He never attempted to conceal his anti-Mazoku beliefs, and had even betrayed his Mazoku comrades without hesitation.


    Wolfram, who had finally identified the enemy after difficulty, was saying in a voice filled with shock and anger, ¡°Adalbert! Why is that fellow in Dai Shimaron?!¡±


    Suddenly, I heard a dry chuckle. Jozak, gripping a long-axe in his hands while laughing so hard that his orange hair was rippling along with his laughter, said, ¡°Old buddy Grantz, I really have to hand it to you! You¡¯re a pure blooded Mazoku from a well-known family, yet you¡¯re willing to become a dog for Dai Shimaron!¡±


    ¡°Why? Why did you ally with Dai Shimaron¡­¡±


    I knew that man hated the Mazoku, but I didn¡¯t believe that he was cooperating with Shimaron because he trusted the humans. Maybe because he had sensed my bafflement, Jozak explained to me in a tone still tinged with humor, ¡°I think he found out from someone or other that Heika would be participating in the competition. And anyway, overpowering the original representative for the competition and taking his place in the competition wouldn¡¯t be something new to Mr Grantz. It seems that he won¡¯t hesitate at any method to force Heika into danger. You¡¯re being targeted by a very dangerous person! That person is really very stubborn.¡±


    ¡°What¡­.what despair? What¡­.what stubbornness?¡±


    The arena was packed with more than five million people, could I beat this sworn enemy in front of them? This reminded me of the defensive stance we had once taken in the latter half of a baseball game, it was a bad memory since we had been so nervous that the opponents might score a home run or that the three pitchers would succeed in making good strikes.


    Wolf got up from the bench despite his pain, ¡°Let me.¡±


    ¡°No ~ young sir, I won¡¯t let you do that.¡± (Jozak)


    Jozak pressed on Wolf¡¯s shoulder with one finger, Wolf frowned and stopped moving.


    ¡°Let me challenge that fellow, this is actually a chance that¡¯s hard to come by!¡±


    He swung his weapon around twice within that rather cramped resting area. Although his tone sounded merry, there was not a hint of laughter within the depths of his eyes.


    ¡°Since Shimaron will be represented by an excellent pure-blooded Mazoku, then the Mazoku should be represented by me. Let this human child who¡¯s wandered around the wilderness for more than twelve years meet him in battle! Anyway we have no loyalty to speak of, I might as well take this chance to fight with him.¡±


    ¡°Wait a bit! Wait a bit, Jozak! I don¡¯t doubt you at all!¡±


    ¡°Of course I know this, Heika, but the person to fight him should be me and no one else.¡±


    We had already decided on this order of appearance in the first place. Since this was the elimination contest of the ¡®World¡¯s Best Fighter Tournament¡¯, it wouldn¡¯t be against the rules to let Wolfram continue fighting in the next round, since he had won the first round. However, I just couldn¡¯t bear to let him continue competing when I saw his injured waist. More so since the opponent was the American footballer.


    ¡°Caloria¡¯s representative, please enter the arena!¡± Two men who looked very much like they were the judges were hustling us along with the exact same tone. Adalbert was still leaning against his heavy duty sword and looking up at my panicked expression. The third son was sitting silently on the bench with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Maybe because of his stamina as a soldier, he wasn¡¯t revealing any expression of pain. Jozak, on the other hand, was full of vigor and was rolling his shoulders about, seemingly unable to control the excitement he felt.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Wolf. I know you¡¯re really good, but just let Jozak go out this time.¡±


    ¡°Hmph!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be angry! Won¡¯t it be alright if you request to participate again after you recover?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t really want to fight that fellow anyway.¡±


    ¡°Huh? I thought you wanted to fight him because he had insulted you once before¡­¡­ Then why did you volunteer to go out there? Or maybe I misunderstood you?¡±


    The whole arena had become even noisier; this signified that the battle between the two warriors would soon begin. Wolfram¡¯s arms remained crossed in front of his chest, and he was trying his best to speak in an unemotional tone. Those emerald green eyes that reminded me of the depths of a green lake were trained on his team-mate.


    ¡°From a neutral perspective, Gurrier and Adalbert¡¯s abilities are evenly matched, so I had just been planning to fight the opponent first to waste away his (Adalbert¡¯s) energy.¡±


    Who had taught him the principle of ¡®sacrificing oneself for the benefit of everyone else¡¯? I was sliding his sword into the sheath he had handed to me while listening to this extremely stubborn bishounen speaking calmly.


    ¡°Even if there wasn¡¯t any guarantee I would definitely win, at least I could have wasted some of Adalbert¡¯s energy and disrupted his emotions. Then if Gurrier could remain calm and deal with the opponent with his usual capabilities, we could easily get pass this round¡­..what are you doing, Yuuri? Take your hand off my forehead!¡±


    ¡°Mm¡­.no, I was wondering if you had a fever¡­.¡±


    A youth who looked like he was in his teens poked his head in from the entrance of the resting area. His reddish-brown hair was cut very short, it was evident that he wasn¡¯t a soldier of Shimaron, but was one of the workers from the arena. Murata Ken, who had remained silent all the while, left the wall he had been leaning on and headed towards the youth. After a short conversation, he had taken the object in his hands.


    ¡°This really sounds like a great battle plan, von Bielefeld kyo! However, events seem to have taken a turn for the worse!¡±


    Although he wasn¡¯t wearing any spectacles, his eyes behind his contact lenses were sparkling with a black light. He handed the wine bottle he was holding to me. The dark brown bottle had a deep red label attached to it, and large characters had been roughly scrawled onto the empty space of that label.


    ¡°Try reading it, but I have to warn you that the writing is so messy that it¡¯s hard to decipher it.¡±


    ¡°I told you before that I¡¯m really no good at reading these characters. What does it say? Ehm¡­. Going through the words¡­¡­.If¡­if¡­..don¡¯t wish¡­..woman to die¡­..lose the competition¡­¡­I¡¯ll kill her if you tell anyone else¡­.is this a threatening letter?! But who¡¯s the woman it means? What on earth does this all mean? I think it was a wrong delivery, we¡¯ve to find that youth just now, he can¡¯t have gone far. Hey¡­!¡±


    I hurriedly poked my head out into the corridor outside, but Murata pulled me back with a serious expression.


    ¡°Shibuya, I think there was no mistake. Captain Saismoya and Dakaskos should have arrived here by now, and if Lady Flynn had followed them here¡­¡±


    ¡°What? Why would Flynn follow them?! Didn¡¯t I tell her to wait on board the ship?¡±


    ¡°Is she the kind of person to succumb to orders meekly? This competition concerns the honor of Caloria!¡±


    Flynn Gilbert¡¯s past doings flashed through my brain within that short two seconds. Everyone else¡¯s lives were suddenly overshadowed by that.


    The conclusion I could make was that she¡¯d probably come.


    ¡°Ah¡­oh no! Oh no, this is really bad! It said that we should look up, where does this up refer to?¡±


    We rushed out of the resting area and looked up into the dark sky which was still snowing, the moon, which had hidden itself behind the clouds, was still visible.


    ¡°Over there!¡±


    Murata had discovered their whereabouts. It was a building resembling a shrine; all stories above the third floor had glass windows, I could see several elegant millionaires watching the battle behind the glass windows. Those were probably the VIP seats, maybe there were even wine bars and luxurious sofas in there. There was a (person dressed as a) wine deliverer standing behind one of the windows.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s Flynn! Didn¡¯t I tell her to stay on the ship¡­?¡±


    It seemed that she had sneaked her way into the party. I couldn¡¯t be sure because of the distance, but her neck seemed to be restrained by a force from behind, she looked as if she were in pain. Standing behind Flynn, who was pressed against the window, was a man with a familiar hairstyle and beard. It was Nigel Weiss Maxine!


    ¡°Why is that fellow¡­. Here? Oh no! Murata, it said that if we didn¡¯t want her to get hurt, we should lose the competition on purpose, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    I looked back at the arena. Our representative was knocking back Adalbert¡¯s curved sword with his axe. The sword tip bounced up from the ground and brushed across his opponent¡¯s chin. Jozak was swinging his axe around with the grace of a baseball player, with his full concentration on the competition.


    It seemed that he was enjoying himself.


    ¡°So Maxine and the American footballer had planned this between them? The two of them had met before at Flynn¡¯s estate. I thought there had been something suspicious at that time¡­so they have this kind of understanding between each other?¡±


    Wolfram, who had lost his qualifications as a competitor because of his waist injury, was frowning and saying in surprise, ¡°Although Adalbert betrayed the Mazoku tribe, I don¡¯t think he would resort to such underhanded means.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, I think we should stop the competition from going on! Hey¡­! Hey, judges¡­!¡±


    ¡°Shibuya! Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to complain to the judges that we¡¯re being threatened?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Can¡¯t we complain about something like this¡­darn, then what should we do! How can we lose without arousing any suspicion¡­¡±


    All of us were perfectly clear of Jozak Gurrier¡¯s capabilities. Based on his abilities and tact, it was possible for him to purposely lose the competition and fool both the judges and audience while at it. However, we had to convince Jozak and get him to agree with this right now, I found it really hard to tell him this.


    Wolfram linked his arm round my neck and gazed at me, ¡°Yuuri, listen to me carefully! This is just my personal opinion, but I don¡¯t think we should give up the competition for this type of woman. Just let Jozak continue to do his best! What do you think?¡±


    ¡°¡­.this is your way of doing things¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, this is what I think we should do. Anyway you¡¯re really very wimpy, you should listen to what I said.¡±


    I was apologizing to someone in my mind, even if it¡¯s just this once, please allow me to succumb to the evil side who is threatening us. I think I should be apologizing to the gods who represent the spirit of sportsmanship. I linked my own arm round Wolfram¡¯s neck, and drawing him closer to myself, I apologized to him too, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m always this wimpy, I really am quite embarrassed as well, especially since you managed to gain one point despite the risk of injuries. I¡¯ll probably cause all your efforts to go to waste.¡±


    Wolfram sighed loudly and continued in a dramatic tone, ¡°That¡¯s perfectly correct.¡±


    ¡°This is all because you¡¯re too wimpy. But although I¡¯m perfectly aware of that, I¡¯m still willing to follow you, do you know why that is?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Von Bielefeld-kyo undid a button in front of his chest, his emerald green eyes seemed even brighter against the reflection of the white snow.


    ¡°Wrack your brains and think about it before I give up and leave you.¡±


    After apologizing to Jozak, I made a ¡®stopping temporarily¡¯ request to the judges.

 Volume 7 - CH 12

    It was only a short while after the disrupted competition had been resumed that Jozak¡¯s axe was dislodged from his grasp by the second representative from Dai Shimaron. His condition was the complete opposite from the colorful performance he had displayed before the competition had been paused. His opponent managed to prevent him from making any attempt at retrieving his weapon, and he was thus forced to surrender.


    ¡°¡­.ah¡­¡±


    Flynn, whose neck was encircled by the string, could only utter a faint sigh. Her tears, caused by extreme pain, had dried earlier on, and both her arms and knees felt weak. The reason for this was lack of oxygen throughout her whole body. Her fingers were struggling weakly to protest this lack of oxygen.


    ¡°Look carefully, that proud warrior is throwing away his pride to save someone like you, this is hilarious. That man is a true warrior, a woman like you would never understand, but he¡¯s a real man who survived from the harsh battlefield!¡±


    To a soldier, surviving from Artellino had a truly special significance.


    ¡°However, to save a despicable woman like you, they¡¯re willing to take this humiliation¡­. Those people with black hair and black eyes really have strange principles, it¡¯s so strange that I can¡¯t even begin to comprehend it. Forget it, if they also manage to lose in the third round, then I¡¯ll feel¡­.eh?¡±


    Flynn¡¯s throat felt much more comfortable all of a sudden, with a huge amount of oxygen flowing in. The string had broken and her throat was instantly released. Flynn took the opportunity to get down on her knees (and thus escape from the string). When she looked up with her tear-filled eyes, she saw Maxine staring at the door, with a scarlet whip encircling his arms and neck.


    There was an extremely beautiful woman standing in front of the startled people. She had long wavy hair and clear, (almost) transparent skin, while those emerald green eyes which reminded one of the depths of a lake were sparkling with a sense of justice.


    ¡°You big scoundrel, release her at once! Or I¡¯ll use my whip of doom on you! I¡¯ll never forgive anyone who defiles objects of beauty!¡±


    ¡°Who are you?! Also, warn me before you attack next time!¡±


    The woman didn¡¯t seem to have heard the latter part of what he had said; she was walking in elegant steps towards him with whip in one hand. Her head of wavy waist-long hair, which was her pride and joy, was glinting with a golden light. Her weapon, which she was rather proud of, was made of scarlet leather. The whip was light and narrow, long yet durable, and could be easily manipulated in mid-air; it was evidently a rare item made by skilled workmen.


    ¡°I¡¯m the beautiful lady warrior who fights in the name of love ¨C Cecilia! What do you think of this name? I¡¯ve already handed the plans for that novel to Anissina, but she¡¯s busy with her experiments all day long and can¡¯t find time to help me write it, I really want to be a hero to all those children too ~ ¡±


    Although she had thought it up herself, her slogan still seemed to lack some pep. She placed both hands at the back of her head after twirling them around, this was her classic pose which stimulated others¡¯ senses. As usual, she was wearing a boldly revealing outfit, it was one that revealed her entire back.


    Maxine, who had his hands trapped by the whip, said something he never should have said, ¡°Where did this hag come from?! You old over-exposing maniac!¡±


    ¡°¡­.What did you say¡­?¡±


    Everyone present was frozen by shock.


    Please wait! This man¡¯s more interested in little girls! He¡¯s got a psychological problem! You don¡¯t look old in the least, and you aren¡¯t any old hag ~ Before Saismoya could help him with a long explanation, Lady Cheri had defended herself.


    ¡°What did you say, I couldn¡¯t hear clearly enough¡­!¡±


    The whip lashed repeatedly at Maxine at the speed of sound, and since the space of time between each lash was relatively short, the victim¡¯s cries of agony weren¡¯t too long as well. ¡®Waah!¡¯, ¡®Yaah!¡¯, ¡®Yow!¡¯ and other monosyllabic moans were heard along with the sound of scattering of the remnants of his clothes.


    It was all Maxine¡¯s own fault, since he had gone against the rule of ¡®Don¡¯t offend or make the Queen cry before the food is cooked properly¡¯ (a popular saying in Shin Makoku). No one was willing to stick their nose in when someone was as brave (or as stupid) as to anger the ex-Queen.


    ¡°¡­..Unn, Gaa, Gulp! Uhh!¡±


    The symphony of the whip lashes finally ended, and the man collapsed on the ground, something seemed to be stuck in his throat. The spectators were somehow hoping for even more interesting developments. However, the man flopping limply on the luxurious rug looked a lot like a mop.


    It was such a pitiful sight.


    ¡°I just came to find out why the beverages haven¡¯t been delivered yet after such a long time, but what do I see? I happened onto a villain abusing a girl; I¡¯ll never let something that despicable happen. Even if beauty is a sin, that¡¯s no reason for someone to strangle you like that.¡±


    She kicked lightly at the prone figure on the ground with the tip of her pointy boots.


    ¡°The more beautiful a flower is, the more thorns it has! If you really desire it, you can¡¯t just depend on skill, you have to practice your manliness as well. Here, Hewbert.¡±


    She handed her whip to the golden haired youth who had followed her, and he tied Maxine up skillfully. It seemed that he was rather experienced in these matters.


    ¡°This¡­this can¡¯t be¡­.Your Majesty Lady Celi? Why are you here¡­.¡±


    The ex Maou had her index finger pressed against her lips, shushing him up.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t refer to me with such a boring title. I¡¯m now a supporter of free love, I¡¯ve given up titles and power long ago. There is only love, beauty and a noble heart left in my hands and within myself!¡±


    Coming from the lips of someone else, this might cause a certain amount of disgust, but it sounded completely convincing from her. And anyway, nobody, except those sons of hers, would have been able to resist her charm.


    ¡°I was invited here by a friend from Shimaron. They told me that I would be able to admire the bloody battle scenes between warriors, but if I sat nearer to the front, I¡¯d probably be able to enjoy it more up close¡­.¡±


    Hewbert was bending down and talking to his mistress with a smile, saying lightly, ¡°My Lady, this is because the World¡¯s Best Fighter Tournament prohibits women from entering the arena.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, and anyway, it¡¯s good enough to be able to watch it from the VIP seats. Although I won¡¯t be able to admire the sweat dripping off the competitors, I won¡¯t need to sit there pout in the snow and rain, it¡¯s much more comfortable this way. Oh, I remember that you¡¯re Dakaskos who works under Gunter! You¡¯re the soldier who¡¯s capable of almost everything, aren¡¯t you? Like clearing a clogged drain, or repairing the shelter?¡±


    ¡°Ah! Yes! No, oh god!¡±


    He didn¡¯t dare to say that it was actually the plumber Clansian (she had meant).


    Saismoya, who¡¯d never had the opportunity to see Her Majesty before, was kneeling with his head pressed against the floor.


    ¡°Uh¡­Please, who¡¯s this with the kappa hairstyle? Forget it, it doesn¡¯t matter, you don¡¯t need to be so formal. I¡¯m not Cecilia von Spitzberg kyo now, I¡¯m the hunter of love Celi. Just forget all those annoying formalities when we¡¯re in this country!¡±


    Cecillia¡¯s attractive rosy lips were curved in an enticing smile. She was leaning over with the curve of her breasts faintly visible.


    ¡°Yes¡­yes, of course!¡±


    ¡°Captain, Captain Saismoya! There¡¯s a red waterfall trickling from your nose!¡±


    ¡°No no no no, no! It¡¯s not like that! No!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright! Captain, nosebleeds reflect your true feeling. But what do you think of my outfit? Does this reflect early spring?¡±


    Of course, it was her curvy and beautiful body that was wrapped within her clothes. The warrior of the seas was in an embarrassing and pitiful state after being attacked by the sexy pheromone queen.


    A chuckle could be heard from behind her, it sounded like suppressed laughter. It seemed that there wasn¡¯t just her favorite follower Hewbert who was accompanying her on her quest for free love.


    A human, who had his eyes narrowed, approached her then pressed his face against her golden hair. Although his looks weren¡¯t anything special, he didn¡¯t make anyone feel uneasy, and he was clearly an elegant man with pleasant manners. His clothes were monochromatic, and he wasn¡¯t sporting any other adornments. However, judging from the superior material and the perfect measurements of his clothing, someone with good judgment would realize their true worth. He had short reddish brown hair with specks of silver in it, proving that he was no soldier. Based on human years, he would be a middle aged man about thirty or forty years old.


    Although the two looked very compatible, they were actually lovers with a huge age gap.


    ¡°Ah, my beautiful dream lover. Didn¡¯t I just praise you? I said that although this thin silk reflecting early spring is beautiful, you yourself are several times more beautiful than all the newly emerging trees, leaves or blossoms! Or wasn¡¯t what I said satisfactory enough for you, although this is the first time I¡¯ve been bewitched by true love?¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t! Of course not! Fanfan, my adorable man, everything you say makes me relive the memories I had when I was just a young maiden.¡± Fanfan?! This middle-aged gentleman with a splendid beard had such a cute nickname?!


    ¡°What are you talking about! My beautiful nymph of spring, you¡¯re always a young maiden to me.¡±


    But she was actually mother to three sons.


    Saismoya had to swallow his blood from his nosebleed after hearing this torrent of honey-like praises, he was having goose-bumps from hearing all this. There would definitely be no one like him on the seas, humans were really scary!


    On the other hand, Dakaskos, who had been mistaken for a plumber, suddenly remembered von Christ kyo¡¯s dramatic and suffocating diary. A few million copies of that book had been sold, proving that women and girls everywhere were very susceptible to sentences like that. He might as well try talking like that the next time he made his wife angry, just in case it worked. Anyway, he might as well memorize the words ¡®Your head is spring to me forever¡¯¡­¡­it was evident that something terrible would happen (to him) if he ever said that.


    ¡°Oh, what¡¯s the matter with you two? Your mouths are wide open. Oh right, I¡¯ve to introduce Fanfan to you. This is Stefan Fanberlain. He¡¯s got a large business in Shimaron.¡±


    So this is why he¡¯s called Fanfan? Then there¡¯s no help for it since it really is his name.


    The middle-aged gentleman kissed his elder lover¡¯s forehead gently, and the soldiers instantly felt goose-bumps rising on their arms.


    ¡°My business isn¡¯t that large, is it? My lover, you¡¯re praising me too much. Compared to your beauty, my humble business isn¡¯t worth even as much as one of your toes. Just like the grass on the plains, how could they be compared to the sparkling stars in the sky?¡±


    Although this comparison was plainly inappropriate, Lady Cheri was chuckling happily at his words. It seems that this ex queen was in a good mood!


    ¡°Oh, right, who¡¯s this adorable lady? Where is she from? Your hair is so pretty, what flower is your hair oil made from?¡±


    ¡°¡­that¡­that¡­¡±


    She couldn¡¯t utter a word. The perceptive Hewbert immediately got some water for Flynn from the next room. After moisturizing her throat, she could finally find her voice.


    ¡°Please forgive me for sitting so improperly on the floor¡­.I¡¯m Flynn Gilbert from Caloria¡­.then¡­.you are¡­¡±


    ¡°Me? I¡¯m Cecilia, the hunter for free love! But please call me Celi. I can¡¯t believe that he could exert such pain on someone as pretty as you. This type of man is the worst possible! Why did this happen, Flynn? Was it hatred stemming from love? Or was it because another man had fallen for you? Ah ~ beauty really is a sin! Making all those men your prisoners of love!¡±


    ¡°Ulp¡­.Lady Celi, Lady Flynn and Maxine aren¡¯t lovers, but their relationship is much more complicated than that between lovers.¡±


    ¡°What? Dakaskos, you¡¯re saying that their relationship is much more complex and entangled than a muddy swamp?! Ah ~ in that case, then maybe both of them have their own families¡­god! Just imagining all this is making me so excited. I say Flynn, tell me about everything! I could be your advisor for love, if you don¡¯t mind¡­oh!¡±


    Maxine, who had been ensnared by the ex queen¡¯s whip, was moaning on the ground.


    ¡°Oh no, what have I done?! I forgot all about the gentleman I overpowered!¡±


    ¡°What gentleman!¡±


    Flynn had uttered a low cry filled with sorrow; anger was causing her to shiver uncontrollably.


    ¡°This man is a filthy beast!¡±


    ¡°Really? Beast¡­this noun sounds rather exciting¡­.but gloomy-looking men aren¡¯t my type¡­however, he looks so cute when he¡¯s being whipped! Haha, how will he react if I kick him?¡±


    ¡°Waah!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! You beast, you beast! That¡¯s right, I just want to kick you!¡±


    Dakaskos was starting to shiver. There were three people in Shin Makoku who should never be angered, they were Shinou Heika, Lady Celi and Miss Anissina.


    ¡°But lady¡­Lady Celi, we should inform the Colonel about this as soon as possible. He might still have his hands tied because of us. He might even purposely lose the third round for our sake. The next round should be¡­.the colonel he¡­.¡±


    ¡°Who do you mean by the colonel? Oh right, by the way, Flynn, did you see my handsome son? Wasn¡¯t that so cute? During the time when that child was stumbling while learning to walk, and while he couldn¡¯t sleep without his teddy bear, I was the first one who gave him a sword to play with! Although his father had greatly protested because of his age, one night he stabbed his own beloved grey teddy bear with that short sword¡­.oh no! We should inform everyone below there that you¡¯ve been released. Alright! This should do the trick.¡±


    Cecilia ran lightly to the window and untied the colorful silk scarf around her shoulders, then waved elegantly towards the resting area of the Calorian team.


    ¡°I say Dakaskos, this is a rare opportunity, please pour me a glass of grape wine. I¡¯ve been waiting so long for the beverages¡­.but how did the two of you become beverage vendors? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s because you were unsatisfied with the army supplies? I rather pity the two of you, you had to move such a heavy cooler.¡±


    ¡°By the way, where¡¯s the box?!¡±


    Flynn, Saismoya and Dakaskos raised their heads simultaneously and gazed at the counterfeit box covered by the green cloth. It had been placed beside the wall all along.


    ¡°Mother?!¡±


    The third son was startled upon seeing the woman who looked exactly like himself. Murata and I, thinking that his waist was hurting him, had automatically reached out to support him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t force yourself to stand up, Wolf! You¡¯re acting like a first-year student on his first school visit, getting so excited about seeing your mother¡­¡­the mother you mean¡­..is that Lady Celi?!¡±


    I looked back out of reflex, and saw a beaming Lady Cecilia von Spitzberg standing at the very spot where Flynn had been captured before. Her onion-green gown looked very enticing, she really was the sexy queen for whom spring had arrived earlier than for others around her. Murata was frowning while looking at her, mumbling, ¡°Oh ~ so that¡¯s her!¡±


    ¡°Why would mother be in Dai Shimaron¡­¡±


    ¡°I say Wolf, there¡¯s only one possible answer for that, although I know that you won¡¯t agree with it.¡±


    The answer was probably that the newest lover for this supporter of free love was a businessman in Shimaron.


    ¡°Your mom¡¯s probably seeing a man younger than you are. Anyway, Lady Celi being so happy probably means that Flynn Gilbert is safe now. No matter how cheerful von Spitzberg kyo is, she probably can¡¯t bear to stand beside a dead hostage waving her scarf.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say anything bad about my mother!¡±


    ¡°But I didn¡¯t!¡±


    However, this could be counted as good news. Although I still felt apologetic towards Jozak who had been forced to lose on purpose, we still had a last glimmer of hope. The results at this current stage were one victory and one loss, so we were even with our competitors. As long as we managed to get a tie in the third round, we would be able to extend the competition. I wasn¡¯t sure whether the contest rules had stated a maximum number of rounds allowed in the competition, but at least we could extend the time before we lost.


    I was preparing to persuade Jozak, feeling so apologetic that I was near to kneeling, but to my surprise he agreed without hesitation. He stood in front of my apologetic self while brushing off the snow on his sword blade.


    ¡°It¡¯s not necessary to apologize, I¡¯m your soldier, I¡¯ll obey whatever orders you have for me.¡±


    He, who had successfully acted the part of the loser, was sitting on the bench and sighing, but it was evident that he really wasn¡¯t all that disappointed. He was bent over with his forehead against his knees.


    The one who was feeling agitated right now was actually his opponent Adalbert, who felt that his opponent had purposely lost his grip on his weapon and to lose, so he was protesting with all his might to the judges, he didn¡¯t look in the least like someone who had just won. However, the judges would never change their decision about the results, especially since the people of Shimaron were cheering and waving their yellow flags with all their might. He couldn¡¯t request a rematch, because it would just be asking for trouble if he angered the audience.


    Now Caloria had their last hope. It was all thanks to Lady Celi for rescuing Flynn, now we should take advantage of this opportunity.


    As long as the competitor for this third round gave a good performance, we would have a chance at being the champions.


    ¡°Everyone, let¡¯s look forward to the performance of our third representative! If that fellow could at least manage to tie in the battle, the results for this competition can be reset all over again¡­.¡±


    Everyone present was silent and looked extra gloomy, with six pairs of eyes fixed on me.


    Wait a minute, I¡¯m the third representative, right?


    ¡°Waah¡­! Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no! What do I do? Murata?! What can I do? Wolf?!¡±


    The last competitor left was indeed a very weak one.


    ¡°So our only alternative is to give up the competition.¡±


    ¡°No, we can¡¯t do that! We¡¯ve just one last step before achieving our aim! And the problem with Flynn has already been settled, so this is our opportunity! It¡¯d be such a pity to back out at the last moment, I won¡¯t do that¡­!¡±


    ¡°Then you¡¯ll have to go out there, Heika.¡±


    Jozak, who still had a trace of regret in his expression, was muttering.


    ¡°Anyway if you¡¯re ever in any danger, Heika, His Excellency and I won¡¯t ignore that fact. Even if we lose our qualifications for breaking the rules, we¡¯ll run out there to protect you if necessary. So don¡¯t worry about that! Since they don¡¯t have any hostages left with them, we¡¯ll be able to start a killing spree without need to worry about anyone else. I¡¯d slash and chop away at them within the shortest time possible, killing all of them!¡±


    ¡°Are..are you angry?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Even Wolfram, who was sitting with one leg crossed over the other, was nodding in agreement to this, it seems that he too agreed with Jozak¡¯s opinion of ¡®killing them all¡¯.


    ¡°Even if you order me not to kill anyone, it won¡¯t be of any use. To us, Caloria isn¡¯t as important as winning this competition or you, Heika. If Heika wishes to go out, His Excellency and I won¡¯t stop you from doing so!¡±


    The audience comprised about five million people. They were looking forward to a full-scale bloodbath involving real weapons, and it was very probable that I wouldn¡¯t be able to retreat safely after entering the arena.


    But¡­


    I bit my lip and gripped the metallic baseball bat my friend had chosen for me.


    But there was just one last step to go.


    Just one more step to achieve my aim.


    The climax in the sixteen years of my life could happen today, and anyway¡­


    ¡°Shibuya, I told you before, you should get used to being protected.¡±


    Murata was about to push up his glasses with his index finger, but then realized that he wasn¡¯t wearing them.


    ¡°Is that the conclusion you made after listening to my advice?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve a whole list here of sentences with ¡®I told you so¡¯ that you¡¯ve made! You told me before that there¡¯s a special relationship between us, and you also said that you had the ability to aid a powerful king. And before that I¡­.because something unknown sparked off my own powers, I felt that depending on a power I¡¯m unable to control is something very dangerous. But now I know, if I use that to win the competition¡­we could use our powers together¡­.¡± (Yuuri)


    ¡°No!¡± (Murata)


    Murata was shaking his head vehemently and cutting me off.


    ¡°That¡¯d be too dangerous, even if the snow can lessen your nausea, this is human land after all, and moreover the shrine is just next door! No one can predict what could happen next! I can¡¯t let you put yourself in danger like this¡­.since you¡¯re determined to participate, I won¡¯t stop you. That¡¯s what you want me to say, isn¡¯t it? You¡¯re actually wishing that I¡¯d say ¡®I knew you¡¯d do this¡¯ in place of someone else.¡±


    ¡°Mm, then do what you¡¯ve mentioned.¡±


    I rolled my neck around a few times to release the tension in my muscles. I had to practice swinging this new bat a few times before actually using it. I couldn¡¯t quite understand why Murata was so worried, as my condition had improved a lot since. It seems that the gods in other kingdoms didn¡¯t have that big an effect on me.


    My friend was scratching his wet hair, which had darkened in color due to moisture; I never thought he would look so worried.


    ¡°Argh, I don¡¯t want to say anymore. I never thought that things would turn out this way¡­Shibuya, please, just don¡¯t get hurt. I¡¯ll teach you a secret move! Listen carefully, if you¡¯re in any danger you should attack the weak spot of your opponent. Do you know where that is?¡±


    I¡¯d unconsciously pressed against that spot in question. Of course I knew the weak spot of every male in the world, but to ask me to kick my opponent down there¡­..this reminded me of the time a stray ball had hit me there, so I pressed my hips tighter together. To think that a ball could get past all those protective gear, just thinking about it made me break out in a cold sweat.


    ¡°Promise me, don¡¯t pity the opponent no matter what. If you sense anything wrong, protect yourself at all costs.¡±


    ¡°Murata, do you need to go into such details? You seem to be very clear about who our opponents would send out or the powers they would have. Don¡¯t tell me they, like us, placed their weakest link at the very last¡­.¡±


    The whole arena was resounding with the cheers and feet-stamping of the audience. It seems that the third representative of Dai Shimaron had prepared himself. The vibrations resulting from their stamping resembled that of an earthquake, it felt a bit like the first time the powers from that box had been released.


    Tension, uneasiness and a longing for justice were making my stomach hurt.


    ¡°According to what you said¡­¡±


    Cecilia von Spitzberg, Flynn Gilbert, Captain Saismoya and Dakaskos were holding a conference. Hewbert was tossing the trussed up Maxine outside, while Stefan Fanberlain was waiting just outside the door. He was a businessman from Shimaron after all, so they couldn¡¯t let him overhear their plan to get the box back.


    ¡°So ¡®The Ends of the Wind¡¯ is in this shrine of Dai Shimaron?¡±


    Everything was news to Lady Celi, who had left her own country for quite some time. Flynn, Dakaskos and Saismoya had given her detailed reports about everything that had happened since then, except for what had happened with Weller kyo. It was because informing her about the death of her son wasn¡¯t their duty, and since the third son His Excellency Wolfram was just downstairs, it would be far better for a member of the family to tell her.


    Also, they didn¡¯t tell her about Shimaron mistaking his arm as the key to the box and thus causing the destruction of Caloria. The cute ex Maou who didn¡¯t resemble her actual age in the least was wrinkling her beautiful eyebrows slightly while saying, ¡°Then, His Majesty¡­.to Flynn he¡¯s the colonel, isn¡¯t he? He entered the World¡¯s Best Fighter Tournament to get the box back, didn¡¯t he? But His Highness asked you to substitute the real box with this counterfeit before the competition ended¡­why? Don¡¯t tell me he thinks they couldn¡¯t win¡­..¡±


    Cecilia had cocked her head to one side in bafflement, with her index finger pressed lightly against her slightly parted lips, then she exclaimed in an elegant ladylike voice, ¡°No, wait a minute. You said His Highness?! Why is the double black Daikenja mentioned in your conversation? Logically no one could have seen him before? This reminds me, even his location¡­I say Dakaskos, are the hair and eyes of His Highness both black? Is he as beautiful as he appeared in his portrait?¡±


    To a lower ranked soldier, being gripped at the shoulders and shaken by a beautiful woman was something that caused extreme confusion.


    ¡°No, no, no, no, his hair is of a strange golden shade, and his eyes are a strange blue.¡±


    ¡°What¡­? How could that be? How could you say something that destroys the fantasy of so many young girls?¡±


    ¡°But, but, but His Highness really looks like that.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­anyway my Lady you¡¯ll be able to meet with Mr. Kelujin after the competition¡­..now the main thing is to get the box back, we need your wisdom and strength for that¡­.¡± (Flynn)


    The calmest one in this situation was Flynn. But that was also because she had no inkling about the scary consequences if the Maou and Daikenja got together (and combined their powers).


    ¡°But Flynn, I¡¯m not that familiar with the layout of this shrine, so I might not be able to locate the box for you, and anyway you can¡¯t force a woman to use her delicate arms to battle with the soldiers, right?¡±


    An image rose simultaneously in the minds of the three people listening: that was (the image of) Maxine who had been beaten to the ground by the fury of the whip, he had come to such a pitiful ending. Just when everyone was still drifting within that terrible memory, Lady Celi suggested something completely unexpected.


    ¡°If nobody objects, we could ask Fanfan. I think he¡¯d definitely help.¡±


    Everyone responded with an ¡°Aah..?!¡± which sounded like the roaring sea.


    The two Mazoku were wondering if Lady Celi had been driven crazy by love, while Flynn looked helplessly at everyone in turn without any idea what to say next. Cecilia approached the window and led her young lover over.


    ¡°I say Fanfan, can you please help us? I believe you¡¯ll help me, won¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Changing the box¡­ ¡®The Ends of the Wind¡¯ with a counterfeit is it? That¡¯s such a bold plan.¡±


    Now everything¡¯s ended, there was no hope left, the bold plan had been unveiled right in front of a citizen of Shimaron, it seems that there wasn¡¯t any need for any further plans. If he alerted the guards now, everyone would be evicted from the shrine. All three prepared themselves for the worst. It seemed that there would be no alternative but to abandon this task and escape while they could. Saismoya made this decision for everyone else since he was the oldest amongst the three¡­..


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°Retreat! Lady Flynn, Dakaskos, we¡¯ll retreat¡­.what did you say¡­?¡±


    The elegant and gentle man shrugged lightly and revealed a smile that implied ¡®There¡¯s no help for it¡¯.


    ¡°Since my irreplaceable beloved made this request, I can¡¯t deny her this.¡±


    Ah?


    ¡°Please don¡¯t weep with those beautiful eyes of yours, your wish is my command.¡± What?!


    ¡°My beautiful Cecilia, please don¡¯t cry. Fulfilling your every wish is my pleasure.¡±


    What the¡­?!


    All three of them were almost bowing over with shock upon hearing this. They were completely inexperienced in matters of love, and hence were stunned into silence upon learning his unexpected development. Saismoya was scratching his right hand and muttering, ¡®But Lord Fanfan, you¡¯re a businessman from Shimaron, aren¡¯t you? Doesn¡¯t helping us do something harmful to Shimaron make you a traitor to your own country?¡±


    Stefan Fanberlain gave a warm smile and said something any person in the army would never dream of saying.


    ¡°If this country possessed the most powerful weapon in existence, and hence were able to take control over the whole world¡­.. then our existence would become utterly meaningless. Listen, I¡¯m a born businessman. Swords, shields, bows, arrows, steel, iron, they¡¯re all items I sell, and if possible, I¡¯d hope to deal in business with multiple countries, and not just one single country. Alright, let¡¯s move, everyone! I might be able to help with locating the place we¡¯re headed to and overpowering some of the guards, but if it comes to battling with weapons, I¡¯ll have to hand it to you all.¡±


    This type of man, from a certain perspective, was the most dangerous one of all. But they would have to believe in his spirit of business and cooperate with him for now. If the plan worked, maybe everyone might believe in free love as well!


    ¡°We can get Hewbert to go with us, he should come back any time now¡­. But Flynn, you can¡¯t go.¡±


    Cecilia beckoned towards Flynn Gilbert, who had been preparing to leave with the group of men.


    ¡°Rest here for a while, I can see that you¡¯re exhausted, moreover you haven¡¯t recovered from your injury, so you should just stay and watch the competition with me! It¡¯s great to be accompanied by a female friend.¡±


    After seeing off the men who were headed to the inner sanctum of the shrine, Cecilia and Flynn locked the doors of the VIP room. The ex queen sat on the long couch near the window and sipped elegantly at her wine. Since Flynn had less experience like this, she looked rather ill at ease.


    ¡°Are you worried about Fanfan?¡±


    ¡°No, my Lady. It¡¯s not that¡­. It¡¯s¡­. I don¡¯t suspect your lover¡­.¡±


    ¡°Oh! It¡¯s alright, just call me Cecilia.¡±


    She placed her fair and delicate hand lightly on Flynn¡¯s tightly clenched fists which she had placed on her knees.


    ¡°Flynn, believe me, there won¡¯t be any problem with him, he¡¯s a born businessman, I can guarantee that what he just said weren¡¯t any lies. Stefan has always adhered to his own principles when dealing in matters. He¡¯d choose to stay true to his own family when faced with the decision of choosing between his family and his country. But I¡¯m different.¡±


    Her gaze had shifted to the exterior of the glass window, what Cecilia was saying now wasn¡¯t directed to anyone in particular, but rather was what had been hidden in her heart for a long time.


    ¡°¡­.I¡¯ll never ever do anything that might harm my country again¡­..never¡­.¡±


    The falling snow was gradually increasing the region of white outside. The competitors and judges in the arena could no longer be seen clearly. However, the beauty from the Mazoku tribe had resumed her light tone and tossed her golden hair back, ¡°By the way, Flynn, do you have a lover? How many times have you been married?¡±


    ¡­.but marriage isn¡¯t something that happens when you want it to.


    ¡°¡­I¡¯ve been married once before, but my husband left before me.¡±


    ¡°Oh god! Then you should find yourself a new lover! What about my Hewbert? Although he doesn¡¯t speak much, he¡¯s very alert, and he¡¯s also extremely capable! Oh, or maybe you already have someone else you like? Tell me, what¡¯s that person like? Older than you? Actually someone younger is also very cute, I¡¯d like to greatly stress this point to you!¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m already¡­¡­married to Caloria.¡±


    The name she had denied once before echoed in her ears, but Flynn managed to give a self deprecating smile. This had all been for the sake of her beloved land, for her husband and that world she loved so much.


    ¡°Really? You¡¯re so noble, you¡¯re able to resist temptation. A woman living for her country is the most beautiful.¡±


    Cecilia von Spitzberg kyo raised her wine glass to the height of her chest, then stopped.


    ¡°By the way, Flynn, I too was the leader of a country before this!¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­.¡±


    After learning of the high rank of the person before her, Flynn jumped up from her chair.


    ¡°Ah ~ it doesn¡¯t matter. Didn¡¯t I tell you, I¡¯m now just a hunter for free love. I now understand perfectly what kind of a person I am. But at that time I hadn¡¯t understood myself well enough. I think I¡¯m not suited for politics, nor did I want to rule or govern over a country, so I left everything to my brother. But my brother Stoffel is different from me, he has large plans for ruling, but¡­..¡±


    A drop of red liquid spilled from her tilted wine glass onto her lap.


    ¡°But now I regret what I did¡­.you must remember what I said.¡±


    Cecilia gripped Flynn¡¯s hands firmly in hers. The two had been born in different lands, were of different races, and had completely different experiences in life, even their age differed greatly, yet through the touch of their skin, they could find points of similarity in each other¡¯s blood. They were two women who had governed over their respective countries for a period within the long history of their world.


    ¡°No matter whether it was because of our bloodlines, the will of the people or predictions, fate made us accept these positions of power. It doesn¡¯t matter what reason you became king¡­.or regent of the people, there¡¯s always a logic behind it. It¡¯ll be wrong of you to forget this and give up your power to others to take over for you. Flynn, remember this, the reason for accepting this power lies deep within yourself, you must find it on your own, then protect your country at the risk of your own life.¡±


    ¡°¡­I know.¡±


    ¡°You should never do what I did¡­ah ~ but for a change of topic, it won¡¯t be too bad to be a regent of many loves, would it?¡±


    That moment of soul-searching revelation was drawn to a close by her tone that sounded so much like that of a teenage girl. Cecilia pressed both hands against the glass window and with her forehead pressed against it, gazed downwards.


    ¡°There are so many men down there, there must be someone suitable for you! Why don¡¯t you try finding a reserve lover for yourself before the competition resumes?¡±


    ¡°No, Lady Cecilia, I can¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright! Although I seem like a busybody, please still accept my good intentions¡­.. darn, this is no fun! I can¡¯t even make out their features clearly from this height¡­.oh right!¡±


    Cecilia opened the luggage belonging to her companions and took out a palm-sized cylinder. Unfolding it to it¡¯s full length revealed it as a delicately made silver telescope.


    ¡°I forgot I had this. This is the maryuku generated telescope which my friend Anissina made for me! See, since it has a maryuku element added to it, you can enjoy the view of any place all you like, plus it¡¯s got the night view feature, so you can see even your subject¡¯s eyelashes in any dark environment! This comes in handy for observing men secretly, but it should be useful for watching the World¡¯s Best Tournament as well.¡±


    ¡°Observing¡­men?¡±


    ¡°Wait, let me see¡­why is Heika wearing that strange mask? This ruins his cute face¡­.¡±


    Flynn wasn¡¯t feeling angry even though the mask her husband had left behind was being described as ¡®strange¡¯.


    Flynn grabbed the telescope and looked at the darkened resting area for Dai Shimaron.


    ¡°I was so shocked just now when I saw Wolfram, then the second representative for the other side turned out to be Adalbert, this is so surprising. I never imagined that I would get to see other Mazoku in my travels around the world¡­ah!¡± (Cecilia)


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    The lady beside her seemed suddenly frozen. She seemed tongue-tied and her speech became unclear, she was trembling so much that no one could have made out what she was saying.


    ¡°How could this happen¡­.Shinou Heika, you¡­.¡±


    How many trials do you have to make this child go through?


    My optimism had vanished due to the shock of the moment.


    The glint of a sword could be seen from the darkness of the far-off Dai Shimaron resting area, then the outline of a tall man could be seen getting to his feet. Under the illumination of the torches, the brown hair typical of the people of Shimaron could be seen, and also half of his face. Although I couldn¡¯t be sure because of the distance, his eyes should be the light brown typical of most the people in this land.


    But¡­we were so astounded by the scene in front if us that we almost forgot to breathe.


    ¡°¡­Conrad..?¡±


    Conrad Weller kyo¡¯s left foot stepped onto the snowy ground.


    ¡°Darn!¡±


    My knees were shaking so hard, it felt as if my feet were slowly sinking into the muddy ground. I uttered a meaningless cry and stamped onto the unstable ground. Maybe because I was finding difficulty breathing, I tossed the mask to one side and rushed forward, then realized that I wasn¡¯t stuck in the muddy ground, but was instead stuck in the thick snow. Murata was calling out my name from behind, and Wolfram, who was unable to move about much, was rising from his seat on the bench, commanding Jozak to take action. I didn¡¯t know that my vision could be like a video camera that had a full (360 degree) view, I could see everything behind me so clearly.


    Darn, I had been so worried!


    I was running while clenching my right fist, thinking that I should first give him a punch before anything else. I was nearly there, he was right in front of me. I swung my right hand with all my might and took one final step forward.


    ¡°Waah..!¡±


    Although Weller kyo hadn¡¯t budged an inch, my vision suddenly became a blur of grey, it was then that I realized that I had slipped on the dirty snowy ground. I had fallen down, how could I fall down at a moment like this?!


    ¡°It¡¯s been quite a while, Heika¡­.are you alright?¡±


    Conrad, who was smiling a familiar smile, took off the glove from his hand that wasn¡¯t wielding his sword, but it wasn¡¯t the one he usually used. I gripped his offered hand without hesitation and got to my feet unsteadily. His palm was warm although his knees and chest were all soaked through.


    ¡°¡­so you¡¯re still alive.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m still alive.¡±


    Jozak, who had run through icy cold water to approach us, had stopped at a distance away. I could see him gripping his axe tightly in his hand and was puzzled. Why was he holding his weapon?


    This is Weller kyo! You know him too, don¡¯t you? This is Conrad.


    His eyebrow still had that old injury, and that silvery shade typical of him surrounding him; that always calm, kindly smile he would give everyone. I hadn¡¯t called out his name, but my eye had fallen on my hand which he was holding. That was the hand which had held mine in the past, the familiar fingers, and his left hand which he had clumsily worn the baseball glove.


    ¡°¡­you still have your left hand?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still here! But it¡¯s really a pity¡­this arm isn¡¯t the one that¡¯s held you in the past. However both my legs are intact, do you want to make sure?¡±


    ¡°Why? How can this be? Then this means that Maxine got hold of someone else¡¯s arm? Or was that a fake?¡±


    I see, that was just an arm that looked like his. But this wasn¡¯t possible, that really had been his arm!


    ¡°Heika!¡±


    I¡¯d never heard Jozak speak with such urgency before.


    ¡°Please back away from him!¡±


    ¡°Why? Jozak, Conrad¡¯s still alive! You should be more honest and express how you feel inside¡­¡±


    ¡°Listen Heika, please back away from him. He¡¯s the third one.¡±


    ¡°The third one, what¡­.¡±


    ¡°Look at the clothes he¡¯s wearing. Please leave, he¡¯s the third competitor!¡±


    Weller kyo¡¯s clothes were of a color very incompatible with him. That was a yellow and white striped uniform that wasn¡¯t suitable for camouflage in the wilderness, and I had hated that striking color before arriving here.


    That was the uniform of the Shimaron soldiers.


    ¡°How could you wear this?!¡±


    Blood was rising to the top of my head, causing my temples to throb quickly, throbbing so fast I was getting a headache.


    ¡°How could you wear these clothes?! Why is this happening¡­why¡¯re you in Shimaron¡­¡±


    Weller kyo, who I had grabbed by the collar, was answering nonchalantly, ¡°This has been my land all along.¡±


    My fingers felt as if they had been frozen by ice.


    The close Mazoku ally who had the bloodline of a human king flicked the snow off my cheek with his left hand.

 Volume 8 - Prologue

    I really don¡¯t get it.


    Why would the omniscient, all-powerful Shinou, choose that rookie to be Maou?


    That guy not only lacks the grace and manner of a nobleman, he also hasn¡¯t accomplished anything worthwhile on the battlefield.


    He doesn¡¯t even know how to use words full of authority to lead the people, to make the people fear and respect him, thereby obeying him.


    No matter how we advise him, he still likes to play with the common children, even visiting the stables and the kitchen.


    Brother and the other ministers don¡¯t have any complaints against him-- instead they truly do like him.


    But in my personal opinion, he isn¡¯t at all suited to be king. If he wanted to be the ruler of a country as mighty as Shin Makoku, ruling over all the Mazoku of the world, forget a hundred years, even another two hundred years would be too early for him. Not only doesn¡¯t he have the wits for the job, his level of maturity too is as childish as that of a newborn lamb.


    Not too long ago someone who was uneasy about handing the kingdom over to that guy told me, ¡°It seems that those who have inherited the blood of the previous monarch would be better suited to the throne¡­¡± And I had explained¡ªAt this time, it¡¯s very important that everyone works together to support that wimp.


    The other party must have misunderstood me, because he said simply ¡°since even Your Excellence says so¡­¡± and left looking impressed. ¡­Eh?


    I really don¡¯t get it¡­ Yuuri! How many times have I told you, not to go out wandering the city without your guards?

 Volume 8 - CH 1

    Conrad smiled pleasantly. He just stood there while I clutched his lapel.


    "It''s been a long time, Your Majesty."


    "Please go away from him," standing a few steps behind us, Yozak said in a low voice. "He''s the third competitor."


    "Why are you wearing those clothes? What are you doing here?" The yellow-white uniform did not suit him at all.


    "This has always been my country," Conrad said casually as if it was an irrelevant matter. Narrowing his eyes, brown with silver speckles, he added. "My ancestors once ruled over this land."


    "Ancestors? Rulers? You''re talking as if they used to be the kings or presidents of this land."


    "Sort of."


    "But..."


    I could never remember historical facts. I felt dizzy. To avoid toppling over, I pressed my right hand against my forehead. I could feel the heat of my body through the layer of snow and mud covering my palm.


    "But isn''t your home on the other side of the ocean?" I asked. "Aren''t you from the Demon Empire, just like me? Why did you come here? And why are you fighting for the other team?"


    "My deepest apologies. Circumstances have changed a little."


    I had been terribly worried about his disappearance, and now he suddenly showed up right front of me as my enemy. I did not know what horrible circumstances could have caused this, and I would never accept that vague answer as an explanation.


    "Circumstances? What circumstances? Aren''t you going to explain them to me? Explain them to me now!"


    "You also have a lot to explain to me," Conrad said, his fingers moving toward my wrist.


    Right at that moment, Yozak put his arms around my waist and chest and pulled me backward at breakneck-speed.


    "Stop! Wait! Hey!"


    Yozak''s rough treatment confused me for a moment, I couldn''t decide who was friend or foe. Lord Weller forced a smile, and shifted his gaze alternately between me and his friend.


    "What does the mask in your hand mean?" He asked. "And why do you fight for Caloria? Aren''t you meddling a little too much in other people''s affairs?"


    "Don''t mind what I''m doing. Rather you should explain to me why you are wearing these flashy clothes. You look totally stupid in it, you know that? You should take them off! Right now!"


    My blood pressure soared, adrenaline bubbled over, and against my will my legs began to shake. I could not help it. Even though I kept repeating to myself "Calm down!" over and over again like a mantra, as I always did when the game became tense, it still didn''t help.


    "Your Majesty! Come back," Yozak told me. "We should go back and discuss this with His Eminence. Do you want to risk us being disqualified?"


    Still holding me, he tried to drag me to our bench. As for the referees, since they did not know what was going on between us, they must be thinking we were acting very aggressively.


    "Yozak," said Conrad. "This is entirely your fault."


    The hand holding me shook lightly.


    "You have been attending to His Majesty, how could you let him get into such danger?"


    "Oh, I''m so so sorry about that," Yozak sarcastically dragged out his words. "If our captain was with us, His Majesty surely would have had a much safer journey. But unfortunately, unfortunately, he decided to be irresponsible and suddenly disappeared."


    "I had really expected that we wouldn''t need to engage in a third match, if you had put all your effort into the match with Adalbert."


    Conrad hinted that Yozak should have defeated Adalbert. Did it mean that the enemy camp wasn''t aware of the situation regarding Flynn and Maxine? It didn''t sound like he was just testing the waters either.


    "What does this little game mean exactly?" asked Conrad.


    "That was only because I..."


    "Your Majesty, there is no need to speak to this guy," interrupted Yozak. "He is our enemy."


    "But Conrad can''t be our enemy," I cried with bewilderment.


    Conrad ignored my reaction and suddenly raised his voice. "Will Caloria''s fighters withdraw from the final match?"


    It was intended for the referees.


    "If you intend to enter the third match, please step up immediately. If not, please prove yourselves gracious losers, and accept your defeat."


    His words were so provoking I found it hard to keep control of my temper. I had to swallow several times in an effort to calm myself. No matter what, exploding here would not get me anywhere. I desperately tried to speak in a soft tone.


    "If I win, will you take that uniform off?" I asked Conrad. "And come back to us?"


    Conrad touched the white trim of his collar with his left hand. Seeing that my question had gotten a reaction from him, I felt somewhat more confident.


    "If I win, you will return to my side!? Right!? Please don''t join those traitors... will you come back to me!?"


    "Well..."


    Lord Weller shook his head slowly.


    "You are not necessarily the best leader."


    My vision began to flicker, as if I were viewing scenes from a very low quality videotape.


    With trembling fingers, Cecilie readjusted her grip on the binoculars to keep it steady and looked at the scene below her again.


    The same figure reflected in her shining green eyes.


    "What does that mean...?"


    She gave the binoculars to the new friend next to her.


    "What happened?"


    From the tall VIP seats behind the glass windows, Flynn Gilbert looked through the binoculars and saw Yuuri being pulled back on the gray dirty snow toward their rest area. And the one pulling him was none other than Yozak, with a mystifying expression on his face.


    Flynn slightly raised the binoculars and focused at the center of the arena. She saw the third man from the opposing team standing next to the slightly puzzled looking referees.


    If his appearance was at all an indication of his character, he seemed at first glance a kind and calm fellow. But his expression could be nothing more than a deliberately made up facade. Behind his unfathomable disguise, he could be hiding terrible secrets. Flynn had gained this sharp sense of intuition from her knowledge of soldiers. Because of her father''s military-related profession, from an early age Flynn had seen countless soldiers. She could not only recognize the strength of a fighter, but also sense his hidden secrets. The most incomprehensible ones for her were those who, even though not warriors, had formidable power.


    Like him.


    She shook her short silver hair, as if to shake off a name that had suddenly reappeared in her mind. She readjusted the grip around the binoculars and looked at the fighter from the opposing side again.


    His posture was perfect. The way he moved his arms showed that he was accustomed to using weapons. He was slightly taller than average, with a body of a well-trained soldier. Although he looked about 20 or so, his hand, leisurely gripping the hilt of the sword hanging at his waist, showed no sign of tension, even at the beginning of the match. He had light brown hair and eyes. Apart from his short haircut, he looked just like a typical Shimaron citizen, at least more so than the blond soldier. The other man who earlier accompanied Maxine looked strikingly different from the other Shimaron soldiers.


    "Who is that man? Do you know him?" asked Flynn.


    "He is my son," Lady Cecilie replied.


    What?


    For a moment Flynn thought she could detect a trace of sorrow in Cecilie''s voice. But Lady Cherie immediately regained her calm and noble composure.


    "He is the best swordsman in our country. He has sworn allegiance to our new king, and his loyalty is deeper than any other. Why he is here fighting for the enemy... more so against his beloved king... is beyond me. If this is our Original King''s wish... he is putting that child through too much suffering."


    "He is... your son?"


    Flynn''s eyes turned back on the beautiful aristocratic lady sitting next to her. She seemed far too young to have an already grown up son.


    "Yes, he''s Conrad, my second son."


    And her second child at that! Had she married very young? Or maybe she looked much younger than her actual age?


    The rumor was probably true then. Flynn had heard that demons had a much longer life expectancy than humans. She must be an aristocrat from the empire of the demons, the enemy of the human race. Not only Cherie, but also the Captain and his friends, as well as his blond fianc¨¦ who inherited his mother''s looks, they were all demons. Even Dacascos and Sizemore, who had been nothing but respectful to her.


    In hindsight, everything made perfect sense. The Captain for example, could not be human. Someone with such terrible power could never be an ordinary person. Yes, he must be a demon. She just hadn''t been willing to admit it.


    But then, could the young man waiting in the middle of the arena also be a demon?


    Flynn couldn''t bear not knowing. She made up her mind to find out.


    "Compared to Lord Wolfram, this gentleman is a bit - how shall I say - he does not resemble you very much," she said cautiously.


    "His father was a human, a traveling swordsman who was exiled from his home. His name was Dan Hille Weller, and..."


    "Dan Hille?" Flynn squeaked. "Are you saying that, that your son... is the son of Dan Hille Weller?"


    "Yes, that''s right. Lord Conrad Weller is my son."


    No wonder he looked like a Shimaron soldier. His father belonged to the family who originally established this region, whose name could still be found in the history books.


    Flynn Gilbert pressed her fingers against her lips. Her fingers felt much colder as the blood in her body suddenly drained to her feet. Names swirled through her brain in a muddle.


    From the bottom of her heart, she hoped what she had done would never be revealed, not before her own death.


    After Yozak dragged me back, I struck against the wall and screamed out my frustration. My mind was in a complete daze and I could hardly control myself.


    "Damn, what is it? Why is he acting this way?" I yelled.


    Our high spirits from earlier were gone. Instead, a stifling atmosphere came upon our group and threatened to overwhelm us. Suddenly there was a deafening clatter. A bucket had tipped over. I finally found a suitable target to vent my anger. I kicked the bucket until it was totally dented.


    "He was brainwashed! He was manipulated! That''s the only explanation! After all, the handsome American footballer was there with him!"


    "Yuuri..."


    "He''s an expert when it comes to messing around with other people''s heads. What was it called again? Soul searching? Exactly! He has actually searched and..."


    "Yuuri! Stop harassing the bucket. I can''t concentrate," Wolfram grumbled. He was sitting on the bench with his eyes slightly closed and his arms folded. His fingers fidgeted slightly as he sank deep in thought.


    Like a wild animal in a cage, I marched back and forth restlessly.


    "It''s obvious, he is being manipulated. He would never betray me otherwise."


    Murata desperately tried to smooth out the wrinkles between his eyebrows.


    "As far as I can judge the situation, it does not look like Conrad is being manipulated," he said finally. "And haven''t you said he has lost his left arm?"


    Murata was right.


    This Conrad who was in front of us just now had both of his arms. His hand was warm when I had touched it. It had not felt like a prosthesis.


    But I still remembered clearly what happened on that horrible day.


    I could still hear the ominous sound of flesh smashing on the ground, as Conrad lost his arm. The fingers were slightly curved, as if trying to grasp something. No drop of blood though. Could it be the arm that fell on the floor that day a prosthesis instead?


    At that time, even though all I could see was his silhouette against the light, I did notice there was nothing where his left arm was.


    "I also believe he lost his left arm," Wolfram confirmed. "I''ve seen it with my own eyes. I still have the button on his sleeve."


    He put his hand in the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out the button. Its original milk-white color was blackened by soot and extreme heat. My hand trembled as I reached out for it.


    "I remember this... It''s the button on his shirt sleeve, isn''t it?" I asked.


    "That''s right."


    Murata thought.


    "If so, Lord Weller''s left arm must still be in the castle, right? We''ve also seen his arm when we were in Small Shimaron. But the Conrad who appears here clearly has both arms. Where were we fooled?"


    "Fooled?"


    "There are only the following possibilities. One: from the beginning his arm was a prosthesis. Two: his arm has grown back."


    "Regenerating arms? Is Conrad a mutant?"


    After a long time walking around, Murata finally came to lean against the wall next to the door. He raised his finger in a motion to push up his glasses, only he wasn''t wearing any glasses.


    "Or three: the man over there is not the real Lord Weller."


    "You''re saying that''s an impostor? No, that''s impossible. You said you have seen him even before you were born, then you should be able to recognize him. He''s the real one, Murata. You can bet on it."


    "How can you be so sure?"


    What a silly question!


    "There is absolutely no way I could mistake Conrad for someone else."


    Wolfram''s jaw muscles moved almost imperceptibly.


    "I agree. That guy is my brother."


    Brother? Did he just say "brother"?


    Although he is normally very composed, sometimes he would say things so surprising that I almost get a heart attack.


    "Then I''m even more confused as to why he has sided with our enemy. It''s true he''s half-human, but he has sworn to live his life as a demon and stay loyal to the demon tribe. He is also not the type who betrays his demonic origins out of personal grudge like Adalbert. Even though he had to bear much injustice twenty years ago, there is no reason why he would suddenly turn hostile to Yuri now. But the biggest mystery is what has happened to his arm."


    "Exactly. His arm was cut off by the soldiers from Big Shimaron. The same people who shot at Gunter. Even if this is the land where his father came from, the land of his ancestors, given what has happened, it''s difficult to believe he would serve Big Shimaron. The only possibility is that he has been brainwashed and manipulated!"


    The emotional turmoil of seeing him again had turned into rage.


    "I''ll wake him up!"


    I gripped the weapon I had chosen and began to climb into the arena again, but my knees were shaking.


    "I''ll bring him back to his senses!"


    Wolfram grabbed my arm.


    "No, Yuri. You know very well that you can''t win against him in a fight. He is unlikely to harm you, but who knows... if he indeed can''t control his own actions... You definitely need to stay here. It''s too dangerous."


    "Too dangerous? Does it matter?! If he''s forced to obey them, shouldn''t we free him? If Conrad is in fact manipulated, I must put an end to that at once! He''s..."


    "I doubt he is actually manipulated..." said Yozak, who had been silent until now. "I''ve looked him straight in the eyes and I''ve spoken to him. I didn''t feel that he is not his own master. Ah, I''m sorry Your Majesty! It''s just my personal opinion..."


    Yozak sounded like he was apologizing to me. Perhaps he thought I was angry, or maybe I looked like I was about to cry. But I tried hard to remain in control.


    "You mean he has betrayed us intentionally and voluntarily?"


    "That''s not what I meant."


    "How can you say such a terrible thing? You are brothers in arms, comrades in life and death, who trust each other unconditionally! Didn''t you even say you would absolutely serve under his command again?"


    Of course, these two things were unrelated.


    If I was in danger, then even if the enemy was his own family or friend, Yozak would draw his sword without hesitation, because it was his duty. Yozak Gurrier''s allegiance was not towards Lord Weller, but towards the 27th Demon King of the Empire of the Demons. He must foremost protect his king and obey his orders.


    And the king was no one else but me.


    Just as the people had obligations toward their king, the king also had responsibilities towards his subjects.


    I had my own responsibilities.


    "I don''t believe I can''t win him back!"


    I must bring him back to our side. He had sworn to live his life as a demon, not because of his blood, but his faith in the demon tribe.


    "I must have faith!"


    Murata turned to Yozak again.


    "Since you were childhood playmates, I will trust your intuition."


    Yozak put his hand on the ax on his side and stroked the handle.


    "No matter how I look at it, it didn''t seem to me like he was controlled by someone else."


    "Right," said Murata. "I''d feel better if that were the case... Shame, really! If only I had a mortar with pestle and sesame seeds now!"


    "What, what? You''ll use sesame seeds to perform magic?"


    "No, not magic. Just that I find it easier to calm my mind and concentrate when I grind things like sesame seeds."


    I couldn''t help imagining the venerable Sage grinding a great variety of ingredients into powder in order to eliminate distractions.


    "Well, concentration is most important, right?"


    Really, I could not understand the way geniuses do things. Anyway, it shouldn''t be a problem that he had no mortar and pestle now, right?


    "I think we should trust Yozak''s assessment. After all, among the four of us, he knows Conrad the best. And if his will is indeed not tampered with, he will not take your life. You will be injured somewhat, but it wouldn''t be serious. So, we can take our chance and let our king represent us in our next match."


    Murata looked over my shoulder at my opponent.


    "Anyway, no matter what we say, you won''t give up on him until you have tried your best, right, Shibuya?"


    "Absolutely correct, Sir," I said, turned my back to my friends who had resigned themselves, and stomped off.


    Conrad received me with the same smile in the middle of the arena. What? Even though we aren''t on the same side.


    "You really don''t make it easy for me. So you have no intentions of withdrawing from the match?"


    "Absolutely not. I''m determined to bring you back to your senses."


    "Oh, my goodness."


    Conrad glanced over my equipment. It didn''t look very threatening, but it was the king of baseball bats.


    "If you hit hard, that club could split my skull," he said.


    "That''s right. And if you drive me into a corner, I will not shy away from using all my force to hit you between your legs. That''s just a little warning."


    Conrad briefly lifted his eyebrows as if he had experienced such attacks before. But his usual expression returned immediately.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll go easy on you," he said.


    "I know! But I don''t need that. Let''s get it over with here and now... What?"


    His comment made me so surprised I was in doubt if I had heard him correctly. I couldn''t help lifting my head up and asked:


    "What did you just say?"


    "You didn''t hear me? I said I would go easy on you."


    He would go easy on me, he would go easy on me... these words kept swirling in my mind. Before a decisive battle, who would assure leniency to their enemy? Shouldn''t he have said the typical line "Don''t expect any mercy from me"?


    Right now the opponent in front of me was my own trusted guardian, who had been by my side through life and death. I had been worried about him, I had cried for him, but I had never thought that when we met again, he would be wearing our enemy''s uniform, and we would be fighting against each other. Indifferent to our special connection and the deep trust that we had shared, the gong was now sounding the start of a brutal match between us.


    "You''re not going to put all your efforts into this fight?"


    "How could I? I can''t just let you get hurt, I wouldn''t be able to go home if I did, but I can''t let you win either. After all, I''m here representing Big Shimaron."


    I felt like a big idiot for holding on to the hope that he would come back to my side. At the same time, my eagerness was pitiable. In any case, these feelings reminded me once more that Lord Weller had become my enemy.


    He, wearing the yellow and white uniform, was the representative of Big Shimaron. I, with the silver mask of Morgan Gilbert in my hand, was the representative from Caloria.


    And yet I missed him so much?


    "At least you''re still alive..."


    Looking up, I corrected my grip on the weapon. It was very much similar to a baseball bat, and my hands had adjusted perfectly to the handle.


    "In any case, I am glad to see you alive and well," I said softly.


    "Your Majesty..."


    "Do not call me Your Majesty. It''s you who gave me my name!"


    I heard that familiar "That is true," but it was interrupted by a loud belligerent voice shouting at us.


    "Hold on! Cancel this match immediately!"


    Even though I wasn''t familiar with the rules of this competition, I had never thought someone would ask the referees to cancel the match right before it started.


    From the enemy''s bench, a muscular man with a huge sword stepped out and walked toward us. The light from the torches around the arena reflected on his shiny steel weapon menacingly.


    "Adalbert!"


    With bright blonde hair, turquoise eyes, high and beak nose, and of course, cleft chin, Adalbert von Grantz looked like a handsome American footballer. He hated the demons and wanted nothing more than for the empire of the demons to collapse. With a malicious smile on his face, he slowly approached us. With every step he took, the audience''s excitement rose. The winner of the second round had come back. The crowd raised their fists to the sky and stomped their feet wildly.


    "I object to this match! This isn''t a one-on-one competition. It''s a tournament!" Adalbert shouted, and the audience roared in response.


    Adalbert turned toward the referees.


    "If it''s a tournament, then the winner of the second round has the right to compete against the third competitor from the other team, right?"


    The two referees nodded.


    "That''s right, the winner of the second round has the right to compete again in the next match."


    Wait a minute! The winner of the second round was not Yozak, but Adalbert. And the third competitor from the other team was none other than myself! Damn! I would have to fight against Adalbert? Well, that was one problem we hadn''t expected!

 Volume 8 - CH 2

    "Wait a minute!"


    Stefan Van Baren, the elegant gentleman with short brown hair mixed with silver streaks, who also went by the nickname Fanfan, uttered a cry of surprise uncharacteristic for him.


    "Mr. Sizemore, are you the one everyone calls "The sea monster," the terror on the sea that all sailors are afraid of?"


    "Oh, you embarrasse me. But in fact, in Shin Makoku''s Navy, there are only two men who bear the name of Sizemore. My younger brother and myself."


    He was called "sea monster" mostly because of his hair, or the lack of it, but of course he could not mention that. Although Sizemore was a bear of a man, he was shy and could easily become embarrassed. He fleetingly ran his hand over his head. Sadly, all he could feel was the bare skin.


    Friendship between a man and a man usually arises in unexpected circumstances.


    Although one was an international businessman across all oceans, the other belonged to a race that had been an old enemy of the humans. It was natural to feel guarded against each other. However, that feeling had already disappeared.


    "Then my family is in your debt," said Fanfan. "In the last war, a transport fleet was accidentally sunk by a Shimaron warship while crossing the international waters. It was an accident, but there were many civilian casualties. The Shimaron warship did not fulfill their obligation of rescuing the civilians... It was unbelievable. Even my grandmother would have been among the victims, but she was rescued by your ship. Later on, her nickname "unsinkable Fanfan" spread far and wide. Our family van Baren had indeed become invincible in the harsh competition among all marine transporters. My grandmother''s name is Vancil van Baren. She is the wife of Jefferson van Baren."


    Sizemore rummaged through old memories.


    "Ah, yes, I remember the lady. What a coincidence, it''s a small world after all."


    "After you complete your mission, you must visit us. My grandmother would be very pleased."


    "She is doing well? I am glad to hear that."


    "Every day she would complain that she had to carry on her life as an old woman. But from my impression after listening to your story countless times, Mr. Sizemore, you have not changed one bit. Even your hair style is still the same. Is this the norm for seafarers?"


    "Umm ---"


    Friendship between a man and a man would also fall apart when they start paying attention to appearance.


    While the competition was reaching its climax, Sizemore, Fanfan, Dacascos, and the quiet Chevalier were on their way to steal the forbidden box "The End of the Wind" from the temple adjacent to the arena. It was truly a reckless plan.


    Lady Cecilie von Spitzweg, the Former Queen of Shin Makoku, and Flynn Gilbert, the wife of the late Lord of Caloria, Norman Gilbert, stayed behind and waited in the VIP area, leaving the men alone to discuss their problems with their wives and children to their hearts'' content. That''s what one would expect.


    "Oh, my Cecilie. She is so wonderful, she''s like a love goddess," purred Fanfan.


    Yet for some unknown reason, Fanfan was praising Lady Cherie. Moreover, she was not a goddess, but a demon.


    Young and having roughly the same build, Chevalier and Dacascos were carrying the wooden box covered with a green cloth to disguise it as a container of cold drinks. It was supposed to be the substitution for the forbidden box. One was the ultimate weapon of utmost brutality "The End of the Wind," the other was a plain and simple wooden box made by laymen during a boat trip.


    The more one thought about it, the more dangerous the plan seemed to be.


    The scalp of the faint-hearted Dacascos had become all dry because of nervousness, but the rest of them looked very calm, especially Fanfan. He was not a soldier accustomed to dangerous situations, but a businessman accustomed to a carefree life, yet he did not show the slightest trace of tension, and he even kept talking non-stop about his "beautiful love."


    Then Lady Cherie, the love hunter, truly deserved all the praises for successfully capturing this brave and handy man.


    "In my whole life, I''ve never met a lady so pure and beautiful, full of wisdom and the most tender love. She shows me what true love really is, a feeling I had never had before! I regret I hadn''t met her earlier, but still, I am truly the luckiest person in the world!"


    But he would be the fourth luckiest person in Lady Cherie''s life.


    "I heard that the women of the demon race are all very beautiful, but I believe she is the most beautiful of all. Even though I keep telling her so, she always feels there are women who are more beautiful than she is. To hear such humble words coming out of her lips, red like rose buds, I could not help but touch them. How in the world could there be such a pure heart? She is truly a lady with eternal youth and boundless modesty who knows not arrogance."


    Fanfan praises went out of control. Sizemore felt as if a rash was spreading over his right side. Modesty? Madame Cherie?


    "I also heard about another lady in your country who is as famous as Cecilie. It seems people use many alias for her because she is both feared and respected. The Red Devil, Shin Makoku''s Nightmare, Poison Lady Anissina. There must be a large number of men who succumbed to her charms."


    Dacascos'' eyes teared up instinctively.


    She was truly a devil, literally the same as her alias.


    "I heard she has exceptional knowledge of literature and a very strong yearning for independence. What a lucky guy, who can win her hand in marriage."


    Married to Lady Anissina von Kabernikoff? Maybe it was just the result of his own fear, but Dacascos thought His Excellency Gwendal, who had been bound to Lady Anissina since childhood, was very unfortunate. As for Sizemore, who had not had a taste of the Red Devil''s terror, he merely said: "Really?"


    "The third lady... unfortunately has died quite young, long time ago. They say that instead of her, the three most beautiful demons in the kingdom now include a certain lady named G¨¹nter. Do you know about her? Well, no matter how beautiful she may be, surely she can''t compare to my spring breeze, my golden fairy. Moreover, it seems that this lady G¨¹nter is very eccentric. They say she has shaved her hair and entered a temple, and has strange behaviors such as wearing mask in public."


    Alas, His Excellency G¨¹nter''s legend had spread to foreign countries! Dacascos could no longer stop his tears from overflowing. Maybe it was because of the dust inside the temple, but now even his nose was running.


    "The deceased lady was said to be very close to one of Cecilie''s sons," said Fanfan.


    A strong admiration surged inside the two demon soldiers. It was unbelievable that Lady Cherie had told her lover about her past. She could still win the heart of one of the few richest businessmen in Shimaron, despite the fact that she was the mother of three sons. She totally owned up to her alias, the Hunter of Love.


    Dacascos did not know about the relationship between a son of the former queen and one of the three top beauties of the Demon Empire, so he decided to hold his tongue. The elder and higher ranked Sizemore however was more familiar with the former princes. He had even interacted with the third son, the blond ex-prince, a few days ago. But he had no idea which one among the three had a close relationship with Lady Julia Susannah von Wincott.


    "If I remember correctly, Lady Julia Susannah was engaged to His Excellency Adalbert von Granz. Who could have spread rumors about her and one of the ex-princes?"


    "Oh, really? But there might be some truth in the rumors. My lovely fairy, the mother herself, told me that her second son, Lord Conrad, was to marry Lady Julia Susannah after the war ended."


    "What? Lord Weller and Lady Julia Susannah were in a relationship?"


    Lord Weller had always been popular with the ladies, whether as a brave and confident soldier before and during the war, or the sober man after it. It was true that his popularity with the ladies was enviable, but Sizemore would never have thought of him as someone who was capable of stealing the love of another man.


    "Lord Weller and Lady Julia Susannah... Ah, really, we can''t judge a book by its cover..."


    "It''s not a well known fact in your country? A marriage between these two would have made history. It doesn''t happen everyday for two big names to join together in marriage."


    "Oh... ahh..."


    God, what a keen interest Fanfan had with gossip from a foreign country. Sizemore couldn''t understand that. Of course the intimate details of other people''s love lives are exciting, but discussing their private life is so indecent and impolite.


    "When I heard his name, I understood right away. Surely you know his father, Dan Hiri Weller?" Asked Fanfan.


    "The first Lord of Ruttenberg," said Sizemore.


    "His position in his country might not be that of a king, but for the people from this area, he has become a legend."


    "Really, he was certainly very popular with the ladies."


    Fanfan glanced at the older demon, with a look as if to enlighten him.


    "No, this is not about his love life. Dan Hiri Weller, the son of Glenn Gordon Weller, was a descendant of the three famous kings of the continent. It has been recorded in history. The two signs were also tattooed on his arms. After his expulsion from Shimaron, the officials announced that his royal bloodline was extinct. There were of course rumors that he had had a child oversea and had returned to the kingdom undetected. No one could verify the credibility of the rumors, but since he was a threat to the royal family of Big Shimaron, they have always been on the look out for his whereabouts."


    "Lord Weller''s father carried the royal bloodline of the kings of Shimaron? Did Madame Cherie know this?"


    "Well, it is possible that Cecilie had no knowledge. Dan Hiri Weller would not have revealed his true identity carelessly. His forefathers were forced to change their names and only managed to survive as prisoners. Weller is only part of the original family name. But the fact is that this legendary man has fathered a child with a demon, and if this child had married Lady Julia Susannah, a descendant of the Wincott, then ... "


    "Then what?"


    Sizemore swallowed, imagining terrible things to happen. Maybe the oceans would turn red, maybe the sea water would boil over in the blink of an eye. In any situation, his first thought would always be about the sea.


    "Countries would be shaken."


    "You mean the oceans?"


    Fanfan, putting on his "irresistible" smile that had proved to be invincible in business negotiations, casually responded:


    "The oceans? Don''t they always shake..."


    At that very moment, the deafening roar from the arena below interrupted their conversation. They had no idea the very person they were talking about, Lord Conrad Weller, had entered the arena as the third competitor from the enemy''s camp, much less that he was going to fight his own Lord, the one he once swore to serve, or that the match had been halted.


    "In ancient times the Wincott family had ruled over the southern tip of this continent. Up until the battle against the Creator Gods, Wincott rulers were known to be beloved and respected by the people. If a descendant of the Wincott and one who carries the bloodline of the three kings had joined in marriage, and if a child had been born from this union, then for all the underground anti-Shimaron forces, he would be their ultimate hope, the ideal leader they were waiting for. Just imagining that much, I already feel excited. Wouldn''t it be great?"


    If Lord Conrad Weller and Lady Julia Susannah had got married, their offspring would become the leader of the anti-Shimaron forces?


    For someone who could only think of the different states of the oceans, whether it would be calm or stormy, Sizemore had long since stopped following the story. Perhaps Fanfan took his silence as agreement, as he cheerfully continued:


    "Moreover, beside being extraordinary in all other aspects, the child would undoubtedly be a true beauty as well, seeing that the parents would be the grandson of the most handsome man of the continent, Glenn Gordon Weller, and one of the three top beauties of the Demon Empire."


    "Wait..."


    Dacascos, carrying the box behind them, hesitantly asked:


    "Could you be mistaking our three most powerful demon ladies as three top beauties?"


    The prisoner of love however did not hear these words, as he had moved on to discuss the next beauty.


    "Speaking of beauty, I heard that the sense of beauty of the demons have been completely changed from the ground up by their new head of state. I would really like to see that person for myself once."


    "Probably our majesty is now fighting in the arena right below us."


    "Really? She must be a truly brave queen. But I''m sure she still can''t compare to my Cecilie, loving and soft spoken like a little golden birdie."


    Sizemore felt like scratching his right side until it bled. Dacascos, meanwhile, immediately memorized all of these beautiful words so that he could use them to flatter his wife later. "Your lovely voice sounds like thousands of crickets and beetles..."


    After they ascended two narrow stairs, the group reached the top floor, forbidden to all outsiders. Along the way they had bribed three guards with a bottle of wine and four soldiers with money.


    "It seems this is but a storage room. Is the box really here?" wondered Dacascos.


    "It can''t be. The room isn''t even well guarded. We need to continue, and be prepared to fight." said Fanfan.


    Sizemore wrinkled his nose while sniffing the musty air.


    "But we''re already at the top. I don''t think there is a stair to go further up."


    "No, no. Not upward. Look, here! "


    Fanfan was at a corner pointing to a small door at the end of the aisle. It looked just like a simple door in a common house, but there were five guards standing in front of it. That was an obvious hint, so to speak.


    "From there, a staircase leads down again, because the Treasury is in the basement," said Fanfan. "In that room they store all kinds of rare treasures, a collection of precious treasures from all over the world."


    Sizemore groaned loudly. Climbing all the way to the top floor, only to go back down to the basement? That would not happen to him at sea.


    Suddenly a clanking noise rang loudly as if a huge metal bucket had fallen to the ground.


    "Your Majesty!"


    "Yuuri!"


    "Shibuya!"


    Thank you for calling my name in every way possible.


    I turned back to look at our rest area. An iron fence had fallen down right in front of our bench and my teammates suddenly found themselves behind bars, completely separated from the arena. Holding the thick iron bars, all three of them were shouting:


    "Why are we the only team locked up?"


    One of the referee put his arms on his hips, to appear more imposing.


    "To prevent you from forcing your way into the arena."


    "But that''s not fair! If so, then the other team should also be..."


    No one was rushing over from the other team. After all, there was only one soldier in the rest area of the Big Shimaron''s team, who looked gloomy for having lost earlier. On our side, in contrast, my teammates were shaking the iron bars with all their might and shouted out loud.


    "Your Majesty! Do not try anything foolish, please come back!"


    "That''s right, Yuuri! Don''t be stupid!"


    "Shibuya, don''t try any nonsense!"


    "You are being rude now! You''re talking as if I am really stupid... Woa! Woa!"


    Suddenly the ground beneath my feet trembled. A circular stage the size of a sumo ring started rising from the ground. Staying with me on that stage were Adalbert and the referee with a thick beard, who were both a few feet away from me. Meanwhile Conrad had missed it by only one step, even though he was standing right next to me. He tried to grip the edge of the stage to jump up and almost made it, but the other referee grasped his uniform and pulled him back.


    "Let go!" yelled Conrad.


    "No way. The appeal of the second fighter was justified. In this match, the second competitor from Big Shimaron will compete against the third competitor from Caloria. To protect our prestige, we must follow the rules."


    "But if His Majesty has to fight against that guy, he won''t be merely injured..."


    Turning away from the expressionless referee, Conrad looked at me desperately. Meanwhile, the stage had already risen to a height above his head.


    "He will kill you... Yuuri, give me your hand."


    "The match lasts until one of the fighters is incapacitated. Even if one of them loses his life during the match, that does not go against the rules."


    How very comforting!


    It was true that the American footballer was indeed a powerful enemy. But at least there was one advantage in fighting him as compared to fighting Conrad: I wouldn''t hesitate to use all my strength to hit him between his legs.


    "Well, here we go!" I cried. "My left foot is ready to kick!"


    "How brave, yet it looks a little forced."


    "It doesn''t matter if I win or not. At least I will be able to hurt you. After all, even you have the same weakness that all men have."


    "Yes, except that..."


    Adalbert put his hand on his crotch and knocked firmly with his fist. It sounded as if he had knocked on wood.


    "One of my principles, my boy. Never enter a fight without wearing protective gear."


    "Whaaat?"


    Down the drain it went, my beautiful plan!


    From behind the bars, Murata was shouting at me at the top of his lungs. This behavior was so different from his usual calmness that I suddenly felt uneasy.


    "Shibuyaaa! That''s enough, give up! It is too risky."


    For someone who had only fought in video games and who had had only a few hours of kendo practice during gym classes, my strength surely fell far behind that of this muscular fighter. He looked like the wrestler Big Show, while I looked like a wooden stick. If he hit me, it would be an instant knock-out. Moreover, if I only put a careless foot beyond the edge, I would fall from the stage, and game would be over for me as well. I glanced sideways to check. Indeed the stage was now as high as a 3-story building.


    What would be the end of me? Would I die under Adalbert''s weapon? Or would I fall to my death?


    "Mr. Referee, I must speak with you urgently," I said.


    "Yes?"


    "Err..."


    Given the current situation, I''d like to withdraw. The words had come to the tip of my tongue but couldn''t come out, as I saw the disbelieving expression on Adalbert''s face.


    "What''s going on, Caloria''s representative? You want to end the game in such a boring way? I thought you were a man, that''s why I proposed a fair and square showdown. But if you prefer to act like a timid little girl and chicken out, oh, that would be so disappointing."


    His words angered me, and I almost retorted with equally insulting language. No, no, no! I should not play into his hands. He only wanted me to lose my temper, so he could spoil my plan.


    It was true that I was the representative from Caloria, but as Normal Gilbert, I have fulfilled all my obligations to the people. They would understand and would be happy to welcome me back. I would be able to face the children who had cheerfully sent me off and tell them that we had tried our best. Losing the final battle would be truly regrettable, but I could still hold my head high and say we had put in all our effort. However, could I really withdraw now?


    "Yuuri, don''t worry," Wolfram called out to me. "I won''t call you wimp if you give up!"


    "Shibuya, listen to your fiance!" Screamed Murata. "No one will blame you, I promise! When we get back to Japan, I''ll treat you to rice with grilled pork ribs! So give it up! You have fought enough!"


    Really, had I? Had I tried my utmost in this match?


    Facing this question, I could only answer it myself. Until now I had not actually fought at all, let alone given it my best. I allowed myself to be defeated before I even lifted a finger. Could I do that? Did I want to end it that way?


    "Mr. Referee, I''d like to ask..."


    Mr. Thick Beard patiently waited for me to finish. It was actually very simple, I just needed to say that one sentence. Given the current situation, I''d like to withdraw. And I did say something, but as I listened to myself, it sounded like a conversation during a morning inspection.


    "What did you use to shave?"


    "Huh? I used the razor given in the common military rations."


    I slowly stood up from the kneeling position. The snow-bearing wind blowing in my face had become considerably colder.


    Adalbert twisted his lips scornfully.


    "Well, what now? You changed your mind?"


    "I did not change my mind. I only mentally prepared myself."


    If I didn''t put all my effort into this match, I wouldn''t be able to look the children in the eyes.


    "A man, regardless of the outcome, must face his challenges head on. Ah, of course the same holds true for women too."


    The fruits of Lady von Karbelnikov''s indoctrination manifested themselves even here.


    "And it''s not certain yet that I will lose to you! Anything can happen in the fighting ring. Nothing is impossible. Isn''t there a saying that goes "There is strength inside weakness"..."


    "Shibuya, that is not wrestling, that is Judo!"


    Too bad, there were already flaws in my arguments.


    The audience began to roar. They did not care about Conrad''s concerns or those of the Caloria''s team. The atmosphere was so heated that the snow melted in the air before it touched the ground.


    Adalbert von Granz lowered the mighty sword from his shoulder. In light of the torches around us, the long and thick blade flashed menacingly. To put myself into the mood, I swung my metal bat back and forth. I felt slightly more confident in my weapon. Meanwhile Conrad desperately tried to talk to me from below.


    "Your Majesty, please don''t be reckless. Your bat has no chance against his sword!"


    "You''re the last one who should give me advice! You better get your own problems straightened out first!"


    The audience suddenly held their breath all at once. For a brief moment, a dead silence fell upon the whole stadium. Adalbert charged forward with lightning speed and swung with his mighty sword at me. Instinctively, my body jerked to the left. A strong gust of wind swept past my right cheek. I knew I had escaped his blade by the skin of my teeth.


    I lost my balance and had to kneel one knee on the ground. I grasped the bat with both hands and raised it over my head just in time to block Adalbert''s strike from above.


    It was a miracle that I survived the attack, but all my fingers went numb immediately. The impact force spreading from my wrists to my elbows and shoulders was so strong, I felt as if all my joints were dislocated. Following the ear-splitting sound of metal hitting on metal, a slightly burning smell filled my nostrils.


    "Lucky as ever," said Adalbert smiling smugly.


    "So you say," I replied.


    Adalbert came closer to look at me. Unlike Nigel Weisz Maxine''s emotionless eyes, his blue eyes were full of delight. Was he pleased to have the chance to eliminate me with his own sword?


    "If you could never return to your country... how would the demons feel? Wouldn''t it be a terrible shame for them if their young king is killed on human land?"


    Cold sweat ran down my spine. Now I could clearly see his true intention. He wanted nothing more than for me to die, because he wanted to see the Demon Empire sinking into the chaos after my death. That was the reason he joined Big Shimaron''s army and served under the human king.


    "I would not let you have your way!"


    With all my strength I pushed his sword aside. I took a large step back and suddenly felt no support under my feet. So dangerous! I almost forgot that the stage was at a lofty height.


    "Careful, boy! Neither of us would want the fight to have such an unspectacular end."


    "You''re only saying so, but I know you want nothing more than for me to fall to my death. After all no one wants to dirty their hands."


    One of my friends called out to me that I should not let him provoke me. What else could I do? It was after all the only strategy I had. I wanted to think of something to talk about, to distract him from attacking me. Maybe I could discuss his dinner menu to spoil his concentration? I wasn''t sure if it would work on someone who was not a baseball player, but you wouldn''t know unless you try!


    "Anyway, what did you have for dinner yesterday?"


    "Probably meat."


    While asking, I quickly advanced, taking the initiative to attack first. But as expected, he easily thwarted my blow, turning the offense into a strength contest.


    "Damn! You had even better food than us!"


    "You are only a young king, who told you to go on an expedition to this land?! If you are willing to stay back in your nice and warm room in your castle, you could have filled your stomach with whatever fancy meal or finest wine you wish!"


    Murata anxiously shouted to me, slightly raising his voice at the end.


    "Look, Shibuya! Right, right! No, the other right!"


    No way, I wouldn''t be able to follow your instructions, else it would have been best for you to control the situation yourself.


    At that time, the referee''s figure entered my field of vision. Although he was at the same dangerous height, he could still nimbly jump around and dodge the attacks between the competitors. He really deserved his rank as an international referee. He was great, just like his beard. However, as I was distracted, I lost sight of my opponent''s sword for a split second. In the next moment, I could only see the silver shiny blade striking straight toward my chest.


    I could almost hear four voices gasping, although they were far away from me.


    "Oh, no!"


    Luckily, at that very moment, the stage started shaking, and as I lost my balance, I fell down on my knee. The silver blade completed the arc right in front of my nose. I strained my calves and leaped to my feet immediately, but this time the stage did not stop shaking.


    We were completely surrounded by the brown heads of the spectators cheering and shaking their fists. When I looked around, I found that the whole stadium was slowly moving.


    "Why is the stadium turning around?"


    However, it was not the stadium that was revolving, but the stage we were on. Our circular stage was revolving at the speed of a clock''s second hand. What was going on?! The stage was already high and dangerous, now you made it revolve too?


    It was the final battle, yet it was no more than a cheap show. The audience certainly had their fun, as they could now observe the fight from all angles. But the high and spinning stage was making me dizzy. Fortunately, even Adalbert was frowning and knelt down without saying a word. When our eyes met, he clucked his tongue and, using his weapon as a prop, quietly scrambled to his feet again. Apparently, his legs also felt shaky.


    "Now now, you don''t look too good," I taunted him.


    "Aren''t you the same?"


    Well, tough luck! I was accustomed to dizziness caused by rotations. Two years ago when I joined the baseball team, almost every day we had to complete a strange exercise: holding the baseball bat vertically on the ground, leaning the forehead against the handle, turning around ten times, then immediately step forward. One would be so dizzy it was difficult to walk straight. Until now I still had no idea if that exercise benefited us in any way. Could it be simply a joke by the seniors?


    "Leaning the forehead on the bat, rotating around ten times, and still able to hit the target, that''s something only I could do!"


    I was boasting about something no one else present could understand.


    I struck the metal bat at the legs of my opponent, and he fell. My first goal today. Leaning on his hands he tried to bounce back. Now I only needed to smack my weapon down on him, and the battle would be decided. Only two and a half steps forward and a hard hit on his head, then it would all be over, and I would win! Maybe some of his brain would splatter a bit, but it would be easy enough to change my clothes - so that should be fine. That is the problem with using bat as weapon, there is no middle ground to negotiate. I should have listened to Wolfram''s advice and chosen a sword. If only I could point my sword at him, I might be able to force him to surrender.


    Even though all those thoughts were rushing through my head, in that split of second, I simply took my stance in front of Adalbert, preparing to swing my bat. Just one strike and it would be over with. No, I did not need to smash his skull, I only needed to stop at the right time to knock him out, and the referee would still declare me the winner. I only needed to stop at the right time...


    "Ouch!"


    Adalbert had noticed my hesitation and, with his free foot, kicked me with all his might at my fingers. I screamed under my breath, and lurched forward. Adalbert quickly grabbed me by my neck and I felt cold metal pressed against my throat.


    "Thanks, kid. You saved me the trouble of chasing after you in this whole revolving shop."


    "Ah... Ouch! "


    "Does that hurt, huh? You''re bleeding even, you poor thing!" Adalbert said sarcastically.


    All the muscles in my body tensed up. The blade was just under my chin. How would it feel to have your throat slit open? Which death would be more pleasant? A severed carotid artery or a severed windpipe?


    I dropped my weapon and tried to pry free with my hands. But I had no chance against his strength. His grip around my neck was so tight even the force of fifty cars combined wouldn''t be enough to free me.


    At this time I could feel the body temperature of the man behind me, while in front of me, only freezing wind and snow were striking at my face. Although I found myself in such a state of emergency, the only thought in my mind was that the difference in temperature would cause me to catch a cold. I suddenly felt nothing under my feet. Adalbert had dragged me to the edge of our stage and dangled me there.


    "I could just let you go," he threatened.


    Earlier I was still trying to kick with my free legs. But upon hearing his threat, I immediately stopped struggling. My throat was so dry and burning hot that I could not make any sound.


    The stage continued to rotate. Slowly our rest area came into my view. Wolf, Murata and Yozak kept clutching the bars and shouting. However, because of a rustling sound in my ears, I could not catch what my comrades were trying to tell me.


    There it was again, the uncomfortable ringing in the ears. It was not new to me. My experience told me that my awareness would continue to wane and I would start to hear the comforting voice of a woman. And then I would be invincible. Just a little more, a little bit more...


    "Your Majesty!"


    That was Conrad. His voice sounded unusually desperate.


    "I beseech you, please surrender right now! He could really do it! Adalbert could take your life!"


    If I could speak or stop my magic powers, I would have done so. But the situation had gone beyond my control, and soon that person would start whispering in my ears, waking up unknown forces in my body. Maybe something would happen, and our situation would be reversed.


    But for a long time, nothing happened.


    "He is almost incapable of fighting," Adalbert murmured softly. Probably he thought I could no longer hear him.


    If at this moment I fell to my demise, what would become of everyone''s effort so far? Would it all be for naught? I would neither be able to make a request on Caloria''s behalf, nor reclaim the evil box. It was the end. Here was the end.


    I looked up to heaven and tried to squeeze a sound out of my throat. My voice was so hoarse it was not even a decent word. Nevertheless, I cried out to the countless falling white lights, even though I could not say whether they were snowflakes or stars.


    Come on, I need my power! Now, now, now is the time! Here! I must win this fight!


    Still no woman''s voice whispering. Desperate, I looked down and saw a pair of eyes that were as black as mine: Murata''s. Aware of my eye contact, Murata briefly said "no" and quickly covered his face.


    "No, Shibuya," he muttered. "Do not do it. It''s too dangerous."


    Dangerous for whom?! For me? Or for the people in the stadium?


    Suddenly I was sucked into a vortex of darkness. Darkness quickly spread out, shrouding everything around, as if to swallow the whole world. A biting cold wind kept blasting me on my face, my chest and my legs. And then my body felt as if I was plunged down a pitch-black tunnel at an unbearable speed.


    It was different than the usual lazy white mist I had encountered previously. And there was no music.

 Volume 8 - CH 3

    Chapter 3


    *.*.*.*.*


    All of the men packed into the stands were all looking up.  Some of them carelessly had their mouths hanging open.  For humans who had not went to the battlefield, there were no opportunities to see magic.


    The snow drawing figures in the black sky slinked about according to its master¡¯s will as if it were alive.  First was a bird, then a dog, then a mou-¡­ no, a red squirrel.


    It was a bit of a one-man snow festival.


    Before the spectators had the chance to yell ¡®Adalbert, behind you,¡¯ the mass of snow shaped like a bucket took a nosedive and attacked the man standing on the round stage.


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    It was a hard blow to the back of the head.


    The arms that had a tight hold of Yuuri slackened.  His body instantly slipped down as he escaped from the muscle hell and tumbled onto the wet ground.


    ¡°¡­ Hey, what gives¡­?  Wasn¡¯t this match normal combat?  If magic without any sense of art is allowed then you should have said so from the beginning¡­ Ah, the shape of my head is going to change.¡±


    Adalbert was touching the lump as if to check it.


    When Yuuri brought his hand to his neck, his fingers were wet by something that wasn¡¯t sweat or water.  It was blood.  He gazed silently at his palm, but before long the snow rubbed against it.


    Bit by bit, the white turned crimson.


    By the time he slowly raised his head, the light in his eyes was different than usual.  He was standing with his arms crossed and a cynical look on his face, his chin slightly lifted as if to look down on others.  His fiery, glittering black eyes were focused on one target: Adalbert.


    ¡°¡­ To not only go against your birthplace but to shake the resolve formed from a pure soul in younger days and to throw away the vow of loyalty to the demons you made as an adult¡­¡±


    A low and resonant voice with a roundabout, hard to understand way speaking.  Expressions you would only hear in period dramas in a halfway literary style.


    It¡¯s undeniably the first Super Demon King Mode in a long while.


    ¡°You make fallacious arguments with your selfish grudge and turned your back on your homeland to wander.  As if that was not enough, you wish for chaos in your native land because of a foolish reasoning that can only be thought of as resentment!  How foolish and lacking is your soul?  My nose cannot stop dripping at the shamefulness.¡±


    He¡¯s the type whose nose starts running before his eyes tear up.


    ¡°However!¡±


    The huge sumo wrestler snow sculpture floating in the air swung an arm around to match his speech.  It spread out all five figures and stood in a Stop the Back Talk trademark pose.  The cold, sleet-filled wind that sprung forth collided relentlessly across the entire audience.


    It stopped right when Adalbert got tired of listening to the lecture and was thinking if he should just attack already.  Nice timing.


    ¡°¡­ You do nothing but advocate for your own rights and do not know what it is to turn those over to another¡­ Ah, where have the good old customs of compromise and sharing with others gone?¡±


    As if he was beset by an earth-shattering tragedy, he places a hand to his brow and gazes up at the sky.  The snow sculpture in the night sky accompanied that move by twisting its body as if it was wailing.  How ghastly.


    ¡°What is the meaning of attacking the next opponent after being unsatisfied with one victory?  Von Grantz, you enemy of equal opportunity!  An insolent man like you should listen to these words well.  Are you listening?  Jam your fingers up those gigantic nostrils of yours and listen well.  Engrave it in your heart!  Modest virtue!¡±

 Volume 8 - CH 4

    <--Previous Chapter


    *.*.*.*.*


    Inside me, the torture in the darkness continued.


    The headache that came at the same time as the throbbing, the metallic smell that spread inside my nose.  My eyes hurt as if they were stabbed with needles and the loud reverberation in my ears won¡¯t stop.  Someone is talking, but it just keeps going on without me being able to understand the words.  It was as if I wasn¡¯t just hearing it through my ears, but like there were headphones right on my brain.


    Like I was trapped inside a bell at a temple and someone was banging on it from the outside.


    ¡°¡­-ya¡­ Shibuya¡­!¡±


    I desperately try to open my dry, stuck together eyelids.  It felt like I was going to hear my skin ripping apart.  Gold and green dimly enter my gaze.  Beyond that was the same darkness from before with little bits of white light dancing about.  It¡¯s snow.


    The blonde-haired person slightly narrows his eyes and I can see his lips move just a little bit.


    ¡°There¡¯s no choice.¡±


    There¡¯s¡­ no¡­ choice?


    ¡°Whoa, stop it Wolfram!  He¡¯ll die if you do that!¡±


    My consciousness rapidly rose to the surface.  Lord von Bielefelt had lifted the metal club and was about to hit me.


    ¡°He lost¡­ -sciousness¡­ so¡­ waking him up that way is too viole-¡­ eh.¡±


    When I try to lift my head, nausea and dizziness hit me.  I inevitably have to put my head back down.  The back of my head hit something not at all firm.  I have a bad feeling.  This taut, fleshy feeling is¡­


    ¡°Your Majesty, this is all I can do for you.¡±


    Just as I feared, my head was in Josak¡¯s lap.


    ¡°Shibuya, here, water.¡±


    ¡°Gugh.¡±


    A snowball was shoved into my mouth.  It was Murata.  He¡¯s gripping another one in his right hand.  I suppose he prepared second helpings.  I try to wave my hand to tell him I don¡¯t need it, but my sentiments didn¡¯t get across.


    ¡°Mmph¡­ mpha! What are you doing?!  It went all the way to the back of my throat.¡±


    ¡°Are you finally awake?¡±  Wolfram was leaning on the club to relieve some of the pressure on his back.  His expression suddenly softens.  I look around with only my eyes as I stay lying down.  Murata was squatting down and Josak¡¯s thighs are under my head.


    But he isn¡¯t here.


    I use all of my strength to lift my creaking arm and touch my cheek with freezing cold fingers.


    It was wet.  Probably from the snow.


    ¡°Conrad?¡±


    The third son looks away.


    ¡°Wolf, Conrad was¡­ there, wasn¡¯t he?  For sure.  He was wearing kind of yellow clothes, a uniform like he was a Tigers fan.  Hey Wolf, Conrad¡¯s not here.¡±


    ¡°Worry about yourself!¡±  At Murata¡¯s reprimand in an unusually strong tone, I immediately shut my mouth.  ¡°You fell from up there!  Well, in the middle Lord Weller skillfully grabbed you, though.  If he didn¡¯t you would have smashed into the ground and might have broken all the bones in your body.¡±


    ¡°Up there?¡±


    A little distance away, there were several referees and workers.  Grey lumps are falling from up high off of snow shovels suitable for areas with heavy snowfall.  Just what are they doing?


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re getting rid of the round stage because they have to save the guy that got buried.  You did it, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I did!?  I buried someone!?  Who?¡±


    ¡°Who¡­ Don¡¯t you remember it at all?¡±


    I didn¡¯t remember.


    ¡°Does that mean I did it again?  The usual Super High-and-Mighty Mode?  No, before that, buried?  Who got buried?  That¡¯s bad.  Is that person..?¡±


    ¡°Von Grantz is alive.  Honestly, he¡¯s so tough it¡¯s infuriating,¡± Josak said as if he was disappointed all the way to the bottom of his heart.  ¡°But, displaying that amazing magic and not having any memory of it is a bit of a loss.  So is only the person himself not knowing how heroic and terrifying he was.  Ah, or maybe it isn¡¯t a loss but a blessing?¡±


    ¡°I did something dreadful and indecent and grotesque and something to make people suspicious of my character again, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°Oh Your Majesty, beauty isn¡¯t everything.  For me, just being able to see you make Adalbert go ¡®gyafun!¡¯ was, how shall I say, it pulled at my heartstrings.¡±


    However, the American Football Macho wasn¡¯t the only one who said ¡®gyafun.¡¯


    I timidly reach up to touch my throat and my fingers touch blackish blood that had started to harden.  Luckily it didn¡¯t hurt much, but if I move it will probably open right back up.  And not that it matters, but when is the word ¡®gyafun¡¯ from?


    ¡°Why am I alive?  It¡¯s weird.¡±


    It¡¯s been a while since this happened.  Even if I used magic that surpassed the power of man, these last few times I¡¯ve had a slight recollection of it. But this time, I don¡¯t remember a single thing.  I was just closed in the darkness the entire time.  When I think back on it, I feel as if my body will start shaking from unease and fear.


    ¡°¡­ What¡¯s wrong with me?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s always something wrong with you.  It¡¯s not something that just started now.¡±  Wolfram slowly crouches down.  His movements are awfully stiff.  That reminds me, how is his back?  I hope it doesn¡¯t hurt for too long.


    ¡°Look the other way.  I¡¯m going to do something about that injury on your neck.  Gurrier, do you have a needle and thread?¡±


    ¡°I do.  Correcting measurements is required if you want to dress all the more stylishly, after all.  That being said, should I sew it up?  I have some confidence in my sewing ability.¡±


    ¡°Sew?  Without anesthesia!?  Hey, use that healing technique!  You said that you could at least stop someone¡¯s bleeding.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡±


    I reach a hand out to Murata looking for help, but he rejects me with a ¡®you reap what you sow.¡¯


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped.  Everyone desperately tried to stop you, but you went on a rampage all on your own, Shibuya.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you gradually turning into a malicious character?¡±


    I caught a glimpse of two people in white clothes out of the corner of my eye.  Their hair is tucked neatly under their hoods and they¡¯re running towards us so fast they¡¯re tilted towards the ground.  The pure white suits them even though they are small and the sense of cleanliness overflowing from them is promising.


    ¡°Hey look, the rescue squad!  We might as well let the professionals handle the medical care.¡±


    ¡°I am sorry for keeping you waiting.  Oh Your Majesty, you look to be in such pain.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Cecilie placed one hand to her heart and placed the other on mine.


    ¡°Believe in him.¡±


    This sincere and calm tone she is using is 180 degrees different than her usual self.  Her eyes were full of kindness.  The very bottom of my spine tingled.


    Huh, so she really is a mother.


    No matter how young she looks or if she charms one man after another and engrosses herself in new loves, she is definitely a mother.  Most likely I¡¯m the only one who didn¡¯t know that basic fact.


    ¡°¡­ I believe in him.¡± Her face lights right up. ¡°Conrad wouldn¡¯t become my enemy for no reason.  Even just now¡­ I don¡¯t remember it, but he rescued me.¡±


    I look around while taking care of my stiffening injury, but he is not within my view.


    ¡°Even though he¡¯s not here again.¡±


    ¡°But he¡¯s alive,¡± Wolfram said with a sigh.  It seems his thoughts just spilled out of his mouth.  ¡°There¡¯s no better news than that.¡±


    The referee who had been watching us walked over impatiently.  It was the man who got left on the ground.


    They all look similar so I can¡¯t tell them apart immediately, but I recognize the thickness of his stubble.


    ¡°That¡¯s good enough, rescue squad.  Representatives of Caloria, move out immediately.  There will be an audience with His Highness after this.¡±


    ¡°An audience?  We¡¯re meeting someone important?  What a pain.  It¡¯s going to be a garden party or something.  Wolf, go as a representative.¡±


    ¡°Watch your tongue!  His Highness will graciously bestow upon you a drink and personally grant your wish.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll just put that in the suggestion box¡­ Wait!?  Grant our wish?  I won?  Did I win!?¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t realize it until now?¡±


    Murata and Wolfram looked stunned.  The third opponent was American Football Macho, Adalbert von Grantz.  What cowardly, underhanded trick did I use to defeat a strong, muscle-bound guy like that?  The reason I can only assume it was cowardly is because I understand my own fighting ability.


    It sucks, if I say so myself.


    ¡°¡­ Upsy daisy¡­¡±


    I tried to stand up while saying something an old person would, but I couldn¡¯t put any strength into my legs.  This exhaustion is the same as usual.  I even lose my appetite after I use magic.  With Josak supporting me under my arms, I finally stand up.  I have to walk a little bit to warm up my body.


    When I pass by Lady Celi in her rescue squad costume, the former queen gives an impish smile and changes places with the human next to her.


    Looking down, Flynn said one word in a stiff voice without raising her head.


    ¡°¡­ Congratulations.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.  Oh, no, what are you saying?  This is sort of your husband¡¯s victory after all.¡±


    She must have not liked something about my response because she stiffened even more and fell silent.  She should be more upfront about her happiness.  Murata played with his ear with a know-it-all look.


    ¡°They¡¯re complicated eh, maiden¡¯s hearts?¡±


    I wonder if he¡¯s remembering Sister Christine¡¯s Sweet Trap era.


    *.*.*.*.*


    Team Caloria¡¯s Representatives were led to meet royalty by a guide with an armband.  The heroic three contestants and one supervisor.


    We were just in the temple right next to the arena, but for me whose whole body was like jello, long stairways were extremely troublesome.  I won¡¯t let my knees give out.


    ¡°Your Majesty, shall I lend you my back?¡±

 Volume 8 - CH 5

<-- Previous Chapte

 Volume 8 - CH 6

*.*.*.*.*

 Volume 8 - CH 7

    <--- Previous Chapter


    *.*.*.*.*


    The former demon covered in mud and snow was gazing into my eyes that were a different color because of contacts.


    ¡°Is it true?  Do you have Julia¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    The hands he had placed on my shoulders suddenly grip tightly.  But, they immediately slacken and he apologizes in a low voice.


    ¡°That¡¯s not my intention.  I don¡¯t intend to hurt you.  The injury to your neck¡­ I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll forgive me for that, but¡­¡±


    ¡°Like I said, I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about.  Actually I want to ask questions.  Weren¡¯t you unable to keep fighting!?  Why are you in a place like this completely alright?¡±


    I get my back away from the cold, stone wall and push against his chest with all of my strength.  Getting away from him when he staggered backwards, I ran blindly down the dark hallway.


    I was completely stunned.  I had no ability to think calmly.


    What do I do!?


    There¡¯s no one here now.  There¡¯s no one here to help me.


    Once I started running, I realized it would have been smart to run back into the dance hall.  No matter how irrational the man, he wouldn¡¯t do anything reckless with that many people watching.  But, I had already run pretty far in the opposite direction and going back now would be dangerous.


    He¡¯s definitely coming after me.


    His eyes said he wouldn¡¯t let me get away.


    When I came to a stop, I remembered his dirty arms and glittering blue eyes and all the hair on my body stands on end.


    My ankle is starting to hurt from my intense fatigue.  My heart and pulse speeds up and my breathing quickly becomes difficult.  In order to get more oxygen to my lungs, I suppress my gasping and take long breaths.  In this empty and deserted temple at night, even the stagnant air was heavy.


    ¡°¡­!¡±


    The sound of military boots on the floor was coming closer.


    Even though he was supposed to have been severely injured, his footsteps are fast and strong.  If it¡¯s just for a little while longer I can run, but eventually the hallway will end and I¡¯ll be cornered with no place to escape to.  My pursuer¡¯s footsteps are rapidly getting closer.


    I ready myself and push my body into a recess in the wall and hold my breath to wait him out.


    The footsteps of the silhouette against the light of the snow slow down and approach carefully.  It seems like he¡¯s holding a light as the surroundings turned faintly yellow.  My neck started to hurt.  A heat spread from the injury that was stretched and felt like it was about to open.


    Only the sound of my beating heart was reverberating loudly.


    ¡°Are you there?¡±


    My breath stops.


    ¡°Hey, is someone there?  Give up and come out.¡±


    It¡¯s not Adalbert¡¯s voice.  Apparently it¡¯s a Shimaron soldier on patrol.  I heave a large sigh in relief and come out of the recess in the wall.  There¡¯s no reason the security would chase me, but I still timidly step out into the hallway with my hands raised.


    ¡°I¡¯m not anyone suspicious¡­¡±


    The petite, middle-aged soldier looks surprised after seeing my outfit.


    ¡°Are you a guest at the ball?¡±


    ¡°Well, kind of.¡±


    It seems like he doesn¡¯t notice that I am a victor in the tournament.  (1)


    ¡°Why were you heading in the exact opposite direction?¡±


    ¡°I was looking for the toilets, but I got lost.¡±


    It¡¯s a common excuse, but it¡¯s an effective one.  The soldier puts on an exasperated smile and lights the way for me.


    ¡°Is that so?  I apologize for startling you.  Thieves have apparently gotten into the treasure room and they¡¯ve even mobilized our forces to look for them.¡±


    ¡°Thieves?¡±


    ¡°Well, they¡¯ll probably be caught real soon, but¡­ A bathroom was provided right next to the staircase.  If you wandered all the way out here you must have been lonely.  Shall I escort you?¡±


    It happened when the soldier turned to look back at me.  Someone¡¯s shadow floated up in a corner that the light didn¡¯t reach.


    ¡°Watch ou-!¡±


    I reflexively reached out.  The lantern fell out of the soldier¡¯s hand and rolled after he collapsed onto his bottom and collided with the wall.


    A heavy sword swung down in the air vertically and a thick clang rang out when it hit the floor.


    A man¡¯s pale face was illuminated by the dying flame.


    It was Adalbert.


    ¡°When did that¡­¡±


    ¡°Even if you ask when, it is difficult to explain.¡±


    ¡°Well anyway,¡± I got angry while facing Conrad¡¯s back because he wouldn¡¯t turn around.  Maybe it was because I was more relaxed because there was no one listening, but my voice was gradually getting rougher.  ¡°Anyway, how did you survive that explosion!?  It¡¯s ludicrous that you¡¯re in perfectly good condition after that!¡±


    ¡°I apologize if I hurt your feelings.¡±


    That wasn¡¯t the answer I wanted to hear.


    ¡°Why are speaking so formally!?  Explain properly, how you survived.  Why did you disappear and why is your arm back to normal?  Why did you leave me¡­ why are you suddenly working for Shimaron¡­¡±


    After securing his leg, Conrad placed a splint against Adalbert¡¯s elbow.


    ¡°I am not necessarily working for Shimaron.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Then are you the subordinate of His Majesty and His Highness!?¡±


    Perhaps feeling cold, Conrad puts on the jacket he had cast off.  Now that I couldn¡¯t see the bandage on his arm or the injury on his back, I honestly felt relieved.


    ¡°Well, you did not come to ask me.¡±


    I suddenly became enraged.  I clench my powerless fist with the intention of somehow landing a good hit on him.  Lord Weller stood up straight and gave me his familiar smile.  It was a gentle expression that anyone would love and was steeped in good nature.


    ¡°Even though I waited for you.¡±  He grabbed the sleeve of his plain, white clothes and playfully tugged on it.  ¡°I prepared an answer that you wanted and put on this¡­ dress suit that I am unused to.¡±


    It was the wrinkled jacket that he had thrown on the floor.  However, when he put it on it became a uniform.


    ¡°You were there?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I was.  I saw you dancing with a lady.  You were good.  It made me proud.  I was the one who taught you how to dance, after all.¡±


    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you call out to me!?¡±


    Conrad¡¯s silver-flecked, brown eyes narrowed as he smiled broader.


    ¡°I am far beneath you in social status.  It would be unnatural for me to call out to you.  I said so, did I not?  From now on, I would strive to¡­ not call you ¡®Your Majesty.¡¯¡±


    I was hit with an icy thrill as if I had stuck my head into a snowdrift.  My eyelids, my nose, the lining of my throat, all of the soft parts hurt.


    It was the same as if Lord Conrart Weller had declared that he was no longer my friend.


    ¡°¡­ You¡¯re brainwashed, right?¡±


    Noise came through the broken door from the hallway.


    ¡°You¡¯re being controlled, right!?  Or that Beard guy got a hold of some weakness and is threatening you so you have to work for him, right!?¡±


    Guards who were securing the area and people who liked seeing the misfortune of others all came running together.  A woman with eyes wide with curiosity shrieked somewhat gleefully.


    ¡°A feudal lord of a Shimaron territory seems to have suddenly collapsed.¡±


    Who!?


    ¡°Go.  The lady is in a terrible state.¡±


    ¡°Conrad.¡±


    I held out my right hand, believing that his left hand would grasp back.  I thought I would try to gamble on one final possibility.


    ¡°Come.¡±


    Lord Weller slowly shook his head.


    ¡°¡­ No.¡±


    My gamble failed.


    ---------


    (1)    There was a pun here that I took out.  I vaguely remember making a footnote about this before, but a ball and a fighting tournament are pronounced the same in Japanese (butoukai), but are written with different kanji.  So, the original exchange went ¡®Are you a guest at the butoukai  (Îè̤»á / ball)?¡¯ and then Yuuri comments ¡®It seems like he doesn¡¯t notice that I¡¯m a victor of a different butoukai (ÎäêL»á / tournament).¡¯


    (2)    Pronunciation note!  The last ¡®e¡¯ in Garcione, Zomarce, and Page is not silent (kind of like the ¡®eh¡¯ in meh) and the ¡®g¡¯ in Paige is hard. So, pay geh.  Also, the ¡®c¡¯ in Zomarce is like the ¡®c¡¯s in Cecilie so it sounds like Zomartseh.  These humans with their complicated names!!  XD


    (3)    So the original joke was Yuuri yelling ¡®Matsuzakaaa!¡¯ and then correcting himself to say ¡®massakaaa which is like saying ¡®nooo waaaay.¡¯  Basically it was a pun on how the name Matsuzaka (referring to Daisuke Matsuzaka of the Seibu Lions) sounds similar to ¡®masaka¡¯ (no way!  It can¡¯t be!  You don¡¯t say!)  I looked through a list of other well-known players on the team and Hiroshi Ohshita was the only one I could think up a pun for~

 Volume 8 - CH 8

    <--- Previous Chapter


    *.*.*.*.*


    The funeral procession was subdued at first, then it was restless, and at the end it moved forward as if escaping.


    As long as we were in Big Shimaron, we had to behave like we were part of a funeral service for an important person.


    After all, now Norman Gilbit wasn¡¯t the mandated overseer of Small Shimaron¡¯s autonomous colony of Caloria.  Caloria had gained official independence by being the first victorious team that wasn¡¯t from the sponsoring nation of Big Shimaron in ¡®Use you knowledge, speed, and skill to win!  The World¡¯s Best Fighter Tournament!¡¯


    The leader of an independent nation deserved to be sent off with respect.  For example, the coffin holding the remains shouldn¡¯t be handled carelessly.


    Even if there was only another small box inside of it.


    The more you heard of it, the more astonished you would be at the plan.


    Not astonished by the ingenuity, but by the fact that the so-called savior of the kingdom, the Twin Black Great Sage, came up with such a childish plan!  That sort of astonished.


    It was all well and good that he got the ¡®End of the Wind¡¯ out of the temple in Big Shimaron by switching it with a DIY box made on the ship, but there was no way to get it somewhere safe.  He even thought that since it was painted white and looked like a boy¡¯s coffin that it should be carried in a funeral.  However, if a soldier has questions during an inspection, he can¡¯t be allowed to open the lid and check the contents.


    Then how about putting it in a bigger box and giving a reason why they can¡¯t look inside?


    The reason for not opening the lid being¡­ an ideal ¡®deceased¡¯ is inside.


    It was Norman ¡®You are already dead¡¯ Gilbit who had just been injured during the World¡¯s Best.


    Big Shimaron had even given it a catchline of ¡®Caloria¡¯s Great Star, Fallen¡¯ and had wanted to conduct a temporary burial for Norman Gilbit.  They probably wanted to show their open-mindedness by showing respect to the victor even though they were defeated.


    Gardino put on a splendid performance as a corpse without moving even the tiniest bit.  However, his breathing while asleep was loud so someone had to stay by his side and continuously speak.  Flynn held on to her grief and as a tragic wife who clung to her husband, she received sympathy from women all over the capital.  Wolfram and Josak were extolled by a poet as teammates who fought together with him and whose friendship surpassed even death.  Even though they had never met the actual person.


    Murata employed his memories of the past and walked about as the experienced ceremony leader.  Without him consistently coming up with plans, the temporary burial in a foreign country would have been impossible.


    I¡¯m the one who didn¡¯t have a part.


    I did wear goggles in the arena, but I didn¡¯t wear the mask.  As such, a part of the ladies and men who were watching recognize my Norman Gilbit face.  On the other hand, the women at the party we were invited to treat me as Flynn Gilbit¡¯s young lover.  In the end, the young ladies who loved to gossip started up a rumor that Caloria¡¯s mistress was giving her affection to a young man that looked like her husband.


    Hurriedly dyed, chestnut brown hair and cosmetic, brown lenses.  I don¡¯t even want to know if that resembles the real Norman.  However, just by being by Flynn¡¯s side as she sobbed, all of the young women who came to offer their condolences whispered, ¡®Look, that¡¯s Madam Gilbit¡¯s rumored lover.¡¯


    Far from her lover, I didn¡¯t even have a lover in my actual life.


    After closing the lid, there wouldn¡¯t be another government official who would check inside.  Even though it was immediately following its independence, doubting the funeral of a leader of a country would be imprudent all by itself.


    Although, what was inside the extravagant coffin wasn¡¯t a corpse, but the ¡®End of the Wind¡¯ wrapped in cloth.


    As soon as we got out of the capital, we started making our getaway in a mad rush.


    Since the Demon King statue with the elephant head was stolen from the treasure room, they hadn¡¯t realized that the box had been switched out yet.  That being said, once they discovered it, we would fall under suspicion.  We had to get away as soon as possible before they realized.  We had the fastest group of sheep on our side.


    Flynn, Murata, and I rode in the carriage being pulled by T-Zou¡¯s Team ¡®Seep.¡¯  Apparently having been a sheep shepherd in his hometown, Gardino was sitting in the driver¡¯s position in high spirits.


    I don¡¯t know why he¡¯s coming with us.


    Lady Celi stayed behind in Shimaron with Fanfan.  Her next aspiration is to take a world cruise of free love.  Naturally, Chevalier was underfoot waiting on her as usual.


    Wolfram, Josak, Sizemore, and Dacascos were on a horse-driven carriage parallel to us.  The troublesome part was that in Japan it¡¯s said that horses and sheep are like cats and dogs, so they both had the sense of a huge rivalry about them.  Lined up together, they meaninglessly dashed forward and if one of them fell behind, there would be a shower of feces from their displeasure.  Sheep are super-early-morning types so by the afternoon, they were in a bad mood.


    We reluctantly put a distance between the sheep carriage and the horse carriage, but if an enemy attacked us, we would be at a disadvantage.


    No one told us that ¡®seep¡¯ and horses had this bad of a relationship with each other when we bought them.


    ¡°At any rate, there¡¯s one thing I don¡¯t get.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°You made Josak make a fake box while we were on the boat, right?¡± I asked Murata who was swaying around in the luggage compartment as I sat next to the driver.


    ¡°Yeah.  His hobby is carpentry.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that¡­ No, what I mean is, you planned on switching the box out while we were still at that stage?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±

 Volume 8 - CH 9

KKM Novel 8, Chapter 9


    *.*.*.*.*

 Volume 9 - Prologue

    His beautiful Majesty.


    His pitch black eyes shine in the sunlight, his royal hair, soft as a baby bird¡¯s [1] wings gleam in the moonlight.


    The voice that comes from those pink lips is like the melody emanating from a musician¡¯s strings.


    And those fingernails, white as the seashells washed by the tide, and those fingertips, slender as cotton¡ª


    Oooooh, my beautiful Majesty the Maou (nosebleed sprays)!


    I will offer my body, my heart, to stay by your side (nosebleed intensifies)!


    I am willing all my love and respect solely to you, and you alone (nosebleed fountain explosion)!


    Eh?


    Your Majesty, how can you say you don¡¯t need it, please don¡¯t utter such cold words~!

 Volume 9 - CH 1

    Chapter 01


    I know this is all very sudden, but I got a girlfriend.


    Out of the blue.


    No telling sign foreseen whatsoever.


    Even the love-forecast had predicted rain.


    I can hardly believe it that the person beaming at me from across is my girlfriend, and that we¡¯re actually ¡®going out¡¯ beginning from now.


    For one thing, I¡¯ve been unpopular for too long.


    16 years. Sixteen. Since the day I was born, I have never been in a proper romantic relationship.


    There had been instances when I thought - hey it might work out this time - but in the end it always came down to the question: ''Which do you like better, baseball or me?''.


    You can¡¯t compare people and baseball, I would reason. Still they would put pressure on me to ¡®choose¡¯. Murata told me to just give an answer right off the bat even if it was a lie, while my mother¡¯s advices weren¡¯t of help at all.


    ''Yuu-chan, worrying will make you grow taller~'' that was what she said.


    Well if that were true, I should have long since grown over 190 centimeters tall.


    What I¡¯ve learned from these bitter experiences was, that it was impossible for me to pursue a romantic relationship during the fall.


    It¡¯s because the pennant race in Mount Tenou takes place during August and September, , followed by the Japanese Series.


    There¡¯s no time to waste being giddy over love.


    In view of such circumstances, this time around the timing couldn¡¯t have been any better.


    It was the end of October - and everything had been settled.


    Driven to utmost despair, I felt so empty, as if devoid of a soul - I could not speak of baseball at all. I even went as far as considering going into hiding deep in the mountains until spring came, to lead a secluded life without a TV or a radio - to run away from reality.


    That turned out to be my stroke of luck.


    Having had enough of my sulkiness, Murata dragged me out to his school fair, where I was approached by a schoolmate from middle school.


    "Shibuya-kun?"


    Yup, my name is Shibuya Yuuri, but very few schoolmates call me "Shibuya-kun" instead of "Shibuya Yuuri Harajuku Fuuri."


    ''Previous¡¯ schoolmates, to be exact.


    She was clad in the uniform of a Missionary school located north of the prefecture. In terms of National Mock Exam scores, it¡¯s placed 10 points above me, which rattled my slight complex.


    ¡°Er...¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s this, that¡¯s what you¡¯re wondering, right?¡±


    Murata, who was standing beside me, asked in an easy-going voice, ''Hashimoto?''


    Working for his class as a waiter at the fair, he had donned a flower print apron he brought from home.


    This bespectacled guy who was in the same class as me during the 2nd and 3rd years of middle school, has way better memory than me. In the National Mock Examinations he always ranks at the top, and as such is currently attending a prominent prep school in Tokyo.


    He is lauded as the greatest genius to have ever attended the school.


    In fact, what he remembers is not only his life as Murata Ken. He also remembers his past lives from long long ago as one would the story of movies, tucked away between the folds of his brain.


    To me, Murata is a very special kind of person, but no one around me knows this. The fact that he is the Great Sage with knowledge of two world¡¯s worth of history is something no one would believe even if I told them so.


    If there''s something I don''t know, Murata is the one to turn to; we''ve become pretty comfortable with this routine.


    So I turned to Murata to ask as I always do.


    ¡°Hashimoto? Who is-¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask me myself?¡±


    She asked demandingly. It was a valid argument.


    I looked straight at her and asked.


    ¡°So, what club activity were you in, Hashimoto?¡±


    ¡°Wait a second, that¡¯s your first question? Wouldn¡¯t you normally ask for my name or class number?"


    ¡°Fine¡±, she said, weaving her finger through her short hair.


    ¡°I was in the tennis club. Though I stopped after I tore my Achilles'' tendon.¡±


    ¡°Ah! So you¡¯re Hashimoto Asami from the 3rd floor class! The one who was carried away by the by the coach like a princess!¡±


    ¡°Oh, you remember me from that incident?¡±


    ¡®Cause that episode led to a huge uproar afterwards.


    The trite facts were that a tennis player had torn her Achilles'' tendon during a friendly match with another school, and that the Maths teacher who was the coach and advisor, had taken her to the hospital in his car.


    As the responsible faculty member what he did was nothing special, but since the coach was young and single - not to mention handsome too - she''d become the target of jealousy by the other girls in the tennis club.


    It happened around when I punched the coach of the baseball team, but the way the rumors spread was entirely different. Gossips, that she was going out with the coach or that they¡¯d gotten engaged, were circulated, so for her it was probably an awful memory.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Hm? There¡¯s nothing to apologize for.¡±


    ¡°I said something insensitive, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°That''s OK.¡±


    ¡°No, it isn¡¯t. I would have been angry if someone remembered me from such an incident.¡±


    Hashimoto Asami tucked the loose strands of hair behind her ear.


    Her hair was short, touching just below her ears, probably a habit from her tennis days.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°Oy~ You two there~¡±


    Murata Ken, in his flower print apron, put his finger to his glasses like a parent at a PTA meeting.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just hang around in the hallway, head into the coffee shop over there. Come and contribute to our class¡¯ sales.¡±


    ¡°The coffee shop?!!!¡±


    Though we¡¯d just been reunited, we shouted together as one.


    This prep school is severely lacking in ambition - the lined up mock shops looked more like standing Soba stalls than a coffee shops.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s our Maid Cafe.¡±


    ¡°MAID CAFE?!!¡±


    Looking in from the entrance, we couldn¡¯t see any costumed waiter. There were only a couple of awkward apron-clad students who were dozing away in boredom.


    ¡°Sure. Since we¡¯re here, better contribute to the fund-raising.¡±


    In big step worthy of a sports woman, Hashimoto walked inside.


    At that, a few of the waiters raised their right hands in unison and spoke.


    ¡°Maido~¡±(1)


    (1)Maido as in ''Maido arigatou gozaimasu'', meaning ''Thank you again for coming''. It sounds like ''maid'' pronounced by the Japanese.


    ¡°Not Maid Cafe, but Maido Cafe?¡±


    ¡°Cafe au lait for me. What about you, Shibuya-kun?¡±


    Securing a seat by the window, Hashimoto looked back at me.


    ¡°Er, milk.¡±


    ¡°Milk? Doesn¡¯t the menu say ¡®Hot milk¡¯? Well, milk it is. That''s very like you, Shibuya-kun. Cafe au lait and milk please. Oh and this [Forest Bear-san¡¯s handmade Mysterious Object]....... is this some kind of hot-cake or pancake?


    ¡°A Mysterious Object.¡±


    Taking out a slip from the apron¡¯s pocket, Murata begin jotting down the order.


    ¡°That too, then.¡±


    Knowing that it''s a [Mysterious Object], she''s still placing the order.


    She¡¯s a tough daredevil, beyond my expectations.


    Pulling out the chair, I sat myself across from her.


    On the clumsily draped table cloth, there was a mark left from the previous customer¡¯s cup.


    ¡°Now then.¡±


    Hashimoto settled her hands on her knees and straightened her back, smiling all the while. Because I''ve rarely had the chance to be with a girl my age, everything she did was a novelty.


    ¡°Nice to meet you again, Shibuya-kun. It¡¯s been a while, how have you been?¡±


    ¡°You sound like a Radio DJ. I¡¯ve been doing okay. How ¡®bout you, Hashimoto?¡±


    ¡°I am doing well myself.¡±


    What worries me is the conversation that¡¯s to follow.


    Lucky for me, I have no energy left to wear out my companion by overwhelming them with a one-sided talk about baseball. On the other hand, I have no special topics to elaborate on either, and can only wait for the drinks, while observing the face before me.


    But, Hashimoto was different from the girls I¡¯d met before.


    She was the type to take matters into her own hands.


    ¡°Your uniform¡¯s quite unlike the usual. Gakuran, hm? You go to a public prefecture school, right? What is it like there? Do they have less strict rules?¡±


    ¡°Not sure, since I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s like in other schools. Yours is that Ladies Prep isn¡¯t it? Do they say ¡®How are you feeling today?¡¯¡±


    ¡°Yes! In the mornings and afternoons, they say ¡®And how are you feeling today?¡¯ We have Mass on Saturdays, and learn French as second foreign language.¡±


    ¡°Second foreign language?! We¡¯re still high school students, must we know more than English? Wow, prep academies really are tough."


    To this exaggerated response of amazement from an average high school kid, she giggled out loud.


    Cute, I thought.


    Cute, but it''s nothing like the sensuality that enslaves the hearts of men in an instant. Unlike the women I¡¯d encountered in the other world, she¡¯s neither bewitching or clever, nor valiant or overflowing with compassion.


    Instead from her fine lips, pleasant words flow continuously.


    Behind the appropriately long eye-lashes, her standard Japanese almost-black pupils are vibrant.


    The commonplace water-color blouse and checkered skirt doesn''t intimidate me - who has had a long history of having no girlfriends.


    While she lacks the sensuous charm of a mature woman, any unpopular guy can sit across from her without becoming anxious.


    ¡°Our French teacher, Marianne, is beautiful but really peculiar. We were told that growing armpit hair was a fad during Marianne''s school days.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a guy?¡±


    ¡°Oh, no, she¡¯s a woman. Madam Marianne was so compelling I went and joined the French Academic Club. What about you, Shibuya-kun? Have you been doing anything fun?"


    "Fun, huh..."


    Murata came to us with a gleeful face, and placed the cups before us.


    I don''t know if it counts as ''fun'', but I''ve been going through some very extraordinary experiences for a couple of months now.


    It all began that May, just as I''d gotten into high school.


    On the way back home from school, while attempting to rescue Murata from a mishap - would you see that! - I was transported to another world through a Western toilet. Surrounded by super-beauties and blond pretty boy, also flying skeletal models, I was told a shocking revelation.


    You are the King of our country!


    Finally you have returned to where your soul belongs.


    Simply put, My Return.


    The birth of - not a student CEO, but a student King - with lands and numerous subjects to govern.


    More over, it''s not like any common leadership post.


    I probably couldn''t win against Shima Kousaku(2) in popularity to women, but it''s a definite landslide win for me in numbers of followers.


    (2) The title character in the manga of same name. The manga follows the business success of the titular character, who is also very popular with women.


    Even though I was just your average baseball kid, with average features and average brainpower....


    It turned out that I was the Demon King.


    The profession given to me after I was suddenly transported to this other world, was neither that of a hero, a prophet or a savior - but the Demon King Highness.


    From the human''s point of view, I''m the enemy''s last boss.


    Bearing black hair and eyes, I am an ill-omen, feared as much as hated.


    But even if I explained this, no one would believe me.


    Holding my palm against my chest, through the shirt I clutched the 500yen sized stone.


    A stone with silver rim and blue hue deeper and darker than that of the sky.


    The surface of the Seibu Lions¡¯ blue stone, which I received from the person who named me, was cold and smooth.


    "...There hasn''t been anything special."


    Concealing this world-shattering experience, I laugh hastily in reply.


    Compared to before, I am much more at ease now.


    It''s because I have Murata Ken who is something of a comrade, to share this secret with, a dream-like secret that¡¯s far from being a dream.


    "Liar."


    "Eh?"


    Hashimoto seemed to have noticed something, and placing her elbows on the table, she leaned forward.


    "Your face tells me there''s been a lot going on. How should I put it, would it offend you if I said you wear a solemn expression? You''ve become very mature. Much more than you were in middle school. There must have been something."


    She whispered in a hushed voice, and resumed her original position.


    I heard the chair creak as she returned to her seat.


    There was no time for my heart to speed up.


    "But I won''t ask."


    "Hashimoto."


    "Know what, tell me your address."


    "Eh?"


    Unable to keep up with the speed of this unfolding conversation, I replied with my mouth hanging open.


    "We haven''t moved."


    "Move? No, I meant your cell phone number and mail address. I''ll mail you, so save mine too. What kind do you have? A blue one, am I right?(3)"


    (3) In Japan there is a mail address for cell phones through which you receive and send text messages.


    "Ohh, that. You''ll have to ask Murata then, because I don''t have a cell phone."


    "You don''t?!"


    I used to, before it got drenched in water and became useless.


    She placed a bright pink device on the white table cloth.


    The strap and assorted accessories spread out like an umbrella.


    "Unbelievable! Then there''s no choice but to call your house if I need to contact you? Wow, this is so surreal, I don''t think I''ve called anyone at their homes this past three years. I might just hang up in surprise if the parent picks up the phone."


    "Well, yeah, so call Murata - the call usually gets through."


    "What''s with that?"


    Aimlessly flipping the cell phone open and close, Hashimoto knitted her slender eyebrows together, as if at loss.


    "Why don''t you buy one? Isn''t it inconvenient? Since we''re going out and all, it''s okay when we''re together, but I want to be able to text you mail when we''re apart."


    "We can just meet up... wait a sec!! We''re going out?! When was that decided?"


    "But Shibuya-kun, do you have a girlfriend at the moment?"


    I shook my head with all my might.


    Of course I don''t.


    No sane guy would come alone to his friend''s school festival if they did.


    My brain ceased all cognitive functions at this sudden turn of events.


    At once, blood rushed to my head.


    Returning with the Mysterious Object on a plate, Murata Ken imposed himself on the conversation.


    "This is between us, ma¡¯am. Shibuya-kun''s been spurned only 2 months ago~"


    "You can¡¯t say things like that about me, Murata!"


    Hashimoto Asami''s voice became relieved, and she lightly squeezed her white hands.


    "Great! I''m also single. So get a cell phone, even a pre-paid one will do! I''ll go with you and help you choose! That reminds me, Shibuya-kun, do you use internet? If you have an e-mail address..."


    "Er, I do go to sites for baseball, but it''s always under my dad¡¯s or my brother''s name."


    "Wow, you lead a very peaceful life."


    For the fact that I couldn¡¯t tour those sites that adults enjoy, it sure was an immensely healthy internet life.


    Fiddling with the phone strap, Hashimoto turned the camera lens on me.


    "The internet is fun. You get to know more people, and though you don''t know their faces, you make a lot of friends with whom you can chat. I''m exchanging email with an American student. Her name is Abby, Abigail Graves."


    "In English? That''s amazing."


    ¡°Oh, not really¡±, she denied waving her hands, and checked the time on her cell phone display.


    "She''s coming to visit Japan... oh no, it''s already 3''o clock."


    "Three?"


    Was that a request for deserts?


    If that''s the case, there''s [Forest Bear-san''s handmade Mysterious Object] steaming right there.


    "The ''Miss Contest'' will start soon. We need to hurry to the auditorium. Eh, didn''t you come for that Shibuya-kun? You''ll be surprised, some of them are really cute!"


    I say this just to be safe, but there are only guys in Murata''s school.


    A guys-only Miss Contest is a festival event particular to an all-male academy.


    But since I¡¯ve already seen and met lots of spectacularly beautiful men ¨C such as the uber-beuty and stubborn pretty boy ¨C the merit of the event is lost on me.


    "I''ll pass. I''ve something else to do."


    "Okay, then we can meet back here at 5''o clock. Let''s walk home together."


    Turning her back to my vague reply, Hashimoto hurried out of the classroom.


    At the doorway she looked back and waved her small hand.


    Her lips mouthed ''See you later''.


    I was balancing the chair on the hind legs, and subsequently, almost toppled backwards.


    "Sir~~ your bills~"


    Murata who''d been going through the customers'' plates uninvited, flaunted the bill in front of my eyes.


    However I had no time for such things.


    Just now, I might have entered my first phase of popularity for the very first time in my life.


    With a nice and decent person of the opposite sex. A real girl the same age as me.


    "W-wha-what do you think Murata?"


    With a force enough to rip off one of the apron''s ribbons, I demanded an answer from my friend.


    "Just what is opening this gate to a rosy prospect? God? Is this some mistake of God? Not that I''m in a position to be turning to God, but still!"


    Murata sat down in the chair opposite me.


    "Calm down, Shibuya. Hey, I thought you were cool with this, were you in fact desperately covering it up? Now, now - don''t get so over-excited. Good for you! Go out with her! You''ve been down lately with this and that; it should be a good change."


    "You shouldn''t drag a girl into things for your own convenience!"


    "Drag in? She was the one who brought it up."


    For a second I almost agreed with my friend''s level-headed observation.


    "Er, since you put it that way... um, and I don''t think I recall being confessed to. ARGH-- I don''t know if Hashimoto likes me or not!!!"


    "No one would ask out a person they didn''t like."


    Images of suspense drama series swirled though my mind.


    Helper lady-san, could you check it out for me? And tell me what has actually happened. (4)


    (4) From a Japanese mystery drama called ''The Helper lady knows!''


    "She- she is after my valuables....."


    "Oh yeah, that makes sense, she''s after your baseball collection.


    Sure, sure- that''s exactly what she needs. The disappointing Central-league-only baseball cards, and the old worn out spike."


    Oy, what''s with that ''Que sera sera'' attitude.


    "But you know what Shibuya?"


    From the coffee pot he''d brought over, my friend began to pour into my left over milk cup.


    I took a sip from the lukewarm caffee au lait.


    "Sometimes it''s better to fool around and have bucket loads of fun, and get rid of the glumness quick. If it¡¯ll take your mind off things, going out with Hashimoto is definitely an option. I always knew you were single-minded, but this recent bout of blues is odd, even for you."


    "It''s ''cause the baseball season is over..."


    "You know that''s not it."


    His glasses seemed to flicker and shine.


    "Ever since the 2nd semester began, you''ve been acting distant. You''re not half as enthusiastic about baseball practices as before. Sometimes you gaze at the oddest places with an anxious glint in your eyes. Ponds and fountains. Try putting yourself in the place of a person who has to fret over the possibility of his friend jumping into the fountain by the station. From what I heard, you''ve taken up visiting bathhouses as a hobby. Your mother told me you shoved a leg down the toilet at you house, the other time.¡±


    That¡­ was because I had some reservations about putting my head in.


    Murata downed the contents of the cup in one go, and then wrote ''Coffee 1'' on the slip.


    Wait just a- you intend to have me pay for this?!


    "Oy, why do I have to pay for..."


    "I understand you''re concerned with the issues over there, but unless you learn to draw a line between things, this will only harm your body and mind. As you were originally born on earth, you need to relax and enjoy life while you''re here, and replenish your spiritual energy. Otherwise you''ll burn out later. It''s like planet Plankton for Superman. Er, or was it planet Eric Clapton? (5) Anyhow, I invited you to my school so you could shake off that blues and cheer up a little."


    (5) Murata is trying to say planet Krypton and failing, for those not familiar to comics.


    In a serious tone much different from his usual, Murata added.


    "Even so, you''re here today in search of a probable ''start point'', right?"


    Nothing goes unnoticed by the legendary Great Sage.


    Spreading all five fingers out, I rubbed both of my palms on the table cloth.


    Beneath my fingers I felt the rough fabric crumple.


    "I''m sorry! Sorry! It''s just like you said. I didn''t come for the festival. Neither for the guys-only Miss Contest. I''ve long given up on the illusions of beauties. I came to search - especially since this is your school, I thought it''d have a link to there."


    Bowing my head slightly, I opened my eyes to look up.


    Faced with an unfamiliar stern face, I carefully glanced into Murata''s eyes.


    It''s a mesmerizing black color.


    From the mirror reflections I couldn¡¯t tell, but were my eyes like that, too?


    "And, this might just be the last fortress."(6)


    (6)''Last fortress'' an expression in Japanese that means last chance/option.


    "Last fortress?"


    Murata looked at me like a elementary school nurse would.


    It was difficult to tell whether he was perturbed or baffled from the expression on his face.


    Then, after blinking once, he threw his head back and stared up into the sky.


    "Fortress is more about defense though... Ah well, I''d guessed it was all about this. Follow me. Most of the students are at the auditorium now, so the pool should be empty."


    "You''ll take me there?!! Thanks, sure good to have an understanding friend."


    "But in exchange-"


    Lightly smacking my cheeks, my friend stood up with new found vitality.


    Do you know that that is a courtship ritual in Shinmakoku?


    "Shibuya, don''t forget that you called it the ''last fortress''. A man don''t go back on his words, so make this the last time, okay? Even if we have to get back soon, if the pool doesn''t work this time, then you must give up and rest for the time being. Promise?"


    "Yeah."


    It''s not like there are any other places that I can think of.


    If this fails, it''s The End.


    Chapter 01 - Part 2 cont.


    As expected there was no one at the autumn pool.


    All the students and visitors seemed to have gathered at the auditorium for the Miss Contest.


    There was no sight of anyone anywhere in the school yard.


    We passed through the open gate and walked up the dry concrete steps.


    Withered brown ginko leaves were scattered over the chipped tiles.


    "It''s not so much the matter of place though..."


    "Then what is it? Tell me, you are the Great Sage after all."


    Murata genially shrugged with his shoulders.


    "Weeell, let''s give it a go. If it makes you happy."


    "Ri~ght, I''ll do that now, I''m getting to it... Wow, this is great! There''s still clean water here. Ah, prep academy, your school''s rich-- Eh? Murata, there''s something posted here."


    About 10 sheets of paper were plastered on the fence encircling the water filled pool.


    The notice was written with brush in light water-color, in a commanding style.


    "Water, swimming, men, synchroni... This isn''t a poems contest... Ah this word here is in hiragana. Water0Boys... Water0Boys, what is this?¡±


    "Seems to me like a poster - Oh!"


    Murata - being a student of this school - seemed to have remembered something.


    Suddenly, a loud booming siren rang - followed by a background music for sports - from the speakers.


    The volume was turned up so loud that the high notes crackled.


    "Wha- what''s happening? Earthquakes, thunder and bearded old men?!!!"


    "Shibuya, you''re afraid of beards?"(7)


    (7) It is said that the three things Japanese fear most are earthquakes, thunders and old men.


    As we stood there flabbergasted, a swimming team appeared sans socks on cue to the music. A half nude trio who held their heads high, plus a coach clad in track suit.


    The team consisted of one very thin, one very large and one medium built person, strangely well balanced.


    If there was one thing unusual, it was the fact that... the team members were all old men.


    "Er.."


    "Damn it. I didn''t think this event would be taking place now."


    Their eyes trained on a confused me and a disgruntled Murata, the men lined up on the other side.


    As the tracksuit-clad coach blew the whistle, the three twisted their old bodies to form a pose of the katakana [¥¯](ku).


    "We are the lively Old Boys!!!"


    "Principal."


    "School master."


    "Vice-principal."


    So they aren¡¯t the Kishimashi Grandpas. (8)


    (8) Kishimasi Musume - a comedy trio consisting of three very old ladies.


    That ¡®0¡¯, wasn''t a zero but an ''O''.


    Red swim caps and red swimming shorts.


    Wait a sec, I thought the outline of the shorts was a little too clearly defined, yet it was neither a bikini nor a thong, but a swimming fundoshi from the old days!!!???(9)


    (9) Fundoshi is undergarment used in pre-modern Japan.


    Feeling the cold concrete beneath the soles of my feet, I whispered to Murata.


    "Still, why are they doing this Water-fundoshi-Boys thing now? Spring''s long since ended."


    "The chairman of the board is from a school where Men''s synchronized swimming began, that''s why. But since no one joins the swimming club in a prep school like ours, this is the end result of attempting to keep up the show through willpower.¡±


    "Yeeees--- Visitors, are you enjoying yourself today?"


    You''re reading it off the scripts.


    A bleary script reading for the two of us, who¡¯ve by an unfortunate turn of things, have become involuntary observers.


    As they began their repertoire, the music changed to an up-beat tune, and the principal-school master-vice principal trio hurled themselves into the water.


    There is no warm-up, even though it¡¯s this cold.


    In time to the dreary whistling of the coach, they lifted their muscled legs or floated their chubby stomach.


    Something red - either the fundoshi or the swim cap - moved, displaying quite the eroticism of the event.


    "I don''t know why, but Murata, tears are clouding my vision."


    "Me too. Aahh, it''s [Inugami Ichizoku]." (10)


    (10) Inugami Ichizoku - a mystery novel, in which a victim is found dead submerged in the water, with only his feet sticking upwards.


    It was after the three had performed a few synchronized moves, and had dived under water together.


    On both sides, the heads of the guy who was too thin and the prodigious man broke the water surface right away, but the middle-height, middle-sized man in the middle of the 50m pool did not rise, even after a count of ten.


    "School master, the vice principal hasn''t come up?!!"


    "What did you say, Principal?!! The vice *fshoot-* puwincipwual ''az-"


    He was speaking funny.


    His dentures must have fallen out with that shooting sound.


    "Vice principal!!!"


    "Uwaahhh!!"


    "Pi--- Pi--- Pu------!!!"


    The last sound was a whistle.


    Thrashing their arms and legs, the principal and school master struggled in an attempt to reach their sinking fellow.


    But because of their age, they didn''t quite manage.


    They were wailing about swallowing water, and getting cramps in their legs.


    The coach by the pool had turned white and stumbled to the floor, whistle still in his mouth.


    "What do we do Murata?! This is an emergency! They should have followed the normal routine! This is what happens when you swim without warming up!"


    I threw away my uniform jacket, and kicked off the diving board.


    The target is a fragile old man. If he''s not rescued in time, his life will be in danger.


    I completely forgot the things like the cold and chill, or the fact that I hadn''t done any warm-up myself.


    Diving into this light blue world, holding my breath, I saw a flailing medium built man near the bottom. He was gurgling foam from his mouth.


    It''s not too late. In two strokes I reached the vice-principal.


    Was I this good at swimming?


    Weaving my arms around the thrashing body, I anchored my hands under his armpit and laboriously hauled him upwards.


    I felt the tension of the surface, and the vice-principal burst out into the open.


    "Yeeeeesss!!! Lift accomplished!!!"


    This ain¡¯t a lift!


    The team mates, who''d managed to walk over to us, caught the vice-principal''s shoulders.


    What the- you can stand in this pool?!!


    In order to give them a piece of my mind, I attempted to stand up on my heels.


    But.


    "Ack"


    The bottom of the pool had vanished under my feet.


    The rough light blue tiles were gone.


    Not only that, but my whole body is pulled under as if there was a suction pipe below.


    My resisting ankles were being dragged away by a strong chilling force.


    As I panicked, I accidentally swallowed water.


    But then, I realized.


    Maybe - no, not maybe, but finally - my chance had come?


    At the end of all hope, hanging on that one last possibility, I have succeeded in finding the one thing I needed the most.


    Sinking into the chlorine-smelling water, I noticed Murata shouting something.


    Oh- he wanted me to recuperate.


    But I can''t, they''re calling me. And I wanted to return, as soon as I could.


    I''ll rest, I promise.


    The next time I return, I''ll do that for sure.


    It''s all right, I''m confident in my stamina, and rather than agonizing over something in my head, I prefer facing things head on.


    Meeting difficulties face-to-face doesn''t mean that I''ll break.


    Feeling like striking a pose of victory, I was sucked into that world overflowing with white and blue.


    Next up is the long awaited Star Tours.


    No doubt, I''ll get to where they are.


    End of Chapter 01

 Volume 9 - CH 2

    Chapter 02


    You know what Yuu-chan? Mama gets the feeling that Yuu-chan''s pheromone level is on the decline recently. Not Doraemon, nor 21emon (1) but pheromone.


    They say the girls will come flocking to you, if you have lots of it!


    (1) ¡®Doraemon¡¯ and ¡®21emon¡¯ are mangas from the same manga artist. Pun on how the two titles rhyme with ¡®pheromone¡¯.


    So starting from today, Mama is going to cook pheromone specialties everyday for the sake of Yuu-chan''s popularity! Oh no, no need to thank me!! What is crucial in both diet and rehabilitation, is the will to succeed and the support of the family!


    We begin tonight! Look here, this is Pheromone Specialty No.7!


    Liver delicacies and beef tripe stew~ coming right up~!


    "Urgh... mom... that''s ''hormone''..."  (2)


    (2) The Japanese word for cooked intestine (of cows and pigs) is pronounced as ''hormone'' . Originally it stood for ¡®things to be thrown out¡¯. Pun on how it rhymes with ¡®pheromone¡¯.


    Not to mention that with 7 different ingredients, the smell resembled something out of this world. An odor reminiscent of the incident attacked my nose, and I snapped my eyes open instantaneously. Some record breaking recovery time.


    "Wha- what''s this..... urgh!!!"


    My eyes are stinging.


    My lungs feel as if they¡¯re being polluted by the air I inhaled. My consciousness is swimming in and out of reach again. Ignoring the pain I looked around, but the darkness made it difficult to tell where I was.


    Just a moment before, I was standing inside a pool at my friend¡¯s school fair. The late October wind was a little chilling, but the afternoon sky was clear and blue. Now however, the sky is dark and the smell so foul that it is impossible to breathe.


    The world seems different.


    Very, very different.


    Which could only mean one thing.


    "Am I back?"


    Was I successful? Have I finally managed to return?!!!


    "Yeah I did it! I finally came ba-- Ouch!!"


    While jumping to my feet in joy, I banged my head into something. The ceiling here was very low. Not that I had many to begin with, but the shock just now probably killed 80% of what little brain cells I had.


    I''d thought it was a bit cold; it turned out my back and pants were all soaked.


    And it was not even clean water, but some disgusting gooey liquid flowing slowly across my legs. Very annoying. Inferring from the smell and the narrow space, this here is probably the sewer, explaining the pitch-darkness.


    Keeping in mind that this was a sewer, I concentrated my efforts on seeing - and it turned out it wasn¡¯t so completely dark as I thought. In the distance I could see a spot of light, maybe that was the exit. Then I realized I was enclosed in a circle by a large number of small beady red eyes.


    Are- are these rats?!!


    "Woah--!! Tokidoki (3) Rat World (4)!!!"


    (3) ¡®Tokidoki¡¯ is an onomatopoeia for the sound of heart beats. Also used to emphasize anticipation or anxiety.


    (4) Yuuri¡¯s parodying Disney Land, in reference to Mickey Mouse most probably.


    My muscles tensed.


    You couldn''t find this many rats even in the dream world in Urayasu (5). Not only are they all over the ground, but there are also several hanging on the ceiling too. Apparently some of them have wings.


    (5) Urayasu is the area where Tokyo Disney Land is located. ¡®Dream world¡¯ is referring to Disney Land.


    To inform them of my non-resistance, I raised my hands next to my face.


    This time I stood up slowly as to not bump my head into anything.


    By now I''ve gotten used to the dimension-crossing Star Tours, and I can deal with being landed in the most embarrassing situations. But this is just too much.


    A smelly sewer inhabited by rats and bats, this is the worst ever. Like a lost child, I know that it''s safest not to wander away from the landing point and to wait for people to come and find me. However, in an unbearable environment like this, I can''t just stay put and wait.


    Because there''s definitely some kind of gas leaking here.


    Dunno if it''s methane or butane, but if someone was to light a match here, the manhole cover will fly off... or rather, would be blasted away.


    Nope, I can''t even think of jokes to cheer myself on.


    This is really serious.


    In order to make my escape quick, I began to move forward little by little.


    Unless I want to join the ranks of rats and bats, I need to calculate my moves carefully.


    Darn, if Doraemon was here right now, he''d gladly have his ears bitten instead of mine. (6)


    (6) Doraemon is the cat-looking robot from a manga of the same name. It is said that he lost his ears when a mouse bit them off.


    "Help me Muraemon~~ (7) .... Wait, where''s Murata?!!"


    (7) Murata+Doraemon.


    He was flung along the last time, so there''s a chance he was swallowed up by the whirlpool too. If he is out there cold, I can''t leave him behind.


    But it was still too dark. In this darkness, there was no other way but to feel him out with my hands and feet.


    "Murata... you there? Answer me if you are!


    Yes, if you''re here; no, if you''re not~"


    "Heee~~ hiii~~"


    I heard a weird moaning sound coming from somewhere near my feet.


    "Wa- was that a ''yes'', or a ''no? Make your answer cleaar!!"


    "Hiii~~ hee~~"


    I can''t tell whether you''re there or not, from just ''hiii~~hee~~''.


    "Well, I guess that''s closer to a ''no''. I''ll take it that you''re not here and move on, okay?"


    .......is not what I should do as a decent human being.


    "Hii~~ hee~~"


    The answer sounded more like rasping breath than an actual voice. Maybe the gas had done something to his throat.


    Moving my right foot forward a bit, my toes came into contact with something warm. I picked it up using my thumb and index finger - it was sleek, no, very slippery to the touch.


    Keeping distance from the red eyes encircling me, I searched with my hands.


    Legs.


    Two human legs bent like scythe.


    "Murata?!!! Why did you take off your pants?"


    Last I saw you, you still had your uniform on...


    Right, this isn''t the time for this.


    First we have to get out from this hellhole of a sewer somehow.


    Because it was so dark that I couldn''t tell where his head was, I pulled him up by the ankles. Dragging him onto my back, I began to pave through the darkness, careful not to agitate the small guys who were declaring their presence by the blinking of red eyes.


    I prayed for the white light far ahead to be our escape.


    O the fragrant and benevolent god of the sewers, give us light!!!


    Finally, with the sound of flowing water, the white spot gradually grew bigger.


    The air around me became fresh, and the breeze was warm from the sunlight.


    From a distance I heard the voices of people. They were calling my name.


    A clear ringing voice of a boy, and a ghastly shriek that ruined the naturally beautiful voice.


    "Where are you Yuuri!!!"


    "Your Majest-------y!! Your Majesty, where are you----!!! I, von Kleist Gunter, will run to your side this instant------!! Aah, I remember, the first time I saw Your Majesty was at a village near the borders. Ever since that day I have been your captive, and my heart, like that of a 70 years old maiden, has nurtured reverence for Your Majesty¡­"


    "Shut up Gunter, don''t go babbling about yourself!!!!"


    This natural gag comedy duo is Wolfram and Gunter.


    I felt the weight lifted off my shoulders, and my footsteps got lighter.


    The brick-built sewer ended here, the grey sewage-water spilling into a small river. There was a small embankment, next to which a lake was sparkling in the sunlight. Nearby there were several benches and boats. So it seemed to be a park of some kind.


    Which is to say this is Shinmakoku Sewage Park?


    The stench is too awful for it to be a picnic spot.


    But, that makes it safe to have fried dumplings for lunch. (8)


    (8) Apparently, Japanese fried dumplings smell of garlic, which gives you bad breath.


    "I¡¯m here--!!!"


    I walked into the sunlight and shouted to them who were standing below me.


    The overprotective tutor and self-proclaimed fianc¨¦e both turned their heads at my shout.


    One was examining the swan boat while the other was ransacking through the contents of a waste bin. They were, in their own ways, doing their bests to locate me.


    I take offence at their choice of search spots though.


    ¡°Am I a trash of some kind or something¡­.¡±


    ¡°Yuuri!¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty!¡±


    Familiar face, familiar voice; the two came running towards me.


    Lord von Bielefeld Wolfram¡¯s golden locks were shining under the sunlight. His emerald green eyes reminiscent of a lake, are trained on me. From the half open lips, I can almost hear the words ¡®Welcome back¡¯.


    Ahh, I¡¯ve finally come back. According to Earth time I¡¯ve only been away for 2 months, but I¡¯ve really missed this place.


    ¡°I¡¯m back Gunter, Wolfram¡­.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re late bimp!!!¡±


    Wait a sec.


    Just now instead of ¡®Welcome¡¯, did you say wimp?


    Not only that but, you mispronounced it, didn¡¯t you?


    The tension broke with an almost audible snap, and the energy drained out of my body.


    ¡°¡­is that how you greet someone who¡¯s just returned? Thankfully, Murata here on my back is also¡­ yikes! Sorry Murata, I dropped you!!¡±


    The load on my back fell to my feet, creating an elaborate splash of sewage-water.


    Lord von Kleist pointed behind me excitedly and exclaimed.


    ¡°What rare occurrence! A Mer-princess!¡±


    ¡®Scuse me?


    Since when was it that my friend came to be called a ¡®princess¡¯?


    Dumbfounded, I looked down and saw that the thing rolling in the shallow stream of water was not human, but a tuna with human legs. It was beating the water with its tail-fin.


    Very fresh.


    On the place of a head is a fish-face, complete with gills.


    ¡°Uwah!! Muraken, what happened to you?!!!! Legs!!! There¡¯re legs on this fish!!!¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty, that is because she is a Mer-princess, an aristocrat of the ocean.


    Of course in this case, ¡®princess¡¯ doesn¡¯t refer to her birth; all the males are called ¡®king¡¯ and the females ¡®princess.¡¯ They are loyal subjects of Shin Makoku and to Your Majesty, so you need not worry yourself over having called them ¡®fish.¡¯¡±


    I sincerely apologize for mistaking you for a tuna.


    ¡°Mer-princess instead of Mermaid¡­. Eh? How¡¯d you know she¡¯s a princess?¡±


    ¡°That is simple, she has beautiful legs. As Your /highness can see, no leg hair.¡±


    Said the tutor, proudly.


    ¡°Hmph, Yuuri, you sure are a wimp. How can you not know the proper way to hold a Mer-princess? Watch, this is how a gentleman should hold a lady.¡±


    With those words, what Wolfram demonstrated was the ¡®take a photo with your catch¡¯ pose.


    If you call that romantic, all the fishers who¡¯ve caught big catches would qualify as certified gentlemen.


    I entered the back gates of the castle still drenched in sewage; even the horse was turning its head away from me.


    That I¡¯d appeared in the sewer was top-secret, so there were no soldiers making fuss over my arrival. Though it¡¯d been a while, Blood Pledge Castle was as majestic as always, and I could almost hear the imaginary orchestra playing music in the background.


    ¡°Yuuri!!! Yuuri, I missed you!!!¡±


    ¡°Greta!!! I missed you too my cute angel!!!¡­ eh?¡±


    I squatted down and waited to embrace the small brightly smiling figure running towards me.


    ¡°Yuu¡­. stinks!!!¡±


    The lovely girl halted midway and pinching her nose, took one step backwards.


    Daughters sure are merciless.


    ¡°What happened Yuuri?!! It¡¯s like your body¡¯s rotting away.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not decomposing.¡±


    The girl with sun-tanned wheat-colour skin and wavy reddish-brown hair relaxed her creased brows, and hugged me.


    ¡°But I still like you anyhow!!!¡±


    ¡°Oof.¡±


    I was taken aback by her enthusiasm and fell on my backside, hitting a bone. Yet it didn¡¯t hurt. What¡¯s a bone or two, so as long as my darling daughter loves me?


    ¡°Eeeh, you really stink. Even so, it¡¯s okay! Bad smell is nothing against love. Greta¡¯s love won¡¯t change even if Yuuri rots away and becomes a zombie!!!¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m not rotting!!!¡±


    ¡°No, but really.¡±


    This girl from foreign lands, who¡¯d become my adopted daughter through certain circumstances, pressed her head to my clothes, not the least bothered with her hair getting wet.


    ¡°¡­.I was worried. You disappeared into thin air. I... I thought I¡¯d never see you again¡­ like mother¡­ and Greta would be all alone.¡±


    Her delicate shoulders were shaking.


    Oh the treachery!


    Making a child cry!


    Shibuya Yuuri Idiot Harajuku Fuuri, you worthless person!!!


    Say you¡¯re sorry, get down on your knees and apologise to Greta!


    I wrapped my arms around the warm body, and held her tight.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Greta, it¡¯s all my fault. Never again will I do such a dange¡­¡±


    I halted, swallowing the half formed words.


    Could I honestly promise her that I wouldn¡¯t be reckless in the future, even when facing a decision of great consequences?


    Greta must have sensed my hesitation, and she did her best to put on a bright smile.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you---. You say that, but Yuuri¡¯s going to disappear again. It¡¯s okay, Greta¡¯s gotten used to it. I don¡¯t fret over it too much anymore.¡±


    ¡°I really, really am sorry.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Yuuri being safe is enough for me. Even if you scare me by disappearing, it¡¯s okay as long as you come back.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°But, still I think that...¡±


    Out of nowhere, she lowered her tone and whispered.


    ¡°¡­.that I don¡¯t want to let go of you tonight.¡±


    ¡°Whaaattt----!!!!???!!¡±


    Who- Who taught Greta such an indecent thing to say!!!!!


    I think the shock just blew a hole in my chest.


    Coughing vehemently, I apologized.


    You meant ¡®this time¡¯, not ¡®tonight¡¯ right? Right?


    *Cough* ¡°G- Greta¡­. I¡¯m sorry for worrying you, but¡­.¡±


    ¡°But Father, we¡®ve promised to leave those words unspoken - thus Greta cannot but cry herself to sleep.¡±


    Unsettled, I looked upwards, and noticed the third son raising his thumb.


    ¡°Wolf!!! Is this your doing?!! There¡¯s nothing ¡®Nice¡¯ about this!!!!¡±


    ¡°Nope, this is a signal for ¡®once more.¡¯ However cold a king may be, such words from his beloved daughter must surely be enough to persuade him to scatter his bones in this country.¡± (9)


    Is scattering bones the norm in Shin Makoku? (9)


    (9) The expression, ¡¯to bury one¡¯s bones (somewhere)¡¯ has the meaning that the person is permanently settling down in that place of choice. The Shin Makoku counterpart to this expression seems to be ¡®scattering¡¯ instead of ¡®burying¡¯.


    Accompanied by hurried footsteps, a tall man stepped into the room. The baritone spoke out tersely when he noticed me lying on the floor with Greta attached to me.


    ¡°I see you¡¯ve arrived.¡±


    ¡°Gwendal.¡±


    Thank to the pervasive stench he seemed to have caught on, but instead of pinching his nose or holding his breath, he simply added another wrinkle to his brow, his expression unchanging. He was probably used to this sort of smell, from undergoing certain experiments.


    Indeed, a man like him who presides over others would be in a league of his own.


    From his mouth came the words of rationality as usual.


    ¡°Wat habbend, diz sdench.¡±


    Wha-, you- you stopped breathing with your nose.


    Even I¡¯m a little hurt, when greeted with such avoidance.. And I¡¯m supposedly dense.


    ¡°Oh Your Highness, do not make such a distressed face. The stench of sewage is nothing! As an evidence, I, Gunter am perfectly fine.¡±


    ¡°¡­.. You, you have a nose bleed.¡±


    The bleeding is a far greater threat to you, than my sewage smell.


    ¡°You guys have issues with coordination, I tell you¡­


    It¡¯s not that I mind being called back - after all, I am the King, ain¡¯t I?


    Just that, could you fix that wormhole to someplace permanently? I¡¯d really like to land in a more normal and safe spot you know!!!¡±


    ¡°Sowy abowt det yor eighess.¡±


    Gwendal mumbled, looking not in the least apologetic.


    There¡¯s always a depth to Gwendal¡¯s ¡®Your Highness.¡¯


    The eldest of the ¡®in fact-quite-alike¡¯ Mazoku Three Brothers does not have complete faith in me. I don¡¯t think he¡¯d try to get rid of me, but unlike his two younger brothers and the zealous tutor, he never shows me reverence as one would to a king.


    Well, it¡¯s not that I want to be treated like royalty with etiquette and all that stuff.


    But, I do wish he¡¯d trust me a little more.


    To you, I might still be nothing more than a simpleton, easy to control and just as easy to replace.


    Yet now, having lost a trustworthy ally, I need the trust of everyone on my side.


    Though for sure I¡¯d get harsh comments on just how immature that line of thought is.


    That was why I was startled when he took my right hand into his, bowing his head.


    Sir Gwendal von Voltaire spoke up, his face solemn and devoid of ridicule.


    ¡°I had not the opportunity in Caloria, so let me express my relief and gladness on your safe return. And of the incident concerning Sir Weller¡­ I ask for your forgiveness in place of my foolish brother.


    I am prepared to accept whatever punishment you bestow.¡±


    ¡°¡­Er¡­¡±


    Even more than me, it was the youngest brother, Wolfram, who¡¯d gone all white and freaked out as if he was about to scream, ¡®What has happened to you, Gwen!¡¯


    No wonder. That, just now, was a statement of apology. A bit high-handed, but still, him asking for forgiveness from a wimp like me was unexpected, given how he is normally.


    The one feeling at unease is, however, me - the one who was being apologized to.


    It¡¯s not like I have any intention of putting the blame on the eldest, being pressed for judgment.


    I couldn¡¯t think of anything to say, so I ended up giving my thoughts on the situation.


    ¡°It¡¯s tough being the eldest, huh.¡±


    Gwendal quirked his eyebrow and let go of my hand, expression odd.


    His voice low and shrewd as always.


    ¡°What I wish to request is a temporary moratorium. The crimes of Conrart, who has fled to enemy lands disregarding his duty to protect the king, and of myself, having been unable to prevent this from happening, are severe. I understand that no half-done punishment would appease your anger.¡±


    ¡°Wait, I never said anything about you being responsib¡­¡±


    ¡°However, currently our country is in a diplomatic crisis. We have called for you because of this emergency. It is not that I wish to delay the verdict, but the matter of the country is urgent¡­¡±


    ¡°Now hold on!!! Listen to me Gwen!!! I told you, I don¡¯t think any of this is your fault. I wasn¡¯t even thinking about punishing you. As for Conrad¡­¡±


    I spoke the name, as if swallowing something especially bitter.


    ¡°Whichever country he goes to, whatever he does¡­ that¡¯s his own choice. If he is intent on changing jobs, that¡¯s just that. I don¡¯t have any right to stop him. Eh, that is to say, freedom of occupation? I¡¯m saying the right thing, right? Right?¡±


    Like freedom of academia or freedom of religion or Lady Freedom (Statue of Liberty).


    I racked my limited vocabulary in search for a suitable word.


    Lord von Voltaire attempted to speak, but I cut into his words and continued.


    ¡°In fact, I¡¯m the one who should be apologising. In Caloria¡­ in Shimaron too, I¡¯m sorry for acting on my own accord. You¡¯re angry¡­ no, you¡¯re probably very mad--¡­ but I had no choice. There was no other way. I know, I know, it was dangerous and thoughtless and all that. What you say is right. I¡¯m sorry!! I¡¯ll sit through your lecturing!!¡±


    ¡°I already got the scolding.¡±


    Wolfram put his hands up in exasperation. His brow was creased in the exact same place as his brother¡¯s.


    ¡°The incident in Caloria was my and Grier¡¯s fault for not stopping you. Don¡¯t bring it up anymore. I do not want to remember it.¡±


    I imagined the last-born son being reprimanded in mid-low stereo tone, caught between two tall men. I couldn¡¯t help but laugh a little, despite the direness of the situation.


    ¡°And, for making you send out a rescue team¡­ that¡­ I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d become such a big mess. You had to spend a lot of money, right? How much does it cost to get a helicopter?


    Making you send out a boat¡­ Uwahh just how much tax have I wasted? I¡¯m really sorry. I¡¯m such an amoeba.¡±


    ¡°Oh, no, Your Majesty----,¡± wailed Gunter.


    He must have been so angry that he couldn¡¯t find his words; the handsome guy stood silently with his mouth still open.


    Because of my obstinacy, a hideous portion of the national budget seemed to have gone to waste. I guessed my head-bowing apology was nowhere near sufficient.


    ¡°¡­. but thanks for coming for me¡­.


    By the way, I¡¯m kinda late in asking, but, what happened to that nasty box?¡±


    On cue to the question, everyone raised their heads and the atmosphere changed in an instant.


    While barely escaping from Big Shimaron, we managed to swap the ¡®box¡¯ with a fake one and had the real one brought back with us.


    In this world there are four things that should never be touched.


    One of them, was the box we had taken, ¡®The End of the Wind.¡¯


    Traveling through Caloria it was definitely in our possession, but for me who was Star Tour-ed away in the ship¡¯s kitchen, the box¡¯s final whereabouts was still a mystery.


    Lord von Voltaire reverted to his usual solemn expression, his tone also returning to the usual commandeering one. Seeing him acting his usual self was quite reassuring.


    ¡°We are holding an important meeting concerning the matter. A round table meeting; and Your Majesty¡¯s presence is required. However you probably do not wish to present yourself in your current condition. Hurry up and wash yourself!!! Make use of this stench remover ¡®Not-stinky-anymore-kun¡¯ Anissina left behind.¡±


    ¡°Not-stinky-anymore-kun?!!!¡±


    That name surely sounded dangerous, but I could feel the love in the attached suffix ¡®-kun¡¯.


    Pushing me into the bath, the eldest brother muttered in a tortured voice.


    ¡°The talks are already on the roll.¡±

 Volume 9 - CH 3

    The meeting is indeed underway.


    When I heard that it¡¯s a round table meeting, stupid old me immediately thinks of Mom¡¯s favorite story, about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Come to think of it, there was even a guy in my middle school art society named ¡®Arthur¡¯[1].


    I¡¯m seated in the middle of a donut-shaped table, surrounded by Mazoku I only said hi to during my coronation. And every time someone is introduced, the table would turn so I faced said person. Although the table is round, it feels more like the Lazy Sues in Chinese restaurants, albeit the part spinning isn¡¯t the center but the sides.


    If it keeps spinning I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get crazy dizzy¡ªit feels like I¡¯m suddenly the heart of a clock. And I¡¯m the only one in the center, everyone¡¯s gazes piercing me so sharply it really hurts.


    ¡°I-is this some sort of punishment game?¡±


    I clench my fists on my knees. Logically speaking I should be more used to the spinning by now, but my armpits are drenched in a cold sweat. Anissina moves 60 degrees to face me, her slightly elevated sapphire eyes narrowed,


    ¡°Your Majesty. What happened to your hair?¡±


    ¡°It was sucked by ¡®The Great Demon Odor Remover, Stinky Go Away-kun¡¯, and became this SPP corn head.¡± [2]


    The woman who bet her entire life on finding the ways to incorporate magic into daily life, the forever experimenting, experimenting, then experimenting again Lady von Karbelnikoff, is also one of Shin Makoku¡¯s Three Great Majou, and presently she reveals a smile that can rival the Sexy Queen Lady Cheri.


    ¡°Heavens, Your Majesty personally tested that prototype? I¡¯m extremely honored, and would you please fill in the user survey form? Oh, yes, and would you want to try the new and improved ¡®Stinky Go Away-kun¡¯ 16 as well?¡±


    ¡°¡­I appreciate your good intentions.¡±


    Thanks for the free test drive.


    According to the previous introductions, the ones around the table are the Ten Noble Families, the representative from ten places, or you could say they¡¯re the representatives chosen in full authority by the people.


    The one from the von Voltaire lands in Lord von Voltaire Gwendal, and Lord von Christ G¨¹nter from the von Christ territories is here too. On his left is the passionate young Lord von Wincott, the temporary head of the von Spitzberg clan and representative of the von Bielefeld city ¡ªLord von Bielefeld Wolfram, and Anissina with full authority from Lord von Karbelnikoff Densham. Next to her is the soldier from Radford who can barely keep his distance from the table. Lord Rochefort and Lord Gyllenhaal are there too, but I can¡¯t remember their names. It¡¯s already really impressive that I can remember nine of them at once.


    As for the seat supposedly occupied by a member of the von Grantz family, for some reason there¡¯s a big bear baby. Did that person say something he shouldn¡¯t have?


    There are other nobles besides the highest representatives, seated by the wall away from the round table, including some familiar faces. I even see some women amongst them.


    G¨¹nter, maintaining a respectful manner, clears his throat and spreads open a light green paper,


    ¡°Then, Your Majesty, before the meeting begins, allow me to first read the reports from the absentees. Um¡ªCongratulations, Your Majesty, on today¡¯s meeting, I sincerely wish the 27th Maou-heika, may you be healthy and may all your wishes come true. I cannot attend the glorious event due to circumstances, and offer my deepest apologies. On my inability to beg for forgiveness personally in front of Your Majesty, I am frustrated beyond words. Unfortunately I slipped and fell into my rear on a rainy day in the stables, causing myself to be covered in hay and horse excrement, and even worse, being trampled on by a horse and thus losing consciousness¡­ Um, that¡­ I will skip the details, and move on the next part. And so I sincerely wish that this imperial meeting will run smoothly, I and the chicken on my knee will be praying that the white team wins.¡±


    Anissina gnaws her tongue lightly.


    After reading a few more letters, G¨¹nter ¡ªwho I assume is the speaker¡ª suddenly announces the beginning of the meeting. As a gong resounds throughout the room, everybody stands in unison. I try hastily to get to my feet too, but before I can I hear an ear-piercing metallic sound, and then my arms and legs are locked onto the chair, just as a powerful spotlight shines onto my head.


    ¡°Eh? What is this?!¡±


    ¡°Our deepest apologies, Your Majesty. Due to the former Maou¡¯s high escape record¡­ No, I mean, her tendency to leave the meeting halfway and then proceed to vanish into thin air, from this meeting onwards, we have decided to take such measures. Although it may be slightly uncomfortable, I beg of you, please don¡¯t mind it.¡±


    ¡°How can I not mind?! Anyone would mind!¡±


    Under these circumstances, even if a metal pot falls on me from the ceiling I can¡¯t avoid it! On that note, Lady Cheri, why can¡¯t you hold a meeting properly?!


    By the way, this special round table was also designed for the former Maou whose only looks in certain directions. This way, regardless of the beauty or otherwise of the speaker, Your Majesty has to meet their gaze and hear their opinions.¡±


    ¡°In other words, Lady Cheri only looked at the handsome men¡­¡±


    Just what I¡¯d expect from the huntress of love, as soon as she locks on to her target, she won¡¯t let them escape from her line of sight. But being cuffed to the chair like this, with a bright light shining overhead, it feels less like a high level meeting and more like an interrogation by the cops¡­


    Yamada, bring a bowl of pork chop rice! [3]


    ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù


    ¡°This time, we are introducing a new method, to allow people from all over the country to participate in the meeting. Please watch, Your Majesty, this is the live communication technique, made possible by gathering all our tribe¡¯s intelligence and technology. Right, raise the curtain!¡±


    Behind the rapidly rising blinds, there¡¯s a huge hole in the wall, revealing the clear sky. Countless pigeons are resting on a ledge, and an army of kotsuhizoku are floating in mid-air. The afternoon rays shine through the skeletons, creating a scene that looks like it came straight out of hell.


    ¡°I thought there was the odor of birds, no wonder¡­¡±


    ¡°With these imperial carrier pigeons trained by trainers outsourced from companies all over the country, and the kotsuhizoku¡¯s unique telepathic abilities, we can simultaneously exchange opinions with the other party. In other words, important conference officials who can¡¯t make it here due to the short notice, can also listen in on the meeting from their respective locations, and actively offer their own ideas!¡±


    ¡­VIVA pigeon mail! BRAVO kohi!


    Although no one understood the logic behind it, but I heard that the kotsuhizoku has some message-conveying ability. Instead of calling it bone messaging, it¡¯s better to call it bone signaling, a gift of love from the physicochemical labs.


    ¡°You could even say that whoever with any opinions need not kept them pent up, you are free to vent and freak out as you please!¡±


    Everyone else looks completely unconcerned, ignoring the over-enthusiastic G¨¹nter. Only Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina mutters to herself, ¡°It¡¯d be much easier to just use my devices.¡±


    ¡°If you want to keep digressing, please bring it to another room, Lord von Christ. We don¡¯t have much time to lose.¡±


    ¡°The pigeons carefully selected from all over the country¡­ Ah, whatever¡­ Then let¡¯s return to the matters of the conference.¡±


    G¨¹nter, who had been talking non-stop this entire time, finally sits down, and the conference officially begins.


    The first few reports are about agricultural taxes, estimates on our assistance to neighboring countries and etcetera, all matters beyond my knowledge, so my uniform answer for all of them is ¡°deal with it appropriately¡±. It¡¯s the synonym of ¡°full authority and responsibility goes to Lord von Voltaire¡±, and so the older son¡¯s frown continues to deepen.


    Eventually G¨¹nter rolls up a considerable number of documents, and uses a different tone to announce the next topic.


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s begin discussing the matter of most importance in this meeting¡ªShou Shimaron¡¯s sudden diplomatic activities.¡±


    ¡°Shou Shimaron¡¯s diplomatic plans?¡±


    Despite all four of my limbs being cuffed to the chair, I immediately feel my body stiffen. So that¡¯s it, that¡¯s what Gwendal meant by ¡®a first-rate emergency¡¯.


    Dai Shimaron and Shou Shimaron are two nearby countries ruled by a strong military force. In the war between mazokus and humans around 20 years ago, the human¡¯s most considerable strength lay within the Shimaron army.


    For someone who¡¯s still unfamiliar with this world¡¯s geography and history, I know this because I¡¯ve personally been there. Not only did I meet with a terrifying disaster in Dai Shimaron, my experience in Shou Shimaron was even worse. It all began with Lady Flynn Gilbert, the iron-masked ruler of Caloria, a territory of Shou Shimaron, and the Wincott poison she retrieved from the basement of her mansion¡­


    One thing led to another, and those people even dared to destroy a section of the land on their own accord, all because they used the wrong key to open the most brutal, most evil of final weapons¡ªthe box. Back then we had been swept into that open experiment, and were forced to come face to face with the threat of the box. It just goes to show how lucky I can be to survive that, because that dangerous situation that day was nothing short of a death-defying special event.


    Anyway, be it Dai or Shou Shimaron, the world-peace supporter in me doesn¡¯t have a good opinion of either of them. When you consider the mazoku who had endured the flames of war to get here, their feelings right now must be a couple times more complicated than mine.


    ¡°According to our intel department and reliable sources, Shou Shimaron has been making some emergency diplomatic relations recently. From the Shin Makoku¡¯s position, we must find a way to prevent these plans, and maintain the balance in power between our countries.¡±


    ¡°Wait a second, why must we interfere with another country¡¯s diplomatic relations? Although just thinking about Shimaron gives me a headache, but doesn¡¯t doing this equal to interfering with another country¡¯s inner workings?¡±


    ¡°If this matter can be resolved without our interference, that would be ideal, because we too would like to avoid any contact with the humans.¡±


    Lord von Voltaire puts his elbows on the table, lacing his fingers together before his face.


    ¡°But the situation now is simply too sudden. If their policy works, they will pose a threat to our country unlike any other. That¡¯s why, even if we have to directly interfere with their politics, we must make sure Shou Shimaron¡¯s stops this policy.¡±


    ¡°W-what kind of scary policy is it?¡±


    In this high school brain of mine that sucks at world history, there are only two terrifying international powers: Hitler or Hitler or Hitler¡­ Okay, it¡¯s just one. No, it¡¯s one person that can count as three.


    After clearing his throat slightly, G¨¹nter says,


    ¡°Shou Shimaron seems to be aiming to restore their relations with Seisakoku.¡±


    Hah?


    ¡°They plan on interacting actively with the country that has locked itself away from the world for two thousand years, Seisakoku.¡±


    What?


    ¡°What does that mean? Don¡¯t tell me Shou Shimaron wants to form an alliance with Seisakoku?¡±


    ¡°Unbelievable, these really are troubling times.¡±


    ¡°My dear ministers, why are you still hesitating? We, the mazoku, must gather all our power right now, and teach them a lesson. We can¡¯t let the humans lead us on any longer!¡±


    ¡°Seisakoku¡¯s specialty is the rainbow-colored taro, sure hope I can taste it at least once before I die~¡±


    The room is filled with cacophony, every other mazoku aside from me unable to hide the swaying of their hearts. On that note, what kind of a place is Seisakoku?


    Under the instructions of their trainers, the carrier pigeons rise into the air amidst the noisy flapping of wings; and the kotsuhizoku is one step behind, chasing them in a chorus of bone chattering. Good luck, Kohi.


    While sending them encouragement that they¡¯ll never hear, I hesitantly interrupt,


    ¡°Uhm, just asking--¡±


    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with restoring the relations?¡±


    ¡°What?! Your Majesty?!¡±


    The super bishie¡¯s expression looks shocked.


    ¡°They¡¯re just trying to actively interact with a country they never communicated with, right? In the global point of view, isn¡¯t that a really good thing? It will even improve the culture and economy of both sides. If Japan was always in a state of lockdown, I might still be wearing a bun on my head now.¡±	[4]


    ¡°You really are a wimp!¡±


    ¡°Mmph!¡±


    Lord von Bielefeld¡¯s bishounen voice interrupts the low grade question by the novice who is completely oblivious to diplomatic affairs, and his tone is one of extreme, undisguised surprise.


    ¡°Using the language from the world you grew up in, you really are, through and through, a wimp KING!¡± [5]


    ¡°Stop it, Wolf! Stop calling me a wimp in front of all these people, and also, don¡¯t just pick up random words of English!¡±


    What you said, does it mean ¡®even though you¡¯re a wimp, at least you¡¯re still a king¡¯? Or are you calling me ¡®the King of wimps¡¯? [6]


    ¡°Do you know what kind of a country Seisakoku is?¡±


    Nope. As for things that start with the word ¡®Sei¡¯ (holy), all I can think about is the holy bible every hotel drawer must have. My stuttering must have given me away, because the former prince¡¯s expression becomes even sterner.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll use this chance to tell you.¡±


    Wolfram points at the spread-out map.


    ¡°Look closely, this is Shin Makoku, and this continent is Dai and Shou Shimaron, everything within this line¡­¡±


    He sighs and continues grudgingly,


    ¡°¡­is Shimaron territory.¡±


    ¡°So big?!¡±


    I put my hand on the map that looks like a honey cake wrapper. My finger follows the dotted line, touching the islands and continents within the boundary, and the words stating the countries¡¯ names are sent directly to my brain.


    ¡°¡­Van dar Via is also Shimaron territory¡­ Oh, yeah, Mr. Hyscliff¡¯s land is also part of the same continent, but he¡¯s working hard to rule it. It really is very big.¡±


    ¡°And then Seisakoku, is here.¡±


    He grabs my right hand and brings it to the bottom of the map¡ªWolfram knows I¡¯m not used to reading the words. The diamond-shaped land labeled Seisakoku is, in Earth terms, situated rather to the south, not too far away from the Antartic. It¡¯s too big for an island, but small compared to the Shimaron continent. If the area of the Shin Makoku is measured as one unit, then it would be somewhere between two point five to two point eight.


    After using my pointer and thumb to trace the shape of the continent, I realize that even though the map did simplify it a bit, the other lands are differentiated with brown or green, only the diamond-shaped land underneath my fingers has nothing but the borders. I can¡¯t see the mountains, the plains or rivers, the whole piece is just blank.


    ¡°Is it because the topography is really flat and smooth¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because the lay of the land is currently unknown.¡±


    As my dedicated tutor, G¨¹nter immediately rejects my guess.


    ¡°As aforementioned, Seisakoku has practiced a closed-door policy for more than two thousand years. So forget its current state, we have no idea of knowing anything about even its topography or climate. And the few merchants who are allowed to deal with said country can only enter via some pre-determined ports. Word has it that they have a small man-made island, where surveillance and security is so tight you can¡¯t even leave without permission.¡±


    ¡°Just like Dejima in Nagasaki? [7] Or is it like Portugal?¡±


    The discussion is becoming more and more like Nagasaki castella [8]¡­ I mean, it¡¯s slowly becoming simple enough for even an average high school student to understand.


    ¡°And to prevent the leakage of information, maps and books are highly prohibited from leaving the country. There were even people suspected and interrogated.¡±


    ¡°You mean, the Siebert incident.¡±[9]


    ¡°Yes, it seems they were scolded very severely.¡±[10]


    ¡°Why, Yuuri? Do you also start blabbering whenever you¡¯re scolded?¡±


    Misunderstanding, this is a huge misunderstanding!


    ¡°Anyway, this is the reason why no one knows Seisakoku¡¯s actual condition? But being under lockdown for two thousand years is really too impressive. In Earth terms, that¡¯s like being sealed away from before even Christianity was founded! Just thinking about it makes me want to faint. And now that tightly sealed door will open for Shou Shimaron! I¡¯m not wrong, am I, putting it this way?¡±


    ¡°Amazing, Your Majesty! Aah, Your Majesty¡¯s brilliance always awes me to no end!¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    I move my hand away from the map, rubbing my messed-up hair.


    ¡°Restoring relations, isn¡¯t that a good thing¡­?¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty, about that¡­¡±


    Lord von Voltaire, who seems to have been holding it in for a long time, speaks up in an extremely courteous tone. As for everyone else, they¡¯re probably reluctant to interrupt me, seeing as I¡¯m king and all.


    ¡°We, the mazokus, have a very tense relationship with Shimaron, of this I¡¯m sure Your Majesty is aware?¡±


    ¡°That I know¡­ C¡¯mon, Gwen, whenever you use such formalities, you make me nervous!¡±


    ¡°Then do you understand how dangerous it is when countries hostile to Shin Makoku try to strengthen their power? We cannot determine the extent of Seisakoku¡¯s resources and military force, but considering the vast size of the country, we can probably estimate the reinforcements that will come with the alliance. If Shou Shimaron were to form a pact with that country, and combine their respective armies¡­ Although I¡¯m also unwilling, but I have to say¡­¡±


    The wrinkle between his brows deepening some more, Gwendal crosses his arms in front of his chest.


    ¡°Our country¡¯s strength alone cannot fight against them.¡±


    There¡¯s immediately a small riot in the room, and some people sigh. Others angrily punch the table, while the rest wordlessly stare at the ceiling. Only one person scoffs, laughing.


    ¡°What evidence do you have when you say that?¡±


    I was wondering who could be so calm, turns out it¡¯s Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina, who is long used to emergency situations. Compared to an experiment gone wrong, the impact from the confession must not seem like much.


    ¡°This is from a reliable line of source¡­¡±


    ¡°What kind of line is that reliable source of yours? An electric line? A landline? Or a tasty line of noodles? Or is it your pride and joy, chosen based on their appearance and muscles, the ¡®Heart skips a beat! Women-not-allowed intelligence department members can also leak information¡¯ team?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­, our intel department doesn¡¯t just depend on their face and muscles, they are all chosen based on the strictest criteria!¡±


    ¡°Shut your crap! If so, then why are all the agents men with just face and no real power? And the only other members of the team are Kotsuhizokus to send messages!¡±


    I see, so it really is like in the movies, the face really is the informant¡¯s life. This feels like the dolls you put on display during Girl¡¯s Day.


    Anissina kicks aside her chair and stands up, her head tilted skyward and chin slightly raised. Although she looks small, her presence is no weaker than Gwendal¡¯s.


    ¡°Then please enlighten me, how do these informants send their reports? He says Shou Shimaron will soon rapidly expand their diplomatic relations, aiming to restore relations with Seisakoku, right? That¡¯s what he said? Tell me, is that what he said?¡±


    Her way of talking is so forceful, her attitude unyielding. But because she¡¯s full of confidence, it¡¯s easy for anyone of lesser will to surrender. At this moment I can¡¯t help the urge to hug her legs and say, ¡°Ooooohh~ Boss, or should I say, Onee-sama[11], I¡¯ll follow you everywhere.¡± She¡¯s the type of person who, in an election, will definitely win the middle votes.


    ¡°Everyone gathered here knows, Seisakoku¡¯s relations with other countries stopped since two thousand years ago. Back then, Shimaron didn¡¯t even exist. In other words, to the former, the latter can be said as a miniscule new power from the outside world, like a scab formed just a few days ago, or a newborn mudskipper or chick. And now they say they want to ¡®restore¡¯ relations, even grammatically it¡¯s wrong. Do you think that with Shou Shimaron suggesting an alliance under these circumstances, will Seisakoku agree so easily? What do you think, Lord von Voltaire? You who have wasted almost a hundred and thirty years of your life, do you think you would possibly befriend a newborn baby? Would you treat him as an equal, give him a friendly hug and swear to live or die with him? Ah, if it¡¯s you, you might just do so out of sentiment. But under those circumstances, the only one who would hug him so easily, could only be you who loves helpless little animals so much. Anyone who thinks normally would never sincerely make friends with a baby.¡±


    The fingers Gwendal laced on the table twitches a little. I can almost hear him screaming inside: ¡°If you know it, then don¡¯t take me for an example in the first place!¡±


    Anissina puts her hands on her hips, continuing in a tone that allows for no doubt. By now forty percent of the people in the room have been taking hostage by the red devil.


    ¡°Even if they are willing to make the deal, there¡¯s no way they would listen to the human¡¯s hopes and lend their military to Shimaron, is there? Listen up, everybody, this is that Seisakoku we¡¯re talking about, y¡¯know? Do you really think that the country that can¡¯t even be bothered to deal with their neighbours would go through all the trouble of sending troops across the sea for a war? According to my judgment, the chances are as slim as strand of hair. And I mean a temple monk¡¯s hair, that one hair that wasn¡¯t shaved off! But all of you are jumping to conclusions based on such a small number, freaking out just because you¡¯re scared of being threatened, or going to war¡ªhow stupid of you. Really, that¡¯s why you men are so useless!¡±


    Her last line forces several people to lower their heads and go silent, looks like they¡¯re the ¡®useless¡¯ people she meant.


    ¡°¡­Lady Anissina r-really is something¡­¡±


    As for me, I make the ultimate decree¡ª¡®if you want to live, don¡¯t get on her wrong side¡¯. Even though she and her high red ponytail don¡¯t like anything like the bad guy.


    ¡°Do we really have to sway over a chance as thin as a hair missed by the razor, holding our heads and screaming that the country¡¯s done for? Instead of everyone moping here and sighing, why don¡¯t we first send someone from this table to the actual location and verify the information? On the off chance that Seisakoku actually does build relations with Shou Shimaron, and proceeds to make an unreasonable request with regards to military force, then why don¡¯t we just interfere then? It¡¯s just a hair-thin chance! All we have to is shave off that last hair, then we¡¯ll be fine!¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t mention shaving hair any more¡­¡±


    For some reason G¨¹nter starts sobbing, probably because it brought up some bad memories for him.


    ¡°I see. Lady von Karbelnikoff¡¯s words ring true, what about Your Majesty¡¯s opinion?¡±


    It took him a while to stop his finger movements, but Gwen throws the question at me abruptly, causing me to say in a strange voice,


    ¡°P-please deal with it appropriately.¡±


    ¡°Very good, how about everyone else?¡±


    There aren¡¯t any objections. Having taken over as speaker, Gwendal trains his seemingly annoyed gaze downwards, but then he immediately returns to his normal form, using that soul-shaking deep voice to announce to everyone present:


    ¡°The problem now is, who do we send? All of you know how tense the relationship between our country and Shou Shimaron is. Considering the current situation, we must not simply send our troops forth, lest we provoke the other party. Therefore, we can only send the minimum number of guards, so if there¡¯s a general suited for defense in the envoy, we can rest much easier. And since this person will go as special ambassador on an official visit, we must also send someone of appropriate status. Otherwise, not only will the other side look down on us, we would practically be creating an opportunity for them to strike where we are weak. Hence, we must make this decision cautiously, and take action cautiously. If anyone wishes to volunteer, please quietly raise your hand, Teacher won¡¯t be mad, and close your eyes like this.¡±


    ¡°Gwendal, you should know who the best choice¡­¡±


    Before G¨¹nter even finishes his sentence, everybody present raises their hands. As expected from the cr¨¨me de la crop of the Shin Makoku. I who also meant to raise my hand, am now left with an extremely painful wrist. I forgot that my hands were cuffed.


    ¡°So everyone is willing?¡±


    Even Lord von Voltaire has his hand raised high, his frown deepening further. After he gazes around at all the attendees, his eyes stop on Lady Anissina.


    ¡°I hope Lady von Karbelnikoff can step back of her own accord. You will definitely cause damage to Shou Shimaron and bring unnecessary chaos. N-no, what I meant was, don¡¯t you still have something important to do, like controlling the quality of the fermenting poisons? And Wolfram, you too.¡±


    ¡°Why, Brother?! I have the ability to protect my own safety, and I¡¯ve even inherited the bloodline of the previous Maou. When it comes to status, shouldn¡¯t I be the perfect man for the job? And more than anyone else, I have the spirit and patriotism that make a general. Please allow me¡­¡±


    ¡°Then should you mess things up, are you mentally prepared to disembowel yourself a punishment?¡±


    Wow, just thinking about it makes me pale, eeeek¡ªit sounds even more painful than seppuku.


    ¡°If you obtain everyone¡¯s approval here and take upon yourself the duty of heading to Shou Shimaron, that is equal to a royal decree¡ªin other words, you will be sent there as the representative of the Shin Makoku under His Majesty the Maou¡¯s name. If for some small reason you fail, the responsibility lies not only on you, but also on the Maou, maybe even the country. It¡¯s not something you can shake off by regretting or apologizing, do you have the resolve to take up this responsibility with your life?¡±


    Wolfram bites his beautiful lips, but then he immediately clenches his fist. Although he looks like a weak bishounen, he''s actually a passionate man. I just discovered that today.


    "From the day I swore my oath to the king, I''ve been prepared mentally for that."


    The oldest brother''s expression looks even more painful. Unsurprisingly, because there''s no way Gwen would send his beloved youngest brother somewhere dangerous. But I was defeated by Lord von Bielefeld''s words. The decision this bad-tempered stubborn angel made puts his life on the line, and he even said he''s mentally prepared for it.


    He said, "From the day I swore my oath to the king."


    Which king?


    I instinctively swallow. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth, which has suddenly gone dry.


    It''s me!


    Wolf is talking about us.


    My tongue has gone stiff, but I can''t keep quiet just because of that. This is something a king should face. And since I''m the king of Shin Makoku, this is something I must see with my own eyes. As my hand is cuffed to the chair, I yell desperately to get their attention.


    "MeMeMeMeMe! I''ll go! I''ll go I''ll go I''ll go--!"


    Crap, why does my voice suddenly sound as high as a woman''s.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go to Shou Shimaron myself¡­¡±


    ¡°No!¡±


    ¡°No way!¡±


    And I¡¯m immediately rejected, with a stereo effect from both sides, no less.


    ¡°Why not! Isn¡¯t this a huge crisis that can impact the country¡¯s survival? If so, there¡¯s all the more reason for me to scout out the situation, enemy surveillance is also an important duty, tight?¡±


    ¡°You barely just escaped from Shou Shimaron with your life! Don¡¯t tell me you still don¡¯t understand the kind of danger Shimaron poses to us mazokus after going through so much?¡±


    ¡°C¡¯mon, Wolf, don¡¯t make a fuss just because you can¡¯t go! Besides, this is representing the country on an official visit, right? Then the other side will definitely treat us carefully as honored guests. I¡¯ve seen this type of thing in the news too, I know what kind of treatment an international-level guest gets!¡±


    ¡°International-level guest? You¡¯re saying those guys in Shou Shimaron will treat us as international-level guests?¡±


    The bisohunen purposely raises his pitch, shrugging his shoulders in an American way,


    ¡°To those people, we are the only country that¡¯s ever won them in a war. That¡¯s a fact that won¡¯t change even after twenty years, why would they treat the enemy they hate with all their heart as honored guests?¡±


    ¡°¡­But isn¡¯t that the give-and-take way of interacting between adults?¡±


    Even if the relationship is bad¡­ No, even if we are at war, we must welcome the ambassador with caution and respect. Isn¡¯t that what they mean by international unions? Even if my confidence is beginning to sway, I desperately try to convince myself.


    ¡°Na?ve. You really are too na?ve, Yuu¡­¡±


    The man in charge of Shin Makoku¡¯s first ever virtual live broadcast satellite pigeon team, is nervously clearing his throat, interrupting Wolfram¡¯s words.


    ¡°Report! We just received the replies from Their Excellencies who could not make it. Now I will read them out for the audience: ¡®Eh? What kind of place is Seisakoku? Although compared to pigeons, I prefer chickens~~¡± ¡­This is Lord Densham von Karbelnikoff¡¯s reply.¡±


    Aren¡¯t you too slow? And there¡¯s no content to speak of.


    ¡°Next is from the Radford territory¡­ What? Catalpa Number 2 was attacked by an eagle dog mid-flight and is currently missing in action?! How can this be¡­ Unfortunately, the pigeon has died.¡±


    The traumatised pigeon trainer sags his shoulders, as though saying now that the pigeons aren¡¯t working, what about the Kotsuhizoku?


    ¡° ¡®Speaking of Seisakoku, it reminds me of the vast white lands of the south, apparently it¡¯s a place filled with power of the gods. Oh, yeah, husband dear, today¡¯s dish is ripe eggplant¡­¡¯ That¡¯s the content we got¡­ Eek, ripe eggplant?! They dare to eat such a terrifying thing, what¡¯s up with that couple?¡±


    Although I¡¯m more concerned about the tragedy that might come with using eggplants for a dish, I think it¡¯s safe to say that this game of ¡®telephone¡¯ has failed. As man in charge, Gwendal¡¯s hands start fidgeting again. He¡¯s probably getting impatient with the fruitless meeting.


    ¡°If so, then I¡­¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t work¡ªIf Gwen leaves the capital, who¡¯ll be in charge of the financial matters?¡±


    He glares at me, hinting ¡°that¡¯s your job, y¡¯know¡±, but practically speaking, the basic requirement for ruling is to use your talents where they work best. If everything is dumped onto an utterly useless king, then it won¡¯t be long before the country is thrown into havoc. It¡¯s precisely because his appearance, brains and leg length are all better than me, not to mention his wide expanse of knowledge and experience, that someone as careless as me can rest easy as king. Sorry I made the wrinkle in his brow even deeper, but other than asking him to work a little harder, there¡¯s really nothing else to do.


    Although¡­ now I will occasionally remember, that this way of doing things is basically Gwendal¡¯s own wish. Logically, on that nostalgic day of my coronation, he probably already knew that he would be running the country. The only thing he miscalculated is, I¡¯m not the kind of king that will obediently follow orders.


    The competent and therefore overworked oldest brother pushes the hair away from his forehead, saying,


    ¡°Either way, His Majesty, Lord von Bielefeld and Lady von Karbelnikoff cannot go. If someone can help me deal with the mountain of trivial matters here, I sincerely hope I can go myself. Lord von Wincott is in danger if ever he leaves the land, so I would recommend sending Lord von Rochefort¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡±


    These words spoken abruptly out of necessity instantly shut everyone else up. After all, he¡¯s the one person no one thought about.


    ¡°If it is possible, I am willing to head to that country under Your Majesty¡¯s orders.¡±


    All eyes turn to him, and Lord von Christ G¨¹nter is looking straight at me.

 Volume 9 - CH 4

    There¡¯s the sound of waves in the distance.


    Thank goodness for the rays of light shining in from the crack in the wall, it¡¯s the only way we know that it¡¯s not night yet. But the space really is cramp and dark, and there¡¯s the suffocating smell of fruits.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t want to hide in the mandarin crate! The color orange gets on my nerves every time!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re really noisy, Yuuri. If we followed what you said and hid in the crate with fish, by now we¡¯d have choked on the odor of fish¡­ Oh-umph!¡±


    ¡°Waa¡ªWolf! Don¡¯t puke don¡¯t puke! Don¡¯t puke here! I wanted to say that the fish crate was already cleared and washed, so we wouldn¡¯t have to squeeze with the fruits like this, and there¡¯s so smell. Tsk, and I thought that stowing away with the food cargo was a good idea too¡­ Oh, no, Wolf, someone¡¯s coming!¡±


    After a frantic mess of footsteps, someone runs into the food storage. Since they¡¯re in such a hurry, perhaps they¡¯re preparing dinner now. I check my hardworking G-SHOCK, and find out that it¡¯s now 5.20 pm. The tips of my feet step on some more mandarins, squashing out more sour juice.


    ¡°I mmph¡ªwould now rather be fund mmph¡ªit¡¯s probably more relaxing than now mmmph. After all we left the land ages ago, they can¡¯t turn back now mm-ph!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say silly things with such a weird suffix. We¡¯re stowaways, remember! If we get caught, we¡¯ll definitely get tossed into the sea by our necks!¡±


    ¡°Toss you and I into the sea? Who would dare? Even the so-called ¡®Tough Guy Sea Monster¡¯ Sizemore wouldn¡¯t dare be so rude to the king and his fianc¨¦?¡±


    ¡°No, the problem is G¨¹nter. Still remember that moving speech he made? The way I see it, he just didn¡¯t say ¡®might not make it back alive¡¯ aloud. He obviously knows this mission is very dangerous, and in the mood he¡¯s in now, he would never let us tag along.


    ¡°¡­ About that, Shou Shimaron is very dangerous.¡±


    ¡°But G¨¹nter is conducting an official visit as special ambassador, there shouldn¡¯t be any dangers, right?¡±


    After an emotional transformation, Lord von Christ, who at some point became ¡®real G¨¹nter¡¯, personally volunteered to head to Seisakoku, and no matter what anyone else said he refused to listen. Since I have no idea what his political methods are, all I could do was to try and stop him with all I got, and finally his tear ducts started to loosen up.


    ¡°I say, G¨¹nter, even if the virtual live conference failed, there¡¯s no need for you to volunteer yourself to make up for it!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. G¨¹nter, this mission should be mine anyway. Don¡¯t tell me that after the Yuki G¨¹nter and Kiku G¨¹nter incident, the screws in your brain have gone loose?¡±


    ¡°Ah, then next time why don¡¯t you try becoming Kuzuyu G¨¹nter? Yuki, Kiku, Kuzuyu¡­ hey, it¡¯s a word-connecting game!¡±


    ¡°*sob* Your Majesty, I never thought that you would be so worried for me, you really are a good king who appreciates your officials. Coming into contact with Your Majesty¡¯s beautiful and pure soul, I, von Christ G¨¹nter, feels like I might melt. However, please allow me to complete just this one mission. Even if our fate as king and minister will be broken, I am still willing to head for that dangerous land! Oh~ Your Majesty, just the thought of never seeing your beautiful black eyes again¡­ No, I should say ¡®not seeing your eyes for now¡¯, my little heart beats painfully, like ¡®payo-payo¡¯, in my chest.¡±


    Even the way the way he praises is unique.


    What¡¯s really surprising, is the ease with which Gwendal agreed, and every other noble present even gave him the ¡®honor¡¯ of being special ambassador. Even Lady Anissina, who never has a good word for men, agreed,


    ¡°Come to think of it, maybe you are very suited for it.¡±


    Why? What could be in the heart of Shou Shimaron? Something that suits super bishies?!


    When I came to that idea, I was already excitedly planning my stowaway.


    So we hid in the wooden crates filled with food, and then we were sent onto the departing ¡°Friends on the Sea¡±. Captain Sizemore is a brave but gentle strongman, and also a good guy who¡¯s secretly worried about his receding hairline. Although it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t know him, but since he has an important position in the navy, I don¡¯t dare to openly ask him to help me stowaway. If I did, he would most likely be torn between G¨¹nter and I, and lose even more hair over it. That¡¯s why I decided to fight alone, but why on earth did the easily seasick Wolfram have to come along too?¡±


    I¡¯m really worried because there¡¯s no telling when he¡¯ll puke. And our knees have been knocking each other since just now, in a really painful way too.


    ¡°This place really is cramped, huh? A space like this can¡¯t help but remind you of ¡®Poison Lady Anissina¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Ouch! Don¡¯t stretch your legs! Forget about my Windpipe no 1, your sword gets in the way too¡­ What? Why would you mention ¡®Poison Lady Anissina¡¯ at a time like this?¡±


    ¡°Because in one book they described how a purse-fixing expert opened the lid to find Anissina stuffed inside. I brought it if you wanna read it, here!¡±


    Wolfram pulls out a particularly small, around Collector¡¯s Edition[1] sized book. Shouldn¡¯t the cover be intricate leather, though?


    ¡°This is the mass-produced version.¡±


    ¡°M-mass produced Anissina¡­¡±


    ¡°She gave it to me, saying it¡¯s for spreading the teachings, and she wants me to secretly put them in the drawers of all the hotels we stay at.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not as though this is the holy bible, and she didn¡¯t say ¡®spread the word¡¯, but ¡®spread the teachings¡¯?!¡±[2]


    If Lady Cheri is the Love Huntress with the superb methods, then Lady Anissina is the global Poison Lady who transcends worlds? One is the beautiful leader of the Free Love Party, the other is the terrifying founder of the ¡®Poison Lady Anissina¡¯ cult. It¡¯s hard to tell which one is more impressive, and I have no intention of commenting either.


    I cheat by using my pointer finger to touch the pages inside. What I¡¯m doing will probably shock even the super-powered people of China, but that¡¯s because I read much faster with my fingers than with my eyes.


    ¡°Damn¡­ As expected of the latest printing technology, there¡¯s barely any difference between the printed parts and the white parts when it comes to touch, I can feel only a teeny tiny difference. Guess I can¡¯t read in this dark place then. Hmm¡­ What does it say?¡±


    ¡°When the repairman opens the cover of the purse, a blinding light shines into his eyes.¡±


    ¡°Waa!¡±


    And at that moment the world really did suddenly shine before our eyes, I was even surprised that even the mass-produced books would have magic on them. Right now, a light even more piercing than a spotlight shines in from above, where the cover has been lifted off completely.


    Crap, we¡¯ve been discovered by the kitchen crew!


    ¡°... That¡¯s weird?!¡±


    He probably thought he was seeing things. The man closes the lid immediately, then opens it again, staring at Wolfram and I, who are in turn staring at the ceiling. Besides the position of the light that hides his face from my sight, I notice that the man¡¯s head is particularly shiny. His scalp is rubbed till it¡¯s shiny as a mirror, reflecting the light from the lamp.


    ¡°Eehh--?! Who did this, who mistook His Majesty and His Excellency for food?¡±


    What a familiar voice.


    ¡°Shh--! Shh--! It¡¯s not what you think, Dakaskos!¡±


    Turns out he¡¯s Lord von Christ G¨¹nter¡¯s miscellaneous man, Lilit Latchie Nanata Micotan Dakaskos. It took me forever to remember his full name, but whenever I say it he starts crying. That shaven head gleaming, Dakaskos repeatedly wipes his hands on his lacy apron.


    ¡°Milords, what are you doing in the fruit crates? Are you conducting some sort of experiment?¡±


    ¡°Before that, why are you wearing one of those shoujo dreamy aprons? When did you become Sizemore¡¯s chef?¡±


    ¡°No, no. Actually last time after I returned home to try and make my wife happy, I ended up making her more and more angry instead. As a result, I had to decide between ¡®silence is golden¡¯, or sleeping separately at home. Since even staying home was so miserable, I decided to change my profession and find a job that keeps me away from home for long periods of time, eventually stumbling across Captain Sizemore¡¯s recruitment drive. I¡¯m still an apprentice supplies soldier, though, living the ¡®every day is peeling day¡¯ life. If milords keep staying in the crates, you¡¯ll probably rendezvous with the head of the kitchen shortly.¡±


    ¡°Rendezvous? That won¡¯t do, we¡¯ll be very troubled.¡±


    Aside from the naggy and friendly but not very bright Dakaskos, we strictly forbid him from telling anyone else, and then we leave the food storage. Even using magical propelling energy, it takes at least seven days to get to Shou Shimaron. Add that to the changes in the weather, and it¡¯ll take more than ten days. Even though it¡¯s not even halfway yet, but since we¡¯ve already been discovered, there¡¯s no more need to hide in the cramp little crate.


    Dakaskos half looks like he¡¯s gonna cry when he says it¡¯s still better if we report to the captain, but just thinking about how badly G¨¹nter will scold us, we decide to keep as few people in the loop as possible.


    ¡°After all, we¡¯re talking about Lord von Christ G¨¹nter here, if his jealousy turns to hatred, he¡¯ll definitely shoot beams out of his eyes, and supersonic rays out of his mouth and curse us to death!¡±


    ¡°How could you say that? Your Majesty! Then what about me, who hid milords in my room? Is it okay if I get punished?¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Eek!¡±


    Perhaps because he¡¯s imagining some scary scene, all the baby hairs on Dakaskos¡¯ scalp stand on end. Farewell, Dakaskos. We¡¯ll never forget the great sacrifice of your head¡­ No. We¡¯ll never forget the light of your life.


    Even though we¡¯ve moved from the food storage to the cabin, we still spend each day in hiding. We¡¯ve escaped from the darkness and suffocating space, but in a high-level kitchen apprentice¡¯s room with only one bed, it doesn¡¯t take much to guess that there won¡¯t be an attached bathroom. So we have to keep our guard up whenever we want to go to the bathroom, even going in disguise lest we be noticed. Having tied up my black hair with a scarf, I feel like a weird chef with no nationality. As for Wolfram, he wore a white chef¡¯s hat and immediately transformed into a cute little cook.


    In the daytime when there are more people around, we can only mope around in the room, sometimes sleeping on the simple and small bed that looks like a stretcher, sometimes reading ¡®Poison Lady Anissina¡¯ carefully. I haven¡¯t read a book so seriously in a long time, perhaps even since I read the baseball rule manual. I even memorized the long-winded lines, imitating all thee voices from old people to little girls. After we get back, I¡¯ll read it to Greta immediately. My reading skills have become surprisingly good, children¡¯s books really are useful for beginners to the language.


    ¡°L-let m-me continue reading--¡±


    ¡°Hang in there, Yuuri! If you go on like this, you¡¯ll get poisoned!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just worried about the perpetual victim, Gwe Dal!¡± It¡¯s really very scary.


    Once the sky goes dark, and the activity outside decreases, we¡¯re free to enter and leave the room, as long as we¡¯re careful. Just like how the dads would duck into the balcony to sneak a smoke, we¡¯d stay on a corner of the deck for a breath. After letting the cold breeze blow past his cheeks, Wolfram finally recovers from his seasickness.


    Since this isn¡¯t a luxurious cruise like last time, there aren¡¯t any balls after meals or social activities like a saloon. I don¡¯t blame them, this ship is headed for a country on bad terms with us, after all. But this is still one of Shin Makoku¡¯s famous large-scale battleships, so there are plenty of basic entertainment facilities for the soldiers. From a distance I can hear the lively sounds of a violin, and the timely cheers are proof.


    Wolf and I loiter around a corner near the stern of the ship where no one patrols, not saying much. The crew¡¯s merry singing and the steady rhythm of the waves fill my ears.


    The only thing bobbing on the surface is the light from ¡®Friends on the Sea¡¯¡ªthere¡¯s not a star in sight.


    ¡°Yuuri.¡±


    ¡°Mm?¡±


    ¡°If you want to, go over there and have some fun.¡±


    ¡°Where do you mean by ¡®there¡¯? The crew¡¯s drinking party? Please, you know that I don¡¯t touch smokes or alcohol. And our disguise this time is so simple, what if we¡¯re discovered? Don¡¯t forget, we¡¯re currently in the complicated position of ¡®stowaways¡¯, you could call this Mission Impossible: Stowaway!¡±


    ¡°As long as you¡¯re happy.¡±


    Leaning on the painted-white railing, Wolfram says while looking into the sea.


    ¡°That¡­ I mean, you like mixing with people lower in status than you, right? Even if you¡¯re in the capital, you¡¯ll just sneak out of the castle straight away, even in Covenant Castle you like to stick around the kitchens or the stables. Basically¡­ Well, you¡¯re always with Conrad, so I just thought that the lively atmosphere would suit you.¡±


    ¡°Oh-- I see.¡±


    Gripping the cold iron railing, I gaze into the waves too. Right now my heart is filled with an endless sense of unease, and I start to suspect: will I ever reach the shore?


    ¡°Although it¡¯s a little lonely, but I never thought of mixing with them, y¡¯know. This ship is headed from Shou Shimaron with a heavy duty. Personally, I believe that this journey will definitely be a safe one, but everyone else doesn¡¯t think so, do they? Just like that time in the imperial meeting, I¡¯m sure there are still a lot of people who think they¡¯re the enemy. Maybe some of them feel sure that they¡¯ll be attacked, and have mentally prepared themselves to enter enemy territory.¡±


    When my arm and waist hits the railing, my sour muscles cry out in pain in spite of myself.


    ¡°But it never occurred to me that everyone is living so warily, it¡¯s just impossible to imagine, that¡¯s why I don¡¯t want to disturb one of their rare days of peace. If their boss suddenly walks into their free-for-all party, there¡¯s no way they can relax, huh? I don¡¯t care at all whether they talk to me respectfully or not, but if I cause them to worry then I won¡¯t be able to get over it myself.¡±


    I subconsciously shake my head.


    ¡°¡­I don¡¯t want to ruin their fun, and besides¡­¡±


    Suddenly there are cheers, followed by enthusiastic applause¡ªmaybe someone¡¯s having a drinking match. At that moment, even the corners of my lips lift naturally. Let¡¯s just hope that no one collapses due to acute alcohol poisoning.


    ¡°Besides, I¡¯m not alone here either.¡±


    ¡°Hmph, you finally have some awareness as a leader?¡±


    I can hear the purposely suppressed joy in his voice.


    ¡°It depends on the time and location, Wolf. Time and location.¡±


    I really don¡¯t know which one of us should be feeling embarrassed now.


    ¡°If you want to drink, why don¡¯t you get some wine from the kitchen? It¡¯s okay, you don¡¯t have to abstain from alcohol just because I do. You¡¯re already eighty-two, after all, though it¡¯s true that you should take care of your liver.¡±


    ¡°If I get drunk and end up interrogated by a certain someone, you¡¯ll laugh at me for the rest of my life¡­ Hey!¡±


    Wolfram¡¯s tone and expression changes abruptly as he points to the other side of the ocean, the direction this ship is headed for.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Probably ship lights?¡±


    There¡¯s a flickering light on the surface of the black ocean. But those lights start increasing immediately, and approach us at a fairly fast speed. The sentry yells on the top of his lungs, and there¡¯s a sudden commotion in the ship. The night duty crew start running across the deck.


    Since the speed and distance with which we approach each other is similar, they conclude that the torchlight is coming from another large-scale battle ship, but at least it¡¯s not an entire fleet or army.


    ¡°Hey hey hey, don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s pirates again--¡±


    ¡°How can it be? We¡¯re already in Shimaron territory, surely there aren¡¯t pirates who are that stupid, right? I¡¯d sooner believe that¡¯s a giant squid¡­¡±


    Upon hearing that, Wolfram starts shaking.


    ¡°Why, Wolf, are you scared of squids?¡±


    ¡°Y-you wouldn¡¯t understand how scary that can be! C-calm down, calm down, a squid-fishing boat can¡¯t be that big.¡±


    ¡°Then could it be Shou Shimaron¡¯s warship?¡±


    Our corner near the stern may be quiet, but anywhere that may be attacked is already covered with soldiers, each going to their respective positions. What I can do now, is pray that there won¡¯t be any tragedies.


    ¡°Waa, thank goodness milords are here! Your Majesty, Your Excellency, please retreat to the cabin at once! If you stay in such a dangerous place, once the enemy starts using catapults, who knows what will happen!¡±


    Dakaskos rushes over, hairless head sweating buckets and an inflated life preserver in his arms. He was probably worried we¡¯d drowned or something.


    ¡°That won¡¯t do, I have the duty to watch the battle from the sides. In the worst case scenario, should we lose the highest ranking officer, I¡¯ll have to take his place in charge.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Even though we¡¯re stowaways?! Well, according to what you just said, then I¡¯ll have to watch too. Although I don¡¯t want to be pessimistic, but if the captain and G¨¹nter get hurt, then the responsibility will first fall to me, and not you, Wolf.¡±


    ¡°¡­ I get the feeling that if we leave it to you, you¡¯ll probably surrender straight away¡­¡±


    ¡°Aah¡ªPlease, spare me, young masters--¡±


    The kitchen apprentice half cries, half pleads as he pulls the stubborn duo¡¯s sleeves.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a warship! It¡¯s a patrol ship!¡±


    The sentry above reports.


    Great, now we won¡¯t get ambushed. Speaking of patrol ships, does that mean, uh¡ªAn organization like the marine customs? If they ask for the ship¡¯s credentials, it¡¯ll definitely check out, so by right they shouldn¡¯t have to investigate further. Sizemore should be used to these situations, too. No, perhaps this is a problem that the captain doesn¡¯t even need to deal with it himself, one that can be solved easily by the guard on duty.


    Just when we¡¯re about to return to the cabin, the clouds shading the moon are suddenly swept away by a gust of wind, and faint moonlight shines onto the surface of the sea. A black ship tinted oddly with white enters our field of vision.


    ¡°Wait.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I think there¡¯s something there, between us and the Shimaron ship. Look, there, there¡¯s people on board!¡±


    It¡¯s an old fishing boat with the mast about to break. It¡¯s filled with people, but not too many until they exceed the limit. The passengers are hugging each other tightly, trying to avoid falling overboard. I was just about to ask why there¡¯s a speck of light amidst the black waves, turns out those people are shockingly pale.


    Under the moonlight, their hair and skin are so white, it looks like faded dye.


    I saw two children just like them before. Those girls also had skin so white it was almost transparent, and blonde hair closer to the color of butter.


    Those people can¡¯t do anything else but hug each other and shiver. Although I can¡¯t see them very clearly, it¡¯s obvious that they¡¯re terrified to the point where they don¡¯t dare make any noise anymore.


    ¡°Could it be a refugee boat? I¡¯ve seen those in the films they played in history class, like during the Vietnam War or Cambodian refugees.¡±


    "What countries are you talking about?"


    "What countries, you ask? They''re Earth¡¯s¡ªAh! They attacked! They attacked a small unarmed boat!¡±


    The Shimaron ship doesn¡¯t even bother with a warning, just aimed their catapult into the middle of the fishing boat. A large block like a rock punches a huge hole into the body of the boat, and it immediately starts slanting, throwing the people onboard into the sea.


    ¡°Unforgivable!¡±


    ¡°But they seem to want to rescue those people!¡±


    It¡¯s just as Dakaskos says. The Shimaron ship is pulling all the people in the sea onboard, one by one. There are adults, kids, old folks, even mothers carrying babies. All of them are equally pale as they¡¯re pulled into the patrol ship. On our side, Captain Sizemore seems to have decided against interfering. Although it¡¯s unforgivable for them to attack an unarmed civilian vessel, if they insist that they were just trying to warn the boat and accidently misfired, there¡¯s nothing we can say about it.


    And as long as all the people are rescued, the rest has to be settled between those two parties. We¡¯re not exactly welcome here, either, so it¡¯s only natural that we wouldn¡¯t want to start a riot on another country¡¯s waters.


    ¡°¡­If that attack wasn¡¯t a warning, then Shou Shimaron really is a scary country.¡±


    ¡°Now only you¡¯re saying that, haven¡¯t I been telling you from the start?¡±


    Once most of the passengers are rescued, the patrol ship starts taking precautions against our ship, asking run-of-the-mill questions like, ¡°Where is your ship coming from?¡±, ¡°What are your intentions?¡±, ¡°Where do you plan to land?¡±, and ¡°Have you gotten permission from the Shou Shimaron navy?¡± etc.


    Since there isn¡¯t anything else suspicious except for the two stowaways, the investigation goes smoothly. Leaning my arm on the railing to watch the soldiers cause a ruckus, I suddenly shift my gaze to the surface of the sea. In the black waves after the moon has disappeared, I notice something shaking slightly in the corner of my eye.


    ¡°¡­That¡¯s weird¡­¡±


    Just underneath us, there¡¯s a white object standing out against the pitch black.


    I use my 2.0 vision to look closely.


    It¡¯s an arm? ¡°Ah, Your Majesty?!¡±


    Before I¡¯ve completely confirmed whether or not it¡¯s an arm, I¡¯ve already tossed the lifebuoy in Dakaskos¡¯ arms down. The rope curves beautifully, the inflatable landing on the water.


    Two pale, thin arms finally grab a hold of the life preserver. But what¡¯s surprising is that there¡¯s someone else clinging tightly to the person whose head has already broken the surface.


    Normally, this is when I should be yelling, ¡°Hang in there! Just a little more!¡± to encourage the ones in the water, but seeing the way they barely even dare to pant, I suddenly feel that we shouldn¡¯t make a scene either.


    ¡°Hold on, I¡¯m coming down to save you! Tie the rope around your waists!¡±


    ¡°Bring the rope over here, and tie it there. Yuuri, switch positions with Dakaskos. Are they two children?¡±


    ¡°I-I think so.¡±


    Wolfram mutters, ¡°Then we¡¯ll do it ourselves,¡± and grabs the rope behind me. The Shou Shimaron patrollers and our own crew don¡¯t notice this little rescue mission at the back.


    After struggling with the rope for a while, two slender bodies are finally pulled near the deck. The white hands that were clinging desperately onto the lifebuoy, now grab the round railings tightly. We wildly tug at the children¡¯s hair and clothes, dragging them onboard.


    ¡°¡­F-finally, we¡ªwe saved them.¡±


    ¡°Looks we should send them to the healthcare room now, and we¡¯d better return them to the Shou Shimaron as soon as possible too, it¡¯d be better for them to stay with the others.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, there are so many of them there, if there are o-only two here, i-it must be r-really scary.¡±


    You can¡¯t be serious, Shibuya Yuuri? Just that little bit of exertion already has you panting so badly?


    The duo that we saved are reduced to all fours on the deck too, desperately trying to catch their breath. They point at me with their fingers several times, but then they immediately put their hands down, probably trying to say something but can¡¯t find the breath to form the words.


    The language that comes with the irregular breathing, is one we¡¯ve never heard before.


    Their limbs are lithe and long, their skin as white as those adults. They have pale blonde hair, although it only reaches around their chins. Even the weak oil lamp can illuminate their skinny bodies, but only those rare golden eyes are shining brightly.


    They look exactly the same, reminding me of the girls I met in Dai Shimaron.


    Jason and Freddy, a pair of beautiful twins with amazing powers. I remember someone said they were shinzokus brought in from another country.


    ¡°So, these two are also¡­ shinzokus?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    I stop Dakaskos, who wanted to keep the two of them standing, while Wolfram says with a solemn expression,


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid they¡¯re probably from Seisakoku.¡±


    ¡°What?! By Seisakoku you mean the country in lockdown? Are all the people there Jason and Freddy?! No, I mean, are they all shinzoku who look like Jason and Freddy?¡±


    Perhaps because they understand that we¡¯re saying the name of their country, because one of the strong kids holding onto the lifebuoy suddenly raises his head. I know it¡¯s very rude to stare, but he should be a boy. The other¡¯s a girl. Both of them look around twelve, thirteen years old. Although I can¡¯t tell which one of them is older, the two of them do look very similar.


    ¡°¡­Save¡­¡±


    We still can¡¯t communicate.


    ¡°Your Majesty, take mine too.¡±


    Seeing that I¡¯ve taken off my jacket to put over one of the children, Dakaskos hurriedly hands over his. The adult coat wraps both of them up completely, when suddenly the girl starts sniffling, eventually bawling with a rough voice. The boy ¨Cwe don¡¯t know if he¡¯s her older brother or younger brother¡ªscolds her shortly, but her tears continue flowing unbidden, like a broken dam.


    ¡°Ah¡ªSorry, your bodies are still soaked. Go inside, it¡¯s warmer in there. And don¡¯t be so sad¡­ Not working? Oh, yeah, take this.¡±


    I pull down the scarf around my hair, and hand it to her so she can wipe her tears.


    Unexpectedly, both their bodies suddenly stiffen.


    ¡°Crap, sorry. You¡¯re scared of being touched, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    But the siblings¡¯ eyes are trained on my black hair. Shoot, black hair and eyes are an ominous sign to everyone except the mazoku. Seeing something so unlucky after experiencing such a trauma, anyone would be unsettled. If a black cat runs across my path when I¡¯m cycling, I know I¡¯d feel really depressed.


    ¡°I won¡¯t do anything. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t do anything at all. Black hair IS nothing to be scared of--"


    ¡°¡­zoku?¡±


    The boy opens and closes his mouth, pointing at me (whose voice had suddenly gone all weird). The unfamiliar sound he squeezes out of his throat is a word that we finally understand.


    ¡°¡­Mazoku?¡±


    ¡°Mazoku? That¡¯s right!¡±


    He quickly grabs my hand and pulls it to his chest. I sense that behind me, Wolfram and Dakaskos already have their respective weapons in their hands. The pure white boy puts a trembling finger on my palm, slowly making a movement that he himself wants to confirm.


    His pointer draws out a fixed line.


    ¡°Save¡±


    ¡°Save? Do you want me to save you? But you see, your friends are already fine. Just now all of you wanted aid from the Shou Shimaron ship, right? You¡¯ll be reunited with your family real soon, if you don¡¯t even want to change out of your wet clothes and return home as soon as possible, I¡¯ll go contact them now--¡±


    He shakes his head, as white and as beautiful as a bubblehead doll, then writes on my palm again.


    ¡°Mazoku¡±


    ¡°Save¡±


    And then a high-pitched alarm rings somewhere in my brain.

 Volume 9 - CH 5

    A language barrier brings some considerable pressure.


    Since I¡¯ve never gone overseas on my own before, this is my first time experiencing that.


    ¡°The closest I got to this, would be the first Star Tour¡­¡±


    Back then, Adalbert had suddenly appeared and turned on my inner translator. Although his methods weren¡¯t very good, you can¡¯t deny that it was convenient.


    ¡°Oh, yeah, why don¡¯t we use Adalbert¡¯s move by grabbing my head? I remember that¡¯s houjutsu, right? Since these children are shinzokus, their houryoku should be really good. If so, we¡¯ll just let them grab out heads, then we can communicate!¡±


    ¡°The condition is your soul must retain memories of that language, but these kids¡¯ souls may never have left Seisakoku.¡±


    ¡°Right. Ah¡ªDarn, this is hopeless!¡±


    Even though the dialect does change here and there, but the language I use in Shin Makoku also works on human lands, so I always thought there was only one common language in this world, so we don¡¯t even need translators. But then again, it seems that mazoku and human cultures are interconnected, and that doesn¡¯t apply to shinzokus.


    The two children we pulled from the sea are cuddling together on Dakaskos¡¯ simple bed. Since we have to be stealthy about it, we could only bring them here. The already cramp room now has five people squeezing in it, which it obviously wasn¡¯t designed for. Maybe they were even more comfortable on that little boat. But as we¡¯d brought in three chairs from the dining room, there¡¯s at least place for us to sit.


    ¡°To be honest, you guys should have a hot bath first.¡±


    But it¡¯s only evening now, so there should still be people using the big bath inside. All we can do now is give the pale duo clean clothes and some food, then wrapping them up in insulation, to try and warm them up a bit. If it weren¡¯t for their different hair lengths, the way they look now, both hands cradling a steamy hot cup, would make anyone suspect they¡¯re actually the same person.


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask again, then. What do you guys really want to say?¡±


    The boy grabs my palm, writing ¡®mazoku¡¯ and ¡®save¡¯ again. It seems he¡¯s only learned these two words somewhere. I hold my head and say,


    ¡°Problem is, I have no idea what you mean. I can¡¯t understand at all! Do you want to save the mazoku? Or do you want us to save someone specific? You gotta clear up this point, at least!¡±


    ¡°Looks like we¡¯d better discuss this with the captain.¡±


    Dakaskos keeps bring towels, clothes, and leftover soup back and forth, and now he¡¯s saying that as he makes his second cup of tea, eyebrows drooping. From the very start he really wanted to report to Captain Sizemore.


    ¡°But if we do that, then we¡¯ll have to send these two back to the Shimaron ship, y¡¯know. They purposely avoided being rescued by that patrol ship, and were even willing to be separated from the rest of the group to swim to us. Personally, I think there must a reason behind it.¡±


    ¡°Then we should at least report this to His Excellency G¨¹nter.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s even worse!¡±


    Wolfram refutes this suggestion immediately too. If he finds out that we stowed away, he¡¯ll definitely send us back to Shin Makoku straight away.


    ¡°¡­What a bother, why can Jason and Freddy speak the common language then?¡±


    ¡°Because they grew up in Dai Shimaron!¡±


    Oh, yeah. Even if they¡¯re all shinzokus, their culture and education will change according to their surroundings. Speaking of which, I wonder if those twins have safely arrived back home? I asked the Dugard brothers to escort them back on the high-speed vessel. If their hometown is Seisakoku, then the brothers can only go as far as the manmade island.


    ¡°If only we can ask them about real situation behind the lockdown¡­ Hmm?¡±


    The shinzoku boy says something that sounds to us like ¡®roll shit roll shit¡¯[1], shaking my shoulders. Then he grabs my arm with even more force than before.


    ¡°¡­Ja¡ªJa¡­¡±


    ¡°Eh, no, no, I¡¯m not Jason, Jason and Freddy are shinzokus, like you. They¡¯re not here, technically they should already be back in your home country.¡±


    ¡°Suusamarakashi!¡±


    ¡­I can¡¯t understand what they¡¯re saying at all, but I use similar sounds to say that it is ¡®Suusamarakashi¡¯[2]. The siblings look (temporarily) relieved, excitedly discussing something. Then the boy grabs my hand and puts it to his cold chest, saying simply,


    ¡°Zeta.¡±


    And he immediately moves my hand to the girl next to him, sticking it to her chest forcefully.


    ¡°Zuusha.¡±


    Standing behind me, Dakaskos mumbles,


    ¡°Could that be their names?¡±


    Names? I look at the two children before me, and find that they¡¯re smiling sheepishly.


    ¡°Names? That¡¯s right, Dakaskos! Of course, those must be their names! So you¡¯re Zeta, and that girl is Zuusha? So the older sister is Zuusha, and the younger brother is Zeta? That¡¯s great, Zeta, even though you¡¯ve only told us your names, I¡¯m really happy! I¡¯m Yuuri, this pretty boy here is Wolfram, and the shiny baldy is Dakaskos. REPEAT AFTER ME.¡±


    ¡°PETER?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not Peter.¡±


    Because I spoke too quickly, they didn¡¯t get to repeat it again, but they smile happily anyway, nodding in reply.


    ¡°Huh, since we can already introduce ourselves, it seems that sign language can still work as communications. I guess they know that Jason is a name.¡±


    This time Zeta starts echoing me. He¡¯s holding his (possibly) older sister, Zuusha¡¯s hand, both of them looking proud and pleased. Since their voices are filled with such liveliness, I can¡¯t help but repeat after them.


    ¡°Jason.¡±


    ¡°Jason!¡±


    ¡°Ja¡ªson.¡±


    ¡°Edison.¡±


    It¡¯s just like a party on Friday the 13th, except that last name has nothing to do with any of it.


    But the foreign children who went through so much trouble just to tell me their names suddenly turn serious, the siblings start whispering to each other. Perhaps after coming to some conclusion, the two of them nod their heads firmly. Zuusha reaches into the clothes they discarded aside, pulling out a piece of pale white paper folded into a tiny square, and hands it to me.


    ¡°Is this for me?¡±


    ¡°¡­Jason¡­ Freddy¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm? What? What are you saying? That Jason and Freddy wrote this?¡±


    I desperately try to calm my shaking fingers, struggling with the wet paper folded four times. It took a while to for me to get it open without tearing it, but the words are already blurred by the seawater. This piece of paper might have been torn from a larger sheet, because it¡¯s not a complete rectangle.


    ¡°Looks like another unreadable letter.¡±


    Although it¡¯s an extremely simple piece, the handwriting is big and slanted, so ugly it¡¯s like they were written with the left hand¡­ No, I mean, the handwriting is very unique. The whole paper is dyed by the reddish-brown ink, becoming nothing more than a dyed piece of paper, though there seems to be something that looks like a signature at the bottom.


    ¡°Ahh¡ªvaguely¡­ I can see Ja-son, and the other is Freddy. It¡¯s true, this was written by those girls! Why would you have a letter they wrote? Do you know them? Did you make friends with them in Seisakoku? Are the twins all right? What about the other children we sent back?¡±


    ¡°Give me that!¡±


    Seeing as I didn¡¯t even look at the letter before bombarding the children with questions, a hassled Wolfram snatches away the paper. He¡¯s careful not to damage it, though, and then he carefully spreads it over a chair as a replacement for a table.


    ¡°Seems like those twins really did grow up in Shimaron, because this is written in the common language. Judging from these words, though, they probably never received a proper education.¡±


    ¡°Most of the words are illegible, why didn¡¯t they use an oil-based ink to waterproof it?¡±


    As soon as those pompous words left my mouth, Wolfram glares at me fiercely. That¡¯s right, the spoiled and stubborn former prince.


    ¡°¡­Sorry, oil-based inks weren¡¯t invented here yet, right? Even so, you don¡¯t have to look at me like that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s blood.¡±


    He touches the part that he painstakingly deciphered, sniffs it a little and repeats,


    ¡°It¡¯s written with blood.¡±


    ¡°Blood? Whose blood? What does this mean? Uh¡ªAre you talking about a curse or something?¡±


    Dakaskos moans painfully, then, beginning with, ¡°Please, no offense, milords¡±, he says,


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid they went to such drastic measures because they couldn¡¯t find any stationary, I¡¯m guessing there were no pens, ink or paper ready then. This paper looks like it was torn from a paper bag, and they probably wrote it using a fingernail stained with blood on a paper that doesn¡¯t absorb water, that¡¯s why the words vanish once they touch seawater¡ªbecause I received a letter like this once.¡±


    He rubs his head, his expression complicated.


    ¡°This type of letter is usually found on those returning from the battlefield, only most of the time¡­ they can only be found on those killed in action.¡±


    ¡°Da--¡±


    I can¡¯t even say his name in one breath. The two children stand shoulder to shoulder, looking our way.


    ¡°You mean, these are usually found on corpses¡­ So, Jason and Freddy¡­¡±


    I swallow the painful words ¨C¡°are already dead¡±¡ªback down.


    ¡°Don¡¯t jump to conclusions, Yuuri. For now we can only be certain that they aren¡¯t in the most optimistic of situations. As for soldiers, they have that kind of will because they already prepared themselves mentally before going to war. Those twins aren¡¯t in the middle of a raging battlefield, and besides, if they really are dead, how can they write a letter?¡±


    Wolfram thumbs the recognizable part, helping me deduct the name and simple contents.


    ¡°And here, this should be the word ¡®save¡¯. They¡¯re not using the verb properly, though. And see here, Yuuri, this is your name¡­ Aah!¡±


    Next to my name, there¡¯s a vaguely visible word.


    ¡°Apologize.¡±


    ¡°¡­What¡¯s there to apologize for?¡±


    I spread my right palm out wide, wanting to cover up this tragic letter. Because I don¡¯t want to read it anymore, and I don¡¯t want anyone else to know what it says, either.


    ¡°Why would those children want to apologize to me? There¡¯s nothing to apologize for, right? Why the hell would they go to all those lengths to write a letter like this? All they wanted was to go home, and all I did was send them home, why the hell would they need to apologize to me?¡±


    I¡¯m remembering the time we first met. They were surrounded by a thin veil of pure white, perhaps a trick of the weak winter sunlight, so that I could not pull my eyes away. However you look at it, they¡¯re perfectly symmetrical, and if you look closely, their irises are deep gold, scattered with faint green. That beauty is already beyond human, and, different from the forceful nature of the mazoku, there¡¯s a sickly yet fantastical sense in their beauty.


    The unique way they talk, without any suffixes, honestly left me frustrated in the beginning.


    But they¡­


    The chair that I sweep away in my anger crashes into the wall with a violent noise.


    ¡°Damn!¡±


    Still angry, I ram my fists into the wall, scaring the two on the bed to the point of shaking once. Their faces are so close to each other they¡¯re almost sticking together, and they¡¯re holding each other¡¯s hands tightly, heads lowered without a word. That¡¯s when I realize that they¡¯re afraid.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not blaming you two.¡±


    But I still can¡¯t suppress this feeling. What I¡¯m doing must be terrifying these poor children, who just had to fight for their lives, even more. If we could understand each other, at least I could still explain the reason. But under these circumstances, acting so emotional in front of them, really is a very bad move.


    Since I can¡¯t explain, I walk out of the room and lean on the railing in the night, noting that Wolfram had issued simple orders to stop Dakaskos, who wanted to chase after me.


    ¡°Damn! You gotta be kidding me! What kind of a world is this?!¡±


    I punch the walls, kick the deck, even throw around the life preservers on the hooks.


    I even toss the rope we used earlier into the sea, stepping into the puddle we left behind.


    Sensing my extreme emotions, the maseki on my chest starts heating up.


    Although the weather is not hot in the slightest, cold sweat beats up at the area next to my right eye. When I¡¯m miserable to the point of using my shoulders to catch my breath, an energetic voice comes from behind me.


    ¡°Gotten it all off your chest yet?¡±


    ¡°As if!¡±


    I grip the cold white railing, staring into the black waves as I speak, not looking at Wolfram no matter what. Then I purposely release a deep breath¡ªseems like my heart rate has gone back to normal.


    ¡°¡­Sorry, I get too angry too easily. My personality really is straight and forward, heh.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    His calmness surprises me. Did he always sound like this? No, I should say the way he¡¯s talking now sounds more like his oldest brother.


    ¡°I noticed¡­ that I¡¯m always losing control in front of you.¡±


    ¡°Really? But you¡¯re feeling upset for the injustice those children have met. That¡¯s worth respecting.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t compliment me. It¡¯s only right.¡±


    Before I regain my normal ability to think, I hope the sea and the night sky can comfort me. At least let me relax my fingers, holding on to the railing with an unnatural strength. The Shimaron ship is still nearby. And there are still small rowboats going back and forth from there to ¡®Friends on the Sea¡¯, on the ocean right under the large ships¡¯ decks.


    ¡°I remember saying so before.¡±


    He should be leaning on the wall, arms crossed. Lord von Bielefeld uses a stance similar to that of the gentler of his two brothers, saying with a level tone,


    ¡°Whatever it is, as long as it involves the shinzoku, it won¡¯t be good.¡±


    ¡°I heard you, and I know that, I experienced it myself in Dai Shimaron. Even though I didn¡¯t go into shock, the situation back then really was something else.¡±


    That feeling was completely different from your average sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, leaving only weariness and weakness. It¡¯s true, whenever I get involved with the shinzoku, the Maou¡¯s soul inside me becomes sorta off. But still¡­


    ¡°But still you won¡¯t just sit by and watch, right? Fine, fine, I don¡¯t need to ask to know.¡±


    Blonde hair glittering in the lamplight, the former mazoku prince shakes his head in surprise, or should I say, faking a surprised look.


    ¡°You want to go to Seisakoku and save those twins, right? I really can¡¯t stand you, you just want to help every Tom, Dick and Harry you meet! The way this is going, I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re probably gonna say something like ¡®all for one, and one for all¡¯[3]!¡±


    What should I do if it really gets to that? Wait, in that case I won¡¯t have anything to eat.


    Just thinking about me going vegetarian, I almost force myself to change my mind. But that letter of blood is already engraved into my mind, and it¡¯s really not that easy to convince me to change it.


    ¡°But, Wolf¡­ I promise you, I won¡¯t leave your side halfway through, this much I can guarantee.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°So let me go.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the point of you telling me?¡±


    Wolf lifts his chin as he speaks, looking like a patriarch lecturing the disappointing son.


    ¡°But don¡¯t forget, Yuuri, you¡¯re the Maou, the king of the Shin Makoku. You want to fix all the injustices in the world, fine, but you can¡¯t forget your country and people.¡±


    ¡°I never forgot.¡±


    Never once have I thought myself capable of solving all the problems in the world. Because even if I have strange and wonderful powers I never would have even dreamed back on Earth, even if I was lifted onto the throne, I still don¡¯t think I can save anything. After all, I have absolutely no confidence in myself, to this day thinking of myself as nothing more than your average baseball kid.


    ¡°But Shin Makoku has Gwen¡­ Lord von Voltaire, right? And then there¡¯s you, G¨¹nter, and Lady Anissina. Even if I¡¯m not doing enough, you guys will help me solve the problems, right?¡±


    ¡°About that, who asked you to be one of history¡¯s rare nooby kings? That¡¯s why even Brother has to constantly put his all into helping you.¡±


    ¡°Mm, but sometimes¡­¡±


    Sometimes I¡¯ll feel uneasy too.


    Wondering, what role do I play? Where do I belong?


    ¡°Yuuri?¡±


    ¡°Aah, sorry, it¡¯s nothing, nothing. God! How did it get this messy?! Just looking at it makes me embarrassed.¡±


    Once I¡¯ve calmed down and looked around, I realize that the mess I made really is unbearable. The life preservers on the deck are all over the place, buckets have been kicked over, if you walk without paying attention you stand a real chance of tripping over them. So I obediently pick them up one by one and return them to their original places. The third son, who¡¯s friendly despite his appearance, helps, and just when we are getting ready to roll the rope back¡ª


    ¡°Please hold on! Eeek¡ªHelp, young masters! Aah, please don¡¯t be so rough--¡±


    Dakaskos¡¯ tragic voice is obviously a cry for help.


    I jump over the buckets we haven¡¯t cleaned up yet and into the corridors, where I see him with his back pressed firmly against the door. He¡¯s blocking five men, protecting the cabin with his life.


    And standing at one side, having brought a subordinate with him, Captain Sizemore looks shocked at his stubborn protests. I was just going to say why, even though his face is obviously very familiar, there¡¯s just something off. Turns out he¡¯s grown out a light brown beard, probably because he¡¯s too concerned about the Saint Javier LEVELP[4] hairdo.


    Although I can only see the back of one of the men, but he should be a soldier from Shou Shimaron. Just seeing that cropped ponytail from afar makes his identity fairly obvious. If I walk to the front, I¡¯ll surely see a neatly-trimmed beard, connected to his sideburns by a thin line.


    Because the cropped ponytail is the standard hairstyle for Shou Shimaron soldiers.


    ¡°We¡¯ve searched all the cabins nearby, this is the only one left. We suspect that you have hidden refugees from Seisakoku inside.¡±


    ¡°I-I-I t-t-t-told you there aren¡¯t a-a-a-any refugees--¡±


    ¡°But there were people who saw someone on your ship pull two shinzoku children onboard with rope!¡±


    ¡°What on earth are you doing, Dakaskos? If you say there aren¡¯t any, then just let them search the room and be done with it! Otherwise these patrolmen can¡¯t report back to their ship!¡±


    ¡°I¡ªcan¡¯t--! No matter what you say, I can¡¯t. There aren¡¯t any children in the cabin! Anyway¡ªif my wife finds out about this, she¡¯ll skin me alive--!¡±


    At least Captain Sizemore has accepted what he said. I put the words ¡®good going, using your wife as a shield!¡¯ aside for later, and decide to intervene as the person responsible. I won¡¯t hand those children over to you. Zeta and Zuusha specifically looked to the mazoku, to me, for help. After living sixteen years, a simple lie should be easy as pie.


    ¡°Wait a moment, you people, stop acting like the boss on someone else¡¯s ship! We didn¡¯t rescue any kids!¡±


    At that moment the captain¡¯s eyes are staring at me, mouth falling open in surprise, and the fingers plucking at his beard tangled into a mess.


    ¡°Y-Your Majesty?¡± But of course he didn¡¯t make any noise. Wolfram puts his chef¡¯s hat over my head, thanks, Mr Stubborn. Because it¡¯d be bad if humans from another country saw my black hair. As for my eyes, I can scrape through as long as I keep my gaze on the ground, but hiding my hair completely is another matter altogether.


    ¡°I was listening to you from a side, you really like spouting nonsense, don¡¯t you? We¡¯re not hiding any refugee children, not¡ªhiding¡ªany¡ªchildren--! Even if we really did save any refugee children, we don¡¯t have to have to hand them to you, do we?¡±


    Faced with a rude and anxiously protesting me, the three Shou Shimaron patrolmen scoff in contempt.


    ¡°Captain, this dishwasher seems to be making a fuss about something.¡±


    ¡°What did you say? Dishwasher? Stop joking around!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, what are you saying? So rude, I didn¡¯t wash those dishes myself!¡±


    After hearing what they said, though, I just realize that I¡¯m wearing a kitchen apprentice¡¯s clothes, and since I look like a child just only in my teens, I must be the rookie of rookies, at the most in charge of peeling potatoes. But to Captain Sizemore, it¡¯s a different story. He knows the pissed off my and the angry Wolfram¡¯s true identities, but since he has no idea how to react to this situation his eyes have gone almost all white like a dead fish, even those they aren¡¯t really white.


    But even so, the Shou Shimaron patrolmen are still relentlessly pushing Dakaskos, who¡¯s dead set determined yet still doesn¡¯t know what to do. This man is by nature gentle and passive, his shiny scalp gleaming even shinier under the coat of cold sweat, but it seems to me he¡¯s close to the breaking point, shivering uncontrollably.


    The captain must have noticed something¡¯s up when I showed myself, so he rejects Shou Shimaron¡¯s request solemnly. But the patrolman seems to be of surprisingly high rank, so he isn¡¯t shaken off so easily. I didn¡¯t think that someone of such a high positions would come here personally, and in their conversations they even call him Admiral.


    More and more people gather around to see what¡¯s the commotion. Some yell that they forced their way onto our ship, others even swear at them on purpose. The tipsy soldiers reach for their weapons, making the atmosphere so tense a spark could cause a full-blown confrontation. Things can¡¯t go on like this, I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re an admiral or an admirer, you should be nicer when talking to a king. I mean, please be nicer to me, I¡¯m asking you nicely.


    ¡°Hey hey hey, don¡¯t you know I¡¯m--¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the ruckus so late in the night?!¡±


    A loud and clear voice resounds from behind the crowd, and I lose my chance to bare my fake fangs.


    The wall of seamen start splitting to the sides. A tall man with floating pale grey long hair and a long robe walks over elegantly.


    The beautiful Prime Minister, the super bishie Education Minister, the pretty man whose killer move is the Nosebleed Bomb--- Lord von Christ G¨¹nter.


    ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù


    Lord von Christ uses an annoyed yet still beautiful low voice to ask,


    ¡°What happened here, captain?¡±


    ¡°Your Excellency G¨¹nter!¡±


    There¡¯s Sizemore, who looks obviously relieved, and Dakaskos, whose overwhelming sense of relief has caused his tears and snot to flow freely. And then there¡¯s Wolfram and I, holding my head and squatting on the ground, screaming ¡®Aaaaaaaaaaaaah, it¡¯s all over, he¡¯s here¡¯.


    The education minister was probably busy with his documents, because there¡¯s a pair of small thin-framed glasses sitting on his nose. If he doesn¡¯t open his mouth to speak, his knowledgeable and feminine beauty, suits silver lens perfectly. Problem is, once he notices Wolfram and I, who theoretically shouldn¡¯t be here, his long and beautiful brow jumps upwards abruptly. We¡¯re surprised, though, that his reaction isn¡¯t anywhere near as big as we¡¯d anticipated.


    He purposely bends down, whispering in my ear,


    ¡°What is milord doing here?¡±


    ¡°Umm¡ªUhh, about that¡­. Those old people glasses¡­ No, those spectacles look really good on you, you¡¯re three times even prettier than normal.¡±


    ¡°Your¡­ Normally if I got your praise, my heart would rise into the heavens. But today sucking up to me at the last minute won¡¯t cut it, you know, and Wolfram too.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m real sorry, G¨¹nter. I¡¯m repenting, and I¡¯ll explain to you properly later. But now isn¡¯t the time to talk about that, we¡¯re facing a rare crisis here.¡±


    I send my strong ¡®help me, please¡¯ waves to G¨¹nter through my gaze, trying to make my eyes look moist. It¡¯s a trick I used on my family back in middle school when I wanted them to get me new baseball shoes. Since I¡¯ve grown so much since then, I don¡¯t dare to expect much in the way of results.


    ¡°Mmph!¡±


    G¨¹nter puts his hand by his mouth, half squatting as he leaves my side.


    ¡°T-the reason you two are here, I-I-I¡¯ll get it out of you later!¡±


    Seems like it works. After all, to a centenarian like G¨¹nter, sixteen-year-old me am like a grandson. No matter how tall they grow, a grandson is still a grandson, and even if the kid¡¯s a little spoiled and stubborn, he won¡¯t mind. If I¡¯d known this earlier, I could¡¯ve just used the teary-eyed technique to convince him to take me along.


    Lord von Christ clears his throat deliberately, returning to his efficient official expression, and uses a commanding tone to scatter the gathered crowd. Although many people look unsatisfied, but since it¡¯s the beautiful prime minister¡¯s orders they have no choice but to obey. And so, one by one they go back to their respective stations, cabins, and drinking spots.


    ¡°All right, whatever it is, please say it, Admiral.¡±


    The Shimaron patrolman¡¯s mood has obviously been soured, but even he should have noticed the newcomer¡¯s high status. In short terms he explains his suspicion that we¡¯re hiding refugees, and most likely in that cabin, as well as incidents such as how Dakaskos refused to budge from the door.


    ¡°I see¡­ but I, Lord von Christ G¨¹nter, Special Ambassador of the Shin Makoku with Full Authority under Orders of the Maou, would never allow a riot on my ship. And you are suspecting ¡®Friends on the Sea¡¯, the vessel that I, Lord von Christ G¨¹nter, Special Ambassador of the Shin Makoku with Full Authority under Orders of the Maou, am aboard. Not only is this an act of humiliation against me, Lord von Christ G¨¹nter, Special Ambassador of the Shin Makoku with Full Authority under Orders of the Maou, but also against the entire Shin Makoku navy. Are you clear, you admiral or patrolman something? Our ship declares here and now, that we never rescued any refugees. Or do you not believe what I, Lord von Christ G¨¹nter, Special Ambassador of the Shin Makoku with Full Authority under Orders of the Maou, say?¡±


    Probably scared by the overly long ¡°Special Ambassador of the what-and-what¡±, Ponytail shakes his head with a complicated expression.


    ¡°B-but, you have to give face to us Shimaron patrolmen too!¡±


    ¡°Honestly, you have a point, so¡­¡±


    The patrolmen take a step back and brace themselves for the ¡°Special Ambassador of the dot dot dot summarize the rest¡±.


    ¡°How about we do it this way, you may send your Shou Shimaron soldiers to search the entire ship. Be it the dining hall or the regular toilets, or even the for-display-only golden toilet, you are welcome to enter. Of course, the captain¡¯s wig room included!¡±


    Sizemore presses his head frantically.


    ¡°You can go ahead and search everywhere, you can even get down on all fours to search. But, with the sole exception of my, Lord von Christ G¨¹nter, Special Ambassador of the Shin Makoku with Full Authority under Orders of the Maou¡¯s room.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    The Shimaron men look timid. G¨¹nter lifts his beautifully carved chin, his presence overwhelming everyone else.


    ¡°That much should be obvious, no? After all, I am the Special Ambassador of the Shin Makoku¡­¡±


    ¡°Y-yes. We believe your reputation, we won¡¯t search your room, or any other rooms of high ranking officials.¡±


    Perhaps because he doesn¡¯t want to hear that motto again, the patrolman hurriedly interrupts G¨¹nter. I just never thought G¨¹nter was so happy to be chosen as ambassador.


    ¡°T-then, would this kitchen apprentice quickly make way? We¡¯ve checked all the hiding areas near the deck, this is the only room left.¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t do.¡±


    The mazoku¡¯s excellent Prime Minister doesn¡¯t even glance Dakasko¡¯s ¡®Noo you can¡¯t¡¯ expression, replying without hesitation.


    ¡°Because this is my room.¡±


    What--?


    The ponytailed patrolmen aren¡¯t the only ones surprised. With Wolf and me at the helm, even those few remaining onlookers are shocked to the point their feet stop in mid-air on the way to the door. As for Dakaskos, his jaw fell open too wide and became dislocated. Poor Captain Sizemore¡¯s eyeballs have gone out of focus, one pointing left while the other dangles right, making hid overall appearance rather scary.


    ¡°W-wait, aren¡¯t you Lord von Christ G¨¹nter, Special Ambassador of the Shin Makoku with Full Authority under Orders of the Maou? An official with a status as high as yours, there¡¯s no way you could have been allocated a room in the low level quarters with normal soldiers, or mostly new recruits and apprentice crewmen, right? Even in our Shou Shimaron army, that is unimaginable.¡±


    ¡°To be honest, I was originally allocated a guest¡¯s suite next to the captain¡¯s quarters. But don¡¯t judge me by how I look, I am also a man. I have a man¡¯s rights, and an adult relationship that I¡¯d rather the captain and crew not know about!¡±


    ¡°Adult¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, and a very passionate one, at that.¡±


    What--? Does that sentence mean you have a lover?


    You say you don¡¯t want others finding out, but you said it yourself, G¨¹nter. Captain Sizemore claps his hands over his ears in a delayed motion, but it¡¯s too late.


    ¡°S-so you¡¯re saying this room is for that kind of thing¡­ Wait, w-wait a second!¡±


    The Shou Shimaron soldiers¡¯ expressions of panic are hilarious, and the middle-aged man who seems to have the highest position scratches the beard on his chin as he says,


    ¡°B-but even if this is a room for adult relationships, the location isn¡¯t too logical, is it? There¡¯s a humid sea breeze blowing, the floorboards are covered with seagull droppings, and the walls are so thin than any bedroom conversation can be heard clearly. It¡¯s hard to imagine that you would hide a mistress in a place as bad as this!¡±


    At the word ¡®mistress¡¯, the patrolman with the textbook beard¡¯s neck turns red with embarrassment. Looks like he¡¯s an innocent old uncle, completely unlike what his appearance suggests.


    However, Lord von Christ G¨¹nter replies firmly,


    ¡°I just happen to have that sort of preferences!¡±


    Amazing! G¨¹nter, it¡¯s so rare for you to be so macho. Let me just remind you, the room number is 108[5].


    ¡°T-that sort of preferences, huh¡­ No, no no no, wait! I still don¡¯t get it. Even if Your Excellency has that sort of preferences, just if! Ladies still hope for a romantic love, the woman in a profane relationship with¡­ Mmph, sorry , I mean, the lady sowing seeds of love with Your Excellency would never¡­¡±


    He tosses around his brown ponytail, pointing to the men around.


    ¡°This is the kind of place seamen and buff musclemen wander around, covered in sweat, dust and muscles, there shouldn¡¯t be any romantic atmosphere¡­ Ah. D-d-d-d-d-don¡¯t tell me? Your Excellency¡¯s partner is?¡±


    Lord von Christ G¨¹nter replies agitatedly,


    ¡°I said it before! I just happen to have that sort of preference¡­ Eh?¡±


    Interestingly, the Shimaron man¡¯s face turns from red to blue, then finally to a bleached white. But the only one wavering now seems to be the middle-aged patrolman with the highest position. The other younger subordinates are desperately trying to hold in their laughter.


    ¡°I-if s-so, this door can¡¯t be opened--¡±


    The Shou Shimaron patrolmen start imagining what kind of character would be in that room, then they turn around and slip back to their own ship in a hurry.


    Bet you their hearts are filled with headlines like ¡®The Shocking Truth! Mazoku Official¡¯s Fancy Sexual Preference¡¯, only they can¡¯t discuss the gossip on the spot. Once they get back to their ship, though, they¡¯ll definitely chatter excitedly about it nonstop, telling it to everyone who would listen. Maybe for this reason alone, the group of ponytails leaves the ship even faster than they boarded, without once turning back.


    ¡°Eh, wait? Please wait a second, have you misunderstood something?¡±


    I show my gratitude to the impressive Prime Minister, and pat his shoulder lightly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so upset, G¨¹nter. Liking musclemen isn¡¯t a thing to be ashamed of.¡±


    ¡°Eeeeeh?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, G¨¹nter. Like Mother, she super loves them.¡±


    ¡°Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh--?¡±


    I suddenly feel like I¡¯m seeing Lady Cheri under a faraway sky, yelling,


    ¡°I¡ªsuper¡ªlove¡ªmusclemen--¡±¡­ It¡¯s probably better if Gisela never found out about this.

 Volume 9 - CH 6

    After finding out the reason behind the patrolmen¡¯s quick departure, Lord von Christ starts wailing out loud. He bites a corner of his silk handkerchief, tears pouring from his violet eyes.


    ¡°I never imagined that even Your Majesty would misunderstand me, this is like the end of the world to me¡±--


    ¡°Aww, don¡¯t be so upset, G¨¹nter, I didn¡¯t misunderstand you. Alright, wipe your nose. So what¡¯s wrong with people finding out you like musclemen? Like me, I respect musclemen, I train every day hoping I can gain more muscle. Ahh, okay, okay, wipe your tears.¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty? Bodybuilding?¡±


    He pauses, possibly imagining my face on Adalbert¡¯s body.


    ¡°P-please, reconsider. Your Majesty is perfect enough as you are---¡±


    To a growing teenage boy, that¡¯s a very rude thing to say. Besides, I plan on growing taller, and gaining 30 per cent in weight. Chest hair is in the to-do list too. In other words, I want to look manlier.


    Anyway, all these random topics conveniently makes G¨¹nter forget to ask me about the reason we stowed away. I never knew luck like this existed in the world.


    Zeta and Zuusha are moved to the Special Ambassador¡¯s room, Dakaskos and Sizemore tasked with looking after them. Because we¡¯re almost at Shou Shimaron, and once we land, G¨¹nter, Wolfram and I will have to leave ¡®Friends on the Sea¡¯. Although I really want to go save Jason and Freddy, we still have to complete our main objective here first. After all, we¡¯re here to determine the truth behind the rumors about Shou Shimaron¡¯s urgent diplomatic plans, and if it turns out to be true, we have to stop it. That¡¯s the real reason we crossed the sea from the Shin Makoku in the first place.


    We also got new information from the blood letter. Although even the most knowledgeable of us all, Lord von Christ can¡¯t interpret the Seisakoku language either, but the letter was written in the common language at a kindergartener¡¯s level. Once we read it calmly, with a clear head, there should be plenty more hidden clues.


    ¡°Right here. Vene¡­ It¡¯s not easy, but I think it¡¯s Venera. Since our language has no such verb, it should be a noun? If not a place then a person. So, the word ¡®save¡¯ does not refer to the senders of the letter, but this ¡®Venera¡¯ place or person. As for the twins who are causing Your Majesty¡¯s low mood, perhaps they have something they are more worried for than their own lives.¡±


    Although it¡¯s only a temporary reassurance, G¨¹nter¡¯s words do put my heart slightly at ease. At least this proves that they¡¯re still in a position to be worrying about others.


    ¡°They probably want to save a place or city called Venera, right? If it¡¯s a drought or lack of food, we can still offer some aid. If it¡¯s an unknown plague, however¡­¡±


    We try asking Zeta and Zisha what Venera is, but unfortunately we can¡¯t communicate, as expected. I even try using clumsy hand movements and ugly drawings to get the point across, but all that happens is that they get scared of me. Forget me, even Wolfram the artist loses his self-confidence, hugging his knees at the side and sulking.


    ¡°This messed-up looking puzzle should be ¡®hope¡¯, right? Mm¡­ but what¡¯s supposed to be on the left is on the right, and there¡¯s even a stick in between. As education minister, it¡¯s really hard to allow situations such as this.¡±


    ¡°Probably because they¡¯re not in the habit of writing letters!¡±


    If it was half a year ago, the one surprised would be me, instead of G¨¹nter.


    Having lived in Japan for 16 years, I would never have imagined that there were people who didn¡¯t know how to write. To us, we have to learn not only hiragana and katakana, but also kanji and the English alphabet, even some simple English. It¡¯s normal for us to be able to greet people or name dishes in several languages. But there are still people on this world who don¡¯t have the chance to learn languages, or are even forbidden to do so. The letter in my hands is the best example of this.


    How have Jason and Freddy survived until now? What kind of life are they living now? All these are unknown to me. The only think I can be certain of, is that they are seeking help from the mazoku.


    I don¡¯t want to betray them, and I don¡¯t want to break our promise.


    After meeting the ruler or party in charge of Shou Shimaron, let¡¯s see the situation and make contact with Seisakoku. Not only can we use this chance to search for the twins¡¯ whereabouts, we can also gather information on the place called Venera.


    ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù


    By the time we reach the continent under Dai and Shou Shimaron jurisdiction, six nights have passed.


    The last time I set foot on this land, it was purely due to coincidence, but this time it¡¯s different. This time I¡¯m here of my own free will, even resorting to stowing away to get here.


    Last time, our point of departure was the Gilbert Business Port then we crossed Caloria, heading north following the Longerbal river. But this time, we¡¯re here as the Special Ambassador from the Shin Makoku, so we are directly led into Saralegui Memorial War Port.


    Since we had informed them of our arrival earlier with the ¡®Red Pigeon New Satellite Communications¡¯, the local government has already agreed to let us land. The ¡®Red Pigeon New Satellite Communications¡¯ is three times faster than normal pigeon mail, but they still tend to forget their special position and mix in with other groups, causing slight accident, and to the birds, that isn¡¯t a mistake of the youth. To the customers, although it can be inconvenient to use, they have no other choice if they want the extra speed, what a dilemma!


    Thankfully, the red pigeon arrived at its destination safely, and so ¡®Friends on the Sea¡¯ successfully enters the port. This place is completely different from the Gilbert Business Port, there aren¡¯t any luxurious ships in sight. All the large vessels docked inside, are armored warships.


    Saralegui Memorial War Port.


    That name is familiar to me. That¡¯s the name of the original cropped-ponytail Nigel Weiss ¡®Will Never Die¡¯ Maxine¡¯s most respected liege. Who¡¯d have thought he even put his own name on the facilities? Normally, monarchs don¡¯t tend to do stuff like that while they¡¯re still alive. If I don¡¯t have much confidence in my own accomplishments, I really wouldn¡¯t dare to have my name on anything. Such as the Shibuya Yuuri Memorial Sports Centre, or the Shibuya Yuuri Baseball Musuem, etc.


    It feels even more awkward.


    Writing your name on everything, just like a kindergartener would. (He doesn''t know him yet and he understands him very well)


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Yuuri? Shaking with excitement at the thought of facing the enemy? No wonder, Shou Shimaron caused us mazoku a lot of trouble in that war twenty years ago, didn¡¯t they? Just thinking about it makes even my veins expand with adrenaline. This time, we¡¯ll definitely decide who¡¯s the male and female!¡±


    Wolfram spiritedly says the lines you¡¯d say when you¡¯re being pulled into Miss Anissina¡¯s next experiment, while the ¡®Special Ambassador of the Shin Makoku with Full Authority under Orders of the Maou¡¯, Lord von Christ reminds him,


    ¡°What are you saying, Wolfram? You should be on the ship now, you¡¯re only here as His Majesty¡¯s bodyguard since security in the capital is meager. Therefore, I hope you don¡¯t say or do anything rash, lest you get in our way. Please, carve that into your mind.¡±


    His Highness the Prince LEVEL-1 immediately pouts angrily.


    Of course, we can¡¯t let Shou Shimaron know that the Maou is in this little visiting group. Although the war ended nearly 20 years ago, our relationship is still very tense. If the opposition¡¯s king boldly waltzes onto their land without any prior notice, forget angering all the people of the country, the worst case scenario is that they might use lowly methods to kidnap said monarch, using him as a condition to threaten the Shin Makoku¡­ that¡¯s what smart G¨¹nter said.


    I think he¡¯s worrying over nothing, though.


    ¡°Your Majesty mustn¡¯t let your guard down too much. Once we enter Saralegui City, you won¡¯t be able to have servants by your side as you usually do, Your Majesty must pay attention to this. For your safety, there is still the need to disguise your true identity. Therefore¡­¡±


    We are given the title of the Special Ambassador¡¯s personal chefs. Although it¡¯s a lot higher level than a dishwasher boy, we¡¯re still wearing the kitchen apprentice¡¯s uniform. Since it¡¯s a blue collar uniform, logically speaking, the other kings shouldn¡¯t want to meet me.


    ¡°Aah~ You look exceptional in these clothes, Your Majesty! The pure white top brings out your noble aura, the apron covered in oil stains expresses your liberal nature, full of natural humor. In the past Your Majesty wore mainly black, I never thought that white would also suit your black hair--¡±


    ¡°The way I see it, as long as I¡¯m not completely naked, you¡¯ll praise whatever I wear anyway.¡±


    ¡°If Your Majesty so wishes, I am also willing to praised your naked¡ªMm-kya!¡±


    ¡°More like that¡¯s your wish, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Wolfram gives the perverted-looking G¨¹nter a hard kick from behind. The blonde-haired green-eyed pretty boy¡¯s white clothes are completely different from the weird no-nationality cook¡¯s get-up I¡¯m in, he¡¯s much cuter in comparison. On the tip of that white chef¡¯s hat of his, I can almost imagine a tiny bird about to take flight, singing a crooked song.


    Having transformed ourselves, the three of us get onto a high-speed horse carriage prepared by said country in the Saralegui Port. The odor of hairballs make me peek outside, finally realizing that the carriage is being towed by a few dozen sheeps. Can you even call this a horse carriage?


    On horseback all around us, is the men from the Shou Shimaron Royal Secret Service. Can you even call this a secret?


    And then the one in charge of leading the way today, is the little bit amongst the forest of green, the Royal Bison Squad. Are we running a marathon here?


    ¡°Bison¡­ White bison¡­ Otherwise known as the ¡®Shiro-Bai¡¯[1]¡­ Mm--¡±


    The land route from the war port to the capital Saralegui takes twenty days¡¯ time. Even if the high speed horse carriage goes non-stop at full speed, the most we can shave off is half that time. During the day we speed down the highways, and in the night we stop by a hotel by the roadside to rest. The good thing, though, is that the hotels are really classy, just like the ones you¡¯d see on a travel show.


    All the misery from before feels like a dream now, this really is an elegant and praiseworthy journey of luxury.


    Soaking in the hotel¡¯s famous health hot springs, there really is a ¡®We[2] are Satisfied¡¯ atmosphere around, and I even start humming to myself subconsciously.


    ¡°Mm¡ªThis really is heaven on earth. If I knew it¡¯d be so comfortable, I should go travelling with G¨¹nter from now on--¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty said such kind words¡­ Oh, yeah¡ªG¨¹nter is over the moon¡­ Oh, ye¡ªMmph!¡±


    ¡°Hey¡­ you okay? You¡¯ve been puking a lot, right?¡±


    The sad thing even Wolfram, with his powerful maryoku, has a splitting headache and horrible nausea. To G¨¹nter, whose maryoku is even more formidable, the airsickness bag seems to be an essential. Seems like it¡¯s because this is human land, where humans worship the gods, so it¡¯s full of houryoku or something, making them highly uncomfortable in enemy territory.


    As for me, having been made of Earth DNA, my skin has become smooth and supple due to the effects of the hot spring. You could say I¡¯m in perfect condition.


    Just when those two poor pure-blooded mazoku are reduced to lying still on their beds, a little spark of adventure spirit lights up in me, and I set off on a journey of discovery around the high-end hotel. I¡¯ll say it now, this is not a perverted Peeping Tom plan, neither do I want to use this opportunity to try out the mixed bath, I just want to determine where the escape route is!


    ¡°¡­So why do I stumble across a big pool, now of all times?¡±


    A wooden sign hangs above the Japanese-style block windows, and carved in the Shimaron unique yet illegible creative writing¡ª


    ¡°Male and Female Mixed Bath.¡± [3]


    I don¡¯t feel safe enough just looking at it with my eyes, so just for precautions I touch it again with my hands. It does indeed say Mixed Bath, I definitely didn¡¯t say it wrong. So I put my towel onto my shoulder without a second thought, and sneak from the wide open changing area to the sliding door that leads to the pool. That is the flowery world of a men and women mixed bath. Even if it¡¯s full of those big sisters back then who later changed into big brothers, the sixteen-year-old man, Shibuya Yuuri will never regret it!


    ¡°Bath¡­¡±


    White steam saturates the air, so I can¡¯t see where the pool really is. I didn¡¯t think that it¡¯d be so lively this early in the morning. Add that to the echoing from the walls around us, and I can¡¯t quite recognize what noise that is. There¡¯s the sound of water buckets knocking against each other. I can feel someone desperately scooping water. And then there¡¯s that signature hot spring smell, sharp yet makes one look forward to its healing properties.


    ¡°Is it full?¡±


    ¡°Mm-moo-hoo! Mm-moo-hoo! Moohoomoohoomoohoo--!¡±


    ¡­Moo-hoo?


    I open my eyes as wide as I can to stare, and find that there are countless hairballs floating in the middle of the huge pool.


    ¡°¡­Are those mineral deposits from the hot water?¡±


    ¡°No~ they¡¯re not.¡±


    There¡¯s a woman soaking alone in between the white, beige and light-grey hairballs, the water reaching her chest. Her expression is relaxed as she stretches her arms over the sides of the pool, but that shoulder-length hair with that unique color and that jazz singer¡¯s signature husky voice are extremely familiar to me.


    ¡°No way¡­ Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯d have thought that we¡¯d meet and greet in a place like this, Your Majesty? It¡¯s been so long since we met, so why aren¡¯t I getting a warm passionate reunion hug?¡±


    He is a member of the Shin Makoku Special Forces, the cross-dressing, orange-haired, perfect body for an outfielder, the man with the thousand faces, Gurrier Josak¡ªlips currently curved in mischievously. And when I said ¡®special forces¡¯, I don¡¯t mean the cr¨¨me de la cr¨¨me kind of elite squads. In his case, his missions are all really ¡®special¡¯, so special I have no idea how to describe them.


    ¡°Welcome to the grown sheep¡¯s nighttime social area¡ªthe Male and Female Mixed Bath!¡±


    ¡°Mm-moo-hoo! Moo-hoo-moo-hoo-moo-hoo--!¡±


    ¡°Waa--!¡±


    Josak stretches his arms wide open to show his hearty welcome, and suddenly a sheep pokes its head out from under his armpit, mooing. Those curved horns are directed straight at me, and it even pants out a threat.


    ¡°I-it¡¯s a sheep¡­ Sheep bath¡­. This isn¡¯t a mixed bath at all!¡±


    ¡°Eh? Your Majesty, haven¡¯t you noticed yet? This really is a male and female mixed bath!¡±


    So you mean not a men and women mixed bath, but male and female MIX? And there are attractive members of the opposite sex just before you, it¡¯s a big bath for boosting your body.


    ¡°Ah, ha, ha! What a bother¡ªThe sheeps are going into heat one after another!¡±


    ¡°W-why is there such a low grade hot spring¡ªAh! How can you mix with these beasts so casually?¡±


    ¡°Really! Your Majesty, you look so cute panicking over a few little lambs~ And I am a beast to begin with~¡±


    ¡°¡­Josak¡­¡±


    Weren¡¯t you a fan of mountain goats[4]?


    Just thinking that this sort of person in a first grade soldier in my country, makes me want to question Lord von Voltaire about our army¡¯s discipline. Right now, all I can do is hide my embarrassment with the towel, hanging my head in silent despair. Josak on the other hand is happily waving at me, seems like as long as we don¡¯t provoke them, the sheeps won¡¯t simply attack.


    ¡°Aiyo, Young Master. You rarely get a chance to go into a mixed bath, so you should soak yourself up to your shoulders and warm yourself up!¡±


    ¡°You¡ªWhy are you in Shou Shimaron--¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty, that¡¯s naturally because I¡¯m the Shin Makoku¡¯s number one intel agent! Did you see my Red Pigeon message? That was about Shou Shimaron¡¯s urgent diplomatic plans. The Shin Makoku may be wide, but the only company who can get something so special, is none other than I, Gurrier.¡±


    ¡°Gurrier¡­ Is this your new girl character? You really beat me there.¡±


    Actually, as long as you can stand the sheep odor, this hot spring is pretty comfortable. The temperature here really is something else. And according to Josak, the sheep essence in the water can help moisturize the skin.


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯m here to determine the credibility behind their urgent diplomatic plans, y¡¯know!¡±


    ¡°I saw you enter the hotel. Your Majesty has some moves¡ªyou actually wore couple clothing with your fianc¨¦~¡±


    ¡°Ow ow! Stop that, Gurrier!¡±


    Sitting beside me, he lightly taps my side with his arm. Then he immediately returns to the professional soldier¡¯s tone, turning the topic back to his mission. Though the walls here have the Sheepy Corporation¡¯s ears, sheeps have no interest in mazoku matters.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you meant by ¡®determine the credibility¡¯, though, is my intel false?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not suspecting your intel, but Miss Anissina did scoff at it.¡±


    ¡°Mm¡ªSo that¡¯s it? Darn that Anini!¡±


    Anini? The unfamiliar nickname sends a chill down my spine despite the warmth of the water. Josak tilts his clean-shaved chin, saying,


    ¡°Just because her CUP isn¡¯t as big as mine, she¡¯s held a grudge until now.¡±


    ¡°Wait a second, wait a second, just you wait a second. Miss Anissina may be small, but she still has a bust, y¡¯know¡­ That¡¯s not what I meant! Yours must be 90 per cent muscle. Ah, not that either!¡±


    ¡°But Your Majesty, a man can easily get a C cup. Or is it because I didn¡¯t report it personally, is that why she¡¯s upset? Mm¡ªbut that isn¡¯t Anini¡¯s style. Besides, the reason I couldn¡¯t go back is because other than the urgent diplomatic plans, I heard that there¡¯s some internal conflict as well¡­ What¡¯s the matter, Your Majesty? You look so cute with your mouth hanging slightly open!¡±


    ¡°Ah, you called her Anini, and you said it twice.¡±


    ¡°Ohh~ That? Does your heart feel uncomfortable?¡±


    ¡°Why would it? I¡¯m just suspicious, Josak, don¡¯t tell me you two are secretly dating?¡±


    ¡°Lady von Karbelnikoff and me?¡±


    The self-proclaimed seasoned spy, His Majesty the Maou¡¯s 0043 throws his head back and laughs heartily. Although his nickname is like a telephone number, but not only can he crossdress, he can also run rings around men.


    ¡°You must be kidding, of course we¡¯re not secretly dating!¡±


    So he¡¯s denying the ¡®secretly¡¯ part? But I don¡¯t dare to ask him, ¡®Then are you publicly dating?¡¯ At this moment a hairball slides past my nose, turns out there¡¯s a white and a grey competition sheep enjoying a one night stand by the poolside.


    ¡°By the way, Young Master, there¡¯s more to the results of the investigation. I decided that rather than sending another pigeon back home, it would be faster to report it face to face, that¡¯s why I¡¯m here waiting for you. Seems like His Excellency G¨¹nG¨¹nG¨¹n¡¯s powers have dropped a lot due to his dizziness, though.¡±


    ¡°Mm, G¨¹nter and Wolfram have been completely defeated, looks like it¡¯s because their maryoku is too strong.


    Josak looks at me with a complicated gaze, then says,


    ¡°Never mind, one day you will naturally understand. For now, forget about those two inexperienced greenhouse mazoku. Since the situation is urgent, let me cut to the main topic¡­ about the urgent diplomatic plans.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    What he means is the issue of Shou Shimaron restoring relations with Seisakoku. On one side is the human country we fought against during the Great War, and on the other is the shinzoku country which had been locked away for the past 2000 years. I¡¯m not sure how shinzokus are different from humans, but once the two join forces, it¡¯s no laughing matter to us mazoku.


    ¡°There are some people in Shou Shimaron against it though!¡±


    ¡°Well, that happens to the political state in every country, right? Fully unanimous decisions only happen in dictatorships!¡±


    ¡°But Shou Shimaron was a rather united country not too long ago. What¡¯s really surprising is that everyone¡¯s very supportive of His Majesty Saralegui, who ascended the throne two years ago at the tender age of 15. Con¡ªMy friend called it a leader¡¯s charisma¡­ He¡¯s an expert at capturing his ministers¡¯ hearts, and he rubs, kneads and hammers them in the palm of his hand without once letting go.¡±


    Seems like he¡¯s a king good at massages, but he is also a very young king. If two years ago he was fifteen, he shouldn¡¯t be any older than seventeen now. Ruling a country at seventeen years old, now that¡¯s an impressive feat, not to mention the country he¡¯s ruling is as big as this, it figures that there would be no end to his worries.


    ¡°That¡¯s equal to someone in the second year of high school¡ªPoor thing, working so hard at such a young age--¡±


    Josak looks at me with a surprised gaze again. Then he clears his throat slightly and continues the topic of conversation.


    ¡°That voice of opposition is still very weak, true, but no matter how weak it is, they¡¯re still trying hard to make their point. Wasn¡¯t there a line, ¡®what doesn¡¯t kill you makes you stronger¡¯? And because their organization is small, it¡¯s easy for them to adapt to situations. That¡¯s why the government can never catch their tail, or catch and bring them all to court at once, because there¡¯s no way of luring them out at all. They tend to hide underground and operate secretly, so the government can go ahead with their diplomatic plans. But those guys seem to be on the brink of starting their operations. That¡¯s why I said Shou Shimaron¡¯s current situation is rather urgent!¡±


    ¡°When you say ¡®operation¡¯¡­ What kind of operation? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s a revolution to overthrow the country or an armed political uprising?¡±


    ¡°About that, it¡¯s something faster¡­ like assassinating the king¡­¡±


    The gas lamp that had been dimly illuminating the pool suddenly swings a little, causing the light to dim some more. Beside me, Josak¡¯s whole body tenses instantly, then he quickly yet quietly stands up.


    ¡°¡­Ah--¡­¡±


    Wordlessly I tilt my head and watch closely. Because an unwelcome guest is coming towards us from that direction next to me.


    Now the flame grows immediately stronger, and the pool returns to its usual brightness. Looks like it was all just a matter of the wind blowing. The culprit who brought the breeze in appears from the sliding door. The other party reveals only a pair of slender, long and beautiful legs while the upper half is wrapped in a towel, entering the bath area.


    Completely unfazed, the stranger shows off fair limbs, and slowly walks through the mist towards us.


    In my heart, I¡¯ve thrown my arms up, tearfully yelling, ¡°Mixed baths, banzai!¡±


    ¡°Mixed baths, ban¡­ pff!¡±


    Josak takes the wet towel he had just been using to cover his important powers and puts it over my head. Waa~ Don¡¯t do that, Gurrier, it¡¯s very¡­ very dirty! And the warm water even got into my eyes¡­


    The third guest with the beautiful limbs and skin, descends into the water a distance away, at the end of the giant pool. The way the tips of those toes slide into the pool first, is literally torture to a young man¡¯s eyes, specifically one who hasn¡¯t had any luck with women for sixteen years. Because the other is too graceful and gorgeous, I¡¯ve completely forgotten to complain about ¡®showering first before soaking¡¯.


    But we have to watch our manners in public areas, and always remember to wash yourself properly before entering a bath¡­


    Before I can start nagging, the stranger starts making flirty movements again. Like slowly stretching to determine the temperature of the water, or sighing sexily with that throat. The pale gold hair that was bundled up above the neck cascades down on both sides, landing on the surface of the water with a small noise. And that skin, so fair I can clearly see the Adam¡¯s apple, makes me want to say, ¡°If it¡¯s already so soft then there¡¯s absolutely no need to soften it some more!¡± Just like that, my gaze is held fast.


    After humming a song in an unfamiliar note, the third guest sighs deeply, and says in a voice like a girl¡¯s,


    ¡°This hot spring is really comfortable~¡±


    Hm? Like, a girl? Adam¡¯s apple? Adam¡¯s¡­


    ¡°¡­It¡¯s¡ªa¡ªguy¡ªafter-- all¡­¡±


    I sag my shoulders in disappointment, while Gurrier touches my back, saying, ¡°You still have me.¡± Thank goodness I didn¡¯t nosebleed just now.


    ¡°Soaking can moisturize a person¡¯s skin and soul. This is Shimaron¡¯s ultimate culture, y¡¯know. Sheep baths are especially wonderful, do you agree?¡±


    ¡°¡­Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Why the long face? Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t like Shimaron style hot springs?¡±


    He cocks his head slightly, asking me with a smile. Face to face, I notice a pair of really small glasses perched on his nose. And the lightly-colored lens is of course fogged over. Just when I¡¯m asking ¡®why do you wear glasses even in the bath?¡¯ in my heart, perhaps he notices my confusion, and explains smilingly.


    ¡°Oh~ It¡¯s because my eyes are sensitive to heat and light¡­ I¡¯m weird, huh, talking like a child even though I¡¯m obviously no longer one.¡±


    ¡°Oh~ But I know an eighty-two year old guy who acts like a child.¡±


    Problem is, I will automatically deduce that people with glasses are smart. Although if I don¡¯t get rid of that stereotypical opinion, I¡¯d be too mean to Nobita.


    The weak lamplight makes his eye color indeterminable, but likewise, he probably can¡¯t tell mine either. He uses a pretty finger to brush the hair on his face behind his ear, and though the rest of his hair had been piled atop his head, it still drops down fairly easily. Looking deeply troubled, his brow is creased as his lips curve, and he looks exactly like a graceful pedigree cat.


    In other words, he¡¯s a pretty child. Although I say child, in truth his age should be close to mine, at around 16. Looking at the way he walked on the porcelain tiles, his figure seems similar to mine too. But I¡¯m more muscular than him, and my bones bigger.


    Logically speaking, I should have long since grown immune to pretty boys, so why do I still feel my heart pounding? Especially since I have the ultimate example of a pretty boy right next to me!


    ¡°But it¡¯s not the same¡­ completely different¡­ there are no similarities at all¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    He leans closer to me, asking me as though he¡¯s my friend.


    ¡°N-n-n-nothing, nothing at all.¡±


    Wolfram is a pretty boy just like an angel, his blonde hair and emerald eyes the color of the bottom of a lake would never give anyone a feminine impression, even those beautiful lips he inherited from his mother only prove to bring out his strong personality. Lord von Bielefeld is like the sunlight, making people want to run together with him, making it hard not to notice him.


    As for the third guest soaking in the pool beside me, he¡¯s like the gently dark moonlight, if you ask whether he has the beauty of a young girl¡­ Actually, just observing him for ten or twenty seconds will refute that conclusion. But everything about him has an aura of neutrality, and none of the roughness of a man.


    For example, his fingers. Those slender fingers are elegant in shape, and the fingernails he holds out even have a light shade of pink, the type that wouldn¡¯t look at all out of place holding a cocktail glass with the pinky sticking out. Those hands of his have never held a bat, oh, wait, I correct myself in my mind, they¡¯ve never held a sword.


    ¡°But still, why am I surrounded by nothing but pretty boys~¡±


    ¡°Aw, Young Master, how mean. Gurrier will be embarrassed¡ª¡±


    In many ways, his words are too presumptuous.


    ¡°So that one is called Gurrier?¡±


    ¡°Yes, because a relative on my mother¡¯s side is a chef.¡±


    His Majesty the Maou¡¯s spy 0043[5] is already an adult, so he won¡¯t be attracted by the charms of neutrality. Still unable to get used to such stimuli, I can only repent while at the same time showing respect for this quality of his.


    ¡°I know, it¡¯s an Eastern name, right! Do you have relatives in Dai Shimaron?¡±


    The third guest, who doesn¡¯t know a thing about Josak¡¯s background, is happy to find a similarity between them.


    ¡°Like my grandfather, he was born in Dai Shimaron too, I still have distant relatives there to this day. Oh, yeah, please call me Sara, it sounds friendlier this way.¡±


    ¡°Sara? Why does the name also sound like a girl¡­ Sorry, what I said was too rude. I¡¯m called, uh¡ª¡±


    Revealing my true identity to a pretty boy I just met in the pool, doesn¡¯t seem like a smart thing to do. So I try to think of a fake name on the spot, but all that comes to mind are weird ones. Is it okay to use the characters I played in the past? Like Mitsuemon or Colonel Crusoe.


    ¡°I¡¯m Cru¡­¡±


    He presses my open mouth with his beautiful fingers; and those eyes with the unreadable color looks amused through the thin little lens, as though saying, ¡®let me guess¡¯. His gentle and graceful expression makes me completely unable to refuse.


    ¡°Your Majesty Yuuri.¡±


    Even though my shoulders were just in the hot water, now they¡¯re cold to the point of shivering.


    ¡°I¡¯m right, aren¡¯t I? There¡¯s no need for you to report your glorious name. You are my most precious guest, Your Majesty Yuuri. Who¡¯d have thought you would visit my Shou Shimaron? It never even crossed my mind.¡±


    ¡°You are¡­¡±


    The question on the tip of my tongue is immediately swallowed back down, didn¡¯t he just tell me his name?


    Sara.


    Completely unafraid to say the name of the powerful country, the young man similar in age to me, is the king of Shou Shimaron who ascended the throne two years ago, Saralegui, turning seventeen this year.


    Josak grabs my arm and pulls me to his side. Like a replacement trick in a magic show, the guard is instantly standing between me and Sara. Although we¡¯re all in a hot spring, a cold sweat is beading relentlessly on my temple. I use my dry and stiff tongue to force out a simple sentence.


    ¡°You know, my, name?¡±


    ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be anyone who doesn¡¯t, Your Majesty the double black Maou.¡±


    The omniscient lord and ruler, Saralegui of Shou Shimaron, is using his beautiful fingers to push his hair behind his ears.

 Volume 9 - CH 7

    Seeing me return together with Josak, Lord von Christ¡¯s face turns extremely pale, add that to my uncharacteristically solemn expression, and he assumes that I¡¯ve met with some sort of danger. But that baseless worry doesn¡¯t last very long, before it turns into another problem.


    ¡°I heard Your Majesty met the Shou Shimaron king, Saralegui?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°In the pool?¡±


    ¡°Yup.¡±


    ¡°But why would he show up in this kind of highway hotel¡­¡±


    Of course he would feel confused, but what I have to say next is even more shocking.


    ¡°And then, G¨¹nter¡­ We¡¯ve been found out.¡±


    ¡°What? What¡¯s been found out?¡±


    ¡°The fact that I¡¯m the Maou.¡±


    When he heard that, forget his gaze losing focus, he practically turns the whites of his eyes. First turning pale then turning the whites of his eyes, he really is a busy man.


    ¡°H-h-h-h-h-how did things come to this? Don¡¯t tell me Your¡ªYour Majesty revealed your identity of your own accord?¡±


    ¡°Of course not, I¡¯m not that stupid yet. He just saw through me. Logically in the foggy condition of the bath, he shouldn¡¯t have been able to tell the color of my eyes. Josak immediately covered my head with a towel too. But we still got found out easily. Maybe I have some other mazoku quality besides my hair and eyes?¡±


    ¡°It must be¡­ Your Majesty¡¯s beautiful appearance and noble aura, and the perfect parts that the lower class people can never even hope of having¡­¡±


    ¡°No, the only one who thinks so is you.¡±


    Beside us, Saralegui fixes his hair with his slender fingers, saying,


    ¡°Anyone can see you¡¯re a king at first glance.¡±


    I had even started suspecting if it was due to the maseki on my chest, but it isn¡¯t a national treasure. If this stone was a legendary item that other kingdoms knew about, ¡®he¡¯ wouldn¡¯t have simply given it to me.


    But, we don¡¯t have any time to spare to slowly figure out our worries.


    Because by the time I finally manage to change into my clothes, Saralegui¡¯s messenger is already standing by the door.


    He passes on a declaration, ¡°His Majesty wishes to dine with milords¡±.


    What will come has come, we¡¯re going to have breakfast with the king of Shou Shimaron. Dining with a hotshot isn¡¯t something you can deal with just be saying, ¡°It¡¯s really delicious~¡± or ¡°Thanks for your hospitality¡ª¡±. That¡¯s to say, this isn¡¯t just a simple gathering and meal, it¡¯s actually an invitation to a summit of leaders with toast in front of us.


    We were meant to have a few more days before reaching the castle in the capital Saralegui, and it ever occurred to us that we¡¯d face our challenge on short notice in this hotel, so we didn¡¯t have time for any mental preparations whatsoever.


    Besides, the dueling card now has changed from G¨¹nter versus Saralegui, to me versus Saralegui. The saddest part is G¨¹nter, who was so ecstatic to be appointed ¡°Special Ambassador of Shin Makoku with Full Authority under the Orders of the Maou¡±, has been abruptly pulled down from the main character¡¯s seat. Just thinking about that, causes his cold sweat and tears to flow nonstop.


    Anyway, we head towards a small restaurant that was booked ahead. Being a very through person, Saralegui is even waiting for us at the entrance, watching from the far end of the corridor. He is the honored ruler of a large country, but his personality is really quite straightforward. I say with a tone of sympathy, as though it has nothing to do with me, ¡°The men in charge of protecting him must have it hard!¡± But for some reason G¨¹nter actually pinches my nose.


    ¡°What did you do that for¡ª¡±


    ¡°¡­Your Majesty, ask yourself, is it logical for you to say that?¡±


    I give him a stare full of resentment. What, if you have any grievances, just say it! Don¡¯t want to deal with the naggy education minister anymore, now¡¯s the time to focus on the summit between two countries. I use the strings on my apron as a replacement for a tasuki[1] and tie them tight, preparing the first sentence of greeting.


    ¡°Good morning, Your Majesty Yuuri.¡±


    ¡°Goof morning, Your Majesty Saralegui.¡±


    Because this is my first ever high level summit, my words come out sounding strangled.


    Meeting him again in a bright area, he¡¯s still the pretty boy I imagined him to be. Just like at the pool, Saralegui is wearing pale colored glasses. Since they¡¯re tiny things meant to protect his eyes, they don¡¯t hurt his beauty at all. Overall, he still has a young girl¡¯s slender figure, and fair smooth skin, so these aren¡¯t illusions by the mixed magic after all.


    The first thing that attracts my attention is his hair color. Silky gold hair cascades down his shoulders like a waterfall, sparkling under the morning sunlight. Different from Wolf and Madam Cheri¡¯s honey blonde hair, his is pale, as though one drop of golden dye added to white. Although it¡¯s easy to categorize them together, each has its own merits when you look closely.


    What am I talking about, each have their merit, why do I sound like a pervy old geezer?


    ¡°Your Majesty Yuuri, I apologize profusely for inviting you over on such short notice.¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯m grateful f-for your g-gracious i-invitation¡­ Ouch!¡±


    Wolfram secretly kicks me, ah, calm down, me. Quick, remember when you were chosen as the substitute oath-declarer at the Summer Games, and how you practiced every day for it. Although since I was only the substitute, when it came to the actual day all I could do was sit and listen.


    I have to be calm and carefully when conversing with this boy king, and try to find out what kind of character he is. Or perhaps to let Wolfram and G¨¹nter get a better picture, I should try and glean as much information as I can. Like whether he¡¯s a good guy or a bad guy, or if he¡¯s a person we can trust.


    ¡°¡­Likewise, likewise. I¡¯m sincerely very happy we can have breakfast together, Your Majesty Saralegui.¡±


    The ¡®pretty¡¯ boy king curves his light red lips into a small smile.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not call each other ¡®Your Majesty¡¯ any more. We should be equal in standing, wouldn¡¯t you agree, Mr. Yuuri?¡±


    ¡°I never requested that you call me Your Majesty, Saralegui.¡±


    I actually called him without even an honorific. Although my pretense at calmness is still holding, the truth is I¡¯m a nervous wreck inside.


    But no wonder. The enemy is a natural born royal, receiving kingly training since childhood, a boy who¡¯d grown up watching the back of his father and previous king for seventeen years, a man noble amongst nobles. In comparison, I¡¯m surrounded by ministers who desperately praise me, and a throne I got like from a lottery. I have absolutely no idea what the tricks to leading an entire people are at all.


    Though I have met other people of high stature in the past, like Mr Hyscliff and Belar the Second, but back then I wasn¡¯t using my true identity as Shibuya Yuuri to face them, and was instead hiding under false pretenses. This is my first time going leader to leader, king to king one-on-one like this. This time what I say might be taken as the opinion of all the mazoku, if I lower my head now, then all the people of Shin Makoku will surely scorn me.


    Right now, saying something comforting like ¡®just be who you are¡¯ has almost no use at all on the actual battlefield. If I can¡¯t show a power above average, then there¡¯s simply no way for me to be Saralegui¡¯s equal.


    I desperately straighten my back, not letting the other party look down on me no matter what.


    The pressure makes me feel like my butt just can¡¯t sit on the chair.


    Firstly I must choose an appropriate tone of voice. The first person pronoun should be ¡®we¡¯, right? And stuff like when to show respect and when to show allowance must be noted. And instead of ¡®have¡¯, should I say ¡®own¡¯?


    And yet all the mental preparation I did beforehand is instantly shattered. Because Saralegui suddenly gives me a warm hug, wrapping me tightly with his slender arms.


    ¡°Waa!¡±


    ¡°Really? Can I really just call you Yuuri?¡±


    ¡°¡­P-please call me that.¡±


    While I¡¯m trying to hide it on the outside, on the inside I¡¯m screaming ¡®Eeeeeeee¡ª¡¯ in embarrassment. Wolfram¡¯s piecing gaze from behind makes me exceptionally jumpy. Instead of saying it¡¯s piercing like a needle, I should say it¡¯s like a roaring flame of jealousy. No, wait! It¡¯s not just a glare, he¡¯s pinching me too! My butt hurts like hell where he pinched me!


    Saralegui doesn¡¯t notice our little movements under the counter, pure and innocent him pulls my hand like a child and says,


    ¡°Come in, we can chat inside. By the way, why are you dressed in a kitchen apprentice¡¯s clothes?¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯m in the middle of stowing away, so I can¡¯t change my clothes.¡±


    ¡°Stowing away?¡±


    Saralegui starts laughing lightly.


    ¡°Even the king has to stow away? Shin Makoku is so interesting. But that long apron looks really good on you!¡±


    I don¡¯t tell him that in fact I was planning to pretend to be a professional chef, and feign ignorance while I eavesdropped on the conversation between the Special Ambassador and the king of Shou Shimaron.


    Just like all the secret negotiations happen over the corporate lunchtime or in high class restaurants, we eat as we talk. But because I¡¯m naturally slow, I was never able to multitask. So even though the table is covered with a luxurious breakfast, even a glutton like me is in no mood to eat.


    There¡¯s another reason my appetite declined, actually.


    Aside from the soldiers standing guard at the entrance and Saralegui¡¯s personal guard, there are a few more of his men in the room, and one of them is a familiar face.


    He has Shou Shimaron¡¯s standard hairstyle and a textbook beard, plus a drawn, wan face and thin single-lidded eyes. Maybe it¡¯s due to his appearance, but rather than saying he gives off an overall impression of strength, it¡¯d be better to say he¡¯s like a sharp weapon. And last of all, there¡¯s that memorable army uniform of yellow and blow crossed, as well as that cheek with even more scars than last time.


    This person is the king of Shou Shimaron¡¯s loyal lapdog, Nigel Weiss Maxine.


    His is the real Cropped Ponytail, but I¡¯ve already given him a cute nickname.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s you! Crop Pony!¡±


    Crap, I actually said it out loud¡­


    Maxine is the man who made Caloria hell on earth. If it wasn¡¯t for this man using a royal decree as the starting gun, ridiculously performing experiments, that tragedy in the south east area of the continent wouldn¡¯t have happened¡ªAs in, using us, on the north bank of the Kalongba river as guinea pigs, and activating the most evil of all weapons, ¡®Ends of the Earth¡¯.


    And not using a wrong key from goodness knows where, either.


    ¡­It was that certain someone¡¯s left arm.


    Speaking of experiments, I wonder what those experiment partners are doing now? Is Gwendal being played around like a toy by Miss Anissina? Maybe he¡¯s even letting loose blood-curdling screams now? I try to think about the happy life I led in Covenant Castle, but seeing the worst man in Shou Shimaron, I can¡¯t relax no matter what.


    At this moment, Josak taps the arm I¡¯d twisted behind my back lightly, and Wolfram is frowning slightly to. The only one who doesn¡¯t recognize Crop Pony is G¨¹nter. But today¡¯d Nigel Weiss Will-Never-Die Maxine isn¡¯t the same as usual, he¡¯s blinking non-stop, and that¡¯s just too unnatural. Those thin lips, usually curved into a cruel smile, are now twitching oddly, doesn¡¯t it feel like the sense of defeat of someone who¡¯s failed so many times he was scolded, and even branded as ¡®useless¡¯ within his country?


    ¡°Eh, you know Maxine?¡±


    ¡°Of course I do.¡±


    A taste of bitterness welling from deep within my throat, the fist I¡¯m gripping so tightly shaking uncontrollably. If it weren¡¯t for Wolfram sitting on my right, stopping me, I would have long since grabbed Maxine¡¯s shirt and pushed him to the wall.


    ¡°It¡¯s this scum who turned Caloria into hell on earth.¡±


    But the one who ordered Maxine isn¡¯t anyone else. It¡¯s the king of Shou Shimaron, Saralegui. Ad that same man is right before me now, even smiling gently.


    ¡°Speaking of that, Caloria even accepted Shin Makoku¡¯s help during that crisis. I¡¯m really grateful for your side¡¯s aid and assistance, so here I¡¯m representing Caloria¡¯s appointed ruler in presenting to you my gratitude. After all, back then that was still my territory.


    I really don¡¯t understand the true meaning behind those words. Did he purposely take the extra effort to say that? Or is he sincerely grateful? But when I see his innocent smile, I naturally accept his words.


    ¡°Technically, it¡¯s what we were supposed to do anyway. Although we could not lend a hand in time, but we were willing to offer financial assistance, only to be rejected by Flynn Gilbert. Of course, we still have manpower and machinery standing by there to this day, so we can give our help at any given time. Now we¡¯re just waiting for Flynn to soften up¡­ Oh, yeah, she¡¯s already the leader of an entire country, seems like I shouldn¡¯t simply call her Flynn anymore.¡±


    He shrugs his shoulders like a child who was scolded, making him look even younger than his actual age.


    But no matter what, the one thing I can¡¯t forget is that he¡¯s the true mastermind behind this entire incident. Getting the wrong key and box, then ordering Maxine to open it, it was all him, the king. Is he trying to hide his own guilt? Or maybe he doesn¡¯t know I witnessed everything on scene?


    ¡°Saralegui, what do you think the reason behind the tragedy in Caloria was?¡±


    ¡°Of course I know.¡±


    ¡°If you know, then how can you still be so--¡±


    My angry, shuddering words are suddenly interrupted.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡±


    Saralegui suddenly puts both palms onto the desk. And lowers his pale golden head.


    ¡°I¡¯m really very sorry. Although everyone knew that a terrible calamity might strike once we open the box, especially using an uncertain key, making the power even more impossible to control. We even knew that by doing this, we could never the desired result, but still¡­¡±


    Without raising his head, he continue yelling, leaving no space for anyone to interject.


    ¡°Ever since we got the box by some unique chance, I¡¯ve told my men time and again, to guard the box carefully, and utterly. Its overwhelming power is indeed very attractive, but I understand clearly that we humans have no way to control a power that defies the laws of this world, surpasses the human intelligence. But I still¡­ could not believe in the power of a legendary box. I thought that man could overthrow the gods, and that victory in war comes not from some box, but from the power of humanity. I thought that the people and all my men understood me, and agreed with me, were willing to follow me¡­¡±


    I¡¯m completely subdued by Saralegui¡¯s presence. Forget fighting back, I can¡¯t even open my mouth to agree.


    ¡°But a few of the more superstitious soldiers¡­ could not fight the temptation of that power. hey were attracted by the holy power of the ¡®Ends of the Earth¡¯, and brazenly took action without considering the consequences¡­ No, they did it for the country, and for the people of Shou Shimaron. But still, whenever I think about the terrifying outcome, I know I can¡¯t just turn a blind eye to their crime. Even though it¡¯s the sudden action of a few soldiers, but I had noticed long ago yet failed to stop them, so I should take up all the responsibility, the responsibility that I, who had failed my duties as king, must carry. I was only watching the country¡¯s land and borders, but I failed to grasp my minister¡¯s hearts. This happened because I(informal) ... I (formal) could not reach them. As a result, the violent soldiers ended up doing such a dreadful thing¡­ Don¡¯t you think so, Maxine?¡±


    The Crop Pony standing by the window side, his shoulders are shaking really violently, and he¡¯s biting his lip without a word.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you replying?¡±


    Another Shimaron soldier in the room scolds him in a low threatening voice.


    ¡°¡­Your Majesty¡¯s words ring true.¡±


    Maxine replies straightforwardly, making me unable to shut my mouth which had already taken on an ¡®oh my god~¡¯ shape. What happened to you, Crop Pony? Why are you so serious and well-behaved today? Purposely speaking slowly and menacingly, isn¡¯t that the specialty of the real Cropped Ponytail?


    This isn¡¯t the Maxine I know. Besides, he deserved it, I¡¯m not gonna pity him.


    ¡°He is repenting to this day. After his successor is determined, he will personally pay for his sins. To make it up to the people of Caloria and the south-east area, I¡¯ve given him the heaviest possible punishment, but¡­¡±


    The agitated Saralegui suddenly slows down, a barely suppressed anger in his words.


    ¡°The problems that he caused you. Must be repaid here.¡±


    Nigel Weiss Maxine slowly raises his head to peek at his master¡¯s expression.


    ¡°This stupid man cannot expect forgiveness, but at the very least he hopes you will accept his sincere apologies, right?¡±


    The expressionless man¡¯s face only twitches a little, and the same light that shone in his eyes when he yelled Saralegui¡¯s name that day flits through them again. But that light quickly vanishes. Becoming a deep brown tinged with despair.


    The man¡¯s master orders him in a cruel voice.


    ¡°You must apologize to Yuuri, Maxine. Kneel, take his shoe¡­¡±


    I think, ¡®Don¡¯t tell me he wants him to lick my shoe?¡¯ and take a surprised half-step back, preparing to reject him solemnly.


    ¡°¡­and put it on your head.¡±


    So at the end it isn¡¯t licking, but putting on his head? That¡¯s a weird way to apologize, is this the Shimaron version of a kneeling apology? But, how should I say this, mn¡ªIt still counts as a culture exchange between countries, if doing this can solve matters, I can still take it.


    I get it now, to make some problematic men obey and respect you, you have to show a strong and forceful attitude like this. This makes me respect him and scold myself at the same time.


    After a bit more comparing, I realize I¡¯m actually really lucky. I¡¯m surrounded by people who call me a noob yet let me do as I wish, and people who frown deeply yet are still willing to take the suggestions of a rookie like me, and people who nose bleed while desperately giving me courage, and people who love crossdressing but helps me through underground work. And when I first came to this world, and was feeling uneasy, there was also a person who took even better care of me than anyone else.


    When I¡¯m desperately trying to escape reality, a wordless and cool-gazed Maxine has already taken one slow step forward. This forces me to try and take a step of equal distance backwards, I really don¡¯t want him to do that¡ªand from the look of things it¡¯s obvious to see, that the person accepting the apology feels even more humiliated than the person apologizing. If it weren¡¯t for Saralegui, I would have rejected something so embarrassing from the start.


    Crop Pony with his special beard, approaches me with an even paler face and staggering steps. The other three mazoku aside from me too are afraid of a fraud, watching with nerves tightly taut. But then the human man filled with despair falls to his knees with a stance as though sticking his body to the floor, and his forehead is so low, it almost touches the ground.


    Wolfram hurriedly says in a small voice,


    ¡°¡­What are you doing, Yuuri?¡±


    ¡°Eh, I put my shoe¡­¡±


    Crop Pony lifts my right foot up high, then takes off the chef¡¯s shoe. Then he puts the thin-soled and lightweight leather shoe on his dark brown ponytail with a ¡®pah¡¯.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t he say to put in on his head?¡±


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be like that, right?¡±


    ¡°Feels like he¡¯s wearing a hair ornament.¡±


    ¡°I told you it¡¯s not like that!¡±


    ¡°But Wolf¡­¡±


    I turn my head to look aside, and realize that the man who was staring at my naked right foot is now raising his head, so slowly it makes me impatient. He slowly raises his turbid gaze.


    ¡°You got the wrong guy.¡±


    I take the shoe away from his head, the dust left behind there making me feel slightly guilty.


    ¡°The one you should be apologizing to isn¡¯t me. To whom you must make it up, and how, you should know better than anyone else.¡±


    At first I touch his head with the intention of knocking the dust away for him, then to hide my own sense of guilt, I have to rap down forcefully instead.


    ¡°I¡¯m right, aren¡¯t I, Nigel Weiss Maxine. Honestly, even I feel embarrassed. Maxine!¡±


    Crap, I actually said it out loud.


    Perhaps having noticed my red ears and face, Josak grabs Maxine¡¯s hand and pulls him away from me, opening the door and chasing him out of the room, even saying a few short words to the Shimaron soldiers at the door.


    The one who ordered the apology, Saralegui, must have been really nervous too, because now he releases a deep breath as though there was a weight lifted off his chest.


    ¡°Every time something like this happens, I wonder if I have what it takes to be king¡­ Guess I don¡¯t have the leadership skills you do, huh. Yuuri, I really envy you, and the citizens of Shin Makoku who have such an impressive king!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no such thing! It¡¯s not like that, Saralegui!¡±


    No, this is 180 degrees away from the Saralegui I imagined.


    ¡°Quick, raise your head. You¡¯ve just been on the throne for two years, you¡¯re only seventeen, right? To rule perfectly is impossible, it¡¯s impossible regardless of who is king. Besides, Shou Shimaron is a large country, and I heard there are even complicated racial problems.¡±


    ¡°Because of the invasion.¡±


    Wolfram mutters in a voice only I can hear.


    ¡°S-so, it¡¯s impossible to properly rule an entire country. Like me, I¡¯m a rookie king through and through. Until now I still don¡¯t understand exactly what a king¡¯s supposed to do! It¡¯s because I have excellent comrades helping me. That¡¯s the only reason I could hold on until now. If there was even one of them missing, our country might have fallen long ago.¡±


    The difference is too much! The enemy in my imagination was a natural-born royal, having been taught the kingly ways since young, a man prepared to be king of a country. One with a mysterious charisma! A professional king who can capture the hearts of his men, then rub and knead and beat them without letting go! Technnically, it should be like that!


    ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as the perfect leader, Saralegui, you can¡¯t take everything onto yourself!¡±


    Come to think of it, someone like me who¡¯d been lucky to win the throne, why am I worried for the boy king of a country with tense relations and no deals with us?


    Or is it just like Miss Aninssina said, and Shin Makoku¡¯s intel department is for decoration purposes only?


    ¡°Thank you. You really a nice guy, Yuuri.¡±


    ¡°Mmph!¡±


    Saralegui raises his head to look at me, the eyes behind those lens already moist.


    ¡°Mmm! Nah¡­ I¡¯m really not as good as you think!¡±


    If I don¡¯t do anything, it¡¯s highly likely that he¡¯ll start yelling ¡®stupid stupid stupid, I¡¯m so stupid!¡¯ while knocking his head on the wall.


    ¡°I believe the people of Shin Makoku are really lucky too.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong, Saralegui!¡±


    The truly lucky one isn¡¯t the people of Shin Makoku, it¡¯s me.


    ¡°Your Majesty.¡±


    One of the soldiers still in the room whispers into his master¡¯s ear¡ªit¡¯s the guy who scolded Maxine just now. This man has a regulation cropped ponytail too, but his hair and beard color make him seem gentler than Maxine. And I think compared to Crop Pony, he seems closer to Saralegui.


    ¡°I know, Storob.¡±


    His name is Storob, please pay attention not to get it mixed up with ROAST BEEF[2].


    The boy king nods his head softly, then stands in front of the chair he pulled over, saying,


    ¡°We¡¯re going to talk about more serious stuff from now on, can I ask that everyone be seated? Although I said it¡¯s okay, my men are still a little worried.¡±


    Maybe it¡¯s because he¡¯s too skinny, so he doesn¡¯t have a lot of stamina.


    That¡¯s what I was thinking. Eventually everyone takes their places, and just as I¡¯d guessed before, the ones standing by are all men in soldier uniform. This really is a breakfast conference with a heavy atmosphere and muscle men.


    Although there are enough chairs, Josak still stealthily moves to the door. The seating isn¡¯t arranged according to our positions. That¡¯s why I¡¯m seated between G¨¹nter and Wolfram.


    Saralegui, whose appetite is as small as I thought, raises a glass filled with what looks like orange juice.


    ¡°Then, we can¡¯t just be talking about the Box and Caloria, I¡¯m sure that¡¯s not your only goal.¡±


    It¡¯s the opportunity we¡¯ve been waiting for. G¨¹nter asks immediately,


    ¡°I know this question is rude, but why did you to a normal hot spring hotel like this one? Shouldn¡¯t we approach you for a formal interview first?¡±


    Saralegui gives him a glance and then turns his gaze back to me instantly. I look back at him, and realize that there¡¯s a smile even in his solemn expression. Looks like his mood wasn¡¯t affected. Or maybe he just didn¡¯t want to listen to someone who was never introduced.


    ¡°Saralegui, Lord von Christ is a very capable prime minister, and one of the most important people in Shin Makoku. He understands more things than I do, so I let him speak on my behalf. Just treat G¨¹nter¡¯s opinion as my own.¡±


    I planned to introduce everyone beside me at once. So I turn to Wolfram. But he shakes his head slightly. He narrows his emerald eyes, even creases his stern brows, the picture of hostility.


    I¡¯m scared that there¡¯ll be another storm to face when we go back to our room, so I do as he wishes and spare the introductions.


    ¡°I know he is your confidante. But I just want to talk to you, Yuuri, and not¡­ any other stubborn mazoku.¡±


    ¡°Stubborn¡­¡±


    Special Ambassador Lord von Christ is at a sudden loss for words.


    What to do, G¨¹nter¡¯s brain juices are boiling over. If so, I¡¯d better end this first conference quickly.


    ¡°I know, I kno~w, Saralegui! Just talk to me then, we¡¯ll have a summit. An ¡®Exciting Debate, Raw Egg at Dawn¡¯, I can be Tahara Soichirou [3], okay?¡±


    I stretch out my pointer and middle fingers to the boy king sitting opposite me.


    ¡°There are two topics to discuss this time. One is why are you as a king here at a commoner¡¯s inn? Although it is still kinda fancy here. And one more¡­ I¡¯ll be blunt with you, because I don¡¯t plan on beating round the bush. The other thing is about Shou Shimaron¡¯s urgent diplomatic plans. Is it true that you are actively trying to contact the country under lockdown, Seisakkoku? Because we will take the appropriate measures according to your answer. Although I don¡¯t want to ruin your mood, but in case Shou Shimaron plans on joining forces with Seisakoku to attack the mazoku, that¡¯s more than just bad news to us.¡±


    Saralegui nods as he listens to me, seemingly without any intention of interrupting.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s begin with the first question, why are you here at the hotel? Why didn¡¯t you wait for us in the city? Isn¡¯t just a few days¡¯ difference? Or is it inconvenient for us to meet at the capital?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you? I hope you¡¯ll just call me Sara, it feels friendlier that way.¡±


    After giving me a disappointing answer, Saralegui puts down his glass of juice. His fingers are really beautiful after all, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem even if he were to be a model.


    ¡°Because both these questions are related in cause and effect, please forgive me for not being able to reply you in order. But the reason we¡¯re here, is because we guessed that our guests from Shin Makoku would surely be here. After we predicted the course of your journey, we decided on this place, where we were certain we would encounter you.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°I guess you must be wondering why I couldn¡¯t wait for even those few days? Are all Shou Shimaron people so impatient? The answer is no, but we really don¡¯t have the time. If we waited until you reached the castle to start our journey, we¡¯d never be on time. We plan on departing from this country two days later. Yuuri, we¡¯ve decided to set sail from the Saralegui War Port your ship had arrived in.¡±


    ¡°I se¡ª Set sail? Don¡¯t tell me¡ª?¡±


    Saralegui clamps his mouth shut, lacing his fingers across his chest as he says,


    ¡°To Seisakoku.¡±


    ¡°What detailed preparations.¡±


    More offended than surprised, G¨¹nter scolds softly. Maybe the people from Shou Shimaron didn¡¯t hear him, probably.


    ¡°This is probably what you wanted to know, Yuuri. Does Shou Shimaron plan on starting relations with Seisakoku? The answer is ¡®that¡¯s right¡¯.¡±


    While I¡¯m still hesitating on how to react, a sigh escapes my lips. The biggest mystery has been solved too abruptly, leaving me feeling suddenly weak. I take a hand complete different from Saralegui¡¯s, one full of baseball calluses, and bring it to my forehead.


    ¡°¡­Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Are you unhappy?¡±


    ¡°Nah, at least not now.¡±


    After many letters sent back and forth, we¡¯ve decided on a date with the other party. Although we are neighboring countries separated by an ocean, but the journey to Seisakoku will take a fair amount of time. According to the detailed navigation plans taking past weather conditions and marine routes into account, if we don¡¯t depart from Shou Shimaron within these ten days, we¡¯ll surely be met with seasonal winds and currents. So, Yuuri, I really didn¡¯t have the time to wait for your arrival at the city¡­ But it really is a pity.¡±


    The eyes behind the lenses narrow mischievously. When I was thinking he was talking about something serious, he immediately says something cute. As the king at the helm of a large country, who knew he¡¯d be so childish. Although he¡¯s one school year older than me, he¡¯s the type that makes you want to stay by his side to console and encourage him on.


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®pity¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I really wanted to take you around my castle. Now¡¯s right in the middle of the second blooming season, so the garden¡¯s really pretty. If only I could take you around it, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll love it.¡±


    ¡°Is that right, that sounds nice.¡±


    I¡¯m not paying a lot of attention to Saralegui¡¯s words. Instead I¡¯m distractedly thinking, ¡®things are gonna get busy again¡¯. Since the intel about restoring relations turns out to be true, then Shin Makoku must take the corresponding measures. After all, if a land shut away for 2000 years decides to have a special relationship with Shou Shimaron, then the other countries, starting with Dai Shimaron, will definitely not stay quiet about it.


    Of course, Shin Makkoku can¡¯t just stand by and watch either. I¡¯m really not good at diplomatic discussions, no, instead of saying not good, I should say I¡¯m basically clueless. Guess if it was G¨¹nter and Gwendal, and the other Ten Nobles plus all the other high-level officials, they¡¯d surely react violently, then start discussing non-stop in meetings.


    ¡°Please answer me, after this trip would you come stay by my castle for a few days? You¡¯re in no hurry to return home, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Although it wasn¡¯t my own intention to interfere with other countries¡¯ matters, but my country can¡¯t stay out of this either. Whether the results are good or bad, this world is a competitive world. With my mathematics results, contemplating national economic matters is no easy feat, but when it comes to a sales market, bigger is always better, right? Mmgh, my head is already starting to hurt, looks like I¡¯d better get back quickly and hand this over to the experts.


    ¡°Sorry, I think I should return immediately after all¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that, Yuuri. Didn¡¯t I just say I wanted to take you around my garden? Didn¡¯t you agree to stop by my castle after this trip? If you want to go back on your promise, I won¡¯t let you in my ship!¡±


    ¡°Your ship?¡±


    Did he mention a ship just now?


    On both sides, G¨¹nter and Wolfram won¡¯t stop knocking my knees. It hurts, it really hurts!


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand your signals!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t go back! Just don¡¯t go back for now!¡±


    What? That¡¯s too mean, Wolf, is that what the officially-recognized fianc¨¦ should say?


    ¡°We¡¯ll stay for now. We agree to stay a few days in Saralegui City after you return from your trip!¡±


    Since when did the overprotective G¨¹nter get so agitated that even he¡¯d reach out and betray me?


    ¡°Mm? What are you guys¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why, please bring us along on this trip to Seisakoku!¡±


    I haven¡¯t even completed my sentence, and G¨¹nter has already promised the other party.


    Although he¡¯s the Special Ambassador I myself chose, I have absolutely no idea what he¡¯s saying. Is Lord von Christ forcing Saralegui, whom we¡¯ve just met, to take us to Seisakoku?


    ¡°I say, G¨¹nter, even if they mean well, doing this is just too shameless¡ª¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind, y¡¯know!¡±


    ¡°Is that right, you don¡¯t m¡­ Saralegui?¡±


    The boy king makes a bold statement with a nonchalant expression. No wonder they say a man is as good as his name[4].


    ¡°Although I only welcomed Yuuri, but if he does not wish to travel alone, I can allow the other two to board the ship with us.¡±


    In other words, he¡¯s willing to let the three of us tag along in the Shou Shimaron ship on the diplomatic expedition to Seisakoku? I can almost hear the super bishie yelling ¡®banzai¡¯ three times inn his head.


    ¡°Sara¡­ You really are too kind.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m nothing compared to you, Yuuri.¡±


    He shows an angelic smile that won¡¯t lose to that stubborn kid. In fact, now he looks more like an angel than the third son, who¡¯d suddenly changed into his oldest brother.


    And then I collapse onto the back on the chair, feeling completely drained.


    How did I do in my first ever leaders¡¯ summit? If the full score is 100, my performance should be 127, because no one made any noises of protest. I suddenly feel like going out and soaking in the sun, whistling.


    When I finally get out of the overwhelming sense of relief, the hunger hits me like a hammer.


    ¡°Phew¡ªSince it¡¯s rare to have such a lavish breakfast, then I won¡¯t hold back¡ªThough it might have gotten cold by now. Wolf, pass that jam over there to me!¡±


    Just when I¡¯m holding a toasted piece of bread in one hand and reaching out for the purple jar¡ª


    An unnatural commotion comes from the corridor. Josak, who was standing by the door, moves his back away from the wall and his hand to his waist, before remembering that everyone¡¯s swords had been pulled into a corner. So he heads across the room with a ¡®tsk¡¯.


    G¨¹nter and Wolfram stand up too. Everyone looks towards the same direction.


    The only ones still seated are Saralegui and I, opposite to each other.


    ¡°I say, Saralegui, I heard a shocking rumor. There are extremists against your rule¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true! Yuuri.¡±


    Just then, the door crashes open, followed by hurried steps of boots on the stone ground.


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    A familiar voice.


    ¡°What¡¯s with the security here?¡±


    ¡°¡­Conrad¡­¡±


    G¨¹nter murmurs the name of the one who was once my confidant.


    Lord Weller, who had barged in, tosses a bleeding soldier away.


    Except for a certain someone, everyone¡¯s gazes land on him, with his sword unsheathed and covered in blood. And I remain with my back towards him. Staring at the sky outside the window.


    I don¡¯t see the need to turn around.


    Because he¡¯s no longer the man I once knew.

 Volume 9 - CH 8

    Lord Weller throws down the soldier on his shoulder, and releases the other man he had dragged in with his left hand. The army regulation coat is stained black from the shoulder to the chest, who knows the blood of how many people it took for that. There¡¯s even some white substance on the unsheathed sword, that¡¯s fat, you know.


    Basically I don¡¯t want to look at him, but I instinctively turn around out of concern for the wounded.


    They¡¯re all wearing the yellow and blue striped Shou Shimaron army uniform, one was chopped on the back, the other completely degutted, both silent.


    ¡°¡­Are they dead?¡±


    ¡°No, both are still alive.¡±


    Wolfram squats down, pressing his fingers to their jugular before replying. Finally, I find my voice to continue,


    ¡°Are they dead? Hey!¡±


    I kick aside the chair and step in between the two men, carefully touching the young soldier. His body is unnaturally cold.


    ¡°I saved the soldiers who were left outside the door, but there¡¯s still conflict at the main gate. Although the guards are brave, the overwhelming numbers aren¡¯t in our favor. What¡¯s happening, king of Shou Shimaron? Why has it come to this?¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    Saralegui steps in politely.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Storob. He is the ambassador from Dai Shimaron.¡±


    I simply use my ears to listen in on Lord Weller¡¯s interrogation of Saralegui, but my eyes never moved away from the soldier before me, and my fingers move slowly towards the wound on his stomach.


    ¡°I was wondering who it is, turns out it¡¯s His Majesty Belar¡¯s new favorite, Lord Weller. As you can see, there are the kings from two countries in this room, I was hoping you would show at least the most basic manners, but to you, I suppose it¡¯s pointless to speak of this now.¡±


    ¡°You are correct, it is pointless now.¡±


    I leave only a small part of my brain to hearing their duel of words, then I put my hand on the casualty¡¯s body. When the tip of my pointer finger touches the open wound, my white fingernail is instantly stained red, while the flesh of my finger brushes against a completely unreactive body. A wave of stimuli like a current darts around in my body, and the voices in the room start becoming distant.


    ¡°I come to the capital under His Highness¡¯ orders, only to find the entire city empty upon the king¡¯s departure for vacation. It took me all the way to the port before I could catch up, but then I find the hotel surrounded by swords and spears, and they¡¯re soldiers wearing the Shou Shimaron uniform, in other words the attackers and defenders are all in the same uniform¡­ Your Majesty Saralegui, I hope you can explain what the matter here is. Because I am bound by duty to report this to His Highness Belar.¡±


    ¡°It is as you see. Lord Weller, this in an internal conflict, if only on a smaller scale. Because they¡¯re against my diplomatic plans, so they want to use drastic measures to prevent my leaving for Seisakoku? The reason they¡¯re wearing the same uniform, is because they¡¯re all Shou Shimaron soldiers.¡±


    ¡°If so, Your Majesty Saralegui, as king of Shou Shimaron, do you plan to ignore the internal conflict here, and leave the country of your own accord?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think that he would care so much about such trivial matters in another country, His Highness Belar really is an extremely generous man!¡±


    Saralegui says in a theatrical tone.


    ¡°O Ambassador from Dai Shimaron, I ask you not to worry. Today the soldiers taking the opportunity and their uprising, is well within our expectations! This is a great chance to catch the rebels who had previously worked on too small a scale all at once.¡±


    Saralegui steps lightly to the window, peeking downwards out through the glass. But then he returns to his usual second in the next second! Goes to show that his exaggerated attitude was just a hoax.


    ¡°After the battle dies down, let¡¯s leave. We¡¯ve long ago prepared a secret tunnel in anticipation of these circumstances.¡±


    ¡°Secret tunnel?¡±


    ¡°One made especially for royalty.¡±


    ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll be tagging along as well.¡±


    I subconsciously turn to the speaker. Who is this ¡®I¡¯?


    Saralegui reveals an elegant smile like a young girl¡¯s, then says something completely contradicting his smile.


    ¡°Is that His Highness Belar the Second¡¯s orders as well?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Whenever there is a suspicion of improper conduct, Dai Shimaron has a duty to invigilate Shou Shimaron. You should be well aware of this, Your Majesty Saralegui.¡±


    ¡°What a bother.¡±


    The boy king sighs, lightly shrugging his slender shoulders and arms. He cocks his head slightly, and the pale golden hair originally gathered around his neck instantly floats down.


    ¡°You plan on boarding my ship, don¡¯t you?¡±


    By now I feel as though his voice is getting further and further away, and my head has become real dizzy. Even my consciousness is beginning to blur.


    A vague pain travels from the tips of my fingers to my wrist, then to my arm, spreading throughout my entire body from my shoulder joints, following my blood vessels to my brain, feet, heart¡­


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Suddenly I feel a strong impact. Wolfram¡¯s high voice is almost like a wail, and he even grabs my shoulders, shaking me violently.


    ¡°Yuuri what stupid thing are you doing now¡­ Are you trying to heal these two?¡±


    ¡°How is that¡­ stupid?¡±


    I just want to do what I did countless times before. Just help them stop the blood a bit.


    ¡°Has the bleeding stopped? Didn¡¯t you help me do this before¡­¡±


    My tongue feels clumsy, my words slurring as though I¡¯m drunk. When my hand is forcefully pulled away from the soldier¡¯s body, not only an I unable to squat down myself, I practically fall backwards as though having slipped.


    ¡°How many times have I told you, it¡¯s very dangerous to use maryoku on human land! How are you, does it hurt anywhere?¡±


    ¡°I forgot about that long¡­ Ah, my head¡ªso dizzy. Wait a sec. Actually I¡¯m not in that much pain, it¡¯s just I¡¯m¡ªreally¡ªdizzy. Wait a sec¡ªI¡¯ll be¡ªfine in a moment.¡±


    Truth is, it hurts to even talk. I lean the back of my head on Wolfram¡¯s chest, desperately trying to suppress the pain under my eyes. That pain is like the ache you get before a cold and a fever, it¡¯s agonizing just trying to move a finger.


    My half-assed maryoku probably couldn¡¯t save even one of them, huh? It¡¯s just like someone said a long time ago, maryoku isn¡¯t everything. I stare at the beautifully embroidered silver wallpaper as I contemplate, hearing the clash of metal and yells of the soldiers vaguely from outside the building.


    In front of my hovering gaze is the figure I missed to the point of wanting to cry.


    It¡¯s Conrad.


    He creases the scarred eyebrow slightly, looking at me as though he wants to say something, yet hesitating. Although I can¡¯t hear his voice, but I can read the too-familiar word on his lips.


    Yuuri.


    Having lost my sense of self-control, I do my best to lift my hand, heavy as a stone--


    Who cares what color his clothes are!


    The color of his clothes doesn¡¯t matter at all!


    Conrad¡¯s knee moves forward, and his right foot is lifted from the ground. But in a moment something bright grey blocks my line of vision, and I can no longer see his glowing silver irises.


    The piercing sound of metal then reverberates throughout the room, flying sparks disappearing behind the table, where the light cannot reach. My mind is functioning at a lower capacity than normal, so I can¡¯t understand what¡¯s happening, and it takes me a long time to realize that those are the sounds of battle. Using his unsheathed sword to parry the first attack, Gunter jumps behind me. Only then do I realize that the bright grey thing that had blocked my view was his back.


    ¡°If you take even one step closer to his Majesty, I won¡¯t hold back!¡±


    ¡°Are you serious, G¨¹nter?¡±


    Right now, all I can hear is Conrad¡¯s wavering voice, and the sound of blades changing direction. Lord von Christ¡¯s long hair slides down to his upper arm from his shoulders.


    ¡°You dare deny that you are the dog of the opposition? For all we know, you are the assassin Dai Shimaron sent to kill His Majesty the Maou and set back the mazoku!¡±


    ¡°I had no idea Shin Makoku¡¯s envoy would be here.¡±


    ¡°Who would believe a traitor like you!¡±


    G¨¹nter¡¯s aura as he dashes forth follow the wind back down to where I am, quick and so sharp it almost cuts my cheek.


    ¡°You are no longer a member of Shin Makoku! Completely different from us, who¡¯ve sworn our loyalty to the Maou!¡±


    ¡°G¨¹nter, even so. I have no reason to cross swords with you¡­¡±


    ¡°I do!¡±


    The rare attack that thrusts from the bottom upwards cuts off the tip of Conrad¡¯s sword.


    Stop, G¨¹nter! That isn¡¯t something you would do!


    Come to think of it, I really haven¡¯t seen this royal instructor go physical. I know he specializes in maryoku and IQ. But how are his fighting skills? Faced with Conrad, a sword master for eighty years, would he be killed for his deliberate provocation?


    ¡°¡­Stop¡­ Stop them, Wolf. Won¡¯t it be bad if he gets hurt on human soil? Damn, why won¡¯t my head stop spinning¡­¡±


    ¡°Who are you saying will get hurt? Conrad?¡±


    ¡°I mean both of them, but it really is rare to see G¨¹nter use a sword.¡±


    I raise the head I was resting on Wolfram¡¯s chest, trying to break free from his grasp. If I can¡¯t stand, I¡¯ll walk over there on my knees, or crawl there. I must stop this battle before either one of them gets hurt.


    ¡°If they¡¯re serious about this¡­¡±


    Wolfram notices what I¡¯m trying to do, supporting me with both hands as he says,


    ¡°It should be hard to tell, although it might actually be Conrad at a disadvantage.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You still can¡¯t move about like that! Don¡¯t bother so much, just let them fight it out!¡±


    ¡°But G¨¹nter can¡¯t use maryoku here, right? So you¡¯re saying that on sword skills alone they are completely evenly matched? And hey, you, the other one is your brother, right?¡±


    Surprisingly, Wolfram looks relaxed, saying in a shocking tone,


    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for you fainting right now, I¡¯d do anything to run up there and take G¨¹nter¡¯s place, and I think Gurrier feels the same way I do.¡±


    ¡°Take¡­ Take whose place!¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you the same? If you don¡¯t whack him a couple times, you¡¯ll never be satisfied.¡±


    Take a baseball bat and K him a couple times.


    ¡°¡­He¡¯ll probably get grievously hurt.¡±


    Why am even I thinking such scary thoughts.


    Saralegui, on the other hand, is still leaning against the window pane, looking at G¨¹nter and Lord Weller with interest. His expression says that he is watching as a bystander, but there¡¯s no confusion or contempt there.


    I immediately pull my gaze away from the boy king and back to my men, because there¡¯s a cringe-worthy sound of clashing metal coming from the battle.


    The curtain-less windows shine in the morning light, and the blades gleam silver. From my position, it¡¯s easier to follow the path of the light than the actual movements of the sword.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t teach you everything I know just so you can wear this uniform!¡±


    I¡¯m jolted back to reality by Gunter¡¯s words of agony.


    I almost forgot, Lord von Christ is an educator with students all around the country, it¡¯s no wonder he was given a military position although he¡¯s not a military man. Even though the current situation is so tense, but just imagining him as a demon trainer in the past, makes me laugh out loud.


    Wolfram, who is long used to battles, mumbles the moves they¡¯re using, while Lord Weller takes the opportunity to parry aside G¨¹nter¡¯s sword. Although it has nothing to do with me, but I still start worrying if the destructive power of the weapon itself will make a difference.


    ¡°Then why do you raise soldiers? Is it so they can die an honorable death on the battlefield?¡±


    Lord Weller¡¯s voice is colder than the dueling blades. On the other hand, G¨¹nter¡¯s words seem more agitated, the emotions displayed by both sides feel completely different.


    ¡°I live to raise soldiers who are loyal to the country, Shinou, and his appointed His Majesty the Maou, until the very last moment¡­¡±


    ¡°And most people do as you wish, don¡¯t they?¡±


    Suddenly there¡¯s a ¡®clack¡¯, then deep and short sounds of impact. Compared to the clanging of metal against metal, their battle now has become much more dangerous. Because their power had nowhere to go, now it¡¯s directly reached their weapon and arms.


    Lord Weller curves the corners of his lips. I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s smiling or not. Can¡¯t read him at all.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be too greedy.¡±


    ¡°Why¡­ Didn¡¯t I teach you to be His Majesty¡¯s sword and shield?¡±


    Right now all I can see is G¨¹nter¡¯s back. That shiny light grey robe of his, floats gracefully with his every move and the track of the blade that I can vaguely see, is like a dancing with a sword.


    The two long swords cross in mid-air, making a faint sound of friction. Their sturdy hilts overlap, so close their faces are almost touching.


    ¡°¡­You should stay by the Maou¡¯s side.¡±


    ¡°I give those words back to you, every one, because only the most honest of men can accomplish it.¡±


    Lord Weller¡¯s light brown eyes darken, then he forces open the eyelids that were going to close.


    Then he uses the part of the hilt that juts out, causing his opponent¡¯s blade to sink deep inside, before turning around quickly. He¡¯s not using brute strength, but the power in his arms.


    At that moment there¡¯s the sound of glass shattering, instantly reverberating the air in the room.


    G¨¹nter¡¯s sword, having been broken from the roots, falls to the ground dully.


    ¡°Looks like that is not a weapon made for war. And also, Your Excellency the Royal Instructor¡­ Lord von Christ, you don¡¯t seem accustomed to killing people.¡±


    A cold sweat has broken out on my palms, my nails digging so deep they leave marks. I grip my fist so tightly, using so much force even I feel the pain.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    Slowly, I regain strength in my legs. Putting my palms on my trembling knees, I force myself up. Finally, success!


    When I turn to face them, G¨¹nter with just a hilt in his hand, is using the grip to pry away Lord Weller¡¯s sword.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡±


    I move before Wolfram can grab my clothes, rushing in between the two men. I throw my arms open wide, with my back facing G¨¹nter. I know who I should be standing in front of now, who I should be protecting. What I¡¯m doing is right, absolutely not wrong.


    ¡°Your Majesty!¡±


    Upon hearing the words leave his mouth, Lord Weller himself looks surprised. As he frantically tries to pull back, he loses his balance and falls unseemly.


    ¡°Enough for you?¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty, have you any idea how dangerous that was? You need not protect me! In the middle of a heated battle, please don¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°Stop talking!¡±


    The hand that was reaching for my shoulder is suddenly pulled back.


    ¡°You started this, so don¡¯t go preaching there all self-importantly, G¨¹nter!¡±


    ¡°Y-yes, my lord.¡±


    ¡°And stop arguing in front of me, looking even more childish than I do! For someone long over a hundred years old, you¡¯re still so childish! And where do you think this is? This is the location of a summit between the leaders of two countries! Look at Saralegui, so mature and serious. Do you know how much older you are than him?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ very sorry¡­ Your Majesty.¡±


    G¨¹nter sags his shoulders and apologizes, while beside him Lord Weller sheathes his sword, making a hearty ¡®ke-chang¡¯ sound.


    And then, I stand facing him, hiding my emotions deep within my heart before raising my head to look at him.


    ¡°About my subordinate¡¯s insolent actions towards Dai Shimaron¡¯s ambassador, I am deeply sorry, it was our fault.¡±


    ¡°¡­We were just playing around, please don¡¯t mind.¡±


    After our mild conversation, Saralegui claps his hands thrice. The sound echoes around the high ceiling, then sinks downwards.


    ¡°Such an interesting situation is rare indeed, although I have no idea what went on between the teacher and student over there.¡±


    He walks over to me slowly, then grabs my arm with his slender fingers,


    ¡°I don¡¯t wish for my hard-earned friend to get caught in the crossfire, so I plan on evacuating this place, and Yuuri¡¯s coming with me. If you have no intention of protecting your king, go ahead and continue with your charade.¡±


    ¡°W-wait a second, Sara!¡±


    ¡°Yuuri, let¡¯s go. This is a secret tunnel, doesn¡¯t that sound exciting? I always wanted to take this kind of tunnel as a kid, but grandpa butler wouldn¡¯t let me adventure around the tunnels in town.¡±


    ¡°¡­You even have a butler?¡±


    As expected of a natural born prince, I didn¡¯t even have a nanny. Before I can voice my opinions as a commoner, Saralegui grans my hand and jumps into the furnace.


    ¡°Eh, w-w-w-w-what?! A Star Tour without water?!¡±


    ¡°Careful, Yuuri, don¡¯t bite your tongue now.¡±


    ¡°Haat ih dah theh aaah (What is down there aaah), uyaaaaey--!¡±


    We slip down a long slide in the darkness. My butt hurts, and because friction creates heat, it feels like it¡¯s burning to a crisp. Instead of calling it a secret tunnel, it¡¯d probably be better to say it¡¯s a hidden roller coaster.


    The tunnel suddenly reaches an end, and we¡¯re tossed into the air, before landing onto our tailbones on the dusty ground. The air here smells musty, but it isn¡¯t unbearable. And then my companions fall onto us, one by one.


    ¡°Oorgh¡±, ¡°Ump-rgh¡±, ¡°Pu-argh¡±, ¡°Gaaah¡±¡ªthey should be about as heavy as a million stones.


    ¡°That hurts¡ªGet off! Get off now!¡±


    The small animals hiding in the darkness squeak as they make their speedy escape. Before my eyes can get used to the darkness, I use my hand as a substitute to feel my way around, and when I touch the ground, I find and pick up a smooth and dry sphere.


    ¡°Whose is¡ªWaah-lee-leh!¡±


    A lit torch approaches, and I realize that the thing in my hand is an old dry skull.


    ¡°H-h-h-he¡¯s dead, so we¡¯re facing a deadly area ahead! W-wait, Saralegui, this is the way, right? You aren¡¯t Indiana Jones, are you?¡±


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s right. This used to be a kitchen, that¡¯s probably leftovers.¡±


    I shouldn¡¯t have asked. Then, this is an ape, an ape, right? Otherwise no sort of gourmet would use human bones to make a soup. Or maybe this guy is a member of the kotsuchizoku, and we can use his ¡®bone signaling¡¯ to contact home.


    So I gather my guts and grab its lower jaw, making it clack and trying to leave a message.


    ¡°Old pal, time¡¯s up. I mean, good fellow, we¡¯re currently underground. We, who believe in ancient creatures of legend, are now in an old abandoned tunnel, and headed deeper inwards.¡±


    No reply, guess it¡¯s just a normal skull, after all.


    The passionate Royal Instructor who¡¯s always keen to impart his wisdom, calmly explains.


    ¡°Your Majesty, that¡¯s not a kotsuchizoku. Although they particularly enjoy being buried or left in the surface, they extremely hate underground passageways with cobwebs.¡±


    ¡°Aiya!¡±


    The cobwebs that the kochi, otherwise known as the kotsuchizoku, are now tangled in my hair.


    ¡°Yuuri, this way!¡±


    An excited Saralegui waves at me from ahead. It took me forever to get used to the darkness, and now I can vaguely see his pale skin.


    Just as G¨¹nter accidentally trips and has to be caught by someone in front, I notice Lord Weller is following directly behind me. He looks hesitant, and after a moment he speaks to me in an overly formal and distant tone. His face is still trained forward, though.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    Maybe he thinks that speaking softly can avoid the others overhearing, but I too face the sparkling distance, which may be the exit, instead of looking his way.


    ¡°Perfectly fine.¡±


    ¡°His Majesty Belar the Fourth is also very concerned about you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right~ He¡¯s your ¡®Your Majesty¡¯, right.¡±


    ¡°After all, the parting that time in the desert was rather disconcerting.¡±


    ¡°Please pass on my apologies, for making him worry.¡±


    This is when Saralegui turns back again.


    ¡°Yuuri! It¡¯s the exit, see, I was right!¡±


    The person waving at me, king of Shou Shimaron Saralegui, and Sigourney Weaver[1] with the childish voice, otherwise known as Dai Shimaron¡¯s His Majesty Belar the Fourth, are actually on opposing sides. Saralegui must escape from Dai Shimaron¡¯s control, and His Majesty Belar the Fourth always wanted to defeat his uncle. If someone were to ask me who I wanna help, for now I¡¯ll definitely say Saralegui.


    ¡°Are you getting along well?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? But he is¡­!¡±


    Conrad never finishes his sentence.


    Because having noticed that we were whispering to each other, G¨¹nter is running our way, hair flying everywhere.


    ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù


    Under the almost-noon sun, the outside is extremely piercing to the eyes. When we push past what looks like a manhole, we come to the back of a little hunter¡¯s cottage in a forest. Thank goodness for the long and winding underground tunnel. We¡¯ve come such a long way we can¡¯t even hear the voices of the soldiers.


    Storob and another Shou Shimaron soldier release the horses that were previously tied together. Saralegui looks at the only one simple carriage and asks,


    ¡°Can you ride?¡±


    His words bring back painful memories, and I heave a deep sigh.


    ¡°I can ride, but I can¡¯t make the horse move.¡±


    ¡°Same here, then let¡¯s take my carriage. It¡¯s slower than riding horseback, but at least it¡¯s much safer.¡±


    ¡°Thanks. But if I¡¯m alone, my companions will worry¡­ G¨¹nter, I¡¯m here! Can they get on the carriage too?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it takes a day and a night to get to the harbor. We can¡¯t rest on horseback, but we can take a breather in a carriage. Oh, yeah!¡±


    Since Storob is occupied, I have to take his place and help Saralegui onto the carriage. He weighs as much as a kid, seems like the bona fide prince is slender from head to toe.


    ¡°Lord Weller isn¡¯t taking the carriage too? Aren¡¯t the two of you close?¡±


    Crap, he found out.


    ¡°Ahh¡ªbut¡ª¡±


    I glare at G¨¹nter, meaning ¡®it was all your fault!¡¯. But since I¡¯ve automatically turned on a water heater myself, I guess I have no right to blame anyone else.


    ¡°His riding skills are superb.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Then that makes him feel much more dependable.¡±


    His reply seems to be insinuating something.


    ¡°Come to think of it. He¡­ seems to have a brother who looks a lot like him.¡±


    I don¡¯t know what Saralegui is trying to find out, so I can only pretend not to hear him. Thankfully he doesn¡¯t continue asking.


    More importantly, what does ¡®look a lot like him¡¯ mean?


    If he meant a brother who is ¡®surprisingly similar¡¯, then we just happen to have a pretty boy right here staring daggers at us.


    ?

 Volume 9 - CH 9

    The Saralegui Army Port we arrived at a few days earlier, is still blanketed under a tense atmosphere. It¡¯s different from the business ports here, all the vessels docked are navy ones, so the monotonous and dull colors can¡¯t be helped.


    But there is one particularly eye-catching ship.


    ¡°There wasn¡¯t such a luxurious vessel before, huh.¡±


    Waiting for us is the meticulously prepared, shiny sparkly golden Shou Shimaron royal ship.


    The goddess statue praying for good luck on the helm of the ship us smiling gently, while there¡¯s a Shimaron flag billowing on the tail end. The body of the ship is a shade of deep green that goes well with the waves, the windows and rims are hand-carved and inlaid with gold. If they unfurl the yellow and blue striped sail on the amber-like wooden mast, then this ship would surely be as beautiful as a butterfly sailing on the seas. Another ship docked next to it looks real shaky, though, making the flagship all the more magnificent. Looks like the cargo ship is headed for Seisakoku too.


    ¡°We must come prepared with a variety of things when dealing with others.¡±


    So, the cargo on that ship must be either bribes or presents? As expected from someone who graduated from the School of Kings, he thought of bringing gifts on a visit. That¡¯s why he¡¯s different from me, and knows how to prepare for every eventuality.


    Walking up the long gangway ladder, I can¡¯t help but be continuously in awe of the ship¡¯s grandeur. All I¡¯m doing is voicing my honest thoughts, and to Saralegui, that¡¯s definitely not a displeasing thing.


    ¡°It¡¯s so pretty¡ªDoes it have a name? Like SS The Queen or something?¡±


    ¡°¡®The Golden Salmon¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s called ¡®The Golden Salmon¡¯, isn¡¯t that a wonderful name?¡±


    Golden salmons¡­ To be honest I prefer red salmon, its natural enemy should be the bears around Alaska.


    Just when everyone else is being led into the luxurious cabins, Lord Weller is the only one who politely declines boarding ¡®The Golden Salmon¡¯, choosing another mode of transportation on his own.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just ride that cargo ship.¡±


    ¡°That one? But it¡¯s already filled with cargo, and the feeling of sleeping on cargo can¡¯t be good. Won¡¯t it be more comfortable in the flagship?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind about comfort during the journey, after all I¡¯m neither royalty nor nobility.¡±


    The ambassador from Dai Shimaron wordlessly heads toward the worn-out ship.


    ¡°¡­He¡¯s weird, is it because he doesn¡¯t want to ride on the same ship as us?¡±


    His words have me suddenly breaking into a cold sweat, and I even think that he¡¯s realized Lord Weller¡¯s origins. Because G¨¹nter suddenly went crazy just now, Saralegui knows his nationality; but about his background, how much does Saralegui know?


    ¡°About that, I¡¯m not so sure either.¡±


    As we climb up the gangway side by side, Saralegui stares directly at me.


    ¡°Do you plan on starting this voyage dressed like that?¡±


    Although it¡¯s not unsanitary, but I¡¯m still in a personal chef¡¯s outfit. The long apron all the way to my calves may not be that convenient for walking, but it does help warm up my legs and knees.


    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not wearing a tuxedo. If it were army uniforms, there should be suitable ones on our ship. But it¡¯s all right if Wolfram was in uniform¡­ Problem is, I¡¯m not a soldier.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to apologize for, it¡¯s just that voyages on the sea tend to have temperamental weather, be it the wind or the strength of the sun, it¡¯s all different from when we¡¯re on land! That¡¯s why, if it¡¯s possible, it¡¯s best to prepare a coat that can wrap up your entire body.¡±


    But now there¡¯s not much time left for Captain Sizemore, who¡¯s docked on the opposite end of the jetty, to get a change of clothes. Actually I really want to go back to the ship and check up on Zeda and Zisha too, but since they say the high tide now is ideal for setting sail, the few of us who lack geological sense can only agree.


    At this moment, Saralegui takes off his cloak, and shoves it at my chest.


    ¡°If it¡¯s all right with you, wear this. It¡¯s my usual cloak, and if you wear a hat with it then you can block out the wind completely. Since we¡¯re not that different in size, I¡¯m guessing it¡¯ll fit just fine on you, and I have several more cloaks anyway.¡±


    The light blue cloak he¡¯s giving me is made of a shiny and smooth material, you can tell it¡¯s quality goods just by touching it.


    ¡°Really? Geez! I keep making you worry about me!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to be able to help you, y¡¯know. Crap, sorry, Storob is calling me. We¡¯re setting sail soon, can you board first and wait for me?¡±


    Having been called by his soldier subordinate, Saralegui jogs back onto land. On the way he even turns back to look at me, a child¡¯s smile on his face.


    ¡°Oh, yeah, Yuuri, before we leave the bay you can stand behind the helmsman and enjoy the view! When the front of the ship squeezes out of the narrow bay, that feeling of awe is something you never get tired of, I always stand at the back and watch!¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡ª¡±


    ¡°And then we pop open some grape wine to toast the captain and the helmsman¡¯s skills, that¡¯s what we normally do on voyages.¡±


    ¡°I see¡ª¡±


    Although it¡¯s a ship, but leaving the dock must be as tricky as an airplane taking off. Getting complimented as soon as the mission¡¯s completed, must make the experts really happy. So this is how he captures his subordinates¡¯ hearts! Who knew that staying by Saralegui¡¯s side would help me discover so many things worthy of respect.


    Lord von Bielefeld brushes against him as he leaves, frowning. He probably doesn¡¯t think a trip for such an important reason isn¡¯t worth being so happy about.


    ¡°G¨¹nter asked me to give this to you, it might not fit too well.¡±


    Wolfram is also still wearing a kitchen apprentice¡¯s clothes, and there¡¯s a thick white jacket hanging on his arm. Be it the sleeves, the hems, or the decorations, everything is supersized.


    ¡°Oh! I don¡¯t need this anymore. Just now Saralegui lent me his cloak. Besides our heights aren¡¯t that different, the size should be a better fit than G¨¹nter¡¯s clothes¡­ Wanna see?¡±


    Wolfram scrutinizes the cloak inside out, even bringing it to his nose, like a little rabbit sniffing at the fabric.


    ¡°Mm--¡±


    ¡°Wolf¡­ What are you sniffing for! Saralegui did take a bath, you know!¡±


    ¡°Give this one to me.¡±


    ¡°Eh, why? He purposely lent this to me!¡±


    I look the third son from top to bottom. He has a smooth face that has never gotten tan, and eyes as green as the bottom of a lake. Compared to me, whose constantly outdoors practicing, his skin is so white it looks like it can¡¯t bear direct sunlight.


    ¡°¡­On second thought, it might be better if you wear it. Alright, mm, you take it, I planned on getting more sun anyway.¡±


    Because he¡¯s so fair, I ask him to put on his hat, and even help him to cover up all his golden hair. Now he looks just like a light blue weather doll, and I can¡¯t help but laugh with a ¡®pfffft¡¯.


    ¡°How is it? What are you laughing at, Yuuri?¡±


    ¡°Because you¡¯re super cute¡­ No, I mean, it feels like the weather will get better. If we hang you up like a lucky item, the entire journey should be sunny!¡±


    ¡°You want to use me as a live sacrifice, and pray for a safe voyage?¡±


    ¡°Not a live sacrifice, weather dolls aren¡¯t live sacrifices!¡±


    Then I turn my back on a displeased-looking Wolfram, and run off to tour the number one battleship in Shou Shimaron. Logically speaking, the equipment and firepower of the main ship are top secret military information, but there¡¯s no one on surveillance duty here at all, Saralegui really is a generous king.


    ¡°Wasei¡ªThere are even cannons, but why isn¡¯t there any gunpowder¡­¡±


    A young passing crewman even tells me helpfully, that there¡¯s a small scale catapult on board. Though they were our enemies twenty years ago, but in truth they are a bunch of friendly people.


    The crew of ¡®The Golden Salmon¡¯ consists entirely out of Shou Shimaron soldiers. They¡¯re wearing that familiar yellow and blue striped uniform. And they sport that even more familiar cropped ponytail. Everyone¡¯s working hard and happily.


    Just as everyone¡¯s busily making preparations, Sunny[1] Wolfram walks over confidently.	¡°Aren¡¯t you cold? Either you get into the cabins or put on an extra layer, otherwise G¨¹nter will definitely pull you inside all nervous-like!¡±


    ¡°How is G¨¹nter? After losing to Conrad¡­ Um¡ªIs he very down?¡±


    ¡°Nah, he¡¯s in a very good mood, in fact. Seems like it¡¯s because you rushed up to protect him, and that makes him considerably happy.


    ¡°What, he sure recovers quickly!¡±


    Wolfram rubs his frozen fingers hard, to get some temporary warmth. Maybe it¡¯s because we¡¯re by the water, so it¡¯s fairly cold even though it¡¯s not winter climate.


    ¡°He excitedly said that he¡¯d come over as soon as he got his hands on the voyage map¡­ Yuuri, I think it¡¯s still better if we go in, right?¡±


    But Saralegui said that before exiting the bay it¡¯s best to stay on the deck and watch. And he said that the best position is behind the helmsman.


    ¡°He said watching the ship leave the bay from here gives an amazing sense of awe, and that it¡¯s a tradition when setting sail, as well as a highlight. Since it¡¯s such a rare chance, let¡¯s just follow our senior¡¯s suggestions.¡±


    Just as I¡¯m putting on the excessive jacket of G¨¹nter¡¯s, the brass instrument instantly strikes up some loud music, like a shishi-odoshi[2] that rang a few hundred times in quick succession. The people on the dock all look up, and watch the Shou Shimaron king¡¯s flagship¡ª¡®The Golden Salmon¡¯ depart with reverent gazes.


    Leaving behind the ropes and the gangway ladder, the anchor is slowly pulled up, accompanied by a deep rumbling.


    After the ship makes a simple and short glide on the water, it begins to flow with the current within the bay. At first, it¡¯s towed by the manpower boat in front. Then, thanks to the adjusting valve set up in the bay, the helm of the ship is immediately turned to face the outer sea.


    ¡°Eh, is Saralegui on board already? Wasn¡¯t he called back onto land by his subordinate just now? I was even worried he wouldn¡¯t get back on time.¡±


    ¡°Come on. How could a ship leave without its master?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah. You¡¯re right!¡±


    ¡®The Golden Salmon¡¯ moves with a smoothness bellying its large size, and begins to sail on the calm ocean surface. It¡¯s not as simple as going with the flow, it takes skill from the helmsman to make the ship move from parking position to sailing in a straight line. From Wolfram and my position, we can see the miniscule movements of the ship¡¯s wheel.


    Behind us, is the tribute ship carrying Lord Weller and the cargo.


    ¡°That¡¯s odd¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    I pull back my chilly fist to rub around my right eye. Because there¡¯s a medium-sized ship approaching us from directly ahead in the bay.


    ¡°Is it just me, or¡­ no, it shouldn¡¯t be. I say, Mr Helmsman. That dark brown ship seems to be coming right at us.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not just you. But, please don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s still a distance between us. Though it is odd that the first mate hasn¡¯t issued a warning¡­¡±


    The middle-aged helmsman sounds very serious. Technically the first mate should be at an even higher position than the ship bridge, and should have made a warning upon discovering an obstruction ahead.


    I help the helmsman peek at the position of the soldier with this duty, but all I see is a bulging yellow cloth.


    ¡°A human? Is that a human? It should be a sleeping or fainted thing instead, right?¡±


    But the unassuming medium-sized ship is still headed straight towards us at top speed, the distance between the ships now close enough for us to discern each other¡¯s armaments with the naked eye. Based on Shin Makoku¡¯s navy, that would be a medium-level patrol ship. Standing in rows on the deck are people wearing the same uniform as ¡®The Golden Salmon¡¯, and a few sentinels are clinging tightly onto the mast that¡¯s currently lowering the sail.


    This is bad. We¡¯re not filming ¡®Speed 2: Cruise Control¡¯ here, it looks like the other party is serious, and the situation is dire.


    ¡°Waa¡ªBrake! Mr Driver, quickly, braake!¡±


    ¡°Calm down, Yuuri.¡±


    Just when I¡¯m thinking ¡®we¡¯re gonna crash¡¯ and shut my eyes, bracing for impact, the body of the ship finally starts turning right. Turns out the helmsman had long since turned the wheel to make the helm change direction, but the patrol ship coming straight for us doesn¡¯t plan on turning. Since we¡¯d turned right to avoid them, now all we can do is face them with the side of the ship.


    ¡°That ship plans on coming straight at us!¡±


    ¡°Hold on tight, keep low, and make sure to grab onto something!¡±


    Amidst the panic on the ship, a loud and clear man¡¯s voice yells several times.


    ¡°They¡¯re coming! Everyone, hold on--¡±


    Wolfram and I immediately hit the deck. Just then, there¡¯s a dropping tremor just like an earthquake, making our shoulder knock together. It¡¯s the impact from the medium-sized ship crashing into the dark green belly of ¡®The Golden Salmon¡¯. And then there¡¯s a shaking from left to right, increasing in intensity, until the sound of breaking wood brings the scene to a climax.


    The amber mast tilts as the belly of the ship fills up with water.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°I was gonna ask you! Why would a patrol ship that also belongs to Shou Shimaron crash into the king¡¯s flagship? Mr Helmsman, hey¡ªMy Helmsman¡­ but after such a crush, I guess even the rudder has been destroyed.¡±


    The ship¡¯s wheel has long since broken apart, and a huge hole has also been blasted into the entrance into the cargo bay just ahead. To successfully get up on the deck that¡¯s now so slanted it¡¯s hard to walk, we hook onto each other¡¯s arms for support. Finally, we manage to get onto out feet.


    Soldiers are running up and down all around us. Some are busy grabbing swords, some are raising their arms and directing others, some are running everywhere with buckets of water. Buckets of water?


    ¡°Your Majesty, you¡¯re all right¡­ Yahoo!¡±


    G¨¹nter runs over, stumbling. Waves beat on the slanted deck, making movement even more difficult, and finally he accidentally steps on the hem of his robes and falls flat on his back. Tries to get up, and falls back down! Now bent over, he stares at his palm, and suddenly the super bishie¡¯s expression changes drastically.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t water, it¡¯s oil! Oil¡¯s flowing in!¡±


    I stare at the top part of the slant, and see a man kicking down barrel after wooden barrel. It was the young soldier who had told me about the cannon and the catapult at the jetty, and now he¡¯s raising his fist high, excitedly singing goodness knows what.


    ¡°¡­Why?¡±


    Hearing the sound of the thick metal cable being hacked apart, I feel the air flowing strangely. It¡¯s a wind carrying the pressure of intense heat, and not the naturally calm air.


    ¡°G¨¹nter! Take it off, take off your clothes!¡±


    ¡°W-what? Y-Your Majesty, don¡¯t tell me you want do that kind of thing in this kind of place?¡±


    G¨¹nter covers his chest with his hands. You¡¯re already so old, there shouldn¡¯t be anything to be ashamed of.


    ¡°Take it off now! Otherwise it¡¯ll burn, it¡¯ll ignite a fire!¡±


    The bright red fireball in midair is cutting a curve as it approaches us.


    That¡¯s not majutsu or houjutsu. Over a hundred flaming arrows descend from the sky, rapidly igniting the oil on the deck, plunging the entire ship into a sea of scarlet flames.


    The old soldier cries out, almost in agony. As for the younger soldiers with the shorter ponytails, they¡¯re singing a certain man¡¯s name.


    ¡°It¡¯s Maxine, Maxine¡¯s here--!¡±


    ¡°Master Maxine is finally here!¡±


    ¡­What about Crop Pony?


    The weird thing is that medium-sized ship¡¯s crew isn¡¯t trying to board our ship. They¡¯ve already made such a daring assault on the flagship, but now they¡¯re not moving into a close quarter battle, what¡¯s the meaning of this?


    ¡°Are you all right over there, G¨¹nter?¡±


    Wolfram grabs my shirt tightly with one hand, clapping his mouth with the other.


    ¡°Y-you¡¯re seriously taking it off?¡±


    The super bishie is stripping his clothes off one by one, and doing it with gusto.


    ¡°Why would you say so? I¡¯m always serious! Just like in my dictionary, ¡®serious¡¯ is pronounced MAZO (as in masochism)! That¡¯s what His Majesty taught me! Wolfram, protect His Majesty before I get to his side. Your Majesty, Sizemore is on his way right now, before he gets here, please try not to fall into the sea¡­¡±


    Oh, yeah, Shin Makoku¡¯s pride and joy ¡®Friends on the Sea¡¯ was also docked in the Saralegui War Port. Once they see this huge fire, Captain Sizemore would definitely rush right over. It¡¯s just a fire, putting it out would be a piece of cake, there¡¯s no need at all for my super Maou mode¡­


    ¡°That¡¯s right, after all he is the hero of the sea and the evening sea monster, Sizemore, right¡­¡±


    At first I¡¯d planned to drag out that last sound up a pitch, so I can get Wolfram¡¯s approval. But before the final sound reaches my lips from my throat, my breath stops.


    A black line is aiming for my forehead.


    If I measure the time with my G-SHOCK, it wouldn¡¯t be even one second. But it seems like an old recording out on slow-motion, slowly slicing through the air as it approaches me.


    I thought I¡¯d get hit; I thought the bullet that wasn¡¯t supposed to exist would go straight through my forehead, so I waited to be impaled without moving a muscle.


    I thought it was aimed for me.


    But¡ª


    What follows is a sound like that of sticking a bat into the sand of a beach, a sound that is incredibly hard to describe.


    It¡¯s not a shot, or the sound of metal destroying bone, passing through flesh and blood. It¡¯s not the sound of blood spraying either.


    There¡¯s no sign of a shot anywhere on my body.


    But in the corner of my left eye, there suddenly a flash of aqua blue.


    ¡°¡­Wolf?¡±


    The hand that was grabbing me so tightly suddenly lets go, and the body next to mine slowly falls forward.


    ¡°Wolf?¡±


    His back is slowly approaching the flaming floorboards.


    ¡°Wolf? Wolf! Wolfram!¡±


    There¡¯s a metal arrow sticking out of the middle of his chest, slightly to the left.


    ¡°How can this be¡­? Wolfram¡­? What to do, what should I do¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­careful¡­ ahead¡­¡±


    He barely lifts his hand, pointing at the mast of a middle-sized ship. Even though his hand immediately falls back down powerlessly, but I see the man wielding the bow there cutting the rope that tied him to the mast with a small knife after his job is done.


    So it was from that height and that distance that he attacked.


    Although it doesn¡¯t sound too possible, but I saw his face, or at least I think I saw it. Because all I saw was an ugly sanpaku[3], but I didn¡¯t see his eye color or appearance.


    Surprisingly, I¡¯m not at all angry, just shivering uncontrollably in fear of losing.


    ¡°Is it that man?¡±


    I lay Wolf down on my knees, and lie over his body, putting my ear closer.


    It¡¯s okay, he¡¯s still breathing! There¡¯s still breathing.


    ¡°¡­Ki¡­nan¡­¡±


    ¡°Eh, what? What are you talking about, I can¡¯t hear you? Can this be pulled out? Can I pull the arrow out?¡±


    The tail of the arrow has brown and white stripes. Although we¡¯re in a huge blazing fire, but the metal arrow feels exceptionally cold, and the light blue cloak is free of blood stains. But if I simply try to pull it out, there¡¯s a high possibility of extreme blood loss, that might end up threatening his life instead.


    Wolfram gasps for breath. But his face, contorted in pain from lack of air, is slowly becoming as white as paper.


    ¡°¡­What to do¡­ Someone call the doctor quick¡­ G¨¹nter! G¨¹nter!¡±


    But at this time G¨¹nter just has to be hidden from sight by a wall of flames.


    I hold my hand out to the arrow tail, asking if I can do anything. But at the same time I¡¯m scared that just the lightest touch will cause his already shallow breathing to instantly stop.


    ¡°Wolf, don¡¯t do this! Stop joking around¡­ At a time like this, don¡¯t do this to me¡­¡±


    Isn¡¯t maryoku meant for moments like this? That unexplainable power of mine, doesn¡¯t it exist so that I can save him?


    Quick, concentrate, forget about the commotion around you!


    I start imagining Wolfram¡¯s wound, ready to slowly accept his pain. I feel the blood flowing in my hands, my shoulders and my chest, then I adjust my heartbeat to follow his.


    Just opening my eyes isn¡¯t enough. So I use the warmth and pulse travelling through my fingertips, to feel the weak flow of his blood.


    At this moment even my breathing starts slowing down, the two of us seem to be separated from the rest of the world by a thin veil, even the heat from the fire is gone.


    ¡°¡­W-Wolf¡­!¡±


    Lord von Bielefeld releases a heavy breath, and then his whole head loses its strength. The face and eyes that were twitching with pain gradually stop moving, the labored breathing from his mouth becoming inaudible.


    But my hand and heart feel no pain.


    ¡°Wolf! Wait! What is this? Why can¡¯t I feel your pain, and the flow of your blood? Hey, answer me! Say something! Come on, call me a wimp, I don¡¯t mind no matter how much you scold me! Quick, call me a wimp!¡±


    I want to lift my hands from my knees and grab his shoulders, shake him, but then my gaze falls to the ground in front of me, to the blood stained army boots on the flaming floor.


    ¡°Who--!¡±


    I wanted to yell ¡®who¡¯s there!¡¯, but I swallow my words back down.


    ¡°How did this happen? That cloak¡­ wasn¡¯t that meant to be worn by the king?¡±


    The pale drawn face is tinted red by the flames. I stare at those thin single eyelids, and that man is staring back at us. That familiar deep brown hair of his is a little messy sticking to his forehead.


    ¡°¡­Nigel Weiss Maxine!¡±


    I¡¯ll never forget your face for the rest of my life!


    And I¡¯ll never forgive you till the day I die!


    ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù


    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±


    By now my surroundings turn a pure white, not the red of fire and not the grey of smoke.


    I feel like I¡¯m alone in a valley with a blizzard, snow being blown around by the wind behind my back.


    And there¡¯s not even a hint of heat, I guess I wouldn¡¯t even know if my body was burning up. Even though I¡¯m being cut by the white surroundings and cold ice, all I get are wounds that don¡¯t bleed.


    I don¡¯t want to wait for anyone¡¯s guidance anymore.


    Even if I don¡¯t hear that certain someone¡¯s voice, it doesn¡¯t matter; even though he¡¯s not there behind me to push me on, it doesn¡¯t matter. I just want to use my own power, for that burning rage within my heart.


    ¡°How could you have done something like¡­!¡±


    I swing my tightly-clenched fist at my target.


    ¡°Nigel Weiss¡­ Maxine!¡±


    My tone is weird and almost indistinguishable, the nerves connecting the cells in my brain suddenly alight with sparks.


    ¡°To get revenge for the king of Shou Shimaron¡¯s attitude, thou actually led your men into a rebellion, thy nerve is inexcusable! In this ever changing world, the people can¡¯t differentiate between the greater good and their personal needs, even a hemiptera [4] can¡¯t help but issue a warning!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­Y-you¡¯re still saying such random things.¡±


    The cropped-pony takes a few steps back in an instant.


    Employing the part of my brain I rarely use I continue to spout lines that sound like they come from a historical drama.


    ¡°And today we have become angered to the limit! Really really MAX-IMUM! Use your body to experience the killing move released after my energy has been charged to 120%...... Mmph!¡±


    ¡°Stop fooling around, Yuuri! I already told you not to use magic on human soil, how many times do I need to repeat myself for you to understand!¡±


    Wolfram, whose breathing had returned to normal, punches down hard on super-Maou mode Yuuri¡¯s head.


    "How is this possible? Puu[5] you, weren''t you dead?"


    ¡°Don¡¯t even try simply cursing me to death, I was just winded by the impact! We aren¡¯t even married yet, how can I die!¡±


    No wonder even Yuuri couldn¡¯t heal his wound.


    ¡°Who knew you can be so active even with an arrow sticking out of your chest, don¡¯t tell me you have the blood of an Arrow Mazoku¡­ Ohhhhh, it¡¯s pretty exciting to discover another new life form!¡±


    ¡°Of course not!¡±


    Lord von Bielefeld holds the arrow he pulled out with one hand, and reaches into his jacket with his right. There¡¯s a deep hole through the thick Collector¡¯s Edition novel.


    ¡°See, the Poison Lady saved my life. Although I forgot to leave it in the hotel to spread the teachings, but this is the mass-produced version of the Poison Lady available for every household, never forget to bring it out with you wherever you go.¡±


    Maxine is so surprised he looks a little awed.


    ¡°That¡¯s some luck¡ªPuhaa!¡±


    Maxine, who seems to have clean forgotten his position as leader of the rebellion and is calmly rubbing his chin, suddenly flies out from an impact to his back. As a result, he doesn¡¯t even get the chance to grab on to the railings, falling headfirst into the sea.


    ¡°Wuooooooooooooooooooooo--!¡±


    A wail of regret is followed by a high end-note.


    The wall of fire disappears in an instant, and in its place appears G¨¹nter, on one knee and in nothing but his underwear, the cylinder in his arms spewing copious amounts of white foam.


    ¡°Aiya, I put the fire out.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Yup¡­ So to replace the outdated WATER BOYS[6], the FIRE BOYS protect the people of the world from fires¡­ but whether it¡¯s cuttlefish or octopus, you¡¯re already so old, calling yourself a BOY would be too funny¡­ So why don¡¯t we make it that from today onwards it¡¯ll be called the FIRE OLD BOYS¡­¡±


    ¡°Snap out of it, Yuuri! Turn back into your wimpy self now!¡±


    However, perhaps due to the fact I never got to use my powers, I am stuck in the super Maou mode. Even though he grabs the collar of my chef¡¯s outfit, all I can do is cough.


    ¡°*cough* It¡¯s decided! *cough* No objections!¡±


    Impatient Wolfram uses a tone that would have made the usual Shibuya Yuuri write the alphabet in miniature under the tennis court with his tears, threatening:


    ¡°If you don¡¯t revert back to normal I¡¯ll use the prince¡¯s kiss to wake you up!¡±


    ¡°Today¡¯s method of awakening¡­¡­ Phoosh¡­¡±


    The sound of air deflating is emitted from my nose and ears, and my raised eyebrows successfully return to their original position. And so the authoritative pomp young general turns back into the average baseball boy.


    ¡°Hey, wait. So you hate kissing me so much? If so, I¡¯ll feel a little hurt.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about, Wolfram? Of course His Majesty doesn¡¯t like kissing you!¡±


    G¨¹nter throws down the fire-extinguishing cylinder, snatching Yuuri from the former prince¡¯s clutches.


    ¡°¡­Eh¡­ Wolf¡­ Why are you suddenly okay¡­Wah¡ªG¨¹nter, why are you naked--?¡±


    ¡°Aaah, Your Majesty noticed? Please, don¡¯t worry, I, G¨¹nter von Christ, left the last piece out of gentlemanly manners. Of course, this is all for Your Majesty¡­¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s for me then don¡¯t wear those sexy G-strings, wear trunks!¡±


    ¡°G-strings? [7] Trunks[8]? Do both these proper nouns refer to men?¡±


    Even though he was just in a life-and-death situation, but his ability to create bad jokes with his misunderstandings hasn¡¯t been affected in the slightest.


    ¡°They¡¯re men¡¯s, all right! But it isn¡¯t homo, it¡¯s G-strings!¡±


    The boat suddenly begins to tilt, and the soldiers start yelling.

 Volume 9 - CH 10

    The crew starts running towards the helm, and those who can¡¯t escape in time jump directly into the sea.


    Everyone¡¯s holding hands as we climb up the slanting deck, then gripping the railings tightly. The cargo ship that was originally stopped beside us is speedily leaving in fears of being caught up in the calamity. Only the first few soldiers to jump across are now catching their breath on the deck.


    Just then, someone yells, ¡°The boat¡¯s sinking.¡±


    ¡°The boat¡¯s sinking, quick, jump onboard!¡±


    I wrap my arm around Wolfram¡¯s waist, then hold my breath and prepare to jump.


    ¡°Your Majesty!¡±


    ¡°G¨¹nter, if we don¡¯t get away soon, the boat¡¯s gonna sink!¡±


    The Special Ambassador clad only on his underwear and with his hair a mess, shakes my shoulders with a spine-chilling expression, making me feel like even my dried-out brain juices are sloshing around in my skull.


    ¡°Your Majesty, please forgive my bringing up an unreasonable request at a time like this. I¡¯m a ghost, a devil, and Covenant Castle is like the Temple of Exorcism! Logically speaking now I should be strongly advising Your Majesty, and trying to stop your actions, but even if later I am cursed by the people or punished accordingly, I do not mind¡­ so¡­¡±


    ¡°W-w-w-w-what do you want to say, G-G-G-G-Gun¡­¡±


    I¡¯m begging you to stop shaking me, as I desperately try to hold up my powerless neck.


    ¡°¡­Everything shall be done as Your Majesty wishes.¡±


    Those violet eyes veil a flash of bitterness. But G¨¹nter immediately changes his mind, pointing at the rapidly departing cargo ship.


    He¡¯s pointing at Lord Weller, who¡¯s sticking his body out, and Saralegui, hugging the railings tightly. They¡¯re sandwiched in between the Shou Shimaron crew.


    ¡°Go, Your Majesty. If you miss this opportunity to go to Seisakoku, there won¡¯t be another!¡±


    ¡°But the boat¡­ and you guys¡­¡±


    ¡°Captain Sizemore¡¯s on his way, we¡¯ll be fine!¡±


    Wolfram roughly grabs my hand, and says simply,


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry so much, just go! And then you must return safely¡­ Gurrier!¡±


    Josak runs up to us, tossing away bucket of water and gripping a rope.


    Just in case, he even tugs at the thing in his hand several times, replying as he tests its strength,


    ¡°Here!¡±


    ¡°Protect Yuuri properly.¡±


    ¡°Yessir. Then, Your Majesty, please pardon my rudeness.¡±


    Before I can ask what he wants to do, Josak has already lifted me into his arms carefully, then he lifts his heels on the slanted deck, and the next second we¡¯re already on the ocean surface.


    ¡°Waa¡ªWhat are you doing¡­ We¡¯re gonna fall!¡±


    But the waves pass under our feet like blue stripes. Right now the rope is wrapped around the mast of the cargo ship, which means to say that Josak wants to send me to that ship from this one. Next, I use the skills picked up during outdoor excursions as a kid, and personally become a temporary Tarzan.


    ¡°Aaaaa¡ªAaaaa--- Aaaa¡ªWaa¡ª!¡±


    ¡°¡­This angle ain¡¯t that good.¡±


    I even hear a displeased ¡®tsk¡¯ by my ear!


    ¡°Josak!¡±


    Lord Weller immediately rushes to diagonally below us, his expression solemn and his arms open wide.


    ¡°Hurry!¡±


    In that moment the childhood playmates exchange a glance.


    ¡°Sorry, Young Master.¡±


    Shin Makoku¡¯s well-honed intelligence officer doesn¡¯t even finish his sentence, before he throws me into the air.


    I wail with a long endnote, ¡°That¡¯s too much¡ª¡± And then I fall towards the deck of the cargo ship. At first I thought I would crash into the deck, so I curl myself up into a ball. But surprisingly, the impact I¡¯m waiting for doesn¡¯t come.


    ¡°Weird?¡±


    Turns out Conrad, who had moved directly underneath me, had already caught me firmly.


    ¡°¡­Con¡­¡±


    He very quickly puts me down, then carelessly helps me pat away the soot on my clothes.


    ¡°Are you hurt?¡±


    ¡°¡­No.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±


    Having finally gotten here, Captain Sizemore rescuing the people in the water, one by one. Seeing my friends in their ranks, I feel a weight lifted off my chest.


    As for Josak, who had slammed into the mast, he¡¯s now sliding down the pole looking half-dead. His nose and forehead are bright red, and his orange hair are messy as flames.


    ¡°Ow ow oww, someone come help me.¡±


    ¡°Josak!¡±


    I use my injured subordinate as an excuse, escaping from that suffocating space.


    ¡°Ah! Your Majesty, thank goodness you¡¯re safe. On the other hand, it seems like Gurrier must ask Lady Cheri for whip-using pointers!¡±


    Over the mischievous Josak¡¯s shoulders, I see the beautiful ship snapped into two.


    Shou Shimaron¡¯s flagship, ¡®The Golden Salmon¡¯ sinks just like that, while red flame and black smoke rise from the sky and the sea.


    ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù


    Saralegui sits on the deck despondently, covering his face with his slender fingers.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡±


    The voice muffled in his palm is shaking with uncertainty.


    ¡°I know the opposing forces should have been immediately quieted down, after all Storob is an excellent soldier. And there¡¯s still Shin Makoku¡¯s warship for reinforcements. Even if we were to be ambushed and take some damage, there¡¯s still an overwhelming difference in military power. Only...¡±


    There are only two medium-sized cargo ships leaving the war port at full speed. Considering this is a long distance trip for the king of Shou Shimaron, it counts as an imperfect guard force.


    ¡°Only, the final outcome is that all I got is this cargo ship, and now I¡¯m heading to an unfamiliar land with no real trustworthy subordinates. What should I do after this¡­¡±


    ¡°C¡¯mon, you¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    He is someone raised since young as royalty. Even if he¡¯s an expert at governing the people, there¡¯s no way he would know how to take care of himself. Even I can only pat his shoulder or grip his hand to console him.


    ¡°Relax, Sara. There¡¯ll be a way.¡±


    ¡°Yuuri, there¡¯s one more even scarier thing!¡±


    The hand that has never before lifted any loads, grips my calloused hand tightly. He raises his face, expression tragic, and I realize that those eyes hidden behind the thin lenses are still brimming with tears that may fall at any time.


    ¡°I nearly had you killed.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°You¡­ No, the reason your friend was shot at, is most probably because of my cloak.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s what it was!¡±


    After hearing him say that, my previous suspicions now make sense. The man who was tied to the middle of the mast and shot Wolfram, wouldn¡¯t be able to tell who was wearing the cloak from that height. But that shooter had unhesitatingly loosed his arrow at Wolfram, not me. That time Wolfram had said a name, though, what was that person called again?


    ¡°Ki¡­nan¡­¡±


    Kinan? Wolfram did say something like Kinan back then.


    Although it¡¯s a name I¡¯ve never heard before, but that man wasn¡¯t aiming for Lord von Bielefeld, his attack was directed at the light blue cloak.


    At the shiny cloak that Shou Shimaron king Saralegui normally wore.


    ¡°Your friend took that arrow in the chest for me¡­ I-if, back then the person wearing the cloak was Yuuri, whenever I think that it could¡¯ve been you¡­ I¡­ When Storob called me over, I should¡¯ve just asked him to board the ship with me. If only I¡¯d never returned to land, and just stayed on ¡®The Golden Salmon¡¯. Or if I could¡¯ve made it back on to the flagship in time, instead of being late¡­ I shouldn¡¯t have waited to switch ships after reaching the outer sea. It¡¯d be fine if I¡¯d just stayed on ¡®The Golden Salmon¡¯ like a good boy!¡±


    ¡°¡­But in that case, you would¡¯ve been the one attacked, Saralegui.¡±


    I gently put my arm around Saralegui¡¯s shoulder, as he sobs uncontrollably.


    ¡°Because you don¡¯t have the Poison Lady¡¯s protection, you could¡¯ve died if you weren¡¯t careful.¡±


    Since he doesn¡¯t understand what I¡¯m saying, he¡¯s shocked there for a moment. But those unbidden tears still flow from his lost-looking eyes.


    His shoulders, so slender they¡¯re like a girl¡¯s, are shaking unstoppably in guilt.


    I think to myself, ¡°This won¡¯t work, this child can¡¯t protect himself. As a king who leads the people and runs the country, he doesn¡¯t have any skills necessary to protect himself.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Sara. Wolfram is fine, and there aren¡¯t any deep wounds either, so it¡¯s really fine.¡±


    ¡°I regret it, I regret it so much. Why did I give you that cloak?¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t it because you were scared I¡¯d get cold? You were scared that the sea breeze and the sunlight were too strong, that¡¯s why you kindly lent me your cloak. Thank you, I was really very happy.¡±


    ¡°Yuuri, you really are so gentle. I just don¡¯t know how to make it up¡­ to your friend¡­¡±


    Saralegui cups his face with his right hand, and before long starts sobbing. Only until my fingertips are getting chilly in his grip, does he finally stop his tears flowing, and those eyes staring out at the sea finally regain their old light. He uses his fingers, damp with tears, to push his pale golden hair behind his ear.


    ¡°There¡¯s only one way I can compensate.¡±


    He heaves a long sigh, then says in a soft but determined voice, ¡°The only way I can make it up to you and your friend, is by leading this ship and sending you safely to Seisakoku. That¡¯s all I can do.¡±


    ¡°Saralegui.¡±


    ¡°The interactions upon reaching there, are between Shin Makoku and Seisakoku, something I can¡¯t interfere with. But following the flow of the current, navigating the sea according to the nautical map and the stars¡­ sending you to the Seisakoku jetty at the ends of the sea, that¡¯s something I can do.¡±


    Releasing my hand, Saralegui stands facing me and hugs my waist, asking excitedly,


    ¡°What do you think, Yuuri? Is doing that enough?¡±


    ¡°Actually, you¡­ don¡¯t have to mind so much.¡±


    The boy king, now alone after losing his subordinates, runs away the drying tears on hisfaace, then turns his gaze behind me, that¡¯s a look of focus.


    ¡°Lord Weller.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    The voice comes from somewhere not too far from me, scaring me in spite of myself.


    ¡°You said before that Dai Shimaron is like a parent to Shou Shimaron. As His Highness Belar the Second¡¯s appointed ambassador, you have the responsibility to report and invigilate my country so we don¡¯t do anything out of line, yes?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°And also the responsibility to make sure Shou Shimaron¡¯s rights are not infringed, as well as giving suitable assistance.¡±


    The ambassador from Dai Shimaron nods in lieu of a reply, and waits for him to continue.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready to head to Seisakoku with Yuuri. Therefore, I have to commandeer this unfamiliar ship, deal with the hardships of the ocean, and may even be in mortal danger.¡±


    Lord Weller gives him a sideways glance with those pale brown eyes, predicting what the next line with be, the silver irises hiding a gleam.


    Saralegui speaks in a strong and challenging tone. He, who had just been on the edge of cliff, seems to have been saved from despair and gotten back onto his feet, his words showing glimpses of his strength.


    ¡°Are you willing to protect me?¡±


    The Dai Shimaron ambassador, whose fringe is billowing in the sea breeze, pauses for several seconds before nodding and saying, 	¡°I will do my best to protect you.¡±


    ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù


    I use the secret technique of finding the emergency exit in hotels, and start wandering the deck of another country¡¯s ship. I give the hardworking Shou Shimaron crew a sideways glance, then I walk around to the back of the thick mast. When I sit down on the wooden box there, the damp sea breeze blows my hair into a mess.


    I bend my body to put my head between my knees, my eyes seeing only the wooden floorboards.


    ¡°You¡¯re just too mean, Young Master. If you want to go for a walk, you should¡¯ve invited me, Gurrier, too!¡±


    The joking tone and what looks like borrowed military boots approach me, and then he sits down so close to me he can almost touch my legs. His arm seems to wrap around me, landing on the back of my white kitchen uniform.¡±


    ¡°But I never would have thought.¡±


    He uses a rare solemn tone, saying at the most comfortable distance from my ear,


    ¡°Is it because you have to take care of yourself, so you¡¯re feeling really lonely?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    I shake my head slowly.


    If I had that confidence and corresponding ability, then I wouldn¡¯t need to bother anyone.


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m real hungry, so much so I can barely move, since I practically haven¡¯t eaten anything since yesterday morning.¡±


    Next to me, Josak¡¯s body trembles as he laughs heartily.


    ¡°Aww, you poor thing! Humans will get hungry whenever, be it at weddings or funerals!¡±


    He doesn¡¯t forget to add ¡®Of course, Mazoku too¡¯. So we can continue living on.


    And the only redemption is the fact that we¡¯re on sea.


    Surely the waves can take away any sort of emotion.

 Volume 10 - Prologue

    Merit in the battlefield will always be properly paid. But it is not just for money, it is also the excitement that I feel when moving incognito into enemy territory. My heart trambles and so I feel alive. The greater the risk, the better.


    My homeland is important to me.


    For my homeland I know no way that¡äs too long. I fight and face any oponent for it. About the reasons why I don¡ät believe in giving up. This is not just a soldier. They pay us to fight and we have to obey our superior¡äs orders.


    "What exactly is patriotism, right?" I asked once to an officer whom I met after a long time.


    "What if you are plotting a misi¨®n that is not paying off for you?"- he asked back.


    "If that¡äs the case I would try to reject it" I said. "But if the order comes from you, Excellency, I will certainly not hesitate in performing it."


    Not to tell, that I already have used all the chances to disguise myself as a woman under my country¡äs service. What should I do? It¡äs fantastic how I¡äve looked like a woman not just for once.

 Volume 10 - CH 1

    Having been complimented by her son¡¯s schoolmate, Shibuya Miko blushes in spite of herself.


    ¡°How mean~ Ken-chan! Who¡¯d have thought that you were a master at buttering people up too~¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not! Although the pattern is a bit outdated, but there¡¯s a sense of Taisho period romanticism!¡±


    These are his honest words. And besides, he¡¯s not in the mood to get on his friend¡¯s mother¡¯s good side.


    Because on the way here, he¡¯s already lied to four teachers and a junior high friend, so by now he can¡¯t be bothered to make up another lie.


    ¡°Ah, but still, but still~ I¡¯m not young anymore, but I still want to wear a furisode[1]. That¡¯s just too shameless of me, after all I¡¯m already over forty and married. I was just thinking, ¡®it¡¯s about time to take out the winter clothing¡¯, then I just happened to come across the kimono I used to wear when I was younger. And just when I was lamenting, ¡®so even I used to wear such cute colors when I was younger¡¯, suddenly a devil¡¯s voice whispered in my ear, ¡®Why don¡¯t you try it on and see¡­¡¯¡±


    Mama Shibuya, also known as the ¡®Pink Panther of Yokohama¡¯, says lightly.


    Of course, now she loves wearing cute clothes even more than she did in her youth, but these things have to be put aside for now.


    By the time Murata had run to Shibuya¡¯s house when his own school festival was reaching its climax, it was already past five in the afternoon.


    He didn¡¯t take a cab, just ran like that straight from the bus stop.


    Although it¡¯s already late autumn, the exertion heated him up enough to fog his glasses.


    When he frantically pressed the doorbell like a child would, the one who responded was a dazed Miko in a kimono covered with huge lilies, saying, ¡°Aiya, it¡¯s Ken-chan!¡±


    ¡°At first I planned to have a daughter, then give it to her when she¡¯s all grown up, that¡¯s why I kept it in the closet. I never thought that I¡¯d have two rough boys instead, life really doesn¡¯t go your way all the time. Now all I can do is wait for them to get girlfriends, then give it to the girl once they¡¯ve married her. Ah, but would it be too shameless for a bride to wear a furisode? Hmm¡ªbut if she¡¯s in her twenties, it should be roughly OK, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not roughly, it¡¯s very OK. And even if you don¡¯t leave it to Shibuya¡¯s girlfriend, Jennifer, you can wear it yourself, it¡¯s no big deal.¡±


    Murata wipes his foggy lenses with the sleeve of uniform, replying sincerely.


    But in his slightly guarded heart, he can¡¯t help but resent his friend who hadn¡¯t been clear with things.


    Shibuya, how much have you told your parents?


    Judging from his mother¡¯s expression of happiness, Yuuri definitely hasn¡¯t come out about being engaged to a pretty boy.


    Even if the other party is as cute as an angel, he still comes with a stick.


    And he even has an adopted daughter waiting for him in the city. Although he¡¯s only sixteen, he¡¯s already a single father.


    If he were to say such an impactful truth, how interesting¡­ no, how shocked this family would be.


    The man who shares Shibuya Yuuri¡¯s secret¡ªMurata Ken thinks this in his heart.


    This had better not come from my mouth, because I want to see how this family will react when they hear their own son say something so shocking.


    ¡°Come to think of it, Ken-chan, what¡¯s up with Yuu-chan? Didn¡¯t he come home with you today?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here to talk about that, ma¡¯am.¡±


    Hearing the tone from her favorite detective shows, Shibuya¡¯s mother grips her hands and frowns.


    ¡°W-what happened?¡±


    ¡°Things got heated between him and a girl from the same middle school, and now they¡¯re even in a karaoke competition!¡±


    ¡°A karaoke competition?!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, singing Ozaki Yutaka¡¯s songs too.¡±


    ¡°Such an old song! Ah. Sorry. Uh¡ªuh¡ªuh¡­ Really? You¡¯re talking about the Yuu-chan who only knows the various baseball team anthems? The Yuu-chan who firmly believes that ¡®Take Me to the Ol¡¯ Ball Game¡¯ is a love song can sing mainstream songs now? People really can change with an effort.¡±


    ¡°If he wants to, he can probably sing ¡®MY WAY¡¯, too.¡±


    ¡°Of course, and even Kayama Yuzo¡¯s version!¡±


    Anyway, Murata tries to explain in brief words that Yuuri wants to report the results of the battle to him later, and thus may not even come home tonight, so he specifically asked him to come over and grab a change of clothes et cetera if possible.


    Shibuya¡¯s mother is rather surprised by the change in routine, but after hearing the whole story, she let Murata into the house eventually.


    Murata climbs up the familiar stairs, and heads for the door at the end of the corridor.


    It¡¯s still someone else¡¯s room that he knows fairly well, he can even tell roughly which things go where. Even if he has to find the necessary things, it won¡¯t take him too long.


    Just as he¡¯s about to turn the yellow-copper doorknob¡ª


    ¡°Wait a sec!¡±


    Someone grabs his arm forcefully, and that¡¯s not a friendly force.


    Raising his head, he sees Shibuya¡¯s brother. Murata smiles calmly,


    ¡°Hi, Big Brother¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not close enough for you to call me big brother, friend of my brother.¡±


    Looks like the eldest son of the family, Shibuya Shouri, is guarding the door for the second son.


    Displeased eyes are looking down on him from behind the reflective lenses.


    Although the two brothers look similar, the aura that radiates from them is completely different.


    Murata replies with an unafraid smile,


    ¡°Then you¡¯re too narrow-minded, brother of my friend. And you¡¯re a college student, too.¡±


    ¡°So a high school brat is allowed to barge into other people¡¯s room on their own? If you have even a bit of common sense left, then you shouldn¡¯t do something like trespassing, right?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, trespassing? It won¡¯t sound good if anyone were to hear you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, no one will. If there was anyone else around, I¡¯d face you with a smile. After all, I¡¯m a very friendly person.¡±


    A well-rounded personality, excellent results, currently studying at Hitotsubashi University, the model student praised by neighbors, that¡¯s the impression Shibuya Shouri gives.


    According to his brother¡¯s description, his brain might be good, but he¡¯s a weirdo who¡¯s obsessed with bishoujo games.


    180 degrees different from the passionate baseball boy second son.


    ¡°Even if you want to search the room, you have to wait until Yuu-ch¡­ until my brother¡¯s around. About that, where is Yuu-chan? Don¡¯t tell me you threw him in a strange place and then ran back by yourself.


    And he¡¯s obsessed with his younger brother, too.


    ¡°Shibuya is heating things up with a middle high friend he hasn¡¯t seen in a while, and the two are competing in karaoke¡­¡±


    Of course, this is crap too.


    In reality he was in the middle of rescuing a WATER OLD BOY who was drowning in a cold swimming pool when he got swept away by an unknown current and vanished, probably to the other world.


    Although Murata feels it¡¯s still too early to go back, but if it¡¯s Yuuri¡¯s personal desire, then there¡¯s nothing he can do about it.


    Only this time, the path is filled with unease.


    ¡°¡­He¡¯s not back yet.¡±


    ¡°What? Who are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m talking about Shibuya!¡±


    ¡°Ah? But you just said something about him and a middle high friend? What do you mean, he¡¯s not back yet?!¡±


    No matter how many months he stays in that other world, normally he¡¯d be back in a moment.


    He normally only disappears for a few minutes, and before everyone else notices anything amiss, he¡¯d reappear somewhere near the place he disappeared.


    Although sometimes he¡¯d be wearing G-strings.


    ¡°I waited five minutes, ten, and I still didn¡¯t feel him come back.¡±


    ¡°Karaoke takes at least thirty minutes.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about karaoke!¡±


    Seeing the brother of his friend completely at ease, Murata feels like punching the wall.


    How much has Shibuya told his family?


    For example, has he told his brother that he¡¯s a mazoku?


    But thinking about myself, I haven¡¯t told anyone about the fact that my soul is the Daikenja.


    But the head of this household is indeed a member of earth¡¯s mazoku, so something like this must be casually mentioned over dinner¡­


    ¡°¡­I guess he probably wouldn¡¯t say that he¡¯s the maou, though.¡±


    ¡°Maou?¡±


    Shibuya Shouri looks as though he¡¯s seeing something intriguing, and then he once again crosses his arms in front of his chest.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t think that there was someone else who worships the Maou other than Bob.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not worship, I¡¯m not talking about any religion¡­ What did you say?!¡±


    Murata abruptly raises his head, grabbing the other person¡¯s shirt and shaking him hard,


    ¡°What did you say? You just said¡­ You said ¡®Bob¡¯, didn¡¯t you?!¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    There are a lot of Bobs in this world. When you say Bob, you could be talking about Bob Dylan, or David Bowie. There¡¯s also the possibility that you mean Bobo Brazil. Right now, he can almost hear Yuuri saying, ¡®Murata, how old are you?¡±


    But if it was mentioned by the eldest son of this special family, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if he meant that Bob.


    ¡°You know Bob?! Then please help me contact him immediately, do you know where he is? This is urgent, I really need his help!¡±


    ¡°Wait a sec, your g-g-g-g-glasses are gonna fall! What¡¯s the matter with you? Coming here and yelling Bob, Bob. Want me to contact him? I¡¯m not a damn secretary. Speaking of which, did something happen to Yuu-chan? How is he?! Before I get this clear, how can I help you?¡±


    Murata takes a deep breath and swallows,


    ¡°Do you really want to hear? I think it¡¯s better if you don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Is there anyone in the world who wouldn¡¯t want to know about their brother?¡±


    ¡°Looks like you really do have a brother complex!¡±


    Murata wants to laugh out loud, but instead he starts calculating at a ferocious speed. He has to determine where to start from as quickly as possible.


    ¡°If I tell you, will you help me contact Bob?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll consider.¡±


    Turning back the reel of memories, the last time he met Bob was in the last last life.


    About the Second World War, when he was in his prime.


    Come to think of it, ever since he was born as Murata Ken, he hasn¡¯t met Bob.


    This was all Bob¡¯s fault, for being too preoccupied with the continuation of the earth mazoku line, and never contacting him at all.

 Volume 10 - CH 2

    The clothes that suit a baseball boy best, should be mud-stained uniforms and sports clothes.


    When I¡¯m in a no-nationality chef¡¯s outfit, complete with a long apron in the front and a floral bandana around my head, even if I¡¯m complimented by others, I can¡¯t bring myself to be happy about it.


    ¡°I thought Yuuri looks really good like that, so I asked the chef to bring his uniform.¡±


    Even if the compliment comes from an unparalleled pretty boy, as fantastical as flowers.


    ¡°And you do need a change of clothes, right?¡±


    ¡°¡­Thanks.¡±


    I accept the neatly-folded stack of clothes from Saralegui, who is cocking his head to a side and giving me a blossoming smile. Yup, it is a set of starched chef¡¯s uniform.


    ¡°Waa¡ª It¡¯s brand new, too¡ª¡±


    No, no, my tone, it sounds as flat as a textbook recital, I have to accept his nice intentions happily.


    ¡°But clothes should rightly be a bit dirtier! Sara, eventually they¡¯ll get dirty anyway. Dressing up so white and handsomely, will actually be rather cumbersome. Ah, or maybe I should just be a bona fide kitchen apprentice, and go peel some potatoes in the dining room.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about, Yuuri!¡±


    Saralegui grabs my right hand tightly with his fair and slender fingers.


    His reaction and the skin contact are surprisingly agitated, seems like his fantastical appearance hides a rather passionate side of him.


    ¡°You are my very important guest, how can I let you work together with the employees outside? Besides, the sunlight and the sea breeze are very strong on the ocean, if you catch a cold, how can I face the people of Shin Makoku?¡±


    ¡°Even so, my pockets are completely empty, so I can¡¯t even give you a transportation fee or hand gift. If I ride your ship for nothing like this, I¡¯ll feel uneasy.¡±


    ¡°No one here will think you¡¯re riding for free! You and your friend saved my life, you could say Shou Shimaron is in your debt.¡±


    The friend he¡¯s talking about is Wolfram.


    Because the borrowed cloak caused Wolfram to be mistaken for Saralegui, and then he was shot in the chest by the rebelling Maxine¡¯s subordinate.


    It¡¯s all thanks to the protection of the Poison Lady that he¡¯s fine now, but back then my mind had really gone blank with the shock.


    ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù


    And so, after travelling urgently on business from Japan to this world, I¡¯m now, for some specific reasons, on the boat of a long-time enemy country, Shou Shimaron, and together with the seventeen-year-old tailor-made-for-the-throne Shou Shimaron king, Saralegui, no less.


    And our destination is way at the ends of the seas, somewhere not even stated on a map, the country locked away for 2000 years, Seisakoku.


    This trip is aiming for the shinzoku¡¯s mysterious homeland, in the hopes of discussing the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations between us.


    Although it¡¯s an ambassadorial envoy led by the king, the ship we¡¯re riding seems a bit simple.


    Still, three days in the storm hasn¡¯t affected it at all, proving that it is indeed stronger than it looks.


    Though due to the vessel¡¯s slight¡­ no, considerable age, the paint on the outside is peeling in many places.


    Not only isn¡¯t there a beautiful goddess statue on its helm, even the railings don¡¯t have any animal carvings.


    Unsurprising, because this was never a king¡¯s flagship. Instead, it¡¯s a cargo ship meant to bring offerings to Seisakoku.


    Although this situation was caused by accidents beyond anyone¡¯s predictions, but they can¡¯t let a king sail on a lone ship no matter what, so they had summoned some of the medium-sized ships in the Shou Shimaron outer waters to take up guard duty mid-way. That¡¯s why we don¡¯t need any self-defense equipment, and there are enough rooms for the crew of both the flagship and the cargo ship to live in.


    Thrown into a panic by the presence of the king, the captain had even prepared spacious and beautiful cabins for the king and his guests.


    Despite all the preparations, Saralegui still sighed in surprise¡ªlooks like he can only rest in a luxurious bedroom.


    Though that room is a lot bigger than the living room back home.


    Even though these are pretty good circumstances for a cargo ship, but it¡¯s still torturous to stay with someone you¡¯ve just met, twenty-four seven.


    And Saralegui is the young king of a large country, unlike me, he¡¯s a royal heir from a famous family.


    If you want me to stay in the same room as him all day, just that awkward atmosphere will be enough to suffocate me.


    Maybe if he studied at a public high school too, we¡¯d still have something to talk about.


    Unfortunately, I was born in a commoner¡¯s family, and studied at fairly standard public middle, middle high, and high schools.


    I didn¡¯t have any friends who are nobility, and neither do I like riding horses.


    For my graduation trip I always went to Kyoto, and would get a lashing from the teacher for pillow fighting.


    As for Saralagui, he even wears silk nightclothes to sleep.


    Pretty boys¡¯ pajamas must be made of silk, that seems to be a rule in this world.


    As for someone like me, who feels bothered wearing even shorts and a T-shirt to sleep, the silk nightclothes that are sometimes there and sometimes not, are practically maiming my eyes.


    In the middle of the night when I went to the bathroom, I even thought I¡¯d accidentally walked into a girl¡¯s room, and got such a shock.


    At first all our belongings were kept it a luxury ferry, pretty as picture and docked in the Saralegui War Port. Who would have thought that just as we were setting sail, there was a political upheaval, and we barely escaped with our lives into this accompanying cargo ship.


    Although all that happened more than ten days ago, but just thinking about the situation back then still makes my heart ache, and a certain spot deep in my mind heat up.


    The hands that were gripping mine so tightly. Loosening with the indescribable sound of a stick plunging into the sand, and the body next to me falling slowly.


    Wolfram with an arrow sticking out of his chest, fell backwards onto the deck, engulfed in flames.


    When I grabbed the middle part, it felt exceptionally cold.


    ¡°¡­ri, Yuuri!¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡±


    Saralegui¡¯s fair and slender fingers are shaking my shoulders, and he¡¯s staring at me with an expression of concern.


    Since there¡¯s a pale colored lens between us, I can¡¯t see the color of his eyes.


    Those sunglasses are meant to protect his eyes from the light and the heat, so unless he¡¯s sleeping, he always wears them.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Are you not feeling well? Didn¡¯t you say you don¡¯t get seasick?¡±


    ¡°Relax, relax, I¡¯m fine. I was just feeling a little breathless, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Breathless? Uh-oh, I¡¯ll go open the windows.¡±


    ¡°Ah~ It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay! I¡¯ll just go out for a breather. Seems like if I¡¯m cooped up indoors, I can¡¯t calm down at all!¡±


    And so I abandon my unhappy roommate and leave the room, closing the door behind me, then going with nature and heaving a long, long sigh.


    Only now do my tense shoulders relax.


    For some reason, I get really nervous whenever I¡¯m alone with Saralegui.


    On the wide open deck, I enjoy the sea breeze and prepare to break my own squats record.


    ¡°Something happened?¡±


    ¡°Waa!¡±


    The very neutral and husky voice comes from right beside me, forcing me to make a very embarrassing scream.


    ¡°D-d-don¡¯t suddenly speak up like that! Y-you scared the hell out of me.¡±


    ¡°A lady never makes a noise when walking, and Gurrier is very graceful, y¡¯know.¡±


    Shin Makoku¡¯s spy self-indulgently flexes his muscles.


    Sometimes a well-honed spy infiltrating another country, sometimes the most reliable bodyguard in history¡¯s lowest staffed ambassadorial envoy, sometimes the flower of the party dressed in magnificent evening clothes¡­ He is Gurrier Josak.


    The scary thing is, he still gets tons of invitations, and has almost never known what it¡¯s like to be a wallflower.


    Seems that different people have different interests, after all.


    ¡°Why d¡¯you suddenly pop up from the corner of the corridor?!¡±


    ¡°Because this ship doesn¡¯t have an extra layer under the floorboards, or an extra layer on the ceiling, but we spies are the best at hiding in dark and damp spots¡­¡±


    ¡°And Josak¡­ Why are you wearing the long-sleeved apron of a cafeteria auntie¡­¡±


    His most incredible skill is his seamless disguises, there¡¯s not any bit of awkwardness in it.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? Of course it¡¯s to match the Young Master, and I won¡¯t ever let you leave any food uneaten¡ª¡±


    I feel as though he¡¯s stuck a sour plum on my forehead.


    Although he looks a bit disorienting, I know that once he has a weapon in his hands, he¡¯s the most capable soldier.


    Only now he has a pan and a ladle in those hands.


    ¡°But what¡¯s up with you? Sighing so long just now, that¡¯s not like you at all.¡±


    ¡°You say it like I¡¯m always carefree. Right, right, so I¡¯m someone with no brains and all brawn!¡±


    ¡°I would never say something so rude-- Ah, but Gurrier likes bodybuilding. After all that¡¯s a pretty good hobby, too.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, you flex your pecs even when you¡¯re bored with nothing else to do¡­¡±


    And flexing both sides in rhythm.


    The two of us, in brand new kitchen uniform and a long sleeved apron respectively, come to the chilly, windy deck.


    The sun is high in the sky, so it should be past noon now. But it seems that the temperature in these parts of the seas is real low all year round, the ocean surface is greyish-blue, and the waves are fairly high too.


    ¡°Because there¡¯s a cold current. This is far north, quite a distance away from Shin Makoku, aren¡¯t you cold?¡±


    ¡°Cold? Ah~ Right.¡± 	Now that he mentions it, I realize that the muscles in my body are all taut, it¡¯s because of the cold air here, making my body naturally contract. If I did rigorous exercises the way I am now, my skin and flesh will probably split right open.


    ¡°Right¡ªThen I¡¯ll just do some warm-ups, first some simple stretches and slow jogging.¡±


    Josak¡¯s brows immediately sag downwards. This is not surprising either, because whenever I¡¯m free, I¡¯ll drag him jogging with me.


    ¡°More jogging? Really, since I escaped from the army academy life where I was tortured by the seniors, I haven¡¯t run like this.¡±


    ¡°Actually, you don¡¯t have to force yourself to accompany me!¡±


    ¡°Nonono, please let me accompany milord. In fact, I even wish we could sleep in the same room.¡±


    ¡°¡­When it comes to the rooms, I¡¯d advise you not to accompany me.¡±


    Josak asks me, who¡¯s staring into the sky wordlessly, ¡°Why?¡± Although it¡¯s not something I should announce to the whole world, but I say it anyway.


    ¡°Becauses Sara is a lingerie-wearing sexy king!¡±


    Only thing is, if something small like this makes him lose his confidence, I¡¯ll feel troubled; if it fires him up and causes him to wear a sexy long-sleeved apron, I¡¯ll be even more troubled.


    ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù


    After some simple stretches, I start jogging around the deck.


    Just when I touch the mast at the ship¡¯s stern for the second time, my foot gets caught on the ropes, and I lose my balance.


    ¡°Careful!¡±


    Josak grabs my waist just in time.


    I¡¯m saved, thank goodness I didn¡¯t have to crash into that stack of cargo left out here to brave the weather.


    Just as I shake my head and prepare to lift myself up, although I wasn¡¯t paying any particular attention to it, my gaze just happens to wander to the shadows of the wooden crates.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    A young woman is squatting by the boxes.


    Both her hands are pressed against the peeling paint on the wood, her thin body gently holding her breath.


    When our eyes meet, she resists the urge to scream, moving away from me using her knees, her lashes and lips trembling.


    ¡°Who¡­¡±


    Before I can ask her ¡®who are you¡¯, she¡¯s already stood up.


    Her eyes are wide with terror, eyes that are clearly golden even under the sun.


    She turns back as she tries to escape the scene, and that long hair floats by before me.


    Even her hair is golden, although filth has turned it pale grey.


    ¡°Wait, please wait a moment! I won¡¯t do anything to you!¡±


    ¡°Aiya, Young Master, there¡¯s no need to look so desperate[1]¡­ Ah~ It looks like there¡¯s no need to put up a chase anymore, perfect.¡±


    Just as Josak said, the woman is turning back.


    Since she had changed directions as soon as she started running earlier, now her stick-like legs are both shaking like leaves.


    Now I accidentally notice that she¡¯s barefoot, and not wearing any decent clothes either in this cold air. All she has is a piece of cloth, worn in the fashion of the Yayoi period, tied at the waist with a piece of rope.


    Her arms and neck are really thin too, even her indistinguishable scream sounds weak.


    She curls up in the dark beside the cargo, holding her head in her hands. Her back continue to shake nonstop, what on earth is she so scared about?


    ¡°Um¡­¡±


    Before I can even touch her with my outstretched hand, she¡¯s already so terrified her shoulders are shuddering.


    Just then, some angry male voices come from the stair leading to the storage hold.


    Their conversing voices come closer and closer, making it obvious they¡¯re looking for someone. The woman desperately curls up her body, covering her ears, too scared to move. There¡¯s no mistaking it, she¡¯s the target the men are after.


    ¡°There¡¯s no point in hiding, they¡¯ll flush her out eventually¡­ If she hides in the boxes, she might still have a shot of making it past them. Damn, why are all of them covered?!¡±


    I frantically fumble with the cargo, looking for something that opens, but every surface is firmly nailed shut.


    The spy beside me can¡¯t bear to watch anymore, so he puts his hands to the edges of the boxes, and starts pulling at them forcefully.


    The entire side of the box rips away in his hands, those biceps really can do anything.


    ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to you, Josak, I¡¯m sure your mother was a beauty who looked great in an evening dress.¡±


    ¡°You meant, my dad.¡±


    We hurriedly stuff the thin body into the box, then casually put the boards back in place.


    In case the boards fall down again, we use our backs to hold them there.


    That¡¯s when the crew, yelling loudly, notice us and run over.


    The sleeves on their clothes have been deliberately ripped off, as though they¡¯re showing off how thick their arms are.


    ¡°Deepest apologies, milords.¡±


    ¡°W-what be the matter?¡±


    Crap, I¡¯m talking like historical drama again.


    Whenever I purposely want to sound authoritative, I¡¯ll unconsciously use this manner of speaking.


    After all, I haven¡¯t learned the proper manner of nobility a king or ruler should have.


    ¡°Have you seen a young woman?¡±


    ¡°No, no. W-we didn¡¯t see any stowaways!¡±


    The two crewmen cock their heads out on confusion at my answer. Their light brown ponytails even swing about gracefully.


    I said something I shouldn¡¯t have, didn¡¯t I?


    ¡°There aren¡¯t any stowaways aboard this ship.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? That¡¯s great. What a bother, stowing away has become an up and coming culture amongst the youths, like in Japan, we have a saying, ¡®whatever happens, we have to stow away first¡¯.¡±


    There¡¯s no such saying!


    ¡°We¡¯re not looking for stowaways, but Seisakoku¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you deaf? My young master already said he doesn¡¯t know anything.¡±


    Stunned by my ridiculous excuse, Josak presently starts cracking his fingers, looking as though he was getting ready to play it rough.


    ¡°Right, who wants to be the maidmer princess¡¯ lunch?¡±


    The crewmen¡¯s expression changes abruptly. But hmm, I didn¡¯t know mermaid princesses were carnivorous?


    ¡°Y-y-y-y-you said, be their lunch?¡±


    ¡°Not that way, I saw her head for the control room.¡±


    Right then, a figure with a familiar gait, walks over to us from a cabin in front of the mast, near the bow.


    He¡¯s wearing a uniform different from anyone else on this ship.


    Different from the aqua blue-based Shou Shimaron army uniform, his outfit is yellow and white, reminiscent of desert sand.


    He is the Dai Shimaron ambassador traveling with us, Lord Weller Conrad.


    ¡°You should be looking in the opposite direction.¡±


    After all, he is the royal ambassador from a neighboring country of higher position.


    Perhaps they know that disobeying orders now will be a direct slap to the other party¡¯s face, because the crewmen reluctantly take their leave.


    Standing before us, who had our backs against the wooden boxes, Lord Weller says in a low voice, ¡°I honestly can¡¯t quite approve of your methods.¡±


    At first I thought he was blaming me for hiding the stowaways, but that doesn¡¯t seem to be the case.


    After scrutinizing me from top to bottom, he hands over his brown coat, saying,


    ¡°Dressing like this and coming out into the sea breeze. You¡¯ll catch a cold.¡±


    I softly turn my head to the other side.


    ¡°No need, I don¡¯t want to borrow another country¡¯s uniform.¡±


    ¡°These are my own casual clothes.¡±


    ¡°I appreciate the intention.¡±


    Lord Weller turns his gaze to Josak. The spy raises both hands, saying in a light and mischievous tone,


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that!¡±


    And then he continues,


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything, and I didn¡¯t give him any funny ideas either.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true, no one gave me any ideas. It¡¯s because I don¡¯t feel cold, so I don¡¯t want to borrow anyone else¡¯s clothes. Even if I need to, I will borrow Saralegui¡¯s, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°¡­If so, you should go and get it from him quickly, or it¡¯ll be too late when you start feeling uncomfortable.¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯re worrying about the wrong person.¡±


    He doesn¡¯t answer, narrowing his eyes, and the scar on his brow even twitches a little.


    ¡°Sara is in the bedroom, is it okay for you to be away from him?¡±


    ¡°This is his ship. As long as there¡¯s no big crisis, Shou Shimaron¡¯s Saralegui should logically be very safe. That¡¯s right, as long as there¡¯s no big crisis.¡±


    Lord Weller pulls back his left hand, his expression still unreadable.


    I look at the joint with its natural movements, but I can¡¯t stop thinking, is that a real hand?


    Is his left arm real?


    Or is it a well-crafted prosthetic, which looks and works just like living flesh and bone?


    But is there really a prosthetic that¡¯s as soft and warm as real human skin in this world?


    And there¡¯d probably be the von Karbelnikoff stamp near the arm, too.


    My imagination is interrupted at the moment Lady Anissina smiles knowingly, because the wooden box behind me shakes slightly.


    Crap, we forgot about the stowaway in the box. We can¡¯t have her running out of air to breathe, so we hurriedly take away the wooden boards.


    The woman tumbles out of the box, taking a deep breath of fresh air and then sneezing loudly, and not just once or twice either.


    She doesn¡¯t stop sneezing, and as the ones who helped hide her, we feel really guilty about it.


    ¡°Sorry, turns out there¡¯s pepper inside, huh.¡±


    She puts her hands on her unsteady knees, trying to stand.


    That¡¯s when I carefully reevaluate this sneaky stowaway, and honestly calling her a woman doesn¡¯t seem too appropriate.


    She¡¯s more or less my age, or maybe she¡¯s just one or two years older than me? Those golden eyes, filled with terror and staring at us, are fairly large, and those stick-like limbs poke out of clothes that look like they come from the Joumon or the Yayoi period.


    But despite her skinniness, her chest is surprising large and eye-catching. So much so that I don¡¯t know where to look, finally resorting to staring at the sky.


    ¡°Your¡­ chest¡­ is¡­ really¡­ big¡­ Waa! S-sorry!¡±


    I actually said something that sounds like sexual harassment!


    ¡°Young Master, really, why should you get all flustered over those fakes? Those are obviously stuffed. Outsiders might be fooled, but you won¡¯t get past my eyes!¡±


    ¡°Because your chest is pure and genuine muscle¡­ Waa!¡±


    While I¡¯m thrown into a panic by the bumps under the thin clothes, something hard and heavy suddenly lands on my foot!


    It¡¯s a can with red and white labels.


    The girl hurriedly kneels to the ground and picks up the fallen can, cradling it. From the slit in her clothes, I can even see the bread stuffed down her chest.


    ¡°Ah, a manmade chest!¡±


    ¡°See!¡±


    The spy who believes that men should have D cup laughs, telling me ¡®I told you so!¡¯ with a look. Seems like she couldn¡¯t bear her hunger while stowing away, so she stole some food from the kitchen, and even now she¡¯s desperately protecting the food so we can¡¯t snatch it away.


    ¡°I won¡¯t take it! I won¡¯t take away those things, so please stop grabbing your chest! Ah, otherwise my nose will starts spraying Gun¡­ Gun Juices!¡±


    ¡°Once you know they¡¯re fakes, even the desire seems hollow,¡± taken from sexual harassment Senryuu[2].


    Lord Weller quickly surveys the surroundings, and after making sure the crew didn¡¯t see anything, he pushes the girl¡¯s back, saying urgently,


    ¡°She¡¯s a shinzoku, I¡¯m afraid we won¡¯t be able to communicate with her.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s best if we get her back as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Back? Back where? Although there are plenty of places in my room where she can hide, unfortunately this time I¡¯m bunking in with Sara. Ah! That¡¯s right, give me that coat just now.¡±


    There are already goosebumps on her exposed shoulders.


    ¡°It¡¯s for her. If you¡¯re willing, can you lend it to her.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    For a moment there, I felt as though Conrad smiled, or it could be the strong winds forced him to arch his eyes.


    He puts the coat over the girl without a hint of displeasure. At least he¡¯s as gentlemanly as he used to be.


    ¡°Anyway, first we have to find you a room to stay in. Josak, is there anywhere she can hide around your place?¡±


    He replies with a shrug.


    Looks like he¡¯s also stuck with the captain, who had arranged for Saralegui and me to be in the same room.


    ¡°How about Lord Weller¡¯s place? Although it¡¯s near the crew¡¯s cabins, he has a single room. Because he¡¯s Dai Shimaron¡¯s ambassador.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s just her, of course there wouldn¡¯t be a problem lending it to her as a hideout.¡±


    ¡°Eh, what? She didn¡¯t stow away alone¡­ Ah!¡±


    Carefully appraising her surroundings, the girl breaks free from us and starts running forth.


    As she¡¯s running, she even purposely bends her body forward, to prevent the food she¡¯s carrying in her chest from falling, as fast as a rabbit.


    ¡°Wait a sec!¡±


    I hurriedly give chase, but she climbs down the ladder in the stern, passing through the storage hold we¡¯ve never been in, finally pulling up the last floorboard. There¡¯s instantly a smell of saltwater even stronger than the sea breeze.


    ¡°Wait up, you!¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty, don¡¯t run too far in!¡±


    Before my belt is grabbed, I¡¯m already climbing down a ladder that will break at any moment.


    Although my palm is being pricked by the wood, but it¡¯s taking all I got just to prevent myself from falling, so I don¡¯t have the effort to worry about splinters.


    ¡°What happened to that girl? Don¡¯t tell me she lost her footing and fell onto the shelves?¡± I look down warily, but I never thought¡ª


    ¡°Eh¡­¡±


    Suddenly, countless lights shine up simultaneously from the bottom of the ship.


    It¡¯s not the light from fireflies or marine animals, those are eyes, the eyes of sentient beings.


    This reminds me of the time I was surrounded by rats in the sewers, forcing a cold sweat on my back. My fingers start trembling, and I nearly fall.


    ¡°Your Majesty!"


    ¡°Young Master, are you all¡­ Aiyaya, looks like we¡¯ve discovered some rather troubling cargo.¡±


    Josak and Lord Weller actually look panicked, reaching out frantically and grabbing my clothes tightly.


    ¡°Why are there so many people at the bottom of the boat¡­ Is this entire group stowaways?!¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not in here of their own free will.¡±


    Lord Weller seems to know some inside information.


    As I¡¯m pulled up, I feel that painful, needle-sharp gaze.


    Only I don¡¯t know if it represents disgust or curiosity.


    ¡°They¡¯re all shinzoku. Shinzoku who had wandered to Shimaron from Seisakoku, and are now being deported back to their home country.


    Their eyes are all golden.


    The weak rays of light shining in from the cracks, make their silent eyes glimmer.

 Volume 10 - CH 3

    There are loud and hurried footsteps coming down the wet stone stairs.


    How many days has it been since there was last a soldier passing by? Usually there isn¡¯t much light shining into this underground prison, the only thing on the mossy stone floor is a cracked bowl.


    Although there¡¯s still half a bowl of water in there, time has long since turned it sour.


    At the bottom of the stone steps, the castle¡¯s lowest steel gates are creaking open, and the footsteps of two people approach closer.


    One is the familiar clack of army boots, but the other one doesn¡¯t walk like a prison guard, looks like both visitors¡¯ shoes and physiques are fundamentally different.


    Maybe it¡¯s an executioner here to deal punishment, or maybe it¡¯s another comrade who got caught.


    The man thinks dazedly, but he remains motionless, lying on the damp stone floor with his back against the cell door.


    After so many interrogations and much physical violence, his body has long since fallen to the pressure. Even if there weren¡¯t cuffs on his limbs, he doesn¡¯t know where to run to.


    The rusty bow-shaped lock makes a screeching sound of metal, and the floor, its color changed by the perpetual moisture, is lit up.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s this guy.¡±


    Just as he¡¯s wondering at the familiarity of the voice, he¡¯s kicked viciously in the back.


    As he¡¯s splayed over the floor, groaning, this time he¡¯s kicked in the side, forcing his body to face forward.


    ¡°What a bother.¡±


    A man raises the bright torch in his left hand, mumbling cynically.


    ¡°So you haven¡¯t died, after all.¡±


    ¡°¡­Ah¡­¡±


    The prisoner swallows the words on the tip of his tongue, not that he could have voiced those words anyway.


    In his blurred vision, he can see the other party¡¯s golden hair sparkling in the orange flames.


    ¡°Hey, you sure are sleeping like it¡¯s nothing. To get to this lowest-level underground prison, do you know how many crimes I had to commit?¡±


    The tall man with the prison guard¡ªAdalbert von Grantz continuously makes a piercing, gleeful laugh.


    ¡°Not only did I eat and drink without paying, vandalized city property, I even sold roast biscuits with drinks without a license!¡±


    How could such a petty criminal be locked together with the mastermind who disrupted the national order?


    ¡°But you sure look bad, looks like prisoners are the same in every country.¡±


    ¡°This man is the sinner who attempted to take King Saralegui¡¯s life, he¡¯s different from the other convicts.¡±


    The prison guard replies self-righteously, in a tone of unwavering determination in this truth.


    ¡°But no matter how we interrogate him, he simply refuses to reveal his companion¡¯s names.¡±


    ¡°Maybe your interrogation methods are too gentlemanly? How interesting, this guy was a high-level general in the military not too long ago. Who knew he would have fallen so far, so quickly.¡±


    Adalbert bends his knees and squats down, grabbing the silent man¡¯s chin. Although he¡¯s covered in bristles now, not long ago he was very clean-shaven.


    Normally, this condition could never be found on a Shou Shimaron soldier.


    ¡°It¡¯s this guy all right, I¡¯m taking him.¡±


    ¡°No way, this wasn¡¯t what we¡­¡±


    Adalbert waves his large hand, throwing the prison guard who was grabbing him at the bars, and then he kicks the prisoner in the stomach, speaking to him in a familiar tone and lifting up his entire curled body.


    ¡°Oh, yeah, there¡¯s something you might like to hear. Wanna hear it?¡±


    ¡°¡­Whate¡­¡±


    At first he wanted to say ¡®whatever¡¯, but the other party doesn¡¯t give him a chance to reply. This part hasn¡¯t changed either.


    ¡°That king who got ahead of you, the boat he¡¯s on¡­¡±


    These unexpected words make his back twitch subconsciously, which then makes him moan in pain.


    ¡°The way I see it, it won¡¯t work, something will probably happen.¡±


    ¡°Why?!¡±


    ¡°Aiya, shouldn¡¯t you be very happy?¡±


    His tone is even sterner than imagined.


    Come to think of it, something like this happened before, a long time ago.


    But before he can remember what it was like, Nigel Weiss Maxine loses his consciousness.


    ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù


    Which idiot would believe such a far-fetched thing?


    Shibuya Shouri put his cellphone on his shoulder, purposely raising his voice as he spoke.


    The shocking truth his brother¡¯s friend told him is still echoing in his mind, but his ears are listening to a regular time enquiry service.


    ¡°Hey, Sapp[1]? It¡¯s me, it¡¯s me!¡±


    As expected. Murata Ken leans in closer, but he doesn¡¯t seem to be in the mood for his bad jokes.


    ¡°I¡¯m not looking for that Bob. Besides, which scamming syndicate would call robot cops?¡±


    ¡°¡­Not robot cops, it¡¯s ROBOCOP!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care if it¡¯s crop, copper, Crocop or Coppola[2], just help me get Bob! I¡¯m sure you¡¯re really worried for your brother¡¯s safety, right? Brother of my friend. I¡¯m begging you, do me a favor since we¡¯re both glasses guys.¡±


    ¡°Not cute at all, now if it was some glasses girls club, that might still be cuter.¡±


    Finally fed up being bothered by the brat, he scrolls down the ¡®B¡¯ list in his contacts. Bonda Tetsuro (friend), Boston Shop (hotel), Bowling King (bowling arena), Boris Akademi (exchange student).


    ¡°Bob, Bob¡­ got it. Muraken, listen closely, if it doesn¡¯t get through then you gotta give up. If he¡¯s not in the country, I can¡¯t reach him. Because my phone can¡¯t connect with the system over in Europe.¡±


    ¡°As long as you¡¯re willing to give him a call. I won¡¯t complain about your crappy phone, just make the call already.¡±


    ¡°Really, brats should be sincere when asking for favors¡­¡±


    Shouri¡¯s grouching is abruptly cut short once he hears the dial tone.


    For some reason, behind the ridiculous amount of background noise, there¡¯s a hearty American greeting.


    How unlucky, they actually got the guy the brat wanted.


    ¡°Hi, Shibuya! It¡¯s been a while, why are you calling me now?¡±


    ¡°Bob?! Where on earth are you!¡±


    But the other end of the phone is nothing but ¡®shuu¡ª¡¯ or ¡®babeebabee¡ª¡¯ noises. Maybe it¡¯s because the phone is an old model, all they can hear is the background sounds, including even a rhythmic drum beat.


    ¡°This voice is JUNIOR, you¡¯re JUNIOR, right? Wo¡ªYee¡ªHeh--! I¡¯m dancing the samba now! Sing, samba! Dance, samba!¡±


    He¡¯s in Brazil? Shouri grips the phone firmly again.


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me JUNIOR, I¡¯m not your son. Back to the point, are you in Rio? Rio de Janeiro?¡±


    ¡°No, Shouri, I¡¯m in¡­ a shopping street. Since yesterday I¡¯ve been at a business meeting¡­ in this shopping street where a carnival is taking place. Hayahou¡ª! Follow the samba rhythm everyone, easy delivery[3]!¡±


    ¡°Are you telling me a bad joke?! And in Japanese, too. What type of activities are you handling now?¡±


    The eldest son of the Shibuya house ¡®tsks¡¯ at the phone receiver.


    Having such a crazy sunglasses dude as a leader, is the world economy okay?


    And this uncle is also the Maou of the entire world, looks like the future of the earth isn¡¯t so bright.


    ¡°Bob, Bob took the call? Is it the real Bob?¡±


    Beside him, Murata¡¯s lenses are shining, and he¡¯s as excited as though it¡¯s his first time discovering matsutake mushrooms.


    ¡°Oh, yeah. A brat called Murata came to my place, and he wanted to find you urgently.¡±


    ¡°Murata? Who¡¯s that¡­¡±


    Murata quickly grabs Shouri¡¯s phone before the American enjoying a samba New Year¡¯s festival starts reminiscing about the past, yelling into the phone and waving at the man who¡¯s obviously not there to see him.


    ¡°Bob? I¡¯m Henry. Well, honestly that¡¯s not my identity now, but you should be more familiar with this name, right?¡±


    Another unfamiliar name. Shouri can¡¯t help but frown.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m Henry Regent. But now I¡¯m called Murata Ken. It''s nice to meet you as Muraken.¡±


    Is this really their first meeting? The introduction right now is spoken in French, but everything before that was fluent English.


    He had heard that Yuu-chan¡¯s friend here has a high test score, but he didn¡¯t think that his English was so good, too.


    ¡°Sorry for the sudden call, Bob, but I urgently need someone who can help me get to that world. If there isn¡¯t anyone, then a thing or a place will do. The place where Lord Weller came to earth, wasn¡¯t there a power user who helped summon him of their own accord?¡±


    Now they¡¯re talking about a man who came to earth from another world.


    That world and earth? What world is ¡®that world¡¯?


    Mars, or Venus?


    Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s warping to an alternate world?


    Don¡¯t tell me that before the universal clock starts its countdown, the era of Star Trek is already here? Hearing the reason for his brother¡¯s disappearance, Shouri can¡¯t help but think that way, and do he asks,


    ¡°What? What do you mean? You¡¯re saying that Yuu-chan didn¡¯t travel in a spaceship or a machine, but physically went straight through a black hole?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s absolutely right. And not a black hole, the first time he was flushed down a toilet.¡±


    ¡°Stop joking around, if you wanna sleep talk, then wait till you¡¯re asleep!¡±


    ¡°This is not sleep talk, brother of my friend.¡±


    The brother who has lived with him for sixteen years, is actually the king of a powerful country in an alternate world, and not something romantic like the heir to a long-lost royal line, but the demon king of a tribe with great powers¡ªsomething like that is really hard to believe.


    And surprisingly, the reason he¡¯s forced to believe this sort of fantasy story, aside from the fact that he knew his father is a mazoku since he was young, is the forced heir to the position of the Maou of earth.


    And that person forced to be heir¡ªis himself.


    ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù


    Shouri pinches the Post-it notes on his computer desk lightly.


    If it was his smoker of a great-grandfather, by now he would have long since smoked a cigarette to calm himself down.


    But he can¡¯t smoke, because there¡¯s an athlete in the house.


    If the second-hand smoke affected his brother¡¯s growth, he would blame himself till the day he dies.


    ¡°That¡¯s why, Bob, normally he should be back within two or three minutes. If you count according to that place¡¯s beep¡ªtime, it should been a few days already. Normally he¡¯d be wearing that beep¡ªG-strings, floating in the same place as that beep¡ª stupid Star Tour. But this time it¡¯s already been ten or twenty minutes¡­¡±


    Gripping someone else¡¯s phone tightly, Murata swears uncharacteristically.


    The high school student is actually proficient enough to converse with an American in fluent English, but when he listens carefully he notices there are plenty of curses mixed in, four letter words and excrements flying everywhere.


    Where did a Japanese high school student learn this kind of language? The strings of ¡®beep¡ª¡¯s really grate on someone¡¯s ears.


    ¡°Hey, use some politer English! Don¡¯t just spout poop or F-words.¡±


    His brother¡¯s friend reacts to an elder¡¯s warning with just a glance.


    ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s just that JUNIOR is a bit impatient, being sidelined. The main problem now is how do I go over to that side? Last time Shibuya¡­ I¡¯m talking about Yuuri, the younger one. As long as there¡¯s a technique to find his presence, moving across is surprisingly easy. It¡¯s actually a piece of cake, after all he¡¯s so unique, and his maryoku so powerful. Truth is, Yuuri can already travel across these two places with his own power, he just hasn¡¯t realized it yet. As long as the circumstances allow it, he can cross over with his own power, though of course it needs sufficient stamina and outstanding resolve. But the situation this time is a little serious. Because I can¡¯t feel his consciousness and soul whatever I do. This is the first time I¡¯m not able to sense a soul like Shibuya¡¯s anywhere in my sensory field, I could vaguely feel him even when he was in human territory last time. What kind of strong barrier did he meet this time? Or has he really been called to a place where the power of the mazoku can¡¯t reach?¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    Murata ignores Shouri¡¯s yell completely, just shaking his head at the phone in denial.


    In this moment it¡¯s very clear that he is after all a Japanese.


    ¡°Mazoku items from that side? Hmm¡­ One thing does come to mind, I think it¡¯s a metal carving of a condor or an eagle! It¡¯s something Yuuri was wearing from the start.¡±


    ¡°Hey, you can¡¯t do that¡ª¡±


    Turns out the special calendar used to note down when the new games can be pre-ordered has been used by Murata to jot down notes.


    Whatever, small matter.


    ¡°¡­Mn, Mexico¡­ should be around there. Got hold of the place Rodriguez is working?¡±


    Finally losing his patience, Shouri snatches his phone from the guest¡¯s hands, and uses the English he learned from a textbook to deal with the college entrance exams to say non-stop,


    ¡°Bob Robert! Tell me where to go, too, PLEASE! HE IS my BROTHER, you know! No matter what, as an older brother, it¡¯d be weird if I don¡¯t go along. Yuuri is my younger brother, there¡¯s no way I can hand my precious baby brother to a friend he just met a few months ago, is there?!¡±


    But the answer he got is monotonous.


    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, Shouri, but you can¡¯t go there.¡±


    His response of ¡°why?¡± comes out trembling. The hand holding the dark blue plastic cover on the phone is already sweating.


    ¡°You are purely and wholly a living being that belongs only to this world. Be it your blood, flesh, or your endlessly reincarnating soul, they¡¯re all created from the earth¡¯s elements. As long as you are a descendant from the prokaryotes of the distant past, you¡¯re considered as having a very pure bloodline. And so those who lack any elements from that world, can¡¯t get across without a certain amount of power. And you¡¯ll need a lot of that power.¡±


    ¡°You say a certain amount of power¡­ Then exactly how much force do you need to go to the alternate world? Is falling from a very high place enough? Like the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building or the Yokohama LANDMARK TOWER?	Or is it a bomb, or nuclear bomb? If I use the explosive force of a nuclear core, will it blow me to the ridiculous world Yuuri is in?¡±


    The other side sinks into a long silence. The background noise has long been left behind, all that¡¯s left is the piercing sound of a connection almost lost.


    ¡°Robert!¡±


    ¡°¡­Very sorry.¡±


    Shouri slams the phone onto the ground without ending the call.

 Volume 10 - CH 4

    The large door is roughly pushed open without even a knock, shocking the owner of the ship into looking up.


    The pale golden hair that looks almost translucent is still sticking to his fair face.


    ¡°Yuuri?¡±


    ¡°Saralegui, do you know what you¡¯ve done?!¡±


    He just cocks his head slightly, looking at me through the thin lens.


    Slender fingers are spread across his knees, and there¡¯s an undecorated bottle next to his chair.


    ¡°I¡¯m putting on nail varnish. If you don¡¯t mind using my things, please take some. It¡¯s normal to get small wounds on trips, since this is different from the easy castle life, after all, so we have to be careful about cracked nails.¡±


    ¡°Cracked nails? I¡¯m not a pitcher¡­ That¡¯s not what I¡¯m talking about, Sara!¡±


    ¡°What are you so angry about, Yuuri? Have I done something to make you angry?¡±


    ¡°Those shinzokus¡­¡±


    The person behind me, either Josak or Lord Weller, closes the door in time.


    ¡°How could you treat the shinzoku like that!¡±


    I can¡¯t stop thinking about what I just saw.


    When we descended from the storage hold, those golden eyes had looked up in unison.


    Under the illumination of the faint light, we made a rough headcount, there should be around a hundred adults there.


    As for the girl we met on the deck, she was in a corner cutting the stolen food into tiny portions to share around. Although the people kept holding out their hands, indicating, ¡®I want some too, I want some too¡¯, the food she had hidden in her chest was clearly not enough.


    But this didn¡¯t cause a riot amongst them, and those who didn¡¯t get any just looked disappointed and gave up.


    As though they were long since used to a shortage of food.


    Luckily, there weren¡¯t any young children amongst them, but we can¡¯t deport them back to their country just because they¡¯re adults.


    To make matters worse, they¡¯re squeezed in a cold and damp cellar, there¡¯s no need for them to make the trip home under such horrible conditions.


    Forcefully sending people who had become refugees due to certain reasons home without any escort, really is a very cruel thing to do.


    ¡°What on earth were you thinking? Saralegui! Why didn¡¯t you hide the shinzoku who had gone through so much to escape to Shou Shimaron, and why are you deporting back to Seisakoku instead?!¡±


    Shou Shimaron¡¯s boy king, Saralegui, replies with a look of confusion,


    ¡°Because they¡¯re citizens of Seisakoku, isn¡¯t sending them back to the country they grew up in the happiest thing for them?¡±


    ¡°But didn¡¯t these people just escape from their country? And there were so many of them squeezed on such a tiny boat. Although they were reaching out for help, they aren¡¯t just your average shipwrecked crew. They should be refugees, right? I saw something like this before, at the dock!¡±


    But I don¡¯t mention anything about incidentally saving two shinzoku children.


    And the fact that I¡¯m carrying the latter those fraternal twins ¨C Zeda and Zisha-- gave me, is a matter of utmost secrecy.


    ¡°Refugees¡­ Is that so? Maybe.¡±


    I¡¯m ticked off by his nonchalant reaction, punching the wall in my rage.


    ¡°If so! If that is so, isn¡¯t it worse to deport them back? They were oppressed, and felt their lives were in danger, that¡¯s why they dared to make a break for it! If you refuse to lend them a hand and send them back to Seisakoku instead, who knows what¡¯ll happen to them!¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    Saralegui puts his pointer finger on the bridge of his glasses, then pushes it upwards, his movements light as a feather.


    The light red lips curve into an innocent smile.


    ¡°They were oppressed? How come I never heard of that, who did you hear it from, Yuuri?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    Faced with his question, I¡¯m at a loss for words.


    Actually I didn¡¯t hear it from anybody, it¡¯s just I concluded it those people begging for help at the dock, and the two children we protected earlier.


    I didn¡¯t hear any special inside information, because we can¡¯t understand each other, so even if I wanted to ask for the details, it is nearly impossible.


    ¡°So I didn¡¯t hear it from anyone, actually I¡¯m not too sure, either.¡±


    To be precise, even if I wanted to make sure, I can¡¯t.


    ¡°But isn¡¯t it obvious just looking at them?¡±


    By now I¡¯m just being unreasonable, and suddenly I lose confidence in my own words.


    I guessed that they must have been refugees, who ran for their lives away from their home country, hoping to find help in Shou Shimaron, and I worked under that belief since.


    Even though I don¡¯t understand their situation at all, and never confirmed the truth with the people involved, I made that decision on my own.


    But Saralegui was different.


    He¡¯s been accepting the holistic education a ruler should have for seventeen years, and he understands the way of this world better than I do, too, so surely he should know more about the Seisakoku¡¯s situation than I do.


    And a rookie Maou like me is lecturing him.


    ¡°Yuuri¡¯s so amazing.¡±


    But the boy who¡¯s already leading Shou Shimaron at seventeen years of age, blinks his long lashes a few times before he starts sighing.


    He put his right palm on his chest, then he stacks his left hand over it lightly.


    ¡°You¡¯re so impressive! Seeing into the depth of the matter from such a small detail. Yuuri, you seem like you really were born to be king.¡±


    I never thought that person I was scolding would turn around and praise me, so now all I want to do is to dig a hole and hide in it.


    ¡°¡­Someone like that doesn¡¯t exist.¡±


    He narrows those eyes, whose color I still can¡¯t identify, and shakes his head gracefully,


    ¡°I believe they do.¡±


    It¡¯s true, on the letter Zeda and Zisha gave me, there was nothing about seeking help.


    All it said was that they wished to save someone or somewhere called Venera, and even the knowledgeable Lord von Christ G¨¹nter can¡¯t decipher which it is.


    Then I simply let my imagination run wild, concluding on my own accord that the shinzokus are refugees.


    So I have no right to be praised.


    Blissfully unaware of all that, Saralegui takes my hand and says excitedly,


    ¡°When we discovered them on the lifeboat, my men kept trying to ask them for the reason, but they just refused to say anything. That¡¯s why I¡­ decided that they must have met with an accident in the sea near the mainland, and were asking us for help, so I wanted to send them back home as soon as possible. Looks like I shouldn¡¯t have done things based on intuition alone. Yuuri, please tell me, what should I do with them? What¡¯s the appropriate way to solve this problem for them?¡±


    ¡°About that¡­¡±


    A bitterness is welling up deep in my throat. It feels like someone is spying on the depths of my heart, making breathing more and more difficult. And throughout this all, he has never once let go of the hands wrapped around mine.


    ¡°¡­Let¡¯s think about it together.¡±


    I can only answer as such.


    ¡°How will your country respond to something like this?¡±


    Saralegui suddenly leans his face in closer. Although the color of his eyes is undecipherable behind those lenses, they¡¯re shining brightly.


    ¡°Respond?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, refugees, there should be plenty of refugees escaping into Shin Makoku from the neighboring countries, Yuuri! What is your country¡¯s policy towards them? If it¡¯s okay with you, can you tell me?¡±


    ¡°Our policy¡­¡±


    The atmosphere right now doesn¡¯t allow me to say ¡®things like that are all left to Lord von Christ¡¯ at all, much less the truth that ¡®actually G¨¹nter will then toss them to Lord von Voltaire¡¯.


    When it comes to the details of Shin Makoku, everyone around me is clearer than I am.


    What is this?


    Someone who calls himself king knows nothing about his own country?


    That just means I¡¯m a noob! Even if I¡¯m scolded a million times, there¡¯s nothing I can say against it.


    ¡°Come to think of it, I¡¯m a living, breathing example.¡±


    The spy who exists not only as a bodyguard, Josak then opens his mouth to help me out of this mess.


    ¡°See, since I have both mazoku and human blood, I¡¯m deemed as worthless in the countries who believe that humanity is everything, but Shin Makoku took me in. Right?¡±


    His last ¡®right?¡¯ is aimed at someone, I don¡¯t know who.


    ¡°And Young¡­ His Majesty spends a lot of his time studying abroad, so it¡¯s not easy for him to explain to you Shin Makoku¡¯s ways right now. Why don¡¯t you talk about how the country you study in deals with it, aren¡¯t you staying there for long periods of time so you can bring in the admirable qualities into our country?¡±


    ¡°Mn¡ªOver there¡­¡±


    Over there, that is, over on earth, how do we deal with it?


    I was so certain that they were refugees, because I had witnessed them squeezed like sardines in a tiny boat asking for help. I had seen images like that several times before on TV.


    Like people who reach civilization after crossing the Sahara, or people risking their lives, adrift on a rocky boat.


    What happened to them later? What kind of fate was in store for them?


    ¡°If it¡¯s other countries, they usually just accept the refugees. As for policies¡­¡±


    America is known as the cultural melting pot and the country of immigrants, but immigrants and refugees are still different. As for Japan¡­


    I feel so guilty I just want to bow my head, and then sit on the ground and draw circles on the wooden floor.


    ¡°¡­Don¡¯t ask me too constructive questions!¡±


    Josak, I¡¯m sorry, you helped me cover up but I wasted it.


    ¡°B-but, sending them back to Seisakoku before determining the truth, and having them travel so far under such conditions, is truly unforgivable. Making them ride over the car-passenger limit, and squeezing them into the bottom of a smelly ship¡­ Wait, since it¡¯s a ship, then I should say they are over the boat-passenger limit. And there are girls without an overcoat to wear in such cold weather, you should at least lend them clothes! And feed them three meals a day! Distribute food and blankets to everyone, those are basic human rights, right?!¡±


    ¡°Basic¡­ human¡­ rights?¡±


    Saralegui echoes stutteringly, surely this is the first time he¡¯s heard the term.


    ¡°But, Yuuri¡­ they¡¯re slaves!¡±


    ¡°Sl¡ª¡±


    I lost, I just can¡¯t get across our cultural gap. The blood speeding up in my veins makes me feel dizzy.


    In the lacking information room of my brain, any knowledge to do with slavery stops at ancient history.


    The European countries in the Age of Discovery, black slaves brought over from the African continent for manual labour¡­


    ¡°You said slaves¡­ Which century is it now? How long has slavery been abolished? No, wait! Warring, developing countries are still trafficking people to this day¡­ Crap, it¡¯s getting even more messed up!¡±


    Due to the sudden increase in activity, my brain seems to be on the verge of overheating.


    I fall backwards, the back of my head crashing into Josak¡¯s chest.


    ¡°Young Master, you can do it! Keep going, Young Master!¡±


    I¡¯m trying. But even though I¡¯m putting my all into it, there¡¯s a new obstacle every time, and in that instant I¡¯m feeling a little dejected.


    Geez, I can¡¯t stand it! Why are there so many tough problems happening all the time in the alternate world?


    ¡°Sorry, Sara. The country I live in doesn¡¯t have that sort of system, and I¡¯ve never been to a country with slavery before, either, so what I¡¯m saying might not be very convincing. But if they have to be treated cruelly just because they¡¯re slaves, no matter how I think about, it just isn¡¯t right!¡±


    ¡°No slaves? Really?¡±


    Saralegui is genuinely surprised, pressing his beautiful fingers against his lips,


    ¡°Then who¡¯s in charge of the sewage?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡ªAbout that~¡±


    I turn back, but Josak is looking off into the distance.


    ¡°Low-ranking soldiers.¡±


    ¡°Then what about the dangerous irrigation process, or mining works under harsh conditions?¡±


    ¡°Also the low-ranking soldiers. What, so Shin Makoku¡¯s low-ranking soldiers aren¡¯t treated as humans~¡±


    The previously silent Lord Weller interrupts Josak in a teasing tone.


    ¡°Stop sighing. Besides training, they still have a chance at promotion!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true!¡±


    From this exchange alone, you can tell the top-and-bottom relationship between the two.


    ¡°Anyway, Saralegui, this has nothing to do with slaves or the poor, status or wealth. Everyone is born equal¡­ Though talking about this to you so suddenly is probably useless. To put it simply, you can¡¯t let them starve without bread to eat, resorting to stealing from the kitchen to survive.¡±


    ¡°Eh, why don¡¯t they have bread? Then¡­¡±


    In my sixteen years of life, I never once thought I would personally hear this famous line.


    And Sara says it so nonchalantly,


    ¡°Let them eat cake!¡±


    I am completely and utterly defeated by those words, presenting an ¡®orz¡¯ pose, both my palms flat on the coarse, splintered wooden floorboards.


    It feels as though my world has suddenly gone pitch black, and there¡¯s a lonely spotlight shining down on me from the ceiling.


    If I¡¯m the noob king, then Saralegui should be the super X king, the type that believes in eating cake when there¡¯s no bread.


    He literally is Queen Marie Antoinette incarnate.


    ¡°Queen¡­ Queen Marie.¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty, if you don¡¯t mind, please use this.¡±


    Josak bends down and hands me a lacy silk handkerchief.


    ¡°Thanks, Gurrier. I can barely stand it anymore, I¡¯m so tired¡­ Feel like sleeping¡­ Eh, wait a sec! What¡¯s with this tremor?¡±


    A small tremor different from the movement of the waves, is transmitted throughout my body from my palms and knees on the ground.


    Unlike the familiar rocking of a ship, this feels stronger, almost like the purr of an electrical motor.


    ¡°It¡¯s a current!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a giant squid!¡±


    The owner of the ship, Shou Shimaron king Saralegui, and the experienced soldier, Josak, make their predictions at the same time.


    Sara says with a solemn expression,


    ¡°Recently the ocean around Seisakoku has currents that change form according to the seasons, so there are only certain time frames throughout the year when they can cross the sea. We predicted that there should be a few more days for this year, and thought that we should be able to make it across these waters in time, but after all the sea is also a part of nature, perhaps the path of the current changed earlier than expected.¡±


    I¡¯m a bit dazed after listening to that, but it should be something like how, when the tide rises and falls, there are loud sounds at the bay caused by whirlpools.


    And the tremor that I could only feel in my hands and feet before is now getting more and more intense, the whole ship shaking so badly it makes one wonder if there¡¯s a submarine approaching.


    The bottle on the table starts clattering. The liquid inside spills out.


    ¡°What¡¯s the worst case scenario?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not too sure, either, because I also only experienced this when I was an infant. But I heard that if you get pulled into the current, even the most experienced seamen will find it hard to get out; if it¡¯s an inexperienced cargo ship helmsman, then we¡¯ll never reach Seisakoku no matter what. And not just that, the chances of the ship sinking are also¡­¡±


    ¡°But the possibility of a big squid is not zero! The guy that has ten thick white tentacles, hard skin but tender flesh.¡±


    The spy happily licks his lips, guessing ¡®it should be a squid, right?¡¯ as his hand even moves to his sword.


    ¡°I just happen to have a craving for squid tempura right now. I want to play the role of a young wife in the prime of her life who wants to challenge creative cooking perfectly, then chop off a leg or two. LET¡¯S GO! Bloody housewife!¡±


    There¡¯s some commotion outside the cabin.


    When we open the door, we see that the crewmen, panicked with their first emergency situation, are scuttling all over the large deck.


    ¡°According to calculations, it shouldn¡¯t be possible!¡±


    I¡¯m given a shock by the frustrated tone, turning my head to look sideways, and I see Saralegui biting his thin petal-like lips, probably regretting the mistake in his calculations.


    ¡°There are times in life when things don¡¯t go your way, Sara, especially when you¡¯re dealing with nature.¡±


    ¡°No matter what¡­¡±


    He grips his pretty slender fingers tightly, the freshly manicured nails digging deep into his fair skin.


    ¡°I cannot tolerate anything not going according to plan!¡±


    That¡¯s a feeling of fury a king of failures like me has never experienced before.


    ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù ¡ù


    Adalbert tosses the filthy rolled-up carpet onto the ground, and the caterpillar-like thing groans softly, lying there.


    ¡°Here, what you wanted.¡±


    ¡°I thank you on behalf of my father.¡±


    ¡°Torture him all you want, the guy doesn¡¯t die easily.¡±


    The next generation of the von Christ clan, Gisela, stands in the large captain¡¯s quarters, her hands on her hips and her gaze cold as she looks down at the thing wrapped up in the carpet.


    Although her face is pale and bloodless, she is actually in better shape than everyone else present.


    Having just completed a long-term mission, aiding the restoration of Caloria, even though she didn¡¯t get an acclimatization period and can¡¯t use magic here, her body and soul are in top form.


    As for her adopted father, Lord von Christ G¨¹nter, since he was nearly burned in a fire, and then he unfortunately fell into the sea, add that to the nausea brought on by the houryoku, and all three factors have finally defeated him, so he is currently collapsed in the adjacent room.


    Lord von Bielefeld Wolfram, who had gone through the same, has already recovered and returned to normal life without any serious problems.


    Seeing as he¡¯s only eighty-two, youth seems to be on his side.


    The place a certain few of Shin Makoku¡¯s most influential people are now gathered, is the drastic Sea Monk¡ªCaptain Sizemore¡¯s ¡®Friends on the Sea¡¯.


    During the political revolt at the Saralegui War Port, it was docked at the jetty directly opposite, and therefore was the first to receive the information and arrive at the scene.


    Thanks to the efficiency and speed of ¡®Friends on the Sea¡¯ and its companions, G¨¹nter, who was thrown into the sea, and Wolfram, who was shot in the chest, were both successfully rescued.


    No amount of praise would be enough to thank Captain Sizemore and his quick thinking in the middle of a crisis, just like there never seemed to be sufficient hair, no matter how he brushed, on his receding hairline.


    Other than Wolfram and Gisela, who had rushed over from Caloria, there¡¯s also Adalbert, leaning on the doorframe after he carried the caterpillar-thing over, so you could call this the worst combination ever.


    Known as the third son of the ¡®very similar three mazoku brothers¡¯, Wolfram gets into a conflict with the traitor von Grantz Adalbert whenever they meet.


    The cold and distant Adalbert can still control himself fairly well, but Wolfram looks like he¡¯s ready to draw his sword and attack him at any moment.


    If it weren¡¯t for magician Gisela¡¯s decisive ¡®stay still or I¡¯ll paralyze both of you¡¯, blood would probably have long since been spilled.


    On a side note, right now the ¡®omnipresent Dakaskos¡¯ is cowering in a corner of the room, trembling.


    And outside the wide open door, there¡¯s a group of people spectating at a certain distance, that¡¯s the crew of ¡®Friends on the Sea¡¯.


    And behind the wall of people, the nice man jumping up and down with what looks like a few baby bird feathers on his head, that would be Captain Sizemore.


    ¡°Oomph!¡±


    The one sticking his head out of the carpet for a breath of fresh air, is the former Shou Shimaron model soldier, even known as Saralegui¡¯s loyal dog¡ªNigel Weiss Maxine, also the man who made famous the cropped ponytail in Shou Shimaron.


    Wolfram leans on the walking stick that was once Yuuri¡¯s¡ª¡®Windpipe Number 1¡¯, pointing at the man on the ground as he says,


    ¡°It¡¯s him! This is the guy who attacked Yuuri and I, jari![1]¡±


    Having just recovered, his voice is still very raspy, so much so that he can¡¯t enunciate his words properly, evoking sympathy from everybody.


    ¡°Mmph, you¡¯re the mazoku from¡­ What¡¯s happening here? Why was a mazoku wearing King Saralegui¡¯s cloak? And standing at the place he usually stands?!¡±


    ¡°We were asking you! Do you know the repercussions of attacking an official ambassadorial envoy like us, who had travelled so far across the sea?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡­¡±


    ¡°What was the situation, tell me!¡±


    Squatting on her knees, Gisela approaches Maxine, lifting his face with her exceptionally pale hand.


    Those gentle fingers she usually uses for healing, are now sunk deeply into his matted beard.


    ¡°Since Kinan got away, I guess we can only ask this guy¡¯s body, Aiya, my mistake, what I meant was, this guy¡¯s mouth. If I recall correctly, you¡¯re Maxine, right? As members of the opposition force within the Shou Shimaron army, why did you shoot at our king? Even if your aim wasn¡¯t His Majesty, but to assassinate the boy king Saralegui, what were you trying to accomplish? Right, don¡¯t waste our time, come on and be honest now.¡±


    The corners of her lips curve into a malevolent smile, which isn¡¯t a good omen any day. The worker soldiers, who are used to her yells and torture on a daily basis, all straighten their backs and brace themselves for a bashing.


    It¡¯s coming, it¡¯s starting, anytime now, get ready!


    ¡°Hmph, I don¡¯t care if you can get it out of me, I was just interrogated anyway.¡±


    ¡°¡­Interrogated, you say?¡±


    The healer¡ªGisela raises her eyes, her powerful voice becoming very violent.


    This is precisely our Shin Makoku army medical team¡¯s famous finishing move¡ªthe Sergeant mode.


    ¡°Listen closely, human! We mazoku¡¯s medical team will never accept an enquiry method as old and barbaric as torture! But to this day, humans are still endlessly interrogating as a means of gathering intelligence! Such as plucking nails, digging eyeballs, and cutting off the honey mushroom downstairs! What¡¯s wrong with you people? Why are you backing away? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re worried about your honey mushrooms down there?!¡±


    The baby bird head jumping up and down behind the people wall, and the sparkly-headed kitchen apprentice Dakaskos, wave their right hands and heads in fervent denial.


    ¡°Listen up , you cowardly soldiers! We, the Shin Makoku army medical team, will never use such prehistoric methods. From now on, healing must be done together with science and brains! Remember that, you horse-butt head.¡±


    Timid Maxine is almost scared out of his wits, going one on one with the force of the Sergeant mode.


    ¡°Let¡¯s pretend I have here Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina¡¯s new prototype¡ª MAjor Danger(*) Potion I and II[2]! Do you bunch of idiots think Lady von Karbelinikoff Anissina is scary?!¡±


    ¡°Scary, Sergeant!¡±


    The soldiers outside reply loudly upon questioning, but as a matter of habit they all remain straight as rulers and don¡¯t move an inch.


    ¡°Then between the Poison Lady Anissina and your officer, who is scarier?!¡±


    ¡°Sergeant, of course, Sergeant!¡±


    ¡°You bunch of concrete-brained ass-kissers! At times like these you should compliment the enemy, who¡¯d have thought that despite being so stiff and straight normally, you know how to sweet talk!¡±


    ¡°Yes! We will change, Sergeant!¡±


    Gisela is sounding out her men, but the truth is she¡¯s in a wonderful mood.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t changed at all, huh, Sergeant¡­¡±


    Adalbert says, rubbing his butt-shaped chin.


    Even Wolfram, who just recently got to know Gisela¡¯s true form, is so scared of the Demon Sergeant¡¯s intimidating aura that he¡¯s backed up all the way to the wall.


    Looks it¡¯s best not to get on this tigress¡¯ bad side.


    ¡°Right, back to business¡ª¡±


    Holding in her hand a long brown bottle, Gisela continues,


    ¡°This is the Poison Lady Anissina¡¯s new drug.¡±


    At the mention of the creator¡¯s name, Maxine¡¯s expression changes drastically.


    ¡°I-is it poison? You say it¡¯s created by the Poison Lady, so it must be poison?!¡±


    ¡°Hmph!¡±


    After what sounds like the yell of someone accustomed to using brute force, Gisela forces open Maxine¡¯s jaw, stuffs the green Potion I inside, then she pushes the jaw joint back up, closing his mouth, setting the bones into place then grabs his head and shakes it forcefully.


    ¡°Since you refuse to spill, then I have no qualms using force to get you to confess! Right. Be honest with me, tell us your motives!¡±


    ¡°Hm-um-umph! Hm-um-umph! Mmph!¡±


    Crop Pony is rocking forward, backward, left, right.


    After Potion I is thoroughly shaken in Maxine¡¯s mouth, light green bubbles start flowing down the cropped beard, symbolic of his military status.


    And then Gisela pinches a horizontal long bottle, raising it high into the afternoon sun.


    ¡°After that, this seems to be the blood red Potion II. After drinking Potion I, if you drink Potion II within a certain timeframe¡­¡±


    ¡°Blergh¡ªWhat happens if you drink that?! Bleergghh¡ªIf those two mix, will it be dangerous or not?! Or is Potion II the antidote? What the hell is it? Blergh?!¡±


    ¡°If you want to know, hurry up and spill it! Might as well tell you, the manual says, ¡®Anissina is composed half of gentleness¡¯¡­ Hmph!¡±


    Gisela tosses the manual onto the ground.


    ¡°Gentleness¡ªHow is she gentle¡ª¡±


    Succumbing to the tense atmosphere, Dakaskos falls backwards like a log.


    Although he didn¡¯t take the MaChicken Danger Potion, but he¡¯s foaming in the mouth and white in the eyes.


    Even the cold onlooker, the only anti-mazoku Adalbert speaks up,


    ¡°Hey, before there are any more casualties, do yourself a favor and get out of this hell, Maxine. Besides, it¡¯s not as though you need to shield anyone anymore, right?¡±


    ¡°S-s-s-shut your crap! I, Nigel Weiss Maxine, will never succumb to such petty threats... What?!¡±


    Victims start appearing in the wall of people outside.


    Unable to withstand the terror of Gisela¡¯s aura and etcetera, people start crashing to the ground, one after another.


    ¡°Hey, Maxine. You have siblings too, right? Don¡¯t make them too upset. Just pretend you¡¯re doing it for your old mom who will cry for you, just confess to compensate for your crimes. After you confess, I¡¯ll bring you some katsudon[3].¡±


    The muscleman is actually the good cop taking the sentimental approach, what a surprising Adalbert.


    ¡°Well, we don¡¯t mind either way! I kind of want to see how long it¡¯ll take to break a spineless, stupid beard guy like you. Otherwise I might as well throw you into Caloria¡¯s city area, the people there sure hate your guts. That way you¡¯ll definitely get nerves thinner than a mosquito¡¯s leg.¡±


    ¡­While Gisela is the threatening bad cop.


    ¡°Ah, come to think of it¡­¡±


    Wolfram, who believed that ¡®silence is golden¡¯ and kept quiet until now, seems to have suddenly thought of something, raising his head.


    ¡°Recently Mother has suddenly been working very hard on her whipping techniques, muttering something about some beautiful mature woman warrior¡­ Right, it was the ¡®Beautiful Mature Woman Warrior Cheri, and now I¡¯m going to get together and punish you¡¯, something like that. And then there was ¡®I really wanna play with that Mr Beard again¡¯¡­¡±


    ¡°Eh¡ª¡±


    Looks like the threat of the Beautiful Mature Woman Warrior¡¯s leather whip is more effective than the city he destroyed.


    Maxine¡¯s heavily scarred face is taut, his blood-shot eyes overflowing with tears again as he pleads,


    ¡°I-I¡¯ll spill, I¡¯ll spill, I¡¯ll spill! I¡¯ll say anything, just don¡¯t let me see that gorgeous cheesy woman again!¡±


    ¡°Gorgeous che¡­ You¡¯re so rude! You should say she acts cute, acts cute!¡±


    All the men present look diagonally downwards, thinking,


    ¡®How come the person in question¡¯s son is also so cruel with his words.¡¯


    ¡°Although the reason is very weird, but as long as you sincerely want to confess. Then please tell us! Nigel Weiss Maxine, why did you want to assassinate His Majesty and His Excellency Wolfram?¡±


    Crop Pony clears his throat before replying.


    He purposely wanted to show off, but his beard was trembling.


    ¡°My target this time really wasn¡¯t the mazoku brat. Although that double-black mazoku has gotten in my way several times, but this time he¡¯s here with the special ambassadorial envoy, and assassinating an official guest will damage our country¡¯s reputation, so our target¡­¡±


    The former Shou Shimaron soldier pauses suddenly, sighing a long and painful sigh before continuing,


    ¡°¡­was His Majesty Saralegui and his men. Actually I want to ask you, why was there a mazoku wearing His Majesty Saralegui¡¯s clothes standing on that spot in the flagship?¡±


    ¡°You mean the light aqua blue cloak? I heard that Sara fellow gave it to Yuuri to block the sun and sea breeze, though later I took it anyway.¡±


    Lord von Bielefeld¡¯s good-looking brow creases, its depth not losing out to his older brother.


    ¡°Yuuri heard from someone that the spot behind the helmsman is best for looking at the scenery, saying something about standing there you can feel the true awe of leaving the bay, and saying the traditions of setting sail is where the essence of a voyage lies¡­¡±


    ¡°The one who told him was probably that Saralegui fellow, huh? That Shou Shimaron king let the black-haired brat wear his own clothes, then stand in his own favorite place¡­ What a sneaky little brat! Looks like he knew long ago that there was someone out to assassinate him, meaning information on your rebellion motion has long since been leaked, Maxine.¡±


    ¡°The shooter was Kinan, I think.¡±


    Back to being the female medical officer, Gisela says the name of a man who was once her adopted father¡¯s subordinate.


    Kinan had broken off from the team on the trip to Shou Shimaron, and was even suspected of stealing Lord Weller¡¯s left arm.


    ¡°He was Shin Makoku¡¯s number one archer. Though he was fired from the army for certain reasons, he does indeed have the ability to shoot any target. And now we know the reason he headed for Shou Shimaron¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait, what? Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡±


    ¡°Truth is, I just found out from Lord von Christ myself. Never mind what Kinan¡¯s reasons were, the main thing is he¡¯s betrayed the country, and he even took a dangerous item to Shou Shimaron. To the Shimaron army, there¡¯s nothing luckier than that, because they had a usable pawn volunteer itself. You must have been really glad to find a suitable shooter, huh, Nigel Weiss Maxine?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Ecstatic?¡±


    ¡°Not to that extent.¡±


    Looking at Maxine, who is starting to confess, Adalbert speaks up.


    ¡°But if he were assassinated while another king was visiting, wouldn¡¯t that hurt Shou Shimaron¡¯s image as well? If he can¡¯t even control his own army, surely the other countries¡¯ opinion of you would decrease greatly. If he got intel on the rebellion long ago, couldn¡¯t he have prevented anything from happening? What¡¯s more, the mastermind¡­¡±


    As he speaks, he mercilessly uses the amphibious sturdy sole of his boots to kick the curled-up caterpillar-like body.


    ¡°Uu-ya!¡±


    ¡°¡­is this idiot over here? Hey, stop screaming like a sealion!¡±


    ¡°If he wanted to catch them all and eradicate the rebels in one fell swoop, he should have taken the chance to arrest them when they were in the middle of an actual operation. Normally, even if you get a lot of people, there will always be some others hiding underground. Since it¡¯s a military faction, those who don¡¯t participate would be deemed as cowards, right? And¡­ That really was Kinan, was it, Your Excellency Wolfram?¡±


    The third son nods calmly, Gisela is so much better a speaker than he is, having her specialize in healing is such a waste.


    ¡°His plan of action is excellent. If the archer is a mazoku, and if His Majesty the Maou¡­ Although I am extremely reluctant to say this¡­ But should His Majesty the Maou tragically lose his life, they can announce to the other countries that it was due to the mazoku¡¯s internal conflict. This way, not only can he preserve his life, he can also assassinate our king. If he succeeds, it won¡¯t cause much of a discussion internationally, and if he fails, at least he can wipe out the opposition within the country, so whatever the outcome, it¡¯s win-win for him. This is a sort of insurance policy, to calmly consider up to this point, it can be seen that from the beginning, Saralegui¡­ to His Majesty¡­¡±


    Gisela shakes her head several times, not aimed at anyone in particular, but out of admiration for the enemy¡¯s intellect.


    But Wolfram¡¯s pale face has reddened completely.


    ¡°That brat still dares to act all innocent, approaching Yuuri¡­!¡±


    ¡°Please wait, Your Excellency Wolfram, where are you going?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to save Yuuri.¡±


    ¡°Where are you going to save him?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter where! Right! It¡¯s Seisakoku, I want to go to Seisakoku too! There¡¯s no time to waste here! I have to save Yuuri! That guy can¡¯t be without me.¡±


    ¡°Please calm down, Your Excellency.¡±


    Although she¡¯s aware that doing this is going against her station, but Gisela still grabs the previous Maou¡¯s third son by the arm.


    ¡°Has milord forgotten? Seisakoku is the territory of the shinzoku, there¡¯s a large gathering of people with powerful houryoku there. Just the ground itself is different from the continent governed by Shin Makoku, and the land where the humans live now, you know? People with strong maryoku will only get in the way there.¡±


    She is absolutely right.


    Although his and G¨¹nter¡¯s maryoku still count as strong, but once they¡¯re within Shimaron borders, there¡¯s nothing they can do.


    But at the same time, he can¡¯t just bite his nails and wait in safe place just because of that!


    ¡°Am I the kind of person who would listen to others like a good boy when faced with an objection?¡±


    She shakes her head slowly. Her plait sways around on her back.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Since you know that, let go.¡±


    ¡°Before you rush out of this room alone, I believe there¡¯s something else milord should do.¡±


    At this moment, Dakaskos wakes and pushes himself up, rubbing his hairless scalp with his palm.


    He pushes past the wall of people, finally seeing Captain Sizemore¡¯s face, and the Crop Pony desperately wiggling his body rolled inside a filthy woolen carpet, trying to loosen the ropes, and then the solemn crewmen on duty announce in a loud voice, ¡°There¡¯s a small ship arriving.¡± Seems like the backup from Caloria is here.


    Next door, however, there¡¯s a huge and sudden crash, sending the walls with the same wood-pattern a-creaking, looks like G¨¹nter has fallen off his bed.


    Wolfram suddenly remembers the people he has always respected, murmuring the new king¡¯s name.


    To relax his stiff fingers, he grasps his right hand twice, and says,


    ¡°Assemble a tracking team at once!


    ¡°No matter what, we cannot let His Majesty fall into Shou Shimaron hands!¡±

 Volume 10 - CH 5

    The Japanese oceans ripped apart by a typhoon.


    The scenes I saw on TV during September, are now being reenacted before my eyes.


    The only difference is I¡¯m on a boat, standing in the middle of the storm. Although I say storm, the sky is clear and blue.


    The clouds are moving a bit quickly, but all you see is the clear winter sky, even the winds aren¡¯t that strong.


    But the surface of the sea has waves crashing into each other and whirlpools.


    The waves beating on the sides of the ship sweep across the deck, tall ones falling over our heads even ram continuously at the mast.


    The guard ship patrolling around us has been blocked by the fierce waters, trapped in the distance.


    Looking and the sky and the sea now, gives me the false impression of looking at heaven and hell.


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be¡­ a giant squid, huh?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. Around the continent of Seisakoku, there¡¯s a special current known as the ¡®natural defense¡¯. This side of the sea is only calm for little over ten days every year. If you miss that period, no matter how skilled the voyager, no one can reach their country. It¡¯s like having an invisible shield as hard as rock! It¡¯s also why they were able to stay in lockdown for the past few millennia.¡±


    Soaked to the bone by the water spray, we move to the control room.


    As the ship is already slanted beyond any more slanting, we are forced to hold the rails on the walls and inch our way forth.


    This feels a lot like the pirate ships I used to ride in those familiar amusement parks.


    But Sara loses his grip on the slippery surface, and almost falls onto the slanting floor.


    ¡°Careful, Sara!¡±


    Before I even reach out, Lord Weller has already grabbed his slender shoulder and pulled him back to his side.


    Oh, right, because he gives off a very delicate feeling, I subconsciously feel like protecting him.


    Problem is, he already has a dependable bodyguard by his side. He doesn¡¯t need an amateur like me worrying about him.


    On the other hand, my bodyguard put his right hand over his eyes, shielding the light as he looks into the distance.


    ¡°What a shame, looks like I don¡¯t have the chance to show you my giant squid exterminating skills anymore. Ah¡ªI get it. This isn¡¯t a squid monster¡¯s doing at all, it¡¯s Seisakoku¡¯s famous current, ain¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Whatever you say, Josak, but it¡¯s dangerous for you to stand so far ahead! Come back here quick, come back! Even if your biceps are really strong, if you¡¯re swept down there by the waves there¡¯s nothing for you to hold on to!¡±


    ¡°How mean, Your Majesty, do you only emphasize on my body?¡±


    It¡¯s hard to tell who¡¯s the bodyguard, exactly.


    Backing up to the entrance, Josak looks at me with a worried expression,


    ¡°¡­The guard ships can¡¯t be seen with the naked eye anymore, and that¡¯s both ships. Logically it¡¯s impossible that they sunk, but it looks like they¡¯re quite far away from us now.¡±


    ¡°What¡­ does that mean?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re being forced into entering enemy territory without any weapons at all.¡±


    I see, being a natural-born soldier, of course he would feel uneasy without a blade by his side for self-protection.


    But we¡¯re a peaceful ambassadorial envoy, if someone coming supposedly for peace shows off an exaggerated array off weaponry in self-defense, wouldn¡¯t that be getting everything upside down?


    Of course I¡¯ll pray that the guard ships don¡¯t get in any trouble, but even if they¡¯re not coming along, I don¡¯t mind.


    ¡°But first we have to safely get to Seisakoku. Anyway, if we don¡¯t get past this obstacle, we¡¯ll probably end up as food for the fishes.¡±


    The control center of the boat is already soaking in water.


    The three crewmen holding tightly onto the ship wheel are using all their weight to steady the ship¡¯s direction.


    To prevent the ship for flipping over, they must cross the waves at the right time.


    ¡°Who¡¯s the star helmsman here?!¡±


    That¡¯s like the term they use in the culinary world. Hearing Saralegui¡¯s voice, the man with the deepest colored hair turns around and says,


    ¡°It¡¯s me, Your Majesty! But for safety purposes, please retire to your cabin and protect yourself with something soft!¡±


    Saralegui presses his spectacle frame to stop his glasses from flying off on impact, asking,


    ¡°Do you have experience crossing these waters?¡±


    The star helmsman raises his eyebrows and widens his eyes, looking surprised.


    ¡°Of course not, Your Majesty.¡±


    ¡°What about the captain?¡±


    ¡°Me neither, Your Majesty. Nationally-owned cargo ships can¡¯t approach Seisakoku.¡±


    The boy king ¡®tsks¡¯ unhappily, muttering,


    ¡°So at the end I¡¯m the only one.¡±


    I don¡¯t understand what he means by him being the only one.


    I look around to see if anyone else heard him say that, but the crewmen are putting their all in keeping the ship steady, looks like no one heard it.


    By now I unconsciously grip my fist, telling them,


    ¡°Hang in there! No matter what, just hang in there! If there¡¯s anything I can help with, please don¡¯t hesitate to tell me!¡±


    ¡°Thank you¡­ However, as the guest you had still better return to the safety of the cabin¡­¡±


    The short man next to star chef murmurs, gritting his clenched teeth.


    Sensing someone moving behind me, I turn around just in time to see Lord Weller walking out of the room.


    His hair, shoulders and the back of his Dai Shimaron army uniform, have all been drenched and changed colors.


    ¡°Where are you¡­¡±


    ¡°Please return to the cabin, and Your Majesty Saralegui, too.¡±


    Being forced under Josak¡¯s protection, Saralegui makes a noise of displeasure, but he can¡¯t stop me following after Conrad.


    I think that he surely has a plan for the current situation, so I¡¯m eager to find out as soon as possible.


    ¡°What do you want to do? Lord Weller?¡±


    The pouncing waves beat on me mercilessly, if I¡¯m not careful, there¡¯s a high chance I will slip.


    Just trying to catch up to him as I grab the rails is sapping me of my strength.


    ¡°Answer me!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for someone.¡±


    He walks down the stairs into the cabins, glancing at me.


    After making sure that I haven¡¯t been washed away, he sighs with an expression of resignation,


    ¡°I told you not to come with me, there really is no stopping you¡­ It¡¯s dangerous here, so keep closer to me.¡±


    ¡°This concerns the fate of the ship I¡¯m on, of course I¡¯d want to know how to face this. Besides, where I want to go is my own choice, right?¡±


    ¡°But by doing this, you¡¯re forcing Josak to come find you after escorting Sara back to the cabins¡­ You¡¯re as good at troubling your guards as always¡­ Be careful not to slip, watch your step.¡±


    ¡°I know that.¡±


    I brush my soaked fringe away from my face.


    Seawater has gone into my eyes and nose, and my throat feels tight and horrible too.


    I clench my fist, trying to wipe away the stinging pain on my face, but the corner of my eyes just gets more and more painful.


    ¡°Ah, if you rub like that, you¡¯ll¡­¡±


    And after that Lord Weller falls silent, quietly crossing the pathway between the crates and lifting the floorboard from earlier to look into the dark ship bottom.


    That¡¯s the place the alleged slaves, the shinzoku are being kept.


    The condition inside can only be described as ¡®terrible¡¯.


    The water there is knee-deep, you can¡¯t even sit down anymore.


    Add that to the fact that there¡¯s nothing sturdy and fixed in there to hold, so whenever the ship slants, people crash into the walls. Even so, they don¡¯t scream. They just moan quietly and bear it.


    ¡°Hey.¡±


    My voice attracts a few golden lights.


    Those are the eyes of people who had risked their lives to escape Seisakoku, only to be deported back now.


    ¡°Are you all right?¡±


    I really asked a stupid question, there¡¯s no way they are all right.


    If we don¡¯t scatter them quickly, once the water comes in faster, they¡¯ll all get three strikes and an out.


    But how to explain to them in a language they don¡¯t understand?


    ¡°Hey, if you don¡¯t get out of here now, you¡¯ll be in danger¡­¡±


    Lord Weller turns back into the center of the ship, grabs a lit oil lamp and some paper he tore on the spot before jumping down, and I carefully climb down the ladder too.


    ¡°It¡¯d be great if there are any seamen or former navy officers amongst them. Because if they are someone related to Seisakoku¡¯s sea transportation, perhaps they might have the skills to overcome this obstacle. At least they would definitely understand these currents better than Shou Shimaron crewmen.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I get it! It¡¯s the ¡®Are there any doctors onboard?¡¯ approach, right?¡±


    I don¡¯t bother about my rude ¡®what, so it¡¯s just like that¡¯ expression, and start yelling with all my strength in the middle of the shinzokus.


    ¡°Please help us! If any of us can steer a ship¡­ Ah¡ªSeriously, the language barrier again!¡±


    ¡°Hold this for me.¡±


    Lord Weller stuffs the oil lamp in my hands, and then starts drawing with the charcoal on the huge piece of paper. Uh¡ªA sun?¡±


    ¡°Is that the sign of the electric source?¡±


    "No!¡±


    ¡°Then what is it¡­ Conrad, you don¡¯t seem to very good at drawing¡­ Ah~ I get it! It¡¯s the ship wheel, are you trying to draw the wheel? Lend me that for a while!¡±


    If art results can be classified into an average five levels!


    Being someone of approximately the second level, I reach over for the charcoal and draw a huge ship wheel on the back of the paper.


    Drawing like this should be OK, right? And then I lift it like a round girl, high over my head.


    ¡°Can anyone here steer a ship?! We¡¯re looking for someone who can turn the sort of circle on this paper!¡±


    At first the shinzokus look at us like we¡¯re monsters, but before long they leave the walls they were sticking to, and approach us slowly.


    One man raises his hand timidly. His cheeks are sunken, and he looks like he¡¯ll faint anytime now, but his deep golden eyes shine brightly.


    ¡°Are you a helmsman? Thank goodness, Conrad, we found one, there really is one!¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Actually I was sort of skeptical too!¡±


    We usher the man up the stairs without even asking him his name, because we have to get him to the control room as soon as possible, and ask him to help us cross the turbulent seas.


    Conrad climbed up ahead of me, and I grab his hand, ready to leave the bottom of the ship.


    ¡°Wait a moment.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t leave these people here.¡±


    There are more than a hundred gazes trained on us, could this be the only exit?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no time now¡­¡±


    ¡°But what if the ship sinks? Staying down here, there¡¯s no way they can escape. Everybody, this floorboard, this piece of wood here, it¡¯s open! The situation is dire now, so there¡¯s not a single guard. Please be prepared to board a lifeboat at any moment.¡±


    But they just exchange uneasy glances, making me feel again the pain of a language barrier.


    ¡°Listen closely, this is open!¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty, please hurry.¡±


    Hearing the familiar title, I heave a sigh of relief, thank goodness we understand each other.


    ¡°Conrad.¡±


    I lean on the sides of the wooden crates to make my way back to the cabins, but I still don¡¯t get it, so I speak up to ask Conrad, walking briskly beside me.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t those people come out?¡±


    That place is no different from a cave!


    ¡°Although shinzokus are different from humans¡­ but they didn¡¯t get a humane treatment. If it was me, I¡¯d have long since lost it, and would even go complain to the authorities.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps they were always taught not to resist, but¡­¡±


    Just then, the man walking in front of Lord Weller turns around and says something to his companion.


    ¡°What happens after today is anyone¡¯s guess.¡±


    He¡¯s probably talking about those who stayed where they were.


    Although there were a few lines purposely lower in volume, but soon they become agitated yells.


    Even if I can¡¯t understand the contents at all, but when the ship shakes abruptly, and the three of us are thrown onto the crates, he says a few words even I recognize.


    Venera? This shinzoku man just said Venera?


    That was the word that showed up in the letter to me.


    Although we¡¯re not sure if it¡¯s the name of a place or a person, G¨¹nter did say it¡¯s most probably a proper noun.


    So even if I don¡¯t understand the verbs he was saying before, I still get the noun Venera.


    I clearly heard, in this thin man¡¯s spittle-flying highly-agitated speech, the word I know.


    ¡°Hey, you said Venera?! You just said Venera, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    I grab his clothes and shake him hard.


    His clothes are like the girl who distributed the food earlier, nothing more than a piece of cloth tied with a leather belt.


    ¡°Tell me, what is ¡®Venera¡¯? The only hope Jason said, the thing Freddy asked to ¡®save¡¯. Please tell me, how do I save it? What is Venera to you?¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty!¡±


    The stick-like body seems to be in pain, the way I¡¯m shaking it. Forget speaking, looks like he can¡¯t even breathe.


    ¡°Yuuri!¡±


    Conrad forcefully wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me away from the shinzoku man.


    My chin even knocks into his shoulder, the pain finally clearing my mind.


    ¡°You can¡¯t understand each other at all.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah. Sorry¡­ It was my fault¡­ and this kind of question can¡¯t be asked with my level 2 art results.¡±


    The expression of the man who was randomly interrogated has become stiff out of fear and shock.


    I don¡¯t know if he can understand my apology this way, so I bow my head to him one more time.


    ¡°¡­Let¡¯s go, or it¡¯ll be too late when the ship sinks.¡±


    ¡°Does it start from the front?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    His half-joking words make me forget about the crisis for a split second.


    ¡°When you say your art results are level 2, does that mean you¡¯re second best from the front?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly, Conrad, of course I mean second last, counting from the back. It¡¯s okay, you don¡¯t have to comfort me.¡±


    We chat lightly as we climb upstairs, but once we reach there it¡¯s like the end of the world, because each of the crewmen is grabbing something to prevent themselves from being swept away by the waves.


    Some of them even tied themselves to a pillar using thick rope.


    If I¡¯m not careful while advancing, I¡¯ll probably fall flat on my face when the waves hit me from the sides.


    The surface of the sea is so turbulent, but the sky is so beautiful it¡¯s otherworldly. The sunlight shining down from above is bright and warm. It makes the few of us, being tortured by nature, feel like we¡¯re being punished in hell.


    But, just when I want to take a deep breath, my concentration is broken.


    I had definitely distanced myself from the edge of the deck, but a green wave assaults me from above, hitting me on the face and loosening my grip on the corridor railing.


    ¡°Crap!¡±


    Thankfully the rails on the edges of the deck blocks me near my stomach, preventing me from falling overboard, but I also have to thank Lord Weller¡¯s reflexes, since he is holding on tightly to the back of my kitchen uniform.


    He would probably ask me ¡®are you okay¡¯, as usual.


    I sneak a peek at the surface of the sea I nearly plunged into, and having rushed to my side, Conrad also glances at the ocean with his brown eyes.


    There¡¯s a whirlpool there, a dark blue circle different from the surrounding waves.


    ¡°Are you okay¡­¡±


    ¡°So close, so close.¡±


    I keep staring at the unnaturally bright blue spot in the middle of the whirlpool, feeling as though I¡¯m being sucked in.


    I remember this feeling, but I can¡¯t remember where I felt it before, so it frustrates me.


    Lifting my head to look at Conrad, now almost shoulder-to-shoulder with me, I realize that he seems to be thinking the same thing.


    I even feel as though a white hand might come out from there, grab my neck and pull me down.


    Maybe I will painlessly, without a single clue as to where I am, be brought down to the depths of the sea where my lungs don¡¯t work¡­


    It feels as though someone is calling my name from a distance, so I take an unconscious half-step forward.


    Logically speaking, I wouldn¡¯t have fallen in.


    If someone hadn¡¯t pushed me from behind.

 Volume 10 - CH 6

    ¡°It failed!¡±


    On the roof of some hotel in the city, Murata Ken pulls his head out of the murky water, while red and white koi fish swim around his knees.


    Fishy water drips from his hair as he turns to Bob, sitting on a chair under an umbrella.


    ¡°How?!¡±


    ¡°This is the exact VTR[1].¡±


    No one would have thought that the man wearing sunglasses, cocking his head, and playfully speaking Japanese is the Maou controlling Earth.


    But speaking of controlling, you could say it¡¯s hard to compare between him and Bill Gates.


    Leaving puddles of water on the dry cement, Murata stares at the plasma screen.


    ¡°Damn, I was so close to getting Shibuya there. As long as I can reach his soul or consciousness, the rest of it is my forte, by then I can use that to go to where he is. But¡­ did you get it?¡±


    ¡°Mn, very clearly.¡±


    Though the picture captured in the water is blurry, but Murata¡¯s body was taken perfectly.


    ¡°For a midair garden full of floating stuff, this is a pretty clear shot.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Shouri forces himself in between Bob and Murata, who are whispering to each other, with his forehead.


    ¡°But¡ªIf we really get to the other world through a dirty pool on top of a hotel, wouldn¡¯t it be ludicrous if we caused the koi to continuously disappear? Only cute spot-billed ducks and their babies can start a journey from this sort of place, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    Looking down from the bridge, Shibuya Shouri makes sarcastic comments while he stares at Bob¡¯s hand.


    Only because he really wants to know if his brother¡¯s ¡®special¡¯ friend was telling the truth.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a matter of the location, you know! JUNIOR, what matters is the timing.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you not to call me JUNIOR, I¡¯m not your son¡­ Waa!¡±


    Halfway through the recording, the top half of Murata¡¯s body disappears, and the one who yells is Shouri, from up on the bridge.


    He grabs the red rails, shouting,


    ¡°H-he vanished! That¡¯s too weird, hey!¡±


    ¡°You can pretend it¡¯s supernatural photo and submit it, friend of my brother. But please don¡¯t forget to block my eyes with black lines.


    Murata looks fascinated as he points at the upside-down images.


    ¡°See, we got so many. But after this one, a force from the other side immediately pushes me back here. So forget bringing Shibuya back, I even felt the space over here and over there colliding head-on, and both sides would bounce back to their original position. Otherwise, there would be a split second¡¯s chance to catch up to him.¡±


    Murata, who had instantaneously appeared in the image, disappears from waist up again.


    Though this time it only lasts for a few seconds, and not too long later his entire body is floating on the surface.


    ¡°See? Because Shibuya¡¯s existence isn¡¯t very stable as it is, so sometimes I can feel it, and sometimes I can¡¯t, I couldn¡¯t get any clues at all that second time. What kind of place is he, exactly?¡±


    ¡°Probably somewhere maryoku can¡¯t reach?¡±


    ¡°Obviously, otherwise I¡¯d feel more spirited, maybe even full of life. And also, this is useless now too, because the power is too weak to bring him back.¡±


    Murata takes the golden brooch off his chest as he says that.


    After waving off the water on his glasses, he puts it on his palm and scrutinizes it closely.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t Shibuya¡¯s to start with, so the attraction is rather weak. It might sound weird, saying it like this, but even if I follow his on-and-off trail, there¡¯s not enough power to get to where he is. On a side note, which clan¡¯s emblem is this? This should be a bird, right? It¡¯s been a few thousand years in this place, I can¡¯t remember emblems at all.¡±


    ¡°I think this kind of thing lives around Austria, but when it comes to emblems, every clan seems more or less the same. I know I can¡¯t tell at all, does that count as a bird? I always thought it was a crocodile looking sideways.¡±


    To Shouri, who is standing at the side, their conversation gives him the urge to ram his head into the wall.


    Normal people wouldn¡¯t confuse birds and bugs, right? The guy with the sunglasses, is there something wrong with his head?


    Earth, is this okay?


    Is it really okay to make an Uncle like this Maou?


    He¡¯s the old man who was dancing the samba in the shopping streets with a cane in one hand, you know?


    ¡°¡­Better to just skip being governor, and jump straight to being Maou of the financial world.¡±


    He¡¯s starting to feel that it¡¯d be better for him to inherit the position of Maou, perhaps that was Bob¡¯s plan all along.


    But now isn¡¯t the time to be worrying about the future of the Earth, because his only brother was taken to an unknown world and has yet to return.


    Wait for me, Yuu-chan! Big brother will come save you now!


    ¡°Hey, hey! The white glasses and black glasses up front!¡±


    ¡°What is it, colored glasses?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me colored glances! Let me go to that world too, c¡¯mon, let me try, for all you know, I might be able to just flow over to Yuu-chan, just like that? After all, he and I share the same blood!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid!¡±


    The old and new glasses people immediately retort.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I already tell you, Shibuya¡¯s older brother? That¡¯s completely impossible, even if the entire Taepodong[2] explodes. I have the soul of the Daikenja who was born there, and even then I faced a lot of hardships because I lived on Earth for too long. For someone like you, who was mentally and physically MADE IN Earth and have no maryoku whatsoever, it¡¯s impossible to get to that other world. If you don¡¯t have a particularly strong power leading you, it¡¯s mission impossible. Unless Mount Fuji erupts, or the Niagara Falls flow backwards.


    That¡¯s just plain impossible.


    ¡°Even I didn¡¯t think it would be so hard, after all I¡¯ve already completely become an Earthling. Good grief, who would have guessed that the "If you mix with scarlet, you''ll become red"[3] saying would end up being true."[3]


    ¡°JAPANESE idioms really describe things well. Now what, Murata? Wanna go to the duck pond and try again?¡±


    Murata shakes himself, trying to get the fishy water off his body, and sneezes loudly.


    He looks just like a long-haired dog.


    ¡°When is R-Rodriguez getting here?¡±


    On the other hand, the last man in the glasses trio crosses his legs on the red bridge and sits back down. Fiddling with his short student-like fringe, he mutters ineligibly,


    ¡°¡­Niagara¡­ To make Niagara flow backwards¡­ First I need a passport.¡±


    Being a committed brother, he has even prepared himself mentally to break the law, but his target doesn¡¯t seem to be Mount Fuji.


    Feeling insecure about his subordinates¡¯ firepower, Lord von Bielefeld secretly sighs again, his tightly-knit brows ruining his handsome features.


    Theoretically, he can understand why the strategy is to have those with no maryoku as the central fighting force.


    ¡°So then you will steer this ¡®Friends on the Sea¡¯ to Seisakoku, I trust you have no objections?¡±


    ¡°It is my honor, Your Excellency Wolfram!¡±


    Captain Sizemore, whose principle is ¡®the world¡¯s seas are my seas¡¯, also known as ¡®the Drastic Action Sea Monk¡¯ salutes, his back completely straight. The warrior of the sea gives off a feeling of solemnity and authority.


    ¡°But the mission this time isn¡¯t limited to just the sea, you may be forced into operating on land¡­ No objections there either, right, Sizemore?¡±


    ¡°Of course not, Your Excellency. Whether fortunate or otherwise, even though I was born as a mazoku and have very little hair, I never had any maryoku. Still, I hope that the skills and courage that I have accumulated all those years on the sea through booze, tears, men and women, can be of use on land.¡±


    ¡°Mn. Ah¡ªYou said trained through men and women¡­ N-never mind. To us, Seisakoku is an unknown continent, we have no idea what harsh environments await us. It could be a desert where dry winds run wild, or a swamp where the air is moist enough to feel, and the smell of rot permeates. This trip could be torture, but before we bring His Majesty back safely, I hope you will stay strong to the end of the mission.¡±


    ¡°L-leave it to me, Your Excellency! As for how to deal with the harsh surroundings, we will shave all our hair, cleanly and completely, before leaving, so please don¡¯t worry!¡±


    Though he says the words with his mouth, perhaps he¡¯s reluctant to part with his beautiful hair, because Sizemore¡¯s eyes are clouded with tears.


    ¡°Are you talking about hair? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re talking about hair? If so then there¡¯s no need to shave it off, it¡¯s better to let it grow naturally, y¡¯know.¡±


    Seeing the Wolfram he always treated as a kid mature into an adult so obviously, Sizemore is rather touched and starts sobbing.


    Eventually the snot doesn¡¯t stop flowing, so he can only suck it back desperately.


    ¡°Ah~ Your Excellency, who would have thought that you¡¯ve already grown up, and into such a handsome young adult! As your grandfather, I¡¯m so happy!¡±


    ¡°When did you become my grandfather? Didn¡¯t we just meet for the first time last year?¡±


    ¡°And surely your mother on the other side of the star must be ecstatic too!¡±


    ¡°Sizemore! Have you joked enough? My mother is very much alive. Not only that, she¡¯s alert on the lookout for the chance to have another child.¡±


    The next one should be a girl, having a daughter will definitely be great.


    Her Majesty the previous Maou touched her youngest son¡¯s golden hair, staring dreamily at the face that looks so much like hers.


    As a woman, she still wants to enjoy her life for a lot longer.


    ¡°As Lord von Christ and I are unable to come with you, Sizemore, the leading power goes to you. Based on your previous results on the battlefield, I feel very assured. But this mission is after all different from a war, where you kill the enemy before you. Do you understand, Captain? I believe in your abilities, and hope that you do not disappoint.¡±


    ¡°L-l-leave it to me!¡±


    ¡°And then bring that miscellaneous man Dakaskos with you¡­ You may feel that there are too few soldiers, but I will do my best to send a second team as reinforcements. I will also dispatch a medical team and supplies, I hope you can wait patiently.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re talking about the medical team, there¡¯s no need to wait.¡±


    Restored to her kind personality, Gisela gives a determined but friendly smile.


    ¡°I¡¯ll come with you, in my father¡¯s place.¡±


    ¡°But Gisela, didn¡¯t you say that people with strong maryoku will feel extremely uncomfortable? Then you¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, you are absolutely right. The closer we get to Seisakoku, the stronger the discomfort, and it¡¯s possible that majutsu can¡¯t be used either, the abilities of the healing hand will also disappear. But Your Excellency, I just hope you will understand this. Healing was never just majutsu. The true essence of healing is the healer¡¯s heart, a kind heart is a necessity, and the most important thing is the modesty of wanting to heal the wounded.¡±


    ¡°¡­Modesty is the most important?¡±


    The hands she put on Wolfram¡¯s shoulders exert some force, threatening the immediate safety of his shoulders.


    ¡°That¡¯s why, Your Excellency, even if I¡¯m unable to use majutsu I still want to head to Seisakoku, and continue healing my beloved soldiers, or any local casualties. Did you know, Your Excellency? The military academy¡¯s famous medical instructor¡­ ¡®The Men Lose Their Ears¡¯, what her famous last words were?¡±


    Shaken continuously by the agitated Gisela, Wolfram¡¯s blended right brain finally remembers the portrait hanging in the academy.


    ¡°¡®The Men Lose Their Ears¡¯¡­ I remember, it¡¯s the White Demon?¡±


    ¡°She once said, ¡®Why do we heal? Because the wounded are piled right there!¡¯¡±


    Hey~ It shouldn¡¯t be ¡®piled¡¯, it should be ¡®lying¡¯, right? Why did she treat soldiers like objects?


    But just when the Sergeant¡¯s powerful words pump up everybody present¡ª


    There¡¯s a terrifying sound of something being dragged down the hallway, and low moans, sending chills down everyone¡¯s spines.


    ¡°Wol¡ªfram--!¡±


    Psssst¡ªPsssst---


    ¡°Wo¡ªlfra¡ªm!¡±


    Psssst¡ªPsssst---


    Dakaskos¡¯ voice is trembling when he speaks, while Wolfram points at himself warily.


    ¡°Y-Your Excellency, that¡¯s calling you.¡±


    ¡°Mi? It¡¯s calling mi?¡±


    Just as everyone¡¯s fear peaks, someone roughly kicks open the previously shut door to the captain¡¯s quarters.


    The brave muscleman¡ªAdalbert opens the door when everyone is waiting with bated breath.


    ¡°Waa!¡±


    The door slamming into his face, Lord von Christ G¨¹nter falls over comically.


    ¡°What, so it was G¨¹nter?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s wrong to say it like that, right? I dragged my houryoku-affected spinning head, and my body that cannot walk properly due to seasickness, and worked so hard just to get here!¡±


    He makes it sound like such a monumental task, but the problem is the room where he was resting is just next door.


    As soon as Lord von Christ G¨¹nter sits down on the chair his adopted daughter offers him, he puts an expression that says ¡®And now I want to drink tea¡¯.


    It is only when Wolfram rolls his eyes at him that he remembers his reason for coming to this room.


    ¡°Right, right, the reason I dragged myself here despite my illness¡­ Wolfram, it¡¯s because I thought of the ideal way to help you, whose maryoku is weaker than mine.¡±


    ¡°You say my maryoku is weaker than yours?¡±


    Hearing the displeased tone coming from the pretty boy with high self-esteem, G¨¹nter suddenly shouts,


    ¡°Do you want to go to Seisakoku¡ª?¡±


    ¡°I want, I want to go¡ª¡±


    Not only is he instantly hooked by the nose, Wolfram even raises his hand.


    ¡°Very well. Then allow me to perform the von Christ clan¡¯s secret technique, passed down through many generation, on your body.¡±


    Stop pretending, Wolfram looks at his adopted daughter Gisela suspiciously.


    But perhaps she didn¡¯t hear what her adopted father was saying, because she¡¯s looking off to the side.


    ¡°Although it was never used on anyone before, this is my top secret specialty.¡±


    ¡°Specialty? It¡¯s not something like sex reassignment or appendicitis, is it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s surgery, not specialty, and besides, you should ask Anissina for something like that. Mine is an even more transcending specialty, it¡¯s a forbidden technique to completely seal of the opponent¡¯s maryoku.¡±


    ¡°Forbidden technique¡­ You aren¡¯t using me as an experiment, are you?!¡±


    ¡°Of course not, that was a very rude thing to say. Don¡¯t compare me to Anissina, that¡¯s rather hurtful.¡±


    G¨¹nter pushes up the reading glasses he¡¯s been wearing a lot recently, frowning the face pale from blood loss and the influence of houjutsu.


    ¡°The reason you can¡¯t head to Seisakoku, is because your maryoku is still considered strong. So if you seal it, you should be able to go to His Majesty¡¯s side¡­¡±


    He throws open his arms, covered with too many ornaments on his sleeves, and suddenly takes Wolfram into his embrace.


    Everyone holds their breath and focuses on the scene before them, because it looks like a huge bear attacking a small deer.


    ¡°L-let go of me, G¨¹nter! I can¡¯t bre¡­ Are you trying to kill me¡­ Hugging so tightly!¡±


    ¡°Ah~ Mm, Wolfram, so mean~ Aha¡ªMm!¡±


    ¡°Let go¡­ Let¡­ Really¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah¡ªDon¡¯t tell me, Wolfram, OH¡ªYEAH¡ª¡±


    He wraps the frozen Lord von Bielefeld into his arms, even pulling up his beautiful pale grey hair with his hands, and then, making some heart-breaking panting sounds, rubs his own head as though he¡¯s washing his hair, an action worthy of being known as history¡¯s most outstanding destructive force.


    Gisela has gone white, and this does not mean she was born White Gisela.


    She just doesn¡¯t want to face her respected adopted father¡¯s dramatic change in personality when it comes to real life.


    As for everyone else, they remain completely silent, and turn around as one unit, banging their heads onto the wall fiercely.


    Because they can¡¯t watch anymore, and go on to decide that such a terrifying image must never linger in their memory.


    It should be a dream, this is definitely a dream.


    That beautiful prime minister¡ªLord von Christ G¨¹nter, actually reached his demonic claws out to Yuuri¡¯s fianc¨¦, His Excellency Wolfram!


    Amongst the people ramming into the wall with empty eyes, only Sizemore and Adalbert are mumbling, ¡®like father, like son¡¯.


    Even though the two don¡¯t share any blood relations, they still managed to become such an intimate father and son pair.


    Only Maxine, lying in a corner of the room, has his eyes tightly closed and froze like a stone.


    He is the only person to witness the historical secret technique with his own eyes.


    After a period of time so long people started mistaking it for forever, Lord von Christ finally leaves Wolfram¡¯s side and sits on the chair.


    ¡°Oh-ho, thanks for that¡ª¡±


    It could just be a psychological effect, but it seems as though his skin is smoother and shinier, his cheeks flushed and bright, just like a cat who just ate the canary.


    Having just absorbed the essence of youth, the super bishie looks like he even wants a toothpick to clean his teeth after a good meal.


    On the other hand, released from his embrace, Wolfram¡¯s body has gone completely limp, and he falls to his knees like a young lady, staying there motionlessly.


    ¡°Y-Your Excellency, Your Excellency Wolfram?!¡±


    Gisela pats his cheeks gently a few times before he finally regains consciousness.


    Being even more heartless than his daughter, G¨¹nter just sits on his chair and looks down at Wolfram.


    ¡°Good, now stand up, Lord von Bielefeld Wolfram. After that, the maryoku that always existed within your body has been wrapped up by that shiny membrane of mine, and won¡¯t be released until I undo the technique. In other words I will always exist within you, so even if my body can¡¯t go with you, my soul can follow you to His Majesty¡¯s side.¡±


    And therein lay his true intentions.


    He isn¡¯t just purely sympathizing with Wolfram, what he really wants is to use this chance to go to Yuuri¡¯s side.


    And his chosen method is by having part of his spirit hitchhike on someone else¡¯s body, a method that troubles others.


    ¡°Why does it have to be you, of all people? And in my body?! Stop joking around, I don¡¯t want accept such a disgusting secret technique!¡±


    "But it has already been done, right?"


    You shouldn''t be saying "right", right? It''s not "right" at all! is what everyone said at the same time, their voices mixing like okonomiyaki ingredients. Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki is His Majesty''s favorite.


    ¡°You want to go, right? You want to go to His Majesty¡¯s side?¡±


    ¡°O-Of course I do.¡±


    ¡°Then what else is there to worry about? Now that your maryoku is more or less gone, you can head to Seisakoku, flooded with houjutsu users! Although I don¡¯t want to be connected to you physically and spiritually twenty-four seven either, but in order to go to His Majesty¡¯s side, it¡¯s the only choice I have. Since my physical body cannot be used, at the very least I have to put in some effort with my soul. Ah~ Your Majesty¡­ If it¡¯s possible, how I¡¯d love to be one with you. I¡¯m already tired of this body and its naturally powerful maryoku¡­ Cough! Coughcough!¡±


    When he takes his hand away from his mouth, he finds it stained with bright red blood.


    G¨¹nter slumps weakly to the ground, saying,


    ¡°¡­Goodness, it¡¯s blood.¡±


    ¡°It came from your nose, your nose.¡±


    ¡°We digress! Anyway, Wolfram, I¡¯m pinning all my hopes on you now. Come, take this with you.¡±


    He pulls away the sleeve ornaments and reaches inside, pulling out a thin circle of string and forcefully hanging it around Wolfram¡¯s ¨Cwho has yet to recover¡ªneck, there¡¯s even a pale grey pouch hanging on the end of the circle.


    ¡°God¡ªIt¡¯s wet! Why is it wet?!¡± (TN: The Chinese term can already be read as ¡®Heavens¡¯, but that doesn¡¯t sound like something Wolf would say¡­)


    ¡°It¡¯s not wet, it¡¯s just a little moist, perhaps it caught some of my sweat when I was sleeping. That¡¯s a charm woven from my hair, a hundred per cent pure hair, I call it ¡®G¨¹nter¡¯s Protection¡¯.¡±


    Lord von Bielefeld feels as though he¡¯s been cursed. Looks like he¡¯ll either be strangled, or decapitated in his sleep. Deep disgust almost makes him faint.


    ¡°It¡¯s too¡ªtoo disgusting¡­¡±


    ¡°Listen carefully, when you¡¯re in mortal danger, you just have to grip this ¡®G¨¹nter¡¯s Protection¡¯ tightly and chant the mantra, ¡®G¨¹n G¨¹n G¨¹n G¨¹n G¨¹n, G¨¹n G¨¹n G¨¹n G¨¹n G¨¹n, G¨¹n G¨¹n G¨¹n G¨¹n G¨¹n¡¯, and I may even be able to go to the place you are.¡±


    ¡°Another long, stupid and meaningless sentence.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡ªCan we open our eyes now?¡±


    Dakaskos, who was ramming into the wall until the last moment, asks timidly. Maybe he finally noticed the atmosphere, because Lord von Christ looks around on his knees, realizing that everyone looks pale.


    ¡°What happened? What a sad thing it is, that witnessing such a rare ceremony is enough to scare you all witless? Ah! How embarrassing, how can you take up the grand mantle of His Majesty¡¯s sword and shoield like that?¡±


    Listening to those words coming from a man bleeding from his nose, everyone can¡¯t find the energy to be angry.


    G¨¹nter puts one hand on his chest and the other on top of that, the stance of someone praying to His Majesty Shinou.


    ¡°Ah~ Your Majesty, von Christ G¨¹nter feels deeply uneasy, seeing these cowardly and incompetent soldiers, led by a child of only eighty-two. O wise Shinou, please assist this last-moment tracker team.¡±


    Even this is just an old man¡¯s joke, if he¡¯s allowed to continue, there¡¯s no telling what he might say.


    Wolfram angrily pulls G¨¹nter¡¯s chair and sits on it, saying,


    ¡°So you look down on my ability?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. Based on your combat experience, though, I¡¯m a little worried about your capability to lead when the two sides collide. I don¡¯t know if you can make the right decisions¡­¡±


    Despite just having lost to Lord Weller due to insufficient combat experience, he pretends that never happened and continues spouting big words with his hand on his forehead.


    ¡°Sizemore is brave and valiant, but he is, after all, more used to battles on the seas; instead of asking Dakaskos to pick up a sword, he would be more useful with a broom. Can a combination like this really bring back His Majesty? Firstly, in firepower alone I feel uneasy. A Wolfram who can¡¯t use flames, is like melon bread without melon.¡±


    This slightly difficult simile causes everyone to ponder for a while. Although Lord von Bielefeld purposely keeps his tone low, there¡¯s no hiding the frustration in his heart.


    ¡°But the situation being as it is now, there¡¯s no way to increase our firepower, unless you want us to wait until brother sends the Shin Makoku fleet over? You should have heard about the unnatural current near that continent, right? The time interval for sailing is almost over, if we postpone this any longer, there¡¯s no guaranteeing we can reach Seisakoku safely.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, theoretically it should be like that¡­¡±


    ¡°Let me go too!¡±


    The previously silent Adalbert leaves the wall he was leaning on.


    ¡°Feels quite interesting, let me give it a try.¡±


    His sturdy chest is trembling with curiosity, and each side is taking turns to twitch, too.


    ¡°You might not know this, but I¡¯ve long ago abandoned my identity as a mazoku and my maryoku, so be it mazoku soil or a continent full of houryoku, there¡¯s no difference to me. Maybe I¡¯m unable to fight nobly like you all, but another sword arm is another¡­¡±


    ¡°Stop joking! Who wants to borrow your power!¡±


    Wolfram yells, interrupting the traitor of the mazoku.


    Technically he should maintain the dignity of a leader, and keep his composure, but he just can¡¯t help it.


    ¡°How can we let the man who betrayed us, and who hates the mazoku, approach such an important king?¡±


    ¡°Hold it, stubborn brat!¡±


    ¡°Shut up, puppet muscleman! You have no right to call me that! And where did you learn my nickname from anyway?!¡±


    ¡°From a hotel full of female students.¡±


    Adalbert replies calmly, such an interesting rumor had actually crossed borders.


    ¡°Hey hey hey, there¡¯s no need to get so agitated over a nickname, right? Besides, if you won¡¯t let me board the same ship just because I abandoned my identity as a mazoku, isn¡¯t that rather unfair? You¡¯re the commander in charge of an important battle, it won¡¯t do for you to be so narrow-minded, huh?¡±


    ¡°What¡­¡±


    Those blue eyes look down at Wolfram, who stood abruptly, from above.


    ¡°What a joke. You¡¯re in charge of such an important mission, and you don¡¯t even have the magnanimity to work together with a hated enemy? I really sympathize with the soldiers who have to work under such a narrow-minded commander.¡±


    Feeling as though his innermost thoughts were seen through, Wolfram bites his lip tightly.


    His patience as one of the Ten Nobles, and as the Maou¡¯s trusted subordinate, is actually being tested by someone he never even imagined.


    Just a simple sentence, and he can reject this man¡¯s proposal, sending other loyal soldiers to assist.


    But if someone asks him if that¡¯s the best decision, he simply can¡¯t guarantee that with a clear conscience.


    If he wants to build a strong tracking team, then Adalbert¡¯s participation won¡¯t be any loss.


    He is also a fighter, it¡¯ll be okay if he is treated as just another pawn.


    And as long as a close eyes is kept on him to ensure he doesn¡¯t do anything that may harm them, then there shouldn¡¯t be any problems.


    All that¡¯s left is Wolfram¡¯s own emotions, and there should be a sway to control that.


    He tries his best to convince himself,


    ¡°This is for Yuuri.¡±


    Wolfram glares at the other man¡¯s eyes, opens his tightly-bitten lips, and remembers to curse ¡®you split-open butt-chin¡¯ before replying,


    ¡°¡­Fine, I¡¯ll let you on Sizemore¡¯s ship.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the way, ah~ Right, I wanna bring this guy along too.¡±


    He pokes the caterpillar-like object thrown on the ground with the tips of his toes.


    ¡°That¡¯s the man who wanted to assassinate me and Yuuri!¡±


    ¡°Putting aside how hard it was for me to steal him especially out of Shou Shimaron¡¯s prisons, I have no intention of letting him ride comfortably to Shin Makoku, and the simplest way is to stuff him on this ship. There¡¯s no need to treat him as a person, either, just treat him as part of my luggage.¡±


    ¡°¡­Up to you!¡±


    Looking at his lips, curving up happily for goodness knows what reason, Wolfram turns around wordlessly, and after throwing down a simple ¡®you make sure to watch him properly¡¯, he leads Sizemore out of the room.


    Because there are tons of things to prepare, and since Lord von Christ is unable to come with, everything can only be left to him.


    ¡°Hmph!¡±


    The muscleman continues smiling evilly, and even hums happily.


    Things are getting more and more interesting, it¡¯s been a long time since he was this happy.


    He just didn¡¯t think that the third son, known for his hard-headedness, also has a leader¡¯s ability to make the right choice.


    Looks like people do change, but that should also be something to do with the rookie Maou¡¯s appearance.


    When the image of black hair and eyes floats into his mind, his expression relaxes unconsciously.


    ¡°Right, now let¡¯s see what expression that spoiled third son will have!¡±


    ¡°Adalbert!¡±


    Hearing that deep voice call his name, all the muscles in his body tense in spite of himself.


    Lady von Christ Gisela is standing half a step away from him.


    ¡°W-what, so it¡¯s Sergeant?¡±


    Just a mention, but her actual position isn¡¯t sergeant, that¡¯s just the way people call her for convenience.


    ¡°Here¡¯s something for you.¡±


    Gisela hands a small red bottle over to Adalbert.


    ¡°It¡¯s not the antidote, but use it when you want to get rid of Potion I¡¯s effects.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    ¡°Sheesh, have you already forgotten? This is for the ex-Shou Shimaron soldier lying over there!¡±


    She moves her empty hand to her mouth, and puts a finger on her lips, signaling, ¡®This is a secret¡¯.


    A chill runs down Adalbert¡¯s back suddenly, and he can¡¯t help but take a few steps back.


    ¡°The effects of the medicine should start working soon, I¡¯ll protect you two with a blurred gaze.¡±


    ¡°Protect what?¡±


    ¡°Hehehe¡­ Hehehehehehehe¡­¡±


    Gisela smiles the smile of someone planning something naughty, then backs away quickly.


    Her legs barely move at all, and the effect is so terrifying, even the usually domineering muscleman gets goosebumps.


    ¡°W-what do you want to protect?¡±


    What kind of medicines are MaChicken Danger Potion I and II, exactly? Adalbert shudders the muscles he was always so proud of, and picks up the manual on the ground.


    The white paper is covered with red and black ink handwriting, just looking at it feels ominous. That ice cold script is undoubtedly Anissina¡¯s.


    ¡°What¡­ An invention that transcends this generation¡ªMaChicken Danger Potion will open a new world for fowl-haters everywhere¡­


    ¡°The chickens, who just yesterday hated you and sprayed sand at you, will today become your most loyal subordinates! You just have to feed newborn chicks Potion I, and the amylase within will make the chicks take the first person they see to be their father, without question.


    ¡°Likewise, by feeding the chicks Potion II, the isoflavones will cause the chicks to consider the other party as their mother, and become ¡®useless scum you can boss around¡¯.


    ¡°However, of both potions are used together, they will strengthen the chicks¡¯ assistive acids, creating an emotion surpassing chickens and humans, so it is fairly dangerous.


    ¡°That is indeed very dangerous¡­ Ah?!¡±


    Adalbert turns around, feeling a passionate gaze on him.


    Only to see Crop Pony, who has gotten his upper body free, looking up at him.


    His left hand is supporting his body on the ground, his right hand stroking his mustache gracefully, and his lower body wrapped in the wool carpet is stretched completely straight.


    His pose is that of a mermaid.


    Shocked, Adalbert reads the manual in his hands again.


    ¡°Feed Potion I¡­ will take the first person they see to be their father¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­Lord Father?¡±


    The question mark at the end of his question causes all the hairs on Adalbet¡¯s body to stand on end.


    ¡°H-hey, hey, hey! What are you playing at, Maxine? Don¡¯t look at me like that! And why the hell are you blushing for! I¡¯m not your father?!¡±


    Looks like Lady von Karbelnikoff invented something useless again.

 Volume 10 - CH 7

    In that moment when I fell, it never occurred to me that I was pushed down.


    When I drop into the sea headfirst, and my vision turns black, only then do I remember that there was only him behind me then.


    Contrasting the turbulent surface, the depths of the sea is so quiet you can¡¯t hear anything, and not just because my hearing is numbed.


    The dark silent sea feels like space as seen in the movies.


    Even if my body is being sucked into the middle of a vortex, my heart remains very peaceful.


    The miraculous thing is that I¡¯m not at all afraid of death, just staring at the only hazy green patch in the darkness.


    A few seconds ago, I was standing on the deck, thinking, ¡®Anyone who falls into a sea like this will die for sure.¡¯


    Who would have thought that not only didn¡¯t I die, I¡¯m also surprisingly calm.


    But just then, I feel an intense pain on my right arm, making me scream in spite of myself, I even thought that my arm would be pulled right off.


    When I open my mouth, what flows in is seawater instead of air, not only choking my scream back in, but filling my throat and nose with salty water.


    Now the pain is coming from my arm, then my throat and deep inside my nose.


    Another force opposes the whirlpool, pulling me upwards. My own weight and the powerful force of nature trying to suck me up, all of it piles up on my arm. I pray to an unknown god non-stop, ¡®I have to hang on¡¯, ¡®Just another second will be enough¡¯, ¡®Cut off this arm and be done with it!¡¯


    ¡°¡­gah¡­¡±


    When my face rises above the surface, all I hear is rumbling in my ears, and my body shakes violently with the waves.


    I spit out the seawater, desperately opening my mouth like a dying fish, gulping in the air mingled with water spray.


    Although I sink slightly several times, but I immediately float back up.


    Because a wet rope is tightly wound around my right arm, someone is pulling me up.


    ¡°Your Majesty.¡±


    ¡°I hear¡­ you.¡±


    I do hear something, proving that I¡¯m still alive. My eyes and ears work fine.


    ¡°Hang in there! Fix the rope on yourself and hold on tightly! Wind it around your waist!¡±


    ¡°Right!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pulling you up, are you ready?!¡±


    ¡°Ye¡­¡±


    I¡¯m about to answer, and as a result seawater into my mouth together with the cough going backwards. Vomiting water unstoppably, I start suspecting how much water I actually drank, my entire lungs feel flooded.


    The rope around my waist goes taut, and my body starts rising slowly. In the process, I hit the outer shell of the ship several times, the bruises on my back and waist increasing continuously, but I can¡¯t complain about anything now, as long as I can get back onto the ship safely, that¡¯s already the best thing that could happen in this string of bad luck. Surviving a fall into such a turbulent sea, that¡¯s a miracle in itself.


    No, I didn¡¯t fall, I was pushed.


    ¡°Your Majesty!¡±


    I¡¯m practically carried over the deck rails. The word ¡®Survival¡¯ is spinning in my head to a cheering song, and the font is a very idiotic yellow Times New Roman.


    I was on the brink of death just a second ago, so why is my brain reacting like this?


    By now even Josak has forgotten his usual cheerful tone, grabbing my chin roughly. I use m=the hand that doesn¡¯t hurt to touch his wet orange hair.


    ¡°Your Majesty?¡±


    ¡°Calm down, Josak¡­ I¡¯m fine; I can breathe on my own¡­ You being clean-shaven made me think you were a girl, and I was so looking forward to CPR, heh.¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty¡­ Young Master, phew~¡±


    He releases a really long breath.


    ¡°Thank goodness, I even thought I couldn¡¯t save you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t curse me, relax, I was only in for two, three seconds, and I didn¡¯t drink too much water¡­ I didn¡¯t even get to see the Dragon Palace.¡±


    Some of the crewmen who helped save me grab the rails and the rope, watching me closely, and when the ship starts slanting they quickly regain their balance.


    This ship isn¡¯t out of danger yet! They knew that I¡¯m from an enemy country, but they still risked themselves to save me.


    ¡°Thanks, it¡¯s all thanks to you that I¡­¡±


    Seawater wells up as I cough, choking my throat and nose.


    ¡°Ah~ Young Master, just look at yourself, your entire face is covered with snot, your handsome image is all ruined now.¡±


    ¡°I was never handsome. Tissue, give me tissue!¡±


    My hand wanders aimlessly looking for a luxury item that can¡¯t possibly be found here, but all I see are those light brown eyes in front of me.


    Even though the sea is turbulent, the sky is clear as can be.


    The sunlight shines on the water, making it sparkle, but those familiar eyes alone remain dark, clouded, even those irises and their silver glow can¡¯t be seen.


    His expression doesn¡¯t reveal anything about his thoughts.


    When our gazes meet, his mouth twitches a little, and he lifts a foot, ready to take a step forth.


    ¡°I prefer tissue, because toilet paper will melt and become sticky. But why did I fall? I had Conrad by my side, and I still¡­¡±


    Although he didn¡¯t understand yet, but Josak stiffens upon hearing that name suddenly and of course there¡¯s no way he¡¯ll pretend this never happened.


    From between me and Lord Weller, he says the truth with a husky voice.


    Undoubtedly, he is seeking confirmation.


    ¡°Was it you?¡±


    The other man doesn¡¯t answer, just grips his hands, and pulls back the feet that were stepping forward. His chin is slightly taut, his back against the wall.


    ¡°You wanted His Majesty¡¯s life? Has your conscience been eaten by the dogs?¡±


    The purposefully lowered voice is the more terrifying for it.


    I¡¯m just thinking that Josak¡¯s speed, melding three steps into one, is so quick it¡¯s worth admiring, but I didn¡¯t think that in the next second he would pull out a small silver knife and hold it next to Lord Weller¡¯s cheek.


    When did he hide that thing on himself? And he can even reach it whenever he wants? He bring his face so close to Lord Weller he can feel the latter¡¯s breath,


    ¡°Lord Weller, you listen carefully! I¡¯m warning you, never get close to His Majesty again. If you don¡¯t heed my warning¡­¡±


    After a long and heavy silence, he says in a voice so quiet I can barely hear it,


    ¡°¡­Watch out for your little life!¡±


    I force my wet and heavy body to stand, just in time to see them, standing diagonally in front of me, and their expressions.


    But suppressing his anger, Josak actually smiles, that¡¯s the beast-like smile I¡¯ve seen before.


    ¡°I never dreamed that I would one day speak like that to you!¡±


    And the smile of an intelligent beast, at that.


    ¡°No¡­ It¡¯s a misunderstanding, I must have gotten it wrong.¡±


    Trying to calm this storm, I grab the spy¡¯s sleeve even though I¡¯m soaked to the bone.


    The white cloth is even stained by the paint on the deck.


    ¡°It¡¯s a misunderstanding, Josak. I wasn¡¯t pushed, I accidentally slipped and fell.¡±


    The waves were beating on the deck, making it wet.


    I was walking on the edge, paying attention only to the color of the whirlpool, so it¡¯s not surprising that an accident happened.


    ¡°Conrad wouldn¡¯t possibly want to kill me, right?¡±


    I¡¯m begging you, just nod. It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s real or fake, just nod.


    But Lord Weller doesn¡¯t smile, he just shakes his head softly in denial.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be¡­ so stupid, right?¡±


    Right now I feel all the blood vessels heading to my brain expand. My face is burning, and my vision has gone bright red.


    Though the pain burning from my temple is quickly stopped, but my instantaneously escalated heartbeat just can¡¯t be slowed.


    There¡¯s a sentence stuck deep in my throat that I really want to yell out.


    And I even feel a ringing in my ears like the sound of metal.


    ¡°If so¡­¡±


    I force out my voice.


    I keep telling myself to keep my cool, but it¡¯s never succeeded before.


    This is also my fatal weakness, all the way until now.


    Although the Shou Shimaron crewmen and the shinzoku man we brought up from the bottom of the ship are watching us, I just can¡¯t control my own emotions.


    ¡°If so you shouldn¡¯t have saved me back then!¡±


    Back when I was jumping onto the cargo ship, you shouldn¡¯t have caught me, you could have just left me to my own end.


    That was all you had to do.


    And when we were ambushed by the masked soldiers, if you hadn¡¯t stuck yourself out for me in that church, your left arm wouldn¡¯t have been cut off, and you wouldn¡¯t need to keep getting hurt for me.


    All you had to was abandon me.


    But why only now¡­!


    ¡°¡­Damn!¡±


    I grab the cold stone on my chest, snapping the leather rope and tossing it to the ground.


    My numb right arm makes a piercing sound when it knocks into something.


    The maseki flies in a misshapen curve then bounces, finally falling onto the wet deck.


    Even though I used so much force to throw it, it still didn¡¯t crack or break.


    The stone glimmers on the sunlight.


    Perhaps it¡¯s psychological, but the color seems whiter than when I wore it on my chest.


    We¡¯re all waiting for the other to say the next line.


    Completely in the dark, the crewmen decide to continue watching, and the shinzoku man we brought out is just scared he¡¯ll get caught in the mess.


    Surrounded in the middle, the three of us want to make our own escapes, but we limit each other as we wait to see who will break the silence.


    Just then, the one that breaks the silence is the creak of a door opening, and Saralegui, wearing a smile completely out of place in this mess.


    In the corner of my vision, the shinzoku man shudders violently, even backtracking to the wall.


    His golden eyes are wide and round with fear, his filthy forehead drenched in a cold sweat.


    Looks like he knows that this boy with the noble aura, is the very mastermind behind their imprisonment at the bottom of the boat.


    But the king doesn¡¯t even look at the shivering man.


    ¡°Yuuri, the shaking seems to have calmed down a bit, maybe this is something like the eye of the storm¡­¡±


    Poking his head out from the control room, Saralegui continues to consider the maseki on the ground and my expression.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    Not caring if his long robe will get dirty, he walks up to the stone, picking it up unhesitatingly with his white fingers.


    ¡°It dropped?¡±


    Not by itself.¡±


    ¡°Then why¡­ So beautiful, it¡¯s really very beautiful. I say, Yuuri, do you want to trade with me for it?¡±


    The young king says innocently, a childish desire rising on those petal-like lips.


    I desperately swallow the words, ¡®If you want it, you can have it¡¯.


    ¡°I wonder what I have on me¡­ to compare to this beautiful stone?¡±


    As though picking out the snacks for a long trip, Saralegui starts searching his front and pockets.


    Lord Weller warns his current employer,


    ¡°You can¡¯t trade.¡±


    ¡°Why? This is proof of our friendship!¡±


    Saralegui replies, tilting his head to a side. Even in such a horrible situation, his beautiful hair can still flow down his face and rest on his shoulders.


    The movement he makes, pushing the stray hair back behind his ears with a fair slender finger, is still so graceful.


    And then, when he sees his right hand in front of his eyes, his face blossoms into a smile.


    ¡°Right, this should do. This is a precious gem that can only be found in Shou Shimaron, it¡¯s the parting gift my mother gave me before we separated when I was a child.¡±


    He takes off the light red ring on his ring finger, trying to pass it to me. Instead of calling it light red, it¡¯s more towards pale pink.


    ¡°I can¡¯t accept that, I can¡¯t take something so precious.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I want to give it to you.¡±


    ¡°Waa~ It¡¯s so pretty, let Gurrier touch it, please~?¡±


    The man who stands in between us speaking in a woman¡¯s tone, puts both his hands together next to his face.


    Perhaps happy that someone understands the value of the ring, Saralegui puts the ring on Josak¡¯s large palm.


    ¡°¡­It¡¯s really very pretty, too bad it¡¯s just too small for Gurrier.¡±


    He thoroughly checks out the inside and outside of the ring in record time, trying to determine if there are any traps on it.


    I can¡¯t help but admire him again, as an excellent soldier.


    Saralegui doesn¡¯t notice the way the adult world thinks.


    Those beautiful fingers of his that never lifted anything heavy, touches my right hand gently.


    Those nails filed until they looked like sakura shells hold the tiny circlet, and I notice that they¡¯re all the same color.


    There seem to be some words engraved on the inside of the ring, but they¡¯re not clear because the writing is too thin, and the outside of the ring is engraved with twining rose vines and quite a number of suns.


    He takes my calloused finger, trying to put the pink ring on it.


    ¡°Ouch!¡±


    The ring gets caught on my ring finger joint, breaking the skin and causing me pain.


    A king¡¯s ring won¡¯t fit these rough hands used for plying baseball at all. The Shou Shimaron king hmphs mischievously,


    ¡°¡­Looks like you can only wear it on the pinky. After all unlike me, your hands look a lot stronger and braver.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no such thing!¡±


    If I really was a brave man, I wouldn¡¯t have been scared witless upon falling into the sea.


    ¡°Are you shivering, Yuuri?¡±


    Saralegui hugs me suddenly, he seems to be fonder of skin contact that his appearance would suggest.


    And yet, since I¡¯ll start crying if I have to open my mouth again, his actions are exactly what I need.


    ¡°Poor thing! You must be so cold, you should get into the room for warmth now.¡±


    That¡¯s what I want to do, right now I¡¯d rather hide under the cover immediately. I wish to take a hot soak and wash off the seawater on my body, then immediately lie on the soft bed and sleep all I want.


    My hair, now dry, keeps tickling my nose, even I know that I¡¯m dead tired now.


    But I desperately resist the aching in my sore muscles, and leave Saralegui¡¯s embrace.


    ¡°I can¡¯t yet, I found someone with navigation experience among the shinzoku in the bottom of the boat, and he even has experience crossing this part of the sea.¡±


    ¡°You released the slaves?!¡±


    ¡°No, Sara. He¡¯s not a slave, but an experienced crewman. He can help steer, y¡¯know! So I have to stay by his side and watch him, after all I have a responsibility to look after him.¡±


    Because I was the one who took him away from his companions, and brought him to a place where people looked at him as a slave.


    So I have a responsibility to look after him.


    ¡°Regarding that matter, I also¡­¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you not to get close?¡±


    The loyal spy in the long-sleeved apron, holds the tip of a knife at Lord Weller¡¯s throat when the latter tries to approach us.


    ¡°Don¡¯t, Josak! He¡­¡±


    For some reason, Saralegui is waiting for me to finish that sentence with bated breath, only my throat hurts as though it¡¯s swollen.


    ¡°¡®That person¡¯ is the Shou Shimaron king¡¯s escort, and the ambassador from Dai Shimaron. I do not wish to create tension between countries over such a trivial matter.¡±


    My spy nods lightly, and withdraws his sword unhesitatingly, then turns around to ask me what I plan to do next.


    ¡°Although we¡¯ve entered a temporary respite, but we¡¯re not out of the danger zone yet. Telling me to wait in the cabin and wait for it patiently¡­ That¡¯s impossible~¡±


    He shrugs his shoulders in surprise.


    ¡°I know, I know. Please bring my clothes and a woolen blanket, we¡¯ll coop up in the control room together, and carefully watch him steer the ship.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m staying in the cabin.¡±


    Maybe feeling a little cold, Saralegui rubs his hands and shivers.


    ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of being drenched by seawater, I¡¯m going back to the room and hugging a pillow to prevent any more damage to my body. I¡¯ll get someone to serve you some hot drinks, Yuuri. Don¡¯t push yourself too hard.¡±


    Josak gives Saralegui an appreciative look, because he can use this as an excuse to chase away Lord Weller.


    Different babysitters have to stay by the children they¡¯re in charge of.


    My right arm supporting my weight is a little painful, though.


    Maybe I strained a tendon, everything from the nerves in the muscles outside to the joints on my pinky is numb.


    ¡°My arm hurts, if only Wolfram or Gisela were here now~¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you heal it yourself? Young Master, isn¡¯t your maryoku really strong?¡±


    ¡°I heard it was dangerous to use maryoku on human lands, and we¡¯re approaching the country of the shinzoku no less! Murata and Wolf keep telling me again and again ¡®don¡¯t push yourself¡¯, I¡¯m sick and tired of hearing it.¡±


    ¡°Is that so~ Well, that¡¯s inconvenient, huh~¡±


    To test exactly how painful it is, I use my thumb and pointer to rub my arm a few times, and then force myself slightly to sway back and forth, left and right, if I¡¯m just a bit off controlling the force used, an intense pain will attack me immediately.


    The agonizing pain puts tears in my eyes, but I don¡¯t tell anyone about it.


    Still, if it can move, then that means it¡¯s not a sprain. I¡¯m actually quite lucky, I just need a muscle pain plaster and some bandages for this degree of pain.


    ¡°You won¡¯t cry, huh.¡±


    ¡°Me, cry?! I won¡¯t cry over a little bit of pain!¡±


    ¡°Then that¡¯s good. Though since half of that was my fault, let me lick it a little!¡±


    ¡°No thanks! I¡¯m not a puppy, it won¡¯t get better even if you do lick it.¡±


    Just imagining the spy who was crossdressing for a mission sticking out his red tongue, makes me smile bitterly.


    Meanwhile, Josak closes the control room door with his back, making the room feel warmer.


    ¡°I wonder if there are painkillers on board?¡±


    ¡°Come on~ I¡¯m an athlete, y¡¯know! A baseball boy! A little injury like this is nothing to me. My body can take a lot of wear to begin with, just leave it and it¡¯ll naturally get better. Right, let¡¯s get ready to ask that shinzoku.¡±


    I spread open the nautical map directly on the wet floorboards, and stare at it with the sailors.


    ¡°Remember to signal with your hands!¡±


    This pain probably can¡¯t be suppressed with any kind of medication, I know that better than anyone.

 Volume 11 - Prologue

    In my personal opinion, the real Poison Lady, should be the late Lady Susannah Julia von Wincott.


    Please consider it, everyone, all you have to do is use a certain method to treat the blood of a Wincott, and you can create an unprecedented, interesting new poison. They are known as the living poison, the moving poison, even the poison capable of falling in love. Ahh, how enviable.


    I suddenly had an idea.


    How much effort do I need to put in to become a Poison Lady that surpasses even the von Wincott family? Since then I put my entire life into research, research, and more research, but after all I can only study on my own, and that is no easy task. However, the day has finally come for me to show the world the fruits of my labor.


    My masterpiece¡ª ¡°The Poison of Sarcasm¡± can turn the most polluted swamps back into beautiful wetlands. What a beautiful scene that will be: poisonous frogs of a poisonous pink croaking, poisonous fish of a poisonous green swimming in the poisonous swamp, even the flora flourishing by the banks would all be poisonous, this is the epitome of ¡°fighting poison with poison¡±! When this miraculous day comes, I will naturally be acknowledged by all as the ¡°Poison Lady¡±.


    --Excerpt from As Poison Lady, My Life is Complete, prologue

 Volume 11 - CH 1

    The Shibuya¡¯s oldest son is completely immersed in typing on his keyboard on the bench in the airport, late at night.


    It¡¯s a mini machine, about palm-sized. At first it was a simple device for sending mails, but after a hardworking antique dealer¡¯s modifications, and over and over again, finally it was upgraded into a pride-worthy miniature PC.


    Its name is ¡®Betsujin 27-go¡¯[1].


    As for the original, adorable design, it was long since lost in the modifications.


    This 27-go is currently refreshing a secretly-operated bishoujo games research site. Of course now isn¡¯t the time to review the latest works, but if it¡¯s blogs and BBS, then maybe a few of the regular visitors might have some opinions for reference?


    The title of the forum is ¡®Is there a way to make the Niagara Falls flow backwards?¡¯


    Perfect! This way he can probably get useful information from younger-sibling-lovers all over the world¡­ if there is any. Even if he can¡¯t get intel, maybe when everyone is discussing their deep thoughts and ideas, Ikkyu-san will come up with something good! Such as asking the Niagara hermit, or something really neat IN Niagara¡­ etc.


    He might as well post on the military weapon forums he usually goes to as well. To Shouri, this is a time of emergency, so be it bishoujo game enthusiasts or military weapon enthusiasts, they¡¯re all people he will ask for help. He even wants to use the judo pincer grip to force them to think.


    After all, his only little brother whom he¡¯d adored for sixteen years is currently missing. This isn¡¯t something trivial like camping out for no reason, running away from home, or singing songs at the KTV all night, either.


    He went missing in another world.


    Another world!


    It¡¯s as though he has some disappearing jutsu, even radars can¡¯t find him. Forget radars, all the technology in the world can¡¯t help. His precious brother went to the world of swords, magic, and ¡®Yuu-chan is so moe¡¯ and never came back¡­


    Does that RPG stuff really happen!?


    Just hearing Yuuri¡¯s friend, Murata¡¯s words makes it hard to believe. Who¡¯d have thought that there are such imaginative little brats in this world, this sort of person will probably go on to make movies. But after he got confirmation from his old acquaintance, Bob, the believability of it all increased significantly.


    That unique American is a family friend since his grandfather¡¯s generation, and every time they meet he says some outrageous things. To other people, he¡¯s a guy with extremely normal Robert de Niro looks, and a man with an extremely normal platinum English Express card. There¡¯s only one thing about him that stands out¡­


    This Mr Bob, is the Maou.


    Since the bona fide Maou of the Earth himself said it clearly, then he has no choice but to believe that his little brother is facing some sort of crisis. Besides, Bob even stared at him through those weird sunglasses, so it¡¯s really hard to laugh it off as a joke.


    ¡°Yuu-chan¡­ poor Yuu-chan.¡±


    Baby brother¡ªThat high school student whose head is full of only baseball bats, baseballs and baseball gloves, actually went to world 180 degrees different from Earth to be the Maou. His little brain is probably being tortured by things like taxes, annual incomes, economic meltdowns, stock markets¡­ etc, isn¡¯t it? After all, his math isn¡¯t good.


    At any rate he has to fly there as soon as possible and bring his little brother back! If it was a stranger with no connections whatsoever then that¡¯s another matter, but he is his older brother, Shouri! How can he just put his head into the spot-billed suck pond and pretend he didn¡¯t see anything?


    ¡°Those two damned black glasses and white glasses, telling me about Niagara and Fuji, when they themselves actually ran to Haneda Domestic Airport. After talking so much about so many other places, why are there foreigners running to Haneda Domestic Airport now?¡±


    Shibuya Shouri pushes his glasses up with his hand, muttering away. To him, his glasses are already a part of his face, so there¡¯s no problem there.


    Bob and Murata are headed to the pride of the Japanese people, Haneda Airport, to meet a man named Rodriguez. He¡¯s a master amongst the Earth mazoku, and has a connection with that world.


    Where did that Rodriguez come from? Russia? Korea? Or China?


    On the other hand, Shouri, planning to make Niagara flow backwards, is operating along, bringing the brand new passport from ten years ago to Haneda International Airport.


    It was past eight at night when he reached Haneda. Although the international flights were still coming and going, but since evening the rain has been getting heavier and heavier. Since there aren¡¯t any passengers who bothered the ladies behind the counters about it yet, so they¡¯re still smiling gracefully.


    And right now the only funds he can use are his pathetic student credit card, but at least he can still buy two-way tickets to Oregon. Only, when he was asked, ¡®Is Economy class okay?¡¯, all he could do was nod his head obediently in reply. Back then he quietly yelled in his heart, ¡®Dammit! I¡¯ll definitely make it rich¡ª¡±


    It¡¯s just that the share he bought last year haven¡¯t earned a single cent until now.


    ¡°Excuse me, do you want to be put on the waiting list?¡±


    Since he was lining up with complicated feelings in front of the counter, when he is suddenly told that the flight is full, he really had a feeling of disappointment.


    ¡°Is Oregon that popular? Oh, right, now is the autumn tourism season, people always say ¡®Autumn Starts in Oregon¡¯[2], so that¡¯s why it¡¯s full¡­¡±


    ¡°Mister, if you¡¯re headed for the Niagara Falls, shouldn¡¯t you be going to Canada?¡±


    ¡°I-I know that. I also know that monkeys will fall from trees, so no matter how capable a person he will still make a mistake someday.¡±


    Shibuya Shouri, who hasn¡¯t been embarrassed in public for a long time, is corrected by the smiling lady staff. He doesn¡¯t want them to find out that he had allegedly returned here from America. And when he¡¯s waiting for a replacement seat, quite a few flights can¡¯t take off due to the weather. The passengers who can¡¯t get onto their flights fill up the benches, and the hall gets stuffy with their discontent. It¡¯s only the end of October in Japan, so they¡¯re still very slapdash with the air conditioning.


    But everyone doesn¡¯t want to go outside either. Thanks to the growing winds, the rain has become a sideways-flying storm. Looking at the gale beating on the glass windows, he just realized that the Kanto area is affected by a hurricane.


    There are already people ready to camp out for the night, and other graceful business travelers plan to wait patiently at a nearby hotel. People who can¡¯t do either of the above and have a temper to boot, start venting out their frustrations on the staff, so you can hear the travelers¡¯ dissatisfied complaints everywhere.


    Having successfully updated the web page, Shouri closes his trusty ¡®Bestujin 27-go¡¯. The guy beside the guy beside the guy beside him is an office worker who can¡¯t sit still because he can¡¯t take a smoke¡ªhe deduced that from the smell of cigarettes on his clothes. If it was that little brother of his who puts health above everything else and hates cigarettes, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to sit quietly for even five minutes.


    Just then Shouri plans on playing a little trick, and so he heads for the lounge especially for business class VIPs. The friendly female staff stands beside the PC, waiting for the passengers to come in for a break. He tries to use Bob¡¯s name, and doesn¡¯t expect it when he¡¯s easily let into the VIP lounge.


    Thank you, Bob. I thought all you were good for was dressing up sexily with two shells covering your bits in front and dancing the samba, so it never occurred to me that you could come in handy at a place like this.


    The VIP lounge and the waiting area where the normal passengers are squashed together is completely different, this is practically heaven in comparison. In the practical room painted with deep colors, there are many empty and soft sofas that let you sink in them, and the air conditioning is very suitable too. Other than providing coffee, red tea and other non-alcoholic beverages, there is also a complete display of business-related magazines on the racks, though there aren¡¯t any newspaper sport sections.


    ¡°This is practically a different world!¡±


    In a little booklet just lying around, it even says that they¡¯ll give you Shigaraki ware as a souvenir for the flight, but first he must be lucky enough to get onto the plane. Surely the airline will give him a tanuki[3], right?


    Just as Shouri is imagining himself carrying home a silly-looking omnivore as he adds coffee into his pure white coffee cup and prepares to go back to his seat, he sees that there¡¯s a girl in the otherwise empty lounge. She¡¯s sitting right beside the table where he put his luggage. There are obviously a lot of empty spaces nearby, so why must she choose to sit near Shouri?


    But since he was originally sitting there, it would be weird if he suddenly changed seats, so he takes his coffee cup and walks back to her side. Just one look would tell anyone that she¡¯s obviously a foreigner. The natural brown hair is tied neatly, and behind those brown brows are a pair of grey-blue eyes filled with laughter. But her clothes are completely Japanese¡ªthe almost bright red bottom and the fish embroidered with gold thread, would not only remind people of a Nagoya lady owner, but it would also be received well, wouldn¡¯t it? But this is an international airport with a hurricane outside, so no matter how friendly her smile is, people will only treat her as a weird foreigner.


    It¡¯s still better not to get involved with her. Conservative Shouri sips his coffee, trying to avoid meeting her gaze.


    ¡°Hi! How you do--¡±


    ¡°¡­How you do.¡±


    She really is enthusiastic¡­ What on earth does this foreigner pretending to know Japanese want to do?


    ¡°You, geisha--?¡±


    ¡°¡­No, I¡¯m not.¡±


    ¡°OH! What a pity, might as well commit seppuku.¡±


    She points at her kimono, raises her head and sticks out her chest, saying proudly, ¡°I¡¯m a geisha.¡±


    ¡°No, you probably aren¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°NO¡ªI should definitely be a geisha.¡±


    Tears gather in those grey-blue eyes. Not only has he made a foreigner cry, it¡¯s a tourist younger than him too, so Shouri hurriedly puts down the magazine he was reading.


    ¡°Ah¡ªI apologize, ah¡ªsorry. I never went for a geisha¡¯s performance, neither have I seen a real geisha. I¡¯m really very sorry, it was my fault.¡±


    Though more and more Japanese people are going overseas for their vacations, but there aren¡¯t many foreigners who visit Japan. If he left a bad impression of Japan on her, forget her coming back again for a second trip, she might even turn her friends and family anti-Japanese. Didn¡¯t even the governor of Tokyo strongly pledge to make Japan a tourism giant? Even if she¡¯s the clueless heroine of ¡®Kill Bill¡¯, since he¡¯s the first Japanese she came into contact with, he¡¯ll have to treat her kindly.


    ¡°This geisha outfit is pretty good! Mn¡­ Especially the salmon swimming upstream, it leaves a lasting impression.¡±


    ¡°NO¡ªthese are carp. Don¡¯t you know it¡¯s 1000 AD now?¡±


    ¡°¡­Haha¡­ ahaha¡­ It¡¯s around 2000 AD now.¡±


    He can¡¯t tell at all if she¡¯s joking, or if she¡¯s just that clueless.


    Maybe she misunderstands that he accepted her cold joke, because she starts chatting up Shouri enthusiastically. She takes out the passport in her pocket and shows him,


    ¡°I¡¯m here during the fall break to play at my Japanese¡¯s friend¡¯s penis[4]!¡±


    ¡°What!?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Shouri is shocked. How can a young girl say that word in a public area? And also, which fellow taught her wrong Japanese?


    ¡°Hold on a sec, miss. It¡¯s not your friend¡¯s penis, it¡¯s your friend¡¯s place.¡±


    ¡°OH¡ªthat¡¯s right. It¡¯s my friend¡¯s place¡­¡±


    It¡¯s place not penis, just one sound makes a large difference¡­ Defeated, Shouri can¡¯t help but press his brow with three of his fingers.


    This world has gone crazy. A young girl can actually say such a crude word so brazenly, what has America come to?


    ¡°The other person is my online friend, my online friend, you know¡ªto deepen the exchange between American and Japanese culture, we communicate and help each other out.¡±


    ¡°I really don¡¯t know if I should say, ¡®good luck¡¯¡­¡±


    If what she says is true, then isn¡¯t it a recommendable culture exchange? OH! Japan has really fallen¡ªAnd it¡¯s not the influence of Japanese English either, but of American Japanese, making people sigh at the loss of the five, seven, five rhythmic beauty of the Japanese language.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t your friend coming to meet you? Or are they late ¡®cause of the hurricane--¡±


    He really has been affected by her accent.


    ¡°NO, NO, NO.¡±


    The girl raises her right hand and waves it in front of her face, symbolizing denial.


    ¡°I¡¯m waiting for a man called BOB. Three days before I go to my friend¡¯s penis to play, I plan on first asking him to take me around his New Year¡¯s party¡ª¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡ª¡±


    Shouri reaches out to take the magazine he hadn¡¯t finished reading, and starts checking the chart of last month¡¯s stocks¡ªstaring hard at the Euro.


    ¡°I hope the Bob you¡¯re talking about is a normal person.¡±


    Once he said that, the two of them fall silent, just staring at the heavy rain outside.


    Bob?


    ¡°When you say Bob, do you mean that Bob!?¡±


    After blurting out that question, he just realizes how stupid that sounded. Bob is a name you can simply pick off the street, just like a ton of people are called Sanro. Besides, she¡¯s just a tourist who just happened to sit beside him at the airport, so she shouldn¡¯t have any relationship with that Bob.


    ¡°Which BOB do you mean by BOB?¡±


    The blue-eyed girl who claims to be a geisha asks back in fluent English.


    ¡°He¡¯s a bespectacled, sunglasses-wearing cocky old uncle.¡±


    ¡°Then it can¡¯t be the same person, the BOB I know isn¡¯t cocky at all. The cheerful, open Uncle BOB I know is too HIGH Robert de Niro!¡±


    ¡°Robert de Niro? What a coincidence, the Bob I¡¯m talking about looks a lot like him too, maybe they¡¯re even CLONEs.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Your friend is a CLOWN? Your English sucks. Now even kindergarten brats don¡¯t talk like that.¡±


    W...w..w..w..what happened to your Japanese[5]!?


    Shouri swallows his urge to yell, gripping his fists tightly on his knees. Shouri, you have to bear with it, at times like this you must bear with it. The person whose teacher wrote ¡®bad temper¡¯ on the family contact book isn¡¯t him, it was his younger brother.


    ¡°Technically, it shouldn¡¯t be that BOB looks like Robert de Niro, but de Niro who looks like BOB. Because the BOB I¡¯m waiting for has been wearing those sunglasses and sporting that hairstyle for a very, very long time, since even my great grandmother¡¯s time!¡±


    ¡°From your great grandmother¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, weird, isn¡¯t it? Just like a monster, right? And he even says half-jokingly that he¡¯s the Maou!¡±


    Shouri suddenly bangs the table top with his fist, and the coffee cup makes a sharp sound.


    ¡°What¡¯s his name!?¡±


    The Boston native in the kimono looks surprised, and then she says in her weird accented Japanese,


    ¡°Name? Oh~ My name is Abigail Graves.¡±


    ¡°Not your name, I meant Bob¡¯s full name!¡±


    Very few people can say the Maou of the Earth¡¯s full name.

 Volume 11 - CH 2

    The violent shaking tilts the entire floorboard, after crashing into the right-side wall, now they¡¯re knocking into the left side, everyone¡¯s trying their best to maintain their balance. I, too, am holding the girl we brought out from the bottom of the ship. I want to cushion her as best as I can, after all I still have some muscle on me, while she¡¯s so thin her bones might just break with a ¡®snap¡¯!


    ¡°This feeling is like ¡®that¡¯¡­ the FLYING PIRATES at the theme park!¡±


    ¡°What FLYING PANTS¡­ What a naughty young man you are, still thinking perverted thoughts at a time like this.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to show off your half-baked translating skills¡­ Ow! I bit my tongue.¡±


    As the man at the helm makes a sudden, short sound, the girl in my arms instantly holds her breath¡ªmaybe in their language, that sound is a sort of insult?


    Not long ago this ship was handed to the shinzoku man we brought out from the bottom of the ship to steer¡ªthat is, one of the ¡®slaves who got shipwrecked near Shou Shimaron¡¯, according to Saralegui. The way I see it, they¡¯re refugees who abandoned their home country, but to someone who was educated since young to become a king, they¡¯re no more than ¡®slaves¡¯.


    No matter what the truth is, now isn¡¯t the time to be arguing about it. After all when faced with a life-death situation, anyone who can do anything must play their part. Since he¡¯s an experienced sailor who¡¯s traversed these waters before, then he must be more reliable than a new rookie.


    To Sara, he¡¯s just a slave; but to me, he¡¯s someone who can lend me a hand.


    ¡°Can we possibly survive this storm?¡±


    ¡°From the day I was born, I¡¯ve always felt like I¡¯m living in the vast ocean. I¡¯m the Girl on the Sea, Gurrier¡­ Whoa!¡±


    ¡°Waa¡ªSorry! I accidently hit your chest.¡±


    ¡°He¡­ Hehe¡­ Young Master, what a powerful hit that was!¡±


    Is it just me, or are there tears in Josak¡¯s eyes?


    ¡°But with such bad turbulence, even people other than Wolf would find it hard, right? I don¡¯t usually get seasick, but now my stomach¡¯s all bloated, and I feel like I¡¯m going to vo-vo-vo-vomit¡ªMph!¡±


    Before tragedy can strike, I clasp my hand over my mouth, my throat full of bitterness. Thank goodness I didn¡¯t just eat. Just then the girl leaves my arms, reaching her hand out to the navigation map on the wet floorboards. The Shou Shimaron crewmen, huddled together and shivering uncontrollably, see her action and follow suit, because they want to know our current location no matter what.


    She uses her weak fingers, with those slightly protruding joints and worn-out fingernails to point at a spot on the simple map. While trying to keep our balance, we crawl over to look. On the map full of waves there¡¯s a fish surfacing from the sea. Quite a few simple markers are connected, circling a continent.


    Could that be the ocean borders?


    The girl knocks the soaking wet map twice and then uses the same finger to point directly out of the helms room. Outside the window, in the direction she¡¯s pointing, we can see different colored waves.¡±


    ¡°¡­It¡¯s over there.¡±


    When the Shou Shimaron crewmen, Josak and I look at the surprising phenomena outside the window, we all can¡¯t help but gasp.


    That¡¯s the ocean borderline. I have no idea what magic nature used, but there¡¯s actually a clear borderline on the surface of the sea. The cargo ship is right now on the heavy grey water, and beyond that line is a bright, light green.


    ¡°So the dangerous waters end there? So beautiful, and so clear¡­ Who would¡¯ve thought that the sea was so miraculous!¡±


    The girl¡¯s golden eyes are trained on me. But because of the language barrier, I really can¡¯t answer her, even though I do feel her suspicions.


    ¡°The waves on those waters are really stable, maybe we can reach Seisakoku like that¡­ Wait a sec, how far away is it from there? It¡¯s so hard to gauge distances on the sea! Mn¡ªAbout two hundred meters?¡±


    ¡°Young Master, I don¡¯t know how long one of your meters is, but I¡¯m sure it¡¯s not so close by! Because there aren¡¯t any obstructions on the sea, that¡¯s why it looks really near. But the way I see it, it must be at fifty boats away, right? If it¡¯s the land even beyond that¡­ Mn¡ªAbout three times that distance? But that depends on the accuracy of the map, too.¡±


    Although I don¡¯t know how long a standard boat is, but it shouldn¡¯t be just two or three meters, should it? Just this cargo ship I saw on the deck, from stern to bow it was 90 meters, if we use a number that¡¯s easier to count:


    ¡°100 meters x 50 ships¡­ That¡¯s 5000 meters¡­ Is it really that far!?¡±


    And land is even further than that, since the target is big enough, so if I squint a little I can still see it, but it¡¯s anything but nearby.


    ¡°After all we¡¯re on the boat, even if we don¡¯t ask how many knots we¡¯re going at, as long as we get past this obstacle here, and set sail for the calm seas, perhaps we could even reach there by nightfall.¡±


    Just then the shoulder that was always leaning on me suddenly moves, and the girl crawls towards her male companion. The two of them yell at each other a few times, pointing at me and saying something I have no clue about. The shinzoku man holding the ship¡¯s wheel turns his head aside, his expression careful and wary, his golden eyes peeking my way now and again.


    It¡¯s very obvious that he doesn¡¯t trust me.


    I can¡¯t blame him, because to them, I¡¯m a friend of the Shou Shimaron king. They were determined to escape even if it cost them their lives, but now they¡¯re forcefully being deported back by Saralegui, so there¡¯s no way they¡¯ll let their guard down even a tiny bit around me, the king¡¯s friend.


    ¡°Boat!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    The girl suddenly turns back and grabs my hand, even saying a word I understand. Maybe she remembers a few commonly-used nouns?


    ¡°Boat!¡±


    She says it again, pointing behind me with her finger. I can¡¯t tell if she¡¯s pointing at the vast ocean behind me, or calling Sazae-san¡¯s mother[1].


    ¡°What about the boat? Surely you¡¯re not asking us to turn back now¡­ Ah! Don¡¯t tell me you guys want to take over this cargo ship, like those hijacking sailor-uniform pirates!?¡±


    The girl must have felt my alarm, because she quickly shakes her head sadly in denial. I never thought that not being able to communicate could be so nerve-wracking. I hurriedly look around me, and see the Shou Shimaron¡¯s ace helmsman has a cylindrical object that looks like stationary in his front pocket, so I quickly ask and take it, drawing a small ¡®?¡¯ on the side of the wet map. But, I don¡¯t think Earth¡¯s symbols can be used to communicate here either.


    ¡°¡­Boat¡­¡±


    Taking the stationary that looks like a pen, the girl draws a human-figure on top of the ¡®?¡¯, and draws five of them lined up, then she draws a triangular container underneath them. Judging by the size, it¡¯s more of a rowboat than an actual ship. And then she draws the same thing again, and before the ink on the lines spreads, she quickly presses the finger that was on the human-figures back to her chest, as though saying ¡®this is me¡¯. A little distance away, she draws a large triangle, and this time she points at me and Josak. Those golden eyes stare straight at us, desperately trying to get the message across.


    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not really¡­¡±


    ¡°I know!¡±


    Josak, who was watching quietly, smacks his chin with his fist.


    ¡°She wants a lifeboat!¡±


    ¡°What? Lifeboat? Oh¡ªthat¡¯s it, I was wondering why that boat is so small, turns out it¡¯s a lifeboat. Then, this big one is the cargo ship¡­ Then, what you mean is you want me to let you guys escape on a lifeboat?¡±


    I have no idea if she understood me or not, but she¡¯s nodding her head, hard.


    ¡°It¡¯s already come to this, so why do you still want to escape? Your own country is right there!¡±


    ¡°Seems like Your Majesty guessed it.¡±


    Maybe it¡¯s because the rocking has gotten slightly more stable, so the spy leaves my side, saying,


    ¡°They¡­ and those people underneath the boat, they should be the same. They may be trying to say that, rather than returning to their home country, they¡¯d rather brave the stormy seas, right? Even if they have to ride on a tiny boat that might capsize at any moment.¡±


    ¡°Eh!? Wait, you guys plan on going back? Stop joking! How can a small lifeboat cross such a scary and rapid current! Won¡¯t you be just like a leaf bobbing on the surface of the vast, turbulent ocean?¡±


    I stand up from beside the navigation map, staring at the skinny girl,


    ¡°About that, I¡¯m not trying to curse you or anything. Why don¡¯t you land on Seisakoku first, then do your preparations before challenging the seas again? If the king there or Saralegui object, then even if my power isn¡¯t much, I¡¯ll still put in a word for you.¡±


    The man at the helm shakes his beard, yelling over here. The girl raises her right hand to stop him, shaking her head slowly, so we can tell that she more or less understands my suggestion, only to reject it instantly.


    ¡°Why? Do you think I¡¯m so unreliable? Do I look like a man who doesn¡¯t keep his word? Josak, say something for me!¡±


    ¡°Me?¡±


    The usually cheerful spy grabs his orange hair, looking as though he wants to bluff his way through. Water drips from his biceps.


    ¡°What a bother¡­ Young Master, I just can¡¯t! What do you want me to say? If you want me to tell these people who came out here with their lives on the line to go back to that place filled with nightmares, I just can¡¯t say it.¡±


    ¡°Filled with nightmares¡­¡±


    ¡°Since they abandoned the home they grew up in, they must surely have their reasons, so I really can¡¯t think of anything to say that can persuade them. Even though I have to obey whatever orders Your Majesty gives me, this is a bit too much!¡±


    Maybe he¡¯s remembering his own experiences, because Josak can¡¯t help but frown and sigh. He who suffered because of his mazoku bloodline, also experienced escaping from Shimaron to Shin Makoku before. Maybe that¡¯s why he feels this way?


    Even so, I can¡¯t accept her request. Even if I help these shinzoku leave, like she hopes I will, it¡¯s simply impossible to cross the stormy seas in that little boat. Even if Lady Luck smiles on them, their chances of survival are practically zero.


    ¡°Speaking of which, how many lifeboats do we have? F-four?¡±


    The Shou Shimaron crewman raises four fingers, even if they can squeeze in thirty adults, it¡¯s still far away from the number of shinzoku we have.


    ¡°No matter how you squeeze it¡¯ll still be overloaded, right? When I saw you guys at the Saralegui War Port, I already thought you guys were squished so tight¡­ Hey, wait a sec¡­ speaking of your people¡­¡±


    The images from several dozen days ago appear in my mind suddenly, that time when ¡®Friends on the Sea¡¯ saved two shinzoku children. Shinzoku of all ages squeezed onto a tiny, sinking boat. The adults who aren¡¯t holding little children, desperately waving their arms; tiny children grabbing onto their parent¡¯s or sibling¡¯s knees to prevent being tossed into the sea by the waves. It¡¯s nothing short of a miracle that a boat like that, which could fall apart at any moment, managed to make it all the way to the Shimaron continent. After finding out about the conditions of the Seisakoku waters, I finally understand what a dangerous thing that was. But there¡¯s something bothering me: exactly how many people are stuffed into this boat?


    ¡°How many companions do you have down there? No matter how I look at it, it seems there are even more than those seeking for help at the port¡­ And¡­¡±


    I desperately recall the heavy atmosphere underneath the boat. Though there¡¯s oxygen there, it¡¯s also filled with the suffocating smell of seawater. There wasn¡¯t any talking, or any babies crying.


    ¡°What about the children? Where did the children go? That¡¯s weird, just too weird. Although I saw less people at the port, but then there were adults, children, and babies. Technically there should be kids like Zeda and Zisha, who are younger than you. Where did all those kids go? There¡¯s obviously more than twice the number of people here, but not a single child, so what on earth is happening here!?¡±


    ¡°Uhm¡­¡±


    The ace helmsman whose pen was taken away raises his gaze, timidly trying to interrupt. In that instant when our gazes meet, he immediately shirks away, saying in a tiny voice completely unlike a sea man,


    ¡°I think¡ªI think the children are probably under our military¡¯s custody.¡±


    ¡°Military custody? Do you mean rescue? Doesn¡¯t Saralegui think he¡¯s rescuing the passengers of a shipwreck? That¡¯s why he wants to send them back to their home country! It¡¯s just that I can¡¯t forgive him for treating them as slaves, and using such a horrible attitude too. And the truth is just like I anticipated too, they weren¡¯t shipwrecked, they¡¯re real refugees.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why King Saralegui sends the useless adults and old people back every year. Because once they¡¯re around this girl¡¯s age, it gets easy to tell their worth as a shinzoku.¡±


    Worth?


    The youngest-looking guy on the ship, holding the ace helmsman¡¯s left arm, has an expression that says ¡®any citizen of Shou Shimaron would know something like that!¡¯ as he continues,


    ¡°Amongst the shinzoku, there are people with powerful houryoku and people with no houryoku. Anyone who¡¯s around this girl¡¯s age and still doesn¡¯t know how to use houjutsu is a useless shinzoku. Maybe if they put in more effort like us humans, they may still be of use someday, but they would still be worthless as shinzoku. To be blunt, they¡¯re trash, bottom-feeders. After all, all those guys are good for is their powerful houryoku. If they don¡¯t know how to use houjutsu, and can only plainly work hard, they¡¯ll be sent to the mines under the shelter. That¡¯s all the use they have.¡±


    ¡°What a horrible way to think.¡±


    ¡°Eh!? P-please, forgive me!¡±


    It could be that I unconsciously frowned. Although he apologizes, he doesn¡¯t seem to plan on shutting up any time soon.


    ¡°And these years a lot of people end up adrift on the sea, so now it¡¯s supply over demand. After all, even slaves have to eat and sleep, so now that we¡¯re suddenly stuck with so much trash we can¡¯t sell off, what¡¯ll we do if they eat us to bankruptcy? That¡¯s why we took this chance to gather them all up and send them back as local produce, but babies and brats¡­ children are different!¡±


    The crewman¡¯s tone is getting harsher and harsher, and, the girl¡¯s shoulders start shaking, her hands pressed on the navigation map. Technically she shouldn¡¯t understand what we¡¯re saying, but she lowers her head, biting her lip. The young man doesn¡¯t notice her appearance at all, and even swings his ponytail forcefully.


    ¡°Children and babies have unlimited potential! So as long the refugees who drift over have kids, the military will take all of them under custody.¡±


    ¡°You say custody¡­ for what? Are you going to adopt them and educate them, or give them tests?¡±


    ¡°Adopt? Im¡ªpo¡ªssi¡ªble¡ª¡±


    The star helmsman nudges his subordinate, who¡¯s laughing and waving his right arm, maybe he¡¯s nervous over his too-casual attitude? But the young man only frowns, unhappy with his boss rough actions, and continues carelessly,


    ¡°Of course we¡¯ll sell them!¡±


    ¡°Sell. Them?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Sell them to the merchants while they¡¯re still babies, then increase their houryoku and teach them houjutsu then sell them to the armies of other countries! And they can be sold for a high price too! Of course that¡¯s after we, the Shou Shimaron army, choose the best of them for our ranks.¡±


    The young crewman continues ranting, ¡°It¡¯s just that recently there¡¯s been too much brain drain, a few of the excellent teachers and trainers were headhunted to the other countries¡ªpreviously when shinzoku were mentioned, then they must have been trained by Shou Shimaron; ironically, I heard that we¡¯ve eve started importing them recently¡ª¡±, but my brain is desperately trying to process those completely unreal words.


    When I heard about the slaves from Saralegui back then, I should have thought something like this would happen. Shou Shimaron is selling those drifting shinzoku as ¡®stock¡¯. Come to think of it, the shinzoku twins I met in the plains¡ªJason and Freddy are also like that. So they¡¯re probably the so-called strong houjutsu users, that¡¯s why Nigel Weizs Maxine bought them and started dragging them around with him?


    They left their country when they were just babies, and were raised with a so-called education, so they have no clue at all about their hometown. They obviously don¡¯t know a thing about Seisakoku, and yet they cried, saying that they wanted to go back.


    ¡°But, after these trash shinzoku are deported back, forget their original lives as slaves, they¡¯ll probably be treated even worse, as deserters! Considering that, no wonder they don¡¯t mind a precarious lifeboat, and just want to escape no matter what¡­¡±


    ¡°You guys¡­ are so horrible!¡±


    The horrible one is me, I never learned my lesson, and still can¡¯t control my temper.


    Maybe he¡¯s shocked by the words I say and the sound of something hitting the floorboard, because the young Shou Shimaron crewman¡¯s brown eyes go wide with fear.


    ¡°How can you say it so confidently, that¡¯s human trafficking, you know!? That¡¯s a crime, and it¡¯s something a human shouldn¡¯t do, right!? Has no one scolded you? Not one?¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty, you mean¡­¡±


    Seeing his subordinate shocked into stillness by my furious expression, the elderly star helmsman replies in their stead,


    ¡°But they are slaves.¡±


    ¡°You guy, all you say is slaves, slaves, slaves! You¡¯re adults who should have gotten your moral education, don¡¯t you think saying something like that is embarrassing!?¡±


    He replies, looking confused,


    ¡°To us, that¡¯s a matter of fact.¡±


    ¡°Matter of fact?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s completely right, Your Majesty.¡±


    Josak, who previously kept his silence, says in a lecturing tone behind me,


    ¡°Since you guys already know it, then stop doing it. After all if no one pointed out if what you¡¯re doing is right or wrong, you yourselves won¡¯t notice it. Like me, I used to think that I¡¯m just like cattle or horses, nothing more than livestock. Until a certain someone reminded me, only then did I change that way of thinking.¡±


    ¡°But Josak, this is human trafficking! It¡¯s really¡­ it¡¯s really a crime. From a humane point of view, how can this be treated as a matter of fact!?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true!¡±


    The elderly helmsman interrupts. Only he uses a voice so small it¡¯s barely audible. His cheeks, blown to redness by the sea wind, are trembling, but I don¡¯t understand why.


    ¡°It¡¯s a matter of fact. We think¡­ of them as slaves, as living creatures beneath us.¡±


    ¡°So you guys don¡¯t care at all, and just treat them as stock?¡±


    This last minute excuse, heats me up from the bottom of my throat.


    Even if I scold the crap out of a couple Shou Shimaron people here, there won¡¯t possibly be a change in the situation. Even if I take out my anger on the people in front of me now, all it¡¯d do is show how petty I am. I keep trying to convince myself in my head, ¡®now isn¡¯t the time to be driven by emotions¡¯, but still things don¡¯t go according to plan.


    ¡°Hmph! You don¡¯t judge a person by hitting percentage and defending percentage, but by their worth as a person. I really don¡¯t understand what kind of basis do you have for judging! I hope you really must tell me. Just take him as an example¡­¡±


    The shinzoku man gripping the wheel tightly opens his eyes wide when I suddenly point at him, and shirks away timidly.


    ¡°Take him for an example. He has an ability none of you experienced seamen have, he can navigate these evil seas. But you treat him as inferior to Shimaron people, keeping him in the bottom of the ship and putting a price tag on him to sell, deporting him if he can¡¯t be sold. I really don¡¯t get it, I don¡¯t understand at all, how on earth is he inferior to you? Please explain!¡±


    If I was in Japan living a normal life, I would never have considered anything like this. Anything about slave merchants, buying people just like ourselves with money, that stuff only happens in history books or countries far, far away.


    But, right now it¡¯s happening right in front of my eyes.


    I still have the blood letter from Jason and Freddy in my pocket. Right before me are people desperate to leave the land they grew on, and would rather dive into the terrifying waters than go back.


    Is Seisakoku hell?


    To them, is it a terrifying place that is meaningless to return to?


    And I actually sent two young girls back to such a terrifying place?


    It¡¯s not an easy task, trying to calm down the anger that suddenly hit boiling point. But afterwards, those rash emotions turn to self-loathing.


    ¡°Damn, if that¡¯s so, of course they wouldn¡¯t want to go back.¡±


    I raise my cold hand up to press my forehead, my entire body slumping down to sit on the wet floor boards. The girl, probably thinking I¡¯m not feeling well, holds my left hand with her thin fingers. Those thin and pale fingers, without much flesh and mostly joints. I suddenly remember the fact that, just a few weeks ago, I got a girlfriend in Japan¡ª


    At Murata¡¯s high school festival, that school where everyone aims for college, I just happened to meet Hashimoto, who graduated from the same middle high as me. Though her hands had callouses from holding tennis rackets, but they¡¯re obviously warmer and softer than this girl in front of me right now.


    They¡¯re obviously girls of the same age, but there¡¯s such a big difference in the feel of their hands.


    ¡°Thank you, I¡¯m fine.¡±


    The little bit of heat I feel from that slight skin contact, makes me feel a gentleness I can¡¯t put to words. Even after she was treated so inhumanely, she still worries about my health.


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m fine, and I¡¯ll never take you back to that place.¡±


    Just then the crewmen suddenly look up in shock, and then they take off for the cabin door just like that. But before they can make their move, a certain someone immediately kicks the wet floorboards, making a sound.


    ¡°Mph-eek!¡±


    ¡°All right~ Don¡¯t panic, don¡¯t panic¡ª¡±


    The spy with the superfast reflexes raises the corners of his lips, and quickly uses his feet to keep the control room door shut, his stance saying clearly that before this is all sorted out, no one¡¯s to leave the room. Having given up reporting to Saralegui, the star helmsman speaks up decisively,


    ¡°You want to give the lifeboats to these people?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, star helmsman, I don¡¯t plan to do that at all! How can such a tiny boat cross such a dangerous stretch of sea?¡±


    Come to think of it, just the fact that the worn-out boat Zeta and Zuusha rode could make it to Shou Shimaron is a miracle of miracles. If they didn¡¯t just happen to meet the current¡¯s stable period, many people would surely have died.


    How can I let something like that happen in front of me?


    As I contemplate, Josak says from above my head,


    ¡°If we want to send them off on a larger boat¡­ Then all we can do is give this cargo boat to them. But that white and fluffy boy king would never stay quiet about this. Ah! That¡¯s right.


    "We¡¯ll just say that these shinzoku are rebelling! And then they threaten the owner of this cargo ship, planning to chase us away. As for the role of the hostage, leave it to me!¡±


    I try imagining those skinny shinzoku, pinning the healthy soldier in the long-sleeved apron from behind so he can¡¯t move his arms. No matter how you look at it, this hostage looks unnatural. Even if a dozen of them attack at once, I don¡¯t think they¡¯d be a match for Josak.


    To be nice, you could say that man is gentle, to put it bluntly he has no aura at all. It could be because they were imprisoned under such horrible conditions, but even if you provoke them, they would never have the guts to rebel.


    ¡°Mn¡ªTo call them pacifists doesn¡¯t feel right either. No, wait, Gurrier. Never do something as dangerous as inciting a rebellion. Whatever happens, we must make sure this is a bloodless battlefield, a bloodless boat¡­¡±


    Just then I glance out of the window, seeing the border on the surface of the sea as clearly as though it was drawn on with a pen, If we can just make it past that line to the area of the sea where the color is darker, we can probably make it to Seisakoku easily. By then, it¡¯s okay even if we¡¯re on small boats.


    Even if we¡¯re on lifeboats.


    ¡°Josak.¡±


    ¡°What is it, Young Master?¡±


    ¡°Later I¡¯ll be saying some very scary lies, don¡¯t look down on me.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, look down on you, you¡¯re over-exaggerating again.¡±


    He keeps his long legs pressed against the door, his arms crossed in front of his chest, even flexing those gorgeously-lined biceps underneath the long-sleeved white apron¡ªthe body of an outer fieldsman that deeply mesmerizes me.


    ¡°Lies and disguise are the essence of the intelligence sector, you know! They¡¯re Gurie¡¯s fa~vorite! But if it¡¯s coming from the Young Master, then in the eyes of an experienced intelligence officer like me, it wouldn¡¯t even count as a lie!¡±


    Although this has nothing to do with disguise at all, I¡¯m not so na?ve as to believe the words of a person who¡¯s supposed to protect me.


    ¡°No, I think it¡¯s a lie. For all you know, it¡¯s an evil lie that may lead to life and death.


    At first I wanted to put my arms in front of my chest, but at the last minute I bring them to my forehead, because if I didn¡¯t do that, I would laugh out loud from the embarrassment.


    ¡°What a bother, I¡¯ll steal something later too! Looks like you really can¡¯t underestimate the old sayings(1). I¡¯m horrible, huh, a king who lies.¡±


    ¡°Mn¡ªYou shouldn¡¯t blame yourself so much anymore. Besides, Gurrie has recently been working with silent, stoic superiors, so¡­¡±


    The loyal Shin Makoku spy cracks his knuckles as he looks at the Shou Shimaron crewmen, the dangerous expression of spotting a prey and being so happy he¡¯s shaking on his face.


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m just in the mood to show off my acting skills.¡±


    The lower half of the captain¡¯s quarter door has decolorized due to the beating of the waves.


    I knock the wooden door lightly with my fists, opening it without waiting for a reply. The quick crewmen have already started running up and down the stairs leading from the deck to the cabins.


    ¡°It¡¯s bad! Sa¡­¡±


    ¡°Yuuri, what¡¯s up¡­¡±


    Saralegui turns around, holding two shiny things, and there are lots of clothes on the bed. Colorful cloth sticks out of the suitcases by his feet, too.


    Seeing this overly peaceful scene, my legs can¡¯t help but go weak.


    ¡°In an emergency situation like this, what are you doing now?¡±


    ¡°What am I doing? I¡¯m matching outfits, of course! After all we¡¯re meeting the king of Seisakoku, so we can¡¯t wear salty-smelling travelling clothes, right? Oh yeah, Yuuri should choose a suit from here as well. If you don¡¯t mind, you can take them all! Right, Lord Weller, help me take that suitcase over there.¡±


    Lord Weller is standing in the corner of the room that is not wide by any standards, his eyes wide and mouth hanging open. There are pale-colored shirt hanging on his arms, making him a living clothes rack, as ridiculous as they come. No¡ªI have no right to insult someone else¡¯s guard.


    ¡°Matching what outfits¡­ Please, it¡¯s not like we¡¯re going to a ball!¡±


    Scolded by me, Saralegui looks a little agitated too.


    ¡°But Yuuri, it¡¯s very important to leave a good impression, right? Although a young kid like me doesn¡¯t have the pride of a king, but at the very least I have to pretend a bit on the outside, then I can overpower him by my presence!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­¡±


    First impressions are indeed very important. Hearing Saralegui, who received kingly training, say so, even I have to deeply agree. But after glancing around, I realize that the official clothes he brought are all either shiny pieces of jewelry, or light floaty lace. If you put them on me, who¡¯s only fit for school uniforms and sports clothes, forget the saying ¡®people wear clothes, the Buddha wears gold¡¯, it¡¯s practically ¡®the monkey wearing new clothes¡¯!


    ¡°I¡¯ll pass, thanks for offering.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that, or do you want me to help you choose? Ah, but those black clothes still fit you best! Although people have been telling me that black is an evil and ominous color since I was a child, but my impression of it has changed completely since I met Yuuri! Or maybe it¡¯s because those clothes were specially designed for a special someone?¡±


    But in my current high school, there are almost 400 people wearing the same clothes.


    ¡°The waves have finally calmed down, looks like we should reach shore in less than a day now! We¡¯ve already passed the dangerous area, right?¡±


    Seeing the way he tilts his slender chin, saying, ¡®Are you here to inform me of that?¡¯, I finally have a chance to cut to the chase, my mind automatically raising my hand.


    ¡°Sara, now isn¡¯t the time to be picking clothes! Forget about all that for now, let¡¯s escape from here!¡±


    ¡°Escape? Why?¡±


    That golden hair so pale it¡¯s almost translucent falls on those slender shoulders, the neatly-manicured pink fingertips pushing up the pale-colored lenses.


    ¡°Have the slaves done something?¡±


    At first he didn¡¯t believe something like that was possible, but after zero point something seconds, his expression becomes extremely uneasy. That odd moment that I suddenly notice makes me want to frown, but I desperately hold myself in check.


    But what was that split second change? This is the boy king Saralegui, who ruled the country since he was only seventeen and has kept on bravely, working hard to this day. His stand is very similar to mine, so I believe we can share our deepest frustrations, making him a friend that I can relax with, is around the same age as me, and a person fated to be king.


    But I seem to have glimpsed another side of him.


    ¡°Could it be, they rebelled!?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not that. This has nothing to do with the shinzoku, it¡¯s the boat, the boat! Sara, listen to me, c-c-calm down and listen to me!¡±


    I suddenly sort of wish he would retort, ¡®You should calm yourself down first.¡±


    Josak is yelling not far behind me, his character not only looking concerned for my safety, but also fanning the flames of agitation, causing the other crewmen to feel uneasy. Right now I can only put in more effort myself.


    ¡°The star helmsman reported to the captain, saying that this boat is in great danger, it¡¯s gonna sink! You heard the creaking sounds, right? According to the guy in charge of the luggage, there are already quite a few leaks in the bottom of the boat. Looks like this normal cargo boat can¡¯t cope with a dangerous current like that after all.¡±


    Saralegui pushes aside the hair on his face with a finger, quieting down and listening intently. The ruckus on the deck disappears immediately, leaving only the sound of wooden boards creaking.


    ¡°Do you hear that? The boat¡¯s sinking, you know!? I heard that if it goes on like this, in another ten minutes it¡¯ll snap in half! So we have to escape from this boat as soon as possible! If you think you share a fate with this cargo boat, then that¡¯s another matter. No matter what, stop picking clothes, you just have to bring the precious, necessary stuff!¡±


    ¡°But Yuuri, you say you want to escape, how do we¡­ escape?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t there lifeboats onboard!? There shouldn¡¯t be too many people, right?¡±


    I run past the door into the room, flipping over the king¡¯s suitcase. All the bright and beautiful cloths scatter onto the ground, and are replaced by what looks like coats and carpets--At a time like this, I¡¯ll just use force.


    ¡°Yuuri, what are you doing!?¡±


    ¡°In weather like this we should take insulating clothes, and we have to make sure we¡¯re not splashed on by the waves. If we throw away the things in the suitcase, we can even use it as a lifebuoy¡­ Hurry, Sara, don¡¯t just stand there!¡±


    The boy who was trained as a noble since young seems clueless, so right now I¡¯m rather grateful that I was born in a normal household.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never ridden that kind of tiny boat!¡±


    ¡°Relax! Not only have I ridden inflatable rafts, I even experienced sitting in a swan boat ride with two grown men.¡±


    ¡°What to do? Young Master. Do you need me to lift the weak king, too?¡±


    Holding the captain, who¡¯s foaming at the mouth, by the neck, Josak runs in to ask, lifting him instead of dragging him on the ground. The voice is coming from not far behind me, so even if I walk in front, he can still reach me with his arms.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, there are no problems here on my side. We have to get everyone ready to abandon ship. Saralegui, we can¡¯t always stay on a sinking ship, we still have to get to Seisakoku, right?¡±


    ¡°But Yuuri, what about the gifts and¡­ those slaves? There¡¯s no time now to move all the cargo to the lifeboats, right?¡±


    ¡°We leave them all here.¡±


    In that instant a shadow seemed to flit past those eyes, hidden underneath pale-colored glasses. At first I thought he was surprised, but then Saralegui lifts his head, smiling slightly. I, on the other hand, speak stutteringly, though I just desperately practiced these lines a while ago.


    ¡°Although th-they¡¯re very pitiful, b-but we have choice. After all, slaves¡­ Saralegui. The situation is dire, right now¡­¡±


    My mouth feels so tight, but I still hide it as best as I can.


    ¡°¡­C-compared to s-slaves, of course we should consider our own lives first. I pity them, and thought we could at least take the women and children with us¡­ I tried to convince them, but I don¡¯t know if they understand me, because not a single person was willing to come up with us. We can¡¯t do anything anymore, so we just have to leave them here. All that¡¯s left is for them to pray to God.¡±


    ¡°Mn!¡±


    The slender chin moves back lightly, and Saralegui nods his head twice in satisfaction.


    ¡°Mn. Yuuri, you¡¯re perfectly right. They¡¯re slaves, this is their fate since they were born. You don¡¯t have to worry about them, that¡¯s what they mean by ¡®each to their own destiny¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty Saralegui, although this has nothing to do with me¡­¡±


    Lord Weller, who was previously quiet, suddenly clears his throat interrupting our conversation, and tossing aside the sparkling clothes on his arms. His expression is neither worried nor surprised.


    ¡°Since this lord has spoken as such, it seems best to leave as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°See, even your lackey says so, it¡¯s better to listen to your bodyguard¡¯s suggestion, you know! Get onto the lifeboats with the captain. I still need to make a trip to the control room, to tell the helmsman to evacuate!¡±


    After this Lord Weller will retreat with him safely, right? To him, it¡¯d be a big problem if the person he was protecting were to sink into the sea. After saying those words, I hurriedly turn around and dash towards the deck, because I can¡¯t stand that sense of disgust for a moment longer.


    I just keep feeling as though, in that room covered with colorful, beautiful clothes, the dirty words from my mouth are still reverberating. As though they¡¯re telling me, ¡®You said those things with your own mouth¡¯, making me unable to stay in the same room as Saralegui.


    ¡°I hate this--, it¡¯s so dirty--! Not a single man will say the truth anyway¡ª¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that in such a disgusting voice! The problem is those crewmen who know the whole story. We never offered anything in exchange, neither did we pay for their silence, so how do we keep them quiet?¡±


    ¡°No¡ªproblem, it¡¯s too easy. As soon as things get tense, we can just sew their lips shut.¡±


    ¡°Waa! Just listening to it hurts! Please don¡¯t crack any dark jokes at a time like this, you made me imagine that scene!¡±


    Josak immediately moves to my side, teasing me quietly as he follows me, dashing towards the control room currently in battle. The angle of the deck is more stable now, and it¡¯s easier to run across it. In fact, the tremors from the people running everywhere in panic is more intense than the beating of the waves. But even if the cargo ship is much more stable now, it¡¯s still hard to maintain the right position in these waves, right? This needs a certain set of skills and knowledge. Anyway, right now I need to report the current situation as soon as possible, and then move on to the next stage of the plans, or it¡¯ll be too late once the ship really sinks.


    My war plan right now is:


    Let Saralegui believe that the cargo ship is going to sink, moving all the Shou Shimaron crewmen onto the lifeboats, then using the maximum capacity and language barrier as an excuse, leave all the shinzokus onboard. Sara will follow us on the small boats to sail across the peaceful sea to Seisakoku, and the shinzokus can leave with the cargo ship, to seek refuge at a country other than Shimaron.


    ¡°To be honest¡­ this plan is too simple, no one¡¯ll fall for it, will they?¡±


    ¡°About that¡­ If it were me, I wouldn¡¯t fall for it.¡±


    ¡°Ah! I knew it¡ª¡±


    ¡°But if you just want to trick that young king, hasn¡¯t it gone quite smoothly?¡±


    ¡°You mean Sara? Why!? Is it because Sara is more honest than you?¡±


    ¡°Aiya~ Young Master, isn¡¯t that really rude of you? Gurrier-chan is as honest and innocent as a priestess[2]! However¡­¡±


    Josak poses like a sophisticated lady, pressing his pointer finger to his lips and raising his head to look upwards.


    ¡°Gurrier-chan knows that Young Master is relatively smart, but the other young master is another matter altogether! I think he seems to look down on Young Master a little! If you don¡¯t lie a bit and trick him, he¡¯ll probably step right over you.¡±


    So he thinks that ¡®I run really slowly, so I¡¯ll just obediently run home, and won¡¯t steal bases¡¯?


    ¡°Hmph! Sometimes I try stealing too[3].¡±


    The lock on the control room door has been broken, bending at an unnatural angle. I put my hand on it, quietly taking in a deep breath. There¡¯s the smell of the sea breeze in the air.


    ¡°Will all the members on this ship please evacuate onto the lifeboats! I have something to request of the helms team--! Please don¡¯t say out what we were discussing in this room¡­ Eh?¡±


    At first there were supposed to be three Shou Shimaron men and two shinzokus, five people in total, but now there are only three figures. Looking around for the other two, I¡¯m surprised to find them on the ground, tied up and bound in hay mats. I just happen to stumble across the oldest star helmsman amongst the Shou Shimaron crew stepping on the younger crewman and tying him up, even carefully gagging him with a cloth. But I don¡¯t ask him what cloth he¡¯s using, to save him some face.


    ¡°Eh? Mn¡ªWhat are you doing?¡±


    Is this internal conflict, or mutiny? Though it seems a bit too small scale.


    ¡°Ah, Your Majesty. Forgive me! I let you s-see such an embarrassing thing!¡±


    ¡°No, I should be apologizing. I¡¯m still bothering you at a time like this¡­ what on earth are you doing?¡±


    Hearing someone from another country address me respectfully as Your Majesty made me feel shy, and I had to resist the urge to correct him, ¡®Your king should be Saralegui, right?¡¯


    ¡°I¡¯m here to ask you to keep a secret¡­ But from the looks of things something came up.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Ah, no¡­ You¡¯re right¡­ Your Majesty from Shin Makoku, we¡¯ve already made up our minds, to live or die with this ship, which is like the life of a seaman. This is our collective wish as a crew.¡±


    ¡°Mm-gaah¡ª¡±


    The star helmsman kicks the bound young man to quiet him down. The thin girl and the man still holding the wheel, on the other hand, are standing and staring with their mouths wide open.


    ¡°Please convey this message to His Majesty Saralegui¡ªThis cargo ship¡­ is old and worn out, and probably outdated by today¡¯s standards, but it¡¯s still after all an important boat handed to us by the previous king of Shou Shimaron, His Majesty Gilbert. Even if it¡¯s just a small, dirty, broken-up ship in His Majesty Saralegui¡¯s eyes, it¡¯s still an important property of the country. Without the permission of His Majesty Gilbert and the people, we can¡¯t abandon it so easily. So we three helmsman have decided not to abandon ship.¡±


    ¡°Mm-mm-gaa¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, this kid here is also saying, ¡®Even if we have to die in these waters, we won¡¯t leave this ship.¡¯ Aiya~ Although his position isn¡¯t high, he still is a seaman at heart, how impressive! Wahaha, wahahaha!¡±


    Perhaps he¡¯s trying to liven up the atmosphere, because the previously completely silent room is suddenly filled with awkward laughter.


    The one to sink with the ship should be captain, right? Even I¡¯m not sure if I should correct him.


    ¡°Uh¡ªHold on a sec, star helmsman. You should know that this cargo ship is fine, right?¡±


    ¡°More or less.¡±


    ¡°If so, you should know that right now we don¡¯t need any tear-jerking famous captains, right?¡±


    ¡°I know. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t plan on doing what I said. I just hope you can convey my message to His Majesty Saralegui¡­ Because, Your Majesty¡­¡±


    The man looks troubled, drooping his eyebrows. He glances at the shinzoku at the helm, and then averts his gaze awkwardly.


    ¡°I¡¯m worried that if we just leave them and the people at the bottom of the boat, the same thing might happen again. Even if he has the ability to cross this nightmarish currents, what about the voyage afterwards? Without a decent crew and a detailed navigation map, he might do the same thing as last time, and steer the ship towards Shou Shimaron.¡±


    His fingers are playing with the ropes. It could be just me, but I feel as though even the roots of his ears are red. Looks like seamen are all rather innocent.


    ¡°I¡­ That¡­ I just feel that it¡¯s such a waste to send this genius helmsman back to Seisakoku as a slave. Whatever¡­ I¡¯ll just say it honestly, truth is I refuse to admit defeat!¡±


    ¡°Refuse to admit defeat? What¡¯s there to admit?¡±


    The star helmsman stomps down on his subordinate in frustration, even the cracks between his beard turning scarlet.


    ¡°His ability¡ªI envy the fact that he has the ability to steer this ship past these waves! As a helmsman, I hope to learn from him. I hope that before I die, I can learn how to traverse those currents safely, the skills to conquer the unconquerable!¡±


    ¡°But aren¡¯t they slaves?¡±


    I know it¡¯s mean to say that now, but I can¡¯t help my expression slowly melting, and continue with my hands on my hips,


    ¡°I remember you said that, right? You said that they¡¯re inferior creatures. Something like that shouldn¡¯t have anything worth learning from, right?¡±


    ¡°As expected of the Young Master. Your words really hit the sweet spot~¡±


    Another even meaner line comes from beside me. Only his words inexplicably make my heart feel warmer. As for Josak, who¡¯s almost laughing out loud, there isn¡¯t any irony in his tone at all.


    The Shou Shimaron crewman lowers his head. He¡¯s just staring at his fingers, as though some important answer is written there. Being in a hurry, we don¡¯t wait for his reply, crossing the room to prepare for the next action. Right then, he finally says in an almost inaudible voice,


    ¡°Because¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°We never thought that there are other people with skills and abilities in this world, we never even thought of them as people like us¡­ Because we didn¡¯t know, and we didn¡¯t want to know.¡±


    ¡°Star helmsman.¡±


    Aaah~ Right now I¡¯m touched beyond words, but I don¡¯t show it, and purposely act calm, patting the old hand helmsman¡¯s shoulder. It feels as though the back of this seaman suddenly became so small.


    ¡°Since you know that, don¡¯t call them slaves anymore¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    Josak roughly rolls up the paper by the window-side as he nods proudly.


    ¡°You fell in love with him, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Even the two shinzokus with their language barriers protest ¡®No way--!?¡¯ at the same time. It¡¯s not like that, right? It shouldn¡¯t be, and even if it is I don¡¯t plan on finding out.


    ¡°Now we should leave everything to the two key people who are deeply in love, because we have to go soon. Right! Emergency substitute captain, I found the navigation map for the outer seas! Please read it carefully, and lead these refugees to a suitable place. Mn¡ªTo get to Seisakoku we need this map over here¡­¡±


    ¡°Listen up, star helmsman, at the very least you need to get to Shou Shimaron¡­ Ah~ that¡¯s right! I don¡¯t know if this is useful to you guys, but¡­¡±


    I simply grab a piece of paper and start scribbling on the yellowed back. But because the paper was soaked in seawater, it¡¯s tough writing.


    ¡°It¡¯d be best if you could get to my country¡­ But you might not have enough food and water supplies. Damn! It¡¯s so hard to write¡­ Whatever, no matter how hard I concentrate, my writing is still horrible anyway. Kaberkott, Sverera, Caloria¡­ Mn, that¡¯s right! Maybe the countries around Shin Makoku can help out too. In any case, as long as you get to a country that¡¯s not under Shimaron rule, even if you can¡¯t land, they will still provide supplies, because I asked beforehand¡­ Here! Although the handwriting is really ugly, at least there¡¯s my signature on it.¡±


    The hastily written essay on the back of a navigation map is just like the slip of paper next to the telephone¡ªbad sentence structures, weird grammar, nothing more than a bunch of nouns. But at least it¡¯s understandable, and there¡¯s my signature too, so ugly no one can copy it. Not only the mazoku, now Mr Hyscliff and Flynn will also lend a hand.


    My brain is small, and I can¡¯t store a lot in my memory, so I always thought I could never remember this world¡¯s words. After all, conversing is no problem, so it¡¯s okay even if I can¡¯t read. That¡¯s why I was lazy to practice my writing. But it¡¯s different now, now I¡¯m extremely thankful for G¨¹nter, who taught me patiently.


    Accepting the soaking wet handwritten letter, the star helmsman stares directly at my face.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think that the mazoku¡­ No, I didn¡¯t think that the other countries have fallen under Your Majesty¡¯s rule without us noticing.¡±


    ¡°Rule? How can I let anyone fall under my rule? Although I¡¯m the king, I¡¯m still just a rookie who just started, who would obey a newbie like me? Oh, yeah, it¡¯s better not to say that just now, my stuff doesn¡¯t matter much.¡±


    I grab the star helmsman¡¯s usual hand, the one holding the ropes.


    ¡°You must finish this mission, I now appoint you as the emergency captain of this refugee ship.¡±


    Holding his hand, I suddenly realize I don¡¯t know his real name.


    Speaking of which, Sara¡¯s flagship was called the Golden Salmon. I actually remember the name of a ship I rode for just a few minutes, but not the name of the vessel that carried me on this long journey.


    ¡°I¡¯m such an idiot, I actually forgot to ask your name and the name of the ship.¡±


    The corners of the Shou Shimaron man¡¯s mouth and his beard start shaking, and he shake his head gently before grasping my right hand forcefully.


    ¡°Your Majesty, this ship is called ¡®The Wooden Bear Carving and the Salmon¡¯. As for my name, it¡¯s not important.¡±


    ¡°Well, dammit, you¡¯re too cool! Star captain, I promise you here and now, to remember your deeds, I¡¯ll put a wooden bear carving at the entrance of my house for decoration.¡±


    Truth is there was one there since ten years ago. Not only my house, but my cousin¡¯s and Murata¡¯s living rooms have one too. Looks like this ship was widely loved by the Japanese since ancient times.


    ¡°All right, Young Master, since we¡¯ve decided who the new captain is, it¡¯s time for us to scram.¡±


    ¡°Got it!¡±


    Releasing the Shimaron man¡¯s hand, I hold out my right hand to the two shinzoku. The man is still holding the wheel tightly with his stick-thin hands, looking too busy to shake hands with me, but I quickly notice the difference in habits. But even the girl whose golden eyes are filled with tears, has no intention of shaking my hand, maybe because our way of expressing emotion is different than that of Seisakoku?


    ¡°Do your best, I¡¯m rooting for you! I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t help much, and really sorry I can¡¯t take you with me, so sorry.¡±


    I really wish she could teach me any formal farewells the shinzoku have, but it¡¯d be too hard to explain.


    ¡°I can¡¯t help you any more than this, but your god will definitely follow you. Although I don¡¯t know what kind of god it is, but he¡¯ll definitely protect¡­ Eh?¡±


    The girl suddenly grabs my wrist, and rolls up the kitchen uniform sleeve, then she uses her stick-thin finger to press on it.


    ¡°That hurts, that hurts! That really hurts!¡±


    Her fingernail is scratching the inner part of my arm forcefully, and it quickly starts swelling and bleeding. I want to pull my hand back, but she suddenly finds strength from goodness knows where, holding onto me tightly and not letting go. The girl¡¯s fingernails are different from Saralegui¡¯s perfectly manicured ones, worm till they¡¯re round and short, and she uses then to draw lines on my arm. Her lowered chin and slender shoulders are shuddering, up and down.


    The long wound becomes a curved line, soon turning into a five centimeter long hexagon, with lines connecting the corners inside to form a star, like a simple diamond sign.


    ¡°Venera.¡±


    The girl¡¯s golden eyes are sparkling underneath her long lashes, and she says it again, a smile on her face. Since we met, this is the first time she smiled so brightly, hopeful.


    ¡°Find Venera.¡±


    ¡°Tell me! What¡¯s Venera!? Is it a person¡¯s name!?¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty! That riddle might take years to solve.¡±


    The spy rushes me, because we can¡¯t linger any longer. Josak¡¯s decision is right, so I resist the urge to grab her shoulders and shake her wildly. Still, I can¡¯t keep my impulse completely under control, so I hug the girl¡¯s body, so thin it could almost break, tightly.


    ¡°Wait for me, next time we¡¯ll definitely meet in my country.¡±


    Although we can¡¯t understand each other, I still feel the girl in my arms seem to nod, though it could just be the shaking of the boat.


    After getting onto four separate lifeboats, we wave goodbye to ¡®the Wooden Bear Carving and the Salmon¡¯. The star captain is standing on the helm of the cargo ship far away, waving a yellow handkerchief slowly, looking blissful.


    The crewmen who don¡¯t know the truth, some of them had tears in their eyes when they heard of the three helmsmen¡¯s brave decision, while others tsk-ed and said ¡®they sure like to act cool¡¯. The captain, in charge of everything, looks cool; Saralegui, who counts as the owner of the ship doesn¡¯t seem to have much of an interest in the incident, not glancing back even once.


    He seems to have put all his thoughts into reaching Seisakoku, how outgoing of him!


    We arrive at the calm waters, where the color of the sea is obviously different, but it¡¯s not the same as when we saw it just now either, because now it¡¯s been dyed orange-red by the sunset.


    Soon the sky will turn dark. Since we¡¯re unable to land, all we can do is drift on the little boats like leaves, welcoming the night in a foreign land.


    The only thing that¡¯s worrying, is that the people on the boats are too densely packed. Over a hundred crewmen are squeezed onto four lifeboats, Josak, Saralegui, Lord Weller and I have to ride on the same boat too- that is the slightly more stable one compared to the other lifeboats, No. 1 steered by the captain.


    Even if I¡¯m dressed like a weird chef, I¡¯m still given the royal treatment. To keep me away from the ships filled with young laborers, the captain saved me a spot from the very start. But to me, it¡¯s more relaxing to sit amongst a group of straightforward men, and listen to them brag of their achievements.


    And Lord Weller, with his arms crossed before his chest, is less than three steps away from me. That¡¯s hardly surprising, since he¡¯s Saralegui¡¯s guard.


    Josak¡¯s expression isn¡¯t pretty. He turns back and looks at the smaller boats behind us, his brow uncharacteristically creased as he says,


    ¡°It¡¯d be better to sit on a boat with twenty string men.¡±


    ¡°Relax! There¡¯s no need to be wound up.¡±


    ¡°But Young Master¡­¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t simply trust anyone anymore.¡±


    Touching my left arm through my clothes, the inner part of my arm is slightly warm, but the pale red ring on my dominant right hand is as cold as ice. Who¡¯d have thought that it couldn¡¯t even fit on my pinky! When I realize that, that slight pain starts again, and my body starts shivering almost instinctively.


    ¡°Are you cold?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±


    I wrap the insulating clothing I borrowed around my front. After the sun sets, it¡¯s probably going to get even colder, so I can¡¯t start complaining already. To look at the last remaining rays of sunlight, to get a little more warmth, I raise my head.


    When our eyes meet, Lord Weller says something softly. At first I thought he was just mumbling to himself, but when I connect the parts that I can hear, I realize immediately that those words are aimed for me.


    ¡°Not bad, you¡¯re a rather decent actor.¡±


    We¡¯ve been found out.


    He¡¯s found out that we worked together to put on a show, now we don¡¯t know when he¡¯ll report it to Saralegui, so we have to be careful of him.


    Because Lord Weller Conrart is my enemy.

 Volume 11 - CH 3

    That¡¯s enough of these sea descriptions!


    Since I¡¯m not a poet, how can I think of pretty words to describe the beauty of the sky, waves and boats! Although Wolfram is very dissatisfied, he¡¯s still forced to follow the secret seasickness cure Lord von Christ taught him.


    ¡°Two hundred and twenty-one¡­ the beautiful, sea¡­ Mmph! Damn you, G¨¹nter, it¡¯s not working at all! Two hundred and twenty-two¡­ the mother of all life, the sea. Stupid G¨¹nter, just you wait until I get back! I¡¯ll put Kiku by your pillow-side every night!¡±


    And he doesn¡¯t forget to scold him either.


    ¡°I¡¯ve used everything from my father to my great-grandfather a hundred times by now, right? Then four hundred and twenty-three¡­ The sea, like my granduncle, hai¡­ hahph!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you feel like you suddenly have a lot more relatives?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, and I¡¯m tired of praising the sea! How can something as useless as this help me on a happy, relaxed oceanic journey! Besides, I didn¡¯t volunteer to join the navy, it¡¯s only natural that I¡¯d get seasick!¡±


    ¡°Poor Excellency. Your body and your spirit may have grown, but the snails in your ears are exactly the same.¡±


    Hearing her commander, who¡¯s younger than her, scold her adopted father with all he¡¯s worth, not only is Lady von Christ Gisela not angry at all, she even comforts him.


    ¡°The snails in my ears? Mm¡ªph, what is that?¡±


    ¡°Oh dear! Don¡¯t you know? Everyone has a snail in their ears. The reason people get seasick, carsick, or dizzy when riding a horse, is because that snail is in a bad mood and throws a tantrum. If it¡¯s slightly more serious, it will even bite away the membrane in your ear canals, and suck up all the owner¡¯s brain juices! That way it¡¯s not just a matter of vomiting and dizziness, even your brain juices will leak out of your ears!¡±


    Wolfram¡¯s expression changes visibly, and he instinctively raises his hands to press on his head, yelling,


    ¡°D-don¡¯t say such disgusting things! It must be that, what you call folk tales, right?¡±


    Gisela shakes her head with an expression of deep regret,


    ¡°No. The mini snail in Your Excellency¡¯s ear is scampering around right now.¡±


    ¡°Then according to you, what will happen to me now!?¡±


    Wolfram, who never took the medical training courses in the army, definitely has no idea that the Sergeant is best known for her ¡®unreal medical horror stories¡¯. Facing an innocent reaction that she hasn¡¯t seen in a long time, Gisela can¡¯t help but smile.


    ¡°Actually you don¡¯t have to act so tragic about it, all you have to do is cheer it up a bit and you¡¯ll be fine. Please temporarily forget your nervousness about this journey, relax your shoulders, and then the snail will calm down too. Why don¡¯t you go with that bunch of¡­ No, why don¡¯t you try mixing with the crowd, and temporarily forget the worries in your heart?¡±


    Lower down on the deck, some off-duty soldiers are passionately interacting with the Caloria reinforcements. That¡¯s putting it nicely, the truth is the cabin door is wide open, and they¡¯re having a huge beer party whether or not there¡¯s a roof above their heads. And now it seems to have gone past a mild haze, because there are drunks all over the ground. Some are hugging their bottles of beer and lying on the deck, while others are sitting cross-legged on wooden buckets full of pure water and lecturing yet others.


    Looking down at this peaceful scene, Wolfram¡¯s brow is creased in exactly the same way as his brother.


    ¡°A bunch of drunks!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re not good at interacting with uncles?¡±


    ¡°This has nothing to do with age. You see, they¡¯re the humans sent by Caloria, right? But the soldiers on our ship have mixed with them in such an unsightly manner. Unforgivable. It¡¯s so unseemly! They have no self-awareness as mazoku at all!¡±


    Indeed, the men stacked on top of each other on the deck, are not differentiated into mazoku and humans at all. Mixed into a mess like this, the only way to tell them apart is by their outfits. Most of the ones in uniform are mazokus, but some of them are in plain clothes too.


    ¡°That guy drunk out of his wits, is it Adalbert?¡±


    ¡°It seems like it¡­ Goodness! He¡¯s hugging the railing and crying! I don¡¯t know whose name he¡¯s calling, but just thinking about it is disgusting. Speaking of which, old boy Grantz was always known for his bad alcohol tolerance.¡±


    ¡°He can¡¯t drink!?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, and there are rumors that he can¡¯t stomach it well either.¡±


    Just imagining the muscleman losing it after a few drinks, makes Wolfram uncomfortable again. Will he uproot a huge tree and start swinging it above his head, knocking down some houses in the process? Or will he break into a small house with livestock, and then grab a horse¡¯s or a cow¡¯s tail¡­ How scary, and so his face gets paler and paler.


    As expected of Gisela, not only does she watch Wolfram, who¡¯s imagining a crazy drunk Grantz, expressionlessly, she¡¯s also remembering the rumors on the street about Lord von Bielefeld at the same time. He may look cute, but he has a shocking alcohol tolerance, and he doesn¡¯t go crazy after he gets drunk either, could that be true? She wants to verify the validity of this rumor. Compared to that adopted father of hers, who strips stark naked, wears his underwear on his head and starts dancing madly whenever he drinks, she wonders, who¡¯ll be more fun when they¡¯re drunk?


    ¡°So you let him go in a one-on-one battle?¡±


    Adalbert is in such a great mood that his eyes are all narrowed as he raises his hand and waves it wildly in front of his face.


    ¡°Amongst the soldiers on the losing side, there was a young man who obviously looks like a child, but had a very thick beard. His beard was especially weird, so I pulled him out for a closer look¡ªThat man was Maxine. I was going to say that his short mustache looks like it was drawn on, but then I realized it really was drawn on with brown colors! He drew a beard on his face!? A fourteen-year-old brat had such a thick mustache, he really beat me there! So I asked him why, and he said, ¡®Because it looks cooler like this.¡¯ And his hairstyle was really weird too, because he made this place like this.¡±


    Adalbert puts down the beer bottle, raises both his hands and starts groping around his ears.


    ¡°He cropped the whole part upwards! As for the curly hairs that were left, he left them long and tied them into a ponytail, the reason also being, ¡®It looks cooler like this.¡± Anyway, his look was to draw his beard really thick, and the crop his hair on both sides upwards. Goodness¡ªIt was so weird, it made him seem old-fashioned! It made me want to determine if his hair on the lower part of his body is also that thick, and also cropped upwards!¡±


    He flicks his messy blonde hair, laughing loudly. Hearing his vulgar joke and laughter, Dacascos lowers his head in disappointment. Goodness~. The image of the General among the Ten Nobles that the people idolized so much, slowly falling apart before his eyes. Turns out Lord von Christ G¨¹nter isn¡¯t the only noble who fell.


    ¡°So you guys met under such hilarious circumstances¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, anyway he was laughed at by our entire team to no end, and then, since he was so funny, we decided to open one eye, close one eye, and let him go¡­ Wait a second! Thinking about it, our country is too nice to our prisoners of war, they came all the way across the ocean from another continent, you know! Compared to the way we¡¯re isolated in Shimaron, I can¡¯t help but want to tell him sarcastically, ¡®Our prisoners of war practically live in paradise.¡¯ For all you know, a lowly soldier like him would have been happier and more relaxed staying as a prisoner here, than escaping back to his country alone.¡±


    ¡°Should I call him lucky, or unlucky?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what¡¯s interesting about him. But what¡¯s even more surprising is that later when we faced off against Shou Shimaron soldiers again, for some reason all the soldiers had exactly the same beard and hairstyle as Maxine. And regardless of age, too. Maybe they want to get his luck, too. But the truth is the real reason behind it is that his beard is too hilarious, so we generously let him go. If no one said this out loud, no one will know. For all we know, he was idolized as a war god or a hero back home! Aiya¡ªthat time we were laughing so hard we couldn¡¯t fight!¡±


    ¡°I-is that so¡ªSo the reason their entire army crops the hair on both sides upwards, has such a shocking truth behind it¡­ Hehehe¡ª¡±


    Dacascos touches the world¡¯s simplest and beautiful head, and then sighs deeply.


    ¡°So the legend that man will never die, is partly due to me. Only, Nigel doesn¡¯t seem to have any recollection that we met when he was young.¡±


    Adalbert grabs the beer bottle Dacascos left beside him and start chugging it down. Since his doctor and his wife restricted him, he hasn¡¯t been drunk in a long time.


    ¡°Milord really likes them, huh?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Like? Like what?¡±


    ¡°Likes the humans.¡±


    The seamen¡¯s favorite strong beer seems to be almost burning his throat.


    ¡°Your Excellency must really like the humans, huh? Otherwise normal soldiers or someone like me, who doesn¡¯t fight, would never hear of the truth behind our superior officers. Mostly they¡¯re just slips of the mouth or rumors spreading everywhere, and we can only guess using our imagination. May I ask, Your Excellency, who can be called the descendant of a famous family¡­ Master Adalbert, why on earth would you suddenly abandon our country and follow the humans? Because there are many explanations: Such as someone bought intel about Shin Makoku from you with a large sum of money, or you fell in love with a human girl, everyone can only make such base, old-fashioned guesses¡­¡±


    Sitting on the deck, Dacascos puts his head between his knees, just like a girl worrying about love. The back of his head and neck are both very red, looks like he really is drunk.


    ¡°You like humans, right?¡±


    ¡°What!? What are you saying? Of course not!¡±


    Having heard a completely unrelated reason, Adalbert is so worked up he waves both hands around wildly.


    ¡°You like them, so you don¡¯t want to fight them¡­ It must be that.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking nonsense about!? I hate those mazokus who watched Lady von Wincott die without doing a thing, I want nothing more than to see this cruel country fall to pieces¡­ that¡¯s why I¡¯m using the humans¡­¡±


    ¡°Recently, I too have been thinking about this.¡±


    Dacascos brings the thin bottle neck to his mouth again, but it¡¯s empty inside, so all he can do is wipe his lips and chin with his fist. The injury he got while working in the kitchen us almost completely healed, but right now it¡¯s pricking painfully.


    ¡°Since we were young, we were taught that humans are the enemy, and they must surely hate and fear mazokus too. Even if we¡¯re walking alone on the streets of a neighboring, friendly country, we¡¯ll have rocks thrown at us, so if we head towards faraway Shimaron, we¡¯ll definitely get even worse treatment¡ªthat¡¯s something everyone knows. Like when Your Excellency was travelling alone, you must definitely have faced unhappy incidents because of your identity as a mazoku, right? Because mazokus and humans are enemies and we even had a war not long ago, and if we¡¯re not careful we might start another war soon. Because they¡¯re the enemy¡­ probably. Although I only got the most basic education, even my neighbor¡¯s kid knows something like this. But¡ªbut, Your Excellency¡­¡±


    The young king¡¯s face floats into Dacascos¡¯s mind, and just thinking that he isn¡¯t onboard this ship upsets him. Because there are some things he wants to hear from him.


    He really wants to ask, ¡®But, His Majesty¡­¡¯


    Dacascos puts his chin on his knees, where the bones are clearly visible, and looks out into the dark and calm sea.


    ¡°Please listen to me, recently I suddenly got this idea. It¡¯s just an idea, that maybe they¡¯re all good people.¡±


    Sitting on the ground, Adalbert kicks away the beer bottles and makes a sound.


    ¡°Because I was lucky enough to stay by His Majesty¡¯s side, I got to know some humans¡­ like Mr. Hyscliff, Lady Flynn and Mr. Fanfan, they may be humans, but they¡¯re good people! I especially respect Mr. Hyscliff, his shiny head is my target! And Miss Greta may be the princess of Shin Makoku, but she used to be the child of humans, you know! But she¡¯s really cute~. Although my kid is really cute too, just mentioning the young miss makes me remember her cheerful personality!¡±


    Whenever petite little Greta runs past, the dark and gloomy castle corridors seem to lighten up. Whenever she calls His Majesty and His Excellency Wolfram, everyone working in the castle will raise their heads, and smile subconsciously.


    ¡°Although they¡¯re humans, they¡¯re all good people. I just can¡¯t figure it out, why are these good people our enemies? Recently it¡¯s bothered me so much my hair is falling out.¡±


    Even Dacascos himself doesn¡¯t know who he should talk about this to. He reaches his hand for his temples where the veins are vaguely showing, and presses them lightly with his fingers.


    ¡°But to really get to the bottom of the matter, it could be because we lost friends on the battlefield, and lost brothers in the war. If I ask the Sergeant, Gurrier or Captain Sizemore, I¡¯ll definitely get a more serious answer; but if I ask His Majesty, I¡¯ll get, ¡®what are you talking about, Dacascos, isn¡¯t that obvious!¡¯ as an answer, he may even pat my head!¡±


    There¡¯s no other country in this world where the king will pat a low-rank soldier¡¯s head. But His Majesty is just that unique, so much so that we¡¯re changing quickly too.


    ¡°Ever since His Majesty appeared, a lot of things have changed.¡±


    Kicking away the third beer bottle with his feet, Adalbert asks in a low voice,


    ¡°That brat¡­ the one called Yuuri, what kind of a king is he exactly?¡±


    ¡°A-about that¡­ he¡¯s really impressive you know! His Majesty is really special.¡±


    Dacascos desperately tries to use all his vocabulary to praise Yuuri, but no matter how he squeezes his brain, no matter how beautifully he describes him, the feeling that comes across is very ordinary. Faced without any other choice, he repeats ¡®impressive¡¯ and ¡®special¡¯ again, pauses for a moment and then adding,


    ¡°But recently¡­ I feel as though he¡¯s forcing himself a little.¡±


    ¡°Why would you say so?¡±


    ¡°I-I can¡¯t describe it very well, but sometimes I feel that he may be too tired. But that¡¯s to be expected! After all, it¡¯s not easy to rule an entire country, and he was so young when he rose to the throne too. No matter what it is he¡¯s doing, if he wasn¡¯t trained for it beforehand, or if he doesn¡¯t have a certain amount of experience, it¡¯ll definitely be very hard for him. Did you know? His Majesty is only sixteen!¡±


    ¡°Sixteen, huh¡­¡±


    Although Adalbert doesn¡¯t say it out loud, his gaze is floating, as though determining this number.


    ¡°Exactly! Like when I was sixteen, I may have had more hair than I do now, but I couldn¡¯t even tell the difference between an octopus and a branch! But His Majesty really has the aura of a king¡ªAlthough I¡¯m not that devout in my religion, but I have no choice but to believe that Lord Shinou is protecting us from beyond the grave, that¡¯s why he chose such an appropriate person to ascend the throne.¡±


    ¡°Although he¡¯s only sixteen, I heard that his love life is really colorful! I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s true or false, but I heard that he got engaged to the previous Maou¡¯s third prince a long time ago?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s true. That¡¯s why His Excellency G¨¹nter¡¯s nose ran like a river, and he cried while biting onto his handkerchief! But most of the people are happy to see it. In the bet for His Majesty¡¯s affections, His Excellency Wolfram is rather popular too. But that¡¯s unsurprising, since they¡¯re such a good match! Aiya, like that time when the two of them were hiding together in the fruit carton, I thought they were some foreign dolls and couldn¡¯t look away! But I spent three month¡¯s worth of salary to bet on His Excellency G¨¹nter¡ªI¡¯ll just take it as my congratulatory present for them.¡±


    Dacascos imagines his superior officer¡¯s crying face every night, as he counts the amount of lottery money he got. This way he can finally pay off the loans and his kid¡¯s tuition fees¡­ Maybe he can still let his wife stop working for His Excellency Gwendal, so he can have a hot meal waiting for him when he gets home. Just because he was imagining such a scene, he instinctively answers Adalbert¡¯s question.


    ¡°Is he happy?¡±


    ¡°Very¡ªAh! That¡¯s not right, you¡¯re referring to His Majesty, right!? I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s happy, but at least he looks very cheerful.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    After that Adalbert falls silent, not saying anything at all, and not desperately hugging the railing while yelling a certain someone¡¯s name either, turning into a quiet, sullen drunk.


    ¡°Hey~~ Dacchan-san! Come over here and drink with us--! Captain Mountain Range wants to tell you stories of the Seisakoku holy temple--!¡±


    Hearing the calls from the Calorian reinforcements onboard with them, Dacascos hastily gets up.


    The reinforcements onboard under orders of Flynn Gilbit are all experienced mercenaries. The man like his name, Captain Mountain Range, always has a yellowed skull on his knee, and other than calling it ¡®Little Pot¡¯, he even talks to it. To others, be it the scars on his face and arms, or his scary appearance and fierce gaze, fill people with a sense of fear. But normally he is indeed a stable man, and well-loved by his men. And the comrades around him are all rather unusual men too, but since Yuuri helped their country through a crisis, they¡¯re not too against mazokus.


    Surely they¡¯re most respected mistress, Flynn Gilbit must have spent a lot of time convincing them, huh?


    Even they must surely find this unbelievable.


    But Dacascos still walks slowly into this group of people that can share these doubts.


    Kotsuhizoku shed their skin.


    There has always been a veil of mystery surrounding their unique form of life, one that no one can reveal to this day. People can¡¯t tell which part of them is skin, and which part is bone, or even whether their body has a ¡®torso¡¯. Kotsuhizoku and kotsuchizoku sometimes stay in the dark and cold ground, while at other times they discard their old shell in the dry desert, becoming a completely new creature.


    On a side note, there¡¯s absolutely no way to tell the difference from the surface.


    The ¡®Happy-Happy Bone Puzzle¡¯ is a product made of the useless parts kotsuchizoku don¡¯t use any more after molting, or when kotsuhizoku put themselves back together after crashing and find a spare piece from goodness knows where. It counts as a recyclable and safe toy, and is highly recommended by the Shin Makoku Child Education Committee.


    The advanced level of playing with ¡®Happy-Happy Bone Puzzles¡¯ is to find a combination that fits perfectly together from tens of thousands of bones. Lucky kids can find them within hours, but there are also some who can¡¯t find them even after they¡¯re all grown up. Though most children get tired of it before putting it together, abandoning the ¡®Happy-Happy Bone Puzzle¡¯ to think of other games by themselves, thereby saying farewell to their childhood.


    Greta is no exception.


    Although she¡¯s returned to Blood Pledge Castle, she can¡¯t find anyone to play with her, so all she can do is stay in her adopted father¡¯s spacious room and obediently play with the bones alone.


    She¡¯s already tired of ¡®Playing House of Bones¡¯ and ¡®Stack the Bones¡¯, and she¡¯s even measured the bone density of the larger pieces. The instruction manual said that ¡®Happy-Happy Bone Puzzles¡¯ can build a pirate ship or a haunted castle, but the little girl who lives in a real castle, and has gone sailing around in a royal sailboat, doesn¡¯t find any excitement in even the picture of the completed sample.


    Greta heaves a sigh that doesn¡¯t fit her age, and then puts the palm-sized bone to her ear as though it were a shell.


    ¡°Wow~~ There are graveyard sounds¡ª¡±


    She hears the screaming of the winds, a terrified dog howling, and the creaking of a rusted iron door. The rustling of the branches adds to the ominous atmosphere even more. Tomb raiders use a cross-shaped shovel to sig out a coffin, opening the coffin lid to get the treasure map¡­


    ¡°Waa!¡±


    Hearing something like a murmur by her ear, Greta is shocked into throwing the bone puzzle piece onto the ground. But the bone piece doesn¡¯t break on impact, seems like it¡¯s actually rather sturdy.


    ¡°Just now¡­ I think someone said something¡­¡±


    She did indeed hear something like a voice talking. After a moment¡¯s hesitation, she carefully picks it up again, and brings it to her ear. It really isn¡¯t the graveyard sound effect, but a certain special language. Not only are all the pronunciations completely different from the language she uses, there¡¯s even a very heavy accent, so she can¡¯t understand a thing.


    ¡°Could this be what Yuuri meant by ¡®bone-static¡¯?¡±


    Greta hurriedly gathers up all the bones, wrapping them up in her blanket and carrying them out of the room. At times like these, look for the Poison Lady! There shouldn¡¯t be anything Anissina doesn¡¯t know!


    ¡°Anissina¡­ Eh?¡±


    She roughly kicks the door open with one foot, just in time to see the two silhouettes that were huddled closely together immediately separate.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    The one who jumped backwards was Lord von Voltaire Gwendal; the owner of the room, Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina didn¡¯t move a finger.


    There¡¯s a bubbling green liquid on the table again, while Kiku, now just an empty shell, sits on the book shelf. The room looks no different than a normal research lab.


    And yet the atmosphere in the room is completely different from usual.


    ¡°We¡ªird--?¡±


    Gwendal freezes in the stance of someone jumping away, but his expression is starting to change.


    ¡°Were you guys huddling together just now?¡±


    ¡°W-w-w-w-we were doing an experiment!¡±


    Maybe it¡¯s because it¡¯s a forced answer, his tone becomes completely different. The ten-year-old girl, on the other hand, looks at the man twice as tall as her suspiciously.


    ¡°Could it be that you were in the middle of doing that thing that Beatrice''s father and mother do so often, a love-making experiment?


    ¡°Ah, no, it¡¯s n-n-n-n-n-n-not what you think¡ª¡±


    Too suspicious, just looking at it it¡¯s suspicious. Hugging the blanket, Greta approaches the two step by step. She cannot forgive any man who tries to abduct Anissina, just because he¡¯s Gwendal doesn¡¯t mean he can make a move on the Poison Lady.


    As for Anissina, she¡¯s staring wide-eyed and mouth hanging at Gwendal¡¯s expression of panic, the words ¡®men are so useless¡¯ almost escaping from her lips.


    ¡°Gwendal, look at you, flustered like this, why didn¡¯t you just reject me from the start? Greta, Lord von Voltaire was almost going to cry just now. He¡¯s so nervous because you saw him in such a humiliating state. He said before, rather than to let a woman see him cry, he would rather stuff his head into the bathtub¡ªIt¡¯s just a few tears, and he¡¯s already saying such stupid things. The way I see it, he might even think that there are men who never cried from the day they were born!¡±


    ¡°Gwen, why would you cry?¡±


    ¡°Regarding His Majesty and Wolfram¡¯s matter, didn¡¯t Lord von Voltaire plan to head for Seisakoku as soon as possible as well?¡±


    G¨¹nter, who was chosen as the ambassador to Shou Shimaron, was forced to separate from Yuuri and Wolfram, who had stowed away, by unforeseen circumstances, so now Yuuri was travelling to Seisakoku alone with the Shou Shimaron king. Saralegui seemed like a good person at first glance, but as his motives become clearer and clearer, he¡¯s no longer a safe travel companion. Although Wolfram should be on his way to catch up with them, but his power alone can¡¯t do much, so they really need reinforcements. Even if Gwendal, with his powerful maryoku, can¡¯t quite lead the army onto land, he can never stand by and do nothing.


    ¡°However, we don¡¯t have any information on Seisakoku in our hands at all¡ªbe it maps, drawings, or documents, none have anything useful. Therefore, we are completely clueless regarding what goes in within their borders. For future reference, we want to do what we can to collect detailed intel, so I want to use Gwendal, who will soon set foot in Seisakoku, to record the information from within Seisakoku borders.¡±


    Anissina, with her passion for research, would never give up this opportunity, of course.


    ¡°I plan on opening a hole in Lord von Voltaire¡¯s skull, and then bury the ma-powered surveillance device, ¡®Honest Mary¡¯¡­ But he seems to be very afraid of that surgery.¡±


    ¡°Before talking about whether I was afraid or not, there is a medical ethical problem here, don''t you think?!¡±


    Anissina snorts at Gwendal¡¯s tearful retort, and points at his forehead with her neatly-manicured fingernail,


    ¡°Ethics? You¡¯re talking ethics with me, in front of these ma-powered devices¡­ Oh, my! Greta, what¡¯s that bundle in your hands that looks like plunderage?¡±


    Only then does the girl seem to remember something, spreading the blanket onto the ground.


    ¡°My, my, how nostalgic! These are ¡®Oh! Stack the Bones High¡¯, huh. Back then I used to collect a huge pile of used parts, trying to create a manmade kotsuhizoku!¡±


    Another evil game to do with medical theories.


    ¡°These are called ¡®Happy-Happy Bone Puzzles¡¯ now, you know!¡±


    ¡°How did the name become so slapdash¡­ Oh, right! Greta, there are many small pieces in the Bone High, if you don¡¯t put them in a special jar it¡¯s really easy to lose them!¡±


    ¡°Not that! Listen to me¡ªGreta just received bone-statics, you know!?¡±


    Gwendal pushes aside Greta¡¯s fringe with his large hand, touching her forehead.


    ¡°Greta doesn¡¯t have a fever!¡±


    ¡°Then why would you receive what-statics¡­ Greta, listen carefully, there aren¡¯t any aliens in this world, and even if there are, they won¡¯t contact you every time.¡±


    ¡°Who are the aliens? The men?¡±


    ¡°We are aliens. Sometimes male and female can be in one body.¡±


    Anissina straightened her hand, and tapped her throat repeatedly causing her voice to sound strange[1].


    ¡°Don¡¯t just borrow His Majesty''s joke material!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it, I¡¯m not talking about ¡®Close Encounters¡¯ or ¡®ET¡¯, this is real! Greta really received bone-statics! I heard a kotsuhizoku¡¯s soul scream!¡±


    Even if she¡¯s only repeating word for word what she heard from her father who grew up on Earth, but when it comes to the unknown creatures out there, she¡¯s still more knowledgeable than more kids her age. However what she heard just now was the sound of something living in this world, and not the X-Files Yuuri was talking about. To convince these two, Greta desperately waves her little fist.


    ¡°But even mazoku can only hear the kotsuhizoku¡¯s mind transmissions after training for it. Technically, Greta, who never saw kotsuhizoku, shouldn¡¯t have this ability¡­¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re not Dacascos--!¡±


    ¡°Gwendal, you can¡¯t deny something just with your instincts and logic.¡±


    Anissina looks sideways at an uneasy Gwendal condescendingly, and then, from the almost-crying Greta¡¯s feet, she picks up a palm-sized bone, cocks her head slightly, bringing the bone to her left ear.


    ¡°Although common sense says it¡¯s impossible, but Greta may very well be a language genius Poison Lady who only shows up once every thousand years¡­ Mm-mm?¡±


    She makes a grunt that doesn¡¯t fit her appearance, cocking her head even further, one of her pretty eyebrows going upwards.


    ¡°Mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm? I actually hear something. Sounds different from the rustling of trees or crabs walking, but it¡¯s obviously not the same as the sound of the wind entering a room¡­ Seems to be a language we can¡¯t understand, and it seems like those words aren¡¯t meant to be heard by a Poison Lady! To a race like the kotsuhizoku that¡¯s made solely of bones, this sort of reaction is rather conservative.¡±


    Could it be that we really accidentally received a transmission from the kotsuhizoku!? Right, I¡¯ll call a deciphering expert here right away. A messenger! Call a messenger!¡±


    ¡°If you want to call one, you go ahead yourself. Just think about how long that person will take to get past the countless traps to reach this room in one piece. Anyone with even a little intelligence, would think of a more effective way, right?¡±


    Resisting the urge to say ¡®it¡¯s all your fault for installing all those dangerous traps¡¯, Lord von Voltaire¡¯s hands can¡¯t stop shaking. Completely unconcerned, Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina¡¯s eyes start shining brightly, and she raises a grey pocket that she took from goodness knows where¡ª


    ¡°If it was me, I¡¯d use this! Ta-la-ta-ta-ta-ta---! Translation Year¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait a second! That convenient device is too dangerous!¡±


    Gwendal quickly blocks Greta with his tall body, so she can¡¯t see the device in Anissina¡¯s hands. Maybe even she herself feels it¡¯s inappropriate? Anissina also puts down her hand, and grabs another device instead.¡±


    ¡°Oh, dear! How dangerous, how could I do this kind of thing¡­ This is something similar, and completely unrelated to ma-powered devices. The one with the real Poison Lady symbol is this one¡­ And it¡¯s the compact version, ta-la-ta-ta! ¡®Translation Cold Day!¡¯¡±


    This time she takes out a little brown teapot.


    ¡°Let me explain! This is the newly completed ¡®Translation Cold Day¡¯, just look at its transparent, slender and smooth exterior, theoretically, all you have to do is pour the cool ¡®this¡¯ into your ears, and you¡¯ll be able to understand all the languages of all the races in the whole world, it¡¯s a really~ handy invention.¡±


    ¡°Theoretically.¡±


    Gwendal mumbles, looking at the mad magician after her breathless, long-winded speech. The terrifying inventor known as the ¡®Red Devil¡¯ holds up her pointer finger and shakes it lightly.


    ¡°What¡¯s there to be unsure of? Or do you think there¡¯s a mistake in my theory? Lord von Voltaire, come! I¡¯ll give you the first honors, bring your ear closer, it doesn¡¯t matter left or right.¡±


    ¡°What!? You¡¯re using me for a human experiment again!?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you know that a long time ago?¡±


    The Poison Lady¡¯s lips curve into an eerie smile, approaching slowly, step by step. A long and slender transparent object, occasionally pokes out from the teacup. Curled up in the small container, instinctively raring to go¡­ Protecting his head with his hands, Gwendal takes quite a few steps backwards, his armpits and back long since soaked with sweat.


    ¡°S-stop! Last time I wore those ¡®Stuck-up Ears Headband¡¯ that were supposed to let me understand what cats were saying, and all that happened was my eardrums hurt like hell, it had no effect at all. This proves that I¡¯m just not cut out for any experiments to do with ears. Besides, Lord von Christ is more suited for this kind of experiment¡­¡±


    Although he doesn¡¯t dare to call it a failed product to her face, he has still made his stance clear. Anissina¡¯s body composition is mostly Poison Lad, but two thirds of that was created by Gwendal¡¯s consideration.


    ¡°Really, there¡¯s no use in saying any more!¡±


    ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t waste food! I¡¯m telling you to stop aah¡ªee¡ªwu¡ªye¡ªwoo¡ª¡±


    This sort of thing has been happening for over a hundred years, and the victor was decided from the start. That¡¯s why it makes no difference who¡¯s rooting at the sidelines. Completely ignoring the war between the fox badger and the cobra, Greta brings the bone piece to her ear again. She can hear it¡ªShe really can hear the contents of the conversation.


    ¡°¡­There is¡­¡±


    Even Anissina, who¡¯s getting ready to pour the Cold Day, stops because of Greta¡¯s voice.


    ¡°In Seisakoku¡ªthere are really, really big temples¡­ used to hide the bodies of dead kings¡­ They¡¯re really, really big graves, you know¡ª¡±


    ¡°Greta?¡±


    Whilst being ridden by his childhood friend, Gwendal listens to the girl¡¯s real-time translation.


    ¡°¡­There are a lot, a lot of shiny jewelry and really rare treasures in the graves¡­ So cool! Isn¡¯t that right¡ªTerine-shan¡­ Um, who is Terine-shan?¡±


    ¡°Enough, ignore those childish parts. Ah! Greta, you don¡¯t purposely have to translate it to sound sophisticated! If it¡¯s possible, please translate it into simpler words.¡±


    Gwendal grabs Anissina with his hands and gently lifts her, pulling her away from his stomach. The Poison Lady forgot to make a fuss of about it, hurriedly rushing to Greta¡¯s side,


    ¡°Impressive! You really are the best language genius Poison Lady since the first Maou ruled the world!¡±


    Seems like she can¡¯t just be a normal language expert.


    ¡°How did you translate that!? Information¡­ Did you get any related information? Greta, what does it feel like? Does it feel like ¡®hua-hua-hua¡¯? Or like ¡®poh-poh-poh¡¯?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s neither, yeesh!¡±


    The excited Anissina desperately grabs Greta, who started translating with relying on mechanical ma-power.


    ¡°After the interference disappeared, I can hear it really clearly. And it¡¯s not the secret conversation between kohi and their comrades, how do I describe it¡­ it¡¯s like that thing I played with Yuuri¡­ that¡­ tele¡ªtele¡­¡±


    ¡°Telekinesis[2]?¡±


    ¡°Telephone game! It feels like that!¡±


    ¡°In other words, it¡¯s just a communicator?¡±


    And then the three of them fight to put the bone to the ears.


    ¡°What? Each king has a huge tomb?¡±


    Dacascos, who had gotten happily drunk for the first time in a long time, reacts loudly in surprise to Captain Mountain Range¡¯s murmurs. Almost everyone around them is in a drunken stupor, collapsed all over the sea-smelling deck and not budging. The only ones left are the mazoku representative, Dacascos, the human representative Captain Mountain Range, and Terine-shan on the captain¡¯s knee.


    The skull shines yellowish-brown, an endless darkness in those hollow eye sockets. Feeling as though he¡¯s meeting his gaze, all the hairs on Dacascos¡¯ arms stand on end.


    ¡°And they¡¯re set apart from the temples, too? What a waste of space~ Our country takes the temple as a tomb, that¡¯s why we only have one Shinou Shrine, you know!¡±


    But that Shinou Shrine isn¡¯t the tomb of the previous Maous. It¡¯s normal for abdicated Maous to return to their own hometowns, and elegantly live off the rest of their lives. Thus, it¡¯s natural for them to be buried in their clan graveyards after their passing. The design of the graveyards are more extravagant than the public cemeteries, but they¡¯re not worth envying or anything. At the most, there aren¡¯t any kotsuhizoku buried there.


    ¡°Waa¡ªSeisakoku takes up such a vast area of land¡ªBut why is Captain Mountain Range so clear about it? The way I see it, could it be that you are actually from there¡­ No, it shouldn¡¯t be possible. No matter how I look at you, Captain Mountain Range must be a human, right?¡±


    ¡°Lilit Latchie is a meanie, Terine-shan. Because he refuses to talk to Terine-shan, huh.¡±


    Even though he¡¯s using a childish tone, he still scares Dacascos into shaking. Crap, back then h promised to talk to the skull on his knee whenever he talks to Captain Mountain Range. Rule number 1: Show your respect for Terine-shan.


    ¡°S-shorr¡­ Wait, it¡¯s sorry.¡±


    ¡°As long as you know your mistake! Right, Terine-shan?¡±


    The drunken mercenary comrades suddenly stand up and start yelling,


    ¡°Terine-shan is too~ cute--! When we die, we want to become bones as pretty and shiny as Terine-shan!¡±


    They don¡¯t know that Terine-shan is a kotsuhizoku, and has always looked like that.


    ¡°In that country filled with shinzoku everywhere, are there a bunch of dead people bones as pretty as Terine-shan buried in those tombs--? It must be that, that¡¯s why so many people run in there to steal stuff, right? No wonder there¡¯s no end to the grave robbers! Their first priority must be those pretty dead people bones, and then the gold and jewels are an added bonus. Those things can be sold at high prices in other countries, right¡ª¡±


    ¡°Waa! How terrifying, to think that there are other people who dare to dig graves besides the kotsuhizoku and the Poison Lady Annissina! Isn¡¯t that right, Terine-shan?¡±


    Almost forgetting the promise again, Dacascos hurriedly talks to the target on the knee. As for Captain Mountain Range, he¡¯s so happy his face reddens slightly.


    ¡°There are a lot, a lot of sparkly jewelry and really rare treasures in those tombs¡ªIsn¡¯t that amazing, Terine-shan?¡±


    ¡°I heard that Seisakoku was in lockdown, then how on earth do you bring the treasure out? And it¡¯s gold and jewels from the royal graves, wouldn¡¯t it be bad if they were discovered by customs? Right, Terine-shan?¡±


    ¡°Of course they¡¯d go by boat¡ªTerine-shan¡¯s friend¡¯s grandpa, is a ship captain specializing in smuggling loot from Seisakoku, right¡ª¡±


    Right then, ¡®Terine-shan¡¯s friend¡¯ that Captain Mountain Range is talking about actually refers to himself. Before Dacascos can say ¡®what, then shouldn¡¯t you be called Ocean Bay Captain instead of Mountain Range Captain?¡¯, one of the older subordinates jumps to his feet like a spring, saying cheerily,


    ¡°Oh, Captain Mountain Range, you and Terine-shan are the ship captains again. Even if it¡¯s been a long time since we pulled off a big one, we still got a lot of gold and jewels from before, huh. Like the thing we got last time, I heard that¡¯s a box that spews fire¡ªit should be the fire-spewing box from the legends. I think that one can sell for a really high price.¡±


    This time it¡¯s a box that spews fire, huh¡­ Feeling fed up, Dacascos can¡¯t help but sigh.


    Why does everything go back to cube-shaped things these days. Be it the one the His Excellency G¨¹nter secretly yells about, the one found in Dai Shimaron on orders, or the one that His Majesty and His Excellency Wolfram found on the voyage last time, they¡¯re all boxes. Boxes, boxes, boxes, all boxes.


    Could it be that cubes are in fashion in the world right now?


    In the royal capital of Shin Makoku, deep within Blood Pledge Castle, in a properly temperature-regulated secret Poison Lady research center, the trio who have the ¡®Happy-Happy Bone Puzzle¡¯ or ¡®Oh! Stack the Bones High¡¯ pressed to their ears, are currently repeating every single word they hear in a shout.


    ¡°Goodness!¡±


    ¡°How could it be!¡±


    ¡°Bone High--!¡±


    Gwendal¡¯s expression changes abruptly, and he suddenly yells at the bone,


    ¡°Don¡¯t let Wolfram get close to Seisakoku! Catch him and bring him back immediately!¡±


    But all he sees is the white bone covered with his spit, and there¡¯s naturally no reply whatsoever.


    ¡°Damn it, it can only receive signals!¡±


    The bone piece is hurled onto the floor, making a clear noise then rolling to a side, but it doesn¡¯t crack, as solid as expected.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Lord von Voltaire? Spraying your spittle everywhere, it¡¯s really rude!¡±


    ¡°Exactly, how could you, Gwen, it¡¯s so dirty¡ª¡±


    Their fondness for Lord von Voltaire instantly drops by twenty, this is indeed behavior ladies detest.


    ¡°You can still be so relaxed!? Aaaa¡ªI¡¯m not mad at Greta, you know! Did you hear what I just said!? Aaaa¡ªI¡¯m not talking about Greta!¡±


    Gwendal is so careful, trying his best to avoid hurting the adorable little girl. Having long since lost his normal cool, he uneasily paces around the room.


    ¡°When they said a box that spews flames, it should be that one, right? Either than that I really can¡¯t think of any other boxes that spew flames.¡±


    ¡°What is ¡®that¡¯ you¡¯re talking about? If it¡¯s just starting a fire, that are over a hundred of those in the prototype warehouse. But if it¡¯s not just spewing fire, but also freeze rays or touching music, then there aren¡¯t a lot of those.¡±


    Gwendal is so shocked he almost dislocates his jaw, thinking, ¡®This mad ma-power scientist, exactly how fast is she making these rare and weird things?¡¯ She said more than a hundred? If they could have simply borrowed one to use during the war before, who knows what kind of an advantage they might have had¡­


    Doing that will go against the treaty, so the idea just flicks past his mind. He must never be led by the nose by the Poison Lady.


    ¡°By ¡®that¡¯ I mean ¡®that''. A box. One of those four most fearsome, most dangerous Boxes, that according to ancient legends, must never be touched.¡±


    ¡°Oh~~ You¡¯re talking about the ones sealing up the soushu! About that, there¡¯s one in the Shinou Shrine, too! It¡¯s that completely worthless Wind¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°Stop that nonsense!¡±


    Anissina pulls her childhood friend¡¯s hand away from her mouth, swishing her red hair, tied way up high, and snorts arrogantly,


    ¡°Gwendal, you¡¯re already over a hundred years old, why are you still so scared? It¡¯s just a box, what¡¯s there to be scared about? It¡¯s already locked up in the Shinou Shrine, there¡¯s no way it can escape by itself, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because¡­ it doesn¡¯t have legs. Wait, that¡¯s not right. They shouldn¡¯t be talking about ¡®Wind¡¯s End¡¯, I remember there should be four Boxes according to legend. One of them is ¡®Inferno of the Frozen Land¡¯, fortunately this Box hasn¡¯t fallen into human hands.¡±


    ¡°And¡ªso¡ªwhat--?¡±


    Anissina puts both hands on her waist, tied until it¡¯s slender and tight, unafraid of her own petite frame, and makes a contemptuous pose.


    ¡°If it appears in the Seisakoku tombs, wouldn¡¯t that mean it had fallen into shinzoku hands since at least the previous monarch¡¯s time!¡±


    ¡°And¡ªso¡ªwhat--?¡±


    ¡°If the shinzoku are abusing it¡­ why on earth would it be buried in the tombs? I don¡¯t understand it at all.¡±


    ¡°Could it be that they don¡¯t need it at all? This proves that they don¡¯t mean to use it, right? Didn¡¯t we put the ¡®Wind¡¯s End¡¯ into Shinou¡¯s tomb, the Shinou Shrine? We¡¯re not preserving those Boxes at all, since those filthy wooden boxes can¡¯t help increase the majesty of the country in any way. Towards any realities and phenomena unrelated to mechanical ma-power, I believe that seeing is believing.¡±


    Right now Greta¡¯s red-brown eyes staring at Anissina are sparkling with respect and admiration. Gwendal¡¯s shoulders sag helplessly, if only everyone in this world was like Anissina¡ªbut then the world would probably be destroyed by some other reason.


    ¡°But¡­ if the box that spews fire they¡¯re talking about really is ¡®Inferno of the Frozen Land¡¯, and if the shinzoku only temporarily buried it in the tomb because they don¡¯t know how to unleash its power, what will happen then? And more importantly, if the person or item that carries the Key stumbles across the location of the Box¡­¡±


    Anissina watches Gwendal, whose expression has changed dramatically and is so worried he¡¯s pacing back and forth, while she sips a health drink that (may) help growth with a ¡®chuu¡ª¡¯ noise.


    ¡®If, if, if, are you a slow-action land tortoise!? Besides, we¡¯re not even sure who the Key is yet!¡±


    ¡°Who on earth¡­!?¡±


    According to Gegenhuber¡¯s report, the Key to one of the Boxes, ¡®Ends of the Earth¡¯, seems to be someone¡¯s left eye. Back then he fit the criteria very well, that¡¯s why his left eye was burned off, but they still couldn¡¯t open the seals. More seriously, there¡¯s the Key to the other Box, ¡®Wind¡¯s End¡¯¡ªLord Weller Conrart¡¯s left arm, and that brought actual disaster to Shou Shimaron and Caloria.


    Thankfully it wasn¡¯t too destructive a result, but that¡¯s all because the ¡®Box¡¯ wasn¡¯t compatible with the ¡®Key¡¯. The first time was because it was a fake Key that is close to the real one, the second time was because the Box and the Key didn¡¯t match. But the Key to ¡®Wind¡¯s End¡¯ was the first of all the Boxes and Keys to be created, so it can open all the seals. Only, the ¡®Wind¡¯s End¡¯ that fell into Shou Shimaron hands doesn¡¯t seem to be complete.


    According to ancient legend, the descendants of the four clans that sealed up the soushu bear a heavy responsibility as the Keys. Right now the confirmed Keys are the left eye of someone related in blood to Gegenhuber, and Lord Weller Conrart¡¯s left arm.


    Terrifying ideas keep surfacing in Gwendal¡¯s mind.


    ¡°The von Bielefeld has been a prominent clan since before the country was founded. Wolfram is very likely one of the remaining two Keys¡­¡¯


    ¡°Then, the one who defeated the soushu of the wind is Conrad¡¯s ancestor?¡±


    ¡°Ah! Then the one who beat the soushu of the earth to a pulp, was Hube and Gwendal¡¯s great-great-great-great-grandfather, right?¡±


    Greta says excitedly, pleased with herself for getting these blood relations straightened out in one go. But as soon as the girl says that, she realizes the horrifying possibility, and adds in a shaky voice,


    ¡°Then, Gwen¡¯s left eye is the Key to the earth Box?¡±


    ¡°Greta, don¡¯t get ahead of yourself. There¡¯s no solid proof.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay,¡±


    Only when it¡¯s related to himself, can Gwendal calmly agree to Greta¡¯s hypothesis.


    ¡°This is a fact that can be guessed at even without any solid proof, but that shiny¡­ No, since they mentioned Dacascos¡¯ name, we can probably determine that the location was on Captain Sizemore¡¯s ship. And Wolfram¡¯s on that ship¡ªIf ¡®Inferno of the Frozen Land¡¯ really is in Seisakoku, then it¡¯s really too dangerous to send him there!¡±


    Compared to Anissina, sipping her drink looking completely unaffected, whenever it has anything to do with his brothers, Gwendal will become a completely different person, panicked and lost.


    ¡°Damn it!¡±


    Thank goodness he¡¯s using both his hands to hammer the table, or he might grab his grey hair and start screaming madly.


    It was the same the last time. After he met up with Gisela, they successfully found Yuuri¡ªThough they accomplished that very well, they indirectly allowed Kinan to steal the ¡®Key¡¯--- in other words, Conrad¡¯s arm. Although it was pointless to scold Wolfram for it, it was undeniably a huge loss.


    ¡°There wasn¡¯t any problem with the plan itself, and the contents were conservative and detailed, so even if we failed the losses would be cut to a minimum. But why did the God of Luck abandon us?¡±


    The way he looks, hammering the table, is too terrifying. Even Greta is trembling in fear, covering her ears as she says,


    ¡°Gwen¡­ don¡¯t hit the table.¡±


    ¡°Has all your education gone to nothing!?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like this, Gwen! Don¡¯t be mad, just don¡¯t be mad!¡±


    ¡°But!¡±


    The fist that¡¯s raised once more is held in mid-air by a white hand¡ªAnissina throws down the silver container and grabs his wrist tightly. As long as those thin fingers exert power, even Gwendal, who¡¯s used to easily swinging around large weapons, can¡¯t budge an inch. After he¡¯s calmed down, Anissina¡¯s lips curve into a smile,


    ¡°Don¡¯t act so violently in front of children, look how scared Greta is. I understand your hopes and concerns for your little brother. But these things happen in the world, situations when you¡¯ve done your all and things still don¡¯t go your way. Some people are just that unlucky, so all you can say is that he¡¯s born under an unlucky star.¡±


    ¡°Is Wolfram the Little Prince[3]?¡±


    The little girl asks, her voice nasally as she holds back tears.


    After releasing her childhood friend¡¯s hand, Anissina smile brightly at Greta,


    ¡°Maybe? But he may not be, too! Even if Wolfram is the Little Prince, he probably isn¡¯t the king, right? But this may not be an unlucky thing. Even if he can¡¯t win on his own, if he gets help from his comrades, and has that certain someone by his side, maybe he can bring out his innate strength.¡±


    ¡°Who is¡­¡±


    Anissina presses her finger against the child¡¯s mouth, stopping the question, ¡®who is that?¡¯ Her fingernail has been trimmed oval, shining a healthy pale pink color.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay as long as he himself understands it. I¡¯m guessing they¡¯ll notice eventually, but that isn¡¯t something that can be solved immediately, after all. Right now the matter of urgency is to investigate which clans bear the responsibility of the Keys. If the von Bielefeld clan is one of the four Keys, then a different danger will approach Wolfram.¡±


    Anissina walks up to the enormous writing table, and beckons her Poison Lady substitute.


    ¡°Greta, come over here! This is a good opportunity, for me to teach you properly how to read ancient books and texts.¡±


    ¡°Reading ancient books!? You¡¯re still in the relaxed mood to do that sort of thing!¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to mind us, Gwendal. Go ahead and do whatever you want! It¡¯s up to you if you want to go to the seaside or the beach, if you want to go then just get going. But if you¡¯re going to operate solo like your little brother, and then cry loudly when you¡¯re in an emergency and don¡¯t have enough information, I won¡¯t be able to help you there!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll solve this myself! As if I¡¯d want to listen to your orders even when it comes to my own family matters!¡±


    Absorbed in her own task, Anissina doesn¡¯t even look at Gwendal, who¡¯s lost his calm, and says while holding up the heavy reference book,


    ¡°Lord von Voltaire, didn¡¯t I say that there are some people who, without someone else, won¡¯t be able to regain their power, I meant you, you know!¡±


    ¡°Stop joking!¡±


    After hurling the bone in his hand at the table, Lord von Voltaire bolts out of the research room.


    ¡°Gwendal¡­¡±


    Greta looks between the door and Aninssina in a panic. When it comes down to it, this all started when she heard the kotsuhizoku transmission.


    ¡°Anissina, what to do¡­ Gwen¡¯s mad.¡±


    ¡°I know, but you don¡¯t have to worry about it. He doesn¡¯t have the ability to operate alone without us. At the most he¡¯ll walk to the end of the corridor or the stairs, count to three, and come back.¡±


    It¡¯s exactly as Anissina said. Not a few dozen seconds later, he walks back in with an expression of sorrow and his head held low.


    Because he simply can¡¯t find anyone else to discuss this with.

 Volume 11 - CH 4

    I mean yesterday¡¯s dawn.


    ¡°Then does it still count as new?¡±


    Josak, who¡¯s swinging his arms together with me, interrupts from my side.


    I¡¯m sitting cross-kegged on the narrow lifeboat, happily stretching my arms and looking up into the sky. The sky above me is dusted with a thin veil of clouds, the sun playing peekaboo from between them¡ªthe weather has been like this since morning. Something worth being grateful for, is that now isn¡¯t the time when the sun beats down on us from above, if we were hit directly by that kind of sun, we¡¯d probably be long since dehydrated.


    As for why¡ªThere¡¯s no water onboard.


    We¡¯re drifting on a world of water called the ¡®sea¡¯, but there¡¯s no fresh water that can wet our throats and sustain life within reach, and there isn¡¯t any food either. If it was just a couple days, we can still handle it. For that, I have to be grateful that I usually get enough food, and I have quite a bit of meat on my stomach and thighs. For that, I have to grateful that this is a time of ample food, and be grateful for my muscles too.


    To show gratitude to the muscles on me, I have to give them the appropriate stimuli regularly. It doesn¡¯t matter if I¡¯m currently in a narrow place where I can¡¯t stand up whenever I want. If we don¡¯t exercise more while we can move, our blood vessels will get obstructed and produce lactic acid. I want to at least move my upper body a bit, so I very diligently do radio aerobics[1], and recently I¡¯ve even invented a sit-down version of the exercise on my own.


    ¡°It¡¯s very important to do relaxing or stretching exercises, you know! It can also prevent us finally getting to go on holiday abroad, only to get economy class syndrome[2].¡±


    The only one amongst us who has experienced air travel, Lord Weller, corrects me half-heartedly,


    ¡°You¡¯re talking about a plane, but we¡¯re on a boat now.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s basically the same, sheesh.¡±


    My tone is so bad even I think it¡¯s not very nice of me. Maybe it¡¯s because he noticed the weird atmosphere between us? Saralegui creases his neat brows, saying,


    ¡°What is that weird exercise? Is it a mazoku habit? Waving your limbs like a monkey, how fascinating.¡±


    ¡°These are radio aerobics, you know. It¡¯s normal if you¡¯ve never seen it. In order to live an active and effective life, I do these every morning during my summer break!¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡ªThen are those ¡®Actie¡¯ and ¡®Effectie¡¯ husband and wife?¡±


    That, I don¡¯t know.


    ¡°Yuuri, are you feeling uncomfortable? Are you seasick but pretending to be okay?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, and I don¡¯t feel uncomfortable anywhere, my body feels perfectly fine!¡±


    ¡°But why don¡¯t I think so? Ah! Turns out you¡¯re like me, whenever you¡¯re in the sun or the sea breeze, the skin on your face and fingers get really dry.¡±


    ¡°Mmph!¡±


    He leans over to caress my face, a hint of sadness in his eyes behind those pale-colored lenses.


    ¡°No wonder, we haven¡¯t soaked in a bath for almost two days, there¡¯s not even a chance for us to wash off the salt on our bodies with plain water. Ah~ how I wish I could soak in hot water full of medicinal properties, to let the warm steam open up my pores, and get rid of all the old filth. Yuuri thinks the same, right? Otherwise your skin will be just like that fake woman over there! No way, that¡¯d be too much of a waste.¡±


    ¡°What did you say, hah?¡±


    I see the muscles in Josak¡¯s face twitching. Although doing so now is a bit weird, I still hastily squeeze in between the spy and the king from another country.


    ¡°B-but I was always a baseball boy that likes being in the sun, and loves outdoor activities, so this degree of sun is nothing! Don¡¯t need to feel sorry for me, really. Gurrier has been stressed out a lot too, right? Because I¡¯m just too useless, so you have to spend your mind and energy to take care of me, I¡¯m so sorry.¡±


    Lord Weller, with his arms on his knees supporting his chin, looks out into the waves with an expression of apathy. And the few Shou Shimaron crewmen stop their rowing actions to keep glancing our way. Since they¡¯re already bone-dead exhausted, if they heard such a stupid conversation, they¡¯d surely feel uneasy.


    ¡°Ah~ Sorry, let¡¯s switch! I¡¯ll go over there right now.¡±


    When I move along the narrow boat with my waist bent low, Josak shrugs helplessly and follows me without a word. Although I volunteered to join the rowing team, but after four rounds even he¡¯s run out of things to say.


    The Shou Shimaron king Saralegui and his cargo ship crewmen, and the king¡¯s guard Lord Weller, add that to Josak and I, and that makes the twelve of squeezed into this cramped lifeboat, drifting on the sea for an entire day. Yesterday evening when we escaped from the cargo ship, the land looked like it was just ahead. But once we really boarded a small boat without a sail, and move forward with only the power of a few people rowing, we finally realize that the distance hasn¡¯t been shortening at all. Although we can see the brown land with our naked eyes, but the direction of the waves is the opposite of our rowing.


    ¡°But Sara, I know you really like baths, but can¡¯t you have a bit of a sense of danger? Hey¡ªyour Majesty the King, do you know the current situation? We¡¯re basically in a wreck!¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡ª¡±


    Saralegui hugs his cheeks with his palms, replying in the tone of someone unaware of the seriousness of the situation.


    But the mastermind who lied to them that the cargo ship has a problem, and forced them into this situation, is yours truly.


    In my sixteen years of life being unpopular with the ladies, forget being chased, I haven¡¯t even experienced someone coming up to me of their own accord. Right now, though, because of my absurd lies, this group of men physically better than me by several times are drifting with me on foreign waters.


    ¡°Eh~ And we can already see the land, too.¡±


    ¡°Young Master, do you want to help row? Or will you just leave it to me? Can I please ask you to make a decision?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll row, I¡¯ll row, of course I¡¯ll row. Although every time I row I might just be using the power of three swings.¡±


    The pale brown land can only be seen the split second when the boat is lifted high by a wave, but at least we¡¯re not drifting in the dead center of the Pacific, and our target is very obvious. I cheer myself up that way, and continue holding the wooden oars covered with splinters.


    The orange-haired spy beside me blows a ¡®hua-hua-puu¡ªhua-hua-puu¡¯ whistle as he deftly handles the oars. This rhythm seems sort of familiar. His pride-- those biceps, are also peeking out from underneath his rolled-up chef¡¯s outfit. Doesn¡¯t he feel cold? Even though I haven¡¯t rolled up my sleeves, I feel cold, instead.


    ¡°How cold¡­ If we go on like this, it¡¯ll be even worse when the sun sets¡­ Mn?¡±


    I just happen to look around the ocean surface, and notice a white object surfacing from the waves, so I rub my eyes, which I can barely open in the sea breeze, and blurrily see someone¡¯s arm.


    Arm¡­? I let go of the oars and rub my eyes again to look closely. Using my 2.0 vision to carefully determine it, it really looks like a human arm, or I should say it simply is a human arm.


    ¡°Waa! This is bad, bad! Conrad, your arm, is your arm still there!?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still here, Your Majesty?¡±


    Before suspecting why there would be a human arm in the middle of the sea, I worry first about Lord Weller¡¯s left arm, and he replies honestly too. Now isn¡¯t the time to feel awkward.


    ¡°A-arm, arm, arm, arm, there¡¯s an arm there!¡±


    I use the exaggerated reaction of someone in a two-hour long detective series, pointing at the white thing, and by now the Shou Shimaron crewmen have started fidgeting as well. The base underneath that slender long forearm doesn¡¯t seem to be affected by the waves, staying where it is without budging. Is this a horror film in the middle of the sea? Or a lonely water ballet solo!?


    ¡°Save them, first we must save them!¡±


    Josak, a few of the crewmen and I grab the oars and start rowing desperately, the boat quickly dashes up to the arm, until we can clearly see that pale palm, but there aren¡¯t any life lines on it.


    ¡°Should we say, ¡®Hang in there, I¡¯m coming to save you!¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ Ah, Young Master, really!¡±


    ¡°Waa!¡±


    I shut my eyes tightly despite myself. The cold and bloated skin, feels like rubber to the touch, completely unlike a live human arm.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a floating corpse, is it?¡±


    ¡°M-maybe. Eeeek¡ªIt feels, a little, disgusting¡ª¡±


    I don¡¯t know what kind of funerals seamen have, but if you want me to let go of a hand I held and ignore it, I can¡¯t do that either. Although I¡¯m a little scared thinking of what may be under that arm, I still resist the terror and pull that arm.


    That heavy and white arm gets closer and closer to the boat, Josak leans out to try and give me a hand, while some kind crewmen also try to observe what¡¯s in the water from the side. Just as I¡¯m about to exert more force and pull them up¡ª


    I make a very embarrassing scream, and try to let go of that right hand.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter!?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s grabbing me! This guy grabbed my hand¡­ Waa!¡±


    In that moment I am almost completely pulled into the sea, and I hastily grab the side of the lifeboat. Josak also hugs my waist in time, preventing me from being pulled under.


    ¡°Yuuri!¡±


    Conrad yells in a nervous voice completely unlike him, and just as he¡¯s running over here, the lifeboat starts swaying from side to side. In spite of myself, the ¡®do not run on the boat¡¯ warning flashes into my mind.


    ¡°No way, sheesh, it¡¯s not working! Don¡¯t hold my pants, hold my legs! Hold my legs tightly! Waa¡ªmy pants are gonna come off, my pants are gonna come off! I¡¯m not a male stripper!¡±


    ¡°I know, ¡®stripping¡¯ is Gurrier¡¯s job!¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty, please calm down. Those guys mean well.¡±


    A warm hand touches my back, like comforting a child¡ªit¡¯s a familiar touch to me.


    ¡°Those guys?¡±


    I¡¯m pulled by a strong force until my entire face is almost plastered to the ocean surface, and I finally see the countless creatures in the water. A school of fish the size of tuna with sparkling silver scales, are fanning past the blue water and swimming, carefree.


    By swimming, I mean swimming with their deft limbs.


    ¡°Fish have arms and legs¡­¡±


    ¡°Maidmer princesses.¡±


    The owner of the arm lets go of my hand and jumps out of the water, the violent leap splashing water into the boat. He has a pair of legs too, no, judging from the white and soft legs, that was probably a ¡®she¡¯.


    ¡°But those guys with a lot of leg hair, are they male maidmer princesses?¡±


    ¡°No, they¡¯re manmer lords. Their people need a long time to grow limbs, and then they change from fish-shaped to humanoid.¡±


    ¡°That should count as an evolution, right? Speaking of which, last time I carried one in the Shin Makoku sewers, huh? Or should I say it was a maidmer princess.¡±


    Back then I thought she was Murata.


    ¡°Oh~ If that¡¯s the case¡­¡±


    The maidmer princesses and manmer lords wave their hands in the blue and clear water, and caught within the current that they created, the lifeboat is already moving towards the land at a fairly smooth speed.


    ¡°They must be here to repay Your Highness¡¯ kindness.


    ¡°¡­Don¡¯t call me Your Majesty¡±


    I suddenly regain my sanity, and say so as I move my gaze to somewhere else, I¡¯m scared to look at his face.


    My wet fringe is plastered tightly to my forehead, making me uncomfortable, so I simply push it upwards, and the seawater that drips down has a piercing smell of the sea.


    ¡°Your ¡®Your Majesty¡¯ isn¡¯t me, right.¡±


    My voice has suddenly become very stiff, and Lord Weller¡¯s curt answer is as cold as ice.


    ¡°I apologize¡­ in my haste I didn¡¯t notice.¡±


    After saying that, he turns and returns to Saralegui¡¯s side. Josak mutters with his mouth slanted sideways, his tone and voice full of contempt,


    ¡°What a bother~ Such a draggy man, my Young Master is a lot manlier than you.¡±


    How am I manly?


    ¡°Don¡¯t make me laugh!¡±


    If my will was strong enough, no matter what others call me, I should be able to reply with a laugh, right? It¡¯s exactly because I¡¯m narrowed-hearted that I reacted that way, if I knew how to think for others, then I wouldn¡¯t be blowing off on any little thing.


    I put all my strength into waving my arms, offering my gratitude to the maidmer princesses and the manmer lords. This time they will definitely send us to Seisakoku!


    There¡¯s nowhere better to take a foreign lady in a kimono with what looks like koi embroidery out for a walk than the Narita Airport in the late night.


    Anyway, no one will report the police here. And clueless foreigners are just like those Japanese tourists with glasses and a camera hanging around their necks, not rare in the slightest.


    ¡°In other words, isn¡¯t that super rare!?¡±


    Even the comedy couples from Yoshimoto Kogyo[3] don¡¯t wear such extravagant kimonos anymore.


    Shibuya Shouri pushes his glasses up his nose, telling everyone they meet,


    ¡°Not me! I¡¯m not this woman¡¯s partner!¡±


    But in the midnight airport after a typhoon, no one bothers with him at all. That sense of emptiness leaves him feeling horrible.


    As for the clueless lady who¡¯s putting on a show of walking beside him, whenever she brushes against any pedestrian, she will fold her palms together and bow.


    ¡°Are you a spy sent here by the Shaolin Temple?¡±


    ¡°What¡ªare you saying--? The Japanese are all very polite. The way of GAY[4] is the way of the geisha, which is to ¡®begin with a bow and end with a bow¡¯, right?¡±


    Shouri, with the future of Tokyo on his shoulders, looks skywards and heaves a sigh. Why do they spread such misconceptions about Japan? Quentin Tarantino has to bear responsibility for this!


    ¡°Wait a sec, Graves, don¡¯t talk to strangers with that weird Japanese of yours! It¡¯ll only make them more troubled.¡±


    ¡°OH¡ªJapanese people shouldn¡¯t be so cold. And Shouri, don¡¯t call me Graves, please call me Abby, Abby. NO NO NO NO NO, LOOK ME, LOOK MY MOUSE. A-bby, please say A-bby.¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t the Wicky[5] era anymore!¡±


    The American sitting in the VIP lounge, Abigail Graves in her unique kimono, has stuck with him like glue ever since she found out Shouri is Bob¡¯s friend. Shouri tried to contact Bob with his phone, but it¡¯s as though Bob was sealed in a heavy lead box, because there¡¯s no response at all. Just when he¡¯s thinking that all he can do now is lead her near a taxi, forcefully send her to Narita Airport, and was planning on walking straight to the exit¡ª


    Abigail continuously holds back the people passing by, and then keeps on greeting them in her imperfect Japanese. Hearing her Japanese mixed with 10% vulgar content, Shouri finally loses it and yells,


    ¡°Speak in English! This is really embarrassing!¡±


    As a result Abigail suddenly says in a teaching material tone,


    ¡°I don¡¯t wanna, your English is like the Teletubbies.¡±


    ¡°The Teletubbies can¡¯t talk, and compared to your half-assed Japanese that¡¯s much¡­ Whoa!¡±


    Bob is finally replying, and Shouri picks up his phone enthusiastically.


    ¡°Bob, what¡¯s going on here? Why is your guest here? If this wasn¡¯t an astronomical coincidence, causing me to bump into her, this koi might have waited for you in the airport lounge until she turned to stone!¡±


    ¡®You¡¯re exaggerating, JUNIOR.¡¯


    Shouri tsks in dissatisfaction, indicating to Bob not to call him that.


    ¡®I¡¯m waiting for Rodriguez, but he¡¯s not here yet.¡¯


    ¡°I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re waiting for Rodriguez or Madriros, I¡¯m telling you to talk to her!¡±


    Abigail Graves widens her eyes and stares at him for a while, then accept the phone Shouri hands her. And then her voice suddenly goes higher¡ª


    ¡°OH¡ªBapu!¡±


    ¡°Not Bapu, why is it Bapu!¡±


    Standing beside someone speaking their mother tongue at four times the seed, the elite student who successfully passed the English proficiency test is dying. Maybe it¡¯s because her speaking speed is naturally especially fast, so he can only understand a few nouns he recognizes. She¡¯s not arguing it out with Bob, but instead she chats for several minutes in an intimate tone. Before returning the phone to Shouri, she even laughs out loudly at something Bob said.


    ¡°You and the driver, who¡¯s coming to pick her up?¡±


    ¡®That¡¯s impossible, Shibuya.¡¯


    Bob¡¯s next suggestion is far beyond his imagination.


    ¡°You want me¡ªto be her host!?


    Shouri repeats in a tone of disbelief, ¡°You want me¡ªto host this woman?¡± His brows even droop into a figure eight (°Ë).


    ¡®That¡¯s right, Shouri. Abby is my guest, but you know, because of your little brother¡¯s emergency situation, I forgot that she arrives in Japan today. So sorry, but before Ken goes to where you are, can you please help me host her? Isn¡¯t receiving visitors the basic ability of the Japanese working class?¡±


    ¡°Stop joking, Bob! It¡¯s against electoral law for the governor to host or be hosted by anybody! And even if that¡¯s not the case, I don¡¯t want to have anything to do with a fake geisha who¡¯s like a B-grade movie actress! Besides, if I take her around, what¡¯ll happen if anyone mistakes us for lovers!? The hell I¡¯m doing this! And even more besides, how old is this fella? For all I know she¡¯s just a high school student[6]! Even if it¡¯s not so bad, she¡¯s still a HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT, right? I don¡¯t want to break Tokyo laws!¡±


    ¡®Aren¡¯t you a citizen of the Saitama prefecture?¡¯


    The Maou of the financial world calmly corrects the older Shibuya brother, who¡¯s screaming until his voice is hoarse.


    ¡°N-no matter what it won¡¯t work, I still want to go the Niagara Falls in a moment. And I don¡¯t have the money to deal with an heiress who can go around the world while still a high school student¡­ Ah!¡±


    The call was cut, and no matter how he dialed it wouldn¡¯t go through. The image of a man in sunglasses cackling on the other end of the phone immediately floats into his mind. He must feel like he¡¯s managed to get a hot iron off his hands.


    ¡°Hey, Graves, let me just make this clear to you!¡±


    Having no choice but to keep his phone into his pocket, Shibuya Shouri once again turns around to face Abigail. Although from her point of view this trip has been unfortunate from the start, but right now all he can do is ask her to tour Tokyo on her own.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have the sweet time to bring you around, because my brother¡¯s matter is more important. After you go back to your country, you can bring your boyfriend to TDL (Tokyo Disney Land), USJ (Universal Studios Japan), or Edo Wonderland. Remember to take a picture with Nyanmage, okay? Americans who always put their family first would agree, right?¡±


    ¡°NONO, there aren¡¯t Nyanmages in Boston. What happened to your brother, by the way?¡±


    ¡°That has nothing to do with you, but due to certain reasons I have to get to Niagara and make it flow backwards. As for you, just find a hotel nearby for the night! As long as you bring out Bob¡¯s name you should be able to book a room.¡±


    The phone in his front pocket, suddenly starts vibrating, and the blue light on it flickers non-stop¡ªThere¡¯s a mail from the service provider¡¯s inbox coming this way.


    Subject: Seen the BBS


    Abigail looks at the plasma screen, reading out the words on it loudly,


    ¡°See, BBS¡­ Bong! Ow, that hurt!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t just read the words you know!¡±


    I¡¯ve seen your message, Niagara doesn¡¯t seem too possible¡­ But why would you want to make it flow backwards? Are you planning some ultimate magic to do with water? Seems like Paint-and-Build Sex Toy¡¯s interests are pretty vast, huh¡ªBut right now I¡¯m not talking about the waterfall, I¡¯m talking about the UMA (Unidentified Mysterious Animal) that¡¯s been sighted a lot recently in the Swiss Bodensee[7], that may be an omen that the Alps are going to erupt. (Because the Alps aren¡¯t volcanoes, lol) I wonder, can this count as a type of miscellaneous study?


    ¡°Hey, hey! I¡¯m looking for an impact as big as a nuclear explosion, not some Bossy[8] or M¡¯Boma[9]!¡±


    But the one watching his every move isn¡¯t the media, it¡¯s Abigail.


    ¡°There¡¯s something weird with Bodensee? Crap, since you mentioned Bodensee, I can¡¯t stay out of this any longer. I have to report this to Mummy! But why would the Japanese find out about Bodensee so quickly?¡±


    ¡°You just keep saying ¡®Boden, Boden¡¯, were you sent here by the ice-cream company[10]? What¡¯s the matter, Graves, don¡¯t tell me you got a mansion there too?¡±


    ¡°Nah, Mummy said something super scary is sleeping in that lake. Right, and of course I don¡¯t mean a hibernating giraffe.¡±


    Once the topic gets serious, she switches to her mother tongue, but only at twice the speed, so it¡¯s easier to understand.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s real or not, but I heard that if the seal is broken, it will cause serious damage to the world, so it seems to be a super scary thing. Old pal, that¡¯s all I know.¡±


    Abigail beckons to Shouri, bringing her lips to his ear,


    ¡°In World War II, the Nazis once coveted that power too! I heard that back then, to prevent it from falling into those guys¡¯ hands, my great grandmother sank it to the bottom of Bodensee.¡±


    ¡°What kind of a person was your great grandmother?¡±


    ¡°Oh, dear!¡±


    Abigail Graves ignores the fact that she¡¯s wearing a kimono, opening her legs wide, bending one knee slightly, raising her right hand into the sky, while her empty left hand is put on her waist. Suddenly it¡¯s a nostalgic, perfect Travolta pose.


    ¡°We Graves are generations of treasure hunters, you know!¡±


    But Shouri¡¯s head is full of ¡®even the Nazis coveted that power¡¯, not caring at all about what treasure hunters. Compared to making the world¡¯s number one waterfall flow backwards, wouldn¡¯t that power be more likely to fulfill his wish?


    Switzerland, huh¡­ Then he must immediately cancel the waiting list seat, and change it to Europe. Wait a second, what is the common language in Switzerland? Can he communicate even without using English? And their currency isn¡¯t a Mark or a Franc, but a Euro, huh? One Euro equals to how many Japanese yen, he doesn¡¯t know ¡­ But Shouri does know that one Yuuri equals to one younger brother[11].


    Abigail continues talking to Shouri, whose head is already full of the European plan,


    ¡°PS. I¡¯m a cheerleader and a treasure hunter!¡±


    PPS. ¡®Paint-and-Build Sex Toy¡¯ is Shouri¡¯s username¡ªBut he doesn¡¯t want his own brother to know that.

 Volume 11 - CH 5

    I¡¯ve only ever seen Dejima[1] in textbooks and periodic dramas, so I can¡¯t compare, but at least this is different from what I imagined, and the atmosphere is pretty peaceful too.


    I can¡¯t hear the yells of traders here, neither do I see kids scampering across the roads. The camel-colored two-story brick buildings line the streets neatly and in order, but only a few of the shops are open for business, so there¡¯s not even a hint of the hustle and bustle of a port.


    And yet, there are definitely a lot of people here, the passers-by on the roads being mostly healthy and friendly-looking adults. They smile at the foreigners going to customs, and a few of them say a few short words, probably greetings.


    And they¡¯re just like the shinzoku we¡¯ve seen before, with blonde hair so pale it¡¯s almost white, and their eyes are a pretty golden color too. People with dark hair and eyes are rare, so everyone looks surprised at our appearances at first, but there is no contempt in their reactions.


    ¡°What a relief, I was worried what to do if they treated us like rare animals!¡±


    ¡°Who knows, maybe the people of Dejima are used to contact with foreigners? And they should have received a certain degree of education. The deeper into the continent you go, the simpler the people.¡±


    Josak rolls up the sleeves on his apron, turning his head to look at me, who was sighing in relief,


    ¡°We can¡¯t judge a country by its main gates alone. At the very least we have to see the porch and back door.¡±


    ¡°I see. You¡¯re so smart! Josak.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, you really know how to win my heart, this is the first time in my life someone called me smart! But too bad, it has nothing to do with my wits, it¡¯s actually the accumulation of experience. Oh, dear¡ªactually it¡¯s because I¡¯ve been to a lot of places, though I was spending my boss¡¯ money the whole time.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re studying on scholarship? That makes you just like Mori Ogai[2]~¡±


    As a result he gives me an expression that says, that¡¯s why I can¡¯t just sit by and do nothing¡ªLooks like I said something dumb again.


    The customs officers who greet us ask us this and that as they help the tourists change clothes or wash up. These workers look around the same age as those young girls working in Japan, maybe it¡¯s because their outfits and hairstyles are all uniform, every girl looks the same.


    I observe closely for a while, and realize that there are duos who look the same everywhere.


    That¡¯s when I finally remember, that the rates of shinzoku having twins are really high. There are identical twins like Jason and Freddy who looks so similar it¡¯s unbelievable; and though Zeta and Zuusha are sister and brother, they still look very similar. Although I haven¡¯t seen the siblings of that girl and that helms expert, it¡¯s highly likely that they were mingled with the group in that boat.


    Speaking of which, I wonder where Jason and Freddy are forced to work at? I look around, trying to see if they¡¯re among this group of girls. Not far away from me, though, Saralegui is causing a ruckus. Although he¡¯s young, but he¡¯s still the king of a country, for him to receive the same examinations at the customs like a normal visitor, must make him feel really insulted, huh? For all I know, being as composed and low-confidence like me is the problem here. Lord Weller is comforting him with a pained expression¡ª it sure is tough to take care of others. I can¡¯t help but smile bitterly, and only then do I realize that my mouth is so dry my tongue is almost glued to the ceiling.


    It¡¯s not just my throat that¡¯s dry.


    ¡°Ah¡ªI¡¯m so hungry my vision is blurring¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s bad, are you dizzy and nauseous? Should Gurrier apologize to everyone out there who¡¯d eating right now?¡±


    ¡°Although I¡¯m nauseous, I can only puke out stomach acids. It should be okay! As long as we don¡¯t suddenly have to eat a full course French meal.¡±


    A pair of sisters come up to me with brand new white cloths, the girl on the eight smiling as she hands me the warm towels.


    ¡°Comment allez-vous? (French for How are you?)¡±


    S-she¡¯s speaking French! Just when I¡¯m at a loss about how to reply, she has already taken the steamed towel and is wiping my face¡ªcompletely unafraid of my position.


    ¡°Azabu-j¨±ban[3]¡ªMn.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the Toei ¨­edo Line¡¯s¡­ Mn¡­¡±


    ¡°Waa tai izzit nah? (What time is it now?)¡±


    That is impossible. As I recall what I saw in my old man¡¯s Conversational English Booklet, I try to say ¡®saitsheeing (sightseeing)¡¯, and as a result the girl who was helping me tidy up actually blushed and ran away. Looks like she¡¯s not good at dealing with foreigners and strange accents.


    The completely calm and collected spy Josak, on the other hand, easily solves the language problem. All he does is occasionally raise his palm and smile, occasionally make a ¡®fine, fine¡¯ movement, signaling for them to leave.


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing, Josak understands what they¡¯re saying?¡±


    ¡°How can that be¡ªI¡¯m just making weird gestures as I like! As long as I make such contradicting reactions, I¡¯m sure even they will get a headache and find a translator.¡±


    ¡°Impressive! Then let me make some weird gestures too.¡±


    And then I stick out my tongue, scaring three people to tears. Looks like my techniques still aren¡¯t up to par.


    ¡°Really, Young Master, Gurrier is an adult with a young girl¡¯s heart, you know.¡±


    And just as Josak said, the panicked translator immediately rushes over, so from now on the ones handling all our matters, are all bearded middle-aged uncles, while those girls stay as far away from us as possible, treating us as people to pay special attention to.


    One of the men has a name card saying, ¡®Translator: Ajira¡±, though the third word is a mirror image of the real word. Behind those heavy lenses, his golden eyeballs are so big it¡¯s scary. Looks like even shinzoku, seem to get short-sighted. He has a soft beard on his face and chin, looking as though there¡¯s white mold growing there.


    Following that man¡¯s lead, we leave Dejima, and prepare to enter Seisakoku borders.


    ¡°You, horse?¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡±


    I can¡¯t help but want to ask him who¡¯s the horse here. After a rather long time, we finally understand that he has a habit of abbreviating the verbs when he talks. Turns it he was asking, ¡®You want to ride a horse?¡¯ We left transport up to him, but the thing I¡¯m more worried about is, does he understand what kind of a group we are?


    At the exit of the port, there are people desperately waving. Normal people wouldn¡¯t simply wave at the prime minister of another country, right? Even though they don¡¯t have relations, Shou Shimaron is still a large country. Seeing that he doesn¡¯t seem to be respected by the commoners here, Saralegui¡¯s mood doesn¡¯t seem too good.


    Basically Seisakoku isn¡¯t exactly what its name suggests, because this isn¡¯t a place where all you see is sand.


    There¡¯s greenery between the mountains, and red earth along the roads. ¡®In a white desert you can¡¯t see in one glance, after experiencing the cruelest trip on camelback, finally reaching an oasis with one coconut tree¡­¡¯ I was initially imagining a place a lot like the Sahara Desert, but the result is vastly different.


    The temperature here is barely different from the harsh winters of Japan, though, even pulling up my collar can¡¯t block out the cold winds blowing from all directions, and the air is extremely dry, too.


    It could be because of the climate here, but there¡¯s very little greenery on the plains. Looking out the coach windows, I can only see very few places that could be called farms. Maybe this country isn¡¯t built on agriculture?


    Not only is the scenery as we¡¯re moving vastly difference from my imagination, even the first city that we finally arrive at, has a level of splendor that truly shocks us.


    The buildings are all fixed and uniform, with not one house standing out. Because of the time, the shops haven¡¯t opened for business yet, but the windows of each house are brightly lit with lanterns, and steel gates that lead in and out line the smooth road. According to Ajira¡¯s proud explanation (though he still does away with the verbs), even the underground waterway and heating systems here are very complete.


    What¡¯s even more surprising to us is, there isn¡¯t a wall surrounding the city.


    The city area around Blood Pledge Castle, is surrounded by tall walls, mainly as a defense against thieves at night and enemy armies. But Seisakoku doesn¡¯t have city walls.


    ¡°So cool! Looks like the security here is very well maintained.¡±


    ¡°Is that so~¡±


    Josak mutters as he heads towards the place we¡¯re staying for the night. Right now he seems to be more nervous that he was at Dejima.


    ¡°Looks like that stretch of ocean should be a natural defense, huh¡­ And also¡­¡±


    ¡°Josak, what¡¯s the matter? Look at you, stuttering like that. If you think anything¡¯s not right, could you please talk to me about it?¡±


    ¡°Right now it¡¯s still okay. Before the king here meets us, he would probably hope we¡¯re unharmed as well.¡±


    Seems like there¡¯s a double edge to his words. Based on many years as a spy, his sixth sense isn¡¯t something to be underestimated!


    There are still three days and three nights to go, until the summit to be held in Seisakoku.


    Although our traveling involves rushing in the day time, we stay in five-star hotels at night, so even the extravagant greenhouse-flower Saralegui can¡¯t complain about it. As for me, ever since the second day after we landed, I haven¡¯t felt tired at all, instead I feel so energized I can¡¯t sleep.


    Maybe it¡¯s because my inability to sit still has even been noticed by third parties, so not only Josak, but even Saralegui asks me if I¡¯m unwell at some point.


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing it might because I¡¯m too wound up. Rather than call it gastric pains¡­ it¡¯s more like I ate too much and feel tight in my chest.¡±


    ¡°Could it be a cold? Maybe you were too worn out that time when we were drifting on the sea.¡±


    And sometimes I get headaches and horrible chills too, very evidently the pre-symptoms of a cold.


    ¡°Yuuri, I think you should ask the translator to help bring you some medicine! Although it¡¯s shinzoku medicine, it shouldn¡¯t be completely ineffective to mazoku.¡±


    ¡°If I ask him to bring me medicine, but instead he gives me a cup of super-bitter tea, that¡¯d be a bother. I¡¯m okay, sheesh! I¡¯ll just ask him to bring an extra blanket¡­ Sara, sorry, I made you worry.¡±


    Of course it¡¯s not as though I think the medicine here is ineffective, it¡¯s just the moment I hear about taking medicine, I remember G¨¹nter¡¯s advice, ¡°Don¡¯t eat the food offered by strangers¡±. As a principle I still eat the normal three meals, but I will never take any special food no one else has eaten. That¡¯s the most basic of precautions.


    And I deduce that this sense of discomfort isn¡¯t a cold, but due to pressure. I¡¯ve been in a series of emergency situations since Shou Shimaron, and I didn¡¯t have any friends during the voyage. Josak is definitely a comrade I can rely on, and is a trustworthy guard, but that¡¯s different from the sense of safety Wolfram gives me. Because we can¡¯t banter with each other, and comfort each other.


    Although the things I¡¯m worried about has lessened a little since we landed, but something else that makes me uneasy immediately appears¡ªthat is the stress from the summit that will I¡¯ll have to face soon.


    After this I¡¯ll meet the king of an unknown country that I¡¯ve never seen before, and hold a talk with the reputation of two countries on the line. And this isn¡¯t a one-on-one summit either, the Shou Shimaron king will be present, too. Faced with two kings who have received the proper kingly training, is a normal high school student with no talents like me a worthy opponent?


    After all half a year ago I was still a baseball boy like any other you could see on the street. Completely clueless about any diplomatic ways, much less any negotiation techniques. I¡¯d much rather let that brother of mine, who bragged that he would someday be governor of Tokyo, take my place instead.


    The strategist that I can rely on, G¨¹nter, isn¡¯t with me, and Murata, who can help me best at times like this is nowhere to be seen either. There¡¯s not a single person I can discuss this with beside me.


    No wonder I feel the pressure piling on.


    ¡°I might get crushed to death by the pressure.¡±


    I mumble in a voice no one else can here, and kick the floor of the coach once. Since this is the eve of the destined match, it¡¯s completely unsurprising that I feel this way. But a benchwarmer like me has almost never experienced any large-scale matches, just the EXP difference itself is huge.


    ¡°Yuuri, look! We can see the capital! Ah~ I¡¯m so excited, I wonder what kind of a city has it become? Is the king here okay? Is the previous monarch healthy?¡±


    Saralegui, who doesn¡¯t seem to know what pressure means, says happily as he leans out of the window.


    Lord Weller, who has been quiet this whole time, advises in a monotonous voice,


    ¡°Your Majesty, it¡¯s best not to overthink things.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m really looking forward to it! My heart feels so excited.¡±


    His tone sounds like he¡¯s met the other person before¡­ Speaking of which, he did mention on the voyage that that was his second time crossing that dangerous stretch of sea.


    ¡°Sara, you¡­¡±


    Because of the improvement in the quality of the road, the speed of the carriage starts picking up, too, making me swallow down my suspicions together with the sound of the wheels. Don¡¯t ask, so what if I know more about Saralegui¡¯s past? It¡¯ll just make me feel more regretful that I didn¡¯t learn the necessary knowledge, make me feel smaller.


    The capital of Seisakoku, Yelshinrad, seems calm and carefree under the sparkling evening rays.


    Faced with such huge, majestic buildings, we¡¯re completely shocked by its different style.


    So this is the kind of the city they meant by a metropolis, this is the kind of country they meant by a powerful country¡­


    ¡°Impressive¡­¡±


    The original color should be white or something pale, right? The orderly roads and walls have been dyed crimson by the sunset. The castle is in the heart of the city, just looking at the top of the tower forced me to crane my neck, the height itself leaves me at a loss for words.


    There are streets leading into the city and away from the castle in every direction, all the buildings built around that center in a circle. If the Tang Dynasty¡¯s Chang¡¯An looks like a chessboard, then this one¡­


    ¡°How to describe it¡­ It¡¯s like a baumkuchen[4].¡±


    Why am I so unimaginative?


    Looking at the city from the center tower, gives me the feeling of a solemn concerto getting louder and louder.


    ¡°Some people cry.¡±


    The translator, Ajira, is as simple and concise as ever. He probably means to say that ¡®Some people are so touched when they see the castle for the first time, they actually cry¡¯, right? I¡¯m begging you, don¡¯t abbreviate that much!


    In contrast to the happy and rowdy atmosphere, Saralegui has become quieter, he¡¯s probably very nervous too.


    As for me, my gut and temple starts hurting, and I even feel cold sweat beading on my back and neck. To make sure no one else notices, I secretly wipe my forehead. But the overwhelming pressure makes it hard for me to breathe, and I can no longer tell if it¡¯s gastric pains or something else, so I can¡¯t help but grip my chest tightly with my right hand.


    Underneath the borrowed clothes, there¡¯s only my rapidly accelerating heartbeat.


    ¡°Yuuri?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Mn, what¡¯s the matter?¡±


    There are four tall and intricately-carved pillars at the castle entrance. When I place my hand on the smooth surface, the coolness immediately moves to my arm through my fingers. The carved stone walls and ground sparkle, the pale green patterns indescribably beautiful.


    In the past I¡¯ve seen many mansions and castles, but compared to this palace, the extravagance is on a completely different level, even making me feel as though the Blood Pledge Castle we live in is a coarsely-built bunker.


    Right then, in front of the people who looked live palace servants with their heads bowed, Saralegui says to me,


    ¡°Don¡¯t embarrass yourself in a place like this, ¡®kay.¡±


    And then that pretty face blooms into a smile.


    The white face, pale-colored glasses, and slender limbs are all dyed by the orange backlight¡ªmaking him look like he¡¯s bathed in fresh blood.


    It¡¯s not the cold and not the overwhelming pressure, but an unknown reason that makes me sway on my feet, and as a result I miss a step on the not-too-high stairs. But before I can fall, a hand holds me up firmly.


    ¡°¡­Your Majesty.¡±


    It can¡¯t be, it¡¯s completely impossible.


    My throat feels like it¡¯s being blocked by something heavy, and the oxygen can¡¯t get through my windpipe.


    He is so friendly. He was always like that, and he should always be like that.


    Why must I be so suspicious of everything? If I suspect everyone and everything, then won¡¯t there be no end to it? But suspecting him is easier than trusting him.


    ¡°Your Majesty.¡±


    ¡°Which ¡®Your Majesty¡¯ are you calling?¡±


    I retort instinctively. Because that voice is Lord Weller¡¯s.


    ¡°You.¡±


    Conrad stands two steps above me, stopping me from saying any more, continuing what he wants to say. Because of the backlight, I can¡¯t see his light brown eyes¡ªI hate the sunset like hell!


    ¡°Do you want to go back?¡±


    Josak grabs my arm, and I push up against him forcefully. By now Saralegui has climbed up the stairs, and is looking back at us, left behind.


    ¡°If you¡¯re feeling uncomfortable, rest well tonight, and go tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°How can I!¡±


    I ignore their concerns, dashing up the two stone steps. Since I¡¯m already here, how can I back down!


    I really can¡¯t imagine what kind of impressive person my opponent is at all, but I still need to see if he¡¯s an enemy or a friend. Besides, I can¡¯t get rid of my doubts towards Saralegui in my heart, either. But he¡¯s only seventeen, if you just look at the number of years we¡¯ve lived, there¡¯s not that much of a difference. Even if the things we learned are different, the times we¡¯ve got to use those things should be the same. Since he can do it, I should be able to do it too.


    Come on! Get into the batter¡¯s box. This isn¡¯t the practice field, this is the batter¡¯s box in an official competition. I¡¯m going to use everything I have to take you down¡­ Though whether I¡¯ll get a strikeout or not is another matter.


    I turn around and look down from the top of the stairs, and the view really is very beautiful. Not only is it arranged perfectly, there isn¡¯t anything that stands out or doesn¡¯t fit, either. The people on the street dress and look almost exactly the same, and there are only two or three changes in color. If it was in this country, even if someone only wore their sports uniform every day, they could still walk the streets proudly.


    Just as I move my gaze back towards the castle¡ª


    A boy, junior elementary school age, scrambles over past the guard¡¯s attempts at stopping him. His pale grey cloths are short, revealing pale and bloodless arms and knees. The little boy suddenly bends down and uses a stone in his hand to draw a huge hexagon at his feet. Before the few soldiers can stop him, he¡¯s already connected the line.


    I¡¯ve seen that shape before, and instinctively I press my left arm beneath my clothes. The scratches underneath my fingers that were almost healed start hurting again. That was the mark left by that shinzoku girl with her short nails before we parted, and it came with the mysterious word, ¡®Venera¡¯.


    After the boy finishes drawing his hexagon, he starts singing. He sings a song I don¡¯t understand in a slightly off-key voice. But the tune seems familiar to me¡ªit¡¯s a melody I know well.


    ¡°I feel as though¡­ I heard it somewhere before.¡±


    ¡°I heard it too.¡±


    ¡°Then it has to be a Shin Makoku children¡¯s song¡­¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s my first time hearing it.¡±


    The two mazoku exchange their opinions, but the boy, meeting opposition, chooses to continue singing in an even louder voice.


    The soldier¡¯s actions are really rough¡ªit¡¯s just a boy doodling around, but three of them are sent to pin him to the ground.


    ¡°Hey¡­!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t bully a little kid!¡±


    Saralegui dashes up front even faster than I do, offering his hand to the boy gently, but as soon as he sees the dirty clothes and dusty hair, those beautifully manicured fingertips are immediately retracted.


    ¡°What! So it¡¯s just a worthless little brat.¡±


    ¡°Sara?¡±


    ¡°Yuuri, ignore him. That¡¯s the child of slaves.¡±


    ¡°Slaves¡­ What are you saying, Saralegui! Such a small child is being handled violently, and you¡¯re asking me to ignore him!? Don¡¯t you see the army brutality!? Stop, let go of that kid¡­¡±


    Just as I¡¯m getting ready to push aside one of the guards, there¡¯s a scream from behind the gathering crowd. Rather than fear, it¡¯s more of a yell of disgust. The angry curses never stop, and add that to the horrible stench wafting around, the reason is quickly revealed.


    As the crowd splits to the left and right, a trolley with a wooden bucket on top immediately tumbles down. The lid loosens off, and brown liquid spills onto the road. The intense odor makes it clear that that is ¡®that thing¡¯¡ªthough I don¡¯t know if I should call it liquid organic fertilizer, or fertilizer distilled from feces.


    Either way, everyone can¡¯t use their noses to breathe at all.


    The women¡¯s screams urge the guards to rush over, and according to my own translation, they¡¯re yelling, ¡°Why is there a compost cart here!?¡± Next to the overturned cart there¡¯s a petite person squatting there, head covered by a dirty hood. An old lady, looking extremely weak, raises her head as she¡¯s scolded by the citizens and soldiers. The hair that¡¯s plastered onto her forehead is too golden and bright, so it¡¯s turned white. And it could be because of her too-advanced age, but her forehead and throat have obvious wrinkles.


    She puts both palms on the cold floor, even peeking our way. Rather than saying she¡¯s purposely looking at us, it¡¯d be better to say her gaze just happens to move this way.


    But in those zero point something seconds, Conrad, standing beside me, holds his breath in surprise, I know he¡¯s holding back a name that almost escapes his lips, and he even grips his fist tightly. In a voice of surprise that the people can¡¯t hear, he says,


    ¡°How is that possible¡­¡±


    ¡°Conrad?¡±


    Just as I¡¯m about to ask, ¡°You guys know each other?¡±, I hear Saralegui interrupt my question in a tone of deep contempt,


    ¡°Stinky old hag!¡±


    By the time we realized it, the boy had already made an escape when the old lady and her impressive stench distracted the guards. All that¡¯s left is the symbol on the ground.


    The hexagon like the one on my arm, a simple diamond sign.

 Volume 11 - CH 6

    Why is it different from what I thought? So Seisakoku isn¡¯t a monarchy, but an empire?


    After coming to the king¡¯s audience room deep within the palace, we finally learn about that from Ajira. Because he said, ¡°Please wait here for His Imperial Majesty Yelshi to arrive.¡±


    Since arriving here, this is my first time hearing my summit opponent¡¯s name, and the fact that he¡¯s not a king, but an emperor.


    ¡°Hey! Why didn¡¯t anyone tell me about this, huh? If so you should have said from the start this is the Empire of Seisa[1]!¡±


    ¡°Young Master, why are you so freaked out? What¡¯s the difference between His Majesty the King and His Majesty the Emperor~ It¡¯s just the title that¡¯s a little different. And they don¡¯t place much emphasis on hereditary lineage here, so it¡¯s rather like our country!¡±


    Josak¡¯s attitude sure is carefree.


    ¡°But the problem lies in that ¡®a little¡¯ difference!¡±


    ¡°Speaking of difference, this outfit has a lot of problems too, you know.¡±


    He frowns, pinching the material on his shirt.


    ¡°Young Master too, such pale colors don¡¯t suit you at all. The way Gurrier sees it, if you were such coarse clothes to see the leader of another country, now that¡¯s a big problem! Really, I just want to take it all off and be done with it!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that, d-don¡¯t mess around. If you do that, won¡¯t I be wearing ¡®the King¡¯s New Clothes¡¯?¡±


    Although in the ¡®King¡¯s New Clothes¡¯, that king gives the impression of being weak and stupid, but if you change king to emperor, for some reason it just gives a cool air like ¡®Scarred Lola¡¯[2], I wonder why?


    Although amongst the group of kings there¡¯s also big names like Alexander, but because this noun was used too much in fairy tales, so it make people think of kindly old grandfathers. Once you mention an emperor, though, people like Napoleon or Nero come to mind, and you can¡¯t think of them as gentle at all¡ªI have a predisposed opinion when it comes to emperors, assuming that they¡¯re either good at war or tyrants, so either way they¡¯re scary people in power.


    Just like there are emperor penguins and king penguins, and the former just gives you a stronger feeling.


    If it was Murata, he would surely raise a few more examples like Beckenbauer[3] and Michel Platini[4], such names that I never heard before, huh? For all I know there¡¯d be a general in the middle of all that.


    Anyway, putting aside my petty concerns, we¡¯ve come to the Seisakoku emperor¡¯s audience room. The room is long and rectangular, while the painted-gold ceiling is arched like the bottom of the boat. The floorboards and walls are covered in mosaic, describing the history of the shinzoku according to the years. Just looking at these pictures makes you feel you shouldn¡¯t simply step on them, so all of us have no choice but to push forward while jumping like frogs. Really, since it¡¯s an important piece of art that should never be dirtied, you shouldn¡¯t put it on the floor!


    The drapes are slowly pulled open as the guards announce the arrival of the guards. I can vaguely sense someone sitting behind the veils.


    All the symptoms of the pressure, heart-pulsing, breathlessness, gastric pains, headaches and chest-tightening, all ambush me at once.


    Just then His Majesty Yelshi speaks up from behind the thin veils:


    ¡°Gasgabu?¡±


    This emperor¡¯s words really leave people at a loss. Even in this kind of situation, he still treats every word like gold, and his tone at the end is clearly questioning. According to my super translation skills, it¡¯s ¡®no need to be so formal, come closer¡¯, but it¡¯s completely different to what the expert¡¯s translation is.


    ¡°Long trip?¡±


    How very simple and concise.


    ¡°Ah! Thank you for your concern.¡±


    I don¡¯t know how to answer, so I sneak a glance at Saralegui. If you count the number of days we¡¯ve been on the throne, he counts as my senior. But the young Shou Shimaron king doesn¡¯t particularly greet the other party, all I see is a hint of a smile on the corners of his lips.


    True, after all we represent our respective countries too, so we can¡¯t act too submissive. A rookie king like me with so little experience it¡¯s pitiful, can only learn by experiencing it for myself.


    The Seisakoku emperor continues with a longer speech than just now. Even if it¡¯s someone like me, who can use baseball metaphors and annoy the hell out of people, can¡¯t bring the baseball logic I¡¯m so good at when talking to someone in long, foreign sentences. At times like this, it¡¯d be best to rely on Anissina¡¯s pride and joy, her mysterious ma-powered devices.


    ¡°Regarding your visit, we feel very happy. Do you wish to drink anything?¡±


    After hearing that completely normal translation, Saralegui suddenly relaxes his shoulders, a smile blossoming across his face,


    ¡°Heh, Yelshi.¡±


    He uses his white hands to push his hair behind his ears, and even a small gesture like that is still elegant on him.


    ¡°Yelshi, don¡¯t bother with those annoying formalities anymore, this is our long-awaited reunion after thirteen years, you know!¡±


    The Shou Shimaron king says this cheerfully, and then, ignoring everyone else who¡¯s staring wide-eyed and slack-jawed, he reaches his hands out for the veil between us and His Majesty the Emperor.


    ¡°P-please wait!¡±


    He disregards the opposition from the others, pulling aside the pale green veils as naturally as he would push aside his hair.


    ¡°Wait a sec, Sa¡­ Eh?¡±


    On the throne one step above us, there¡¯s another Saralegui sitting there¡ªNo, to be precise there is a little difference. The hair that brushes his shoulders is shorter than Sara¡¯s, and he doesn¡¯t have pale-colored glasses to hide his light-sensitive eyes. But the two of them can¡¯t simply be described as ¡®very similar¡¯.


    They¡¯re practically twins.


    ¡°So¡­¡±


    My voice is so hoarse it gets stuck in my throat.


    So that¡¯s it! When I turn around to look, I see that even Josak and Lord Weller look fairly surprised. Even the two younger guards awaiting orders in the room can¡¯t hide the wavering of their hearts. The only ones who look unaffected are the slightly older ones.


    Saralegui takes off the glasses he usually wears, opening his arms to the emperor of Seisakoku.


    ¡°Yelshi, long time no see. You¡¯ve grown so big! Well, that¡¯s unsurprising, after all we¡¯re not kids anymore.¡±


    And with that he runs towards the young king, using equally slender arms to hug his petite body.


    ¡°We lived separately, so we may not look exactly the same. What do you think, Yuuri?¡±


    Two pairs of identical eyes look at me. One pair is completely emotionless, while the other pair of golden eyes is sparkling with joy.


    ¡°I wonder, do we still look very similar?¡±


    I¡¯m so surprised I¡¯m beyond reacting.


    That¡¯s right, didn¡¯t I know this a long time ago?


    There are a lot of twins among the shinzoku.

 Volume 11 - CH 7

    Looking at the brothers sitting side by side, I think: If they wore the same clothes, it¡¯d be impossible to tell them apart, wouldn¡¯t it? If I had to differentiate between one and the other, I¡¯d say the younger brother Yelshi is a bit like an emotionless doll, but that¡¯s still within an acceptable margin of error. If he stepped down from the throne, he would surely have emotions as well.


    ¡°I was born in this country.¡±


    Saralegui smiles, holding the hand of the brother he hadn¡¯t seen for thirteen years. Yelshi just looks at him wordlessly, though the two of them seem to be able to communicate without words.


    ¡°Back then, Father was leading the Shou Shimaron army, and got injured in the sea nearby, staying in this country to heal his wounds. That was when he and Mother fell in love.¡±


    Saralegui, on the other hand, looks a little shy talking about his own mother¡¯s love life. After all that¡¯s happened, I¡¯m even more surprised at that, who knew he would have that sort of emotion too!


    ¡°During that time, my uncle ruled Shou Shimaron. But when we turned four, as the older brother I had practically no houryoku at all, so I had no choice but to leave the country. You guys might not know this, but quite a few shinzoku children have powerful houryoku. And most would show the symptoms when they were really young. You may not believe this¡­¡±


    Saralegui laughs as he shrugs, and we, sitting on the other end of the wide table, can only wait for him to continue.


    ¡°But children with houryoku, even when they sleep, the bed will float in the air with them.¡±


    ¡°Sure sounds like something out of a horror movie.¡±


    ¡°For all I know, mazoku children have similar experiences. Yuuri, what about you?¡±


    The two people without any maryoku beside me look unconcerned. But when it comes to mazoku who could cause interesting phenomena like that, I can only think of Miss Anissina. But if it was Lady Cherie, it might be something like waking up in the morning, to find a handsome hottie sleeping beside her for some unknown reason, or a ma-powered experience like that.


    ¡°But, you can¡¯t leave Seisakoku just because you don¡¯t have houryoku, right? Sure, it¡¯s convenient to have houryoku, but even if you don¡¯t it won¡¯t affect your daily life, will it?¡±


    ¡°In this country¡­¡±


    Saralegui raises the glass in front of him to moisten his throat. The skin on his neck is so white it makes me suspect if I can see the grape-colored drink through it. If my mom were to describe it, it¡¯d be like the seaweed in our breakfast miso soup¡­ This simile has been used too many times.


    Yelshi finishes the liquid in his cup at the same time. Twins are really impressive. I feel that even without houryoku, they should have some other mysterious, natural-born power.


    I don¡¯t know what¡¯s that liquid filling the cups, maybe emperors like high class grape wine? But I haven¡¯t drunk a sip of it.


    ¡°In this country, people who can¡¯t use houjutsu can¡¯t become shinzoku. Our first ancestor was born from the blood of gods, so anyone who can¡¯t use the houjutsu of the gods and their followers, will be treated as not a real shinzoku and thus despised by everyone.¡±


    Saralegui states mildly, as though it¡¯s nothing to do with him.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how high your status is, there are no exceptions, only the slaves in this country don¡¯t have houryoku. The opposite is true too, a baby born in a slave family, as long as they have strong houryoku, can get the same treatment as a future citizen. And if they¡¯re willing to serve the country, they may even be promoted to a full-fledged soldier or official¡ªjust like the translator standing over there.¡±


    Seeing someone suddenly point his way, the translator almost jumps in surprise, even his eyebrow-shaped white moustache stands on end.


    ¡°Because he naturally has the power to translate foreign languages!¡±


    ¡°Eh! Then wouldn¡¯t anyone strong in languages¡­¡±


    I am irresistibly reminded of Anissina.


    ¡°As a young child I had practically no houryoku. When my mother found out about that, she wanted to wipe away my existence. Because she¡¯s a woman with strict demands, if I continued staying in this country, I¡¯d probably have to live with the slaves, huh. Oh, yeah, how is Mother these days?¡±


    Upon hearing Saralegui¡¯s question, Yelshi shakes his head, his hand held tightly in Saralegui¡¯s. I can see their lips moving, but their voices don¡¯t reach all the way here.


    ¡°Is that right, she¡¯s not doing too well, huh¡­ Then even if you tell here I came, she wouldn¡¯t be able to tell what¡¯s going on, huh? After all in her heart she¡¯s long since gotten rid of her other son.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you mother and son by birth!?¡±


    I ask without thinking, how can there be such a cruel mother? Saralegui, though, replies noncommittally,


    ¡°We¡¯re mother and son, that¡¯s right.¡±


    Just because of that superpower that doesn¡¯t make a difference even if you don¡¯t have it, she doesn¡¯t acknowledge her own child. The society here is just too illogical, isn¡¯t it? Although my mom always sighs, ¡°You are your mother¡¯s child, so you shouldn¡¯t be so unpopular,¡± but there¡¯s still a small difference in the tone and meaning.


    ¡°But Saralegui, why didn¡¯t you mention to me that you were born in Seisakoku? Not only that, back when we were in Shou Shimaron, didn¡¯t you say that be it your country or yourself, this is your first time contacting Seisakoku?¡±


    This means that throughout that long journey before, he was always lying to me.


    ¡°Yuuri, I never lied to you. That¡¯s because all that happened when I was young, so I don¡¯t have any recollection of it myself.¡±


    ¡°Even so, you can¡¯t have been completely out of contact these past thirteen years, right? Not only are you twins, one of you was the prince of your father¡¯s country, and the other was the prince of your mother¡¯s country, right? Even if there¡¯s no diplomatic relation between the two countries, you should at least be able to communicate, right?¡±


    ¡°We did communicate after I ascended the throne, yeah.¡±


    ¡°During that time, Seisakoku was under lockdown, wasn¡¯t it? I say, Sara, if you keep lying like this, careful you don¡¯t become ¡®the boy who cried dog¡¯!¡±


    Lord Weller knocks my stomach lightly, whispering,


    ¡°Sheep.¡±


    ¡°Eh, is it? Wasn¡¯t it dog?¡±


    ¡°I like dogs! But I like elephants even more~¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah, there¡¯re elephants too. If you keep lying like this, your nose will grow longer, you know! When it does, then you¡¯ll regret it!¡±


    The men on both sides cover their faces with their hands exasperatedly.


    ¡°That¡¯s something else altogether.¡±


    ¡°You guys sure get along well.¡±


    Watching our comedy trio performance, Saralegui smiles lightly. That pair of brothers, though, be it in appearance or personality, they do have a slight difference. Compared to the open and active older brother, the younger brother is obviously much more reserved. Seeing Yelshi act so docile and honest, my ¡®emperor image¡¯ for the past sixteen years is practically shattering into pieces. But then that quiet little brother suddenly speaks up,


    ¡°Actually¡­¡±


    ¡°Eh? You understand our language?¡±


    I¡¯m taken completely by surprise, turns out Yelshi used the aforementioned translation houjutsu. But I feel he¡¯s just an emperor who worked hard to learn foreign cultures. He raises his head to look at us, face to face, and his golden irises suddenly become darker.


    ¡°No, communication. Until two years ago. Until now still, lockdown.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just as he said, Mother is very strict with her demands. Even if she misses her previous lover, she wouldn¡¯t open relations between the two countries for something as trivial as love.¡±


    Her personality is the complete opposite of our previous Queen, surely the two of them would never get along.


    I touch the champagne glass in front of me lightly, its surface looks moist due to the condensation on the sides. The weather outside is cold and windy, but it¡¯s way too warm inside the palace.


    ¡°Saralegui, I really can¡¯t understand¡­ Oh, right, then should I call your younger brother His Majesty the Emperor?¡±


    ¡°I think it doesn¡¯t matter what you call him, right? After all he¡¯s not familiar with the common language.¡±


    That¡¯s what he said, but to call someone I¡¯m not close with by their name directly, I just can¡¯t do that.


    ¡°Although we¡¯re of the same age, the basic manners still have to be there. Speaking of which, I just don¡¯t get it, why does Seisakoku have to stay under lockdown? Although your parents are from different countries, but they are still married, right? Isn¡¯t this the best chance to open up your gates?¡±


    After hearing his brother¡¯s reply, Saralegui translates for us,


    ¡°It¡¯s probably because they don¡¯t need to import or export. This country has the capability to provide for itself, and they¡¯re really happy with the way things are, too.¡±


    ¡°¡­But, changed.¡±


    Yelshi seems to reply immediately after his older brother. Although it¡¯s just a few simple words, his tone carries an unwavering determination.


    ¡°Now isn¡¯t Mother¡¯s era anymore.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Yelshi, from now on it¡¯s our era!¡±


    The twin brothers hold each other¡¯s shoulders lightly.


    ¡°From now on it¡¯s your and my era! We don¡¯t need Father or Mother to intervene, the era of Shou Shimaron and Seisakoku is upon us. Although there¡¯s still Dai Shimaron behind us, but as long as you and I are as one, that era will come soon enough.¡±


    The younger brother listens to his older brother¡¯s words, nodding in approval.


    Watching this scene in front of me, I get an odd feeling, as though I¡¯m watching clones in a prank. Are they really separate beings? It couldn¡¯t be that there¡¯s a giant mirror in front of Saralegui, could it? I keep feeling as though one of them is a reflection, lacking depth and warmth, while the other is the real person¡­


    ¡°You see.¡±


    The younger brother stands up suddenly, holding his brother¡¯s hand as he walks across the room and opens the large window, revealing a balcony that allows us to enjoy the courtyard below. Our gazes follow his downwards, and see an armed platoon walk into the square.


    Turns out they¡¯re fully armed soldiers, more than one thousand or two thousands of them. The squad stretches past the wide center court, all the way out of the large gates. The silver armor and unsheathed weapons, under the last rays of the setting sun, sparkle bright red, looking just like the color of blood.


    Seeing their Emperor appear together with Saralegui, the atmosphere on the scene immediately boils over, not only do they hammer their swords, spears, shields and other metallic weapons, they also start loudly praising their king.


    With, Yelshi, between his fingers!


    With, Yelshi, between his fingers!


    I¡¯m shocked by their earth-shaking and passion¡ª


    ¡°S-sorry, no matter how I listen I still hear them yelling, ¡®between his fingers¡¯.¡±


    No matter how touching it is, the effect is dampened by that kind of slogan.


    ¡°That¡¯s what foreign languages are like.¡±


    Josak, who¡¯s long since used to foreign cultures, knocks me on the back and says,


    ¡°Thank goodness it just sounds like between his fingers, don¡¯t you agree, Young Master?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, stuff like that normally can¡¯t be said in front of people.¡±


    Yelshi¡¯s excited face is reddened, as he waves back at everyone indulgingly. Saralegui watches him wave from the side, basking in his glory, then turns around to look my way and says,


    ¡°Lord Weller, seems like the truths you must report to Dai Shimaron have expanded a little more.¡±


    The Dai Shimaron ambassador who was called out, wordlessly waits for him to continue.


    ¡°You can tell Berard the Second: Shou Shimaron and Seisakoku join forces, amassing a huge military power. But first you must be able to go back and report that.¡±


    With that he grabs the emperor¡¯s arm, and forcefully pulls him into the room. The yells of ¡®With, Yelshi, between his fingers!¡¯ rage on, and don¡¯t seem to be stopping any time soon.


    ¡°And then tell him: Shou Shimaron have negotiated with Shin Makoku, and signed a deal with the mazoku. But first you have to see if you can report that too, of course! Oh, yeah, Yuuri¡ª¡±


    ¡°Waa! Mn, w-what¡¯s the matter?¡±


    Unconsciously I had gotten caught up in the atmosphere, so when I reply I stutter a little.


    Saralegui continues smiling that smile I saw when we first met, and then he puts his hand on the table. Underneath his slender white fingers is a pale blue piece of paper.


    ¡°As the king of Shou Shimaron, I hope to sign a contract with His Majesty the 27th Maou of Shin Makoku.¡±


    The two of them are even equal in height, and when they stand together, the two faces are at the exact same height. The older brother¡¯s mouth curves into a brilliant smile, while the younger brother appraises me and the paper on the table seriously. Seeing their completely different attitudes, that¡¯s when I really feel it deeply, ¡®Ah~ The two of them really are separate individuals.¡¯


    Maybe it¡¯s so he can read the tiny writing, Saralegui is wearing his glasses even indoors. As long as they¡¯re covered with those pale-colored glasses, I can¡¯t see the original color of his eyes.


    ¡°Shou Shimaron does not wish for the relationship with the mazoku to worsen. I hope that as long as we don¡¯t interfere with each other¡¯s territory, we can maintain a semi-permanent, peaceful relationship, do you agree?¡±


    ¡°That really is¡­ more than I can hope for.¡±


    If Saralegui¡¯s sincere about it, that would be a miracle ball directly in the strike zone.


    If he¡¯s sincere¡­


    ¡°Then please sign here.¡±


    Saralegui scrutinizes the tiny-worded document from top to bottom, his beautiful finger stopping on an empty box at the very bottom.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll start.¡±


    A servant with no sense of presence respectfully offers the stationary. He acts as though he¡¯s offering some great gift, but all that lies in his palms, held together, is a pen. Saralegui takes it and signals for him to leave, then grabs the glass on the table and smashes it, using the glass shard to cut open his pinky unhesitatingly.


    ¡°Your turn, Yuuri.¡±


    ¡°Alright, wait a¡­¡±


    ¡°This is too premature.¡±


    Lord Weller suddenly interrupts. To the suzerain of Shou Shimaron¡ªDai Shimaron, if their vassal state were to sign a treaty on their own, it would definitely cause them a lot of trouble.


    ¡°Your Majesty Saralegui, if you don¡¯t give the other party a chance to confirm the contents and think about it closely before forcing them to sign, it¡¯s not impossible for the other party to declare the contract null in the future.¡±


    ¡°You sure are desperate, aren¡¯t you, Lord Weller?¡±


    The king of Shou Shimaron can¡¯t help but laugh out loud, and then he hands the pen and document to me.


    ¡°Do you think that if you step out to stop him, Yuuri won¡¯t sign this contract?¡±


    Saralegui¡¯s words have double meanings as he stops Lord Weller, after all he¡¯s seen some certain things that happened on the ship. I, on the other hand, wanted to take the pen and sign, but maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m too nervous, but I tried and failed twice in a row.


    ¡°No, you¡¯re wrong, I won¡¯t give up signing just because a certain someone stops me. But right now someone has stopped me, so I won¡¯t sign before I understand the contents of the contract. W-wait a while for me, I¡¯ll just look through the contract once. I¡¯ll confirm the contents first, if there¡¯s anything illogical in the contents, won¡¯t it be a pain later?¡±


    This isn¡¯t a record card of a competition, neither is it the name list for tomorrow¡¯s starting lineup, but it¡¯s an important document regarding the fate of an entire country. That¡¯s why I need to take my time and read it carefully, it doesn¡¯t matter even if you want me to stay up all night.


    But my gaze following the tiny words immediately stops.


    ¡°Your Majesty?¡±


    I stare at Josak, his expression full of suspicion.


    ¡°What a bother¡­ This is written in the Seisakoku language.¡±


    In front of me is nothing but foreign words I¡¯ve never seen before. If it was the common language we used, I can still pick out the words I understand. But these unique handwritten words that look like a montage of a bird flying presented in simple lines, to someone like me who doesn¡¯t know translation maryoku, it might take a fairly long time to decipher. Save me, Miss Anissina!


    ¡°How can I possibly understand this? Why isn¡¯t it written in our usual language, but written instead in a language only this land uses?¡±


    ¡°It''s so that Seisakoku, as an impartial third party, can serve as a witness in the peace treaty between both countries. That''s why I had the draft written in this country''s language. I had it written like this so that Emperor Yelshi can serve as a witness. I didn¡¯t think that you wouldn¡¯t bring a translator with you, but after all it turned out like this because of a sudden twist in events, so it can¡¯t be helped. If you¡¯re okay with it, shall I recite it for you?¡±


    ¡°A-anyway please read the basic outline for me, later I will borrow a dictionary and slowly look it up.¡±


    I raise my right hand to press against my temple, my headache¡¯s getting worse and worse. Maybe my actions surprised him, because Saralegui chuckles lightly before reading out the basic outline of the document.


    ¡°It¡¯s basically like this: Shou Shimaron and Shin Makoku will henceforth be equals, there will be no difference in status between the two¡­¡±


    Just then there¡¯s suddenly the ¡®ker-dong¡¯ of a chair falling. Everyone¡¯s gazes gather on the young Emperor Yelshi, who¡¯s standing there motionlessly, his originally white face now even more bloodless.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be, right?¡±


    ¡°Yelshi?¡±


    He grips his fist tightly, saying through shaking lips,


    ¡°It can¡¯t be¡­ Sara, didn¡¯t you say the mazoku¡­ were to obey¡­ Shou Shimaron¡­¡±


    ¡°Yelshi, it¡¯s not like that!¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, Sara, what are you guys saying?¡±


    Breaking free from his brother¡¯s grasp, the younger brother bends over and reaches his hand out to snatch away the document. The glass is knocked aside by the impact, the liquid inside spilling all over the tablecloth, dampening the pale blue sides, and then rapidly spreading.


    ¡°But, isn¡¯t this so that Sara¡¯s country can be strongest power, that¡¯s why¡­ Ah!¡±


    Before Yelshi¡¯s hand can touch the document, he loses his balance and falls to his knees. He holds the left side of his face, raising his head to look at his older brother with a gaze of disbelief. Turns out Saralegui gave him a slap, but he immediately kneels down, putting his hand on his younger brother¡¯s shaking shoulders, and another hand plastered to his younger brother¡¯s swollen red cheek, caressing it lightly,


    ¡°Yelshi, I didn¡¯t hit you because I hate you, please forgive your older brother, I was just scared by your pure heart. I¡¯m so scared I¡¯ll lose the younger brother I finally got back just like that.¡±


    Saralegui keeps comforting his younger brother, who¡¯s even more pure and straightforward than he is. Finally the younger brother seems to understand his older brother¡¯s intentions, and nods lightly.


    ¡°I¡¯m not, angry.¡±


    ¡°Thank goodness.¡±


    The younger brother¡¯s hands fall to his sides, and he doesn¡¯t touch his face any more. Poor thing, surely the damage dealt to his heart, must be a lot of intense than the physical pain.


    But now I finally understand the contents of the contract, so I must thank His Majesty the Emperor for that.


    ¡°Sara¡ª¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t hate me, Yelshi.¡±


    Josak purposely clears his throat, as though he¡¯s interrupting a conversation between lovers.


    ¡°I¡¯ll clarify this beforehand.¡±


    The spy says ¡°After all letting outsiders see your brotherly conflict isn¡¯t very nice¡± as an opening, and then explains a little about foreign culture.


    ¡°The two of you should be real grateful you¡¯re shinzoku. If you were mazoku, this would have become a marriage proposal between twins¡ªand then we¡¯d be in a legendary complicated situation¡­ What a bother, they don¡¯t understand.¡±


    The shinzoku brothers act all unconcerned about it. I lower my head, watching the way they protect each other and seem to get along so well, and, thinking that something¡¯s really wrong about this, I ask in a serious tone,


    ¡°Saralegui, what on earth is written there?¡±


    The surface of the paper I grab is rather smooth, it should count as high quality paper in this world, huh. Since it¡¯s for a contract, of course they¡¯d use high quality paper! But this piece of paper has been dyed purple from the right corner to the middle.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you say it, Saralegui?¡±


    The Shou Shimaron king¡¯s signature has been stained beyond recognition.


    ¡°Yuuri, what he said just now was fake. Yelshi isn¡¯t that familiar with diplomatic matters, he thought the draft we did beforehand was the final product.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t kid with me!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true, I¡¯m not kidding, you know! This contract¡­¡±


    ¡°The truth is nothing you said about what¡¯s in there is true, right!?¡±


    The white fingers grab the table cloth forcefully. Those lips, as beautiful as flower petals, twist due to the change in his emotions. Those irises staring straight at me, because of the pale-colored glasses, their color can¡¯t be determined. So I¡¯ve been completely fooled by this honest-looking appearance, of someone who¡¯s similar in age to me and yet cheerfully working his best to rule a large country. But now that I really think about, it was all probably his act.


    I wasn¡¯t betrayed, I was conned.


    This is all my fault for being too stupid.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what kind of tricks you played, but you brothers are in it together to trick me into signing an equality treaty, so you guys can have all the benefits, right? Because you know that the king of Shin Makoku is a big, stupid rookie. That¡¯s right, I¡¯m as stupid as a rookie, but I never thought that you¡¯d look down on me that much, and you still think I¡¯ll be fooled by your simple tricks, I truly feel so bad I wanna cry!¡±


    Just then there¡¯s the sound of what might be Josak unsheathing his sword. That was the first threat.


    ¡°But, so sorry, Saralegui. Even if your plan succeeded, and I accidentally signed on that stained piece of paper, Shin Makoku won¡¯t idiotically obey that contract. After I go back, there are many, more capable people who can take my place.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind that, Yuuri.¡±


    Saralegui raises his chin, his hands on his hips as he stands crookedly. There¡¯s even an arrogant smile on his lips, the piteous look from before long gone. The one before me, is a cocky, unwavering, yet earthly king. Although he¡¯s just a teenager, his smile now makes him feel old and cunning.


    ¡°Even if those ministers you¡¯re so proud of go against the contract, I don¡¯t mind, because then I can use this excuse to declare war. If Shin Makoku deny the contents of the contract and start a war themselves, even better. This way we won¡¯t be criticized by the other countries, and we can start a war with our heads held high, so we¡¯ll definitely win.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t be as daft as Father¡¯s generation, signing that sort of half-assed contract. If it was me, I¡¯d definitely beat the other side up until they can never rise again.¡±


    My stomach starts heating up, until I feel like smoke will billow out from my ears. Not only am I angry at Saralegui, whose attitude has made a completely one-eighty, but I¡¯m also angry at myself for being fooled by this guy¡¯s flowery words. I naturally lower my voice,


    ¡°In your plan, how did you mean to deal with me?¡±


    The boy whose parents are a king and queen respectively, says the scary words unhesitatingly.


    ¡°I planned for you to die, y¡¯know!¡±


    After saying that softly, he takes back the document in my hands. He reads it again, lamenting the failure of his plan. But he looks very happy.


    ¡°My plan was to let you die in a little accident after signing the contract¡ªthe seas around us are just like that torrent, so nothing¡¯s impossible. But that was the initial plan, after sailing with you, I changed my mind. Because I found out that the Maou really is very interesting. So I planned to leak the false information of your unfortunate death, and then keep you here.¡±


    He sighs in a tone of endless regret,


    ¡°I wanted to keep you as a pet.¡±


    Although that sounds like his sincere thoughts, but he is after all the man made out of lies, so not a single word he says should be true.


    ¡°As long as Shin Makoku thinks you¡¯re dead, things will go as I said, your ministers or the next king would probably immediately declare war, huh? Even if the truth leaks out, and they know you¡¯re still alive, then you¡¯ll still be the best hostage possible.¡±


    ¡°Too bad, Saralegui, but I won¡¯t be killed or imprisoned!¡±


    The Shou Shimaron king, immersed in his dastardly plot, reaches his hand for me lightly. The neatly manicured pale pink nails slide down my cheek to my chin.


    ¡°Yuuri, it¡¯s not too late to turn back now. It doesn¡¯t matter even if you know the plan, don¡¯t you want to work together with me? All you have to do is sign on the contract, and I¡¯ll let you go back, then you just have to convince those mazoku. This way you can maintain that peace you want, and can get a portion of the power. What do you think? Not a bad plan, right?¡±


    ¡°You want Shin Makoku to become a vassal state of Shou Shimaron?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Not only Shou Shimaron, but even the Seisakoku that you see will eventually become mine. Do you know what power this country has? Manpower and houseki in abundance, so there¡¯s no shortage of soldiers and weapons. And most of the people here are excellent houjutsu users; as for the slaves that usually can¡¯t be used, I just have to train them to use the sword, then they should be able to work as disposable pawns on the battlefield. This country itself is an endless treasure trove, Yuuri.¡±


    Kneeling on the ground, Yelshi¡¯s expression suddenly brightens, maybe it¡¯s because he put together the words he can understand, and misunderstood that Saralegui is praising his country, huh? If he can understand this completely, he would probably be very disappointed in his older brother¡¯s words.


    ¡°Of course you can continue being your Maou, and you can be the king of the second largest country in the world, too. If you want, the Weia Islands that belong to Shou Shimaron, and that annoying Hyscliff land can all go to you. As long as our three countries work together, then even Dai Shimaron wouldn¡¯t dare try anything. And then that would be our era¡ªone where no one gets hurt, the era that belongs to us.¡±


    ¡°That isn¡¯t our era!¡±


    The bottom of my spine suddenly heats up, my ears whirring in rhythm with my accelerating heartbeat.


    ¡°Saralegui, that¡¯s just your own delusions.¡±


    I suddenly feel as though the friendship I felt from this man, is already a thing of the distant past. And all of it was a lie, there was never any friendship between us.


    ¡°Too bad, but usually it¡¯s the Maou who makes that offer to the hero. The pattern is the same in every game. Do you know why?¡±


    I knock Saralegui''s finger off my chin.


    "Because it''s fun that way."


    In the back I hear the "clink" sound of the handle hitting the sheath again. That was the second threat.


    ¡°Saralegui, your plan isn¡¯t fun in the slightest, it¡¯s too self-centered. I want to quit, I can¡¯t go along with Shou Shimaron''s game.¡±


    The threat this time finally forces Sara to snap his fingers for the servants and soldiers awaiting orders in the room. Including those completely unarmed, there are at most less than twenty of them. With these numbers alone they shouldn¡¯t be Josak¡¯s match¡ªas long as Lord Weller doesn¡¯t fight as our enemy. Also, as long as I don¡¯t lose control and go on a rampage like a bawling baby out of rage.


    That¡¯s the most dangerous thing. There¡¯s a special kind of pain near my lower abdomen. Before it rushes up my spine and controls my brain, I must find a way to suppress it with my own power¡ªtake deep breaths, try to break apart the gathering power.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that these few people can take you down either. Besides, I even let that exceptionally strong guard of yours carry a weapon and attend, so of course I made other preparations beforehand!¡±


    The boy king turns around and gives his kneeling little brother the warmest smile, holding out a hand to help him to his feet, and calls his name in a gentle voice.


    ¡°Yelshi.¡±


    And then he gives an order in the language we don¡¯t understand.


    ¡°This child is an excellent houjutsu user, and it¡¯s because he has houryoku, that he was chosen as Mother¡¯s heir. He could use the houjutsu to control houseki however he liked even when he was just an infant.¡±


    Just then, there¡¯s an intense pain in my right pinky, as though it¡¯s about to be bent in half at the roots.


    ¡°What¡­¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty!?¡±


    I hear Josak and Conrad yelling my name, as I slump into kneeling on the ground. Completely unable to stand, I carefully look between the fingers I¡¯m gripping tightly, only to see the pale red ring I¡¯m wearing on my right pinky emit a faint light, while the pain it brings is even more intense than its glow.


    The screams I can¡¯t suppress leak out through my tightly clenched teeth.


    ¡°Your Majesty! Take it off, quickly!¡±


    I grip my pinky and ring finger tightly, bending my back to hold the part the hurts. The insides of my eyeballs keep heating up in their sockets, the tears even flying out, and then someone says in my ear, ¡°It¡¯ll be easier if you yell¡±, but I can¡¯t tell anymore if it was Conrad or Josak.


    ¡°Have you forgotten, Yuuri? We¡¯re friends, so we exchanged the ring and necklace. I took my long-estranged mother¡¯s houseki to trade with your maseki. That¡¯s the ring my beloved mother, who despised me and pretended I didn¡¯t exist, left for me, you know! No matter how you look at it, I still think this maseki of yours is more valuable.¡±


    Saralegui takes the blue maseki down from around his neck, solemnly untangling the hair that wrapped around it, and then dangles it at eye-level,


    ¡°So pretty. There¡¯s even something like a crest engraved on it.¡±


    My tears drip in front of my knees.


    ¡°But I don¡¯t need it anymore.¡±


    He¡¯s just like a kid who got tired of a toy, throwing the maseki and the stone away, All I see is the maseki reflecting the newly-risen moonlight, sparkling once before falling out the window. And I can only watch it disappear in despair, only watch as that maseki that I kept hanging in front of my chest for so long disappear from sight.


    ¡°I advise you to take that ring as soon as possible, too! Don¡¯t worry about me.¡±


    ¡°¡­How do I¡­ remove¡­¡±


    No matter how I pull and tug at it, that coral-like ring just won¡¯t budge from my pinky. The skin around it has already been tugged at until the skin broke, bleeding. Saralegui, who knew this would happen, laughs,


    ¡°Easy, just chop off your finger with it.¡±


    Right then I want to do just that, so my hand reaches for Conrad¡¯s sword. But he grabs me immediately, forcing me to give up that notion.


    ¡°You can¡¯t!¡±


    There¡¯s no time to listen to him, so I quickly turn around, and reach my hand out for Josak¡¯s short sword, right then he has his arm around my back. But he doesn¡¯t stop me, instead roaring at Saralegui,


    ¡°Is it that emperor¡¯s doing? Is that guy doing something to the stone!?¡±


    Yelshi, obeying his brother¡¯s orders, approaches me unconcernedly, looking at my expression of pain with one of disbelief. He pushes his hair behind his ear in the same movement as Saralegui¡¯s, touching my shoulder with his fingertip, seemingly shocked. Although my pain doesn¡¯t stop increasing, I still can¡¯t help but respect the fact that even the color of their fingernails is the same.


    I get up with a speed so fast even I can¡¯t believe it, pulling out the sword at Josak¡¯s waist, pointing the tip at Yelshi¡¯s throat. But even in the face of this situation, he still has a clueless expression on his face, like a newborn lamb who doesn¡¯t know what fear is.


    ¡°Yuuri, do you want to kill me? You, who was always so gentle, want to kill him?¡±


    Hearing Saralegui¡¯s words, the few Seisakoku soldiers pull out their swords and get into their stances in unison. It¡¯s okay whatever they want to do, after all Conrad will help me deal with them.


    ¡°Your Majesty, allow me.¡±


    ¡°N-no¡­ We can¡¯t.¡±


    I shake my head continuously. But not at Josak, at my own inner thoughts. He is after all the emperor of this country, if anything happens to him, then what!?


    ¡°Stop!¡±


    As I yell that out loud, I throw away the sword as well. Only killing him will get me out of this torture, and to break free from that temptation, I need an immense effort. The clanging of metal rings out in the tense atmosphere.


    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ kill him¡­¡±


    I order myself again, but without someone to support me and my feet stumbling over each other, I fall back a few steps.


    ¡°Your Majesty!¡±


    There isn¡¯t a wall behind me, and the balcony railing I finally touch is round and thick, so my fingers, scalding hot with pain, can¡¯t get a grip on them at all. In that second I could still wonder how many stories this is, but before I get an answer, my entire body is already flying mid-air.


    It won¡¯t hurt anymore.


    All that¡¯s left is to fall, just like that time.

 Volume 11 - CH 8

By request, the coffin scene! Heheh... Yes, that would be the coffin scene that Sara stole away from Conrad in the anime. This one.

 Volume 12 - Prologue

    Ah~~ My little brother, I cry for you.


    Thou shalt not die[1]¡­ No, I¡¯m not like our old man, I¡¯m not the type of pacifist that would rather nothing happens.


    When I take over as governor, I¡¯ll abolish progressive taxes that change according to your earnings, and hold the New World Expo R[2], even if I won¡¯t get the Akutagawa Prize or the Naoki Prize.The script for ¡°New Soap Bubble Holiday HG¡±[3] must also always be rewritten.


    But now isn¡¯t the time to think about how I¡¯m going to handle politics ten years later, because the brother who¡¯s every bit important as my reputation has actually gone missing in an alternate world! Upon closer interrogation, I found out that that¡¯s a scary place where skeletons fly in the sky and have their own consciousness! How can I possibly leave precious Yuu-chan in that Skeleton Island¡­ No, that scary world!


    Come to think of it, growing up, rescuing my little brother has always been my duty. I still remember that time when we were young, Yuu-chan forgot to put down the toilet seat before sitting down. While he was stuck and bawling his eyes out, the one to save him wasn¡¯t Mom or Dad, but me! Right now, my baby brother must be in a foreign land, crying out in fear, ¡°Nii-chan¡ªNii-chan--!¡±


    Wait for me, Yuu-chan! Nii-chan will definitely save you! I¡¯ll cross the Niagara Falls, now, your big brother wants to Be with You[4].

 Volume 12 - CH 1

    ¡°And I thought this big brother here is just a bodyguard¡­¡±


    The woman called Hazel Graces is narrowing her hazel eyes, just like her name.


    ¡°¡­How unexpected, why would you call me using that name?¡±


    She shakes her filthy white hair, throwing dry fuel into the roaring flames. Judging from the emanating stench, that should be some sort of animal droppings, but it¡¯s best not to confirm anything.


    ¡°What on earth are you people? I just heard that a king came from a faraway mazoku country, who¡¯d have thought that people like you who seem to be the Maou and his party look so normal, and can speak a language that doesn¡¯t exist in this world. Even more unexpected is that one of the bodyguards actually knows the name I rarely use!¡±


    A language that doesn¡¯t exist?


    I instinctively move my hand to my throat, asking no one in particular,


    ¡°¡­Just now, what language was I speaking¡­¡±


    The old lady scrutinizes Conrad and me with a look of disbelief.


    ¡°It¡¯s English, you know. It¡¯s all because I accidentally said ¡®COMEON. Your English is very authentic, just that you have a unique pronunciation, so I can¡¯t place your accent. I think it sounds a lot like Boston or Trenton, but it¡¯s also a lot like a strange rabbit with a watch, huh.¡±


    ¡°You said English!? How can that be! Old lady¡­ No, sorry, MISS¡­ No, it¡¯s MiSS Venera, right? I know I CAN¡¯T SPEAK ENGLISH!¡¯


    Crap, the more conscious I am, the more I¡¯ll see the stiff English from the textbooks. Because my junior high English teacher couldn¡¯t speak English, so if I can speak fluent English, then that would really be a miracle. For all you know I could even say ¡®This IS APPLE¡¯ and not be aware of it.


    The old lady puts her wrinkly hands on her hips, and brushes away our confusion with a hearty laugh.


    ¡°What a polite young man, didn¡¯t I say this before? There¡¯s no need to be so courteous. No matter how tough I am, I was already over sixty years old when I came to this country, if I still look like a young lady, then that¡¯d be too weird.¡±


    From the way she¡¯s talking she shouldn¡¯t be a shinzoku born on this land, but someone who came over here from elsewhere. Judging from the color of her eyes, it is rather hard to say she¡¯s a local shinzoku.


    ¡°But little buddy, you sure have an interesting way of talking! Mixing a toddler¡¯s stiff single words, and the everyday talk of young people, it¡¯s just like listening to Mother Goose and a soap opera at the same time!¡±


    ¡°Actually the things you¡¯re saying are equally intriguing.¡±


    The previously silent Lord Weller finally speaks up, his voice unexpectedly solemn.


    ¡°Bodyguards, Mother Goose, soap operas, these are all words this place doesn¡¯t have. Hazel, I know where you¡¯re from. But I hope you can tell me, how you got to be here.¡±


    ¡°The person who asked first was me, you know!¡±


    She raises her chin slightly, looking down at Conrad. Underneath the firelight her red-brown eyes sparkle behind the completely whitened fringe. Although she¡¯s petite, her solemn tone emanates the aura of a challenge.


    ¡°So I am Hazel Graves, sure, but I never used that name in Seisakoku. Because slaves don¡¯t have names. But how would you foreign visitors know it? Even if Yelshi sent you guys to lure me out, you shouldn¡¯t know, right?¡±


    The fire lightens up the little hut, the bracken diminishing as it burns and bursts apart, sparks and crackles leaping in unison.


    ¡°Who the hell are you guys? You shouldn¡¯t just be this little buddy¡¯s guards, right?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t simply point at him!¡±


    When Hazel points at me with her pointer finger, the previously wordless Josak suddenly says this short and simple line. Although he¡¯s speaking in the common language that¡¯s unknown in Seisakoku, we can still here the threat in his tone. She immediately puts her hand down, and stares at Josak, who¡¯s making himself very clearly heard.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what relationship you have with Lord Weller, but I can¡¯t tolerate a slave being so rude to our Majesty!¡±


    ¡°Josak! This person saved us. Don¡¯t make it sound so bad!¡±


    The unhappy spy explains to me, who¡¯s scolding him,


    ¡°But it¡¯s not like I¡¯m wrong, Young Master. Even if she helped us escape, she¡¯s still just an old lady who pulls the manure cart, y¡¯know. Even if you don¡¯t want her to kneel down and lick your feet, isn''t it too rude of her to point at Your Majesty with her finger?¡±


    A bit of Gurrier¡¯s personality comes through in those words.


    Hazel Graves, on the other hand, smiles rather interestedly and talks with Lord Weller, with whom she can communicate. Looks she can tell from Josak¡¯s attitude alone that he¡¯s mad.


    ¡°He¡¯s mad now, huh.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s angry because his master was insulted. Although His Majesty is an open-minded monarch, and doesn¡¯t harp on status, but to a minister who¡¯s sworn loyalty to the king, it¡¯s another matter altogether.¡±


    Listening to this spine-tickling explanation, I feel so awkward I don¡¯t even know where to direct my gaze. When I look at the line where the rotting wooden walls meet the ceiling, Hazel uses a tone completely different from before to say,


    ¡°Little buddy, so you really are His Majesty the Maou, then? Even if you¡¯re dressed like peasants, you really are the bona fide Shin Makoku emissary? Crap, then it looks like I can¡¯t call you little buddy anymore.¡±


    She suddenly falls to one knee, holding up my right hand like a knight.


    ¡°Your Majesty.¡±


    ¡°Waa! W-wait a sec!¡±


    Seeing the way she respectfully bows to me, I hastily crouch down with her. The two of us are like young girls in prayer.


    ¡°Please forgive my previous rudeness.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I say this before--- you acting like this makes me feel awkward! I¡¯m the worst at dealing with this sort of thing¡ªit¡¯s up to you if you want to call me Your Majesty or Dai Maou or simply Yuuri, but I¡¯m begging you, don¡¯t act all careful around me like you¡¯re touching a bump where you hit yourself!¡±


    Hazel curves the corners of her mouth lightly, smiling in a fearless way that¡¯s completely unlike an old lady. She changes to shaking my hand, gripping my right hand forcefully as she says,


    ¡°Please take care of me, Your Majesty. After hiding in the graves for so long, it¡¯s my first time meeting a current king, heh.¡±


    ¡°Hiding in the graves¡­ Grandma Hazel, are you a grave robber?¡±


    ¡°If I really was a grave robber, I¡¯d want to leave more valuables for my descendants!¡±


    She tsks her tongue with a look of regret, and then covers her mouth jokingly. Slowly she stands up, asking me what these two young men¡¯s names are.


    ¡°So you¡¯re Lord Weller and Gurrier. How exciting, I haven¡¯t known any man with a name for a long time. But in the middle of your discussions, there seems to have been some conflicts. Even if you can¡¯t save yourselves, there will be helpers appearing in the unlikeliest places. Seems like you were set up by Yelshi¡­ the Emperor, it¡¯s not wrong for me to assume that?¡±


    ¡°NO!¡±


    The ¡°NO¡± I yell is surprisingly loud, taking even me by surprise. Turn my head to the side, thinking back to the young emperor of Seiakoku sitting on the throne, and the older twin brother leaning on him. Although it only happened a few hours ago, but just thinking about it, gives my brain an intense feeling of numbness.


    ¡°We weren¡¯t set up by Yelshi. I¡­ We were fooled by Saralegui¡­ that is, Yelshi¡¯s older brother, Saralegui. Who¡¯d have thought they were brothers.¡±


    I never thought that Saralegui, who was so friendly to me, was lying to me from the start.


    ¡°I took half a year to realize that most shinzoku are twins, too. Such as, ¡®why did the guy I just saw appear here, maybe he¡¯s a master sprinter¡¯. Besides, no one could have guessed, that the king of Shou Shimaron and the Emperor here would be twins!


    Hazel nods in sympathy, continuing to ask,


    ¡°But why would the Maou¡¯s party only bring so few people all the way to Seisakoku? Could I have gotten it wrong? I heard that the people at Dejima and the palace are almost all Shou Shimaron men, and there are only two, three mazoku who disembarked.¡±


    ¡°Before discussing that, please verify your identity.¡±


    Lord Weller suddenly interrupts our conversation. He¡¯s right, it¡¯s great to have someone who can think calmly by my side.


    ¡°I have countless questions regarding Hazel Graves. But since you have another name, then we also have a lot of questions to ask ¡®Venera¡¯.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Venera, Miss Venera! This Mrs¡­ Mn¡ªMa¡¯am, since you¡¯re Venera, that means the one we¡¯re looking for is you. Please tell me, do you know two girls called Jason and Freddy? Where are they now? I received the letter they wrote to me.¡±


    Logically they should have returned to the hometown they left when they were young, and have missed dearly, living their days happily in Seisakoku. But from the contents of the letter I received, there isn¡¯t a single word with anything to do with ¡®happy¡¯. Instead, after needless suffering, the only words we can understand are these¡ª


    Venera, hope, save.


    ¡°Please tell me, what kind of situation am I supposed to save you from? What¡¯s happened to those children!? Grandma Hazel please tell me, since you call yourself Venera¡­¡±


    Just as I grab Hazel¡¯s arm, there are barks in the distance¡ªlooks like our pursuers have discovered this place.


    ¡°We still have things to discuss, right?¡±


    Without waiting for our reply, Hazel turns around and walks into the hut, reaching out her hand to open a door.


    ¡°If so, let¡¯s have a change of location.¡±


    She grabs the handle, and wooden shards rain down. Once she opens this door that seems like it¡¯ll fall apart once you apply force to it, a little room around a foot in square area appears before us.


    I really don¡¯t know if I should call it a little room, or a closet you can¡¯t go in, but there¡¯s a square manmade hole in the center¡­


    ¡°Is it a toilet?¡±


    Hazel takes away a few of the floorboards.


    ¡°A-and it¡¯s a cesspit¡­¡±


    Otherwise known as the ¡®ker-ploomp¡¯ toilet. I¡¯ve only seen these at my grandfather¡¯s house in the countryside, and that¡¯s not even in use anymore.


    ¡°Relax, nothing to be worried about. This place hasn¡¯t been used as a toilet. Get in there!¡±


    Holding the wooden planks in one arm, she waves at us to go over. Conrad squirms inside first, while Josak pushes my arm from behind¡ªbecause the sound of dogs is rapidly approaching.


    There¡¯s a thin ladder as narrow as the opening underneath the hole. If it was an adult with wider shoulders, they might knock into the walls on both sides.


    ¡°Using the toilet for transport brings back not-too-nice memories¡­ Pardon me for asking, but has this place really never been used as a toilet?¡±


    Hazel, putting the planks back in place, replies without turning back,


    ¡°Only very few soldiers who get lost and wander in here, mistake it for a toilet and relieve themselves a little.¡±


    In that moment, I don¡¯t know if I should translate that line for the broad-shouldered spy.

 Volume 12 - CH 2

    Late night exploring Japan WITH koi.


    Shouri booked a twenty-person dining hall, sitting in the middle of the sofa with his head high and chest straight. He¡¯s completed all the tasks given to him, so he can show off to his comrades now.


    He agreed to Bob¡¯s request, which is to use the Japanese people¡¯s best technique, to host the girl Abigail Graves he unfortunately met in the VIP lounge, just a few hours ago. At first he did his best to reject it with a ¡®what does this have to do with me¡¯ argument, and planned to let Abigail handle her lodgings on her own, but she herself didn¡¯t seem to have the slightest desire to. Even if he brought Abigail to the hotel lobby, she would just stare at Shouri smilingly. Shouri was forced to bring the cheerleader captain in a kimono even comedy couples don¡¯t wear anymore¡ªalmost crimson-red and embroidered with fish in gold thread¡ªwandering the streets at night.


    But at that time Shouri never imagined that she would want to go to a manga caf¨¦. The moment she saw the 24-hour sign, Abigail happily pulled Shouri¡¯s hand and walked inside.


    Late night manga caf¨¦ WITH koi.


    After reading a lot of Japanese manga there, they ran to a 24-hour karaoke. When he finally contacted Bo with his cellphone after the latter¡¯s party ended, he said in a half-threat, ¡°I¡¯m letting the koi loose now¡±, and finally got Bob to come over. From manga cafes to karaoke¡­ Although they didn¡¯t take the Hato Bus Tour, in some ways, it¡¯s still a very comprehensive tour of Japan.


    And then right now, Abigail Graves is taking turns to use the remote control to pick songs with one hand, together with the newly-added mysterious man¡ªJose Rodriguez.


    Furious, Shibuya Shouri says to the duo sitting opposite him,


    ¡°I did it, just like you said! I properly hosted this American geisha!¡±


    Bob tilts his glass full of Oolong champagne, while Murata Ken holds his spoon full of curry rice still. Seeing them look so laidback, really pisses him off. His little brother is missing, why do they have the sweet time to eat curry rice!


    The man Bob and Murata brought back from Haneda is also the embodiment of ¡®laidback¡¯. He watches the screen full of anime scenes, singing the song ¡°This isn¡¯t Anime!¡±[1]. As for the hand holding the microphone, forget the pinky, even his thumb is sticking out.


    ¡°Oh, yeah? Who¡¯s that guy who looks like he won¡¯t be of any use at all?¡±


    Not only does he look like he won¡¯t be of any use, he basically looks like a troublemaker.


    That man who calls himself DR Jose Rodriguez, has his finger-long black hair tied lightly behind. But that¡¯s basically a pointless action, since there are still some tufts of hair sticking to his face or forehead. The narrow eyes behind his glasses always look like they¡¯re smiling, thanks to the wrinkles around his eyes. Although he¡¯s so skinny he looks sickly, that doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯s unhealthy. It¡¯s just that, in Shouri¡¯s Japanese eyes, he has a suspicious sort of feeling.


    Apparently he wore weird windbreaker glasses when he arrived in the five o¡¯clock flight, and the first thing he said was, ¡°Hi~~ Everybody, how do I look? I¡¯m channeling Quattro Bajeena[2], you know!¡±


    Recently as long as you wear huge sunglasses, a Darth Vader helmet, or a US president Reagan rubber mask or other confusing things, what¡¯ll happen in ¡®Come over here to make a statement!¡¯. But it seems that because Bob has influence everywhere, Rodriguez got to avoid getting invited to another room for ¡®a cup of tea¡¯.


    Thinking about that, Shouri suddenly wonder: What kind of DOCTOR is he? A professor in anime? Or the relative of an anime shop owner!?


    ¡°Ah¡ªRodriguez is my friend, and a doctor¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh¡ªSo that¡¯s how it is. He¡¯s sung four TWO-MIX[3] songs in a row, too.¡±


    At least he seems to get along really well with Abigail. They sure have chemistry for the first time meeting, even enjoying the Japanese karaoke culture, looking just like an Abby & Rod duo.


    ¡°I can understand how tense you feel.¡±


    Murata Ken sighs as he put down his spoon. It may be because his glasses are fogged up, but his expression is indecipherable.


    ¡°But we can¡¯t do it at night, the brother of my friend. Just like you I want to find Shibuya as soon as possible too, but once it¡¯s night time, we can¡¯t find him even if we tried. Besides travelling was never too easy, so I hope we can make the proper arrangements before attempting it, to increase the chances of success as high as we can.¡±


    ¡°So nighttime flights don¡¯t work, huh? Mn¡ªthen, Murata Ken, are there any specific ways?¡±


    ¡°Specific ways?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Although yesterday all you tried was diving into dirty water, but now that you have that man there should be some changes, right? Like the magic runes getting an extra corner, or an increase in the spell power.¡±


    The younger brother¡¯s friend frowns, pressing his forehead and signaling, ¡®he¡¯s beyond help¡¯,


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for runes and spells. And the way to get to that world will change according to time and place, it¡¯s not something we can say in a few lines. Besides, what are you asking so much for? Didn¡¯t Bob say, not everyone can go there?¡±


    ¡°All we need is an exceptional power, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    Bob raises his head up from the menu, his finger stopping above ¡®fresh mushroom expansion-plan spaghetti¡¯.


    ¡°What are you thinking, Junior?¡±


    ¡°Nothing much.¡±


    The disco ball on the ceiling keeps reflecting the light off its mirrors, and the piercing rays hurts one¡¯s eyes. Bob, on the other hand, refuses to take off his sunglasses even indoors at midnight, which, in some ways, is the right decision.


    ¡°You guys just go on with your plan. Likewise, I want to operate alone too. Just tell me the theory and the method. Anyhow I will prepare that phenomenal power, it shouldn¡¯t be that hard.¡±


    Bob closes up the menu, rubbing his brow with the tip of his finger lightly. The wrinkles around his mouth get even deeper.


    ¡°¡­I thought I said you can¡¯t do it, Junior.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me in that confusing manner, I¡¯m not your son!¡±


    ¡°And what is that phenomenal power you prepared?¡±


    Rodriguez just happens to reach the instrumental part of his song, the entire room filled with high electrical-wave notes. Shouri leans onto the sofa, saying,


    ¡°That¡¯s a trade secret¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Bodensee, y¡¯know¡ª¡±


    Abigail snatches the microphone from the doctor, standing on top of a stool and singing as she waves her sleeves,


    ¡°Boden-Boden-Boden-y¡¯know¡ª¡±


    ¡°Ah, Graves, don¡¯t say it out loud!¡±


    Suddenly someone hits the table hard, the crockery emitting piercing sounds upon impact. The spoon on the saucer spins non-stop. At first Shouri wanted to ask, ¡°What¡¯re you doing, friend of my brother?¡±, but the words never left his mouth.


    ¡°That isn¡¯t a joke.¡±


    Even though the room is filled with pink or blue light, the change in Murata¡¯s expression is clear, his tone also turning so cold it¡¯s like he¡¯s a different person. If Yuuri was here, he would probably say, ¡°Don¡¯t be friends with a guy who gets so dangerous when he loses it,¡± right?


    ¡°Did you see Bodensee? The one in Germany? Hold on a second here, that isn¡¯t a joke, y¡¯know.¡±


    ¡°Not Germany, it¡¯s Switzerland¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all the same!¡±


    ¡°Murata.¡±


    Bob grabs his shoulder to make him sit down, but he displays a rare, agitated reaction that fits his age, even scolding his elder continuously,


    ¡°Stop joking around! No matter what we can¡¯t use that thing! Rather than bank on that power, it¡¯d be better to let Niagara flow backwards! If you can only think of that method, no matter how persistent you are, I won¡¯t let you go there.¡±


    ¡°You have no right to decide for me, right, friend of my brother. Besides all you say is ¡®that¡¯ or ¡®that power¡¯, what on earth is underneath that lake, why don¡¯t you tell me?¡±


    The song ends. Abby & Rod don¡¯t continue playing songs, holding their breath nervously.


    ¡°Aaah, dammit!¡±


    Murata takes off his glasses and messes through his hair forcefully. This isn¡¯t like him, this isn¡¯t like the usual him at all.


    ¡°Bother! Even if you want me to say it, that¡¯s something beyond normal human comprehension. In any case the thing we sank into the Bodensee is¡­ No, that wasn¡¯t me!¡±


    ¡°Murata.¡±


    Rodriguez calls his name in a gentle voice. Murata raises his right hand in lieu of a response, taking a deep breath,


    ¡°In any case, the thing in there is very dangerous, you must never ever use it simply, if you do, rather than saving Shibuya¡­¡±


    He exhales deeply, releasing the excess breath, as though trying his best to restore his pulse to normal.


    ¡°¡­You¡¯ll only force him to a dead-end.¡±


    Shouri is still sitting on the sofa, looking at the agitated high school student in front of him. He slowly untangles the arms crossed in front of his chest, pushing his glasses frames up with his pointer finger,


    ¡°You said I¡¯ll force Yuu-chan to a dead-end? You¡¯re just a high school student, what right do you have to say that?¡±


    Murata¡¯s blood pressure instantly skyrockets.


    ¡°You¡¯re utterly clueless!¡±


    ¡°No matter, it doesn¡¯t matter if you want to say I¡¯m clueless about the situation. Anyhow I want to go there, no matter how dangerous it is, or if I have to go alone, I¡¯m still going to Switzerland. Right, Bob, if I say I hope you¡¯ll invest a little with your platinum card¡ªof course I would really welcome any sponsorships.¡±


    He was just yelling at Bob just now, so he shouldn¡¯t usually have the face to ask for pocket money. But the situation is urgent, and he can¡¯t care so much anymore. If it was just Shouri¡¯s credit card, just the two-way tickets and lodging would be a stretch. Faced with the sudden change in topic, Bob repeats the word with a look of surprise,


    ¡°Platinum card?¡±


    Could it be that his credit card isn¡¯t gold or silver, but black? Shouri starts imagining how the legendary black card must look like. But the man known as the Maou of the financial world, says as he verifies if his chauffeur is still outside,


    ¡°My credit card isn¡¯t made of metal, but plastic, y¡¯know. And I rarely buy things with my card either. There¡¯s no need to help the credit card company earn money, right?¡±


    Bob snaps his fingers next to his ear, and his chauffeur immediately comes in. Technically this room should have a perfect soundproofing system, so how did he hear such a tiny sound? Could it be that Bob¡¯s finger-snapping has some sort of special dog whistle-like quality?


    ¡°¡­Wait, Bob, you changed chauffeurs?¡±


    He still remembers that the chauffeur Bob hired in Japan last time was a polite-looking, fifty-plus gentleman. A man who was always wearing a grey hat, a tidy uniform, and was neither fat nor thin. He was always wearing white gloves, and the car was always polished until it sparkled. Although he was of the age when it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if he retired, the new guy is still too modern, right.


    The new chauffeur standing next to his master, looks like he¡¯s better suited for other jobs besides holding a steering wheel. Brown skin wrapped in tight leather pants, he even has completely pointless chains hanging from his waist. His short cropped hair has been dyed red and yellow, his ears and lips all pierced, just looking at it feels painful. Although his height and chest aren¡¯t exactly above average, the muscles from his neck to shoulders are extremely well-developed, that¡¯s a body Japanese people can¡¯t get no matter how hard they trained.


    In that sea of beautiful coffee-color, the white of his eyeballs and teeth are exceptionally striking.


    ¡°Society has gotten more dangerous these days, so I chose him to be my bodyguard from a certain organization.¡±


    The Maou of Earth, who is actually more dangerous than anyone else, gets the man to open the black leather wallet in his hands as he says,


    ¡°He was born in the Caribbean, his name is Francois.¡±


    ¡°Fran¡­ cois¡­¡±


    ¡°Bonjour.¡±


    The man greets in a husky voice that fits his appearance perfectly¡ªit¡¯s French.


    ¡°Eh? Bo-bo-bo-bonji?¡±


    The future governor candidate isn¡¯t good at French.


    ¡°His driving skills are pretty decent, you know. If you need long distance travel, just say it, I can send him over whenever. Don¡¯t college students always have to go out of town for workshops? Oh, yeah, Francois, give him five hundred.¡±


    After seeing the contents of the wallet, everyone¡¯s expression abruptly change.


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry. He may look like this, but he is a qualified accountant! I feel real secure having Francois carry my wallet. You could call him a martial arts accountant.¡±


    Bob immediately explains. Even so, rather than calling him a chauffeur, it would be better to say he¡¯s in charge of watching Bob¡¯s wallet.


    The man hands over a few bundles of white hundred US dollar bills, and Shouri accidentally drops them. The new notes in their bundles fall to the cigarette-marked floorboards.


    ¡°Hey, heyheyheyhey, hey¡ªBob!? By five hundred you didn¡¯t mean five hundred USD, but five hundred one hundred dollar bills!?¡±


    Converted that would be over six million Japanese yen.


    There are three normal citizens staring wide-eyed and wondering, ¡°What on earth is the Maou¡¯s financial situation like?¡± Besides, carrying so much cash into Europe, wouldn¡¯t that case problem at customs? But Bob looks like it¡¯s completely natural, and asks his new chauffeur to rearrange the rest of the money.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, this is just some temporary investment. If it¡¯s still not enough to meet your wishes, I¡¯ll send my man there to assist you. Whatever you need, just tell him.¡±


    ¡°Bob¡­¡±


    The one who speaks out softly, isn¡¯t Shouri who¡¯s looking confused at the large sum of one, but Murata, who has taken down his thin-rimmed glasses, the corners of his mouth twitching unnaturally.


    ¡°I thought you would object.¡±


    Murata, trying to keep his emotions under control, continues carefully. In the memories of his past past life, Bob was still obviously on his side, so why would he help Shouri do something so stupid now?


    ¡°You should know the hell we had to go through back then, right? I thought you would definitely object bringing that thing back up.¡±


    ¡°Ken-chan¡­¡±


    Rodriguez narrows his wrinkled eyes.


    ¡°¡­It shouldn¡¯t be ¡®we¡¯, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ No, wait, now isn¡¯t the time to care about things like that!¡±


    Murata waves his right hand, so agitated it¡¯s like he wants to toss away the glasses in his hands, but also as though he¡¯s pointing at something that isn¡¯t there.


    ¡°You should know the terror of that thing. Although this is just my personal guess, but the fire that happened before, might just be caused by that thing too. And if even the last one returns there¡­ We can¡¯t take such a huge risk just to let him move to the other world. And more importantly, doing that won¡¯t help Shibuya at all!¡±


    But Bob raises his eyebrows lightly, like a father who discovered his kid¡¯s prank, and just shrugs it away,


    ¡°It¡¯s no point even if you force me. Shouri just is that kind of person, as long as it¡¯s something he decided, it¡¯s useless no matter how others try to persuade him. Since he¡¯s serious, then I have no reason to object.¡±


    ¡°What are you saying!? You don¡¯t have a reason to object!? Isn¡¯t the threat that that Box poses, more than reason enough? Bob, snap out of it, you just have to order him, and you can stop him from using that sort of methods! Isn¡¯t he your heir?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, Shouri is my heir. That¡¯s precisely why, I won¡¯t obey your instructions.¡±


    He slowly uncrosses and re-crosses his legs, putting his hand on the sofa armrest. His fingertips propping up his chin, the man known as Bob smiles warmly, as he says in a voice without a hint of a smile,


    ¡°If you forget this, I would really be troubled. This is my world, it belongs to me. No matter what my heir wants to do, as long as it¡¯s within the limits of my tolerance, you have no right to interfere.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­!¡±


    ¡°It all belongs to me, y¡¯know, Murata.¡±


    His blood gushes upwards instantly, the unfamiliar emotion heating up his entire body. Murata is so mad he¡¯s clenching his teeth, feeling his own helplessness deeply. No matter how long his memories go, the truth is he¡¯s just an immature student, this mind and this body have only sixteen years of experience.


    Just because he¡¯s in these warm times, huh?


    He¡¯s not directing it at anyone, just mumbling it to himself. No, the truth is he knows who he¡¯s talking to.


    Yuuri, maybe I do live in these warm times.


    Maybe it¡¯s because I lived these past sixteen years without many obstacles, in an environment without loneliness and fear, so even my brain craves world peace now. If the one here weren¡¯t Murata Ken, but Henri Regent¡­ or Nathan Morgan, or even the long-lived Lampedusa[4], then maybe he could think of a more cunning plan.


    The long thin metals in Murata¡¯s hands rub against each other, making an unpleasant screech. He forces out the words,


    ¡°¡­You plan on doing it by force?¡±


    Bob just shakes his head and his finger, a signal that it¡¯s over.


    The others heave a sigh of relief as though freed from a spell, and Shouri finally accepts the bag Francois hands over. He takes a few steps towards the door, then points his pointer finger at his brother¡¯s friend.


    Pointing at him a finger gun.


    ¡°Too bad, Murata Ken.¡±


    The recipient just retorts him, unwilling to admit defeat,


    ¡°¡­What can you do even if you go there?¡±


    ¡°Then let me ask you, what can you do if you go there?¡±


    Shouri shoots back the question unhesitatingly. There¡¯s no need to pity him.


    ¡°Graves!¡±


    ¡°YEAH?¡±


    She answers in a way too American manner, making him frown in spite of himself. He initially wished she would pay attention to the time and place, speaking in a more beautiful voice.


    ¡°Introduce your family to me, then!¡±


    ¡°OH¡ªThis is the first step in dating, huh¡ªthe Japanese are as polite as¡ªalways.¡±


    The girl in the glamorous kimono replies enthusiastically in a fake Japanese tone. She punches her fist into the air, completely disregarding the way her clothes jump upwards. As expected of a cheerleader captain, she can make the basic jumping movements.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I don¡¯t mean your parents. I¡¯m referring to that treasure hunter great-grandmother of yours.¡±


    ¡°OH¡ªSo this is what they mean by ¡®to eat people raw, first eat the horse YEAH!¡¯, right¡ª¡±


    ¡°The original line is ¡®to shoot a person, first shoot the horse¡¯, you messed it up completely.¡±


    As the heavy door closes, there¡¯s also the sharp, clear sound of glass hitting the table and shattering.

 Volume 12 - CH 3

    Since my brain has such a convenient function, I should have been informed about earlier. This way at the very least during conversational English class, I wouldn¡¯t need to give the English teacher face, and I could just sail through the class.


    ¡°Who would have thought that my English would be so fluent?¡±


    Although Hazel would occasionally ask me what I said, there are no communication difficulties between us at all. To be honest, I never thought that my middle high English with some katakana mixed inside, would actually be of use some day. I didn¡¯t think compulsory education was really that important.


    But the problem is that when I discovered that I could speak English, I start remembering things I forgot. For example the number of the subways stops, a weird older sister who wasn¡¯t Gurrier but was a crossdressing guy as well, mermaids, a fortune-telling box that talked, the uniform of a convenience store I can¡¯t identify, and little duckies.


    ¡°There¡¯s even foreign street names¡­ what on earth is this, could it be that my older brother took me running around before? Ah, I have the impression¡­ Ah¡ªbut it seems to be some painful past¡­¡±


    ¡°A painful past?¡±


    In the tunnel that can barely fit a grown adult, Josak can just turn his head around. His orange hair is almost hitting the ceiling, but before that, the torch in his hand might burn the similarly-colored hair to a crisp.


    ¡°Everyone has a painful past, Young Master. It¡¯s okay, you don¡¯t have to purposely remember it.¡±


    ¡°If I can prevent my memories from resurfacing, I¡¯d have done that a long time ago.¡±


    The problem is those memories are like water spilled onto a tablecloth, slowly spreading wider and wider. At first they were just tiny slivers of memories, but they start expanding after absorbing enough water, and the images get clearer and clearer too.


    ¡°What the¡ªWhat is this? What¡¯s that outfit that looks like an aproned dress? Speaking of which, that couldn¡¯t have been¡­¡±


    Seeing me press my forehead as I walk, my protector seems a little worried.


    Conrad uses a tone of unease different from his usual one, putting his hand on mine, the one pressing my forehead, from behind,


    ¡°Are you okay? If you think it hurts anywhere, do you want to tell her, and rest for a while first?¡±


    ¡°No no, rather than saying it hurts, it¡¯s more like embarrassment! Ahh¡ªouch! That¡¯s basically giving in and letting others do as they please! Could you just reject it a little, kid me!¡±


    Hazel has always been walking in the far front of the twisting tunnel, so all we see of her is light and a petite silhouette.


    ¡°It may be because of Adalbert.¡±


    ¡°What about the muscleman? What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps when he forced out the language of this world, he also broke a seal on your memories.¡±


    ¡°Broke a seal¡­ Why do I have a ¡®too little, too late¡¯ kind of feeling.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I meant. Right now you¡¯re just starting to wake up to the past that was on brake before.¡±


    ¡°On brake?¡±


    I raise my head and look up, seeing his exceptionally solemn expression. The silver stars with their iridescent glow, are sparkling in the torchlight. It¡¯s been such a long time since I saw him at such a close distance.


    ¡°In other words, the English you¡¯re using isn¡¯t just what you learned at school, but mostly likely includes the conversations you heard naturally as a child¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah, I count as someone who returned home from abroad too! Though it was just a few short months, and it was when I was just born, when I was just a small BABY.¡±


    ¡°I heard of that.¡±


    Just as we¡¯re talking, my body¡¯s experiences are awakening subconsciously. Something like a gun, burying my face in Bobba¡­ Waa, STOP! Bobba? Pause for a sec there and rewind! In my haste my arm hits the hard mud wall, he stone on my pinky slicing away some of the dirt.


    ¡°Careful, there.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, but what do you mean by ¡®on brake¡¯? And what¡¯s the seal on my memories?¡±


    To ensure that Josak can hear him too, Conrad raises his voice slightly,


    ¡°I haven¡¯t done any in-depth research on it, but most people keep their memories starting from when they¡¯re two to three years old. As for before that, what happened as newborns or in the womb, there¡¯s practically no recollection.¡±


    ¡°Mn, that¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°But just as I said before, the soul records everything down.¡±


    It¡¯s memories and records again, why is it getting more and more complicated.


    ¡°The reason you can understand the Shin Makoku language despite never being here, is because it was already recorded, accumulating in the depths of your soul. Those are definitely Your Majesty¡¯s¡­ Yuuri¡¯s experiences from before you were born.¡±


    I feel as though there¡¯s a stone choking my throat, but I still manage a gulp. It¡¯s just that my mouth is extremely dry, there isn¡¯t even enough saliva for me to swallow.


    ¡°¡­In other words, I¡¯m using the EXP from the previous owner of my soul to speak?¡±


    Conrad¡¯s expression doesn¡¯t change, as he slowly nods.


    ¡°That¡¯s it exactly. Those records that shouldn¡¯t float to the surface, should be sealed behind an utterly unopenable door. After all it must not affect the personality of the soul¡¯s new owner.


    ¡°Affect¡­ Ah, is that so?¡±


    The so-called soul¡¯s new owner, is me.


    As for who the previous owner of the soul is, I have no idea.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to know those kinds of things.¡±


    I thought for a moment there that my thoughts had been found out, so I can¡¯t help but stand in place. But those words didn¡¯t come from my mouth, instead it was Josak, who¡¯s walking ahead desperately to not lose sight of Hazel, saying in his regular tone,


    ¡°Standing from a point after being born, to be honest, it¡¯s no use even if you do know your previous life. As long as you use everything you own now, and live on desperately, with everything you have, then that¡¯s good enough.¡±


    ¡°Well said, Gurrier! If I was Professor Kindaichi, I¡¯d compile a book of ¡®Gurrier Quotes¡¯ for you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m so happy, Your Majesty! Gurrier is so touched!¡±


    Once someone starts thinking about their past lives, then it¡¯s really game over.


    I have been told the name of my past life before, but I won¡¯t simply believe a past I haven¡¯t see with my own eyes. Even if the person who used the same soul as me was a king, at the most he would be as big as the Dessert World¡¯s King of Homeruns[1]. The world is a very small place.


    Besides, if someone said I was a girl they used to know, then I really wouldn¡¯t know how to react. If we met again, then how am I going to greet them, huh. Something like ¡°President, your tie is really pretty¡±? Although there¡¯s no president, and no tie[2].


    The maseki that¡¯s back to hanging around my chest seems to be heating up, but I pretend not to notice. As I thought, pretending not to know anything and living on is the best way.


    But Josak betrays my conclusion, saying carelessly,


    ¡°But the people around you would probably feel really troubled, right~¡±


    I trip over a stone the torchlight couldn¡¯t reach.


    ¡°If they found out that the person who was a friend yesterday is actually the enemy, or their cute son is the reincarnation of someone who killed their family, then that would definitely be a real bother. They wouldn¡¯t know what to do, y¡¯know.¡±


    ¡°¡­That¡¯s why it must be sealed.¡±


    I suddenly realize Conrad¡¯s palm, pressed against my forehead, has become scalding hot.


    ¡°That¡¯s why it must be sealed tightly deep within the soul, so the people around them and they themselves will never notice. But Adalbert destroyed that seal, bringing out the memories that don¡¯t belong to Your Majesty. If it¡¯s just language, then it¡¯s not that serious. But if even the seal on the memories of back then are broken¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait a sec, wait a sec!¡±


    I break free from his hand, my heels scrambling against the ground as I turn around.


    ¡°I¡¯m just remembering things I saw and heard as a toddler. The memories should be from around three years old. As for the genius kindergarteners the neighbors talk about sometimes, isn¡¯t that just their idle chatter after a good meal? If I say, ¡®I even remember clearly how it was like inside my mummy¡¯s tummy¡ª¡±, then what kind of a situation would that be! Conrad, that would be way too exaggerated. So I say, you¡¯re overthinking this, and worrying for nothing.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°It is.¡±


    I grip the hand without the ring, lightly tapping the chest on his uniform. There¡¯s a ¡®thump¡¯, I can feel the force of the rebound, it feels as though I can even touch his heartbeat.


    ¡°Worrying for things for me, should be G¨¹nter¡¯s job, right?¡±


    ¡°But, I also wish to be able to share your worries¡­ Please allow me to.¡±


    Maybe it¡¯s because of the wavering torchlight, that expression looks close to tears. But it isn¡¯t me, it¡¯s him.


    ¡°Even if it¡¯s just for now.¡±


    So many retorts appear in my mind, like ¡®that isn¡¯t something you should say to a sixteen-year-old boy¡¯ or ¡®there are already rumors flying around town, saying you and G¨¹nter are too overprotective of me¡¯. At the end I still didn¡¯t rebut him, just repeated the same, short and simple answer.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±


    I¡¯ll say it again, I¡¯m okay.


    There¡¯s nothing in this world that would make me more grateful now, than the cheerful spy¡¯s random interruption. Josak treats everything jokingly, the way he holds the torch to his face and waves it crazily, is like a fire dance, and only he can say whatever he wants without hesitation.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that too dangerous, Gurrier!?¡±


    ¡°Thank goodness¡ªHis Majesty still worries about Gurrier.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it, if you really want me to say it, I¡¯m more worried for the torch¡­¡±


    I suddenly hear someone calling us, and so I look past Josak¡¯s shoulder and ahead¡ªHazel Graves, now way far ahead, is yelling at us from the top of her lungs,


    ¡°BOYS, did you leave your feet at home?¡±


    The two of us who understand English shrug, thinking, ¡®Conrad shouldn¡¯t count as a BOY, right?¡¯ If she knew the difference between how he looks and his true age, surely she would be fairly surprised.


    The one who starts yelling weirdly after hearing the true age isn¡¯t Hazel, but me.


    ¡°Are you that old!?¡±


    If what she says is true, then she should be an old grandmother over a hundred and twenty years old. All that about it being rude to ask a lady¡¯s age, she¡¯s long past that. But on the surface she only looks around seventy, seems her aging is different from the mazoku¡¯s.


    If I count Conrad and Josak as well, then standing between the trio of centenarians, I sincerely feel that the elderly these days are extremely active. It really feels as though they¡¯ve become Dokumamushi Sanday¨±[3].


    ¡°But shizoku have long lives, just like the mazoku, huh.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s true that they tend to live to a hundred and fifty or so, but I haven¡¯t heard of them aging slower like you guys. Their bodies will stiffen up once they¡¯re past a hundred, and quite a few of them stay bedridden because of it.¡±


    That¡¯s what she says, but Venera, also known as Hazel Graves, has easily leapt across that chasm. Who does she mean by ¡®their bodies will stiffen up¡¯?


    ¡°I take good care of my body normally, it wasn¡¯t easy to last this long, but it seems I¡¯m almost at my limit now too. Besides, I¡¯m not from this world, so the effect of time on my body will be more or less different.¡±


    ¡°Hold on, I can¡¯t pretend I didn¡¯t hear that. You¡¯re not from this world? What does that mean? Could it be that Grandma Hazel is just like me¡­¡±


    ¡°About that, Lord Weller should know it well.¡±


    That half a face illuminated by torchlight curves into a smile, her hand continuously exploring a few spots on the wall, as though looking for a bump or something.


    ¡°I died decades ago. In the United States on Earth¡­ Also known as America.¡±


    ¡°America!?¡±


    ¡°¡­1936 AD, you suddenly disappeared from the outskirts of Boston.¡±


    In my surprise I blurt out, ¡°That¡¯s seventy years ago!¡±


    Conrad watches the old lady¡¯s every move, continuing,


    ¡°And you disappeared in a fire together with the house you just moved into.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, logically speaking I should have burned to death back then, but I¡¯m still as lively as ever right now, I wonder why? When I first came here, I even thought this is the afterlife. But if this is heaven, then it¡¯s rather too sinister. It made me think that I didn¡¯t do anything good in my life, and that¡¯s why the gates of heaven wouldn¡¯t open for me.¡±


    ¡°No, no, this isn¡¯t hell or paradise.¡±


    Of everyone here only I hasten to refute her. That¡¯s no joke, if it really as what Graves said, then wouldn¡¯t I be dead as a doornail too? And besides, I¡¯ve come and gone from here quite a few times, now even the people in Japan over there won¡¯t think I mysteriously disappeared.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯ve figured out this isn¡¯t the afterlife. But back home they must have held my funeral, and built a little tombstone for me, huh. So ¡®Hazel Graves¡¯ is officially dead. From that moment I broke the taboo and touched ¡®that¡¯, and was enveloped in blue flames.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, you opened the Box. And then you were blown here by the impact.¡±


    ¡°Conrad!¡±


    Just as the conversation was interrupted, the wall makes a heavy noise and slides aside. Upon closer inspection, it turns out that the door here is made of a thick stone slab, and it¡¯s a large round stone that can move to a side, too. But now isn¡¯t the time to stand in awe of a rigged underground passage.


    ¡°You mentioned the Box?¡±


    I¡¯m so tense even the tips of my fingers turn cold.


    ¡°You mentioned the Box just now, didn¡¯t you? You mean the four Boxes that put us through hell and back? Those things¡­¡±


    My throat hurts so much, as though I¡¯ve swallowed ice cubes.


    ¡°Are here?¡±


    ¡°Not here exactly!¡±


    Hazel Graves watches my expression as she takes half a step in the direction of the stone wall.


    ¡°It¡¯s further north, on the edge of this continent. The shinzoku lands are very vast.¡±


    Her gaze is appraising me. It feels like I¡¯m passing through the detectors in an airport, a displeasing feeling.


    ¡°Since coming to this world, little old me hasn¡¯t been able to cross the ocean. Although I can¡¯t compare to other countries, but according to my sense of distance from when I was alive, this place should be as big as Australia.¡±


    Hazel even adds, laughing, ¡°But there aren¡¯t any sheep here.¡±


    ¡°Just like its name, ¡®Country of the Holy Sand¡¯, there¡¯s only wind and yellow sand here. Forget oases, there aren¡¯t even any decent types of plants.¡±


    ¡°Though you¡¯re not a shinzoku, you sure know this place well.¡±


    ¡°How long do you think I¡¯ve lived here? Li¡­ His Majesty over here already said it all surprised, right? Seventy years, y¡¯know. After staying in the same country for seventy years, I know a lot more about this country than the kids born here.¡±


    She beckons us into a small stone hut, bringing the torch to the oil lamp on the walls. In the many intricate drawings, there are people, livestock, and images of what looks like gods. The room about twenty tatamis[4] big, looks like it¡¯s been drowned in bright red, coming off as majestic.


    ¡°Waa¡ª¡±


    Even Josak, who doesn¡¯t have much of an interest in arts, can¡¯t help but praise,


    ¡°This is¡­ a temple or some house of worship¡­?¡±


    ¡°Now it¡¯s just a simple gathering area. But around two hundred years ago, apparently it had the important position of ¡®entrance¡¯. Listen up, I¡¯m going to explain it to you.¡±


    Hazel knocks the innermost wall. For some reason, her gaze isn¡¯t trained on Conrad, who¡¯s well-versed in English, but at me.


    ¡°The walls of this room are each connected to different passages, but you must never go on, because there¡¯s a maze ahead. In the past that used to be an underground city where people lived, but since two hundred years ago when the last batch of citizens were taken out, it¡¯s been abandoned to this day. Even seventy years ago when I arrived here, there was only an impenetrable darkness, with not a single sliver of light to depend on. Listen carefully, if you don¡¯t want to die, never cross these walls. If you don¡¯t have a powerful guardian angel next to you, there¡¯s no way at all you can survive in the mazes ahead.¡±


    ¡°But Grandma Hazel passed it.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t really say I passed through all of it.¡±


    She shakes her dusty white hair, sitting on the hard ground. What¡¯s unbelievable is, her pose isn¡¯t as straight as it was earlier, making her look like just another petite and exhausted old lady. She supports her forehead with her thumb and pointer, head bowed and spirits low,


    ¡°¡­I didn¡¯t walk here from the other end either, that¡¯s simply impossible. All I did was duck inside halfway and walk a small distance to avoid the horseback tribe on the surface. But just that small distance was almost enough to drive me insane. Do you believe me? I, who went through countless ruins and explored so many tombs, nearly lost my mind!¡±


    Hazel seems to be talking to herself, telling of the maze¡¯s terrors,


    ¡°I¡¯ve eased my way through raining bullets, went toe-to-toe against wild beasts in the forest, even inched my way through caves, and was trapped in a shipwreck underwater. But I¡­ that darkness really is something else. This is different from treasure-hunting on Earth, completely different.¡±


    Technically, Josak shouldn¡¯t be able to understand the language she¡¯s speaking, but he doesn¡¯t interrupt all the same. It could be that from the atmosphere around here, he can sense what she¡¯s saying.


    ¡°There were people living in the underground city up to three hundred years ago, and I heard it was rather prosperous then, too. Though it¡¯s still no match for the cities on the surface. The residents were all the lowest of the low among the slaves, and weren¡¯t allowed to live on the surface. But at least back then it wasn¡¯t utter darkness, and there were torches illuminating the passages everywhere, so they weren¡¯t a dark maze either. But a certain Seisakoku monarch brought all the slaves living underground to the surface. That tyrant didn¡¯t care about these people, and didn¡¯t want to care about these people, so from the on this place has become somewhere not blessed by the gods. When I was wandering the maze, I thought I had been abandoned by the gods¡­¡±


    Her voice is so low it¡¯s like a murmur,


    ¡°¡­That¡¯s the Box of taboos created by the gods, once you¡¯re driven by desire to touch it, you will receive divine punishment¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it, Hazel.¡±


    I speak up without thinking.


    The old lady raises her head, meeting my eyes directly.


    ¡°It actually has nothing to do with God.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    I¡¯m still standing straight, and my feet are still on the ground, as I lower my head to look into her hazel eyes. Although it feels as though the beasts drawn onto the walls are about to pounce on us, that¡¯s just an illusion caused by the firelight.


    ¡°It has nothing to do with God. That was created by the mazoku to seal away an ancient threat, eventually sealed and hidden away. All that happened long before you or I were born, a long long time ago. Right, Lord Weller?¡±


    I can feel Conrad nod in agreement behind me.


    ¡°So, even if you met misfortune due to the Box, it¡¯s definitely not divine punishment. The gods you believe in haven¡¯t abandoned you. It¡¯s just I¡­ all I can say is, ¡®I feel so sorry for you¡¯¡­¡±


    Hazel Graves lifts her head to look at me and Lord Weller behind me, falling into a long silence, before opening her mouth slightly, singing a certain familiar melody in a tiny voice. Her voice is gruff, and the lyrics are blurred, but that is definitely the song that boy once sang in front of the palace.


    ¡°What is¡­¡±


    I don¡¯t get to complete my question because someone nudges my shoulder, preventing me from continuing. When I look to my side, I find Lord Weller has his eyes narrowed, and though he doesn¡¯t say anything, I know what he means. He probably knows what song this is.


    I wait motionlessly, until Hazel suddenly stops singing. Her expression is that of a child who was caught crying in a corner,


    ¡°If only someone sang this at my funeral for me, that¡¯d be great.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if anyone sang this song¡­¡±


    Conrad takes a step forward, reaching his left hand out to Hazel on the floor ¡ªit¡¯s that left hand.


    ¡°I heard that many close friends and relations attended your funeral, singing and sighing over your death. Even people who live far away and don¡¯t usually interact, used that chance to rekindle past friendships. Your daughter and her husband had positive outlooks, as well. As a way of remembering the deceased, it was truly a great farewell.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s wonderful, I¡¯m glad. But this feeling sure is strange, learning about my own funeral in a foreign land.¡±


    ¡°And your heir, April Graves became an impressive figure, just as you wished.¡±


    Halfway through getting up, Hazel¡¯s expression suddenly turns solemn, frozen mid-motion. That¡¯s a name I never heard before, but it should be he granddaughter.


    ¡°You said April¡­¡±


    ¡°Two years after you disappeared, she came across the ¡®Box¡¯ by accident. Just like you.¡±


    In that moment I doubted my ears. There were four ¡®Boxes¡¯ originally, how many of them are in this world? And how many are on Earth!? No, more importantly, why are the things threatening this world appearing on Earth? Just hearing that makes me restless with worry, but seeing Hazel¡¯s agitated expression, it seems that there¡¯s no chance for me to interrupt with a question related to the mazoku.


    ¡°To think that child¡­ That child met the same fate as me!?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    Lord Weller grips Hazel¡¯s slender, wrinkled fingers tightly with his left hand.


    ¡°She and some friends¡­ You should know them, I think they were your friends, called Regent and DT. With their help, April sank that Box into the water, getting past the German army¡¯s detection without triggering the taboo.¡±


    The old lady looks relieved, the wrinkles around her eyes and mouth deepening.


    ¡°I met April Graves once, she said she¡¯s extremely proud of you.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­¡±


    Conrad says, with a smile of someone cheering up their own grandmother, ¡°She¡¯s a lot like you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, there¡¯s no news better than that.¡±


    This time she really cries.


    Hazel Graves holds Conrad¡¯s hands, tears flowing down her thin, gaunt face.


    Her time has finally been connected again.

 Volume 12 - CH 4

    The red room is a sort of gathering place, just as Hazel said.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you before, the Seisakoku people believe that their gods¡¯ power doesn¡¯t reach belowground. So we reversed its purpose, and use this place as somewhere to discuss matters. And if there¡¯s no necessity, the soldiers will never step in here. Because to them this is an ominous place. But to people against the emperor, this is the ultimate hiding spot.¡±


    As we¡¯re listening to her experiences these past seventy years, a few shinzoku arrive, staying put once they find their shelter. Their outfits are all simple and tattered, wearing threadbare slippers and clothes on this cold land, shivering in the cold. Thankfully the temperature belowground is a lot warmer than on the surface, and there¡¯s also torchlight for illumination in the room, so it should be more comfortable than running around in the night.


    Some of them bring in bags with a little simple food, and others bring rolls of low-quality paper. Maybe maps or some sort of blueprint.


    Josak has his arms crossed over his chest, standing guard by the stone door, and scaring the newcomers into staggering back a few steps. But they don¡¯t attack us, giving me the impression that the slaves in Seisakoku are all rather well-tempered. I had the same feeling when we were on the boat, maybe it¡¯s because they¡¯re not violent by nature.


    Whether that¡¯s a good point or a weak point, I¡¯m unable to conclude.


    There are also amongst them some people who ran here out of curiosity to see the black-haired group, but they all backed away, nodding obediently once Hazel barks a loud order.


    Seems like not only is Hazel senior in age, she¡¯s also the leader of this faction.


    But after five more people enter the room, I can¡¯t help but offer her a suggestion. Because even I feel a little awkward.


    ¡°Uhm¡ªShould we introduce ourselves or something?¡±


    The gazes make me feel very uncomfortable. But that¡¯s no wonder, after all their leader brought in unfamiliar foreigners, anyone would find that suspicious. Besides even though they look worn and their clothes tattered, they are after all the mazoku envoy who were supposed to have talks with the emperor Yelshi. I don¡¯t know if anyone here knows the exact details, but just hearing a foreign language must be enough to make them feel uneasy.


    ¡°Because the way we look must seem really suspicious to these people, right? Not only are our hair and eye colors completely different from them, we¡¯re also speaking an unknown language.¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty is my guest, not some suspicious strangers. I planned on waiting for everyone to arrive before making introductions¡­ But to be honest, even I don¡¯t know how to explain this.¡±


    Maybe because she¡¯s getting up there in the years, the wrinkles in Hazel¡¯s brow seem even deeper, her expression hesitant to speak.


    ¡°Even if I know you¡¯re not the enemy, I don¡¯t have enough conditions to prove that you¡¯re on our side. After all, I can¡¯t even tell what your motive is, right?¡±


    ¡°Motive¡­¡±


    Under the many golden gazes and Hazel¡¯s red-brown eyes, I¡¯m suddenly at a loss for words.


    There are many motives for this trip, but they¡¯re too complicated to be explained at once, and it¡¯s hard to determine whether the talks with the brothers, Saralegui and Yelshi, can progress any further. Besides that, even more importantly, not just Hazel, but all the citizens in this country don¡¯t even know they¡¯re actually brothers!


    ¡°Our reason for crossing the ocean, was to witness the restoration of bilateral ties between Seisakoku and Shou Shimaron. But it was always to witness a third party, with absolutely no plan to interfere with the discussions between the two countries.¡±


    Be it from Shin Makoku¡¯s or Dai Shimaron¡¯s point of view, Lord Weller¡¯s words are extremely neutral and impassive.


    ¡°But some unforeseen circumstances interrupted the discussion, so we had no choice but to leave the Shou Shimaron king, Saralegui behind as we excused ourselves.¡±


    ¡°I see, there were unforeseen circumstances¡­¡±


    Hazel touches her forehead with a cracked finger.


    ¡°But you seem to have retreated under fairly dangerous circumstances, huh. Don¡¯t tell be you weren¡¯t attending peacefully? Forget it, I¡¯m not suspecting your identities, just worried that you and the Shou Shimaron king aren¡¯t here for something as simple as restoring relations, and have a more sinister motive. For example¡­¡±


    Just then the stone door opens, and she glances towards it. It seems to be an old acquaintance of hers, just raising a hand in lieu of a greeting.


    ¡°You may be searching for something extremely of use, and can be made into a weapon.¡±


    I grip my fist tightly, damp sweat breaking out across my palm.


    ¡°¡­You¡¯re talking about the Box, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Because Your Majesty is the king of the mazoku, and you said so yourself that the dangerous Box was created by you guys, right? If so, it wouldn¡¯t be weird for Your Majesty to come retrieve it personally. At the very least you would know more about using it than an outsider who just happened to accidentally come to another world.¡±


    If only that was so.


    I can¡¯t help but sigh inwardly, my voice becoming stiffer. Who¡¯d have thought that after cancelling the summit with Saralegui and Yelshi, I would have to confer with the local underground leader¡ªHazel Graves, instead. But just this sort of scheming and testing each other out is already getting to be too much for me, I don¡¯t even have time to catch my breath.


    My so-called scheming, is only to mumble senselessly and try to throw them off their game.


    ¡°Whether you believe it or not, I¡¯ll just be honest with you. We¡­ At the very least, I¡¯m not here to grab the Box, and besides we didn¡¯t expect it to be in this continent anyway. And¡­¡±


    I raise my head to look at Conrad, he says to me in a completely monotonous voice, ¡°It should be ¡®Inferno on the Tundra¡¯.¡± That¡¯s right, the Boxes¡¯ names are ¡®Wind¡¯s End¡¯, ¡®Ends of the Earth¡¯, and the one we just knew is here, ¡®Inferno on the Tundra¡¯.


    ¡°I never once thought of using ¡®Inferno on the Tundra¡¯ as a weapon.¡±


    ¡°Should I believe everything you say just like that?¡±


    ¡°I know no one can suddenly believe someone they just met. But we mazoku created those Boxes to seal away that power, and definitely not to be used by other countries or races. Even if I know the location of the Box now, to be honest I¡¯d want nothing more than to leave it there untouched. If only I could sign a pact so that no one could abuse it. Like Dai Shimaron or Shou Shimaron¡­¡±


    I pause¡ªbecause I remember the boy king¡¯s crime.


    ¡°If you can guarantee that it won¡¯t fall into Saralegui¡¯s hands, and you won¡¯t abuse it, then I won¡¯t enquire about its whereabouts any further.¡±


    He once gathered criminals in the name of experimenting, and caused mass destruction to Caloria. It¡¯s as different as possible from Anissina¡¯s ideals, which is to enhance everyone¡¯s strengths.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    She uses those hazel eyes, just like her name, to stare at my face. Since she¡¯s smaller than me, naturally she¡¯s looking up at me. But the reason I feel such discomfort is her eyes. She has the eyes of someone who can see through everything, appraise everything.


    ¡°Don¡¯t make the mistakes I made, owning a precious Box with incredible power. According to the records that survived, it may even be on par with Germany¡¯s newly-designed bombs. That¡¯s a terrifying thing that combines fusion and fission, strong enough to destroy a city. Once you have that much power in your hands, can you resist the temptation to use it?¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t use it. And to make sure it won¡¯t be used by others, I hope to hide it somewhere deeper, somewhere it will never be found.¡±


    Hazel stares at me, falling into a silence that lasts five whole minutes. I feel as though in that time, she¡¯s been looking deep within my heart. And then her expression softens, turning back to that of a kind old lady.


    ¡°No offense, but I always thought that Little¡­ Sorry, His Majesty here looks a lot like a Japanese person from Earth. If a country like that got such a brutal weapon, I really wouldn¡¯t know what would happen to the world.¡±


    ¡°¡­a country like that¡­¡±


    Nothing I can do about it, Hazel Graves¡¯ world history knowledge stopped at 1936AD. Back then the whole of Japan was under military rule, and America hadn¡¯t joined the war. Not only that, the World Wars haven¡¯t even started. She doesn¡¯t know how the 20th century ended.


    ¡°International politics sure are complicated--¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Conrad, who knows a bit about the world after that, says as though to comfort me, all dejected. But I rather hope someone could comfort me with something like, ¡®You¡¯re doing a wonderful job.¡¯


    Hazel, who has no idea why I¡¯m upset, apologizes with a laugh,


    ¡°So sorry, I actually did something as stupid as judging a book by its cover. It¡¯s because I haven¡¯t seen any black-haired and black-eyed people in a long time. But Your Majesty looks very honest, and extremely adorable to boot, it must be easy for you to win over the ladies. You¡¯re worlds away from a certain Asian friend of mine.¡±


    After that she turns solemn again, the gentle old grandma image disappearing in the blink of an eye. This should be ¡°Venera¡¯s¡± expression.


    ¡°And more importantly, you are the king of the mazoku, the only existence that can oppose Shimaron. I hope you¡¯re trustworthy, or everything we¡¯ve done to this day, will never come to fruition. The reason we keep on escaping on boats, is so that the outside world can know what this country is like now, that¡¯s why we need to transmit the information to the other side of the ocean. Do you know what kind of wrecks our comrades had to ride across the sea in?¡±


    ¡°All that I know. I¡¯ve come into contact with them before. To be honest, that was a very rash move.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s basically suicide.¡±


    They actually let those people ride those old ships no better than fishing vessels across those rapid torrents. And most of them drifted to Shou Shimaron, where eventually only the kids were taken away, and rest deported back. I rub my chest through my clothes, my heart aching from the uneasy feeling. That was when I got this letter from the twins I befriended¡ªthe letter that Jason and Freddy wrote. Moreover, this letter is also filled with Zeda and Zusha¡¯s wishes and hopes on me.


    In fact, behind that thin piece of paper, there¡¯s probably many, many more, tens of thousands of people and their wishes.


    ¡°Even so, we have no choice but to set sail, because someone has to lead the advance. We¡¯ve been doing the same thing for more than thirty years now, but we¡¯ve confirmed that Shimaron land is off limits. Surely you are also aware what fate awaited our comrades who drifted to Shimaron. But on the other hand we¡¯re not sure about any other countries besides Shimaron, because we have not the slightest clue about them. I figure they¡¯re either completely ignored, or exploited as ready-made labor.¡±


    My wandering gaze falls on Josak, who got some yellow cube-shaped thing from a woman, and is pointing at his mouth to ask if it is edible. That shinzoku lady tears it into strips with her slender fingers, bringing it to his mouth with a smile. They obviously can¡¯t understand each other, but he still managed to mix with them in such a short time. Hazel seems to have seen the same image, her expression softening slightly.


    ¡°Just as we were sending people out to sea, the war got more and more intense. We heard that Shimaron even split into two, that info was leaked by the merchants who visited Dejima. At the same time we also know about the forces opposing Shimaron. I was really very surprised, Shimaron obviously hasn¡¯t colonized as much land in these past hundred years as Rome or the British Empire. But since this continent is sealed off, the environment only allows us limited intel, that¡¯s why we feel as though the whole world belonged to Shimaron. Just thinking that monopoly of the world has fallen into Shimaron hands, and is divided into the kings of Dai and Shou Shimaron no less, fills my comrades and I with despair.¡±


    The spy is chewing the food he requested, all carefree. Even if it¡¯s boring because you can¡¯t understand English, Josak, you¡¯re such a glutton. But I still force myself to bring my attention, which nearly got sidetracked, back to Venera¡¯s topic.


    ¡°But Shimaron didn¡¯t win the war, did it?¡±


    It¡¯s another country¡¯s business, but Hazel is still laughing so happily her shoulders won¡¯t stop shaking,


    ¡°Do you know how I felt, when I heard that some countries didn¡¯t bow to the pressure, and can even fight back? I felt that the world was so big. Thinking that, other than Dai and Shou Shimaron, there might be other places that won¡¯t oppress the victims, even dreaming that if that country knew about our situation, would they stand up for us as peacemakers? So I start harboring hope¡­ But, hope is such a troublesome thing.¡±


    Hazel opens her palms skywards and shrugs her shoulders, the foreigner pose I always see in the movies.


    ¡°¡­At the end I couldn¡¯t stop it.¡±


    ¡°Stop what?¡±


    ¡°Stop the boats from going out to sea.¡±


    ¡°Why has it come to that?¡±


    I grip my hands and loosen them again, flustered, wiping the sweat on them on my thighs.


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that, though all the shinzokus know how reckless setting sail on such rickety boats is, they still won¡¯t stop trying to escape¡­ it¡¯s actually all because of us¡­ because Shin Makoku was at war with Shimaron? If the mazokus had surrendered without a word like the other countries, then you guys might have given up sooner, and there wouldn¡¯t have been so many needless sacrifices?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant, Your Majesty.¡±


    Looking at Hazel¡¯s deprecating expression, I bite my lip wordlessly.


    ¡°I just wanted to say, the country that defeated Shimaronn gave us hope.¡±


    Hope.


    Hearing that simple word, I remember one of the reasons I¡¯m standing on this land.


    Venera, hope, save.


    That¡¯s right, we¡­ at least, I wasn¡¯t here to find the Box, and not to stop Seisakoku and Shou Shimaron restoring their relations either. I¡¯m here to fulfill the wish Jason and Freddy wrote to me in their letter, and save them. I said before I would take responsibility for their lives, because I promised them.


    ¡°If we¡¯re talking about hope, it should be you, Venera.¡±


    I purposely avoid her real name, using the name people praise instead.


    ¡°You motivated those who were treated as slaves, mistreated, and had no power to object, letting them know that they can lead completely different lives, and taught them the way to change their current situation. Not only did you teach them, you even led them into concrete actions, didn¡¯t you? The one who gave the people of this country hope, isn¡¯t Shin Makoku who signed a peace treaty with Shimaron, but Hazel Graves.¡±


    Jason, Freddy, I¡¯ve come here looking for you, just like we agreed. What are you actually hoping for? How do I save Venera, this symbolic existence?


    ¡°The reason I came to this land even after being separated from my comrades, is to fulfill my deal with my friends, those twins. Those two wanted me to save Venera. Jason and Freddy are two girls, around twelve-years-old, do you know where they are?¡±


    ¡°Jason and Freddy¡­ those names sound familiar¡­ did those two girls ask Your Majesty to save me?¡±


    I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because she has no clue about the twins¡¯ whereabouts, or because this has to do with her own safety, but after Hazel ponders over it seriously for a few minutes, she says something that sounds like fortune teller,


    ¡°Those names don¡¯t sound like shinzoku names, they shouldn¡¯t belong to the slave class, right?¡±


    ¡°I think they were taken from here shortly after they were born, and were raised by the foster care organization overseas. Maybe the people there gave them those names. Their majutsu¡­ No, houjutsu is really strong. Like they were born with houryoku. Wait a sec, according to what Saralegui said¡­¡±


    According to what Saralegui said, no matter how high a status you¡¯re born into, any child without houryoku will be treated as a slave, not even one of the queen¡¯s twins can be exempted. On the other hand there¡¯s Jason and Freddy, they have powerful houryoku, and unlike other houjutsu users, they don¡¯t need to rely on houseki to display astonishing destructive force. I can¡¯t match up to the tip of one of their toes, even.


    Since they possess such scary attack power, it¡¯s highly likely that they don¡¯t belong to the slave class. That means I¡¯m trying to save kids who are different from the people here, in that they have better surroundings and facilities? And so I¡¯m at a loss, unsure of whether I should say that out loud.


    Josak flicks his finger beside my face, whispering to me, ¡°It looks like they¡¯ll feed us, you know.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you take this chance to catch your breath, I¡¯m sure Young Master is hungry as well, right?¡±


    As for the woman who was standing by his side just now, she¡¯s fumbling around her sack with a friendly smile. The problem is they already have very little food as it is, and yet they are still willing to share some with foreign strangers they¡¯ve never met before.


    What kind of expression should I wear to tell them, ¡°I¡¯m not here to help you¡±?


    It¡¯s Hazel, though, who ignores my hesitation and suddenly yells,


    ¡°It¡¯s the returnees!¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡¯


    ¡°Those two are returnees from abroad. When it comes to those who returned from the other end of the ocean, to differentiate them from the slaves who mostly don¡¯t understand the outside world, that¡¯s how we call them. If so, when I do my rounds normally, I may have seen them once or twice.¡±


    Hazel says all that at once, and even laughs self-deprecatingly,


    ¡°After all, I was originally the old lady who pulled the manure cart.¡±


    There¡¯s already a high school baseball boy as Maou, a resistance leader who transports organic fertilizer is nothing surprising.


    ¡°But, if those two children really are returnees¡­ I¡¯m sorry, they¡¯re being held at a very scary place.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re being held!? But they¡¯re not criminals or rebels, for all you know they¡¯re not even slave-class children, right!? According to the value system in this country, aren¡¯t children with high houryoku members of the elite?¡±


    What she¡¯s saying makes me feel rather uneasy. The girls I¡¯m looking for aren¡¯t pets or livestock that have to be chained up, their movements restricted.


    ¡°That¡¯s only for good citizens who¡¯ve never left the country their whole lives, whilst returnees don¡¯t have it so well. If they¡¯re really clueless, then they won¡¯t harbor any suspicions about the current system, and they¡¯ll be able to swear loyalty to the gods and the ruler. But once they¡¯ve known the outside world, then it¡¯s impossible for them to not notice the problems here, so they¡¯ll be even more troublesome than simply the slaves.¡±


    ¡°Troublesome¡­!¡±


    Hazel scratches her hair with her dry hands, shaking her head in despair,


    ¡°That¡¯s why the returnees are isolated, and held in specialized facilities. To prevent them from teaching the people around them, and thus bringing a bad influence. But those places are called facilities in name only, and in reality they¡¯re just concentration camps in the middle of nowhere. They¡¯re just like prisoners, it¡¯s no different from being incarcerated in prison.¡±


    ¡°Oh my god!¡±


    ¡°Those facilities are scattered all across the country, one of them isn¡¯t too far away from Yelshiurad. Every twenty days they¡¯ll send supplies over there. The supply cart isn¡¯t pulled by me, but by oxen. Since I never opened the covers, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s inside, but judging from the smell, it doesn¡¯t seem to be the prisoners¡¯ food. Maybe it¡¯s the personal necessities of the officials who work in such an isolated area.¡±


    Hazel¡¯s tone is full of sympathy. Because of me, those two girls are in a situation even worse than that of the people here.


    ¡°When I¡¯m in charge of helping transport the supplies, I¡¯ll try my best to get around there a bit more. Because there are a lot of people there who failed to get away and got deported back, so I have a responsibility towards them.¡±


    Her voice is mixed with pity and pain, clenching her teeth and speaking slowly to maintain her cool. But I can¡¯t listen to her talk calmly anymore. It feels as though the ground underneath my feet has turned to sand, and my body is starting to sink downwards. Just keeping my balance takes a lot out of me.


    ¡°¡­It¡¯s all me.¡±


    I spread open my hands to hold my trembling cheeks, the cold pale red houseki stuck on my little finger now plastered to the corner of my eyes. I¡¯m extremely angry, hating someone from the very bottom of my heart, but I can¡¯t let out my emotions so easily.


    Because, all the responsibility is on me.


    ¡°I was the one who put them in such a terrible place¡­¡±


    ¡°No, Your Majesty.¡±


    Conrad grabs my shoulders, helping me finally dispel that feeling of falling. But words of regret start forming in my mind,


    ¡°If only I¡¯d stopped them back then. Forget stopping, at the very least I should have investigated the political state of Seisakoku and the shinzoku culture before sending them back¡­ If I had convinced them to wait until then, this wouldn¡¯t have happened.¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t your fault.¡±


    I shake away his hands, turning to him, but suddenly my whole body just falls towards the wall. Hazel¡¯s expression changes abruptly, staring directly at the stone wall behind me. That time, I still had no idea what I¡¯d done.


    ¡°No, I should have just followed them here. Back then I¡¯d said so proudly that I would be responsible for them until the end, but at the most important moment I handed them over to someone else to handle. I should¡¯ve personally sent them back, I should have seen them obtain their happiness with my own eyes! That¡¯s right, what about the other kids that were with them? Don¡¯t tell me those kids have met such misfortune as well¡­¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t your fault!¡±


    ¡°Young Master?¡±


    Josak, having sensed something amiss, rushes over here. He glances at Conrad, at the same time putting his hand on his sword. Looks like Conrad¡¯s still under suspicion, if I were him, I¡¯d surely feel terrible about it.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I said, Young Master, you should catch your breath first and eat something. If you talk about these serious things on an empty stomach, you¡¯ll stand until you get dizzy and finally you¡¯ll faint, you know.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not because I¡¯m hungry, sheesh.¡±


    ¡°No!! It¡¯s precisely because you¡¯re hungry!¡±


    He concludes, sounding absolutely sure of himself.


    ¡°¡®Thinking of things on an empty stomach, will never come to any good.¡¯ Those are our ancestor¡¯s words of wisdom, passed down through the generations, even His Majesty Shinou said that before.¡±


    ¡°On the contrary, when you eat too much the blood gathers in your gut and¡­ Mmph!¡±


    ¡°Stop forcing your way out of this. Listen up, Your Majesty: this is something only someone who¡¯s truly been hungry would know!¡±


    Gurrier, looking like a middle-aged auntie in his long-sleeved apron, stuffs the yellow cube thing into my mouth. The taste on my mouth is something between cheese and yoghurt, and then the turns around to face Lord Weller, moving almost automatically,


    ¡°It¡¯s been tested for poison.¡±


    ¡°¡­I know.¡±


    Although Gurrier exaggerated that it¡¯s the ancestral words of wisdom, it seems that half of it is true. Ad I¡¯m chewing what seems to be a dairy product, that sense of self-hatred seems to have decreased somewhat, and what rises is a little energy to think of my words and actions just now¡­ more or less. It¡¯s still mostly the self-hatred, though.


    It¡¯s depressing, that I actually made such a serious mistake in such an important part of someone¡¯s life. Just thinking about that stupid thing I did and the consequences, makes me feel as though even the beasts on the wall behind me are laughing at me.


    But it isn¡¯t over yet.


    There¡¯s still ninety per cent left to go in Jason and Freddy¡¯s lives, I still have a chance to make it up to them.


    ¡°¡­Please tell me.¡±


    ¡°Tell you what?¡±


    Hazel, who was standing by and quietly watching me, now retorts with a question, her arms folded over her chest.


    ¡°The places where the returnees are being isolated, please tell me everything you know about it. Starting with the one closest to the capital. Hey--!¡±


    I wave over the young shinzoku standing in the corner of the room, praying that the paper cylinder in their hands is a map.


    ¡°I have to save them¡­ I have to!¡±


    Hazel raises her chin comically, cracking her knuckles like a tough guy.


    ¡°All right, at least you got guts.¡±


    There absolutely no trace of the gentle old grandma anymore.


    ¡°Looking at Little Buddy here reminds me of my granddaughter! She¡¯s a stubborn kid who doesn¡¯t know how to give up, back then when we separated, she was about as old as you are now. I¡¯ll do my best to help you. After all, those two girls brought Your Majesty over here because they were worried about me, right?¡±


    ¡°I guess you could say so.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re already in danger, but they¡¯re still worried about others, so I can tell they¡¯re good children who were raised right. How can I just let them be¡­ Right, let¡¯s start from here.¡±


    And with that she unfurls the paper on the ground, pressing down on the right side with her knee. The map of the entire Seisakoku is surrounded by wave symbols, looking like an enormous shell. It¡¯s a map made by the locals, but there are still obvious signs differentiating the mountainous areas and the plains. Though there are quite a few mountain ranges represented here, but as a whole, there¡¯s doesn¡¯t seem to be too many drastic changes in the topography.


    I follow Hazel¡¯s fingertip, moving towards the center, west, and south-east.


    ¡°I know these four places: north-west of Yelshiurad, the east cliffs, opposite Dejima¡­ and¡­¡±


    Her finger slows down when she reaches the fourth place, as though that place is even more terrifying than the previous three. I raise my head to look at her with eyes full of disbelief, and the corners of Hazel¡¯s mouth lift with something like cynicism. She doesn¡¯t seem to test my patience anymore, either, and continues,


    ¡°And there¡¯s one here, on the northern-most tip of the continent, surrounded by the royal mausoleums, where some horseback tribes hold the actual authority, under the pretense of watching the royal tombs.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®hold the actual authority¡¯?¡±


    Could it be that Seisakoku isn¡¯t under an absolute monarchy? Doesn¡¯t Yelshi hold all the authority? Just as I¡¯m making to ask her, Hazel¡¯s next words dispel all my doubts. What she says is this¡ª


    ¡°That was the place I first landed when I came to this world, that time when I came here together with the ¡®Box¡¯.¡±


    ¡°What did you say!? T-then, that thing is there, too?¡±


    ¡°Right, it¡¯s highly likely. If no one found it, it should still be sleeping in the old tombs, hibernating together with the riches of the previous emperors. I just hope that after my desperate break for freedom, no one went in there to raid the tombs.¡±


    Hazel ignores the way we look at each other, continuing to pretend that she doesn¡¯t see any of us,


    ¡°But back then I was actually in an ancient tomb. Isn¡¯t that the best place to trap a treasure hunter? If that Box had a conscience, it would have a rather good sense of humor.¡±


    What a painful joke. Especially towards those of us who had witnessed the destruction of Caloria.


    But I give up protesting, there¡¯s really no need to increase the number of people who know the Box¡¯s secret anymore. Though to be precise, I lost the chance to protest, because everyone¡¯s attention is pulled to a sudden, heavy sound.


    That¡¯s the sound of someone knocking the stone from outside, intense and frantic. The young man closest to it quickly pulls aside the stone door.


    ¡°Venera!¡±


    The man yells Hazels name as soon as he comes in, rushing in and talking non-stop. After he hands over the paper slip in his hands, his now empty hands continue moving continuously, as though he¡¯s chopping vegetables¡ªit should be a personal habit of his when he talks. His gaze tells us how frenzied he is, his huge golden eyes moving left and right behind those thick lenses. I don¡¯t mean to look down on any YUTA[1], though.


    That white mold-like beard, especially, that covers his cheeks and chin, look awfully familiar¡­


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    The man, who¡¯s finished a part of what he wants to say, jumps at the sound of my voice, and when he looks towards my direction for the first time he¡¯s so shocked he takes quite a few steps backwards.


    ¡°Ajira-san!?¡±


    ¡°Y-yujira-san¡­!?[2]¡±


    This man is the translator who attended the summit. That white mold beard that stands on end whenever he gets agitated is still the same. I remember clearly the nametag on his chest with the error: ¡®Translator: Ajira¡¯, but the third words seems to be horizontally inverted.


    ¡°Ah, I was right, no wonder you look so familiar.¡±


    ¡°Why is the translator¡­ Why are you, who knows translation houjutsu, joining the underground resistance!?¡±


    Surely he must be having the same thoughts as I am. Why is the idiotic guest who fell from the balcony here at the entrance to the underground maze!?


    ¡°Ajira may be a citizen, but he¡¯s a great asset of ours. Because his grandparents¡¯ generation were still slaves, all I gave him was a little suggestion. On that note, he¡¯s here with intel, I think Your Majesty would be interested to know.¡±


    ¡°Listen?¡±


    I pause for a while before I understand that he¡¯s asking if I want to listen to the information. He has a way of abbreviating his common language, and he speaks as short and sweet as ever. Rather than saying he¡¯s a special houjutsu user, it¡¯s better to say he¡¯s good at languages.


    And I reply loudly, too¡ªonly in verbs.


    ¡°Listen, listen!¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow, daytime, execute.¡±


    ¡°¡­What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an execution, Your Majesty.¡±


    Conrad replies in English with a tone that makes me feel uncomfortable. Hazel nods, as well.


    ¡°W-wait a sec, Conrad, no one would make a cold joke out of this, right? No one would be that crazy, right?¡±


    ¡°An execution means to sentence someone to death, Your Majesty. It¡¯s to make an example for us to see. In other words they choose some rebels who were caught, or pick a few unlucky winners from the returnees we mentioned just now¡­¡±


    ¡°T-they¡¯ll be killed?¡±


    Hazel, who was listening at the side, has an expression of surprise that says, ¡®how can you still not understand the situation¡¯.


    ¡°Don¡¯t the mazokus have corporal punishment? But this is still too sudden, what on earth happened? There haven¡¯t been public executions here for several years now. Especially after Yelshi ascended the throne, we were all still happy that his restrictions on us are so much looser than before. Could it be that he¡¯s changed his principles too, and decided to go the same way as his mother?¡±


    Faced with the leader who says such scary things, I retort her agitatedly, even making to pull her collar.


    ¡°You¡¯ll save them, right? You will save them, right!?¡±


    ¡°Of course I want to, but¡­ Just thinking that it might cost other lives, I can¡¯t make this decision easily.¡±


    ¡°No way? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to just watch them die!?¡±


    Hazel, with her expression still solemn, is shaken by the shoulders strongly by someone young enough to be her great-grandson, and finally Lord Weller can¡¯t bear to watch anymore, pulling me away from her.


    ¡°I know!¡±


    This is a foreign organization¡¯s problem, it¡¯s not good for me to interfere too much. I just didn¡¯t think that I would lose my mind and threaten the other side.


    ¡°Of course I know! But I still feel¡­ feel as though Saralegui must have influenced this.¡±


    ¡°So what do you want to say? Even if the execution was Saralegui¡¯s idea, but we¡¯re still in Seisakoku, the one to make the decision is still Venera. We can¡¯t force them to save them, can we?¡±


    Lord Weller says in a voice so calm I hate it. Even this simple brain of mine can understand that, but I still can¡¯t control my childish emotions. I¡¯m so angry I kick the ground that¡¯s been here for several centuries, bringing up a cloud of dust.


    In the rebound of my emotions, I even say some things I shouldn¡¯t say,


    ¡°And from what position are you saying this, huh!?¡±


    Even raising some questions I shouldn¡¯t raise.


    ¡°As my companion? Or¡­ as Dai Shimaron¡¯s ambassador?¡±


    After a long time, Lord Weller replies in a hoarse voice,


    ¡°¡­What kind of position do you wish me to be in?¡±


    He even repeats the same thing, word for word, in the mazoku language,


    ¡°What kind of position does Your Majesty wish me to be in?¡±


    I can¡¯t say a thing.


    ¡°Sorry for interrupting your conversation.¡±


    Looking at the paper slip Ajira the informant passes to her, Hazel cuts in our conversation without raising her head. Although I was the one who asked him the question first, I still heave a quiet sigh of relief. Thank goodness he didn¡¯t reply.


    But that short sense of relief disappears without a trace at the next piece of information. Looking at that unique writing, like still shots of a bird flying, Hazel clenches her fist tightly.


    ¡°There¡¯s good news and bad news, which do you guys want to hear first?¡±


    ¡°Good¡­¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll read out the good news first. This time there are five people unlucky enough to be pulled out, a lot fewer than usual.¡±


    How is that good news?


    ¡°But out of those five there are names that don¡¯t sound like shinzoku, I have to admit, it¡¯s two girls.¡±


    Hazel adds a simple comment in what sounds like a swearing tone,


    ¡°Well, that sucks bad.¡±

 Volume 12 - CH 5

    Terine-shan is enjoying the cruise trip.


    Gliding over the surface of the sea, ¡®Friends on the Sea¡¯ isn¡¯t shaking much, so it feels comfortable to ride. And Captain Mountain Range, who usually won¡¯t let Terine-shan leave his lap, has started to leave the skull on a barrel like this to tan in the sun. No matter how much Terine-shan likes hanging out with the captain, the skull still doesn¡¯t like to be restricted too much, so it¡¯s a pretty good deal, having some alone time like this. 	Dazedly, Terine-shan figures that it¡¯s because Terine-shan¡¯s less reliant now, and that must be the influence of the sea.


    Of course, staying in the sun too long is bad for the skin, but to a skull that has lived so long and seen so much, it doesn¡¯t really matter even if Terine-shan goes completely black. That¡¯s why Terine-shan never even dreamed that such a thing could be witnessed there. As for her (?) subconscious actions after that, whose fault could that be?


    Lord von Bielefeld Wolfram is standing on the deck and building up a relationship with the goddess statue praying for a safe voyage.


    It¡¯s just that there are still remnants of seasickness on the corners of his mouth.


    Wolfram¡¯s seasickness still hasn¡¯t been cured, even though he accepted the worst secret technique known to the mazoku, something like ¡®G¨¹nter¡¯s protection¡¯. All that did was give him two days free of retching over the side. That¡¯s why he can¡¯t quite understand why he was forced to take that slightly revolting talisman with him in the first place.


    ¡°¡­And it¡¯s made of hair, too¡­¡±


    To put it the way Yuuri would, it would definitely be 100% pure fleece, and it feels high quality too. But that¡¯s just saying ¡®fully G¨¹nter hair¡¯ in a foreign-sounding way.


    He takes the little grey pouch of his pocket, letting the cursing tool sway in the sea breeze¡ªswaying, and swaying, and swaying.


    ¡°What, you¡¯re not puking today?¡±


    Technically he can¡¯t have been drawn here by the swaying pouch, but Adalbert walks over, all swaying on his feet too. He¡¯s still covered in muscles, but these days he seems somewhat tired. There are obvious bags under his eyes, and even those muscles, his pride and joy, seem to have wilted.


    But Wolfram isn¡¯t exactly fond of him, so he¡¯s not the least bit concerned, even hmph-ing in displeasure. Besides, this fellow was an enemy of the mazoku not that long ago. Even if he¡¯s not feeling well because he¡¯s not used to the sea, there¡¯s no reason to worry about him.


    Adalbert doesn¡¯t look angry at all, though, when he hands a packet of powdered medicine to Wolfram,


    ¡°Seasickness medicine, go ahead and eat it. It¡¯s human-made, but it may still help you.¡±


    ¡°What? What are you saying? Just eat it yourself!¡±


    ¡°Me, eat this? You want me to it this seasickness medicine made of vampire bat eyeballs and poisonous frogs and rotten pears and merman lord scales all ground together? How could I!¡±


    There¡¯s no way of telling if he¡¯s being nice or purposely being annoying. Adalbert grabs onto the railing and exerts his muscles, leaning out his body dangerously.


    ¡°I¡¯m not seasick.¡±


    ¡°Then what¡¯s wrong with you, why does your color look so bad? I¡¯ll tell you now, to get you onboard, we made a huge sacrifice! If the time comes and you can¡¯t perform because your body is too weak, I¡¯ll cut off each of those muscles of yours in order and throw them overboard!¡±


    Seasickness makes one irritable. Surprisingly, though, Adalbert doesn¡¯t snort at his words, instead lowering his head dejectedly,


    ¡°I¡¯d rather you throw me overboard¡­¡±


    ¡°W-what¡¯s the matter, Grantz? Has one of your screws come loose?¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t understand it, this pain.¡±


    His gaze hollow, he looks out into the horizon and says,


    ¡°That voice is always echoing in my ears¡­ A voice saying ¡®Father, Father¡¯, and making it a question, as though he¡¯s cocking his head and asking ¡®Father?¡¯¡±


    ¡°W-w-w-w-w-w-w-what is that--!?¡±


    Wolfram takes a few steps back,


    ¡°Not only did you betray the mazoku and side with the humans, you even had a child out of wedlock!? And of all things, you brought like a cute and innocent little girl onto the boat that¡¯s heading out to save Yuuri!?¡±


    ¡°Which part of my imitation was cute and innocent? You¡­ you¡¯re rather badly sick.¡±


    Adalbert grabs his blonde hair with his strong hands, mumbling in despair,


    ¡°After living a hundred and fifty years, never did I think that the Poison Lady¡¯s venomous fangs would still reach me! I even thought I would be the only one to escape.¡±


    ¡°I see, so it¡¯s something to do with Anissina?¡±


    The pretty boy subconsciously nods in agreement. As long as Annissina is involved, even the scariest thing is no surprise. Although he has no idea how the muscleman suddenly got a daughter, but if it¡¯s related to the Poison Lady, then he¡¯ll just leave it at that.


    ¡°Instead of distancing yourself from your daughter, wouldn¡¯t it be nicer of she likes you? Since it¡¯s your beloved daughter, then I have no choice, I¡¯ll just pretend I don¡¯t know she stowed away.¡±


    ¡°W-why are you so sure I have a daughter!?¡±


    Having gone completely into father mode, Wolfram can¡¯t hear a single thing anyone else says. Even if that¡¯s a guy he hates from the bottom of his heart, he¡¯s happy as long as he has a chance to show off Greta.


    ¡°Indeed, as a father, there¡¯s nothing like the way your child says ¡®Father?¡¯ As soon as you hear your child ask in that questioning way, no matter what it is, you¡¯ll just buy it for her. Oh, yeah, how old is your daughter?¡±


    ¡°H-how o-old? How many years old? Looks really old, but actually it¡¯s only thirty¡­ four, five?¡±


    ¡°Five years old! Mine is already ten. In that case, as a father, I¡¯m your senior.¡±


    ¡°Hey, wait a sec! When did you become a father¡­¡±


    Completely immersed in father mode, Wolfram can¡¯t care about anyone else¡¯s doubts. Even if it¡¯s a man with a butt-shaped chin, as long as he has a chance to boast about his beloved daughter, nothing else matters.


    ¡°Mn¡ªFive years old is really quite young. I can just imagine Greta when she was five, she probably couldn¡¯t sleep without her stuffed toy. If she gets a custom-made toy, she should probably be very happy. I wonder, how about a yellow ducky?¡±


    ¡°Ducky¡­¡±


    Would it work if he gave a yellow ducky to Maxine, his lower half wrapped up in a grass-woven carpet, sitting like a mermaid and yelling ¡®Father¡¯? On the other hand he would really like to pull Wolfram into the room, and let him experience the ¡®Father Hell¡¯.


    ¡°Since it¡¯s come to this, I might as well try my luck. All right, I¡¯m using hypnosis houjutsu to try and fight the spell!¡±


    ¡°Hypnosis houjutsu?¡±


    Wolfram reacts to that last word. It seems to have some alleviating effect on his seasickness.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering about this since forever. You¡¯re not a shinzoku or a human, so how did you learn houjutsu?¡±


    The former Master Grantz narrows his blue eyes, his expression strange and asking, ¡®why the heck are you asking?¡¯


    ¡°It¡¯s not something I can explain in a few words. I trained so hard to learn it, it almost made my chin split into a butt-shape.¡±


    ¡°Your chin!? Weren¡¯t you born with that butt-shaped chin!?¡±


    Urk¡­ That¡¯s why he can¡¯t stand these greenhouse-bred pretty boys. Not only did he laugh out loud over such a cold joke, he even takes it seriously.


    ¡°If you or I were born with a butt-shape down there, that would probably be a misunderstanding. It¡¯s not like your brother was born frowning, was he?¡±


    ¡°No, he probably wasn¡¯t.¡±


    But a chin still isn¡¯t quite the same as wrinkles.


    ¡°More importantly, are there babies with a butt-shaped chin? Have you ever seen one?¡±


    ¡°Probably¡­ not.¡±


    ¡°Exactly! Get this me~morized, a chin is just like abs, the more you trained them, the faster they split, and the more you get used to using them.¡±


    ¡°Get used to a butt-shaped chin?¡±


    Wolfram is reluctant, but he feels as though he learned something today, and so he nods. But he may have mistaken this place for some daddy parenting class or something, believing in his heart that a father with a daughter can¡¯t be a bad guy. If he¡¯s not quickly awoken from his father mode and reverted to normal, he will surely be in danger.


    But what they don¡¯t know, is that their embarrassing conversation has been broadcast live across the world by all the kotsuhizoku.


    Meanwhile, in the Blood Pledge Castle, Gwendal, Anissina and Greta, the trio of large, medium and small, have connected the piece of ¡®Happy-Happy Bone Puzzle¡¯ into a huge soup spoon-shaped container, and are holding their breaths as they listen closely to the content coming across the intercom.


    Though the content itself is nothing much to talk about.


    ¡°What do you think of this ¡®Tingly-tingly YESYES Now Receiving Electric Waves¡¯, abbreviated as ¡®Tingly YES-kun¡¯? With this, we can even live broadcast social meetings, duels to the death and so on through the bones, receiving any noise whatever it is. Mn--? Oh, dear.¡±


    Anissina points her neatly-manicured nail towards ¡®Tingly YES-kun¡¯.


    ¡°Wolfram has been duped by the muscleman.¡±


    The older brother holds his head with his long slender fingers, mumbling,


    ¡°Oh, little brother¡­¡±


    Sitting on his lap, Greta tries her best to stretch her arms so she can pat Gwendal¡¯s head.


    ¡°Good boy, good boy, Gwendal. Don¡¯t cry¡ªGreta knows, that no matter how you train, you can¡¯t make your chin butt-shaped, just like how there aren¡¯t any natural-born Poison Ladies in the world.¡±


    ¡°Lady von Wincott may have been a natural-born Poison Lady.¡±


    Anissina¡¯s careless words excite the young girl who fell in love with the Poison Lady in no more than five seconds.


    ¡°Eh, who¡¯s that? Can Greta be that person¡¯s student!?¡±


    ¡°Greta, we can discuss this again when you reach your zodiac year.¡±


    ¡°Eh¡ª¡±


    Greta makes a noise of dissatisfaction. Because there are a total of 577 types of animals in the Shin Makoku zodiac, so the chances of surviving to your next zodiac year aren¡¯t that high.


    ¡°But Wolf¡¯s simple and dumb-dumb part is where his beauty lies, y¡¯know.¡±


    ¡°Oh, dear, Greta, if Wolfram heard you praise him like that, he would definitely jump with happiness. But I have to give it to His Majesty, scolding when someone has to be scolded, praising when praise is deserved. He taught you well.¡±


    ¡°Yuuri wasn¡¯t the one who said that--!¡±


    ¡°Then who is it?¡±


    ¡°Gi¡ªsela--!¡±


    The dejected Gwendal makes an indescribable wail.


    ¡°Oh dear, that Sergeant who always picked on strong sturdy men for her pleasure, has finally set her targets on men younger than her? How scary, how exciting. Aha, aha, ahahaha!¡±


    Ahh~ My little brother, I weep for you.


    No matter which world it is, the older brothers are feeling frustrated.


    At the end of the death row name list, there are indeed names that don¡¯t sound like shinzoku.


    Jason and Freddy.


    But I just can¡¯t understand the words that look like flying birds, even if I try touching the words as I read. When I see the last two lines of words, the choking urge to cry surges suddenly up my throat.


    I¡¯ve been looking for you, for so, so long.


    The other three are all men who returned from overseas, now held in the facility nearest to the capital. Hazel¡­ No, Venera seems to know who they are by name alone. She presses her fist to her forehead, her eyes tightly shut.


    Even so, she¡¯s extremely wary of rescuing them. By nightfall, she still hasn¡¯t decided on whether or not to take the risk. Even if they are friends so close to her heart it hurts.


    Venera¡¯s argument is that ¡®they have long been mentally prepared for this¡¯. When they decided to abandon their home country, boarding the boats seeking for a new world, they already prepared themselves for the worst. Everyone knew the fate of those who fail, and the chances of success, before they left on the journey.


    ¡°The sad thing is, no one ever told Jason and Freddy these things.¡±


    That¡¯s right, those two just accepted help from a rookie like me, so they have no way of imagining what their future would be like.


    ¡°No one told them, ¡®be mentally prepared¡¯, because they have no idea at all what¡¯s waiting for them. I made them believe that ¡®as long as you return to the place you were born, you will have a happy future¡¯, and then I just sent them back to Seisakoku. That¡¯s basically a hoax, it¡¯s no different from cheating them!¡±


    ¡°I understand what you¡¯re trying to say, Your Majesty!¡±


    ¡°If so!¡±


    ¡°Even so, there¡¯s no reason for us to make an exception this time.¡±


    Hazel is always so calm, no matter what.


    ¡°Damn! Crap, I actually swore in front of a lady, I¡¯m so sorry. Damn!¡±


    I carefully put the drink they gave me back onto the ground, then leaving the room as I hammer the walls. After we were chased last time they have helped us, hidden us, eve fed us, and I repay them with such an attitude. How unbelievably rude. The corridor I walk out into is lit everywhere, so I can somehow walk without needing a torch.


    Josak and the other one¡­ probably Conrad, are following me as well.


    I walk down the opposite direction of the narrow path we came, and after a few minutes¡¯ walk, the flames on the walls stop. I will never step into an area without torchlight, so that I don¡¯t get lost in the darkness.


    I stand on the borderline of the darkness and the human world, leading on the walls mixed with mud and rock. My right foot is in the darkness, but my left is in this world.


    I don¡¯t talk to anyone, my anxiety only evident in the sounds of my breathing. Josak speaks up nonchalantly.


    ¡°You¡¯re definitely going to save them anyway, right?¡±


    His voice is so calm, as though he¡¯s just asking me ¡®do you want to join the morning drills¡¯.


    ¡°It¡¯s only five people anyway, if we set up an ambush or something it might work¡ªof course, if it was only two, it¡¯ll be even easier.¡±


    ¡°But we¡­¡±


    I don¡¯t continue, looking at the two faces in the faint light. I can count you in this, right, Conrad? If my guess is right, and this is Saralegui¡¯s plan, then logically speaking the Dai Shimaron government would order you to stop it too.


    ¡°There are just the three of us, though? And one of them is me. Be it my batting ability or fighting ability, they¡¯re all zero¡­ It¡¯s tough for me to knock out even an inner-field ground ball. Damn¡ªIf I go for base, we might still be safe, though.¡±


    In truth, it¡¯ll be faster if I put my all into a dash.


    ¡°I can¡¯t let Your Majesty walk into danger.¡±


    Conrad says with a sigh. There¡¯s even that ¡®I just knew this would happen¡¯ expression that I haven¡¯t seen for so long on his face.


    ¡°But I don¡¯t have the right to prevent you from going out there yourself¡­ Regarding manpower, though, every country should have people who would do anything for money. As long as we use that properly, they may yet prove to be a useful asset. Ah, I know, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Seeing the two of us from the Shin Makoku team with our ¡®we¡¯re broke¡¯ prose, Lord Weller thumps his chest,


    ¡°I can make an official claim.¡±


    ¡°Dai Shimaron are so rich, aren¡¯t they~~ Young Master!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, huh~~ Gurrier!¡±


    Gurrier and I look at each other and joke.


    ¡°The problem now is the language.¡±


    Even if my English is fluent enough, my Seisakoku language won¡¯t do at all. In other words, it seems like my soul was never born as a shinzoku. On that note, though, I¡¯m not sure if shinzoku exist on that reincarnation recycling list the mazoku are always going on about.


    ¡°Join!¡±


    Suddenly someone speaks up, and when I turn around I see Mr Translator with his thick lenses stand up, his face red. The white moss-like beard is standing up on end, reacting to his agitation.


    ¡°Join. One, cousin.¡±


    ¡°One of them is your cousin? No wonder you were so concerned, Ajira-san¡­ Oh, yeah, your parents were slaves as well, right?¡±


    In that case we don¡¯t have to worry about the language anymore. Although we do have two experts here, in terms of numbers, we are still at a horrible disadvantage. But I can¡¯t just stand by and watch Freddy and Jason die because of that.


    ¡°Still, we must immediately stop the operation if it¡¯s deemed impossible to succeed. I hope you can understand that.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but it will succeed.¡±


    My old habit is resurfacing again, that sense of self-confidence bubbling up from goodness knows where. Josak puts his hands behind his head, watching us deal happily, and raising his head to look at the ceiling barely above his head¡ªthough of course there aren¡¯t any stars there.


    ¡°Aaahh~~ I wonder, would they postpone the executions because of rain?¡±


    If it were postponed due to rain, we would have time to practice our plans.


    Unfortunately, the next day is sunny.


    Even Ajira, the local, is rather impressed by the beautiful weather. There isn¡¯t a cloud in sight, and the sun is hanging high in the cold sky, so bright it¡¯s almost white. The wind that greets our cheeks may be bone-chillingly cold, but as winters go, the sunlight coming down is still rather warm. On that note, it¡¯s still winter here in this country, and quite a while away from spring, it seems.


    Standing in the middle of the capital, I can¡¯t feel the difference in citizen classes and the slavery system at all. All I see everywhere is beautiful streets and satisfied people. Everywhere, buildings of similar color and design, and people whose hair, eyes, and even most of their clothes are the same.


    There are busy shops, old friends greeting each other with smiles, young couples leaning into each other, old couples helping each other out with the laundry, and children in the middle of happy families.


    It¡¯s all too perfect.


    Everything I see is too perfect, making me worry if I¡¯ve been duped. Maybe the Seisakoku slaves and their torment is all a lie, and the truth is exactly what I¡¯m seeing now. Maybe this is a land of peace where everyone lives happily. The flood of gold washes over me, spinning my head around.


    But that thought immediately disappears without a trace. Because a child tumbles out of an alley, bumping into a beautifully-dressed woman¡¯s foot. What happens next takes less than three minutes, but has nothing to do with any paradise.


    The child in the tattered clothes darts back into the dark alleys.


    He¡¯s still bleeding.


    Conrad, Josak and I all pray he can get away safely, apologizing to him profusely in our hearts, watching him leave wordlessly.


    I¡¯m obviously an outsider here, and to hide my hair and eyes, I wear a hat and lower my head, trying to blend into the crowd. In this land of nothing but white and gold, a foreigner stands out enough. If I make any rash movements, I¡¯ll definitely get even more attention.


    Only a few foreigners dress like this. I mean, I¡¯m lucky that there are a few merchants who came here from Dejima on business, so I don¡¯t stand out like a black chess piece in the white snow.


    Regardless of the turbulence I feel inside, the street returns to normal nonchalantly. Maybe everyone¡¯s used to this. It just goes to show that these things happen here all the time, and it¡¯s only natural to them. Maybe I¡¯m the only one who would get so wound up by a little thing like this until I¡¯m holding my breath and my throat is dry.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that once it¡¯s time, all these people will just crowd over to witness the execution¡­ Where¡¯s the location again?¡±


    ¡°In the central square, so they can make examples out of those few.¡±


    Josak¡¯s answer makes me tsk. If my mom were around, she would definitely scold me for being rude and flick my ear.


    ¡°In such an obvious place, too¡­ That habit of yours is a bit too messed-up, Yelshi.¡±


    And your name sounds so much like the European Union, too. Wait, that¡¯s EU, right? Josak¡¯s right cheek is twitching now, as though trying to hold back his laughter.


    ¡°Young Master, why are you saying that even now? When you were in Van dar Via yourself, you were the mastermind who waved M?rgif around in the middle of the public. Now that was a public execution, complete with evidence. And just like today, the convict back then was a kid. The audience loved it and kept cheering, and wasn¡¯t there this gramps who got so excited he croaked? But that must have been because the Young Master totally lost it then, huh?¡±


    ¡°Is that so. God¡ªThat just proves that even if you give me a weapon, it¡¯s no different from peeing at a cat¡¯s ear!¡±


    Putting it that way sounds like it might offend some animal rights¡¯ groups. How should I put it otherwise, though? ¡°No different from feeding a cat¡±?


    ¡°I think they also say ¡®throwing a pig a ball¡¯[1].¡±


    But no matter how exaggerated I may act, only I know the coward that I truly am, a coward who can¡¯t stand up to pressure, either. The truth is, I¡¯m almost about overwhelmed by the unease and restlessness. I keep thinking, ¡°What happens if we fail. No, this chances of this plan succeeding were never high. If we fail, will those two be executed in front of me? Can I just stand back and watch as Jason and Freddy are killed in front of me.


    Although it sounds disgusting, if I don¡¯t crack some jokes to distract myself, I would probably be spewing out my guts right now. Luckily, I didn¡¯t eat breakfast, though we skipped it because we didn¡¯t have enough supplies. Right now, I¡¯m starting to lose track of what being ¡®lucky¡¯ means.


    As for Lord Weller and Translator ¨C Ajira, they stepped away for a while to delegate the tasks to the newcomers. Maybe out of fear that he would be admonished later, Josak grabs my arm under the borrowed cape. He applies more force into his fingers, so I can clearly feel the heat of his fingertips.


    ¡°Are you angry?¡±


    His face is turned towards the fountain, and he randomly throws down this question. The central square, soon to be a makeshift execution site, is two streets to the east of the brick slab road. Since all the buildings are scattered around an accurate radius, it¡¯s very easy to find our way.


    ¡°What would I be angry about? Why are you suddenly so serious, Gurrier?¡±


    ¡°Are you angry about what I did back then?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a reason to be mad at you, do I? You¡¯re always helping me out.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean.¡±


    Maybe the designated time has come, because water starts spurting out of the tall stone pillars everywhere. The sun shines through, throwing little rainbows around. The girl who waited for ages in front of the fountain claps happily at the colorful images. I mumble, ¡°And soon you¡¯ll be watching people die.¡± How I hope your parents are decent people, who would come and take you home before the execution.


    The spy stares at the spray of water everywhere, continuing after a while,


    ¡°I meant what happened in Van dar Via, my attitude and actions.¡±


    ¡°Oh~~ You were pretty cold and sharp in the beginning, huh.¡±


    It feels as though that was years ago, but in truth not that much time has passed. If I count the Earth time, it¡¯s probably only around half a year. From that moment onwards, we started some conflicts with Shimaron, and our journey around the world.


    ¡°But that couldn¡¯t have been helped, either, since I wasn¡¯t trusted, was I. After all, a brat just shows up and says, ¡®I¡¯m the king¡ª¡®, of course no one would believe that immediately.¡±


    Actually the situation hasn¡¯t changed much to this day. I always feel guilty for not being the talent they wanted, and maybe he caught on that guilt, because he continues stiffly,


    ¡°But still, that wasn¡¯t the way to treat a king. There¡¯s something you might not know¡ªActually I can read Shimaron words, and I knew all too well what kind of event that would be. But I still forced Your Majesty into the gladiator ring, so how is that any different from lying to you?¡±


    So that¡¯s it! Well, I completely, utterly didn¡¯t notice that at all, but it¡¯s embarrassing if he knew that, so I just reply with a nod.


    ¡°That¡¯s more than enough to get me beheaded, it¡¯s just that mazoku sentences don¡¯t have beheading as an option. Whenever I think about that now, I feel so ashamed it¡¯s physically uncomfortable. I¡¯m really¡­ really very sorry.¡±


    ¡°When it comes to embarrassment, let¡¯s call it a draw.¡±


    The fountain show ends after showing the people a temporary illusion. Now there¡¯s only a small steady trickle of water from the stone pillars, and the girl takes her mother¡¯s hand, walking towards the east of the road. Sigh~~ They went there after all.


    ¡°Anyway, that was my first impression.¡±


    The crowd starts slowly moving to the east.


    ¡°But now I rely on you a lot, you know? Especially this mission this time, I¡¯ve been relying on you since we were in Shou Shimaron.¡±


    Even though we¡¯re aware that the people are moving, we¡¯re still standing in front of the fountain.


    ¡°And besides, since it¡¯s come to this, there¡¯s no reason for you to explain all this to me. In fact, your confession is kinda throwing me off-guard. Ah, could it be that you¡¯re saying considerate things to comfort me and lessen my worries?¡±


    Thanks so much, Gurrier. I punch his buff biceps. Even through the clothing, they have an enviable elasticity, the sound made by a punch rich and melodious.


    Yup, even his body is full marks.


    ¡°That thing that my pops is always worried about, something like an ¡®Employee Grading Chart¡¯, if I was in charge of grading you, you would get A for everything. So there¡¯s no need to suddenly feel guilty for something in the past, kay? Ah, or were you scolded by Gwendal? If you were, I can help you explain.¡±


    ¡°No, of course not~~ That person is an excellent boss, and never says anything to make me feel dejected.¡±


    ¡°Or did Conrad¡­?¡±


    ¡°That traitor has no right to judge me. Ah, geez~~ Young Master, don¡¯t look so torn, or else Gurrier will be thrown off-guard too.¡±


    Normally he can adopt that onee-san tone naturally, but today his voice is full of self-condescension, and it¡¯s so rare to see him look shy. With the way the situation is spiraling, maybe a thunderstorm will start soon?


    ¡°I just wanted to apologize to you, and I thought that I just had to tell it to your face.¡±


    Josak looks really happy saying that, his gaze moving from the fountain to me.


    ¡°How wonderful, now I feel much more at ease.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by at ease, Josak?¡±


    That orange fringe and half-hidden blue eyes peep out from underneath the grey hood. Even if I tell myself it¡¯s impossible, I still ask, slightly uneasily,


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be¡­ going anywhere, would you?¡±


    ¡°Going where? I always have a lot of missions overseas, so I can¡¯t always be by your side.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant!¡±


    I¡¯m terrified that I may jinx things, so I don¡¯t dare continue. If he were to disappear from my sight too, I really wouldn¡¯t know who to call out to anymore.


    ¡°¡­I didn¡¯t mean¡­ It¡¯s nothing¡­¡±


    I rub my eyes with my fist.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    ¡°Young Master is so weird too¡ª¡±


    Josak releases my hand, chuckling with his back towards me. He¡¯s really no different from usual, as cheerful as always, and even complaining, ¡°If swords weren¡¯t carried by your waist and instead strapped onto your back, it gets really hard to pull them out~~¡±


    The music to announce the time starts up, and the people who were leisurely strolling starts striding towards the east in unison. Their destination is the square two streets away. There¡¯s a special event to be held today, and no matter what it can¡¯t be missed¡ªThe way the shinzoku citizens whisper is imprinted clearly into my mind.


    ¡°You brought that thing, right?¡±


    I nod in lieu of a reply to Josak¡¯s question, and sort of confirm whether the thing is on me, my sweat hands curling into fists. There¡¯s the feeling of old paper and packets of powder between my fingers.


    I will save you two.


    I lower my voice, muttering to myself almost inaudibly.


    I will definitely save you two.

 Volume 12 - CH 6

    The methods of execution differ according to different places and people.


    I think that, because the men ready to meet the end of their lives are standing on a hastily built wooden platform, facing the gallows and talking non-stop about their wills and how their property will be split. The crowds of spectators who can¡¯t all fit into the square are also discussing the heirs to their clothes and the slippers on their feet, as well as their wives¡¯ rights to remarry etcetera.


    There¡¯s a human businessman nearby, with a translator beside him duly translating everything. While I¡¯m desperately looking for Jason and Freddy, I hear all about who the bed without a leg will be given to. That¡¯s seriously enough, I don¡¯t care who his bed goes to, it has nothing to do with me even if his wife wants to remarry to someone ten years younger.


    As for the second man, he starts loudly airing his grievances with the current government. The Seisakoku translator beside me naturally doesn¡¯t say that part, but the officials on the stage immediately stuff the man¡¯s mouth with something. I think the human businessman has an idea what¡¯s going on, too. When I look around at the women, their faces are all red and their brows furrowed.


    Eh¡­? Could it be he was spewing dirty language?


    The third man has guts.


    His hands are tied behind him, and his expression doesn¡¯t change even with a rope around his neck. According to human years he would probably be forty-something years old, so thin you could clearly see the bones in his throat and arms. But it could also be that he¡¯s already sick, and so he can even face death without flinching.


    Although it was built hastily, the wooden platform is still very tall and very sturdy. These pieces of wood are taller than everyone else, so no matter how the people below try to reach out, their hands can¡¯t reach the people being executed. It¡¯s about six tatami mats wide, so even if there are six men of different backgrounds on it, there¡¯s still more than enough place.


    Standing on the edge of the square, even further behind that most of the spectators, I stand on my tiptoes and try to look over their hands, desperately looking for Jason and Freddy, but I can¡¯t see anyone that looks like them on the entire stage. There are only those three men from about thirty to forty years old, and the rest are uniformed officials.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see them.¡±


    I thought they would be sent here a little later so I look at the escort carriage, but the coverless carriage is empty. 	¡°That¡¯s weird, I can¡¯t see them anywhere.¡±


    ¡°Could it be a last minute cancellation?¡±


    Josak has seen them before, but he can¡¯t find them now either. Maybe the afternoon sun is too blindingly bright, because he raises a hand over his eyes. Since all we see is a sea of almost-white blonde hair, it¡¯s unsurprising that he would find it piercing to the eyes.


    ¡°If those girls aren¡¯t being executed¡­¡±


    The words I almost say next, ¡®that¡¯s be great¡¯, throw me into a panic. How could I think something so selfish and cruel! There are still three men about to be executed up there. If I only want to save the people I know, I¡¯d be way too selfish, just thinking about it makes me hate myself.


    ¡°Now what, Young Master? Do we change our plans?¡±


    There¡¯s a familiar song from above, drowning out Josak¡¯s question. The third man who didn¡¯t have any last words suddenly starts singing. It¡¯s the song that child who drew the star outside the palace and Hazel were humming. His voice is so loud it¡¯s almost inexplicable how that came from such a frail body. Although I don¡¯t understand the lyrics, the song permeates to every corner of the square, changing even the crowd¡¯s expressions.


    Some of them look at each other uneasily, while others scrutinize the people around them in suspicion. I don¡¯t know what the lyrics mean, and why the people look so ruffled, but the voice of a slave due to die an unjust death has indeed messed up their hearts.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to change to plan, but¡­¡±


    Time is of the essence here. If we wait until we can confirm if Jason and Freddy are here, we won¡¯t be able to save the other three. Mr. Ajira and his relatives are also ready to cause a commotion and start the plan.


    ¡°Move faster¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it hasn¡¯t started yet. Shh! Don¡¯t look back.¡±


    ¡°Vene¡­ Grandma Hazel?¡±


    The whispers coming from behind me are in English. Even if she lowers her voice and adopts a special way of talking, anyone from Earth would immediately know who it is.


    ¡°Before His Majesty the Emperor shows up, they won¡¯t carry out the sentence. When the citizens and the people¡­ not the slaves, of course, finish listening to His Majesty¡¯s speech, that¡¯s when the execution starts. They¡¯ll be covered with a sack and hung¡ªan old but effective method.¡±


    Venera, also known as Hazel Graves, appears at my shoulder. My body is turned straight ahead, so I give her a sideways glance, and see that she¡¯s wearing magnificent clothes completely different from yesterday, looking just like a rich old woman. That¡¯s right, she doesn¡¯t look like the leader of the slaves at all, instead she looks more like a normal citizen here to watch the show. Her smile is arrogant when she says,


    ¡°I have to put on an act to avoid suspicion, right? Why are you here, though, Your Majesty? Those two girls aren¡¯t here, are they?¡±


    ¡°I was about to ask you why you¡¯re here¡­ Why did you overturn your decision this morning?¡±


    ¡°Early in the morning, Lord Weller came to convince me with empty hands.¡±


    Empty hands!? Doesn¡¯t he have a budget to use, why would he do that?


    ¡°He said he wanted my help. Actually he could have spent a ton to hire me, but instead he pleaded me with his head lowered. After hearing about it, my comrades decided to help out too. But I¡¯ll say this ahead, ¡®That man is rich, so take what you can take.¡¯¡±


    Venera says jokingly, even winking at me. Since the door to my memories was suddenly thrown open recently, I think to myself, how long has it been since someone sent me a flying kiss? Since I followed Dad to America for work, right? And how long has it been since she did that? But she looks really happy, so much so that even I can feel the excitement in her heart.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t misunderstand. I¡¯m not doing this out of pity, and I wasn¡¯t moved by your passion, and I¡¯m definitely not doing it because I can¡¯t stand to watch children die. It¡¯s just that I heard what Little Bu¡­ His Majesty said, and thought that Jason and Freddy may be useful in the future, so I changed my mind. For a group like us who can¡¯t use houjutsu, a helper with strong houjutsu is unbelievably precious. And¡­¡±


    The wrinkles at the corners of those eyes deepen.


    ¡°Basically, the other three are all my cute companions.¡±


    ¡°Is that¡ªso¡ª?¡±


    I follow her beat. I understand why she has to purposely say that, but now that it¡¯s come to this, there¡¯s no reason for her to act to so cruel anymore.


    ¡°So that means you brought other helpers, huh¡­¡±


    ¡°Listen up, don¡¯t look there! The vendor selling donuts, the guy selling sweets, the girl selling desserts are all with us.¡±


    ¡°W-why are they all sweet things?¡±


    Suddenly, a completely different voice and song starts rustling up the crowd. Everyone raises their heads to look up, countless gazes fixed on the special path isolated with warning fences. They clench their fists and get ready to cheer, none of their expression bored, all of them excited, anticipating, ecstatic.


    ¡°He¡¯s here.¡±


    There¡¯s even a sort of anticipation in Hazel¡¯s voice, just none of that admiration and joy, more like the tension before a competition. 	I thought he would arrive in a shiny gold carriage, but instead he takes me completely by surprise. The young Seisakoku emperor enters the scene on a movable throne. In other words, he¡¯s the VVIP. If you put it in the traditional way, it¡¯s like a shrine seat for the gods, if you say it more dreamily then it¡¯s like a float in a parade at the seaside theme park. The young emperor sits on the second level, surrounded by flowers and gold, even waving his right hand in a way that makes people impatient.


    ¡°¡­I¡¯ll hand it to you, as expected you¡¯re on a different level from me.¡±


    Even though the yells of ¡®between fingers¡¯ feels weird to me, but I still have to admire the other parts. Who would have thought that he could stay so calm sitting on top of a two-story high shrine pedestal, seems like his nerves really are made of something else.


    Even if I have 2.0 vision, it¡¯s still impossible for me to see clearly at this distance. But today Yelshi seems to have tied his hair up behind his head, wearing light green clothes and a bright yellow belt. He waves at the excited people, speaking freely, replying to them with a happy expression. He seems a little different from how he was yesterday, but that could be because he has his official face and his personal expression.


    There are two servants standing on either side of the emperor, and a large sack that looks suspicious no matter how you look at it behind the chair. If it¡¯s that size, they could easily fit two growing children inside. I suddenly feel as though the sack is moving, surprising me into blinking my eyes. Is it just me? Or is the vibration of the shrine seat causing the sack to sway?


    I rub my eyes and look again. What, so it really is just me¡­ No, it¡¯s moving again!


    ¡°Damn, if only we had the Shin Makoku Bird-watching Association¡¯s recommended ma-powered binoculars, ¡®Peeping Brat¡¯!¡±


    ¡°The things that aren¡¯t there when you need them are the ¡®Queen¡¯s Inventions¡¯; the things that disappear when you want them are truly good men, Young Master. This is how men learn how to compromise and give up. And people call this ¡®the rule of fine, whatever¡¯.¡±


    ¡°To me I can¡¯t just say fine, whatever and forget about it. Ah!¡±


    In that moment I see long and white stick-like things underneath the sack, most likely their legs.


    ¡°Could it be that Jason and Freddy were late for some reason, so they were brought directly in the sack¡­¡±


    ¡°Bringing cute girls in a sack? Instead of Yelshi, that sounds more like something the previous Empress Alazon would do.¡±


    A-la-zon?


    ¡°It¡¯s the maze lady that was the previous empress, Yelshi¡¯s mother. Just the sounds of it is really uncomfortable, huh? Feels as though it¡¯s just one syllable different from something. But she is a cool and scary woman. During Alazon¡¯s reign, my companions suffered cruel mistreatment. So when her son took over, all the slaves rejoiced.


    Is she possessed by an evil genie or something?


    ¡°But that sack is moving.¡±


    And just then, the operation began.


    As expected, there was a small scale explosion near the west entrance to the square, exactly as we planned. With that signaling the beginning, there are many other small explosions in quick succession, and the people, at first excited to see their Emperor, start scurrying for safety in a panic. And we plan to take advantage of that chaos to approach the execution stage and release the captured slaves. Although it¡¯s a simple and plain plan, it may have a higher chance of succeeding than the best-laid plans.


    Hazel rushes over there too, keeping low. Josak and I are in change of fanning the flames, so we quietly light the dynamite in our pockets and toss them into the trees.


    ¡°What should we do, Josak! The sack behind the Emperor¡­¡±


    ¡°Could it be the girls?¡±


    I nod my head hard at my subordinate¡¯s overly direct words. Just in case, I ask him what I should do next. My body is prepared to rush forth anytime.


    ¡°What do I do next?¡±


    ¡°Wait here, don¡¯t move.¡±


    ¡°I thought so, it¡¯s just as I guessed. Then I¡¯ll just stay here and not move!¡±


    But I plan on waiting until Conrad, Hazel and the others rescue the three poor men, then do my best to move forward and peek at situation up front. If I¡¯m sure the ones in the sack aren¡¯t Jason and Freddy, then I can still make it back to position before the operation ends.


    ¡°Ooh, I just can¡¯t stand you¡ªYoung Master. After this you will have to stand by me and get scolded by Lord Weller too, okay!¡±


    It takes a lot of effort just to fight against the crowd and reach the shrine seat up front. I sneak one glance, and see a slave dressed in civilian clothing beating up officials and soldiers, finally taking off the rope from a man¡¯s neck. Looks like everything¡¯s going fine over there.


    Even though they have a duty to protect the Emperor, there are only half the people there were protecting Yelshi¡¯s VVIP seat. Maybe it¡¯s because of the unexpected attack, maybe he sent his men to help the executioners. I can¡¯t care about how I¡¯m dressed anymore, crawling by the flower bed as I think, ¡°Really, you guys, the criminals being broken free and an enemy stealthily approaching your Emperor, which is more serious?¡±


    I just have to wind around the sides until I¡¯m behind the obstructions, then it won¡¯t be too hard to grab the shrine seat, but the problem is what comes after that. I start crawling upwards like a frog, grateful for the many decorations that all act as footholds for me. But I still have a little inkling of a thought, wishing I was that certain red arachnid superhero. If so all I¡¯d have to do is squirt silk from my palms, now how much easier would that be.


    By the time I finally reach the second story, I take great care to make sure I¡¯m not discovered, so all I dare do is peek around at eye-level. Now I can the soldier¡¯s feet, and the sack in front of them.


    I stare at the sack intently¡ªIt¡¯s definitely moving. But it¡¯s not so exaggerated that I can see the movement from afar, just a slight shaking. From the gaps in the sack I can see thin pale feet.


    ¡°¡­As I thought, it¡¯s a person.¡±


    ¡°It couldn¡¯t have been a lucky bag full of giant kitties, could it?¡±


    Who knows?


    Unlike me, the spy moves without hesitation.


    Stealthily he jumps onto the second story, knocking down the soldiers then brutally beating down on them. And what he uses is the sword he was just complaining wouldn¡¯t come out of the sheath easily.


    Picking up the grey sack without wasting another second, he lifts it up with one ¡®hah!¡¯


    That¡¯s when His Majesty the Emperor finally stands from his seat, getting ready to yell, ¡°Guards, we have assassins!¡± I hurriedly crawl over to the VVIP seat, trying to deal with Yelshi since Josak¡¯s hands are all busy.


    Should I cover his mouth? Or limit his movement? Crap, I didn¡¯t bring tape!


    But not only doesn¡¯t Yelshi yell loudly, he even looks at me in my hat and says without hesitation,


    ¡°Hi, Yuuri.¡±


    His smile is like a blossoming rose, and he covers his mouth with a green sleeve.


    ¡°You¡¯re here, I just knew you would come.¡±


    A cold sweat breaks out on my back.


    That face, that voice, those deep golden eyes, those clothes and accessories are just like everyone else, but he is¡­


    ¡°Could it be?¡±


    I force out a hoarse sound, he is not Yelshi.


    ¡°You¡¯re Saralegui?¡±


    The young Emperor of Seisakoku, Yelshi, could never speak the common language so fluently.

 Volume 12 - CH 7

    It has been less than a day since I started a conflict with them.


    It was only then that I knew, the Saralegui who had travelled with us and the Yelshi waiting for us in Seisakoku are brothers, and that was when I got caught in their schemes, was even forced into signing a document with my country¡¯s fate at stake¡ªall this, not more than 24 hours ago.


    ¡°You are Saralegui!? Don¡¯t tell me you swapped places¡­ What¡¯s happening here, why are you sitting on this country¡¯s imperial throne?¡±


    Aside from those glasses that really suit him, the only difference between the brothers is their hair length and clothes. Other than that, it¡¯s just that the younger brother Yelshi looks more like a puppet, but that¡¯s still a mistakable difference.


    So the one here isn¡¯t the Emperor of Seisakoku Yelshi, but the king of Shou Shimaron Saralegui. It¡¯s true that his acting skills could fool an entire crowd.


    The little finger with the diamond ring I can¡¯t remove starts to hurt.


    Calm down, the one who can control this ring is the little brother Yelshi, not the older Saralegui. Sara can¡¯t use houjutsu, that¡¯s why he was kicked out of the country he was born in. So the pain I feel know, must be a trick caused by my cowardly mentality.


    ¡°Your reaction is so exaggerated, Yuuri.¡±


    Saralegui shakes those extravagant sleeves and holds out his hands, looking just like his younger brother. That¡¯s right, this is what they mean by shinzoku.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a game, Yuuri. Since we¡¯re twins, of course we would want to swap places. Isn¡¯t that the fun of being born as identical twins? And besides, we haven¡¯t seen each other for more than ten years, can you blame us for wanting to play a little?¡±


    ¡°¡­So you¡¯re saying, executing someone is a game?¡±


    ¡°Maybe the person being executed faces certain death, but to the spectators, it counts as entertainment, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    Then why don¡¯t you go be the person being executed!


    The evil young king¡¯s pretty face, the face that I hate all the way into my bones, smiles adorably as he looks down.


    ¡°Even though I¡¯m the king of an entire country, I¡¯ve never witnessed an execution up close before. That¡¯s why I accepted Yelshi¡¯s suggestion, to try being that spectator all the way up there once. My brother said he¡¯s seen countless executions since he was young anyway, and got tired of them long ago. Oh, right, isn¡¯t the one over there Lord Weller¡¯s guard¡ª¡±


    He lifts a neatly-manicured, sakura-shell fingernail at my spy,


    ¡°¡ªCould you please put down that sack. Because in it, are female trainee officials from the palace.¡±


    ¡°What!?¡±


    Josak, who held himself down low so as not to be seen by the soldiers on the ground, puts the sack down before I yell out, and opens it up¡ªinside are two unfamiliar girls. Except for their eye and hair color, there¡¯s nothing at all similar between them, much less enough to call them sisters.


    ¡°You tricked us?¡±


    ¡°What? What on earth are you saying, Yuuri? Whoever told you that the people you¡¯re looking for are in this sack? If they were, that would be really ridiculous misinformation! Too bad, you were fooled by whoever gave you that information.¡±


    Saralegui creases his pretty brows, looking sincerely sympathetic. No one told me that. It¡¯s just that I, as usual, jumped to conclusions and stubbornly went ahead with it, and as usual, I fell flat on my face. That¡¯s all.


    If there was really a mole, then what about the news brought by our ally, Ajira? The date and times are all correct, the execution did indeed go on. If it wasn¡¯t for the explosions in the square directly underneath us, those three men would have long since lost their lives.


    But I don¡¯t see those children anywhere here. Should I be glad they¡¯re not here.


    ¡°The names¡­ in the namelist¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, do you mean those children with those strange-for-shinzoku names?¡±


    The young king who was once my travel companion, claps his hands in front of his slender chin.


    ¡°They¡¯re not here, y¡¯know. They in a faraway facility, there was just not enough time to bring them here.¡±


    ¡°What does this mean?¡±


    Compared to Saralegui¡¯s voice, like the tinkling of silver bells, the sentence I squeeze out of gritted teeth makes me sound like the quintessential bad guy. If an unknowing third person saw us, they would probably confuse our roles.


    ¡°All I did was add the names I heard on the boat. I believed that if I did that, Yuuri, you would definitely come back.¡±


    Then he says, giggling, ¡°You must never say the important things out too loud, y¡¯know.¡± Watching his idiotic prey fall into the trap just as he hoped, seems to be making him especially happy, huh.


    ¡°Yuuri, you came back after all, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    I want nothing more than to slap his pale face, then scold him as harshly as I knew how. But I desperately press down the urge to grab his chest and shake him, demanding ¡®where are those two children¡¯, telling myself instead non-stop, ¡®he¡¯s not worth your punch¡¯.


    ¡°Let¡¯s fall back!¡±


    I obediently take Josak¡¯s suggestion. Looking down, I see the prisoners put own cloths that blend into their surroundings, already mixed into the panicked, escaping crowd, being supported by others on their way out. I even see Hazel and Conrad. How I managed to confirm so many things in such a short time is beyond me.


    The spy doesn¡¯t wait for my reply, grabbing my hand and preparing to lift me. Just as I¡¯m about to protest, and say that I can get down on my own¡ª


    A string of white flashes in the corner of my eyes, and Saralegui¡¯s voice, calling out to me, stops in mid-air.


    ¡°Yuu¡­¡±


    He doesn¡¯t say the ¡®-ri¡¯.


    This scene is familiar. Although my rational mind knows it¡¯s best if I don¡¯t look, it¡¯ll bring me nothing but trouble, so I must not look no matter what, but I never learn my lesson, and so I can¡¯t help but turn back to look.


    An arrow is embedded in the middle of that pale green outfit.


    It¡¯s exactly the same as that time. Only this time the target is extremely obvious, and the narrow never came close to me.


    Faced with that terrifying trauma, I feel as though all the blood in my body has been sucked away by the ground. Someone else got shot by an arrow in front of me. Right beside me, hit by that most primitive weapon.


    ¡°¡­Wolf¡­¡±


    No.


    That¡¯s not Wolf.


    I shake my head desperately, grabbing at my hair through the hood of the cloak. Hang in there, Shibuya Yuuri! Wolfram¡¯s not here, he can¡¯t be shot or hurt! Don¡¯t be afraid, the one they aimed for is Saralegui.


    The casualty¡¯s steps are a little jarred, his legs set apart and unmoving, and he stubbornly tries to pull the arrow out. But he can¡¯t, so he tsks his tongue in anger. Looks like the wound isn¡¯t as dangerous as it looks. Subconsciously I dive at him, pressing his slender body to the ground.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there, it¡¯s dangerous!? Someone wants your life here! Aaah, don¡¯t try to take it out!¡±


    ¡°Why? No one likes having such a hateful thing touching their bodies, right?¡±


    ¡°If it causes excessive bleeding¡­¡±


    Saralegui doesn¡¯t hear a word I say, pushing me aside and pulling the intricate arrow out from his chest. The arrowhead is clean as a whistle, without even a spot of blood on it. I feel as though he¡¯s showing off how lucky he is.


    ¡°Your Majesty, there¡¯s no need to save that kind of person, sheesh!¡±


    Josak is splayed onto the ground, and he grabs my foot.


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    There are buildings on every side of the square, so there¡¯s no way to determine which window the arrow came from. Not only that, there¡¯s the possibility of a second attack, so it¡¯s best to leave this place as soon as possible.


    ¡°But this guy knows where the girls are.¡±


    Gurrier glares at Saralegui, still holding the arrow, hatefully.


    ¡°Really¡­!¡±


    He quickly grabs the empty sack, and roughly stuffs the thin boy king inside.


    ¡°Josak!?¡±


    He moves his jaw, tossing the sack over his shoulder,


    ¡°Later you must be my witness, I didn¡¯t support this! Okay, let¡¯s go!¡±


    I look backwards as I¡¯m climbing down from the shrine seat, just in time to see a heavily-armed group standing out like sore thumbs against the afternoon square come towards us. But the faces on those leading the march, don¡¯t look that of beings living in this world, almost causing me to lose my grip on the ladder.


    ¡°¡­Corpses?¡±


    They¡¯re called zombies, or the living dead, etcetera etcetera. But they look the same, like malfunctioning radios or nearly rotting human bodies. With weapons in their hands and armor over their bodies, in a way they fit really well in a fantasy world of magic. No, wait, they seem to show up around 21st century London, too.


    ¡°It¡¯s corpses, rotting corpses are dressed in armor and moving around!¡±


    ¡°How can that be? Really, Young Master, please try to make jokes that men would appreciate too. We don¡¯t have nasty creatures like that even in Shin Makoku!¡±


    Skeletons are everywhere, though.


    ¡°But really¡­¡±


    ¡°No buts, please pretend you didn¡¯t see anything, for Gurrier.¡±


    ¡°I-if you say so.¡±


    When my feet step away from the final rung and back onto solid ground, I finally heave a sigh of relief. Only then do I notice that I haven¡¯t breathed properly until then. In order to run to the meeting spot, I take in a lungful of air, and find that there really is a smell of rot there.


    Looks like something happened.


    In a place we don¡¯t know, something definitely happened.

 Volume 12 - CH 8

    As soon as he found out what¡¯s inside the sack, Lord Weller is shocked into silence. Even he couldn¡¯t have expected something like this would happen.


    ¡°I really shouldn¡¯t have asked¡­¡±


    He pulls his fringe upwards, his hand, calloused from his time with a sword, touching the scar on his right eyebrow. This is my first time seeing his ¡®how on earth could this be¡¯ expression.


    ¡°Josak, weren¡¯t you with him? How could this happen?¡±


    Conrad glares at Josak hard, and the latter hides behind me,


    ¡°You promised, Young Master, explain for me please.¡±


    ¡°Mn, anyway¡ªThis wasn¡¯t Gurrier¡¯s decision, it was mine.¡±


    Before he hears me out completely, Conrad does something surprising.


    He opens the sack to certain extent, stuffs something into Saralegui¡¯s mouth before he can make a sound, and then re-ties the part he opened tightly.


    ¡°C-Conrad?¡±


    For someone like him, who was always steady in his actions and a supporter of human rights, this is really an unbelievable act of violence.


    I¡¯m petrified because I thought he flew off the handle, but Conrad replies me with his usual good-looking, nice guy smile, only his eyes aren¡¯t smiling.


    ¡°Just pretend this never happened.¡±


    ¡°How can I? I was the one who asked Josak to do this, because Sara knows where Jason and Freddy are.¡±


    ¡°Even so, we can¡¯t let them know.¡±


    Conrad looks past my shoulder to Venera and her companions. A shadow flits across those silver-shining eyes.


    ¡°He looks no different from Yelshi, and not many people know Yelshi¡¯s older twin brother is here to visit. More importantly, if he remembers what they look like and this location, we may bring them trouble.¡±


    He¡¯s right.


    Maybe Yelshi heard of this underground city that was destroyed by the previous emperors before, but the current ruling party probably doesn¡¯t know the names and faces of the people here. Especially the ones helping from inside the city, they¡¯re dead if Sara sees them. Not only won¡¯t they work as spies anymore, their very lives may be in danger.


    If Hazel¡¯s words are true, then the person who attacked Sara, isn¡¯t one of hers.


    From the very start, most people thought the one sitting on the portable VIP seat is Yelshi. So the target wasn¡¯t Saralegui, but His Majesty Yelshi. This is a bona fide botched assassination attempt.


    She and her protest companions never wished to solve this with violence. They can¡¯t imagine the country¡¯s systems changing drastically just with an emperor¡¯s death, so they would rather let the world know their suffering and wait for the interference of international forces. If there are people among them who want to resolve it with violence, they probably wouldn¡¯t send boats out to a paradise they never know they can reach, and instead would use the sheer numbers of the slaves and start an armed revolution.


    Although it sounds bloody saying this, but farming tools can become weapons too.


    Hazel¡¯s explanation makes a lot of sense and sounds trustworthy, but after that reply she added an interesting line,


    ¡°Looks like the target is either the older brother or the younger.¡±


    I¡¯m not sure either.


    We¡¯ve returned to the underground passage Hazel brought us through yesterday, and by the time we walked about half of it and confirmed that our pursuers have been thrown off, we finally heave a sigh of relief. As for the three people who dodged the bullet by a hair, they¡¯re hugged by each of their companions in turn, not at all bothering to hide their happy tears.


    Although those two children aren¡¯t here, we still wave away the disappointment in our minds and sincerely wish those who were saved, happy to have helped.


    But at the same time it feels like we brought back a new fuse.


    ¡°In that case, we just have to get the relevant information out of him, then leave him together the sack somewhere¡­ Really.¡±


    He sighs as he suggests the method that sounds like disposing non-burnable garbage,


    ¡°Really, you guys actually kidnapped the king of a country, and stuffed him in a sack.¡±


    If it was G¨¹nter, he would definitely have started squirting Gun-juices and howling left and right. A smile starts slowly at the edges of Conrad¡¯s mouth, and he ends up laughing, forcing down the sound in his throat.


    ¡°B-but you¡¯ve gotten gutsier with these things, huh.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t laugh, I¡¯m very serious here.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but¡ª¡±


    At the end he finally laughs out loud, bending over. I know it¡¯s been a long time since he laughed like this, so happy I could make him laugh.


    ¡°How could you. The one who stuffed him in there wasn¡¯t me, it was Gurrier, y¡¯know!¡±


    ¡°Ah, you did push the blame onto Gurrier after all! But it sure feels good, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    The spy narrows his eyes, seeking our agreement. After all since leaving Shou Shimaron, we¡¯ve gone through all kinds of suffering tanks to Saralegui. If I listed them all, it would probably be more than a book. Just the way I was brought to Seisakoku, is no different from a large scale kidnapping. Although the idea of ¡°payback¡± is a little against my morals, but I still want to act cool and say it in English.


    Revenge.


    Putting it that way seems more acceptable.


    Finally getting his laughter under control with tremendous effort, Conrad pokes the sack as he says,


    ¡°Those three never heard Jason and Freddy¡¯s names before. They were all isolated in the facility nearest to the capital, it seems like they were brought here when the execution was suddenly decoded, so they¡¯re not too clear about the people in the other facilities. But it¡¯s not hard to imagine that the environments there are all terrible. As for what kind of situation they¡¯re in¡­ I really can¡¯t say it.¡±


    ¡°What a hateful topic.¡±


    I poke at the sack too, as I nod my head in reply.


    ¡°Just thinking about such little children staying in that kind of place makes me upset, hurts me. They¡¯re about the same age as Greta, after all. Although that daughter of mine¡­ did cause some trouble of her own.¡±


    ¡°Alright~~ Then shall we force this fella to spill it in place of his younger brother?¡±


    Josak kicks the sack until it¡¯s a distance away. Now this is a little too much.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that, that¡¯s too much. If you do that, it¡¯s called abusing a prisoner of war. Putting aside the matters of Shou Shimaron for now, when it comes to Seisakoku, the responsibility isn¡¯t on Sara.¡±


    The childhood friends duo have perfectly matching looks of surprise,


    ¡°He¡¯s the guy who tried to kill you twice!¡±


    ¡°But he didn¡¯t get to kill me either time, did he?¡±


    Although if there¡¯s one there will always be another, maybe only God will know if he will succeed the third time. But it¡¯s thanks to his failing twice, that reduced my low self-esteem by half. Saralegui, who received the highest quality education since young, studied how to be king, was born to be king, such a perfect young man actually couldn¡¯t manage to kill me, the normal high school student who likes baseball, twice.


    It makes me think, the king of Shou Shimaron isn¡¯t all that impressive either, huh.


    And it also proves that before tragedy strikes, no one can know if bad may turn to good by some factor.


    ¡°The only thing I can¡¯t forgive him for is that incident with Lord von Bielefeld¡­ Yeah, give him a kick anyway.¡±


    I¡¯ll leave something like that to the older brother, then.


    Having escaped from the city we have nowhere else to go, so we can only camp in the red room Hazel brought us to last night. Even though the floor of the underground city is cold and hard, it¡¯s still enough for us to rest our battle-weary bodies. After all we¡¯re fugitives from another country, as long as we have a dry place to escape the elements, we should be grateful for their hospitality.


    Thankfully it¡¯s warmer underground than the windy surface at night, and we don¡¯t have to worry about soldiers spotting us even if we start a fire here. All that they¡¯ll see is little wisps of smoke from the ventilation opening quite a distance away.


    After we borrowed a piece of cloth they call a sleeping bag but looks more like a carpet, the three of us lie down around the fire. Since the possibility of us being found by the soldiers is really slim, there¡¯s no need to stand guard. For a life on the run, this is a pretty good start.


    When I hear two sets rhythmic breathing beside me and confirm that Conrad and Josak are both asleep, I try my best not to wake them, moving away from where I¡¯m supposed to sleep stealthily. Tiptoeing to the sack, Saralegui must be asleep inside, since the sack isn¡¯t budging at all.


    ¡°¡­Saralegui?¡±


    Carefully I open the sack. Who would have thought Conrad tied it pretty tightly, too.


    ¡°Sorry, you must be freezing, huh.¡±


    I keep the sack open to the barest minimum, then stuff something that looks like a dusty carpet inside. As someone who was raised in a palace, I bet he can¡¯t stand this kind of thing, so I¡¯ll take this chance to add a common folk experience to his royal education. Although this has nothing to do with me, who grew up in Japan: population around one million¡­


    At the same time I took the thing stuffed in his mouth out. Hazel and the others have gone back to their respective rooms, so I don¡¯t have to worry about them finding out what¡¯s in the sack. And no matter how loud he yells, the sound wouldn¡¯t reach the surface.


    ¡°Pwha, ha¡ª¡±


    ¡°Shh¡ªQuiet, the other two are asleep.¡±


    I put my finger on my lips. When I approach him with the torch, Saralegui is hugging his knees tiredly, curled up like a fetus. Out of pity, I pull down the sack and free his top half.


    ¡°Saralegui¡ª¡±


    ¡°Your men are just too much.¡±


    The boy king straightens up his body, putting his thin arms on his waist.


    ¡°Kicked me real hard.¡±


    ¡°I apologize for that. But we¡­ don¡¯t have a good impression of you, you should know that, right?¡±


    ¡°But, that was really too much.¡±


    He doesn¡¯t take his own actions into account at all, just kept repeating ¡°too much¡± again, then reaching out his fair fingers to pull the hair out of his face. His previously immaculate hair is all over the place. I ask him if he needs his glasses, then only I remember that his glasses aren¡¯t for correcting his vision.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get you back into the city as soon as possible, well, to be precise I¡¯ll leave you somewhere near the palace, maybe even the exact middle of the fountain. Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll be found really soon. After all, a guest suddenly disappeared, and he¡¯s the Emperor¡¯s own older brother, too, so that should have caused a commotion. For all we know, there are already a bunch of search parties on the streets looking for you.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    The boy king of Shou Shimaron cocks his head, looking lost. If it was someone who didn¡¯t know his true nature, there¡¯s probably a seventy percent chance his actions would awaken their maternal instinct, and that goes for men and women too.


    ¡°Even if I am a guest, I was also nearly assassinated y¡¯know?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know who¡¯s after you?¡±


    Whenever he shakes his head, that almost-white golden hair will sway at will.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯m not that well-known in this country. I really can¡¯t figure out who would try to assassinate me with a long-range attack that has a low success rate. If it was a political enemy from my own country, though, I could name a few right now.¡±


    ¡°But something like this sure is depressing¡­¡±


    That¡¯s right, Saralegui was just attacked at the war port named after him. And that man was one of his confidantes, too, even known once as the Shou Shimaron king¡¯s loyal dog. Back then Wolfram was wearing his hooded cape, and nearly died in his place. Just thinking of that moment makes me shudder in fear.


    ¡°Maybe the person they want to kill isn¡¯t me.¡±


    ¡°Eh¡­¡±


    ¡°That should make more sense, Yuuri. This is Yelshi¡¯s country, not mine. That¡¯s why the person who should logically be at that square and that event, is that emperor younger of mine. Besides, no one knows that I swapped places with him, and the two of us look like we were cast from the same mold anyway. Even you, who is so close to me, if I didn¡¯t say anything, you can¡¯t tell the difference either, right?¡±


    ¡°Me, c-close to you?¡±


    I¡¯m shocked speechless. So in Saralegui¡¯s dictionary, a relationship of cruelly killing and hating each other is interpreted as ¡®closeness¡¯? What a hard to understand dictionary.


    But he noticed that he may have become his brother¡¯s scapegoat. After all, Saralegui is an egotist, so it¡¯s impossible that he never thought of that possibility.


    ¡°Who would have thought that even Yelshi, with the way he is, has more than a few enemies himself¡­ But it¡¯s no wonder. After all, he is the leader of a country¡­ Since he has so much land and so many people, if there are friends who admire him, there would surely also be enemies with something against him. Yuuri, the same goes for you, right?¡±


    ¡°Eh? About that, I¡ªdon¡¯t really know¡ªmaybe, probably¡ª¡±


    He suddenly throws the question at me catching me off guard. More than once, Saralegui has talked to me on the conditions that we¡¯re both kings. It¡¯s just that his position is way too different from mine, in most situations I¡¯m unable to be honest and agree. Even the simple fact that I have to be aware of danger from my political enemies is still something really far away for the me right now.


    On the contrary, the people I consider dangerous, are Shou Shimaron and its leader.


    And the person who currently tops my ¡°Danger! People to Pay Special Attention to¡± list, is standing right in front of me, half his body in a sack. Japan¡­ No, most countries have a ¡°make full use of what you have¡± saying, right? If I can fully make use of this pretty boy king, who looks and thinks so differently from me, to solve all the problems, then it¡¯d be worth letting Josak carrying him all over the place.


    ¡°You¡¯re right now thinking of how to use me, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Once again, I¡¯m lost for words.


    Those who are good at strategizing must also be able to sense other people¡¯s thoughts. For some reason, Saralegui asks me this question happily, but maybe it¡¯s the torchlight reddening his face, causing me to misunderstand.


    ¡°You are planning to use my safe return as a condition, and rewrite that contract, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°How can I use you as a hostage?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to use me as a hostage?¡±


    His expression is one of sincere surprise. Is he someone who will follow obediently when his life is treated as an object? Or is he used to situations like this, having been raised since young as a crown prince?


    ¡°I always thought you caught me to get hold of the Seisakoku Emperor¡¯s weakness! And there I was hoping I could see your expression of shock and panic when Yelshi unexpectedly rejects you heartlessly at close range too!¡±


    ¡°What are you saying!? And after I saved you? No matter what you think, technically I still saved you, you know¡­ Wait, you said I¡¯ll be rejected? You are the current emperor¡¯s own older brother, how can he heartlessly reject me?¡±


    I have never heard of such a strange kidnapping. Of course, this isn¡¯t a kidnapping.


    ¡°Of course he can. Especially if Mother interferes, the chances of them leaving me to die are exceptionally high. Because Mother detests me, if I were saved, it would actually go against her hopes.¡±


    He smiles as he says ¡°she may even feel this is a good way to get rid of a problem¡±, not in the slightest bit lonely.


    ¡°She wants to see you in trouble? How can that be, you¡¯re her son!¡±


    ¡°Yuuri, in this world, there are still parents who treat their children heartlessly, and vice versa. That applies perfectly well to us.¡±


    I sag my shoulders, giving up on persuading him. Just as the muscles on my neck relax, there¡¯s a cramping pain.


    ¡°A relationship begotten by holding someone hostage won¡¯t last long.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? If it was me, I would make it well worth it. Oh, dear¡­¡±


    He touches my right hand. Instinctively I want to pull back, but can¡¯t because he holds on to with surprising strength. Saralegui grabs my pinky and holds it up against the firelight,


    ¡°I gave this to you, you still haven¡¯t taken it off? And I thought you chopped off your finger ages ago.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be full of yourself, that¡¯s my finger you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    The fingernail, manicured until it looks like a cherry-colored shell, reaches out lightly for the intricate ring of the same color, as though wanting to confirm the surface with rose vines and quite a few suns carved into it. Goosebumps start rising on the inner side of my arm.


    ¡°Do you know what kind of thoughts Mother put into this ring?¡±


    How would I know, it¡¯s not like I can read the words carved inside, For all I know there¡¯ll be a mechanism that shoots out a poisonous needle when I come close to figuring what it means. So I say what I normally saw on Mom¡¯s mail order catalogs. Although this is different from those long-distance romances, but the emotions behind it should be the same. And though this sounds really clich¨¦d, it¡¯s still very moving.


    ¡°¡­Could it be ¡®even though we¡¯re apart, our hearts are still together¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Yuuri, you¡¯re really very cute!¡±


    Saralegui suddenly hugs me. He was always a teenage boy with an obsession with skin contact, and even though he has a perfect target in his little brother now, it seems he still can¡¯t change his habit of hugging others. Behind the campfire there¡¯s the clanging of metal. It¡¯s probably Conrad or Josak, or maybe the both of them putting their hands on their swords at the same time. He obviously heard them, but he still purposely hugs my neck, saying quietly by my ear,


    ¡°That¡¯s a curse, y¡¯know!¡±


    All that waits there, is a door of endless darkness.


    ¡°On it is what Mother said. It¡¯s a warning for me to never again approach this country, this continent, it¡¯s an extremely powerful curse.¡±


    ¡°And you made me wear this kind of ring!¡±


    I push Saralegui away hurriedly, pulling my right hand back.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I told you to take it off.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ Someone like you¡­¡±


    I swallow the words that almost left my mouth, ¡°I really shouldn¡¯t have saved you back then¡±. I saved him back then with a purpose, didn¡¯t I? In the interests of a calm conversation with him, I stay a fixed distance away from him, and sit down.


    ¡°Just like I said, I didn¡¯t catch you to hold you hostage; neither do I want to ambush Shou Shimaron while their king is away; I don¡¯t even want you to take you out of the equation, and talk straight to Yelshi. I need to tell you all of the above. I only want to ask you one thing.¡±


    He cocks his head, his expression saying ¡®What~ is it?¡¯, his uncombed hair sticking to his slender chin.


    ¡°Tell me about the two girls, Jason and Freddy. I heard that they weren¡¯t held at a facility near the capital, right? So that you could¡­ to me¡­¡±


    I simply can¡¯t understand what he would have those thoughts.


    ¡°So you could lure me out?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°You overheard on the boat?¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh. Because you seemed very concerned about those girls, so I thought that you would show up once you heard their names, and this is faster, more practical that sending out search parties for you. And in reality¡­ it¡¯s exactly as I thought.¡±


    ¡°Aah, dammit!¡±


    One must be careful in life. Not only must we always observe our surroundings, we must also be careful to never bring attention to ourselves, that¡¯s the smartest means of survival. As for me, even my mind is always moving at top speed, and that¡¯s the secret behind me being an eternal benchwarmer.


    ¡°It¡¯s just that everything went too smoothly, which took some of the fun out of things, but still, I¡¯m very grateful to those girls who I only know by name.¡±


    ¡°Please show your appreciation in your actions! I want to save them. Yelshi should know which facility they¡¯re in, right? Please tell me! You just have to tell me the location, I¡¯ll get them out of there. This time I¡¯ll go there myself. Those two must be held in some facility, it¡¯s just that we missed it.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask for too many details.¡±


    Maybe taken aback by my attitude, Saralegui backs away from me almost imperceptibly,


    ¡°Yelshi¡¯s men mentioned once, children and healthy young people are mostly sent to the furthest north of the continent, the facility on the other side of the desert. Because the natural environment there is harsh, even the fittest young men can¡¯t escape. But rumor has it that the horseback tribes in that area will take those with strong houjutsu by force, and then use them as cheap labor. How scary~¡±


    I can¡¯t tell what scary means anymore, and who the real enemy is.


    I remember Hazel mentioned the horseback tribes before too. Not only do they have land given to them by the emperor, they even use protecting the tombs as an excuse to ignore orders from the central government. It¡¯s hard to believe that even Seisakoku, the country people call stable as a rock, doesn¡¯t have full authority over all their land. Once I go deep into it, I find that everyone has their own problems.


    ¡°Since those two are healthy and still children, and they have strong houjutsu too, there¡¯s a high chance they were sent to the other end of the desert, the northern part of the continent.¡±


    The places Hazel pointed out to us did include a facility in the north. I remember the term ¡®horseback tribes¡¯ also came up at that point. Besides that, didn¡¯t she say something else was really important? Something about tombs. Once a treasure hunter, she flew here from Earth, and ironically, found herself in the royal mausoleum or something¡­


    She said she came with a Box.


    ¡°¡­It¡¯s in the same direction, huh.¡±


    ¡°What? Same direction as what?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, Sara. Sara, thanks for telling me all this, now I can go look for those two children, thank you so much.¡±


    To avoid him getting any more suspicious, I hastily thank him. Because no matter what, I must not let him know anything about the Boxes. It¡¯s way too dangerous to let any Boxes in this land in the hands of the Shou Shimaron king, since he once made a terrifying mistake. Although that was the result of Maxine¡¯s own actions, but the superior has to bear responsibility for his men¡¯s mistakes. I cannot guarantee the same thing won¡¯t happen again.


    ¡°Are you cold? I can bring my carpet¡­¡±


    Just as I¡¯m about to say ¡®and lend it to you¡¯, I can¡¯t help but stop my actions and my words. Because there seems to be a ruckus in the distance. It¡¯s a bit like the loud and firm sound of army boots on dry land. In other words, they¡¯re footprints.


    Seems like someone infiltrated the underground tunnels, and it¡¯s not just a couple of them either, but enough to make the ground shake with sound and tremble.


    ¡°Con¡­¡±


    Before I make a sound, those two are already on their feet with their swords in their hands, and immediately light up the torches. I¡¯m extremely certain they were awake from the start.


    ¡°Is it the pursuers?¡±


    ¡°If it is, who are they pursuing?¡±


    The death roll prisoners that were rescued aren¡¯t here, and the mastermind Venera as well as translator Ajira have long since returned to their respective bases.


    So the highest likelihood would be they¡¯re after the kidnappers who took Saralegui. In this case, those kidnappers would naturally be us.


    ¡°You have a transmitter on you!?¡±


    ¡°Transmitter? What is that? A new crop from your country?¡±


    Looks like Saralegui doesn¡¯t have anyone like the Poison Lady with him. Shou Shimaron is not a country that would invent meaningless things.


    ¡°Ahh~~ Now what do we do? We didn¡¯t kidnap him, it¡¯d be better to say we saved him. Although it was a bit much to stuff him in a sack, but we had no intention of holding him for ransom or holding him hostage!¡±


    I grab my hair forcefully, pacing nervously between them. Josak on the other hand has his sword out and ready for a while now, while Conrad is carefully listening to the footsteps, trying to estimate how many of them are there.


    ¡°All we can do now is get ready for a face-on confrontation.¡±


    ¡°Just hold on a sec, Gurrier, this is a misunderstanding, you know? We¡¯ve been wrongfully accused, right!? I don¡¯t want us to have any casualties, but I¡¯ll feel bad if they get hurt too, okay!? So that¡¯s why I¡¯m reacting like this, looking desperately for the best excuse!¡±


    ¡°How about I go talk to them?¡±


    Sara finally can¡¯t stand it anymore, and raises a hand.


    ¡°Just bring me to the person in charge, and I¡¯ll help you guys explain that this is not a kidnapping, how¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°H-how are you going to explain?¡±


    Saralegui replies nonchalantly,


    ¡°I¡¯ll just go out on my own. I¡¯m afraid they¡¯ll barge in and cause danger, so you guys just stay in this room. Then at least my movements won¡¯t be restricted like a hostage, and it¡¯s better than sitting here in a sack, right?¡±


    It makes sense when he puts it that way, but it¡¯s still hard to believe anything he says. It¡¯s very likely that he¡¯ll throw his arms around the enemy leader as soon as he¡¯s out there and cry, ¡°I was kidnapped, and the way they treated me was so scary, so scary¡ªQuick, the kidnappers are hiding in this room, quickly go and catch them.¡± And then hand us over to them. Don¡¯t say it¡¯s not possible, in fact there should be a fifty percent chance of this happening.


    Even so, I still use all my strength to pull open the stone door, and then shove hard on Saralegui¡¯s back. Harboring thoughts like ¡®I¡¯ll definitely be cheated again¡¯, I sigh and close the door with Josak¡¯s help. And in the end--


    ¡°Open the door! Open the door, Yuuri, I¡¯m begging you! Open the door now!¡±


    I hear Sarlegui¡¯s scream, who knows what happened behind the door. He seems to be kicking the thick stone door, which won¡¯t budge no matter how you knock on it.


    ¡°Open the door, please open the door and let me in!¡±


    ¡°No way. How many more times do you want to trick me before you¡¯re happy? Hurry up and explain to them, tell them we didn¡¯t kidnap you!¡±


    ¡°No! These people aren¡¯t here to save me! Open the door, hurry up and open the door and let me in! I¡¯m begging you, Yuuri, I¡¯ll be killed!¡± 	I¡¯ve been played by his acting so many times. No matter how realistic he¡¯s acting, I can¡¯t believe him at all. Once I open this stone door, Seisakoku soldiers will rush in like an avalanche, take defenseless old me first, then use me as a hostage so that Conrad and Josak cannot resist, finally¡­


    ¡°I¡¯ll be killed, Yuuri!


    I¡¯m taken aback by the desperation in Sara¡¯s voice, turning around to look at my left and right protectors. One of them says it¡¯s still best to not let him in, and the other is expressionless.


    The one with the poker face is Conrad, his finger on his chin as he mutters,


    ¡°The soldiers would kill the Shou Shimaron king without hesitation, the current Emperor¡¯s own older brother Saralegui¡­ this country, what on earth¡­¡±


    And as a result I never heard what he said at the end, putting my all into pushing the stone door open, because weak little Saralegui could never open it on his own. I open the door just wide enough for someone to come in, and then reach out to grab Saralegui¡¯s slender white arm.


    ¡°Hurry!¡±


    An odor like sulfur floats in through the cracks, exactly like the smell from earlier in the day. From the looks of things, the things chasing after us so relentlessly are more than likely the same as the ones from earlier, living things that don¡¯t exist in this world.


    ¡°What did you see!?¡±


    Maybe the trauma was too much, because Saralegui¡¯s eyes are wide and his bloodless lips shaking. But annoyingly, once he holds his throat and catches his breath, he immediately turns back into regular Saralegui.


    ¡°Those aren¡¯t humans. Those things approaching us step by step, none of them are human. Although they¡¯re walking on their two legs, but how do I say this?¡±


    ¡°Their bodies are rotting?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s it!¡±


    The moment we have to meet that new species we don¡¯t even want to look at, is waiting for us.

 Volume 12 - CH 9

    The corpses have started fighting my friends! Outside of a game, this scene makes no sense.


    But the more often I come to this world, the more I feel nothing is impossible here. Like skeletons flying in the sky, tuna growing legs, pandas staying in the desert, etc. Although I can get used to nearly-extinct dragons, I still can¡¯t stand zombies. I can¡¯t stand the undead, and if they¡¯re rotting corpses, thanks but no thanks.


    It¡¯s because their hearts have stopped moving. Just looking at that unhealthy skin color tells me their blood isn¡¯t circulating properly. And yet, in that state, why do they still have lightning speed? And can tell the difference between friend and foe? Even if you want me to believe this is something biology cannot explain, it¡¯s hard for me to believe you now that I¡¯m at this age. Because my mind has stiffened up.


    If you tell me these aren¡¯t corpses, but some people infected by a special virus, then maybe you could convince me. But these are corpses, after all, not patients 28 days after being infected[1].


    ¡°Josak, they should be dead, right?¡±


    ¡°Mn, they should be. And they should have died at least a year ago, maybe even longer. The fermentation is coming along quite nicely~¡± 	¡°Then why can they still move at a normal speed? H-how are their nerve impulses transmitted!?¡±


    ¡°That I don¡¯t know. The advancement of corpses changes with every day, maybe their functions have developed fairly well? Right, Lord Weller? Ah, the leg broke.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, either. After all, the last time I fought these fellas was almost 25 years ago, so they may have evolved a little.¡±


    It sounds like a conversation between IT tech people. On the other hand, so they¡¯ve fought these things before, I knew it.


    The hands-on combat with the resurrected group I¡¯ll hand over to those two veterans, and as the combat rookie I have to figure out a way to get out of here. The only exit, the stone door has been smashed to pieces and taken over by the resurrected group with their agile weapons. The enemy density in the room is off the charts, so much so that I can¡¯t tell how many of them are there.


    And they won¡¯t die. No matter how those two alleged Shin Makoku masters kill them, the carcasses will gather and just stand up again. Since I¡¯m worrying at the side as I watch, I find that the dead people¡¯s weakness isn¡¯t the head, but the legs. Because once they lose their legs, their speed will drop tremendously.


    For some reason, I have that feeling after an entire night of playing video games, because by now I¡¯m numb to terror. Even so, I haven¡¯t gotten used to death, it¡¯s just that it¡¯s really hard to feel pity for people who are long dead. Watching them lose their arms and legs, and still try to stand and attack us, I can only describe this as ¡®so annoying¡¯, but the scene in front of me now is really comedic. Crap! Is this the so-called game brain[2]!?


    It¡¯s just that Saralegui, who doesn¡¯t live in the era of video games, reacts differently. He¡¯s crouching in a corner, his body curled up as he holds his head.


    ¡°Are you okay, Sara?¡±


    ¡°¡­Mother, she¡­¡±


    ¡°What are you saying, you want to go back to your mama!?¡±


    ¡°Yelshi said, Mother isn¡¯t feeling well¡­ But¡­¡±


    ¡°What!? So one of those zombies is your mother!? You better point her out quickly then, what if they hit her by accident?¡±


    No matter how you put it, maybe it¡¯s Saralegui who got it wrong in his panic, because corpses can¡¯t have kids. But just the fact that the selfish boy king is actually scared out of his wits, seems to say that he has some psychological trauma about zombies. Like maybe he had a scary encounter as a kid, or was forced to babysit zombies during his summer break.


    ¡°Anyway just sit here quietly! At the very least don¡¯t be a burden to Josak and the others!¡±


    I¡¯m not familiar with swordsmanship or horse-riding, but even if I¡¯m an idiot when it comes to fighting, I still picked up some of the most important sword-fighting principles and basic self-defense. For example, leaning on a wall will reduce the risk of being slashed from the back.


    Still, even if I won¡¯t get slashed, there¡¯s still the occasional possibility of a weapon piercing through the wall. That¡¯s why, if the wall isn¡¯t thick enough, you have to pay special attention. On this point alone, this wall scores full marks. Its thickness and weight both seem more than sufficient.


    ¡°I just hope leaning on it won¡¯t cause the wall drawings to imprint on my clothes¡­ Waa!¡± 	The two of us leaning against the wall yell out in unison. Not because we¡¯re attacked from behind, but because the wall has slanted on its own accord.


    ¡°¡­T-the wall, slanted.¡±


    Falling onto my butt, I turn around and see that part of the wall is leaning inwards like a rotating door, beyond which is a span of absolute darkness. Goodness, it¡¯s just like a secret mechanism. Perhaps out of shock, Saralegui is also staring at the movable wall with his eyes wide and jaw hanging.


    ¡°What is this, there¡¯s no end to them!¡±


    Josak, who rarely makes such a loud fuss, starts yelling.


    ¡°What on earth is the expiry date on these things!? Just how many times must we cut ¡®em for them to just die already?¡±


    ¡°Unless we defeat the one controlling them, there¡¯s nothing we can do to them. These things don¡¯t have a consciousness,¡±


    ¡°If so, where¡¯s their leader¡ªpull him out and get rid of him already!¡±


    ¡°If I knew I would have done that a long time ago.¡±


    Lord Weller slashes with his sword, and so one of the resurrected team¡¯s heads fly into the sky, splattering a foul-smelling liquid as it went, finally landing by my feet.


    ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°I-it¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay¡ª¡±


    I say it¡¯s okay, but my quivering voice can¡¯t hide how shaken up I am inside. Having heard our conversation, Saralegui tries to avoid those undead, swaying unsteadily towards the wall.


    ¡°Sara!¡±


    Hazel¡¯s persistent advice from back then flits across my mind.


    ¡°No, you can¡¯t go in there!¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because that is¡­¡±


    That¡¯s the underground maze that even an experienced treasure hunter trembles to think of. It¡¯s not somewhere people like us, who are unfamiliar with the maze, can simply enter and come out in one piece.


    ¡°But if we want to escape from Mother¡¯s houjutsu, we can only go deeper underground where the power of the gods cannot reach¡­ We have to dive somewhere deeper in.¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡±


    Mother¡¯s houjutsu?


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that the person controlling these zombies, is your mother!? Wait a sec, there are houjutsu like this as well¡­ W-what a disgusting hobby¡ª¡±


    Although she has abdicated, but she was once the ruler of a country. Judging from the bloodline of Saralegui and Yelshi¡¯s mother, she must be an elegant, strong and beautiful Empress, who would have thought she¡¯s secretly a zombie control expert. As a result, the image of an Empress in my heart, once more crashes apart.


    ¡°E-even so we can¡¯t simply enter the maze, do you want to get lost and die in the maze!?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re just hiding inside for a while, Yuuri. Just until Mother can¡¯t sense our presence anymore and gives up the attack.¡±


    ¡°Why do you¡­ So you¡¯re saying that your mom¡¯s target isn¡¯t us, but you?¡±


    Just because he was born without houryoku, his relationship with his own mother is this bad? But that¡¯s their family business. Right now the most important thing is still to get out of our current mess.


    ¡°It¡¯s no use even if you want to stop me, I still want to go in.¡±


    ¡°No, Sara, I can¡¯t let you go in alone.¡±


    His expression pained, Saralegui takes another half step back, his body almost swallowed whole by the darkness. I have to figure out a way to make him give up, if I let him go on his own and something happen , then that¡¯ll be bad.


    If the king of the powerful Shou Shimaron dies in a mission with us, there will definitely be a serious international conflict. This isn¡¯t something an apology can fix.


    ¡°Young Master, Young Master, I suddenly think what that puppet is saying isn¡¯t half bad!¡±


    ¡°What are you saying, Josak?¡±


    ¡°I think there¡¯s nothing wrong with hiding out for a bit, we just have to hide until these things back off.¡±


    Maybe it¡¯s because of the difference in their level of trust for Hazel, so the two soldiers have different opinions. Josak takes one step at a time, slowly approaching the wall we¡¯re at.


    ¡°Yuuri, if you want to escape those things, your only choice is to run underground, y¡¯know.¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s really dangerous! He doesn¡¯t have a torch either, how can one person¡­¡±


    Saralegui suddenly pulls my hand. And at the last possible second, Josak blocks off an enemy attack from the right. In order to avoid the attack, I lose my balance and fall into the darkness from the left.


    It¡¯s a very strange area inside.


    It¡¯s obviously connected to the room with the red wall drawings, but it feels like a different world altogether. It feels just like passing through a tunnel or standing in an ascending elevator, when your ears and throat feel stuffy, and you can¡¯t hear sounds too clearly. When I crossed that borderline, the scenes in the room look like a TV show on a square screen.


    Surprisingly surreal.


    ¡°I still think this place isn¡¯t too¡­¡±


    Just as I¡¯m ready to walk back out, the wall starts moving with what sounds like the noise made by an earthquake. Still in front of the borderline, Josak turns around immediately, holding his breath as he watches the entrance start to close. Although I want to pull Saralegui back into the room, there¡¯s an unexpected force preventing us from going back. The same thought flashes through my mind, ¡°I can¡¯t leave him alone here¡±.


    ¡°Young Master!?¡±


    Having noticed that I can¡¯t move, Josak rushes in at the last moment. If he were a second slower, he may not have been able to make it.


    Through the slit that a person can¡¯t pass through anymore, I see Conrad dashing over here. When I want to yell his name, I realize that there¡¯s danger behind him.


    ¡°Behind you!¡±


    Lord Weller turns around and uses the hilt of his sword to block the heavy blade swung his way, and sparks fly everywhere.


    ¡°Conrad! What to do, there are still so many of those things!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine!¡±


    He turns his head back a little, but has no choice but to face the enemy immediately. From what I can see through the slit alone, there are around 10 more corpses that can fight.


    ¡°You guys go on, I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    Conrad speaks before the entrance closes up completely, his voice coming through the slit.


    ¡°For sure¡­¡±


    The wall makes a sound like the city doors closing, and seals up completely. The red light from the fire and the wall drawing which illuminated the whole room doesn¡¯t penetrate the darkness at all. The only source of light here is the torch in my hand.


    It¡¯s a light that gives no sense of security whatsoever.


    Saralegui mumbles,


    ¡°It¡¯s no use, we had better go forward and look for another exit,¡±


    ¡°How can it be no use!¡±


    Josak and I try to push the wall with all our strength again, but no matter what method we use, the stuck stone just won¡¯t budge, and we can¡¯t hear even a sound from outside. It¡¯s as though there was never any mechanism there, no cracks or bulges.


    When there¡¯s nothing more we can do, I finally say those terrifying words,


    ¡°Are we trapped in here¡­?¡±


    No, we¡¯re not trapped, we¡¯ve been swallowed.


    I can even say this darkness has long ago been waiting for us.

 Volume 12 - CH 10

    At least a part of what Hazel said is true.


    Because the underground isn¡¯t just tunnels, neither is it completely a maze. On one side of the path is a wall reinforced with stones, while the other side has little rooms that look like residences at regular distances from each other. One is even a house with old pans and other simple items, proof that people lived here once.


    A few hundred years ago, this was indeed a city.


    And it was a large, unknown underground city.


    ¡°Although I heard that there are ruins underground, I never thought they would be this large in scale.¡±


    After walking for around an hour, Saralegui seems to sigh with emotion. In contrast to me now, his condition is much better than it was a while ago. He handed the only torch to us, and is walking at a distance from us. It¡¯s amazing how he can walk so steadily without a torch.


    Of course, he hasn¡¯t forgotten to walk with his right hand on the wall. If he didn¡¯t do that much, he would be a lot worse off.


    Walking in an uninhabited cave or tunnel without touching the wall, is a very dangerous thing to do. If you got lost in the bottomless darkness of the square, you wouldn¡¯t even know which way to walk. For all you know, the next step forward is a ravine, or the side a cliff.


    But the underground is a lot warmer than the surface, so we didn¡¯t make much use of the thick jackets we have in place of sleeping bags. Ahead of us, Saralegui looks perfectly fine in his summer clothes.


    ¡°Hey¡ªDidn¡¯t I say that it¡¯s really dangerous to walk in front on your own?¡±


    ¡°Relax, Yuuri, I¡¯ll be fine. This is much better than fighting those rotting corpses.¡±


    I think no one likes being attacked by the undead.


    Looking at Saralegui¡¯s happily hopping back, I punch Josak¡¯s upper arm once with my fist. Because the exceptional spy has not been himself the entire time, continuously wallowing in regret.


    ¡°If that time I hadn¡¯t rushed in, and had pulled the two of you out instead¡­¡±


    ¡°What are you saying? If you hadn¡¯t followed us in, the two of us would be completely nerve-wrecked by now!¡±


    And even if he wanted to pull us back, there was no time and space for both Saralegui and I to pass. If he tried to pull us out by force, chances are high one of us would have gotten stuck. Since I can¡¯t be at ease leaving Sara on his own, then Josak following us is the best decision we could have made.


    ¡°But there¡¯s still good news, Gurrier.¡±


    ¡°What¡ª¡±


    ¡°According to Hazel, this underground tunnel seems to head north. So as long as we don¡¯t go off track, we should be going against the path she took to get here. That way we can head for the royal tombs or the facility where Jason and Freddy are kept. However¡­¡±


    Even as I say that I feel I¡¯m being too optimistic, so I add self-condescendingly,


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to see if everything goes so smoothly.¡±


    ¡°It will.¡±


    Here¡¯s to hoping.


    And I hope we don¡¯t encounter those terrifying things Hazel was talking about. How terrifying must it be to make the woman that is courage incarnate, Hazel Graves, so scared? Is it the darkness? Or monsters? Or maybe illusions?


    How I envy Josak, who couldn¡¯t understand what she was talking about back then.


    Once my attention leaves that topic, my mouth unconsciously mentions the name I¡¯m extremely worried for.


    ¡°I wonder, is Conrad all right?¡±


    ¡°Since he said it himself he¡¯ll be fine, then there shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±


    The spy shakes the hand that isn¡¯t holding the torch, relaxing his shoulder muscles as he replies,


    ¡°If he was forcing himself, he would definitely give you a huge smile, y¡¯know. Especially when it comes to you, this attitude of his is even more noticeable.¡±


    ¡°You say he¡¯ll reply with a smile, really?¡±


    ¡°Really.¡±


    Then I should better believe his words, words spoken by the childhood friend who went through thick and thin with him.


    ¡°The Young Master is gentle to everyone, so I understand your pain. But don¡¯t be deceived by how we look, we have survived many battles to make it to today, y¡¯know. So we¡¯re really lucky, and we won¡¯t just kick the bucket that easily. Especially Captain, if he were to die in a battle with the enemy, who knows how the next generations will laugh at him, so he would fight even harder. Besides, he¡¯s only up against ten fermenting bodies, to Lord Weller, that¡¯s like the second cup of red tea in the afternoon.¡±


    ¡°Urgh~~¡±


    You mean lemon tea left for a few days. Since Josak, who knows Conrad¡¯s strength better than anyone else, said that, then ten or twenty of those resurrected group should be nothing.


    Maybe the fact that a weakling like me is worrying about him is an insult in itself.


    Josak raises his head carelessly, and then shrugs his shoulders,


    ¡°There¡¯s another trench. Watch your step, we already passed two since just now.¡±


    ¡°Mn.¡±


    Up until now, we have indeed passed two identical trenches. The wall underneath our fingers sinks in a little there as well, so we can detect them immediately.


    Although we call them bumps, they are actually ancient fences. Under the not-so-bright firelight,	 we can see a stone slab about 50cm thick above us. The heavy stone will fall under a certain condition, sealing up the tunnel. It¡¯s something like a floodgate in modern times.


    Since it¡¯s that thick and heavy, it can probably block a rush of water and sand. But right now I can¡¯t feel any hint of underground water at all, and ahead of us is an endless, gentle slope. At this angle, even if there are falling rocks and soil, it won¡¯t become a landslide. If it¡¯s not to stop water or debris, then what kind of threat would need such a large slab of stone to stop.


    I shudder once in spite of myself.


    ¡°If you¡¯re squashed by that kind of stone, that¡¯s an instant ¡®bye-bye¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Probably.¡±


    Saralegui¡¯s happily hopping back ahead of us, is swaying like a ghost in the dead of the night. Although his clothes are pale green, but under the illumination of a single, not very reassuring torch, all we can see is a blur figure of white.


    ¡°¡­Why is he in such good spirits?¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because he got rid of the thorn in his side.¡±


    ¡°By the ¡®thorn in his side¡¯, you mean¡­ Conrad?¡±


    Gurrier nods three times in succession.


    ¡°How could Conrad be the thorn in his side? Doesn¡¯t Sara really like Conrad? Like when we were on the boat, he was even bossing him around¡­ No ¡ªI meant, didn¡¯t he keep Conrad by his side at all times?¡±


    ¡°Ah, so you saw that after all?¡±


    ¡°Not only did I see that, I even saw that time when he didn¡¯t care at all what others thought, and used him as a living clothes rack. And I was thinking, maybe it¡¯s because that guy is an only child, that¡¯s why he was so happy to have an older brother, so I was happily watching from the side. You know, that time¡­ We were all so sure that Saralegui was an only child, we had no doubts whatsoever.¡±


    After saying that, I sigh deeply, covering half of my face with my free left hand,


    ¡°¡­Am I too quick to trust others?¡±


    Although there¡¯s no breeze, the flame is dancing. Above me, Josak retorts, ¡°Why are you saying this all of a sudden?¡±


    ¡°My brain may be worse than other people¡¯s, Josak. Otherwise why would I make the same mistake over and over again?¡±


    ¡°I asked you, why are you saying this all of a sudden?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the same with Sara.¡±


    My right hand is heating up from rubbing against the wall too much. Although the stones and soil are as cold as ice, but the fingers touching the wall feel hot from the friction. It¡¯s a bit like that numbing feeling from holding ice tightly.


    ¡°The first time we met was in the bath, right? Weren¡¯t you there too, Gurrier? If only I was a bit more observant, and saw Sara for the type of person he was, we wouldn¡¯t have to be here now! If only I could activate my self-defense instincts, I would have known that whatever that guy says cannot be trusted.¡±


    ¡°You couldn¡¯t have helped it, after all back then you were bathing with the sheep, right? So of course your heart would have been a-flutter, it¡¯s not something you could control.¡±


    He can use his feminine voice to comfort me, only this time I can¡¯t cheer up. It¡¯s all because I keep making the same mistakes, getting myself in trouble over my stubbornness. Not only me, even my most important comrades are in danger because of me.


    I really, truly feel that I¡¯m a useless Maou. Vaguely I remember a saying, ¡°people with a foolish king are unfortunate¡¯.


    ¡°Even if you say that, Young Master¡­¡±


    The unfortunate minister representative¡ªHis Majesty the Maou''s Spy 0043, points his finger onto the top of my head,


    ¡°Up until now, when Your Majesty believes in someone and takes what seems to be rash and selfish action, has it ever ended badly?¡±


    My mind starts listing out everything that has happened since I was first flushed down the toilet into Shin Makoku. The capital, Van dar Via, Sverera, Hildyard, Caloria, Shimaron.


    ¡°¡­I think there should be a lot more. In places I¡¯m not aware of, a lot more things should have happened.¡±


    And then comes Seisakoku.


    ¡°I feel as though this is all because everyone protected me, otherwise considering that I didn¡¯t even have time to practice before I was hastily put on the throne, there¡¯s no way my position could be so stable until now.¡±


    ¡°Mmhaheiahaa¡ª¡±


    Josak suddenly makes a strange sound that sounds like a sigh but isn¡¯t a sigh. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that he has to touch the wall and hold the torch, I think he would have raise his arms and shouted into the sky.


    ¡°Gurrier, what¡¯s the matter!?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m really so useless, eh. That¡¯s why, His Excellency doesn¡¯t want to summon me back to the country, and keeps me as an international employee only good for running errands--!¡±


    What¡¯s wrong, is he not happy with his current job? My hand leaves the wall to grab the spy¡¯s clothes.


    ¡°You¡¯re not happy with your current work environment? And I thought you enjoyed it! If so, you should have said so earlier, I¡¯ll tell Gwendal subtly, I¡¯ll definitely use plenty of subtlety.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not what you¡¯re thinking, Your Majesty. Actually, me, I¡¯m trying desperately to comfort dejected old you, y¡¯know!¡±


    He points at Saralegui ahead of us with his chin, and even says in a purposely loud voice,


    ¡°Setting Captain¡¯s absence aside, there¡¯s really no need for you to worry about that kind of guy.¡±


    He actually dared to call the Shou Shimaron boy king ¡®that kind of guy¡¯, as expected of the unbeatable Gurrier.


    ¡°But no matter how I try to comfort you, it¡¯s no use at all! Mmhaheiahaa¡ªLooks like, I really am a useless soldier, huh~ If it was Lord Weller, right now he would brilliantly use one line and his strange smile to solve this, right~~ Ah, is this not strange enough?¡±


    The image of Conrad tying the sack tightly appears in my mind.


    ¡°Recently he can be quite mean sometimes, too.¡±


    ¡°Exactly¡ª¡±


    Gurrier frowns, his head cocked almost all the way to his shoulders, and then he uses the left hand with the torch to wipe his forehead. It seems to me that his hair is moments away from being burned by the flames.


    ¡°That black-hearted man¡¯s words can comfort you, while I, pure white and innocent Gurrier, no matter how I try¡­ Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m no good with my words or my smile is too normal, so I can¡¯t get Your Majesty¡¯s spirits up no matter what. What a useless soldier I am, huh.¡±


    ¡°I¡ªtold¡ªyou¡ªYou¡¯re not useless!¡±


    ¡°And besides¡ª¡±


    Josak¡¯s hand leaves the wall, his calloused fingers messing up his orange hair.


    ¡°It¡¯s my fault too, that that important Lord Weller isn¡¯t here.¡±


    ¡°Eh, Josak¡¯s fault? Why, did you guys fight?¡±


    ¡°What are you two talking about--? If it¡¯s anything interesting, I want to listen too¡ª¡±


    Saralegui waves at us, all carefree. Why can he continue moving forward even without a torch? So unlike me, scared of the dark.


    Josak bends down, pretending to scrutinize my complexion, his eyes staring straight at me. Those eyes, bluer than I expected, reveal a lot of anticipation and some regret,


    ¡°¡­I talked that hesitant[1] man.¡±


    I ask back in reflex, ¡°What did you talk to him about?¡±


    ¡°I told him to think carefully on what he really wanted. I said that, and I even told him not to simply approach you until he comes to a conclusion.¡±


    My mind is still stuck on ¡®What did you talk to him about?¡¯ Recently, this brain of mine that has started using English a lot often reacts directly to how ¡®SVOC¡¯[2] is arranged.


    ¡°I asked him, ¡®Which side are you choosing?¡¯¡±


    ¡°Aah, you¡¯re talking about Conrad?¡±


    I finally get it.


    In other words, he forced Lord Weller to decide between Dai Shimaron and Shin Makoku. Maybe he even told him not to get too close to me until he decided which nationality he wanted, or something like that? Both of them have human and mazoku parents, so maybe it¡¯s easier for them to communicate.


    But, even if you force him to say ¡®which one of these will you choose as your hometown¡¯, it¡¯s probably not that easy to cut off the ties.


    ¡°And at the end he actually sulked. That bastard, he really did refuse to approach us.¡±


    ¡°No way, he can¡¯t be sulking, can he? I mean, there¡¯s no need for him to sulk over such a small thing, is there?¡±


    He¡¯s already an adult of over a hundred years old, how could he sulk over a small thing like that? I refuse to believe it, but at the same time I imagine Conrad crouching on the ground and drawing circles. Finally I can¡¯t help but laugh out loud.


    ¡°That¡¯s why Gurrier ended up being the one with you. So sorry, Young Master.¡±


    ¡°What are you saying, Josak gives me a feeling of security as well, y¡¯know! And the ultimate transformation techniques you use at the critical moments, are always a sight for sore eyes!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly right, I love Your Majesty the most~~¡±


    I don¡¯t hesitate to punch his back, and he doesn¡¯t hold back when he forcefully rubs my neck. Although it¡¯s nice to see him smile, he sure is using a lot of strength there, I wish he would control it a bit. Although the two of us are exchanging friendly banter at the back, Saralegui doesn¡¯t seem to care in his happy mood, until he turns around suddenly and says with certainty,


    ¡°It seems to be something alive there.¡±


    Even though he¡¯s been leading the way since we started the downhill slope, this time he¡¯s looking back. And he¡¯s even looking beyond our shoulders, at something even further behind us.


    ¡°Hey¡­ Don¡¯t do this, Sara¡ªIf you tell me there¡¯s something on my shoulder, from tonight onwards I won¡¯t dare to go to the toilet on my own.¡±


    ¡°Really¡ªYoung Master is being too polite. If you don¡¯t mind, Gurrier can accompany you to the toilet anytime!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want a stalker like you who most likely will peep at me accompanying me to the toilet¡ª¡±


    Saralegui¡¯s completely taken aback by our conversation. Right now, his expression really is very cute.


    ¡°Accompany? No, Yuuri, I¡¯m not talking about accompaniment here. I saw something alive behind your shoulders, in other words higher up the slope we just passed.¡±


    ¡°You can see so far!?¡±


    And the surroundings are so dark, too. Basically Josak and I are taking turns holding the torch, so Saralegui has basically no light to show the way. Even so, he can detect something alive and moving in the distance.


    ¡°Sara, are your eyes really good?¡±


    The person in question smiles gently, like a flowing cloud, and then caresses his long eyelashes with his middle and index fingers,


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I say so before, Yuuri? My eyes may be such a bright gold, but they can¡¯t stand heat and light. Especially sunlight.¡±


    I know that. The reason he wore glasses, isn¡¯t because of his eyesight, but to protect his eyes. Even now, I still occasionally think those thin colored glasses really do suit him very well.


    ¡°That¡¯s why my eyesight is very good in the darkness instead, because there¡¯s nothing blinding me. Even if I suddenly enter total darkness, it¡¯s only a little blur in the beginning, but I can get used to it immediately. No light is actually easier for me.¡±


    ¡°Eh, get used to¡­ Don¡¯t tell me you can see?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I can? Can¡¯t everyone see after a period of time?¡±


    ¡°Normal people can¡¯t see--!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    His expression of disbelief leaves a normal person like me at a loss.


    So that means that the door to his memories is open now, too? Ohh~~ No wonder he turns off the light when everyone is asleep. No, wait, does he sleep because the lights are off? Turns off the lights so he can sleep? I mumble away, saying the interesting things above.


    ¡°This counts as a super convenient power, doesn¡¯t it? Although you say you were exiled from the country for not having houryoku, I feel this is a really cool houjutsu.¡±


    At least this is more special than Ajira¡¯s translation houjutsu. I always feel that that¡¯s definitely the product of hard work. Saralegui, who doesn¡¯t understand the pain of those hard-working types, presses a pretty finger to his lips,


    ¡°Is that so? Even though there¡¯s a difference in degree, I always thought everyone could see.¡±


    I hate geniuses who can compete with others on talent alone the most. But instead of hate, I should say I envy them.


    Underneath the gentle torchlight, Saralegui narrows his eyes and smiles like an angel,


    ¡°But still~~ I don¡¯t have any hopes for houjutsu anymore, Yuuri. Even without the power bestowed by the gods, humans are still unbeatable. Even if I¡¯m not grateful to the gods, I can still rule a country, and get whatever I want.


    I put one hand into my pocket, my right touching the wall, and mutter with a sigh,


    ¡°¡­If I heard that a month ago, I would have been so touched.¡±


    Now that I know what your true colors are like, I won¡¯t find your words cool anymore. Sure, you need power to rule a country, but the reason you can get whatever you want, is actually because of your unscrupulous methods, isn¡¯t it.


    ¡°What I¡¯m concerned about is the ¡®living thing¡¯ you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    Josak stretches his arm, trying to illuminate as much behind us as he can.


    ¡°In this underground with no apparent food source, are there really large living things that the eyes can¡¯t see? Or are those corpses right on our heels?¡±


    ¡°Those inhuman soldiers can¡¯t reach this area, because Mother¡¯s power can¡¯t reach so deep underground.¡±


    ¡°What on earth is your mom trying to do? Why would she send zombies to kill her own son?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why, either.¡±


    He uses an unbelievably cold tone to say his own mother¡¯s name,


    ¡°The Empress Alazon, probably wishes me dead, huh? Or maybe she¡¯s scared I¡¯ll manipulate Yelshi, and claim Seisakoku as my own.¡±


    ¡°Even so¡­ There¡¯s no need to kill you, is there?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what she¡¯s like, extremely obsessed over power.¡±


    ¡°Impressive, just like a puppet.¡±


    Josak says that with a tone of contempt. Perhaps feeling insulted, Saralegui raises his head and looks at the man so much taller than his with a severe gaze.


    ¡°Who do you mean by ¡®puppet¡¯?¡±


    ¡°You, of course, Shou Shimaron king.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡±


    Before I can intervene, the two of them have ignited ice cold sparks. His entire face red with anger, Sara deliberately suppresses his emotions,


    ¡°Which part of me is like a puppet to you?¡±


    ¡°Mn¡ªAppearance, actions, the way you can¡¯t escape your mother¡¯s grasp¡­ Once you add it up, all of you, I guess.¡±


    ¡°I have escaped Mother¡¯s grasp!¡±


    ¡°Sorry, sorry, then should I say you want to use the underground as your puppet, and be the puppeteer that controls the country?¡±


    ¡°All right, all right.¡±


    I feel as though it¡¯s pitiful for Saralegui to be called a puppet, so I raise my hands and step in between the warring parties. The three of us are really different in body size.


    ¡°Please, can you guys not argue in a dangerous situation like this? Our luck on this journey has been bad enough. And don¡¯t you think it¡¯s strange? Gurrier and Sara, your relationship shouldn¡¯t be this bad. Normally, you guys can¡¯t sustain a conversation beyond a few lines, right? So what¡¯s this now? It feels like you¡¯ve disliked each other since a long time ago. Why are you suddenly like this? Could it be that while I was unaware, we sucked in some poisonous gases that will trigger your fighting instinct¡­ What sound is that?¡±


    Just like a television with a finger holding down the volume up button, the seismic noises and slight tremors are rapidly approaching us, and the sound is getting louder. There¡¯s a sound like tiny claws on the ground, and high-pitched squeaks that tense up every nerve in your body. What looks like a grey wool carpet is sweeping towards our direction.


    Tens of thousands of rats are slowly moving down the slope.


    ¡°This!? This is the living thing Sara saw!? Goodness, they¡¯re rats! I¡¯m terrified of rats!¡± 	¡°Calm down, Young Master. Pretend to be a rock, quickly pretend to be a rock and wait it out!¡±


    I raise my hands and present a banzai pose, shutting my eyes tightly and leaning on the wall. Pretend to be a rock, pretend to a rock¡­ One, two, mn¡ªI can¡¯t eat anymore. Crap, this is Bancho Sarayashiki[3].


    ¡°If you¡¯re bitten by these things, you¡¯ll either get the plague or end up like the cat-shaped robot, or you¡¯ll get sent to Maihama[4], so it¡¯s one out of three!? Gurrier doesn¡¯t know about the terror Doraemon had to go through[5], that¡¯s why he¡¯s so carefree. Waa¡ªthey¡¯re on my legs, they¡¯re on my legs--!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯ll I do with you~~ Since you¡¯re so scared, I¡¯ll lift you up in a princess carry.¡±


    ¡°¡­Never mind, thanks for the offer.¡±


    I grew up in the sports field next to the river and I¡¯m this scared, so Saralegui who was raised in the palace must be even more terrified. I look beside me, but not only has he turned his face this way calmly, he¡¯s even staring at something higher up the slope. He doesn¡¯t seem to care the slightest about the swarm of rats by his feet either.


    Soon after he raises his hand up high, as though challenging an invisible person who isn¡¯t there, and then he reaches out his fair, slender hands, pointing at something that looks to me like an empty spot in the darkness. 	Even underground, those golden eyes are still sparkling. He looks like an angel declaring the death of a human, or maybe a demon.


    Those eyes that can see through the dark, can they see other things as well?

 Volume 12 - CH 11

    To find that white-haired woman who is small in size and runs about everywhere, he ran through all the markets that morning.


    Out of the activity bases he heard of yesterday, this is the last. His whole heart is filled with a prayer, ¡°You have to be here.¡± Whenever he sees a combination of a cart and an old lady, he will start staring at her face without hesitation. And yet he just has to make so many mistakes, now of all times.


    Just as the market is about to end nearing noon, he finally finds the target he was looking for. A slightly comforting shadow flits past those foreign brown eyes.


    ¡°Hazel!¡±


    ¡°Oh dear!¡±


    Hazel Graves puts down her cart, panting, and replies in simple English to the person she recognized,


    ¡°Morning, did you sleep well yesterday?¡±


    ¡°Not really. I thank you ahead for your concern, but there was an unexpected turn of events.¡±


    ¡°Unexpected¡­? What¡¯s the matter, Weller, you¡¯re all out of breath. And¡­¡±


    An ominous feeling sneaks up on her suddenly, and so she peeks behind Conrad¡ªthere¡¯s not even a shadow there.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Little Buddy and the others?¡±


    The mazoku guard hesitates a little, but quickly recovers.


    ¡°Yesterday night, we were attacked by strange creatures¡ªthe undead. There seems to be a houjutsu that can control those things in this country.¡±


    ¡°A houjutsu to control corpses, you say? What on earth is this? That¡¯s blasphemy to God and the dead!¡±


    ¡°Hazel, I think you might be the only person to think that way here. Chalk it up to religious differences. And the mastermind behind those corpses seems to be His Majesty the Emperor¡¯s mother.¡±


    ¡°Alazon? She was definitely a cold and cruel Empress, but I never thought she could use some terrifying houjutsu.¡±


    Conrad waves all that away as unimportant with his right hand, hurriedly entering the main point from their discussion about the enemy.


    ¡°To me, though, the important thing is that my master entered the other side of wall.¡±


    ¡°What did you say!? The other side of the wall!?¡±


    Hazel Graves is stunned into silence for a moment, but as expected of a veteran adventurer, she immediately recovers. Still, she can¡¯t help but interrogate Lord Weller,


    ¡°I told you again and again and again, how¡­ how did you let him run inside? Does he want the treasures in the tombs that badly? Wasn¡¯t your mission saving those twins? If so you should have gone from the surface, unless your true motive was to hide from the guardians and quietly approach the tombs¡­ But the problem is that child doesn¡¯t seem like that kind of person!¡±


    ¡°Treasures? Such a misunderstanding would be very troubling to us. His Majesty never even considered getting those things. It¡¯s just that one of his companions[1] was shocked into darting inside, and he can¡¯t just leave that person there, hence he followed that person inside.¡±


    ¡°By companion do you mean that one? That orange-haired one.¡±


    Standing in front of a silent Conrad, Hazel Graves twitches one eyebrow ever so slightly, then says, raising her chin,


    ¡°Fine, looks like there are still a ton of things you need to explain. On that note, you¡¯re here, so why isn¡¯t the Little Buddy you¡¯re supposed to protect here? Aren¡¯t you a bodyguard, Weller? Don¡¯t tell me you just let that child run in by himself?¡±


    Conrad looks as though just breathing is torture, frowning as he shakes his head,


    ¡°He¡¯s not by himself, there¡¯s a man more reliable than me by his side. However¡­¡±


    Whether or not his expression is full of regret and hurt, it has nothing to do with Hazel. She says without holding back at all,


    ¡°If you can show this kind of expression, you shouldn¡¯t have left someone else to protect him in the first place!¡±


    And so his expression becomes even more pained, his fist gripped tightly and pressed on his sword sheathe. If you look closely, you could even see the slivers of flesh and splashes of rotting liquid.


    ¡°I thought I could catch up with them immediately, but the entrance wouldn¡¯t even budge after it was sealed. Hazel, please tell me: How do I open that wall? What must I do to catch up with His Majesty?¡±


    The old lady crosses her arms in front of her chest as she listens to him, soon after calling out to a slave she knows nearby,


    ¡°Come over here and help me pull this cart.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up? Grandma, anyone who leaves of their own accord will be punished. I don¡¯t want to be whipped!¡±


    ¡°Shut up. Show some manliness once in a while, coward! As long as you don¡¯t say anything, no one will realize I¡¯m gone.¡±


    Hazel knocks the man¡¯s shoulder lightly, wearing a creepy smile you don¡¯t see on old grandmas.


    ¡°Or is your heart just like a little female bird hiding and trembling in the hay? Alright, young man, let¡¯s go. Sorry for making you wait, all thanks to that sissy.¡±


    Then she walks in the direction opposite to yesterday, saying in English with her voice kept low,


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to open the walls either, I stumbled across it by coincidence last time. No matter how much time you spend trying to find your way in, it will all be for nothing, because we can¡¯t catch up with them anymore. It¡¯d be faster if we take the surface route and wait for them there.¡±


    ¡°Wait for them there?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Didn¡¯t I tell you that the underground city seems to head towards somewhere? If we¡¯re lucky, we may be able to intercept them if we go ahead to one of the caves along the way and wait. You have to leave the capital anyway, so do you want to give it a shot?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    As Hazel stares at Conrad¡¯s face, trying to gauge exactly how serious he is, she notices the scar on his right eyebrow. Suddenly, she remembers something she heard about mazoku ages once upon a time.


    ¡°I heard that you can¡¯t tell a mazoku¡¯s age from their appearances. Could you be older than me?¡±


    Perhaps surprised at the sudden question, Conrad raises the scarred right eyebrow. Graves pats his arm with a wrinkly hand,


    ¡°But for some reason, Conrad, when I stand in front of you, I keep feeling as though I¡¯m talking to my son or grandson. Isn¡¯t that such a strange feeling?¡±


    With that, she narrows her hazel-colored eyes and laughs from deep within her throat,


    ¡°Problem is, I don¡¯t have any sons or grandsons.¡±


    We¡¯re scared stiff by the ¡®Lemmings¡¯[2], trying to get past the tunnel before the next wave hits us.


    ¡°How should I put it, at least they¡¯re not huge.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. If they were huge then they wouldn¡¯t be cute anymore.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not cute to start with, okay?¡±


    ¡°Are a lot of things huge in Shin Makoku?¡±


    We¡¯ve been walking for half a day since we came here from the red room, and even though we¡¯ve only moved a small distance, the scenery in the underground city has changed considerably. Compared to before, the streets are practically straight now. The width and height are constant, too.


    If the area around the entrance was a manmade farming village, then this area would be like a modern high-speed freeway. Although there aren¡¯t any high-speed cars, that¡¯s true.


    Since we can easily touch the walls on either sides now, there¡¯s no need to burn our hands with the friction. I hold the torch in my right hand, leaving the other hand empty to press against my chest through my clothes.


    Maybe it¡¯s my own body temperature radiating into it, but the maseki has had a strange sort of warmth since just now. Sometimes it¡¯s so hot it makes me frown, sometimes it¡¯s so cold it¡¯s as though I¡¯m standing outside.


    Although there aren¡¯t any houjutsu users nearby, this is still shinzoku land, filled with houryoku. If I threw the maseki into the opposing power, surely it would cause some sort of disturbance.


    On the other hand, the pale pink ring Saralegui put on my finger has not budged at all, acting like a normal stone. Apparently it¡¯s a precious houseki that can only be mined in Seisakoku, and yet it hasn¡¯t reacted in the slightest. Of course I¡¯m relieved that I don¡¯t feel any more pain, but the fact that the ring which caused me so much pain back then is so quiet now, gives me a sense of apprehension too.


    Since it¡¯s a shiznzoku treasure, it should be more excited, emitting more beautiful colors now that it¡¯s back in the homeland it missed so much.


    ¡°¡­Whatever, it is a stone after all.¡±


    Speaking of stones, there are still a lot of trenches.


    Maybe it¡¯s because the tunnels got wider, the stone slabs that act as floodgates are even larger. The difference is that now there are a lot of things that feel like switches on the walls too. If we move those, can we control the floodgates? But if they¡¯re not used to block the rat swarms, what are they supposed to block? My suspicions intensify.


    Or could it be that those slaves who were forced into a corner by their class differences needed large scale defenses in the city the lived in? It¡¯s just that from what remained of their possessions in their houses, we really can¡¯t tell if the people who lived here were wealthy or otherwise. And besides, if they had the time and effort to make these fort-like structures, they probably wouldn¡¯t willingly bend their knees and serve others.


    The more I think about it, the weirder it gets.


    I turn around slowly, unwilling to waste any more brainpower of these meaningless deductions. Forget it, right now I should worry about how long this precious torch can last. It has served as our only source of light since dawn, and now is so short that I can feel the heat of the flame on my hand when I hold it. That¡¯s why we must find a replacement before the flame disappears. Pots and pans won¡¯t do, so it looks like we¡¯ll just have to burn things like clothing.


    ¡°Yuuri.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will strip like a man¡­ Eh, what did you say?¡±


    Upon hearing Saralegui¡¯s voice, I come back to my senses and look at him. Underneath the light of the flame that burns even brighter near the end of its life, those golden eyelashes seem to be sparkling. Can he withstand this level of heat and light?


    Ever since we entered this underground city, he seems to be a lot healthier than he was before.


    When we first met and when we were travelling on the ship, he was physically healthy but gave people the impression of a pitiable, sickly boy. As soon as we stepped into this underground world, though, his face has gotten more color and his eyes brighter than ever before, and his spirits seem to have reached a new HIGH.


    Not only does he still have his vision in the darkness, he noticed the living creatures before we did, so it¡¯s hard for us to believe he doesn¡¯t know houjutsu.


    ¡°Do you hear that? Yuuri, something seems to be approaching us.¡±


    ¡°¡®Something¡¯, you say, could it be more rats¡­¡±


    It wasn¡¯t easy, but I can finally hear some noises too. Judging from this deep tremor and impact, it shouldn¡¯t be a swarm of small animals. Josak seems to have figured out the truth behind the sound, shoving my shoulder forward forcefully.


    ¡°Your Majesty, run!¡±


    ¡°Eh, what?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask so much, just run! Don¡¯t turn back!¡±


    By the time I heard him it¡¯s already too late, because just as my left foot steps forward, I turn my body around to look. In order to see clearly what it is chasing us down, I waste half a step¡¯s worth of time.


    In the beginning, underneath the torchlight, all I see is sand and dust. As I¡¯m getting ready to run ahead, I hesitate and look back a second time. Only then do I realize that a large stone, about as wide as the tunnel, is thundering towards us.


    Because its edges blur into the darkness, I can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s round.


    ¡°There¡¯s no time to look anymore!¡±


    ¡°B-but, what is that thing!? Where did it come from!?¡±


    Saralegui¡¯s clothes are floating, touching my nose.


    It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen him run. Looks like even a natural born king, when chased into desperation by a large bolder in an underground tunnel, will still deign to start running. And he¡¯ll run so fast until even his sleeves and clothes hem start flying too.


    I turn around again, confirming that there is no distance between the rolling boulder and the walls, the ceiling¡­ I purposely spent time to confirm this unhappy fact.


    Now unless we can find a detour or a crevice to hide in, there¡¯s no way we can escape this fate. And this tunnel hasn¡¯t had any relief areas up until now. Add that to the fact that we never thought something like this would happen, and we had no choice but to keep on running despite knowing that there wouldn¡¯t be any relief areas up ahead to escape into.


    It¡¯s all because we never thought about this, that¡¯s why we practically dug our own graves.


    At first we were even secretly glad that we entered an area that looked like a high-speed expressway, when in fact this was nothing to be happy about at all. Because the thing coming at us at high speeds isn¡¯t a person or a car, but a huge boulder as large as the tunnel.


    ¡°I think I saw something like this in a movie before! That series of movies that had Harrison Ford running for his life.¡±


    ¡°¡­This is probably a trap.¡±


    ¡°Trap!? Who built it, and to, fight against, whom!?¡±


    I run with everything I have and ask at the same time, so I almost end up biting my tongue. Logically, though, this is the place where those who were hunted by the countries on the surface lived, so why would they put so many traps!?


    Suddenly, I think of what Hazel Graces would do in this situation.


    Since she¡¯s a treasure hunter, even if she came across a dangerous trap, she would probably avoid it as though it was nothing. At this time I think: Who knows how would Hazel and the granddaughter who inherited her legacy, as well as all the adventuring lads and ladies after her, handle this crisis.


    An image of a rocket-wielding American even shows up in my mind. At a time like this Japanese don¡¯t seem to be up to it.


    ¡°Yuuri!¡±


    Saralegui calls out to me, panting. His voice seems to sound really happy, or maybe that¡¯s just me.


    ¡°How far do you think we have to run?¡±


    ¡°How would I know!¡±


    I yell back instinctively, before suddenly remembering that he has the ability to see in the dark, unlike the two of us who can only rely on the torch.¡±


    ¡°Sara, use your night vision to find somewhere we can hide! Like a junction or a hole in the wall or something, anything! As long as we can avoid that boulder!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothin¡¯ like that at all.¡±


    ¡­I shouldn¡¯t have asked.


    The ball is flying due to its mass and acceleration, way faster than a human can run even with every last ounce of energy in their bodies. Even if this is a very gradual slope, there¡¯s no avoiding it.


    The impact of the incoming weapon is so close our feet won¡¯t even listen to us anymore. If that thing was alive, we would already be close enough to hear it breathing.


    Beside me Josak looks at his fingertips(3), and then closes one eye, something you only do when you¡¯re resisting pain. And the suddenly, his body tilts towards the right.


    ¡°Josak!?¡±


    I wonder if he was hurt somewhere, but it looks like he¡¯s just leaning towards the wall.


    ¡°Keep running, don¡¯t stop!¡±


    Of course I want to keep running, but I can¡¯t help but be bothered by Josak saying such a thing all of a sudden, at a time like this, so I slow down just a little.


    His expression becomes a little surprised, and to comfort me, he even touches my face with his left palm, and then reveals a completely uncharacteristically happy smile, like in a Nativity painting.


    ¡°You gotta keep running, kay, Your Majesty.¡±


    But, he stops.


    ¡°Josak¡­¡±


    I don¡¯t have time to slow down my run, so I tumble over in a sliding motion, kicking up a lot of dirt underneath my feet before I finally come to a stop. Just as I twist my waist and prepare to turn back, the large stone slate I looked up and saw many times before descends from above. With a sound like rolling thunder it sinks into the ground, thus separating this space into two.


    So he pressed the switch on the other side.


    ¡°Josak!?¡±


    Just as I press my palms and chest to the slate, there¡¯s the loud crash of metal shattering and stone colliding. The impact transmitted from the surface of the stone slab, bounces me away once more.


    The torch goes out with a wisp of smoke, having flown from my hands. Even all the sound has disappeared, as though taken away with the light.


    I sit on the ground in the dark, in the same position I was in that moment when I slid, scared to even make a sound. How I wish this was all a dream, so scared I am that a single move would make the dream reality, that I don¡¯t dare to move even a finger.


    At first I thought that as long as I waited patiently, the stone slab would rise on its own, and he would reappear in front of me, so I didn¡¯t even dare to breathe.


    But it¡¯s nothing but darkness and silence around me, and no matter how I wait nothing happens at all.


    After a while, light and quiet footprints on the sand approach me, and a soft voice calls me,


    ¡°Yuuri.¡±


    Rage instantly rises in my chest. Because he dared to speak, to make a sound, so I almost vented that unreasonable anger on someone else.


    But I don¡¯t answer, slowly straightening up my body, using my hurting knees to crawl to the newly-formed corner of the wall. In that absolute darkness, I use my hands to advance by touch.


    ¡°¡­Josak?¡±


    I kneel, feeling the smooth stone surface from whatever height I can reach. By the time I touch the lowest point, I reach out my hands to touch the ground, even softer than the wall. I explore the 90 degrees angle with my index finger.


    I touch it several times.


    After shouting his name once, I can¡¯t stand it anymore,


    ¡°Why¡­!¡±


    I start to move, trying to dig up the road made of mud and stones. But it¡¯s no more than scratching the surface, no use whatsoever, yet none of that matters. Right now my head is filled with one thought, and that¡¯s how to dig a path to the other side of the slab no matter what.


    I yell his name without stopping, cursing Josak for not replying.


    ¡°Yuuri.¡±


    I don¡¯t notice someone putting his fingers on my shoulder, and I don¡¯t spare a thought as to who it is.


    ¡°Are you crying?¡±


    Only then do I sense a living person crouching down beside me, and I finally realize that person is Saralegui. His soft hair touches my face.


    In the absolute darkness I can¡¯t tell if my eyes are still open, and cannot possibly know what kind of an expression Sara is looking at me with.


    ¡°You¡¯re digging in the wrong place.¡±


    That familiar hand of his, grabs my wrist, and moves it to the left about an arm¡¯s length away.


    There¡¯s something slightly damp there.


    Saralegui¡¯s fingertips brush past my hand to touch that area, the slightest movement in the air showing me his hand is moving.


    Saralegui snorts a little with his nose, touching my left cheek with his damp fingertip.


    That¡¯s blood.

 Volume 12 - CH 12

    Moving underground where the sun cannot reach, has me unable to tell what time it is.


    I raise my wrist out of habit, wanting to look at the digital analog watch on my hand, before I remember that I left it in the castle. Still, if there isn¡¯t enough UV rays, the fluorescent paint on it wouldn¡¯t work. I can¡¯t even see my own hand, exactly how dark is this place?


    Even if I¡¯m in the absolute darkness, I still would care about the time on the surface for a while. Since I don¡¯t have a watch to refer to, I can only rely on my level of weariness or hunger, or start counting how many steps I take.


    But after a while I slowly stop caring about all those things, I don¡¯t even have the desire to rest or eat. Everything has become trivial.


    I just keep moving my feet and walking.


    The right foot, then the left foot, step with the left foot then the right foot. All my brain wants is to walk carefully and not fall. I have to walk to the end of this tunnel, head to the facility and tombs at the other end of the desert. I¡¯m just being obedient, obeying the things I decided in the past.


    And I will always make sure I have one hand on the wall, that¡¯s something we must do when feeling our way through the dark.


    Suddenly the air stops moving, and I realize that Saralegui, who was walking ahead of me, has vanished. If I lose him in this darkness, what would become of me? He can see in the dark, so he can see his way even without firelight. But without moonlight or sunlight shining inside, I can¡¯t see a single thing.


    Alone I definitely would not be able to walk out of this tunnel. The road has been straight up until now, but if there¡¯s a junction ahead, I might get lost, and end up starving by the roadside. It¡¯s just that, compared to my fear of an end like that, right now my heart is filled with nothing but self despair.


    I think, ¡°This can¡¯t be helped, either.¡±


    As for Saralegui, who had vanished ahead of me, he stops now, as though waiting for me to catch up. When that feeling unique to him floats up to me, I hear his familiar voice,


    ¡°You really can¡¯t see anything, huh.¡±


    I nod wordlessly. Even if I don¡¯t make a sound, he can probably see me nod.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be easy for you to walk like this, I¡¯ll hold your hand then.¡±


    As soon as he says that, he grabs my left hand without waiting for an answer and starts walking ahead briskly.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think people really couldn¡¯t see in the dark, seems like everyone has been living a pretty inconvenient life. I always thought this was normal, I thought everyone could see. No wonder the lady officials would always call me, who could see even in the darkest place, weird names.¡±


    Weird names? Honestly I feel Saralegui should have a different name too.


    ¡°So sorry, Yuuri. I¡¯m just not considerate enough with things like this.¡±


    He swings our joined hands like a child, adjusting his pace so he can walk side by side with me. The way we¡¯re walking now is just like a long time ago in kindergarten, how we would walk on long trips out, so I can tell he¡¯s in a very good mood.


    ¡°I should have done this a long time ago.¡±


    And I¡¯m just moving my feet, walking. This is the only way to advance, so I move my feet.


    ¡°I say, Yuuri, you should have done this a long time ago.¡±


    Done this a long time ago? I should have done what?


    But I still don¡¯t change what I¡¯m doing. Just walking for the sake of it, to find a way out of this tunnel. I want to find the facility those two children are in, and head for the emperors¡¯ tombs. I want to follow the decisions I made in the past, because back then I still had the ability to decide.


    I walk, rest, continue to walk.


    And I thought that a journey like this would be hard on Saralegui, who grew up in the palace, but it turns out neither side made a noise of complaint, and the two of us walked until we couldn¡¯t walk anymore together. We slept together, woke up and then started walking again. I don¡¯t say a thing and rarely open my mouth, but Saralegui has always been in a good mood. That¡¯s something to be grateful for, at least.


    On what should be around noon on the third day, Saralegui gasps like a child,


    ¡°Yuuri, look! The ceiling, the ceiling, there¡¯s a hole in the ceiling.¡±


    Hearing his words I raise my head. Somewhere really high and really far away, there does seem to be a vague white circle.


    ¡°Hole¡­?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Oh, yeah, you¡¯re used to the darkness now, so that¡¯s why you suddenly can¡¯t see. The ceiling here is really high, a lot like an impluvium in the castle. Oh, yeah, it was always narrow tunnels before, so it feels so much more relaxing to be in a wide open space like this¡­ How is it? Yuuri, are you slowly getting used to the light now?¡±


    I raise my head until my neck even begins to hurt, staring at the white circle with the light coming through too. Since the light is so strong, logically it should be brighter here too, and I should be able to see my own hands and Saralegui¡¯s face soon.


    ¡°¡­Yuuri?¡±


    The blur white figure is staring at me. I rub the corners of my eyes with my index fingers, staring at my palm,


    ¡°Sara, are my eyes open?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, why?¡±


    ¡°¡­I can¡¯t see your face.¡±


    I can sense the light and the shadows created by the light. But that face and these hands, the stones and the ground¡ª


    I can¡¯t see.


    And I don¡¯t know whose names I should call.

 Volume 13 - Prologue

My soul, who does it belong to ?

 Volume 13 - CH 1

    Please help, please help this child. O God, why do you want to take away the son I was finally blessed with ? I don''t have anyone other than these children. Even though I don''t have anyone other than you and these children!


    I had a sad dream. Even though I had no intentions of sleeping, this sounds pathetic but looks like I unknowingly lost consciousness. It was a young woman who broke out in tears kneeling on the ground. Seemed like she was holding a baby close to her chest with its upper body curled up.


    Since I do not know of any woman with a sick baby, it might have been an image left in my memory from some movie I might have watched on TV. In any case it was sad, even though it was a heart-aching dream yet without any sympathy, not even shedding a tear I heartlessly stood by just quietly watching her.


    At any rate I was very thirsty, I couldn''t even sweat forget shedding tears. I hadn''t eaten or drank anything for days, I couldn''t afford to cry over a dream.


    When I was little and couldn''t even differentiate between dreams and reality, I would crawl into my parent¡¯s bed saying that a monster came to attack me, if no one else was around me would knock at my big brother''s door, but its different now. I''m way past that age and fortunately or unfortunately I don''t even have anyone to cling on and cry to in this place.


    Thanks to that I woke up with apathetic eyes. It was like sleeping after afternoon classes.


    Forget about shedding tears, there was hardly any moisture in my body, it was hard enough just to open my eyelids.


    "Aaa! I''m glad that you are awake."


    "...Sara ?"


    That''s why I did not become anxious when I couldn''t hear anything other than his voice at first. Since the surface of my eyeballs were so dry I thought that my vision could not become bright. Even though my big brother who is always fixated to the computer and grinning I couldn''t think of anything other than - ''I see, dry-eyes is quite a problem!''


    I was rubbing my eyes with my fists.


    "How long was I asleep for ? "


    "You shouldn''t rub it so much."


    After touching Saralegui I finally realized.


    That''s right, I can''t see anymore.


    "...Sara, how dark is it here ?"


    "Don''t ask me such a difficult question."


    Even so, he answered properly.


    "It¡¯s a little brighter than a moonless night. Because a little light coming from the hole in the ceiling we passed by earlier is still reaching here. Although I can see your face, a person with normal vision would only be able to tell that there is someone here."


    Even if he said so I couldn''t see anything but the contour. I couldn''t even tell whether my eyes were open or not. I can only tell that Saralegui is here. He is standing at a distance that I can reach him if I stretch out my right hand diagonally. I could somehow figure it out not only from the direction I could hear his voice from but also by his breathing and fluctuations in the air flow.


    It is a strange feeling.


    Even though I can''t see him, even though I can''t touch him, I can still tell his position, which was really strange.


    It''s dreadful that I can''t see something that I used to. I was fearful. At first it felt like nothing existed in all four directions surrounding me, I thought that I was floating in the pitch black outer space. But in reality the surroundings were dark, I was uncertain even about my footing. With just one step you could fall into the abyss and be unable to crawl back up ever again, if I think about it then I''m unable to even move a single finger.


    My pulse fastened and it became difficult to breathe. No matter how much oxygen I take in, it''s not enough. Without the blood reaching my brain, my thoughts stop and my conscienceless fades. I tried to leap forward but panickingly stop at my steps and end up landing both my knees on the hard ground. And finally realize after doing it.


    There is a ground.


    I''m not floating in space neither will I fall immediately if I move a little.


    And finally I think about this.


    Even if I can''t see, it''s not like everything has been annihilated.


    There is air around me, there is the earth below my feet. I''m living, breathing and moving my body, it''s not that I''m dead, lying down and my soul is floating. Even if I can''t see, if I stretch my hand it touches the stone wall, if I listen carefully, I can even hear the sound of the wind.


    In other words the world is as it was uptil now. What changed isn''t my surroundings but me.


    To support it, a gust of air blew past my body. This is the wind, it''s sound. I burnt it into my memory. And the feeling of the dry wind stroking my cheeks. I remembered it as well.


    In any case there was nothing I could do besides confirming it one after the other. Even to move forward timidly, there was no other way apart from convincing myself that everything except me exists as it has been uptil now.


    When Saralegui learned that I have lost most part of my vision, he placed his hand on my shoulder and said.


    "You can''t see?"


    His cold fingers gently touched my cheeks.


    "Really?"


    It smelled like damp soil.


    "There''s a hole in the ceiling leading to the surface. Although it''s not something I can climb with my bare hands...you can''t even see that?"


    "Nothing other than a vague... white circle..."


    "Even though it''s bright enough for you!"


    He put both his hands around my neck, and hugged me tightly. His hair was touching my face and ears.


    "Yuuri, you poor thing! Because so many things happened one after another, your mental equilibrium must have fallen into disorder. You couldn''t withstand the pressure"


    "um, in other words stress? Stress...that must be it, really. Because of the stress I ended up being unable to see..."


    "I''ve heard a long time ago that if terrible things happen, and they have a huge impact on you, even if you weren''t physically injured, it will cause abnormalities in your body. I think that''s exactly the case. You haven''t injured yourself anywhere after all. Although you''ve grazed yourself a little, you haven''t hit your head somewhere right? ...however that man died"


    That man is.


    It made my heart tighten up so much that I could hear it''s sound. On one side the wall continues.


    "But you are living"


    But still I''m living.


    "It''s alright, you will get better. It may take some time though. In any case since you''re in the underground your vision is going to be of no use, it doesn''t matter whether your able to see or not... Yuuri!?"


    Before he could finish his words I stood up and started walking. Even if I can''t see I won''t let it bother me, we are in darkness after all. Everything is in darkness after all. I can feel the mud mixed with stones in with my palms. Even if I lose my way, I can only continue on this path along with the wall.


    To get out of here all I can do is walk.


    "Yuuri, it''s dangerous Yuuri!"


    After proceeding a little I stopped suddenly and rested my right shoulder on the stone wall. My legs were unable to support my body and I crouched down clumsily.


    Being extremely exhausted I dozed off just like that, and then saw that dream after a short while.


    "Sara"


    "What?"


    "I saw a dream"


    Even though he didn''t ask what the dream was about, I imagined his posture. With his mouth closed, he is tilting his head a little.


    "In my dream a woman was crying. The woman was holding the baby was crying while praying to God. She was asking to save her son. The child must have been sick"


    "hmm"


    "Even though I was watching her from behind, I didn''t do anything. I didn''t try to call out to her neither did I try to console her. I didn''t even cry or pray with her. Even if you think I''m detestable, I was just quietly watching. Even after waking up I didn''t think ''I''m glad that it''s a dream''. It was a cruel dream, even for me, ever for that woman... but, I only thought of that now"


    While still sitting like that I slowly spread out the knees I was hugging. The soles of my feet were rubbing on the ground.


    "Even reality is so cruel"


    When I talk, the dried membrane in my tongue and mouth cramps, it hurt so much that I thought it would bleed. But more than the dryness in my body, the dryness in my heart was as if it would interrupt my feelings to live.


    Maybe the soles of my shoes were worn out due to walking so much, I can feel the unevenness of the pebbles even more than before.


    "When I wake up, I feel that it''s cruel. This is bad for the woman but to me it would be better if that was reality and this was a dream"


    After all I was watching her back. The silhouette of the woman holding a baby and crying was reflected in my eyes. I could see. And her son who was dying is not my comrade. Even if the Gods do not fulfill her plead, the one that will die is that baby, not my comrades.


    Not him.


    "...what am I thinking about"


    I rounded the upper half of my body just like the woman in my dream and rubbed my face with both my hands. The dry soil and the smell of rusted iron that reaches my nose. My body is heavy. Even though I''ve not even drank a single drop of water, my body felt heavy as if I had been drenched in rain.


    "This sucks. It''s not only in my head, I gone this far"


    I hit my chest with my fist. Even so I can still feel my stubborn pulse through the two joints of my fingers that I loosely gripped. This is the heart that survived till I killed my comrade.


    "Even my feelings have gone this far, they are rotten"


    "That''s not true, Yuuri"


    Although his words are very gentle, his tone is bitter enough to make my neck tilt.


    "...If that was the case it would be much easier"


    "eh?"


    Even before I could ask back, Saralegui stood up. The air that had traces of his body temperature moved, his presence is getting away. And then he shortly spoke in a voice that perceives crisis.


    "Something is coming"


    "Something, I can''t tell what you mean by something"


    "It''s moving, I think it''s a living creature"


    I can''t sense anything other than faint vibrations through my skin which was touching the ground. Even though there is no smell, no wind nor any heat flowing?


    "A bird or a bat... get down!"


    Saralegui stretched his hand to my back and tried to push me on the road made of rocks and pebbles. But I escaped from his hand by moving my body and got away from the wall and went uptil the underground passage. Without even standing up or walking, I crawled on my hands and knees like a dog.


    Just like before there is faint vibration under my skin.


    "Come, come out!"


    "Yuuri!"


    Sara is screaming. Just before calling my name he clicked his tongue.


    "I don''t know whether it''s a bird or a bat but it''s better if it comes out! It''s better if it strikes!"


    I stood in the middle of the passageway and spread out both my arms. I was unable to stand immediately and got on my knees, gaping my mouth open I turned towards the darkness and shouted.


    "Come! I cannot avoid you anyways, I cannot see you anyways!"


    A short sound cut through the wind, something warm grazed my cheek.


    It was a moment later that the pain started spreading.


    The horse neighed and raised its forelegs in the air, Lord Conrart Weller gripped its reins and asked Hazel Graves who was in front of him.


    "What was that just now?"


    "Must have been an earthquake. We won''t know since we are riding, but the animals who have their feet on the ground are sensitive to it. Whether they are running or halted, they won''t let even the smallest of change go unnoticed"


    "I didn''t know that there are many earthquakes in this country"


    "It''s not what you can call many, it''s not that big either. In this town mostly made from rocks, it the trembling is such that the residents don''t notice it. If it''s the residents of the capital then they are not aware of it"


    It was close to five days that they had gathered the horses, departed the city and had been travelling.


    As far as they can lay their eyes, they could see yellowish white colour. Five male horses were advancing on the dried soil that can''t even be called sand. Lord Weller and Venera a.k.a. Hazel and three of her comrades. Normally they would advance with all their might, but since they don''t have any other alternatives to ride they can''t ask for the impossible. They were more concerned about than horses than about themselves, conserving their reserved power, they could only barely proceed.


    Even so it would still take quite some time to catch up with Yuuri and the others. Whether they were riding horses or walking on foot, they couldn''t even catch up to the three people leading them, it was because there were many points where they could bypass them recklessly. They would quickly reach the underground passageway if they proceed at a distance in a straight line.


    Even if they turn back they can''t see the capital anymore, no matter where they lay their eyes there isn''t a single thing in sight.


    "You''re worried about that child, aren''t you?"


    Hazel slowed down and aligned her horse.


    "If you hear that the underground passageway is dangerous, anyone would worry"


    "In that case why did you let him go alone. I had already told you that that place was dangerous"


    "He''s not alone..."


    "I know, that man who looks like the fourth from the Fenway Park was with him right. But if you were going worrying about him later, then it would be better if you would have just tied him to your hands. If it was me I would have done it"


    The wrinkles on her cheek deepened as she laughed.


    "However no matter how mischievous a girl my grandchild was, her vigor was such that there was no need to tie even a single rope. Even so when I had to make her independent, even thought I was concerned, in reality she was able to take care of everything by herself. But I think that that in itself will suffice as an emergency exit. She was the type to whose strong point was to advance rather than to secure an escape hatch"


    "April was wise. She even handled the box well"


    "Then is your master not wise?"


    "That is..."


    Conrad clogged at his words. To him Yuuri was special. No matter who he compared him to he could never find anything inferior about him. He even thinks that comparing itself is disrespect. Indeed Yuuri is... his beloved master is doing well enough even after he left him.


    Isn''t he smoothly conducting political affairs even while governing subordinates with a few bad habits.


    Looking at him deep in thought, Hazel let out a cheerful laughter.


    Since the cold wind was blowing up yellow particles which were bound to enter one''s eyes and throat, they couldn''t take off the clothes that were covering their whole body. But when the strong sunlight dwindles, even if it''s past noon the temperature wouldn''t rise at all, which would indicate that the sun was going down.


    Even if they are careful about the temperature and dehydration, it''s not the circumstances in which they could call it a harsh journey.


    "The sand is not such that it will trap your feet, you can satisfactorily travel even with a horse in this climate. Even if for some reason if we may have to take a detour, it''s not that we''ll have to create an extensive passageway underground. Why in the world would the shinzoku of that time create such a passageway till the graves"


    "It could be because they didn''t want to get lost. Because they didn''t have any objective here. If it''s someone whose not accustomed to travelling, even if he gets lost in the end, he will turn into dust on this land where there''s not even grass."


    "There is the danger that they might be swallowed by a heap of sand, as compared to what you call the ominous underground, I think it''s much more comfortable here"


    "Who knows. I''m just a fertilizer cart pulling old lady, it''s not like I can drop by the archives while returning home...there!"


    Hazel lightly raised one hand up, and from among her comrades called a man who looked like he had grown white mold in his beard. Ever since they came to here they have tagged along as interpreters, although they originally didn''t have the status of slaves, but for saving their cousin during public execution, they threw away their social status and have joined this journey.


    The other two include the man who put together the charging and the rescue team while carrying out the plan, and the prisoner who had been rescued instead. Although the very thin man in his forties who would be calm even if someone put a rope around his neck, in reality is "so much afraid that he''ll wet his pants", and seems like he is singing in a loud voice to deceive others.


    This former prisoner with just skin and bones is their cousin. Although he had been previously called even in the royal court as a singer, at some point he had to return to the open seas and was sent to an extremely harsh refugee camp. In Freddy and Jason''s rescue which Yuuri wishes this man''s guidance will be essential.


    "Looks like they are masters in what is called the interpretation esoteric skills. I can''t think of anyone else other than Mr. Beard when it comes specialization in language study. But if it''s him, who has read as much as he wanted to in the Imperial city library, he might be knowing about the origin of that underground passageway. There, the path to the the graves underground..."


    Hazel quickly changed over to Seisakoku language. Hazel talked with the demon tribe in English of practical importance, and with her comrades in Seisakoku language. For the shinzoku and the demon tribe to have a conversation, they had to have her translate it into English, they had no choice other than to have her interpret it. Although it''s a little inconvenient, they are thankful that they can at least convey their intentions.


    "The underground?"


    Although it was a little smattering.


    "Underground, pass, corpse"


    "Corpse... are the dead going to pass?"


    The interpreter nodded profoundly.


    "The funeral procession will?"


    Will? He would be troubled even if he were to question with that tone. Based on speculations the underground passage in question might a facility for the funeral procession to send off the dead to their graves.


    "The corpse of the royal family, the graves of the royal family, funeral procession"


    "In other words that passage was created in order to carry the corpse of the royal family to the tombs. To put it simply, to put the corpse straight in the graves"


    "I see... it means that the dead will not be exposed to the light. It''s not that I cannot think of a religious reason"


    "Residents, undertaker"


    "What?"


    Hearing an audacious loose translation, Lord Weller raised his eyebrows. Undertaker?


    "It seems that the residents themselves are in charge of the funeral procession. In other words it might be a large-scale group of undertakers"


    "Again with the special..."


    But the corpses of the royal family, no matter how much you don''t want to expose them to the sunlight, even among the slaves even if they are called the lower casts would they entrust the residents to them. Even so since they specialists, it''s because they have the skill to keep the damage to a minimum while carrying the corpse to the tomb away from the imperial city. Even the bereaved might have reluctantly entrusted them. For instance...


    "Something like mummification? It''s NO in that case. From what I know, the contents of the coffin had been rotting at a normal speed. It doesn''t seem that they are thinking of using the same body even in their next life"


    "If it''s you, who has visited the graves, is saying it then it must be right. But if that''s the case then the meaning of the existence of the underground residents, I can''t understand it all the more.


    Since the interpreter said something quickly, Hazel''s eyes rounded. She looked like she would scream OMG after a few tens of years.


    "You say that the living are not allowed to pass? Did you hear that Lord Weller, looks like it was a miracle that I came out of that cellar alive! Thank you God"


    Her way of speech was as if a miracle needs to happen in order for them to return alive. Looks like she noticed that herself and added to it.


    "It''s alright, your king has Buddha on his side. Although I''ve lived in Tibet when I was young, it was a very valuable experience. I was told that Buddha doesn''t refuse no matter who it is. In that case there''s no way that he''ll not protect a wonderful child like his majesty from disasters. And since the group of undertakers is said to be special, the underground residents are well alive, it''s not like they are refusing all the living. So there''s no need to be pessimistic"


    "But!"


    Whether they were able to understand English or not, they interrupted their conversation.


    "Although the underground residents are living it was recorded"


    Letting go of the reins, he made action of opening a book with his both hands. As if it was written down in the document.


    "Many of them were blind"


    "Are you saying they could not see?"


    "...It can''t be"


    Conrad murmured. He suddenly remembered that he was thirsty.

 Volume 13 - CH 2

    ¡°W-wait a sec. What is that old uncle with so much energy and performing radio aerobics doing?!¡±


    ¡°Looks like he¡¯s really looking forward to scuba diving¡ª¡±


    On the sides of a little boat dimly illuminated on the surface of foreign lake at night, two Japanese and American students are whispering to each other. In the middle of the boat is a man of unknown age, wearing sunglasses and performing warm-up exercises full-heartedly with the lower half of his body dressed strangely in rubber diving gear.


    ¡°Hmm, hah! Hmm,hah! Hmm, hah! Hmm, hah!¡±


    Who would have thought that his abs are actually pretty strong.


    ¡°You said he wants to dive¡­ But he¡¯s wearing sunglasses, and it¡¯s nighttime¡­ Does he think he¡¯s part of Ishihara Promotion¡¯s[1] USA branch?¡±


    ¡°Speaking of which, Shouri hasn¡¯t taken your glasses off either.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, glasses are a part of the face.¡±


    ¡°Whoa~~ Then you are discriminating against sunglasses.¡±


    Shibuya Shouri thinks to himself, I should instill the respect of glasses men deep into this person¡¯s heart. No matter who it is, anyone who puts on sunglasses will look a lot manlier, but people who look hotter after wearing normal glasses are way fewer. No matter what kind of trendy frames they wear, if the person wearing them is just meh then there¡¯s no point: In other words, those who can look hotter are the really impressive ones. Those who don¡¯t rely on sunglasses, or contact lenses, and win with just true glasses, they¡¯re the ones that should be honored as the world¡¯s treasures.


    But what is reality like?


    ¡°You plan on wearing your glasses instead of goggles--?¡±


    ¡°Of course, if I don¡¯t wear my glasses how do you expect me to find the Box?¡±


    ¡°A-ha--?¡±


    Just like the Americans from the educational films, she shrugs, her expression full of contempt!


    ¡°Before all that I have to ask, do you guys actually know how to dive?¡±


    The Asian man controlling the plane and the boat asks with heavily accented English. He¡¯s sitting on top of the boat cabin, swinging his short legs and looking all carefree. Next to him is a scary-looking Frenchman born in the Caribbean¡ªFrancois, who has his arms crossed in front of his chest and doesn¡¯t utter a word. The two of them seem to know each other, even greeting each other with a language Shouri doesn¡¯t understand when they were introducing themselves at the airport.


    The Asian man¡¯s name is DTJ, which sounds like the acronym of a theme song band, so it shouldn¡¯t be his real name.


    He¡¯s the pilot of the rented plane, and seems to be an old acquaintance of Bob and Abigail. Apparently his flying skills are the best in the world, but he¡¯s wearing a Yankees ball cap and a striped shirt, add that to his slightly wide chin, and you can¡¯t tell what age he is. He feels younger than Shouri, but even in the country of freedom America, someone that young can¡¯t possibly get a pilot¡¯s license. That mouth of his never has anything good to say, though, he even keeps purposely trying to rile up Shouri, whom he just met.


    ¡°You¡¯re Japanese? I¡¯ll say this now, the J at the back of my name doesn¡¯t stand for Japan.¡±


    The way he places emphasis on it, seems to indicate he doesn¡¯t have a good impression of Japan.


    The Asian guy whose age you can¡¯t tell and the scary-looking Frenchman, the longer you look at them the stranger this combination seems.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t have any diving experience you have to tell us honestly--! Even if I am the warrior protector of the people, I can¡¯t save two or three people at once¡ª¡±


    ¡°What the heck is the warrior protector of the people? Is that a relative of Naniwa Mozart[2] or something!? I¡¯m telling you, I can! I know how to dive! Isn¡¯t that obvious? I¡¯m Japanese! It¡¯s just diving in a lake, what¡¯s so hard about that!¡±


    Half of the Japanese are samurais or geishas, while the other half are ama[3] and fishermen. The super college student whose goal is to become governor shouldn¡¯t be able to handle it. Even the notorious Kachabi[4] can play with the fishes in the southern sea, it¡¯s no problem as long as you don¡¯t have Mukku¡¯s[5] bloodline.


    Shouri pulls the skintight rubber diving suit up to his shoulders, and it¡¯s tighter than he thought it would be. Once he pulled the zip up to his neck, it would easy as pie to tell where his nipples are, huh.


    ¡°Hmm, he! Hmm,he! Hmm, he! Hmm, he!¡±


    Bob is focused on his warm-up exercises.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take this opportunity to get it over with now!¡±


    Shouri quietly hastens Abigail Graves, who allegedly has an instructor¡¯s license.


    It¡¯s just that he never thought there would be such a surprising talent in this world. The koi fish girl who sat all alone in the airport, is actually a world-famous treasure hunter (or so she says), as well as a cheerleading captain, diving instructor, and a half-assed Japan expert. Although to the neighbors Shouri is an excellent older brother, his resume is a little less impressive.


    The way things are looking now, it¡¯s not hard to imagine how amazing the talents in the future will be. After all, the Maou of the financial world known as ¡®Bob Airlines¡¯ once danced the samba in the middle of the shopping street; so the man who was yesterday known as a simple Gundam otaku, might actually be a new type of extremely reliable human.


    ¡­That¡¯s right.


    No matter what you want to do, the most important thing is money.


    Even if you want to strike first, putting one foot up while pretending to be clueless, you can¡¯t do anything without money. No matter how justified your actions are, it¡¯s the same.


    ¡°This is too much, I get suspected even when I use cash to buy plane tickets. Logically speaking, shouldn¡¯t it be safer to shop with cash and a smile? You don¡¯t have to worry about being a credit card slave!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t blame America¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not blaming any specific country!¡±


    Murata Ken is just against the employee who looked at him suspiciously when he paid for his plane ticket in cash just now. Even if a high school student has a credit card, the limit would be very limited. After all his family is just a normal working class family, and can only share the limit on one card.


    That¡¯s why he had to use cash, and got a suspicious ¡®where did you get this money come from¡¯ look for his trouble. This country has so many people who started companies with their stocks, and students who earned big bucks at a young age! But on the other hand, they also have a lot of young people who commit crimes, dirty their hands, and walk the wrong path.


    ¡°Really, do I look like a drug mule? I wouldn¡¯t want to sacrifice my life like that just for drugs!¡±


    Murata releases a long breath, trying to calm himself down a bit.


    ¡°But the thing I want to transport is even more dangerous than drugs.¡±


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be you, is it, Ken.¡±


    ¡°I know, it¡¯s me. Relax! I can still tell the difference.¡±


    In the end, Rodriguez was the one who bought the ticket for the change of flights from New York.


    He seems to really enjoy his role as a guardian, the laugh lines on his face deepening. He takes off his aviator goggles, even putting on the jacket he rarely wears, trying to pretend he¡¯s Murata¡¯s parent. Jose Rodriguez is an excellent pediatrician. This is the job he chose for himself, so he never hated taking care of kids in the first place; plus this is a child he treated before, so it¡¯s obvious he would help.


    Murata and Rodriguez have taken a different mode of action from Bob and the others, who took a private plane to Switzerland. The two of them headed for New York from Narita, and then from New York flew to the Logan International Airport in Massachusetts.


    ¡°Because Japanese people look younger¡ªthey must have thought you were a middle school student traveling on your own¡ª¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s to find an important friend, so what if a middle school student rides a plane!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not wrong, but the rules here are stricter, like if a divorced father took his son away on his own, it would be treated as a kidnapping, you know¡ª¡±


    ¡°I feel that a middle-aged Latin American man and a Japanese student walking together is weirder¡­ Ah~ Doctor, don¡¯t put on such a pitiful expression! I¡¯m really glad you left Bob to stay by me, but¡­¡±


    The international airport in the afternoon is so crowded it¡¯s scary. Although it¡¯s not the tourism season, there are quite a few people dragging their luggage and running around everywhere. Murata sticks closely to his companion, scared of getting lost in the crowd, and looks up at the skinny Mexican.


    ¡°What we¡¯re doing now is going against his orders, will that have any effect later? I hope it won¡¯t have some bad influence on your work or anything.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about, Ken? I¡¯m just a pathetic little pediatrician, you know--? Even if Bob wants to pressure me, he wouldn¡¯t bother with that clinic of mine that never earns much! Plus, he¡¯s not that kind of person.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great. Since you bypassed him and contacted me directly, I¡¯ve been very worried for you.¡±


    ¡°Mn. Because Ken, I¡¯m guessing you would rather let Bob know first.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    The mastermind of the group Rodriguez belongs to, is Bob who should now be in Switzerland together with Shouri and the others. That¡¯s why his actions, of giving Murata important information without going through Bob, could be taken as a betrayal and he wouldn¡¯t be able to deny it.


    Murata got the intel regarding the ¡®Box¡¯ from Rodriguez a few weeks ago. Before he hung up the phone, he said, ¡°If you want to do that, you can report to Bob first, no problem.¡± Back then Murata immediately answered, ¡°I¡¯ll see how it goes.¡±


    ¡°What we do from now on is all up to you!¡±


    ¡°I think it should be up to Bob, right? His ratings in my mind have plummeted. Who asked him to talk about using ¡®Mirror¡¯s Depth¡¯, even if it¡¯s to fulfill Shibuya¡¯s brother¡¯s wish he shouldn¡¯t do that, right?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡ªBut he¡¯s not usually so rash--? Maybe it¡¯s that once it gets to JUNIOR he becomes a doting father?¡±


    ¡°But they¡¯re not father and son!¡±


    The pediatrician smiles shyly, using those fingers with joints as obvious as old sticks to push the hair out of his eyes, though some locks of unruly hair still stick to his face.


    ¡°When it comes to that, I can understand how he feels. Speaking of parents, is this okay with your mom and dad?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, both of them have keys.¡±


    The pediatrician¡¯s expression says ¡®that¡¯s not what I meant¡¯, but that¡¯s indeed what real life is like, it can¡¯t be helped that he answers like that.


    ¡°If you think about the good side, they don¡¯t care about me at all, adopting a free and easy approach to some extent. As long as I leave a note saying I¡¯m staying at a friend¡¯s place, they won¡¯t come looking for me. But the truth is they don¡¯t know any of my friends, so they wouldn¡¯t know where to start looking even if they wanted to. I told them, the school is taking a week off for the school anniversary, so I¡¯m going on a trip. And they said, without a care in the world, ¡®It¡¯s okay, as long as we can reach you by phone. But first you have to confirm your accommodation.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Ken.¡±


    The man who was once his guardian before he was born frowns a little, turning the corners of his mouth down unhappily.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you lonely?¡±


    ¡°Lonely? Why?¡±


    Just then a young girl runs past the two of them, yelling something childishly. A woman that looks like a mother waves at her from the blue benches, using French to whisper something as she lifts her onto her laps, hugging her waist tightly. Quite a few flights from the aviation companies pass by Logan, so there are many tourists headed for Europe here. Rodriguez watches the scene, murmuring almost to himself,


    ¡°¡­Did I make the wrong choice?¡±


    ¡°What choice?¡±


    ¡°Your family? Bob chose a very perfect family for Shibuya to be born in, but I was the one who chose the family you were born in. Actually, until the very end, I was hesitating whether or not to let you be born in a wealthy childless family in Hong Kong. The one before- you know, that one¡ªstayed in Hong Kong, right? But in the end, I handed you over to a very normal Japanese couple¡­ Was I wrong in doing that? If I you were born in a wealthy family, wouldn¡¯t it be better for you to be an international young master¡ª¡±


    ¡°Hah?¡±


    Murata is shell-shocked by his sudden words, slowing down his steps and staring at the other man.


    ¡°It¡¯s because from what you¡¯re saying, it seems like you don¡¯t have the warmth of a family, so I¡¯m wondering if you¡¯re happy.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no such thing, Doctor!¡±


    Murata can¡¯t stand his wild imagination. Since he¡¯s already a Japanese, he hurriedly refutes the other option:


    ¡°Sure, it¡¯s tempting to be born in a wealthy family, but if I was born there, it would surely be a lot more hassle to come to Japan. Besides, if I became the heir to a wealthy family, my family would not let me move overseas so easily, so wouldn¡¯t I waste a lot of time before meeting him?¡±


    ¡°Meeting who? Yuuri?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, so it was the best choice to make me Japanese.¡±


    ¡°But Ken¡ª¡±


    The pediatrician pushes his glasses up with his index finger, the nail trimmed short, because his retro-style frames are almost going to slide off his nose.


    ¡°¡­He is the person you are willing to sacrifice a loving family to get?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Influenced by his actions, Murata pushes up his glasses too, answering with a nod,


    ¡°That¡¯s right, no matter what I want a friend like that. Not the new Maou, I just want someone I can talk about everything with. I want a comrade I can trust my all in, I want a friend.¡±


    The Frenchman who never opened his heart out to others, and the poor girl who couldn¡¯t acknowledge her memories, spending all her days looking for the truth¡ªthat¡¯s the thing both of them could never get.


    ¡°I always wanted Shibuya Yuuri.¡±


    And now I got him.


    ¡°So right now I¡¯m extremely happy, y¡¯know!¡±


    No matter what I don¡¯t want to lose him, even if I have to make enemies of others.


    When he held his fist he used a bit of force, too. But those emotions quickly retreated into his body, and he acts cheerful as he continues,


    ¡°Besides, I think you may have misunderstood some things, so I¡¯ll explain it for you first, Doctor. Those people¡­ In other words, my parents, I believe they love me a lot, y¡¯know! It¡¯s just that there haven¡¯t been any problems in my growing up so far, so as parents they may seem a little callous. After all, I¡¯m a model student, so they really trust me. If I suddenly started selling ¡®legal¡¯ drugs on the street, they would definitely be shocked, and try to bring me back to the right path, even if it means giving up their jobs. But first my father would probably faint from the impact.¡±


    ¡°A model student suddenly starts selling drugs, that sort of life change is way too dramatic. Ow!¡±


    A young man brushes past them, his backpack knocking into Rodriguez¡¯s shoulder and causing him to stumble. Although Rodriguez is healthy, he¡¯s thin as a stick. Compared to the luggage of a frequent traveler, the luggage may actually be heavier than him.


    ¡°Although we¡¯re average citizens, you could say our travelling style is pretty high class.¡±


    Taken aback by Bob and Shouri¡¯s unexpected actions, they hadn¡¯t brought anything before running straight for the airport, so all the luggage they had at hand were their wallets and passports.


    Then they stuffed their wallets into the plastic bag they got with the tourist map at the nearby bookstore, while the green booklet went into their inner pockets. As for clothes to change into and other toiletries, they plan to buy these things once they got to their destination. Going on the road with what they had is definitely very light and easy, but no one would think that they were planning to go overseas like this. Thankfully, too, because this way they didn¡¯t need to fight with everyone else at the luggage retrieval area, and can quickly pass through the customs counter under the ¡®Welcome to Boston¡¯ sign.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that. Our destination¡ªFreeport is a city known as a commercial center, you could cover yourself from head to toe in branded clothes!¡±


    ¡°The one who needs a branded suit is you, right?¡±


    Murata scrutinizes his companion, whose crumpled jacket looks like something bought for cheap at a Japanese motel, an outfit that doesn¡¯t fit his status at all. Although he was a resident doctor, he¡¯s still an expert in pediatrics, so there should be a limit to how little he cares about his dressing, right? He could take this opportunity to prepare some clothes for himself¡ªclothes that would let him stand on the stage of an American national pediatrics conference.


    ¡°¡­Forget the commercial center for now, right now I¡¯ll be grateful to god as long as the place we¡¯re headed to isn¡¯t the Boston city center.¡±


    There are too many things in Boston that bring up memories of the past for him. The Graves family house is right there on Beacon Hill, and that shop in Chinatown should still be around.


    Of course those aren¡¯t parts of Murata¡¯s own past, but since something happened and he awakened, in the end they¡¯re no different from things that happened to him personally. If he could avoid them, that would be best.


    I wonder if a monologue like this could be overheard.


    On the other side, the group headed for Switzerland has encountered an inevitable situation.


    The headlights shine blindingly onto the surface of the water, the boat Shouri and the others are on is now surrounded by a group in green.


    They¡¯re all armed to the teeth. And even worse, all the guns are pointed at Shibuya Shouri & Bob et al. Putting aside from the squad waiting for their orders on the bank, there are at least twenty-over people just on the boats approaching them.


    ¡°Twenty-four Eyes[6]¡­ No, there are twenty-odd guns pointed at me.¡±


    ¡°Even I¡¯ve only ever had twenty guns pointed at me, huh¡ª¡±


    Bob, who is particularly reliable at times like this, is still in his warm-up exercises mode. He¡¯s doing the first move from radio aerobics, ¡®Stretch your arms forward, stretch your back upwards!¡¯ The way he has his arms raised up high is quite fitting for the moment.


    As for the remaining four, they all have their hands raised beside their faces. After all, having twenty-odd guns pointing at them, no matter how powerful a superhero would still have to give up protesting and put on a smile.


    ¡°But why must we accept the cops¡¯ ¡®concern¡¯, huh? Forget bringing the Box up, we haven¡¯t even dived in! Or is this place¡ªout of bounds for swimming?¡±


    If it¡¯s just to reprimand tourists for swimming against the rules, they¡¯re overreacting just a bit.


    Shouri is acting dumb, but hearing his words Abigail doesn¡¯t think much before replying with a ton of insider jargon,


    ¡°Really, Shouri, these people aren¡¯t cops, they¡¯re the army, you know! Look closely, they¡¯re not holding .38, but 9mm guns!¡±


    ¡°I still can¡¯t tell even if I look closely!¡±


    ¡°When you say that, it feels very ¡®as expected of a Japanese person¡¯.¡±


    Abigail¡¯s tone is very relaxed. Even though she acts nonchalant, but when she talks to Shouri, she switches to speaking in English, proving that the situation isn¡¯t as simple as she says it is. To Shouri, he simply can¡¯t tell the difference between the diameters of each gun. Not only that, in every three enemy soldiers, there¡¯s one holding something that looks like a machine gun.


    ¡°If it¡¯s the army then that¡¯s even more ridiculous, why would we be surrounded by the army? And more importantly, if we were hit by that kind of weapon would it ¡®hurt¡¯, ¡®hurt a little¡¯, or ¡®hurt so bad I want to die¡¯?¡±


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t hurt, you¡¯d die before you could feel pain.¡±


    Just as the self-proclaimed warrior protector of the people DTJ mutters that, the boat suddenly starts rocking violently. Turns out the soldiers surrounding them are yelling warnings as they board the boat, but Shouri can¡¯t understand what they¡¯re saying at all. What¡¯s the main language in Switzerland? Swiss?


    Abigail uses a bone-chilling expression, yelling back at them in a rude tone.


    ¡°G-Graves, there¡¯s no need to be so angry, it¡¯s best not to do anything rash at a time like this¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not angry! That¡¯s what retorting in German sounds like! But thank goodness, these people are Swiss soldiers¡ª¡±


    ¡°Why would you say so?¡±


    ¡°Although my great grandfather was German, the problem is he used to be a war criminal, and was forbidden from entering Germany.¡±


    ¡°What the hell did your great grandfather do!?¡±


    Abigail is yelling in German, Bob is speaking in fluent French, Francois is as composed and quiet as ever, while DTJ scolds *** and *** as he picks his nose.


    Shouri looks up into the sky, still dressed in his diving suit, waiting whole-heartedly for a young celebrity in a helmet to appear holding a sign that says ¡®You¡¯ve been pranked¡¯.


    The driver of the RANGE ROVER approaching them is almost forty years old. He¡¯s wearing a yellow cap over his curly brown hair, a large man in green camouflage clothing.


    Once he sees Murata and Rodriguez coming out of the arrival hall, he throws away the donut he was biting to raise his hand in salute. The driver is saluting? Murata finds this unbelievable, but Rodriguez seems very used to his actions, raising his right hand lightly to return the salute.


    ¡°Hi~ Matthew, long time no see. You¡¯re a bit different from usual¡ªDon¡¯t tell me now it¡¯s¡­ Sergeant?¡±


    ¡°Long time no see, Captain! Nah, about that¡ªOf course I would want to be a soldier of the Allied Forces forever, but that--- my son desperately says he wants to invade the Blue Planet¡ªOn the other hand, Captain, are you part of the Suit Squad now?¡±


    ¡°Mn, there are a lot of factors involved here. Oh, right, I bought some souvenirs in Tokyo, but since I didn¡¯t want to bring luggage, I had them mailed back home. Later I¡¯ll divide them amongst you.¡±


    ¡°It is our honor, Captain!¡±


    Compared to their honor, the driver¡¯s almost drooling at the idea of the souvenir¡¯s contents, even doing something an American taxi driver never would¡ªgetting out of the car and opening the door for us.


    ¡°Let me introduce you. Ken, this is Matthew Orson, a friend I¡¯ve known since the White Base period.¡±


    What on earth is the White Base period? Is it okay to think of it as something along the lines of the Cold War or Kamakura period¡­ Just as Murata is thinking that, a memory from his childhood when he was treated by Rodriguez awakens. In the beginning the pediatrician had asked,


    ¡°What MS do you like~?¡±


    ¡°¡­ So, could it be¡­ No, of course it is, the two of you are Gundam-related, right?¡±


    Rodriguez and Matthew Orson are all smiles, putting their arms over each other¡¯s shoulders,


    ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right. We are forever Gun-pals, right¡ª¡±


    But time will change a person.


    Influenced by his son, Matthew Orson has gotten interested in other anime, until even his rearview mirror has some green-colored ornament. Looks like he¡¯s really into frogs as well.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a man with long-lost flight genes in his blood over there, we¡¯re going to meet hi¡­s grandson, so we¡¯re asking Matthew for help. And he knows the person we¡¯re going to see, too¡ª¡±


    Apparently the special pilot of Bob Airlines is the grandson of the flight genius called DT. But a man with two strange titles like that, wouldn¡¯t he be about the same as Gundam otaku Orson? Forget it, if it was just driving in a city with normal traffic, they might as well grab one of the local high school students.


    Just as Murata looks out of the moving car window¡­


    ¡°Wait a sec!? That was an orange amphibious-looking car that just brushed past us, right!? Don¡¯t tell me Boston is where the army has drills in the middle of the city in broad daylight!?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡ªThat¡¯s nothing, just one segment of the novelty tour!¡±


    ¡°Novelty tour!? I thought it was some army vehicle.¡±


    The respect and surprise he feels chases away Murata¡¯s tension all at once. He relaxes his shoulders, slumping into his seat like a rain-drenched ragdoll. Maybe it¡¯s because the car interior is really warm, so the sleep bug takes over him instantly, after all he didn¡¯t sleep much on the plane.


    ¡°¡­Speaking of the army¡­¡±


    His expression naturally relaxes.


    ¡°The other group, is probably already being surrounded by the Swiss and German Special Forces as we speak.¡±


    ¡°Special Forces!?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, even if they didn¡¯t bring out the Special Forces, the division in charge of investigating the X-Files is indeed monitoring them.¡±


    ¡°How did it get so big?¡±


    ¡°Because the information leaked out, of course. It¡¯s already reached Confoederatio Helvetica, in other words the Swiss federal authorities.


    Even Murata himself was always thinking, which division do they mean by ¡®authorities¡¯? But after coming face to face with them, he¡¯s starting to slowly understand.


    ¡°The rookie researchers in Germany heave heard of it too. It was during World War II, an OOPArt[7] the Nazis were desperately searching for showed up in Bodensee Lake¡­¡±


    Murata tries his hardest to suppress the laughter bubbling up.


    ¡°Rumors online even said that the thing has a really long tailfin. I¡¯m guessing in a few weeks, there will be rumors of a red-eyed Bossie that shows up at night or a Boden water-man that leave behind huge footprints.¡±


    ¡°How scary!¡±


    ¡°To distract the enemy attention, this can¡¯t he helped. If everyone were focused on the ¡®Mirror¡¯s Depth¡¯ in ¡®Bodensee Lake¡¯, there will be fewer people obstructing us here.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    The pediatrician who was once this high school¡¯s psychological counselor a long time ago, starts pulling at the hair he tied behind his head. Since he¡¯s a perpetual optimist, it was very rare to see him with such an obvious expression of uneasiness. Like Murata, he seems unwilling to fight on the offensive.


    ¡°If the relevant authorities found out, they would definitely sent an expert in to interrupt. Then wouldn¡¯t Shibuya JUNIOR and Abigail be the only ones in hot water? If one of the sides actually does bring ¡®Mirror¡¯s Depth¡¯ out of the water¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s not there.¡±


    Since he didn¡¯t get any reaction, he repeats the same words. Finally he sees infinite laughlines extend in all directions behind those outdated frames, and those long, narrow eyes turn wide.


    ¡°You¡¯re saying¡­ the Box isn¡¯t there?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Not in the lake?¡±


    ¡°Yup!¡±


    ¡°But, back then the one who said the Box had sunk into the lake, was you¡­¡±


    ¡°I said that, yes.¡±


    Murata can¡¯t help but smile wickedly at his companion opposite him, eyes wide and mouth hanging.


    ¡°I said that, I did indeed say that. The Box¡­ ¡®Mirror¡¯s Depth¡¯ has sunk to the depths of the water where no one can reach it, and I was the one who personally sunk it. Technically the person who did it wasn¡¯t me, but that French doctor who could not trust anyone. However, the place isn¡¯t the lake.¡±


    With his mouth wide open, Rodriguez points at Murata with his fingers, so surprised he can¡¯t even ask. No wonder, because no one knew about this somewhat upsetting truth until now, the person involved and Murata, who inherited his soul, never leaked it out.


    ¡°Instead it¡¯s in the bottom of the sea, we just passed over it, too!¡±


    ¡°You say we just passed it, don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s in the Pacific Ocean--!?¡±


    ¡°Mn, I don¡¯t remember the exact location either. After all, to him, that was something unexpected.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t really understand, Ken! Can you explain it to me step-by-step, slowly? Ah, you can ignore Matthew, don¡¯t worry about him. Matthew, this conversation is top secret, if the news got out we will lose the war! Alright, Ken, it¡¯s fine now!¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    Murata imitates his protector from before he was born, dragging out his reply, ¡°Understood¡ª¡± Then he crosses his arms in front of his chest, his entire back pressed against the seat, so he can feel the tremor of the car better.


    ¡°The ancestor of my soul¡­ To save time, I¡¯ll call him that. After all, it¡¯s annoying to count how many generations ago it was. Anyway it¡¯s someone whose fragments remain my records, from a long~ time ago.¡±


    He purposely chose the term ¡®records¡¯, though he isn¡¯t sure if the other person noticed.


    ¡°Putting aside whether or not he¡¯s the first generation, in any case I¡¯m talking about that person whose hair was so long it got annoying, the person people call the sage, have you heard that he took two of the four Boxes¡­ and flew over to Earth with them under his armpits?¡±


    ¡°I-I heard of it.¡±


    ¡°After that my ancestors repeatedly missed the location of the Box because they were born in the wrong place, or horrible environments kept them unaware of their true identities, so they refused to admit that they brought something here no matter what. But there are still some excellent ancestors who understood everything, and watched the Boxes closely.¡±


    ¡°Just like you?¡±


    ¡°Ah, ha! Just saying, no matter how you praise me, I can¡¯t return the favor, y¡¯know. As you can see, I¡¯m only carrying a plastic bag and my passport. But you can¡¯t really blame that Frenchman, Henry Regent, all I can say is he was unlucky, and couldn¡¯t locate both Boxes, that¡¯s why¡­ And this is just a guess, when Abby¡¯s great-grandmother¡¯s grandmother¡­ Confusing, right? Anyway, it was the treasure hunter Hazel Graves that miraculously got both Boxes. One of them, ¡®Mirror¡¯s Depth¡¯, was found in West Asia and then entrusted to an art gallery in Australia, but then a dictator heard of it and intercepted it. However, all these are just deductions, okay?¡±


    The pediatrician¡¯s round eyes went back to their normal size, looks like he¡¯s finally regained his composure.


    ¡°Mn, about Abby¡¯s great-grandmother, right? In other words, the founder of the museum, April Graves recovered the ¡®Mirror¡¯s Depth¡¯ that she heard about from Bob¡­ it should be the Box called ¡®Mirror¡¯s Depth¡¯, and then she sank it into Bodensee to prevent it from being used on the battlefield, right? The ones helping her then were her partner-- the flight genius and her husband. The last-last-owner of my soul, Henry Regent tagged along. But Regent didn¡¯t trust.¡±


    ¡°¡­Didn¡¯t trust who?¡±


    ¡°Rather than saying he didn¡¯t trust ¡®who¡¯, it¡¯s better to say he didn¡¯t trust everything. I only dare to say this as his descendant, but he was a very pitiful person, afraid to trust anyone, suspicious of anything and everything. Although it was a bad trait to have, in a way he was a victim too. Honestly, I feel this system is very cruel, and the person who thought it up is a bastard with no blood and tears.¡±


    Rodriguez wanted to say ¡®I know who that person is¡¯, but he doesn¡¯t in the end. Talking about who the founder of Shin Makoku is while on Earth is completely meaningless.


    ¡°Regent carried too many memories on his shoulders, but he didn¡¯t dare to tell family or friends about it, so he was always alone. On the surface he has the glorious title of a doctor, and is friendly to everyone, but inside he¡¯s always been lonely and scared. He even wondered, does he have psychological problems? Why must he protect the Boxes? What should he do? How should he find ridiculous Boxes he can¡¯t even be sure exist? And he has to protect them from falling into others¡¯ hands? Besides, is any of this real? These should be the common symptoms of someone with mental problems. And the past memories, personalities, history, the Boxes and all that, could very likely be a country of imagination that he made up on his own. Of course he would be troubled, because I was too, and I started when I was three!¡±


    ¡°Ken matured so young¡ª¡±


    ¡°Mn, but when I was four or five, Shibuya and you, doctor, showed up in front of me, so I had no time to trouble over whether I was lucky or unlucky.¡±


    Besides, all those different examples were prepared long before he was born as Murata Ken. Examples of those who were troubled, those who weren¡¯t troubled, those who lost their minds and sank into insanity from their suspicions before they could be troubled. Should they tell everyone around them, or make up something and forget about it? Should they accept this burden and live on? Or reject it, seal it somewhere deep in their memories, and try to forget about this unhappy ending? Regent only remembered half of the past, but Murata got every single record, unaltered and unabridged.


    Which part of which life to use, which person he should imitate to live happily, the answers left by his ancestors carry infinite possibilities.


    ¡°If Regent could have known Bob, maybe his life would have been a bit easier. But that doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯re the same type of person. After all they originated from different places, and he never opened out his heart to anyone. You can see that Henry Regent had no friends. He was different from me, he didn¡¯t know how to find the heart of the problem.¡±


    The pediatrician asks carefully,


    ¡°So Regent didn¡¯t trust anything¡­ Since he didn¡¯t trust anything, what did he do?¡±


    ¡°He took the Box away.¡±


    Even if it¡¯s said in English, it can¡¯t become a cold joke. Murata smiles bitterly, raising his chin high to ease the pressure on the back of his head,


    ¡°At the end of World War II, he brought the Box that was once at the bottom of the lake up again and took it away. Just because he couldn¡¯t trust, not that he didn¡¯t trust April and her husband, but he felt that it was impossible the army would never find the Box. He didn¡¯t trust that anything in life could go so well.¡±


    ¡°They went through so much to hide it, and he actually brought it back up again¡­ But you say he took away the Box, yet there can¡¯t be a lot of places to hide it without drawing attention, right? Where on earth did he keep it?¡±


    ¡°Hm, I can¡¯t say either. Sinking it into the sea may have been his initial plan, or it could have been an unexpected accident. Or maybe he intended to keep it by his side the whole time, and keep an eye on it while at sea.¡±


    ¡°Ah~ You¡¯re right. If it was kept in the cabin as a ship doctor¡¯s personal belongings, it would be harder to find than leaving it on land. Plus he travelled a lot, I see¡ª¡±


    Jose Rodriguez mumbles to himself while holding up his glasses, using those fingers with joints as obvious as sticks to rub his eyelids. There¡¯s weariness in the corners of his eyes, a bit out of place with his usual cheerful Mexican image.


    ¡°In the end, it still sank into the bottom of the sea.¡±


    ¡°Rather than saying it sank, it¡¯d be more accurate to say it ¡®was sunk¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°The civilian boat he boarded as a ship doctor, was accidentally bombed one of their own.¡±


    Rodriguez doesn¡¯t say anything after an ¡°Ah¡­¡±, closing his eyes tightly and resting his head on the back of the seat. His ten fingers are interlinked and resting on his stomach, his lips slanting in grief, as though the one who died in that explosion was his own friend.


    Once the conversation dies down, it suddenly becomes silent in the car. Maybe because he can¡¯t stand the wordless atmosphere, Matthew Orson in the driver¡¯s seat turns on the radio. A cacophony of music erupts from the speakers, singing of despair towards the world in fluent English.


    Just like he did a long time ago, the doctor puts his hand on the knee of his young counseling patient, using those fingers with joints as obvious as sticks to rub his eyes.


    ¡°You remembered the memories from that moment, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    The eyelids over his eyes can¡¯t stop trembling.


    ¡°It¡¯s inside you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    With that short answer, Murata¡¯s gaze drifts out of the window. All the trees are dressed in green, all he sees is beautiful scenery. Inside his heart he thinks, no matter what, before he could tell if this was the city, the cars had already crossed the state border on the high-speed freeway. The scenery he¡¯s looking at is no longer Boston.


    ¡°Say it. Ken, tell me about it.¡±


    ¡°That feeling is very strange, really hard to describe with words.¡±


    ¡°But I still want to hear you talk about it.¡±


    ¡°It feels very calm.¡±


    He tries to bring out those memories, and it¡¯s as though something bright and colorful appears in front of his eyes, quietly, with a larger emphasis on the color blue, a beautiful image like a kaleidoscope.


    ¡°His body was facing upwards, looking up to see the sky fall down on him. But he wasn¡¯t in the sky, instead he was in the sea, so he was looking at the sky through the seawater. It could have been daytime then, the seawater was bright and blue, sparkling even, he was sinking down as he looked up at the seawater. Not a shred of pain, or anything like sorrow, because he didn¡¯t have family that would grieve for him.


    He knows in that moment, many people died. He experienced examples of streams of thought interrupted by explosions, and then the world turning suddenly black in front of his eyes. There were also times it was like a child¡¯s dream, and he kept seeing things that were impossible in real life. But Regent¡¯s end was especially quiet, probably only the bottom of the sea can bring that absolute a silence.


    ¡°He looked up, and quite a few people were falling with him. Although they were falling continuously, they fell slowly, their limbs still moving gracefully. There probably wouldn¡¯t be a term like this back then, but it looked like they were walking in space. The women¡¯s hair floated in the waves like seaweed, sometimes becoming red or orange fireworks. But that was on the other end of the screen of water, so the pictures were blurred and soft, and felt very beautiful. This feeling is very strange, not upsetting or painful, just slowly sinking into the clear, bright depths of the water.¡±


    With that, Murata sighs deeply.


    ¡°After that he should have died, that must be it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for telling me. Sorry, forcing you to remember those things, it must really hurt, huh?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt at all, but it feels so strange¡­ What do you think, doctor, is it worth referencing in your medical studies?¡±


    ¡°Even if I wanted to use it as a reference, your story won¡¯t work on anyone other than yourself.¡±


    Rodriguez takes his hand off Murata¡¯s knee, looking into his face,


    ¡°Besides, Ken isn¡¯t sick, so I never used your condition as a part of my medical studies.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    Murata interlinks his fingers and puts them behind his head, then stretches his spine hard. His gaze moves from the ceiling to the front seat, then to his feet. The Orson boy must have ridden this sort of car before, right? It¡¯s not too clean inside, and there¡¯s even a donut paper bag scrunched into a ball in the corner.


    Outside the car is even a cute pink and light green combination that kids should like.


    Most people think that kids like pink and light green. Most adults think that kids never grow up.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I never thought you were sick from the very start. Back then you were just a kid who couldn¡¯t pronounce properly, but when you saw my nameplate you suddenly called me Josie, y¡¯know. Meaning you knew your ABCs¡ª¡±


    Distracted, Murata thinks, ¡°Why are my glasses fogging up suddenly¡±, but no matter how he rubs with his fingers he can¡¯t rub it away, so he quickly gets back to the main point.


    ¡°¡­¡¯Mirror¡¯s Depth¡¯ should be lying somewhere deep within the Pacific Ocean, together with the body of Henry Regent. It should be impossible to bring it up again.¡±


    ¡°In that case, it is rather more comforting to know it¡¯s in there.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. As long as a marine expert doesn¡¯t use deep-sea radars to look for sunken treasure, there won¡¯t be a problem.¡±


    ¡°That way, the heir of the elite treasure hunters¡ªAbigail Graves won¡¯t find anything in Bodensee Lake no matter how she dives¡­ On the contrary, I kinda feel bad for Bob and the others.¡±


    ¡°If they want to look for it, let them look for it.¡±


    The pediatrician narrows his eyes, staring at him intently.


    ¡°Why, doctor, are you unhappy about something?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not unhappy, I¡¯m just wondering how you became so crafty¡ª¡±


    ¡°I would rather prefer it if you said I¡¯m someone who shouldn¡¯t be messed with.¡±


    Murata smiles brightly, as though saying ¡®no such thing, I¡¯m a model student, you know¡¯. Even if he purposely tries to act more decent, his cover has been blown from the start.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m saying, the problem we have now is the other Box, ¡®Inferno on the Tundra¡¯.¡±


    ¡°But that one¡ª¡±


    As usual, Rodriguez drags out his last syllable when asking.


    ¡°¡ªwas under Hazel¡¯s care, and eventually burned down together with the house for some reason, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what it looks like on the surface, but it¡¯s full of mystery."


    Back then Hazel Graves was getting ready to renovate the house she just got into a gallery of her collection. She even personally brought in a few of the most precious items, things even her family rarely got to see.


    And ¡®that¡¯ was one of them¡ªthe Box identified as ¡®Inferno on the Tundra¡¯.


    She gave the other Box she found¡ª¡®Mirror¡¯s Depth¡¯ to the art salesman in Australia for safekeeping, while keeping ¡®Inferno on the Tundra¡¯ by her side.


    That fire that attacked the Graves house burnt even the pillars down to the ground, until all that was left was coal and ash. The assumption was that she died in the fire as well, but there was no body in her coffin. Back then the people who attended the funeral, who grieved and wept for Hazel Graves, didn¡¯t know that in the coffin covered with flowers and soil, there was only her clothes and personal items.


    ¡°¡­But I suspect she went there.¡±


    ¡°Went where?¡±


    ¡°There.¡±


    Rodriguez doesn¡¯t ask where ¡®there¡¯ is. He¡¯s a mazoku born and bred on Earth, so even if someone told him there¡¯s a world completely different to this one, he can¡¯t quite imagine what kind of a place that is. But he can understand the existence of ¡®that world¡¯, and he can accept it.


    ¡°So this can explain it?¡±


    ¡°To be precise, there is no other way to explain it.¡±


    The crime scene investigators in 1903 couldn¡¯t come to the truth. Their conclusion was the heat was so extreme it destroyed everything, from the building to the items in the house to the body¡ªThat was the explanation the police and fire brigade gave her family.


    ¡°That explanation can¡¯t convince me. After all, that wasn¡¯t a drug factory or a petrol station, just a normal civilian house, so no matter how high the heat, there should be some flesh or bone left. If there was an explosion then that would be another matter altogether, but a normal fire wouldn¡¯t make someone vanish without a trace.¡±


    ¡°Well, about that¡­ The incident happened over seventy years ago~~¡±


    ¡°However, if Hazel flew over to that world with the Box, everything can be explained. Once things transcend science, reality can never catch up.¡±


    He tries to use the tips of his toes to kicks aside the donut bag, and the paper bounces off under the front seat, vanishing. But this only means it¡¯s vanished from his sight, and even if he can¡¯t see it, it¡¯s still right there, hiding in a dark place under the seat. Matter doesn¡¯t just suddenly disappear.


    ¡°¡­Anyway, let¡¯s meet Mr Hobart first.¡±


    Rodriguez nods lightly to approve Murata¡¯s words, their conversation ending with that. Only the radio keeps repeating passionate words. Soon, though, Rodriguez still can¡¯t help but say,


    ¡°B-but¡­ You said it¡¯s not there, so the Box isn¡¯t in Switzerland!?¡±


    The pediatrician presses his hand to his chest, his brow furrowed as he laughs,


    ¡°In that case, why did Ken purposely act so nervous in front of Bob!? You had him hook, line and sinker¡­ I can¡¯t believe you actually acted all this out, what a naughty boy you are¡ª¡±


    The pediatrician brings up the incident at the KTV.


    Calling him ¡®a naughty boy¡¯ isn¡¯t just rude, it obviously means he treats him as a child. But affected by the mood, Murata raps the car window glass with his fist and laughs,


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t acting. That wasn¡¯t acting, I wasn¡¯t in the mood, either, I really panicked. Because Shibuya disappeared, and without a trace. This was my first time feeling so panicked since kindergarten.¡±


    ¡°Panic? You, panicked?¡±


    ¡°When you ask that and sound so surprised, it¡¯s like you¡¯re saying I don¡¯t have emotions.¡±


    ¡°Nah, that¡¯s not what I meant.¡±


    The doctor¡¯s smile suddenly disappears, and he says, completely seriously,


    ¡°I¡¯m really worried.¡±


    ¡°Mn¡ªBecause Shibuya always does things so rashly.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about Shibuya, I¡¯m talking about you.¡±


    His expression is that of a mother who just got interested in parenting, yet has to send her kid to kindergarten. Worried for him, reluctant to leave him, and yet confident that he can pass this test.


    Murata can¡¯t help but avert his gaze, looking at the car ceiling and sighing deeply. Then he relaxes his body, tilting his head towards the window glass.


    ¡°If you¡¯re not hungry then take a nap! We¡¯ll be spending close to two hours in the car, anyway.¡±


    ¡°You want me to take a nap in this car with the god awful music?¡±


    ¡°Mn, I¡¯ll call you once we reach Freeport.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll never get to sleep.¡±


    But it seems there was nothing to worry about.


    In a few minutes, he descends into a deep slumber. The young singer continues to vent his emotions, singing of despair towards this world.

 Volume 13 - CH 3

    Many pebbles kept falling, they hit my forehead and it hurt.


    I covered my head with both my arms and got down. I pressed my forehead against the ground, my pose was as if I was prostrating. I don''t know for whom or for what.


    I stayed like that for less than three seconds.


    While talking about being assertive, even before three seconds passed after receiving the wound on my cheek, unable to bear the fear I got down on the ground. Something unknown was coming to attack, it could have been a bird, it could have been a bat, or something even more dangerous, it could have been a ferocious animal. Even so I can''t confirm it myself. Even though both my eyes are wide open, darkness is the only thing that is spreading in front of my eyes. I don''t even know their number or whether they''ll attack from the front or from the side. If I were to put it bluntly, I couldn''t even confirm whether it existed in reality or not.


    The darkness was increasing my fear.


    Losing to my fear I got down on the ground and wanted to let the attacking creature get past. The trembling didn''t subside. If I wasn''t dehydrated I could have even shed tears and would have been crying in a loud voice.


    I waited for a long time. But nothing happened.


    Although in reality it could have been just a few minutes, but to me it felt as if I was waiting forever. But even without the wind grazing my cheek or any pain, there wasn''t even any flapping sound in my ears. Nothing happened.


    I fearfully resumed my breathing, let go of the fingers holding my head and raised my face up.


    "Cre..."


    Being completely thirsty, if I don''t squeeze out my voice I can''t talk.


    "Yuuri"


    Saralegui who seemed to have been near the wall came closer.


    Along with the footsteps firmly stepping on the pebbles, I can feel the warmth floating in the air. He squatted down in front of me and before asking me if I was alright, he touched my cheek with his left hand. His fingertips were moist and cold, it smelled like damp soil.


    "You''re bleeding."


    After that he brought his face very close to me. When I thought that his nose hit my cheek, he stroked my wound with something warm. With that peculiarly wet sensation, I understood that he had licked me.


    "Does it hurt?"


    "No."


    "I see, that''s good."


    It was not at all good for me.


    I had indeed lost my eyesight, but my hearing and sense of smell were supposed to be normal. I still have ears and a nose. I can still pick up heat and other signs.


    Even so other than the first hit, I couldn''t feel anything. There''s not even the smell or any signs of the beast around. There are no traces left of it.


    "Was it a bird?"


    "Who knows. To be honest... I only saw it for a fraction of a second and then ended up closing my eyes. It will be troublesome if they peck me and I lose my eyesight."


    When I repeated lose your eyesight eh, Saralegui behaved a little like a spoiled child.


    "But it went away. It''s alright now, Yuuri."


    "But."


    After asking ''really!?'' I looked around my own knees. Of course I can''t see anything even if I turn around my head. However, at the same time there isn''t any scent nor any feathers left around. I spread out my fingers and stroked around on the ground, the only thing that hits my palm are many small stones. I couldn''t find a single feather of the animal that doesn''t move in a flock.


    "How can that be, this is strange."


    I even touched my right cheek where it was bleeding. The wound that has not closed up hurt a little.


    "Strange? What''s the matter?"


    "Except for this location..."


    "It avoided you and went past you from both the sides."


    "That can''t be, it didn''t even make any flapping sound, I didn''t even feel any wind. It would even give off some smell right? Since it''s an animal after all! But I didn''t feel anything. It just hit me at first, and then there was nothing."


    "Isn''t that because you bent down?"


    "How could that be!"


    As a habit from when I could see, I opened up both my hands in front of my face, I searched if there was even a single feather wrapped around my fingers. Of course it was useless.


    "I know that I''m hanging my head down. Fearing, prostrating in front of an animal who can''t even understand, if a flock of birds pass through such a narrow passageway I would know, I would know! Since I still have my ears and nose! Don''t I!?"


    "That''s right normally."


    "Then why..."


    Since an unnatural amount of time passed before he replied, he stood up and most probably while looking down at me said.


    "Because you''re not in your right mind right now."


    I heard his words as if it was a sentence being passes on a criminal.


    "Although it goes without saying that you were hurt, you''ve lost your sanity due to exhaustion and agitation. It''s only natural, on top of being tired from walking throughout, there''s no water or food either. Being faced with the tragedy of losing a comrade. In such an extreme situation, even if it was me, it would be difficult to stay normal. That''s why without even recovering your eyesight, your other senses have become unreliable. Even though so many creatures went past your side, you say that you didn''t notice it at all. Yuuri, you are tired. Blaming and cornering yourself."


    Saralegui placed his hand on my head, and with his slim fingers brushed through my hair. This posture is exactly like a lamb asking for God''s forgiveness.


    "There''s no need to blame yourself for such a man."


    "Are you saying that... I''m going insane."


    "I didn''t say that. Just that, you are losing your sanity a bit."


    "It''s the same."


    Something has gone insane. Something.


    Just one word was going round in my brain. I''m feeling dizzy. As if on the verge of collapsing from a heat stroke, my body trembled. An unbearable pain came from within my skull as if something had hit me, from the head it went to my neck and down my back.


    I''m going crazy, I''m not sane. Definitely something has happened. If not then there''s no way I wouldn''t sense what happened just. Encountering a swam of animals coming at high speed, there''s no way that there wouldn''t be any injuries.


    If it really happened.


    Unable to straighten my body, my trembling increases rapidly and when I noticed it I had fallen on the hard ground. I had collapsed sideways with on my left arm, unable to move like that I stayed still. My eyes are open. Both of them wide open. But nothing reflected in them.


    "Yuuri."


    Slowly pulling my knees near my stomach, rounding my back, I tried to become smaller. I tried to expose as little as possible to this world.


    "I understand what you''re thinking about."


    The voice directly falls on my ears. Sara bent his body as if he was covering me and sat on the passageway made up of a mixture of mud and stones. His knees are touching the nape on my neck. Without even getting tired of it he played around with my hair and pushed the remaining that was on my cheek to the back of my ear. As if he was always doing it. His gesture of scooping out the blonde that''s close to white with his slender fingers and gently putting it behind his ears looked very elegant.


    "You''re think that it would be nice if everything was a dream."


    Instead of going through my eardrums, those words directly soak into my brain.


    "You''re thinking that it would be nice if everything was just a dream...even leaving the country, even to have meeting me in Shou Shimaron, even coming to Seisakoku with me, you''re thinking that it would be nice if it was a dream. Even being separated from Lord Weller, even that guard dying, you''re thinking that it would be better if everything was just a dream, right? You''re still in your home town, within your warm bed, nothing misfortunate has happened. You''re just having a bad dream, a nightmare. However, no matter how sad the dream is, it''s nothing more than a dream. Someone sleeping next to you will shake your shoulder and wake you up."


    Someone will shake my shoulder.


    They will wake me up.


    "All this is just a nasty nightmare you''re having at dawn. Isn''t that right?"


    All this is just something I''m seeing at dawn.


    "If you''re thinking of that, then it''s fine to consider it a dream."


    A nasty dream.


    "You can stay with me till someone wakes you up."


    Someone.


    ...cha... n, Ken...chan.


    "Ken-chan!"


    "Aa, uwa, what? Am I late!?"


    The one who was calling was Rodriguez. Murata jumped up completely astonished. Maybe the air conditioning was too strong, there''s sweat at the back of his shirt. His pulse fastened and it was hard to breathe. As if he was just sprinting with all his might.


    "You scared me, I thought someone was calling me in my dream."


    "I''m the one whose surprised. I thought you were having a nightmare since you suddenly got up and screamed something like being late. Did you have a dream about your school?"


    "No, that''s not it... ah."


    What was outside the window was a spectacle a hundred and eighty degrees different from Boston. The red cobblestone townscape was beautiful, even though it''s new it made him feel nostalgic. There were no high-rise buildings nearby, the town was surrounded by greenery. It had the impression of a resort.


    "Huh? Where is this?"


    "It''s Boston. It''s the Freeport of Maine. We just passed by President Papa''s[1] summer house."


    "It''s too far to see anything anyways."


    "Maybe."


    On a plot deep within a wide lawn, there was a white and red building. The roof is in a lower position than the forest behind it. Just from being named port, the smell of salt sometimes mixes in the wind.


    "Since the work finishes at 5 o'' clock, the meeting place with them is here."


    "The cafe here has a reputation for being delicious!"


    Olsen, who got down earlier said that with pride. Even Murata got out of the car and stretched his back. All the muscles throughout his body had been coagulated, made a sound that even others could hear as the loosened up.


    The man who had promised to meet them, will he really bring "that" along.


    The ashes or possible the pieces.


    An old record plays classical music on a vintage radio, a the music is as if a soprano singer is singing a soprano, it''s flowing somewhere into a distance. If the events until now were my dream and this music is reality, I wonder if it''s a makeshift alarm clock.


    Someone is singing. In my head, someone.


    That person is looking at the sky, the clear daytime sky. However in the heavens which were supposed to be a deep sea blue with pure white clouds, without even an ounce of white or blue, there''s only a curtain is spreading. I understood. That was the color of splashing waves mixing with the sea water I saw when I went to the open seas in the southern seas.


    That was the color of the sea and waves mixing. I raise my voice so that I could tell her.


    She answered ''Is that so?''. But I can''t see her. Although I''m hearing with my own ears and seeing with my own eyes, at the same time they are her ears and eyes.


    She says is that so? I didn''t know, since I''ve never seen it. But this is the color of my sky. There''s a slightly different color at the center, right? That''s the sun. It''s most probably pure white. That''s what I call white. And look at that.


    I turn my neck as told. Half of my field of vision became extremely grey. It moves along with the wind that''s hitting my cheek. I got it, it''s a tree right?


    She laughs. She clapped her hands saying you can be very happy, that''s right! There''s a tree over there. It''s been there for nearly a hundred years now. Light is fluttering from within the leaves, right? To me the tree is this color. Even though everyone says that it''s green. Spring has the smell of flowers, summer smells like life. Autumn smells like withering death. Winter has the smell of sleep.


    Smell of sleep? I ask while tucking both my hands in my pocket. Everything gets hazy, I can''t see anything clearly. But I''m not anxious. I wonder why.


    She laughs again. You won''t understand that unless you sleep. But I''ll tell you one thing. If you don''t know the smell of sleep that means that you''re not sleeping.


    You''re not dreaming.


    ...not dreaming.


    I''m not dreaming.


    "This is reality."


    I can feel a burning pain in my chest, with the left hand that had been pinned down below my body, I grabbed on to the cause. The demon stone that Hazel had returned had become hot, much more than my body temperature. On the other hand the gorgeous ring that was stuck to my pinky finger was becoming as cold as if it was freezing.


    Since I took my hand out, my body inclined, I ended up being in the position that almost looked like I was in Saralegui''s lap looking above. Although the ceiling of the underground passageway was pitch black just like the path ahead or the one we came from, if I watch carefully I noticed the irregularity in color.


    Among the black that spreads all around, the direction my right hand was pointing at became lighter little by little. I follow the changes my turning my neck, the black slightly turned into grey, and in the grey there''s a spot that turns close to white.


    "Over there..."


    There''s the sun.


    Although I tried to say that, it''s too dry that it couldn''t turn into words.


    "Yuuri?"


    I must go. Even this couldn''t turn into words. That''s why I kept quiet and with the help of my elbow raised the upper half of my body and bending my both my knees I leaned sideways. Although I was finally able to stand, my feet staggered and I was in no condition to keep my body upright. As if I hadn''t moved for many hours, I felt as if I had become a horse who had forgotten how to walk.


    Even so, I somehow searched for the wall with my right hand and started walking towards the white spot overhead.


    "Are you still going to walk? Can you walk?"


    After coughing many times, I was finally able to let out a hoarse voice.


    "I can''t just keep sleeping, I must get out of here. E... even you."


    Since I forced myself to speak, a pain ran down my throat as if it would crack.


    "You won''t be able to walk if you carry me."


    Due to my sharpened senses my ears definitely heard the sound of Saralegui being amazed and cooing. From that moment on, his tone was mixed with dissatisfaction and pride, his friendly tone disappeared.


    "You''re a troublesome guy."


    "...what did you say?"


    "Although I was waiting for you to be unable to move, you just don''t collapse. Do you plan to walk on your willpower or are you planning to proceed crawling"


    Along with the sound of rustling of clothes, a faint smell of sweat reached me. He even sweats... I think vaguely. As if it doesn''t suit him. Speaking of which, he''s talking right now. From that delicate and gentle look, I can''t believe such words are coming out of those lips that look like petals that are just about to open.


    "The moment that man died, I thought it would go well, that I could finally corner you. Even so you tenaciously stand up. You won''t become hopeless."


    "...not that...easily."


    "But he died. Because of you."


    That''s right, it was my fault.


    "And to my convenience you even lost your eyesight. To have come this far any person would have become weak, even though I thought this time for sure. You''re still going to try your best. Wow, I see, you''re splendid Yuuri. You don''t try to rely on me at all."


    "Rely."


    I rest my right shoulder on the rocks that were protruding from the wall. I can no longer stand properly on my own. If I advance, I''ll be slower than a turtle. I''m dehydrated, I vomit, collapse, I even saw an hallucination. My hands and legs are trembling, I can''t even speak properly. Even my ability to think properly and even my eyesight won''t return.


    I lost Josak.


    Can anything be more misfortunate that that? How much more miserable does he want to see me.


    Even so he spoke.


    "You won''t break. You really possess a splendid and troublesome mind."


    "If I did..."


    A splendid heart? What will happen if I did possess something so fine? Would I be able to escape from here in one shot. Or if I could manipulate time with these hands, would I be able to rewind the time till before I made that mistake.


    But what is the reality. Speaking of what I can do, I can talk, cough, take a breadth, and repeat all of that.


    Indeed maybe even Saralegui noticed that part, he said in a sympathetic tone.


    "Looks like your body is at its limit. And that is right Yuuri, how long do you think you haven''t drunk anything? Although you might not know for how many days, but you haven''t put anything in your mouth for five days."


    "It''s the same for you."


    "You thought it was the same for me?"


    I wonder what''s so funny, the young king of Shou Shimaron held his body and laughed.


    "You think I''m the same?"


    Maybe the hair he had tied became undone, it vertically cuts through the air. He grabbed my wrist, opened my palm and dropped a small quantity of something at the center. When it touches the skin it spreads sideways, it''s something that doesn''t have any shape. Although I curl my fingers in order to grasp it, the only thing that remains on my palm is a moist wet veil.


    ...it''s wet?


    "...water?"


    "That''s right, although it''s mixed with soil."


    Although I hurriedly brought it to my mouth, when I tried to sip there was only little mud left in my hands. With the face of a fool who dirtied his chin, I draw myself closer to Saralegui. Desire must have been sparkling in my eyes which could not see.


    "Wh..why do have water?"


    "Calm down Yuuri. You''re dirty."


    He wiped my lips with his thumb. The moment I realized his body is getting closer, even without an impulse to stop myself, I grabbed on to Saralegui. It''s no good, I shouldn''t do such a thing! To attack someone for water is not something a human would do. Isn''t it on par with an animal. Even if I scream inside my head, I could not control my instinct with rationality.


    "Oops."


    However someone who can see can easily evade the hands of someone who can''t see. He flipped a pebble and jumped back, I stumbled and hit against the wall.


    "You couldn''t see and were having nightmares. I went to drink water quite a number of times but you didn''t notice it"


    "...How can that be... there wasn''t any sound of a river at all."


    "That''s because it''s not flowing. At times there were traces of wells contaminated by red soil at the corners of the path. Your ears couldn''t hear it, your nose couldn''t smell anything other than the damp soil"


    "Give it to me!"


    Although I spread out my hands relying on the voice without learning from my experience, I can''t get a hold of him impatiently trying to sense his accurate position. My hands just cut through the air in vain.


    "Give me dammit! It should be fine if you share a little right!?"


    "Share? I see."


    Saralegui said.


    "Although having collapsed, if you would rely on me, cling onto me then I thought I would help you, but when it comes to you no matter how long I wait for you just won''t behave in that manner. It can''t be helped, Yuuri. I''ll share the water with you."


    His voice is as beautiful as always.


    "It''s no fun if you die."


    Carelessly declaring that, he placed his finger on my chin.


    "Open your mouth."


    The water mixed with mud was poured, from my tongue to my throat, the moisture slowly penetrates. Although it''s lukewarm, it''s still cold enough.


    "You want more?"


    It''s not enough. Not enough at all.


    "This is, too little..."


    "You''re being greedy, Yuuri."


    I caught his shoulder and tried to jolt it but failed. Unable to support my body after leaving the wall, I took to my knees as if dragging just like that. I held onto to his waist, I rubbed my face against his stomach. And slowly shook my head.


    "It''s not enough."


    "It''s alright, I''ll give you more. Well then, let''s do this, if you can give the correct answer to my question, I''ll let you drink as much as you like."


    "Why won''t you give it to me immediately, why won''t you give it to me immediately? If there is more then... more..."


    In order to make me silent, he placed his hand on my mouth. The tips of his fingers were wet. I even licked them. If it''s water then anything is fine.


    "Listen, I have an interesting story. Long ago, here in Seisakoku a woman gave birth to twins. It''s nothing special since there are a lot of twins among Shinzoku. What was different than the rest was that her husband was an injured soldier, a stranger who had drifted from the mainland"


    "What''s with you, you can hear that anywhere. More importantly"


    I grabbed Saralegui''s clothes. The nails jammed with dirt impatiently scratch at his clothes.


    I know the story about a demon who fell in love with a human whose only merit was his sword, even the story of a demon who made ties with a human girl in the land he was exiled to. From an amateur''s point of view what was troublesome was their romantic feelings. Not my heart.


    "It''s interesting from here on, Yuuri. Although the woman became a mother, among the children she had given birth to, one immediately raised his first cry, the other one didn''t raise his first cry even after half a day. It was half dead. What do you think the woman did?"


    "......lamented in sorrow......?"


    "Wrong"


    "Why? She must have been sad!"


    Sara shoot his head and with his fingers combed my bangs upwards.


    "She did not feel sad. Hugging both her sons, she ran to the grave of the ancestors. She galloped on a horse on the path that was cursed and could not be passed by the living. How brave of her!"


    "To bury the child?"


    "That''s not it. She wasn''t a woman who would be satisfied with just that"


    "What else can she do. She must have wanted to let it sleep in peace, that''s parental love, what else......"


    "Don''t be in such a rush"


    Saralegui''s little finger and thumb caught my temple. The tip of his finger nails graze the corner of my eyes. Feeling the pain my line of sight...... although I can''t see, if I divert it, there was that white spot to the right skies of a faraway companion. It''s the white that that person called the sun.


    What am I doing?


    Even if it''s for water, flattering this disgusting guy, depending on him. Isn''t this exactly what Saralegui wanted. That ruler, while reaching my eye socket with his soft finger said.


    "To make her still born son rest in peace with the ancestors, that woman was not someone who would be satisfied with just that. She tried to revive her son. By using the God''s, the dead''s and even her own horyouku"


    "If she could do such a thing then......"


    Then even I would do that. Anyone would do it!


    "The outcome of that, what do you think happened?"


    I nod once but still shake my head. It''s impossible.


    "She cannot do that, she couldn''t revive him"


    "Correct. Yuuri, where are you facing. Look at me. The dead child wasn''t revived, but he wasn''t taken away to the world of the dead either. The thing that was left in this world is definitely not alive. Then what happened"


    After keeping silent for a moment, he gave the answer himself.


    "She ended up making a monster"


    As his fingers encroached my eye socket, I reflexively shook his hand off. I felt like I was holding onto life.


    "She ended up making monsters, two monsters!"


    "Both the children? Why"


    "I wonder if I said that both the monsters were her sons. One of them is her son, the baby who was born half dead. But the other one is none other than she herself. Now she has power more than that of a Shinzoku''s houryoku, she can manipulate the offensive dead at will. Let''s just say that he''s not as evil as his mother, she really is a monarch with overwhelming power. Although I don''t know what was there in the graves......"


    I cannot see a person¡¯s face. Not to mention I cannot know the expression on someone''s face whose in the dark. But this is the only thing I can easily guess. Right now, more than me who wishes for water, Saralegui making eyes that of a beast.


    That''s right, what he desires is power.


    "It was a harvest more than that of reviving someone!"


    "......I wonder"


    "Of course it was. Because what she desired more than anything was to have a powerful heir"


    And so he is jealous of her.


    Of the one who received the power he couldn''t.


    Of the mother who abandoned him since he didn''t possess any houryouku and his brother who obtained the power to surpass him.


    "Didn''t she just wish to revive it?"


    "That couldn''t be. There''s no way she would wish for normal children found everywhere. She was the woman who didn''t even grieve the death of her baby, she even tried to abandon the child who survived since he didn''t have any powers"


    "That''s not it"


    I almost answered reflexively. Even though I didn''t know about the family situation, even though I had no reason to defend the mother.


    "That''s not it, Saralegui"


    It''s useless even if I scold him saying what do you know. I must talk here, when I think that that scene cannot be transmitted to anyone''s heart, it makes me feel that keeping quiet is cowardice.


    That''s why I spoke. Precisely since we are here in the underground in this darkness where there''s no light nor even shadow, I thought it is important for me to remain like my usual self.


    "The mother was sad. There''s no way she wouldn''t be sad. While hugging the babies, she prayed to God crying. That she didn''t have anyone other than those children"


    Help, please help this child.


    O God, why do you want to take away the son from my arms that I was finally blessed with?


    I don''t have anyone other than these children. Even though I don''t have anyone other than you and these children!


    The image of her back as young mother kneeled on the ground and burst into tears. As she held the babies in her hands and curled her upper body. It''s that dream.


    "I saw it"


    "You saw, where. You think I''ll believe? Such a fake story"


    "If your story is true and she did go to the ancestral grave......if the path that no living being is allowed to pass through is this place, then I saw it. I saw the mother crying. I saw her hugging the babies and mourning"


    "That''s just a bunch of lies!"


    I had a mysterious feeling as I heard Saralegui''s clearly agitated voice.


    "It''s not a lie. The ordinary me had a dream with a deep meaning behind it, I wonder if it was the influence of some movie, even though I don''t watch anything other than touching sports. That should settle the matter. But unfortunately this isn''t the time for that. Thinking that there was so much drama, this isn''t the time to be reasoning with it. I saw it, the mother loved her sons. I saw her crying and saying that she doesn''t have anyone other than those children......"


    "You''re trying to deceive me, it won''t be that easy!"


    The slender fingers which looked like they couldn''t grip anything, hit my chin and lips. I was slammed into the stone wall, my spine shrieked. My adam''s apple being squeezed, my breathing stops.


    "......Sa, ra......a"


    "If she loved me"


    Even though there is no reason, I heard a scream that would turn into a cry anytime.


    "Then why did she not give that power to me!?"


    "Th......"


    At that moment I took action that couldn''t be believed. I repelled my opponent''s arm from the inside, just like that I held Saralegui''s forearms and fixed both his arms, I grabbed his wrist and with my back twisted them.


    I wasn''t thinking anything with my head. Although I was only thinking that it was getting hard to breathe, maybe it was a conditioned reflex my body moved on its own, I was fastened up the assailant.


    Where in the world was I hiding such physical strength and technique, I didn''t know that myself. Maybe the mud had some calories in it. It''s trying out things, trying to eat things without making a fuss over it.


    "Do you wish to have such power!?"


    "Ouch"


    The slender body in my arms is struggling in pain. I''m doing a horrible thing, although I think of releasing him, but the anger welling up in me from deep within wouldn''t allow me to.


    "By amazing you mean manipulating the dead right? What is there to get jealous about that, the one who is greedy isn''t me but you Sara!"


    "Yuuri, it hurts"


    "Anyone would wish to have power, even.... me......however the power which was not bestowed on us should not exist in this world"[2]


    "Yuuri"


    I wonder what this discomfort I feel under my skin is. It''s the same bad feeling I had when I was sharing my "eyes". Even though this is my throat and my mouth, I feel like it belongs to someone else¡¯s body at the same time. The unpleasant feeling that the words I spout out are not my own. I remember this. Even when I met the Shinzoku for the first time, I fell into the same state.


    "All who possess it shall be eliminated"


    Who are you.


    "By means of death......they will be eliminated"


    Who is spouting out such a terrible curse!?


    "Is that the real you?"


    Leaving my bewilderment aside, the king of Small Cimarron responded to this dangerous character. Soft hair rubs off my cheek and he lures me over his shoulder.


    "I see, so that was it. If that''s the case then we are the same, we can get along well"


    "I am......different......"


    "Hey, let¡¯s get out of this passageway and head to the royal graves. Without being seen by anyone, without anyone knowing about it. There just like mother and Yelshi...... or we can even get a greater power. There is something definitely there that even the spirits of the ancestors couldn''t get their hands on, some mysterious power is hidden there"


    I heard the invitation of a snake well.


    "Even you might have realized it. There''s something in the graves. A treasure that no one in this world could obtain. Isn''t it, Yuuri"


    "Stop"


    Yuuri


    "Don''t call my name"


    "Yuuri!"


    However this time it was different than Saralegui''s voice. The sound screaming my name came from height above.


    When I look back forgetting that I can''t see, just below the white that I thought to be the sun, there was a small red spot. It''s a torch, I realized that intuitively, that color was fire.


    A person came down through the hole open in the ceiling of the dome.


    "Yuuri, are you there?"


    "Co......"


    There is no need to ask who it is, I can tell by his voice. Even so I asked.


    "Conrad?"


    "It''s me"


    The only thing that falls into my eyes is a human form illuminated by the fire. A vague fuzzy orange outline comes running, it''s exactly like a thermograph screen.


    "Are you alright?"


    "I''m fine. But how"


    "I''m sorry for being late. Although I had Hazel and her comrades guide me through the desert, we missed out a lot of points where we could overtake. Do you have any injuries anywhere?"


    The body temperature I''m used to touches my shoulders as if consoling me.


    This is his right palm. The right arm that has nothing to do with the nightmarish scene. It''s warmer than his left hand.


    "Yuuri"


    When I try to reply I mutter a word starting with C inside my mouth, I''m on the verge of tears. If I was an elementary school student I would have cried without holding back. Although I wanted to say don''t call me your majesty as usual, at such a time he did not make that mistake.


    "I''m not...injured"


    "I''m glad, I''ll take to on top immediately. By the way"


    The end of the word becomes small and I mumble. Speaking of which, there was so much disturbance that he wouldn''t have noticed even if I spoke facing him. In the short period of silence he guessed what was happening, in an instant he changed the words following it into a question.


    "What did he do"


    He must be asking about Saralegui. Of all things if he sees me, a pacifist doing such twisted thing, he would get suspicious. I thrust away the body with slender physique.


    "Take this guy, take Saralegui to the ground first"


    "Your majesty, I......"


    "No, I''m not saying it out of friendship. We can''t have him run away so I''m requesting you. I cannot set this man free. Restrain this guy and put him under surveillance and then come down here once again. Is that fine? Conrad"


    "Of course"


    Along with a small scream there wind blew in a near the ground, looks like the hands that are used to doing rough things more than me got the nape of his neck, Saralegui is flapping both his legs.


    "I won''t go, I won''t go! I will go to the underground, being covered by sand in the desert is too bothersome"


    "Behave yourself if you don''t want to be dropped"


    "That''s right, I don''t mind if you accompany us Lord Weller, we will take you along on our journey. If we do that even Yuuri won''t be lonely. Isn''t that right?"


    I am the one who replied to Saralegui''s nonsense, it was supposed to be me.


    "Unfortunately, your majesty Saralegui, I won''t listen to your advice. And"


    For the first time in these five days I let out a sigh of relief, I could finally relax my body.


    "I won''t accept even a single drop of water from you"


    When I leaned on the wall and let my chin down, I was attacked by a pain just like giddiness. I feel like I don''t want to move even a single finger.


    "Conrad, come back as quick as possible, there''s something......something I need to talk about"


    "Yes"


    "Return really quickly"


    Being bound by a trained professional, he forced his way through even though it wouldn''t work. He was a little excited.


    "What are you going to talk about, is it a secret ? What sort of private conversation ? Ah, could it be that"


    He let out a hysterical laugh.


    "That you let that man die ?"

 Volume 13 - CH 4

    Different countries, have different types of fanatics.


    That was my first thought when I met the informant.


    Rather than saying we met, it would be better to explain that we didn¡¯t introduce ourselves at an official event, and instead happened to bump into each other hurriedly in the car park.


    Although it¡¯s already working hours, the informant hasn¡¯t shown up in the coffee shop as agreed. Murata, Rodriguez and Matthew Orson have their chins on their hands at the table with the white cloth, waiting impatiently. Murata has already finished his third cup of caf¨¦ au lait, the pediatrician with a sweet tooth has already eaten chocolate mousse, cheesecake and tiramisu.


    Just as the man who adores sweets says, ¡°I¡¯m a bit bored, lemme call for a piece of pie¡±¡ª


    The customer who runs in from the main road tells the shop employee agitatedly that a serious fire has started outside.


    ¡°Rather than calling it a fire, it should count as a huge blaze, right?[1]¡±


    ¡°A blaze? That¡¯s bad, is anyone hurt?¡±


    The trendily-dressed waitress pales. Although it¡¯s a normal day, there are quite a few tourists here from Boston to shop. A manmade blaze could damage an entire city¡¯s reputation, and in the eyes of tourists, it could be a one-hit kill.


    ¡°No, no, no, it¡¯s in S.S.BONE.¡±


    ¡°Ah, is that it.¡±


    The atmosphere in the shop calms down, until even Murata heaves a sigh of relief, thinking it¡¯s no big deal. After all they only got such limited information, he was just particularly sensitive because it has something to do with fire. But once everyone heard that, they look so distinctly relieved, it¡¯s quite a sight for the outsiders.


    A name that can put everyone at ease just like that, exactly what kind of a company is this ¡®S.S.BONE¡¯? Murata and Rodriguez are just about to ask the alleged Boston local, Matthew Orson, when they realize there¡¯s something wrong with him. His expression looks like he just swallowed an entire hard-boiled egg.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Matthew?¡±


    ¡°Eeh, S.S.BONE doesn¡¯t seem to be good news!¡±


    ¡°Eh? I was wondering, is the name a rip-off of L.L.BEAN[2]? Or does it have something to do with stocks?¡±


    ¡°Ken, that¡¯s not called ripping off, that¡¯s called ¡®great minds think alike¡¯. They obviously have the same ideas.¡±


    ¡°I have a problem with that name as well, too bad it¡¯s in the grey area. But more importantly, S.S.BONE is where our informant Hobart works.¡±


    ¡°Which means he could be caught in the blaze! Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier, Matthew¡ª¡±


    And so the entire party hurries to the scene, only to see the BONE company facilities burning brightly. To be exact, it was the large skeleton art piece right outside the company burning, sparks flying everywhere. If you ignore the fact that it¡¯s five meters tall, the scaled model together with tendons and flesh looks just like an outdoor cremation.


    ¡°It looks more like a BBQ. Anyway, the thing damaged is a piece of art, if you think of it as someone else¡¯s problem, then the fire blazing in the evening is really quite beautiful!¡±


    But they can¡¯t think of it as someone else¡¯s problem.


    ¡°The person is located.¡±


    Matthew, who is familiar with our target, has found him.


    The informant, Hobart, is a regular customer of a certain shop Matthew Orson opened with a partner. The shop is Massachusetts¡¯ largest otaku¡­ Japanese culture retailer, called ¡®Taylor¡¯s Store¡¯ even though it¡¯s obviously a book shop. ¡®Hero of the National Bank¡¯, also known as ¡®Hero of the World¡¯ Shibuya Shouma, the bank he works at also invested a bit into this shop. Economically it¡¯s a joint project between America and Japan, while on the surface it¡¯s a bridge between Japanese and American communication.


    And the shop owner Jonathan Taylor is a bald, bristly, strange-looking man. Those few people who know the reason behind the store¡¯s conception would call him ¡®Exiled Jonathan¡¯, but from the way he¡¯s obsessed with baby and parenting books before even getting a girlfriend shows he really likes kids as well.


    His motto is, ¡°I shaved on purpose, I¡¯m not bald!¡± Whenever he says that, someone hearing it for the first time will say, all touched,


    ¡°OH¡ªWhat an amazing tsundere!¡±


    You guys have misunderstood Japanese culture, that¡¯s not called tsundere.


    Since it¡¯s situated in the busy area of Boston, the customers of ¡®Taylor¡¯s Shop¡¯ tend to be students from nearby Harvard or MIT. Come to think of it, that means it¡¯s a shop that the elite anime fans of America frequent. The moral standards are really slipping.


    Hobart was one of those customers as well.


    The other regulars call him ¡®Gogg¡¯[3], which took him by surprise too. Because his interest doesn¡¯t seem to be MS (Mobile Suits). In other to cater to everyone¡¯s interests, the shop has a wide array of merchandise, that¡¯s why it¡¯s unsurprising to see customers who like pretty girl dolls or collects cards. Like just now, when Matthew mentioned this, his face was full of confusion and he turned away a little coldly, probably for that reason.


    Before Matthew found him, Hobart was standing in the middle of the rather empty car park, one hand in his pocket. Perhaps the two of them agreed on it beforehand, because he is also biting a donut.


    ¡°Mr. Hobart!¡±


    The man who hears them and turns around is a large guy, perfect candidate for a foreign sumo wrestler. But not all of that is fat. The distance between his neck and shoulders isn¡¯t obvious, but as a practitioner of the D&P (Donut and Pizza) lifestyle, his body is rather sturdy. It¡¯s probably because he¡¯s still young, right? Once he¡¯s past thirty, all hell will break loose.


    Hobart leaves the cars and gathering crowd, jogging over to them.


    In short, he¡¯s a huge Caucasian, just running a little will turn his face and arms red. To put it nicely, he¡¯s full of a country feel, a gentle giant. To put it bluntly, he¡¯s a healthy fatso. And in this slightly chilly November weather, he¡¯s still wearing shorts, so short they¡¯re not even halfway. But it seems he doesn¡¯t really mind.


    ¡°Yeow~~¡±


    He waves the donut at Matthew, stretching out a right arm thick enough to contend with America¡¯s arm-wrestling champion to Murata and Rodriguez.


    On that face unique to blondes, his eyebrows are so pale they¡¯re practically invisible. Underneath his jotting forehead, there¡¯s a pair of pale blue eyes. The distance from his nose to his lips is really wide, so his whole face looks a bit like a primate.


    If he were a teacher in a Japanese middle school, he¡¯d definitely be given a nickname on the first day of school itself.


    That is, Gorilla!


    ¡°Good day, I¡¯m Gogghart Hobart.¡±


    Now it¡¯s become Gogghart!


    ¡°Although normally I tell people to call me Kelly.¡±


    ¡­Now it¡¯s changed to Kelly.


    ¡°I¡¯m not German, but I¡¯m called Gogghart, you guys must be very confused, right? But you can call me any name you want, I don¡¯t mind.¡±


    To turn over the impression overseas that Japanese people are stiff and unemotional, Murata uses an extremely friendly smile to greet him.


    ¡°Good morning, Kelly.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s evening now, right? Also, my nickname is Gogg.¡±


    Immediately corrected.


    ¡°Is it okay with the fire, Gogg?¡±


    ¡°Mn¡ªHonestly, if I say I don¡¯t feel anything because that represents the company, I¡¯d be lying¡­ But I¡¯m fine.¡±


    Kelly Hobart puts up a thumb firmly,


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing!¡±


    ¡°As expected of Gogg¡ª¡±[4]


    The pediatrician and Matthew Orson have expressions of idolization for some reason. The only out of it is Murata.


    ¡°I am part of the company, after all, so I can¡¯t just leave it while there¡¯s a fire and go home on my own, sorry for being late.¡±


    ¡°You say you¡¯re part of the company, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re the president?¡±


    Hobart narrows those sunken blue eyes shyly, answering Murata¡¯s obviously flattering question,


    ¡°No¡ªNo. I¡¯ve been a speaker at the Discovery School here since three years ago.¡±


    ¡°Ah~ Something to do with wrestling?¡±


    ¡°No, sniping.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a very popular class, too! And the ladies like it, it¡¯s about as cool as MONKEY Tojo.¡±


    Is there an assassin with that nickname? On the other hand, anybody with anything to do with the word ¡®To¡¯ (East) can¡¯t possibly stand behind him. Kelly Hobart says a joke so cold the chilly wind blows right into their faces, and he even laughs until he¡¯s bent over backwards. But speaking of sniping, is it really okay to teach something like that in a school in the middle of the commercial and tourist area?


    ¡°As for what I want to say, it has something to do with this.¡±


    Hobart takes something wrapped in oil paper out of his packet.


    ¡°Aah, how could you be so careless with it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, doctor, as long as it¡¯s not near a fire.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Ah, this thing can¡¯t be near fire?¡±


    Maybe he¡¯s so taken aback by this sudden mention, Hobart nearly drops the object. It¡¯s just the right size to hold in one¡¯s palm.


    ¡°I see~~ I think my grandmother put it in a lead box, but she meant to avoid what spiritual magic or supernatural phenomena, so it should have nothing to do with fire, right? Honestly, I don¡¯t really know about these antiques.¡±


    Murata accepts the object from those meaty hands, opening up the bundle of oil paper weighing down his left hand. He¡¯s so nervous even his hands are shaking.


    ¡°Where did you get this from?¡±


    ¡°A long, long¡ªtime ago, my grandfather¡¯s father¡­ In other words, my great grandfather found this in the house he was working as a butler in¡­ It seems to be something a bit creepy.¡±


    ¡°I think so too.¡±


    A piece of metal appears in front of their eyes¡ªa twisted triangle with each side about 10cm long, prolonged contact with heat and air turning the metal black, while the broken part has rusted. Although it¡¯s not even a centimeter thick, it¡¯s fairly heavy. Why would he put something so heavy in his pocket, isn¡¯t he scared his pants will be pulled down?


    Murata touches the surface of the metal gently with his palm, and finds that the animal-motif carvings are already somewhat faded. Even if he can¡¯t identify them, there are words carved onto the left half.


    Exactly the same as the images received.


    Just one glance at the high resolution photographs had gotten him thinking. If Murata¡¯s¡­ or the owner of this ancient soul¡¯s memory is correct, then this is indeed part of the Box. Strictly speaking, it¡¯s part of the decorations on the edge of ¡®Inferno on the Tundra¡¯. Of course it wasn¡¯t there when the Box was built. In the beginning, the Boxes had no extra embellishments. It was after they came to Earth, that some expert from an unknown era had personally installed them.


    And then at some point the Box got separated from the decorations.


    Murata touches the indentations of the words, murmuring to himself.


    Just then Rodriguez asks Hobart for Murata, who¡¯s staring at the metal piece wordlessly,


    ¡°What was your great grandfather¡¯s name?¡±


    ¡°Pennwater, Pennwater Hobart. My grandmother¡¯s name was Diane Hobart, before marrying she was Diane Graves.¡±


    ¡°Graves!? By Graves, you mean¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, they¡¯re quite popular in Boston.¡±


    ¡°Are you a member of the Graves family?¡±


    ¡°Wait a sec! No, I¡¯m not, not at all!¡±


    Kelly Hobart¡¯s hand, that usually holds his sniper gun, is now waving desperately to refute his question. 	¡°My great grandfather was once the Graves family butler, butlers can get married too. The Hobarts had two sons, the younger one is my paternal grandfather. I saw his picture when he was in the army, I guess he¡¯s quite good-looking. Blonde hair, blue eyes, when he wore a uniform he was quite handsome!¡±


    Matthew Orson seems to have thought of something, his expression all perverted.


    ¡°Naturally girls wouldn¡¯t let such a good-looking guy go, and my grandfather didn¡¯t want to waste God¡¯s gift, either. So he wasn¡¯t just two-timing them, but triple-timing them, just like Poseidon¡¯s trident. It¡¯s strange~ Since I have a quarter of his blood, I should have inherited those genes, right? Anyway, he had about three girlfriends by the time he enlisted.¡±


    ¡°One of them was Diane Graves?¡±


    ¡°No no no, they hadn¡¯t gotten together yet at that time. Then my grandfather took three photographs onto the battlefield¡­ and accidentally lost two of them.¡±


    ¡°Waa¡ªhow heartless of him!¡±


    ¡°But my grandfather said confidently that maybe those two lost photos can sooth a single soldier¡¯s soul, so he¡¯s done a good deed!¡±


    A playboy¡¯s actions are truly unforgivable. Just as everyone is about to agree on that, the fleshy bone that¡¯s on fire erupts into sparks, and the fire truck finally arrives. Too slow, they¡¯re so slow it makes one wonder if the one reporting the fire waiting for the meat to be fully cooked first.


    ¡°My grandfather had no choice, so he really cherished the remaining photographs. Back then I think he was in Russia, one day they were violently attacked, until the squadron he was in was completely isolated. And then just as the terrible fight was turning their way, my grandfather and his comrades took turns smoking a cigarette, and then he took out the photo on his pocket¡­¡±


    ¡°After the war ends, I¡¯m gonna go back and marry this girl.¡±


    He said it!


    Although the one talking is his descendant, the other three touched their foreheads before he could react, and say in the same, sorrowful voice,


    ¡°So sorry, Kelly.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing your grandfather must have been affected by the atmosphere to say something like that, huh, Kelly.¡±


    ¡°But from what you said, you shouldn¡¯t exist in this world, Kelly.¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t die, right!?¡±


    ¡°Eh--!?¡±


    ¡°Actually we did receive his telegram. It was a misunderstanding, so everyone thought he¡¯d died on the battlefield. So when Grandfather came back, all his previous lovers were already married. Just then, Diane Graves, who had married a Harvard graduate elite lawyer appeared in front of his eyes. Even though the war was over, Grandfather stayed on in the army. Perhaps he got fond of the military uniform¡ª¡±


    ¡°Is there a lot more to this story?¡±


    Murata¡¯s already irritated. He¡¯s not that interested in someone else¡¯s grandparent story. Contrary to other fat people, Hobart is surprisingly talkative, and left to his own devise he might very well continue to ¡®Chapter 2, how my father met my mother¡¯ and ¡®Chapter 3, the story in my head about me and her¡¯. Although it¡¯s a bit mean, it would be very dangerous if he doesn¡¯t find a suitable time to hit the brakes.


    ¡°Alright, to make it short, my grandfather was hot, my grandmother liked him. But she already had a husband, so they couldn¡¯t married, and eloped instead. My great grandfather Pennwater Hobart saw that his master¡¯s daughter had an affair with his son, and felt responsible for it, so he quit as the Graves family butler, and settled down in Freeport near Boston. See¡ªthis is short enough, right? Even though she¡¯s not in the direct family line, no matter what she¡¯s a lady with a background, so something like that must have been very humiliating, right?¡±


    ¡°Wow~~That Diane actually¡ª¡±


    Murata brings out Regent¡¯s memories, quietly impressed.


    She was the only blonde beauty in the family, and everyone¡¯s ideal woman. Though they were cousins, she was the complete opposite of April, who chased the cows and went for adventures in the woods. April once said that Diane had a fianc¨¦ who was always punctual, though he couldn¡¯t tell if she was boasting or jealous.


    ¡°Eloping with the butler¡¯s son, huh¡ªBack then there was no way to tell she would do something like that.¡±


    ¡°Ken.¡±


    The pediatrician frowns behind his glasses, wishing that Murata would not talk about them as though they were one.


    ¡°Even though I¡¯m his grandson who graduated from Harvard, I still think life is so complicated!¡±


    Beside them, Matthew Orson really respects Gogg as an impressive person. But through a normal point of view, the fact that he¡¯s one of the very few people in the world who graduated from a super famous school only to work as a sniping instructor at a company that seems to have copyrighted another company¡¯s name, may be more surprising than the fact that he¡¯s a soldier¡¯s grandson who entered an Ivy League school.


    That¡¯s Shibuya Shouri¡¯s dream school as well, looks like life is unpredictable.


    ¡°So after Diane got married, she stayed at home to watch over this piece of metal¡­ You could say she was entrusted with it, right? But where did she get this from? Don¡¯t tell me it was her dowry?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡ªI overheard on the phone? It¡¯s not Grandmother¡¯s, but Great-grandfather¡¯s possession.¡±


    ¡°The butler¡¯s?¡±


    ¡°Mn, apparently it was because one generation of the Graves family head died in a fire. That person was apparently even older than my great grandfather.¡±


    He¡¯s talking about Hazel Graves.


    ¡°Great-grandfather went there to clean up the mess. He couldn¡¯t let the head¡¯s granddaughter go through her own grandmother¡¯s earthly possessions, could he? After all, her grandmother just got burned alive, if they let her into the scene and she found some remains, that would have caused an irredeemable scene. He couldn¡¯t let the adorable young miss face something like this, so he secretly cleaned up as the butler. And then he found this.¡±


    The young Hobart used his chin to point at the piece of metal in Murata¡¯s hands.


    ¡°But before the head died, Great-grandfather heard that this piece of metal was inlaid on something else. It¡¯s just that it was burnt so badly no one knew what it was. Could it be part of a shield or a mirror?¡±


    The three people present naturally wouldn¡¯t reply. One doesn¡¯t know, and while the other two do know, they would rather no one else found out. The more people know about this, the more troublesome things will get.


    ¡°Forget it. ¡­Anyway, Great-grandfather heard that the head collected countless precious things¡­ And apparently this is a taboo people shouldn¡¯t touch. That¡¯s why he hid it¡ªhe had to protect the cute young miss, so he kept this shrapnel, covered in ash from the fire, by his own side.


    Kelly Hobart shrugs in a very American way, the neck and shoulders that aren¡¯t too obvious sinking into his fleshy body.


    ¡°Grandmother felt guilty for eloping with Grandfather, so she dutifully obeyed Great-grandfather¡¯s dying wishes. In other words, ¡®never give the shrapnel that was found at the scene of the fire to the young lady from the Graves family. If adorable Miss April met the same end the head did, wouldn¡¯t that be bad?¡±


    Since he¡¯s asking for approval, Matthew quickly nods hard. Rodriguez moves his chin as well.


    ¡°And then it got to my hands. ¡®Gogghart, listen up: no matter what, you can¡¯t give this thing to the Graves family.¡¯ Back then I asked, ¡®Okay, Grandma. So what should I do?¡¯ Her expression immediately changed, and she said in a voice like a Salem witch, ¡®Just keep it by your side!¡¯ So I just smiled like a good boy and said, ¡®Mn, I know!¡¯¡±


    Murata laughs at the large man impersonating an old lady, and subconsciously tightens his hold on the metal piece.


    How he wants to turn it around and confirm. It would be great if there were any wooden shards on the other side. It¡¯s okay even if it¡¯s just ash, just a tiny bit¡­


    ¡°But I still feel a little sorry for her. After all, Diane was a lady from the Graves family.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong.¡±


    When the pediatrician voices his honest thoughts, Kelly Hobart shakes his head sadly. His face and arms are scarlet from the blood rushing upwards. Although the weather now is slightly chilly, there¡¯s still a light sweat on his forehead.


    ¡°Great-grandfather always thought of Diane as his own daughter."


    Hearing the determination in Kelly¡¯s words, everyone else falls silent. This is their family problem, their thoughts can¡¯t be understood by outsiders, and outsiders can¡¯t interfere either. All they can say now is¡ª


    I see.


    ¡°But two years ago when Grandmother went to heaven in search of Grandfather, I started feeling uneasy. It¡¯s probably because the Graves family all came to attend the funeral, right? To think there were some pretty impressive people there, too! There was even someone who claimed she was the high school idol and cheerleading captain, plus a world famous treasure hunter.¡±


    That¡¯s Abigail Graves. For all you know Hobart also thinks that koi fish is a very impressive expert on all things Japan. But in a way, since Abigail is his distant relative and a fellow admirer of Japanese culture, maybe this is what they mean by blood is thicker than water?


    However Hobart is afraid of Abigail, or more precisely he¡¯s hesitant to approach her. In fact, if the two of them sat down and talked properly, they might find a lot of things to talk about.


    ¡°I don¡¯t plan on communicating with the other relatives, no matter how impressive they are, if she found out where I live, one day she may break into my house, and then say ¡®Return that to me¡¯.¡± If something like that happened, I¡¯m not confident I can still keep the promise I made to Grandma. Then I remembered that Japan has the so-called ¡®offering¡¯ system.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why you thought of talking about it to Jonathan, the shop owner who understands Japanese culture. Thanks a lot, Kelly, it was all thanks to you we could find it, you have our sincerest gratitude. Could you give it to me?¡±


    Without waiting for a reply, Murata stuffs the piece of the Box into his pocket. If the other person says no, he plans on running with it.


    ¡°Kelly, take my advice, don¡¯t take out your girlfriend¡¯s picture and show it to people on the battlefield.¡±


    Hearing Murata¡¯s suggestion, Hobart sticks up his donut-scented thumb hard,


    ¡°I¡¯m not as popular as my grandfather, there¡¯s nothing to worry about!¡±


    Matthew & Rodri¡¯s gazes are full of admiration, it¡¯s almost a reflex action.


    On the way back to the hotel, Murata dazedly thinks about everything in his home back in Japan.


    Stuff like the entrance to the condos, the stacks of mail boxes, the camel-colored decorations in the elevator, the puppy next door, then his family members. His family started living in those apartments since his parents, and the Graves family may have stayed in Boston since the Reclamation Period. Even the Hobart family, who aren¡¯t that famous, have lived in Freeport since his great grandfather¡¯s generation.


    ¡°No wonder there¡¯s no sense of family¡­¡±


    ¡°What? What¡¯s the matter, Ken?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, I was just thinking that Kelly Hobart is a pretty decent guy.¡±


    The pediatrician sitting next to him with his hair let down laughs, ¡°Gogg, you say¡ª¡±


    ¡°Blonde hair and blue eyes, graduate from an Ivy League university, professional-level skills with the rifle, interesting to talk to. If he was willing to work-out a bit and turn into a muscleman, he¡¯d be perfect. Maybe one day he won¡¯t be able to say he¡¯s not as popular with the ladies as his grandfather, then?¡±


    ¡°Girls aren¡¯t that simple-minded, right¡ª¡±


    For a young person with a proper body but no gun skills, is this something to be happy about? Murata sighs deeply,


    ¡°But life sure is unexpected!¡±


    ¡°Why the heck are you suddenly saying that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m talking about Diane Graves. As a girl from that time, she was practically perfect. It felt as though ¡®the ideal woman¡¯ was a phrase coined for her. Everyone in the Graves family shook their heads and sighed at April, but they weren¡¯t worried about Diane in the slightest. Everyone believed she would marry the perfect person, and then live a perfect life with zero imperfections¡­ That¡¯s what Regent¡¯s memories recorded.¡±


    He feels Rodriguez¡¯s gaze on him, adding,


    ¡°But not only did she have an affair with the butler¡¯s son, she even eloped with him. Honestly, when she was in her twenties, it was impossible to imagine her doing something like that. So the future is something even she couldn¡¯t predict.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, and you don¡¯t know what will happen either! Maybe twenty years from now, you¡¯ll be in a rural clinic holding a stethoscope to a villager¡¯s chest, you know!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know if I want to study the sciences or the arts.¡±


    Matthew suddenly slows down the RANGEROVER, and then immediately returns to the initial speed, so it shouldn¡¯t be some problem with car. Maybe he¡¯s affirming the ¡®Deer Crossing¡¯ sign?


    ¡°¡­Does Bob know?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Bob wouldn¡¯t be interested in which course you¡¯ll be studying, right?¡±


    ¡°Not that, I¡¯m talking about Diane Graves¡¯ life. The fact that she married Pennwater Hobart¡¯s son¡­ No, he definitely knows that, and he must have gone around them like a new butler. But what about the piece of the Box?¡±


    Driven by his unease, Murata grips the metal piece in his pocket tightly. The oil paper in his hand is even crumpled by his grip.


    ¡°Does Bob know that Mr Hobart and Diane were always protecting a piece from ¡®Inferno on the Tundra¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Mn¡ª¡±


    The car slows down again, this time evidently headed for the roadside, but it quickly returns to the center of the road. After confirming that Matthew is awake, Rodriguez murmurs again,


    ¡°Mn¡­ I¡¯m not sure¡ªEven if he is the Maou, he wouldn¡¯t purposely expose the secret an old person tried so desperately to hide, right? Though if they came here to fight over it at least there won¡¯t be the danger of a bullet storm.¡±


    ¡°An old person¡¯s desperation, huh? Literally speaking, they¡¯re both¡ªMm-gah!¡±


    The impact from behind almost makes Murata bite his tongue, his back bouncing away from the seat, the seatbelt sinking deep into his stomach.


    ¡°W-what happened!?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s kamikaze!¡±


    The moment he hears kamikaze, the Japanese history expert Murata reacts instinctively,


    ¡°Eh? Kublai!?¡±


    ¡°Aw, come on, Ken, talk in a language Mexicans understand¡ª¡±


    As the atmosphere in the car descends into panic, there are two more impacts that sound like ¡®Gash! Kash!¡¯


    ¡°The car behind us looked really suspicious, so I tried many times to let them overtake me, but he just won¡¯t! Looks like we¡¯re being followed!¡±


    ¡°F-f-followed, w-w-w-w-why--!?¡±


    ¡°I have no idea what¡¯s going on, and then that person suddenly attacked us!¡±


    Even if they escape to the opposite car lane, the car behind them keeps on their tail, continuously ramming into them. Murata finally manages to turn around and observe the car attacking them. Rodriguez, on the other hand, is being tortured by the safety belt.


    ¡°No way? Mm-yeah! It¡¯s Bob¡¯s people, mm-yeah! A substitute!? Even so, he discovered my betrayal way too fast--!¡±


    ¡°No, no matter what Bob won¡¯t send an old person as an assassin.¡±


    The old lady whose eyes are wide as saucers, sits in the driver seat of the red PLYMOUTH that keeps ramming into them. She¡¯s so scared all her white hair is standing, her hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. It looks like she¡¯s not attacking them on purpose.


    ¡°Damn, her brakes are not working!¡±


    The old lady and the red car. It sounds like the title of a picture book, which makes people smile in spite of themselves, but in reality they have to add ¡®from hell¡¯ or ¡®nightmarish¡¯ somewhere in the middle to describe this. It¡¯s not fun and games anymore when you¡¯re being collided into.


    After a series of intense collisions, with one more crash the RANGEROVER dashes to the shoulder across the road, protected by the little bit of fencing, and finally comes to a stop on the road. As for the PLYMOUTH chasing the fender of the RANGEROVER intently, it destroys the bucket-shaped seat and flies over the road shoulder. Unfortunately, there isn¡¯t a fence in front of the PLYMOUTH.


    The old lady¡¯s red car falls off a five meter tall slope.


    They watch in horror as the car flies out. After a moment, the driver at the bottom of the slope opens the driver seat door, staggering out. There¡¯s blood on her forehead, but she can still stand on her own, so she should be fine.


    Rodriguez and Orson hold out their hands for the old lady, trying to grab her hand and pull her up, but for some reason she keeps shaking her head and resisting, refusing to climb up the slope and yelling in a voice hoarse from agitation,


    ¡°Help! Help!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re already helping you¡ªCome up here quick, ma¡¯am. Or could it be that the leaking oil has made it slippery?¡±


    Maybe it¡¯s because the oil tank has been destroyed, the PLYMOUTH is leaking some liquid that dyes the grass underneath black. The old lady smells the leather seats burning, her voice getting even more agitated,


    ¡°My granddaughter is inside!¡±


    ¡°Eh!?¡±


    Matthew¡¯s phone is in the car, Rodriguez¡¯s flip phone was destroyed by the impact of the collisions just now. There aren¡¯t any cars passing by, either.


    There¡¯s no time to hesitate!


    Murata slides down the slope. He rushes to the car and tries to open the door, but it doesn¡¯t budge¡ªturns out it¡¯s locked.


    ¡°Ken, break the window! Break it!¡±


    ¡°You tell me to break it, but with what!?¡±


    All he sees around him is nothing but wild grass, forget a pipe or log, there isn¡¯t even a stone. He can¡¯t possibly break reinforced glass with his hands, can he? There are no tools, what to do¡­


    There¡¯s a little girl in the seat. She¡¯s fastened in the children¡¯s seat, her red face looking like she¡¯s about to cry. She may not know what¡¯s happened, only feeling terrified. Her brown eyes stare at Murata, and she reaches out her little hand towards him through the car window.


    There is something, though?


    There¡¯s a distinct heaviness in the pocket of his shirt.


    I have something to break the glass with.


    ¡°Close your eyes!¡±


    He grips the metal piece wrapped in oil paper that he just obtained tightly, attacking the car glass with the sharp end. The first knock spreads cobweb cracks across the glass, the second shatters the glass everywhere.


    ¡°Come here, it¡¯s okay.¡±


    He picks up the light body from the seat, rushing up the slope. After three, four steps he sees Rodriguez¡¯s outstretched hand, and hurriedly hands over the crying girl. After he heaves a sigh of relief, he realizes that his body has become exceptionally lighter¡ªhis shirt has gotten lighter, the pocket empty. He quickly turns around, and there¡¯s a black object near the bumper of the flattened PLYMOUTH, fallen amongst the oil-soaked grass and so hard to see clearly.


    ¡°Crap¡­¡±


    ¡°No, Ken, don¡¯t go back!¡±


    Murata turns around and runs, a voice stopping him from behind.


    Jose Rodriguez is an excellent pediatrician, and a friendly, kind person. Since he was young, before he knew about the strange condition he had, that man has doted on him, more so than his own parents. That man is the one who protected him since before he was born.


    Josie is always right.


    But this is the only time he cannot obey him.


    Once he loses that, he might never be able to grasp his tracks again.


    Murata rushes to the PLYMOUTH, his footsteps staggering, and half lies down to reach his hand out for the piece of the Box, first hooking it with his finger, and then grabbing hold of the mysterious, warm triangular piece of metal. He holds it tightly in his palm in case it drops.


    Just then, something sparkles in the right corner of his vision.


    He sees a spot of orange in the engine valve, and a fire inside.


    ¡°Ken!?¡±


    Looks like I was wrong.


    Murata ignores his broken glasses, laughing at himself.


    If he stays here any longer he would definitely be caught in the explosion.


    If that person were here, maybe he would look down on me, who couldn¡¯t even save one child? But he probably wouldn¡¯t go to the extent of looking down on me, because he¡¯s a good guy. He¡¯d definitely be disappointed, though.


    The sky and the earth go upside down, the grass and trees that were fine a moment ago now sway left and right like plants in the sea. The world twists at a ninety dress angle, all the straight lines curving.


    The flames surrounding him coil upwards like a spring. The fire is strong, but not hot in the slightest, even though he does smell hair and clothes burning. Thinking about the fleshy skeleton, he suddenly feels like laughing.


    But before Murata can laugh, he¡¯s suffocated by the heat. From the distance comes the doctor¡¯s yells.


    He just knows that he won¡¯t die, otherwise he couldn¡¯t possibly be this calm.


    The shard is using the power of the flames and the explosion, preparing to return to where the Box is. It could just be ash, or a splinter of wood stuck behind the metal, getting ready to chase the Box it spent eternity with, jumping to a completely different world. As long as he can withstand this impact, Murata¡¯s body should be able to follow it. Hazel Graves experienced this pain before.


    But Shibuya, next time you want to go to that world, remember to take me along with you. I¡¯d rather not go for this way again.


    Because it hurts way too much.

 Volume 13 - CH 5

    "Please don''t fall asleep."


    Since I had been sitting hugging my knees and looking down, I couldn''t even see the heartwarming red of the torch. My field of vision which was completely black lightened up just a little.


    "I have returned."


    "A... ah."


    My breath couldn''t turn into voice. When I closed my eyes and pressed my throat, Conrad noticed it immediately.


    "Drink it."


    The water made a splashing sound. Looks like the portable container had been filled a lot with water. I choked the moment I drank it, and ended up throwing more than half of it. Since I greedily tried to gulp it down in one go, he couldn''t make me drink it properly.


    "Shh, stay still."


    When Conrad put his left arm behind my neck to support me, he took a water droplet on his finger and first moistened my lips. After that he made me drink little by little. The soft leather hit my chin and mouth. Slowly changing the angle, the water that is not so cold floes down my throat.


    It''s the water that has been carried under the sunshine of the desert.


    When my extreme thirst subsided, I remembered an unexpected scene, it turned funny and I let out a snicker. It doesn''t hurt anymore even if I move my throat.


    "What is it?"


    "Did you pick up that method from your big brother?"


    "Even if you say picked up..."


    "Earlier, Gwendal used a similar method to feed some milk to the puppy."


    It could have been a cat for all I know.


    Honestly, when it comes to Conrad, he always treats me like a kid.


    "Maybe... for how long were you thirsty?"


    "Throughout, for around five days."


    "For five days!"


    "But it''s fine, I survived."


    Near my shoulder blade, there was a muffled voice saying "really". He buried his face in the nape of my neck, wrapped his long arms around my back. The finger filled with power, touched a part lower than the center of my spine.


    "I thought I would lose you."


    "You''re exaggerating, Conrad."


    He hugged me so tight that I thought he had changed into Gunter. But I myself know this. Precisely because we both are here that I can laugh it off saying ''you''re exaggerating'', there was a possibility that we would never meet again. And there certainly was a moment when the probability of that happening was exceedingly close.


    "You don''t look well. You''ve become thin."


    "It''s because I''m hungry. If you continue to fast you''ll definitely lose weight, right? Aaa, the muscles I had finally built are all gone."


    "Even though you were the type who wouldn''t forget to eat even if you forgot your audience with someone!"


    Even so, it''s because he''s relieved that he can joke about like this. When he let go of his arms, my body suddenly woke up. The action was very fast.


    The flow of air hitting my body was faster than usual, the momentum was so good that I was bewildered for a moment. I wasn''t accustomed to a healthy person''s movements because there was no one other than Saralegui who doesn''t possess any motor skills and the exhausted me here for the past few days.


    "If you don''t mind the taste, I''ll get you some food. Please don''t fall asleep satisfied just because you drank water. After we go to the surface, I''ll let you sleep as much as you want."


    "I''ll try... but I won''t be able to sleep above there anyways. We''ll be riding a horse again, right?"


    "There are many ways to take a nap even while riding a horse."


    "Un."


    Judging his position from where I hear his voice, he is right in front of me. With one knee touching the ground he''s must have been looking straight at me.


    "You said you have something to tell me."


    "Yes."


    I put my head down so as to hide both my eyes from his gaze.


    "That guy, he has his eyes on the box"


    "Saralegui? He''s giving us trouble again..."


    "That''s right, but looks like he''s still not aware of the box. I think there is something in the royal tombs and his mother and younger brother are trying to obtain that thing. He himself wants that, with the intentions of getting it in his own hands. That''s why following the path their mother had used when they were still babies, he headed directly for their ancestral tombs from the underground. If it''s here he can be at ease, unnoticed by those two. Slipping through the eyes of his mother and younger brother, he''s trying to do the exact same thing they did that time"


    "By mother, you mean her?"


    "Yes, what was it again, Alazon? A courageous person by that name. Amazon? Amazoness? Although I think I missed the name by a letter."


    "Even though we have met his younger brother, we haven''t even their mother''s appearance from behind. From the younger brother''s talks, her condition is very bad due to a severe illness"


    Conrad let out a small sigh. He put his right palm on my knees.


    "If you see from the son''s perspective, she might be a ruler whom you cannot exactly call a good person."


    "But in the dream I had, it was different from what Saralegui described... although it''s only until you tell me a dream is a dream."


    "Anyways, there''s no such thing as being too careful. As for the box is concerned, both the Shimaron countries are troublesome. Revealing their faults early saved us. Well then, your majesty, it''s not good to make Hazel and the others wait for too long. Can you stand?"


    From the wind that hit my cheeks, I understood that he had stretched his hand in front of me. Unable to hide it any longer, I opened my heavy mouth.


    "I''m not done yet."


    Even though my throat was supposed to be moist, my voice was hoarse. I wanted to run away from this place.


    "Did you hear about it from Saralegui?"


    "No."


    Conrad''s tone became firm. I''m sure he must have stiffened his lips and narrowed his eyes slightly. Narrowing the eyebrow with a scar, he might be frowning like his big brother.


    "I won''t listen to that man''s words anymore. No matter how pleasant it sounds to your ears, it''s poison."


    Even I think the same.


    "...Even I think the same. But what he said earlier is true. It''s the truth."


    I''m hesitating, since it''s something I really can''t say, I stop at my words. But if I think who else could convey this to him, even if he hates me, even if he holds a grudge against me, I have no other choice. It felt as if throwing out blood.


    I couldn''t raise my face up.


    "We have lost Josak."


    "Is that so."


    Without even being moved a little by the bad news, Conrad gave a short answer. I was the one who was upset.


    "It was an emergency situation. It can''t be helped."


    "It can''t be helped, is that all you can say!? It was my fault you know? At that time I..."


    "It''s not your fault"


    "You''re wrong, it is my fault! If I wouldn''t have chased after Sara to the underground... no, that''s not it... if I had ran much faster... surely..."


    "Your majesty, your majesty!"


    "It''s alright if you don''t think about it. It''s alright if you don''t think about what happened after that."


    "I will think...


    "Your majesty."


    He grabbed my shoulders. With his palms just like that, he soothingly caressed my arms.


    "He would be alive, by my side... making fun of me like always."


    When I thought that the heat had spread to my knees, it was actually my own tears. Even if it''s embarrassing and not manly, I can''t stop by putting up such a simple act. I could not bear it.


    I shouldn''t have drunk water, but it''s too late to regret now. If I had remained thirsty, I wouldn''t have been able to shed tears. I would have been able to forcibly swallow the lump of emotions stuck in my throat.


    "I''m sorry, I''m really sorry. Your best friend, an important comrade... I..."


    "No matter what I say now, I''m afraid your majesty will not accept it. No matter what I say, you''ll blame yourself. It''s better if we talk after you have calmed down a little."


    Conrad returned to his usual soft tone. I stuffed my forehead into my knees, my back curved.


    "But it really is my fault! A comrade has died in front of my eyes! How can you even understand how much I''m suffering."


    "Do you think I don''t understand?"


    With his dried fingers, he caresses the region between my hair and nape behind my neck.


    "How many people do you think I''ve killed. Me, Gwendal and even Josak is the same. How many do you think I have killed, how many did I let die... it''s uncountable."


    As if narrating a folk tale to children he spoke in a distant voice. He spoke as if anger, despair or any other violent emotions had all been eliminated.


    "It''s really countless."


    "But they were enemies, right? Because it was... a war."


    "It wasn''t only enemies. Even allies, much more younger than me, there were many new soldiers who were like boys. They all died. It was my fault."


    "Your fault..."


    "Under my orders they fought, advanced, were defeated, and at times lost their lives even though we won. A soldier''s death is the responsibility of the leader. If they are assigned to an incompetent leader, the young soldiers will all be wiped out without even giving any results to the battle. The outcome of the war is not only the responsibility of the commander who oversees the army, but also the king who leads the people. We don''t know how many we let die. How much good lives we have wasted, I don''t know even now. It was certainly my fault. I let them go knowingly. They went ahead knowing that they won''t be able to survive. The fact that I ordered them to die, my sin is much greater than yours."


    Conrad said to battle and die and then he murmured.


    "That is why there were hardly any who returned alive."


    His thumb is overlapping my carotid artery. But it''s completely different from the time Saralegui touched it. Rather than feeling fear, I feel relieved. Even if I can''t see it tells me that the person talking to me is not an enemy.


    "Gisela often says this... if we could have been able to save more. She laments if we would have treated more quickly and efficiently, another ten people, no even if one more person would have been saved. However I''m envious of her."


    "Why?"


    "I couldn''t even save a single person."


    "Conrad, that''s..."


    He embraced my head, and pressed his forehead near the boundary between my neck and chin.


    I can feel the flow of the blood.


    "Returning alive... even though I don''t feel ashamed of it right now... since I returned alive I had to report to the parents or family of the deceased soldier. At that time I was worried about I shout tell them... really... how should I have reported to them. Should I say it like this? Your husband or your son fought bravely, but he died because of my fault. Should I have said that? How would your majesty conveyed it?"


    "He fulfilled his duty..."


    I took a short breath.


    "He fulfilled his duties... but lost his life..."


    "That''s more than enough. Thank you for notifying me, I''m grateful."


    "But that''s..."


    When I lift my head up, the torch placed on the ground was vaguely swaying. The warm mass of orange appears to be like flowers.


    "That won''t do, it can''t end so easily!"


    "You must end it, your majesty."


    So as to not frustrate the king anymore, Conrad spoke in his elder brother''s tone.


    "Although it''s the one that stands above all who lets soldiers die, but it''s the soldier who decided who he will risk his life for. All by himself. That''s how it''s supposed to be."


    It could be for the sake of his beloved family or for the sake of his beautiful home town. And sometimes there are people who would risk their lives for something abstract like their honor.


    "Gurrier had decided for whom he should work for. Please acknowledge his decision."


    "But..."


    "I beg you, please do as I say. No matter for how long a king regrets for one soldier, it will only set a bad example to his people. Although, if it''s within your heart, you can lament for as long as you like."


    "Is that... because I''m the king, I must endure it all by myself...?"


    "Yuuri, I''m not saying that."


    Conrad grabbed my wrist and made me stand.


    "If it''s in my arms, you can cry as much as you want."


    I regretted abiding by his words. That''s why I cried all I wanted to. On his back that smelled like the sun.

 Volume 13 - CH 6

    Until then it somehow went unnoticed. While proceeding in the passageway I stumbled many times and would grab onto Conrad''s clothes, I would only say that it''s because I didn''t eat anything for five days that I couldn''t walk properly. Even though he sympathetically offered to carry me I said I don''t want to lose my muscles like this, Conrad reluctantly gave in.


    I didn''t think that I would be to hide it till the end of the journey but the truth is it was unexpectedly early. The moment I try to ride a horse and fall in the sand while getting on it would be a laughable scene, that''s what I expected.


    It was just past noon and the sunlight was still bright, it was reaching up to the bottom of the hole lightening it up. It was so bright, I couldn''t see anything, not even shadows. Everything was pure white.


    I can hear Hazel Graves'' high-spirited voice from far above.


    "Are you done with your business? If so then hurry up and climb up by yourself. You are as fast as it would take me to write down my whole life''s story!"


    "Please give me some time."


    I finally replied in a loud voice. There must be a rope hung down from the surface somewhere in this flood of light but it¡¯s so dazzling bright that there''s no way for me to search for it. It felt as if its white darkness.


    "All right I''ll climb! All right I''ll climb! .... umm... I wonder if I''ll be able to climb on my own."


    "I won''t let you do such a reckless thing. Hold on to me. I''ve already secured the rope. Yuuri, give me your hand..."


    It was at that time.


    Seeing the sunlight after a long time was dazzling, I couldn''t even make out the shadows. Also, the sunlight was warm so I couldn''t tell his position by his body temperature or movements. On top of that since the place was dorm-shaped the sound echoed, I couldn''t tell his position even by his voice.


    All the elements were working against me, I had stretched my hand in the opposite direction.


    "I''m here, your majesty."


    "Oh! That side."


    I failed for the second time.


    "Wait, it couldn''t be..."


    I can''t hide it like this any longer. I admit defeat and cover up my eyes with my left hand. Relieving me from the painful white, I could finally see a gentle shadow coming towards me.


    "I can''t see. It''s been like that for around two days I think. I don''t know exactly from when."


    "You can''t see?"


    "That''s right, like this I can''t see anything other than the faint colours of light."


    "... Is it because... of the darkness?"


    "Even I thought the same but"


    It is said that you can diagnose the symptoms by touching, Conrad held my cheeks with his hands and stroked near my eyes with his thumb. When I closed my eyes, he gently pressed my eyelids.


    "Do you think it''s because your eyes can''t get used to the light since you were in the darkness for a long time... really?"


    "Unfortunately, that''s true. Even with the torches, even with the light seeping through the hole in the ceiling, I can''t see much. I can only guess by the lights and shadows. But I''m used to it now. Because there was someone who taught me how to find the sun."


    Conrad most probably didn''t hear the last part, not to mention he lamented like a calamity had befallen himself. It''s rare to see him drop his guard like that.


    "What are you saying! Why didn''t you tell me earlier?"


    "It''s a question of priorities."


    "Priorities...don''t say such things"


    But it''s true. Humans can confirm something having experienced it firsthand. And it was the same in this case. I only realized the feelings inside me when I told Conrad about it. I''m only lying if I say it''s not a big deal. But if I think of it as "On a scale of ten, how much painful is it ?" then my vision problems would be either six or seven out of ten. Compared to the other two issues at hand, it¡¯s not that important.


    That''s why I tried to hide it.


    "If I put it in the order of importance, it would be third. We need to be careful about Saralegui''s involvement with the boxes, and even about Yozak... even that is important, its painful that he''s gone. My eyes can''t see... it''s worse, but that''s my problem. Because of that the world won''t be in danger or someone won''t have to lose their life, nothing tragic will happen. That''s why I thought its fine even if no one realized it but looks like it was not possible after all."


    I couldn''t suppress the embarrassing smile on my lips.


    "I didn''t want to worry you over little things."


    "... I already told you it''s my duty."


    While talking, I became used to standing in the light.


    The dazzling white had turned slightly yellowish, it changed to a milky colour.


    "Please don''t make such a sad face. Even if I can''t see I can tell what face you''re making. It''s not anyone''s fault, its only my personal problem."


    If I look at the heavens, I can see the sky which I told in my dreams.


    If I turn towards someone I can tell if they are there.


    "And if I think about it, its not like I''ve completely lost my eye-sight. When I was underground even I was a upset, I panicked since it was dark and I couldn''t see anything, I could barely distinguish between light and shadow... you could say that all of a sudden my vision became really bad."


    "Lights and shadows... how much can you see?"


    "hmm... for example the sky is the colour of water barely white. And if there is a pure white circle, then that is the sun. Conrad looks like..."


    If I reach for his hair, I can''t clearly distinguish it as brown but...


    "Because it becoming dark, it looks like a faint gray. Its like a proper human figure drawn in the sand on the seashore with the foot. I''m sorry if you feel bad."


    Without thinking I blurted it out and hastily apologized. No one would be happy to be told that they look like they have been drawn by foot.


    "You can only see human figures."


    "Don''t worry, I don''t have cat ears or something. When I was in that passage-way, I couldn''t see anything since there was no light or shadow. But it''s different now. If there is something in front of my eyes I can tell, I can tell that you are right here Conrad. The sun really is amazing!"


    I raised both my hands to the heavens. My whole body was covered by sunlight. I wanted to shake off the five days of soot wrapped around my body.


    "Thanks to the sun it feels like being surrounded by milk. The pitch black darkness has changed to white darkness."


    "White darkness..."


    He had an unkind expression, for while Conrad made an unkind expression, he fell silent for a while. After that he reluctantly asked me.


    "But how did you end up like this. Did you somehow damage your eyeball or optic nerves? For example, did some insect enter your eyes or were you hit by stones or mud."


    "hmmm... I can''t remember anything like that. But if something happened while I was fast asleep then, maybe I rolled over in my sleep and hit my head somewhere... my eye-sight might return if I''m hit with the same force again."


    "Isn''t that memory loss."


    "Maybe its a change in personality. It could be something else altogether."


    The light gray human form slightly moved up and down. He heaved his shoulders and let out a not so serious sigh.


    "Its alright, its alright. I will..."


    "Stop"


    Wait! Without letting him finish his sentence I placed my palm near his face. As usual he was going to say some cool dialogue refreshingly that would make your whole body itchy.


    "You don''t need to say it Conrad. Your eyes are your own, I have these two eyes... right now. They''re right here, aren''t there?"


    "Yes. Its my favorite black."


    "That''s right, its more than enough. By the way we are making the guys on top wait for quite some time. Isn''t Hazel considerably shot tempered?"


    Right at that time someone was looking into the hole. When they came close to the light source the colour of their shadow darkened.


    "Hurry, climb up alone."


    "huh"


    The voice in my memory echoed.


    "Alone, by myself?"


    "This voice is coming from the people above right. Did they bring an interpreter? That will be of great help to rescue Jason and Freddy, its a good thing to have many people who have mutual understanding... Conrad?"


    When I realized the surrounding atmosphere had changed, without realizing I started whispering.


    "Did something happen?"


    "Shhh! Your majesty, please step back a little. This is very strange, why would they need to call out to us... that too they said to climb up alone."


    Conrad pulled me behind again and shadowed me so that they wouldn''t be able to see me from above. Come to think of it, earlier Hazel said the same thing.


    "Hurry and climb up alone."


    "Hazel and the others know that there are two of us. There must be some reason why she''s emphasizing on ''alone''".


    "Did Saralegui do something sly again?"


    "That''s not possible, because I have tied him up properly."


    "But what if Shou Shimaron''s reinforcements or search party come to rescue him..."


    "They won''t be able to find him so easily."


    Just by his nonchalant way of speaking, I realized. Bag... you stuffed Sara in a bag, didn''t you Conrad. But after that "Exploring the amusing underground passage tour with dark Saralegui" I just cannot bring myself to side with him. Its best if he stays stuffed inside that bag for now.


    "This is very strange. I''ll go on ahead and see the situation. Your majesty, please stay put here, do you get it, no matter what do not come a place which is visible from above."


    After thinking a little he continued.


    "Of course please don''t even think of climbing up unnecessarily. Please don''t do anything reckless till your eyesight recovers. Going to the veranda or kitchen is also forbidden."


    "All right... wait, you''re gradually becoming like my mother."


    With my vision like a pigment''s thin thermography, if I jump in middle of disaster stricken party, instead of being of any help I''ll end up dragging them down. I''ll just wait here quietly. I''ll crouch here and wait stooping down so that no one can find me.


    But harsh roars and cliches which sound intimidating no matter how you listen to them are being exchanged on the ground which I watched quietly from behind. Words said like this are universal, you can understand them just by the feel.


    I heard about it later but at that time the situation on the surface was like this.


    When Conrad climbed the rope and looked from the hole, Hazel and the others and the closed bag were in a hold-up state, what''s more they were surrounded by all sides, looks like there were men riding horses with a projectile weapon in their hands.


    The attackers who fought for the supremacy and continued their struggle near the royal tomb were equestrian people. Indistinguishable from the sand in the desert they wore a yellowish gray cape and a hood of the same colour which covered everything up to their eyes that you couldn''t even read their expressions. They positioned the crossbow like projectile weapons at chin level, ten people aimed at Hazel and the others while the remaining ten targeted Conrad.


    Thanks to Conrad hiding in the hole like a prairie dog, before they could fire the pseudo-crossbow like weapons pointed at Hazel and the others, they immediately changed to plan B as soon as he tried to draw back his head,


    Plan B, the rabbit that was pretending to be bitten. In other words, waiting for an opportunity while pretending to obey them.


    He showed no intentions of resisting them, came out of the hole and joined the captives.


    I, who knew nothing, was waiting like a good boy for them to tell me its ok to climb up. While I was waiting for their reply, exchange of unruly words had already begun on the ground.


    After much of Seisakoku language, I could hear Conrad''s reply.


    "That was me!"


    As soon as they interpret, I can hear Seisakoku language again. This time in a calm voice he replied.


    "I''m alone."


    Just by this conversation I couldn''t affirm what Conrad was being asked. There is a possibility that the question was "Is this hat German?" or "Are you married?" However if you speculate from the tone of the people using Seisakoku language, the contents don''t seem so friendly.


    Those guys suspect whether there still might be some allies in the underground or not.


    Although their suspicions are right, there''s only a high school boy underground who can''t even fight.


    What should I do? While only listening to half their conversation I was lost.


    Should I appear in front of them like a man or should I just stay put in the shadows like Conrad asked me to. I don''t think the situation will improve by me going to the surface. But what will I do if in the worst case scenario my comrades blame me for not showing up?


    While I was worrying about it the situation on the scene changed drastically.


    Guessing only by the sound, people and horses, looks like both their numbers have increased suddenly. Are they the companions of the attackers, or are they the comrades of Hazel who continue the grass-root activities in the desert, or has a third force stormed in to create even more chaos.


    Screams and angry voices echoing one after the other, they eventually merged. A sharp sound of something cutting through the air, the sound of heavy weapons clashing against each other, the sound of hooves stamping on the sand. The neigh of the horses. There''s no doubt, unlike the leisurely atmosphere up till a while ago, its changing into a harsh battlefield above.


    Along with a dull sound, something came down on the ground right in front of my eyes. From what I heard it seemed heavy and soft, for my mental health I went to confirm.


    But thanks to him coming down and the rope swinging, I confirmed the path necessary to cross in order to reach the surface. A person is coming down with the help of that rope.


    "Co..."


    I shut my mouth and took a step back to where the sunlight couldn''t reach. A triangular distorted shadow was hanging in the air, from one hand he stretched an elongated shadow. He most probably drew out his sword. His hem flutters when the wind blows. Maybe its the cloak that covers his whole body.


    No, its not Conrad, he wasn''t wearing these clothes.


    I need to hide. Although I indented to follow my the orders given by my brain, I was a little late. Looks like the man who came down has spotted me. Stepping on pebbles he''s coming this side.


    My vision is getting pitch black as I run to the darkness that thins out the light coming from the ground and lean against a stone-wall.


    Give up! Get out before I to come and find you! My breathing is becoming shallow and rapid, a cold sweat flows down my spine. My pulse raced like an alarm.


    I don''t have a weapon, even my eyesight hasn''t recovered. If I''m attacked by the enemy in such a situation I can barely resist. Of course, even under normal circumstances I''m no match for a soldier. Escaping is just a matter of whether you''re fast or not.


    However my prayer was in vain, the man who had come down step foot even in the darkness. The last of the sunlight sparkled on the weapon held in his right hand.


    A small star appeared to be afloat for a moment and then disappeared.


    The opponent was gradually closing on the distance as I tried to conceal my breadth. I can hear him breathing close by. Still five more steps to go, four steps, three...


    "...tsk!"


    Jumping over the remaining two steps the enemy suddenly took a swing at me. It was a do or die situation, I threw my body to the right and rolled on the dry cold ground. Sparks flew from the stone wall that had the remnants of my body temperature from being hit by a heavy weapon.


    This is no joke, is he trying to kill me, does he intend to kill me!? Me who is neither a warrior nor a soldier but a high school student? A mere soldier is trying to injure me...


    Its that feeling again. The frustrating feeling that my throat, my mouth belong to someone else''s body as well at the same time.


    "...Despite being a mere soldier, you dare to try and harm me...?"


    The second attack cut through the air. I twisted my body and while avoiding even the wind caused by the sword I turned towards my assailants back in half a step. I gave him a blow on the spine with my elbow. If he is half or one step away, whether he can see it or not, I can attack him. Its only a question of whether I manage to land a direct hit him or not. Our situation is the same, even he shouldn''t be able to see clearly. But if the enemy is a skilled soldier who is accustomed to using swords then even in the dark he should be able to fight picking up signs from his opponent. However he has only one weak point.


    The enemy doesn''t know the position of the wall.


    Although my opponent didn''t have a prey to swing at, he had a splendid sword. If the blade hits my flesh, it will pierce and cut right through but if it hits a rock, it will have some impact on the wielder and cause damage. By chance if it breaks and rolls down it will no longer be of any use. If I pick it up, I can use it against the enemy.


    My opponent''s blade swooped from the bottom, grazed my right side and hit the rock. It broke and split into two parts while emitting a loud noise which didn''t seem to be that of a metal. The part with the hilt was in the hands of the enemy, while the other half with the sharp edge came spinning at high speed, hit my toes and stopped there.


    Why did my body naturally carry out a move that I have never even learnt before, how did such a counter attack method come to my mind all of a sudden, I myself did not find it strange. However more faster than thinking with my brain, I stepped on the edge of the blade and with the tip of my shoe raised it slightly.


    The cold piece of metal was within my hand''s reach.


    I couldn''t afford to worry about my palm. The same goes for my enemy. He is coming at me to swing with the broken sword which doesn¡¯t have a tip. Even I gripped the bare blade and quickly gave a horizontal swipe. The meal which was originally one sword, hurt two men at the same time.


    A hot stimulus ran through my right shoulder and there undoubtedly was some reaction in my left hand.


    My opponent''s body suddenly kneeled over. The air which was filled with the smell of rusty iron surged towards me.


    However finding the scent I certainly remember within it puzzled me. It wasn''t only the blood.


    "Wolf...?"


    "Yu"


    The body that had collapsed in my arms slowly turned.


    "Wolfram!?"


    "...Yuuri"


    My sleeves and palms were completely drenched in some warm liquid. Wolfram''s heaviness profoundly weighed down on my shoulders. While embracing him, I kneeled down on the ground miserably.


    "I couldn''t see, really, I didn''t know!"


    "Even me. I heard an unfamiliar voice... its not your... fault"


    "Wolf!"


    Everyone tells me that it''s not my fault.


    But in reality, everything is my fault.

 Volume 14 - Prologue

Junior, I have to explain this here, lest you misunderstand.


    Sunglasses are not for decoration.

 Volume 14 - CH 1

    ¡°Wolf!?¡±


    That is indeed his voice, and he did yell my name. But Wolf said the voice he heard wasn¡¯t mine, but someone else¡¯s.


    ¡°Are you okay? Tell me, quick, where are you hurt!?¡±


    I try to confirm his injury with him again, after all I was the one who hurt him.


    Crouching down, Wolfram makes a short grunt and then stands up forcefully with his legs. He desperately stretches his previously bent back, pushing away my hand with all his strength. I hurriedly chase his shadow, coming to the spot underneath the bright sunlight shining down from the surface.


    ¡°Wait a sec, Wolf, where are you hurt¡­¡±


    I reach out my left hand to touch what feels like a body, and feel something like torn cloth and animal fur. My thumb and index fingers are moist and warm, when I rub them it even feels a little sticky.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, really¡­¡±


    Wolf tries to step back from me, and I quickly grab his waist, pulling him to me. Hugging him tightly with my right arm, I press my left palm to his stomach¡ªThe warmth from his skin spreads over to me, a numbing pain climbing up my arm at the same time.


    I was healed this way a few times before, as long as I do exactly as I remember, I should be abke to heal others too. After all Gisela and Anissina taught me before, too, and I successfully did it last time, right?


    ¡°Stop!¡±


    I¡¯m pushed away forcefully, falling onto my butt on the hard floor, only managing to prop up my upper half with my hands.


    ¡°¡­Wolf?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡±


    Of course I can¡¯t see his expression, and can only rely on my hearing to tell, but the emotion that comes through his voice, is very obviously anger.


    He¡¯s standing in a spot with light, so I can see his shadow clearer. Although it¡¯s not the honey color that I see when I can see completely clearly, there¡¯s still a golden glimmer around him that¡¯s different from the surroundings. His own body looks like a dirty grey, though, so I can tell that he¡¯s wearing something he rarely does. That might very well be the reason I mistook him for the enemy.


    ¡°Sorry, I was wrong. I never thought it would be you.¡±


    Another black shadow falls to the ground blurrily. No, rather than say he fell, he should have slid down using the rope, it¡¯s just that the rope is too thin for me to see.


    ¡°Yuuri!¡±


    It¡¯s Conrad¡¯s voice, and so panicked it doesn¡¯t sound like the usual him. He walks past Wolfram, who¡¯s standing in place, and approaches me, on the ground, even crouching down according to my eye level. Perfect, now I can heal Wolfram¡¯s injury.


    ¡°Conrad, you¡¯re just in time, Wolf is pretty badly hurt, press him down while I¡¯m healing him.¡±


    ¡°Wolfram is fine, it¡¯s just a small wound on his clothes and abdomen, thankfully he had an amulet with him, so the wound isn¡¯t deep, not so bad that he has to trouble Your Majesty to heal him.¡±


    ¡°But he lost so much blood.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s your blood.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°Your palm is wounded, and that¡¯s not all.¡±


    He grabs my shoulder a little roughly, and a sharp pain immediately runs down my right side, until I can¡¯t help but yelp. After a short apology, he instantly reduces the force he¡¯s using, but his voice is still very stiff.


    ¡°This is?¡±


    ¡°What¡­¡±


    Conrad doesn¡¯t wait for my reply, shouting,


    ¡°Sizemore!¡±


    ¡°Yes, Your Excellency.¡±


    Another shadow drops down to join us, now there is twice the number of people underground.


    The large shadow moving in a fluster, should be Captain Sizemore. His ancestors never thought that, as a tribe who made a living on the sea, he would one day be called to this kind of sand-strewn lands. After all, this is an area he can¡¯t show off his talents at all.


    ¡°His Majesty is hurt, do you have any cloth that can be used as a bandage? Also¡­¡±


    Conrad orders Sizemore,


    ¡°Arrest him immediately.¡±


    The shadow that looks like the Captain stops abruptly, revealing his confusion with the question, ¡°Arrest who?¡±


    ¡°Lord von Bielefeld. He hurt His Majesty, we mustn¡¯t let him approach His Majesty.¡±


    Now it¡¯s my turn to panic.


    ¡°Wait a sec! You misunderstood, Conrad! This is a misunderstanding!¡±


    ¡°No matter what the reason, it¡¯s a fact that Wolfram hurt you with a sword, this is an unforgivable crime. Haven¡¯t you noticed the pain in your right shoulder?¡±


    Once he says that, I finally remember that the two of us were at each other¡¯s throats just a while ago. At the same time I grabbed the blade with my hand, the other person was holding a broken sword, so that¡¯s how both of us ended injured.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear me?¡±


    Lord Weller repeats his order to a helpless Sizemore, and the only result is the Captain¡¯s already balding hair falls out some more.


    Because now there are two people giving orders.


    ¡°Of course he[1] heard you!¡±


    Wolfram must have been waving his hand as he spoke, because I feel a breeze brush past my face. Wonderful, his movements are no different than usual, and his voice is powerful too, I can¡¯t help but heave a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be mistaken, Lord Weller. They are Shin Makoku soldiers, and will not obey your orders. Sizemore, you don¡¯t have to arrest me, but from now on you must keep a watch on me, if I try to approach His Majesty then you must do everything to stop me, even if it means using force, understand?¡±


    Apparently I¡¯m not the only one who feels relieved. No matter how loyal a soldier, they like orders that are easy to accomplish. Captain Sizemore¡¯s voice has also become obviously lighter,


    ¡°I just have to stop you? But Your Excellency, why¡­¡±


    This part is particularly vexing, to me as well.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to know the reason.¡±


    ¡°Wait a sec! Wolf, what do you mean by keep a watch? What do you mean, you can¡¯t approach me? More importantly, why are you here, come on and explain to me! How will I know anything if you don¡¯t tell me!?¡±


    ¡°Why am I here?¡±


    Wolfram can¡¯t approach me, but there¡¯s amusement in his voice when he talks. But that isn¡¯t self-jest or embarrassment, much less joy. If I had to describe it, that should be pride, right?


    ¡°Staying by Your Majesty¡¯s side, isn¡¯t that my duty?¡±


    ¡°This¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I came to find you.¡±


    I want to see his expression so bad, to see what kind of attitude he said that line with. Surely he must have his arms over his chest, his body tilted back slightly, even looking down on me with his chin raised.


    ¡°Is that so? So you came to look for me, thank you.¡±


    But I lost my rational mind, mistaking him for an enemy and even hurting, it¡¯s only natural that he would be mad, I can¡¯t even blame him if he starts hating me for it.


    Just then another new figure complete ignores my surprise and the current atmosphere, falling down with a speed that makes one wonder, ¡®Did he really use the rope?¡¯ With a ¡®thunk¡¯ he hits the ground waist first, yelling out exaggeratedly,


    ¡°U-ha! Ow--! I¡¯ll explain, let me explain!¡±


    ¡°Dacascos?¡±


    Actually I didn¡¯t recognize him by his voice, but by his head¡ªthat sunlight-reflecting, sparkling head.


    ¡°Your Majesty, let me explain briefly. His Excellency Wolfram and His Excellency G¨¹nter both volunteered to look for Your Majesty, but since His Excellency Gunter was so worried for Your Majesty, he kept leaking sticky G¨¹n-juices, so there was no way to determine a winner~~¡±


    ¡°Dacascos, cut the nonsense! Hurry up and get clean cloth and water to help bandage Yuuri¡¯s wound.¡±


    ¡°Wolf, you too.¡±


    I reach my hand out towards Wolfram¡¯s back, to be precise, towards the shadow I decide is his back, and of course I can¡¯t reach.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t want to touch you, but your wound must be healed! Don¡¯t underestimate it just because it¡¯s not deep! Where¡¯s Gisela? Didn¡¯t Gisela come?¡±


    ¡°About that, Your Majesty¡­¡±


    Dacascos rubs his head awkwardly¡ªIt¡¯s because his sparkly head got dimmer, so I could immediately tell the action he¡¯s doing.


    ¡°Although Sergeant did cross the sea to get here, but her maryoku is too strong, so it¡¯s not convenient for her to come to land.¡±


    ¡°Wait a sec, you said ¡®cross the sea¡¯? You guys actually managed to get past such strong storms?¡±


    ¡°Oh~~ That¡¯s because Captain Mountain Range and Terine-shan¡­¡±


    According to Captain Sizemore and Dacascos, they seem to have used another route quite a distance away from the normal way to reach Seisakoku. That¡¯s the route smugglers and pirates used in the path, and so it¡¯s also called the Golden Road or the Pirate¡¯s Sea Road. But this route requires navigating past intricate islands and currents, and so needs experienced seafaring skills, so they must have overcome that with the skills and will of Sizemore, master of the sea. In my heart I¡¯m also wondering how Shin Makoku¡¯s ¡®Find Me Team¡¯ knew about such a mysterious route¡­


    ¡°It seems Captain Mountain Range¡¯s grandfather or great-grandfather was a pi¡­ No, an unofficial merchant, and Terine-shan was by his side the whole time, so it memorized the route.¡±


    ¡°I see, so his ancestor isn¡¯t Mountain Range, but Pirate King[2].¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s how we managed to arrive at the secret port on the north-west part of this continent, finding horses there and sending people out in all direction to search, luckily only our team here found Your Majesty. Oh dear¡ªHow very lucky! All this is thanks to the guidance of His Excellency G¨¹nter¡¯s curse.¡±


    ¡°Hold on hold on, there¡¯s something I can¡¯t pretend I didn¡¯t hear, what do you mean by ¡®Gunter¡¯s curse¡¯? Don¡¯t tell me G¨¹nter cursed me? He didn¡¯t throw the kitten into the pot, did he? But Gwendal should have stopped him¡­ Ow!¡±


    After confirming the wound on my palm, Conrad starts bandaging it forcefully, so all the flesh in my palm is instantly squeezed together, even bleeding a little¡­ Although I can¡¯t see, that¡¯s how it feels like.


    ¡°Please bear it a little before the wound closes up, although your shoulder is banged up pretty badly, but the wound shouldn¡¯t have reached the bone. Alright, whatever you want to say next can wait until we reach the surface, Hazel and the others should have started worrying about how to deal with the luggage too.¡±


    It¡¯s only when I hear ¡®luggage¡¯ that I remember, Saralegui who was packed and wrapped in a sack is still on the surface. Other than my palm and shoulder, now my head starts hurting too, and when I hear Dacascos asking in an innocently oblivious tone what¡¯s in the sack, my head hurts even more. I just ignore his question, standing up slowly along the stone wall. Just as I think, ¡®Crap, my condition ain¡¯t good¡¯, I realize that my legs are fine. No problem, I can still stand, and I can walk.


    ¡°If it¡¯s okay with you, please allow me to carry you on my back¡­ Your Majesty?¡±


    ¡°Eh? Oh~~ Mn.¡±


    I hear them hurrying me, so I walk until I¡¯m underneath the hole, but as I advance, my gaze is still trained on the pitch black tunnel ahead. Of course I don¡¯t want to stay here, but I don¡¯t want to leave just like that either, so even though I know I can¡¯t see, I¡¯m still staring at the pitch black cave.


    ¡°Yuuri.¡±


    ¡°¡­I know.¡±


    Of course I know, my comrade can¡¯t possibly come back, and ¡®he¡¯ won¡¯t be happy either. But if I leave him alone in the darkness just like this, I really don¡¯t know how to calm down my own emotions.


    I even think of his body, it¡¯s just that the fearsome noun scares me. Because I obviously refused to believe that he¡¯s dead, so that makes me start hating the I who accepts this reality.


    Conrad knows what I¡¯m thinking, saying to me softly,


    ¡°I won¡¯t let him sleep on this land.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°We always try our best to send our comrades¡¯[3] bodies back to their homeland, to the hometown he acknowledged. It¡¯s just that we can¡¯t do that immediately, right now.¡±


    I hope that the place he acknowledged as his hometown, is by my side.


    Travelling in the desert is really very tough.


    Just like a kindergartener carrying a cloth doll backpack, I¡¯m tied to Conrad¡¯s back, and finally return to the surface I missed so much. The unsheltered sunlight is a huge torture on my weakened vision, even after a few minutes of adjusting, the surroundings are still foggy.


    But being unable to withstand the blinding sunlight is a pretty good excuse. Rather than letting everyone accept the fact that my eyes can¡¯t see, it¡¯s better to let them think I can¡¯t get used to the bright environment for now. After all I¡­ we spent nearly a week in absolute darkness, not only can our eyes not withstand the sun¡¯s rays, our stomachs are also so hungry they¡¯re stuck to our backs, and our stamina is terrible, so much so we can¡¯t ride a horse alone.


    So behind me is Sizemore, sitting with his body pencil-straight.


    His arms are at a ninety degree angle, his straight upper body looking as though someone stuffed a baseball bat down his back. Since he said ¡°Being able to ride together on the same horse with Your Majesty, is my honor!¡± in the beginning, we haven¡¯t found much in common to talk about. I¡¯m embarrassed to put all my body weight on his nervous and stiff body, so in the end I¡¯m still relying on my own strength to hold up my body.


    There¡¯s a way to sleep even on horseback, that should be a certain someone¡¯s lie.


    Even though I¡¯m exhausted I can¡¯t rely on Wolfram, after all he¡¯s injured too, right now it¡¯s probably all he can do to take care of himself.


    Although he keeps insisting to his brother that it¡¯s a light injury, but a soldier¡¯s idea of a light injury is different from a sportsman¡¯s. To us baseball boy, a sprain that takes three weeks to heal is already a fairly serious injury. A sword stab to the stomach is basically throwing away the entire ball season, so serious it will seriously let down all the fans.


    As for Conrad, he¡¯s riding with the blindfolded Saralegui. Although he¡¯s now in a truce with Shin Makoku¡­ I should say, with me, he¡¯s still Dai Shimaron¡¯s emissary on the surface. Taking his position into account, he¡¯s the best candidate to take care of the Shou Shimaron king.


    But Saralegui is really impressive too. Even though we tied his hem to the saddle, and blindfolded him under the pretense of protecting his eyes, but he¡¯s not scared or angry in the slightest, even leaning his entire body on Conrad and sleeping.


    ¡°Rather than say he¡¯s sleeping soundly, he¡¯s so deep asleep he might as well be dead. I think he won¡¯t wake up even if he falls off the horse.¡±


    So says Dacascos, astonished.


    After they found out what¡¯s in the sack, not just the people from Seisakoku, even those from Shin Makoku were completely taken aback. Amongst them, Ajira-san the translator¡¯s expression changed drastically, and he even wanted to run from the scene¡­ Okay, that¡¯s what I think happened, after all while I held my breath, all I heard was the sound of kicking sand.


    Even if we explain that this person is not the Emperor of Seisakoku Yelshi, and is instead his twin brother Saralegui, we still can¡¯t convince the rebels. Once his older brother knows about the secret organization, the underground resistance will be in great danger. At first we wanted to tell them Saralegui¡¯s eyes have already been blindfolded, but they went ten horses ahead of us ages ago, refusing to come any closer no matter what.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you tired, Your Majesty?¡±


    Only Hazel Graves would occasionally bring her horse to the group in the back.


    ¡°I¡¯m okay, Sara is probably fine too. It¡¯s as you see it.¡±


    ¡°Mn¡ªHe seems to be super relaxed.¡±


    Seems so, because I can hear his snoring from here.


    ¡°If we continue ahead for a while there should be an oasis, for now we can only pray that this map is correct.¡±


    ¡°Can the people in the front tell which direction they¡¯re advancing in?¡±


    ¡°If we had a magnetic mineral stone, at least we could use it as a compass. Compared to sewing, since young I¡¯ve always been better at making tools. It¡¯s just that I¡¯m not sure if the direction it points at is the same as on Earth.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Because the Captain¡¯s compass needle is swinging left and right behind my head, I can¡¯t help but wonder how she knows where we are now in this vast and empty desert.


    ¡°On the other hand, Your Majesty, there¡¯s something bothering me.¡±


    Hazel suddenly lowers her voice, and my heart grows nervous accordingly.


    ¡°The few people in the front, plus the Captain-san and Baldy-san here, they¡¯re all Your Majesty¡¯s men, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°And that one who¡¯s angry because his stomach got hurt, the handsome guy that looks like a fairy tale prince, he is too?¡±


    ¡°Mn, actually he is a prince.¡±


    ¡°In that case, he¡¯s Your Majesty¡¯s brother from a different mother or something like that?¡±


    ¡°No, no, he¡¯s the son of the previous Queen.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Shin Makoku isn¡¯t patrimonial? Even though it¡¯s a kingdom, it¡¯s full of wonders.¡±


    I don¡¯t mention that Wolfram is Conrad¡¯s brother, because that will only complicate things further.


    ¡°But when we were surrounded by the equestrian people, they showed up so suddenly and in such a cool way, I¡¯m really very grateful, because he¡¯s practically like a Prince Charming¡­ True, he is indeed a real prince. And then Lord Weller is the Little Buddy¡¯s¡­ Your Majesty¡¯s bodyguard, right?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡ªAbout that¡­ More or less, I guess¡ª¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re all Your Majesty¡¯s men, so why don¡¯t PRINCE and Lord Weller seem to get along?¡±


    Ah~~ So that¡¯s it, that¡¯s what she wanted to ask? I heave a sigh of relief, deciding to set Hazel¡¯s username for Wolf as PRINCE.


    ¡°They actually get along very well, just like real brothers.¡±


    I should say, they are brothers to start with.


    ¡°So what is PRINCE so unhappy about, why is he so angry?¡±


    ¡°Maybe because I injured him.¡±


    ¡°What!?¡±


    Hazel nearly yells out loud, then she quickly lowers her voice, putting her hand on my uninjured shoulder, caressing it a few times as though comforting me.


    ¡°Something happened while you were underground, right? Such as you started fighting your own, or tried to kill each other.¡±


    Behind me, Sizemore¡¯s body is getting stiffer and stiffer, we¡¯re talking in a language he doesn¡¯t understand, and even having bodily contact, so naturally he would be at a loss for what to do.


    But Hazel doesn¡¯t seem to worry about all that, continuing to talk to me, and in a quiet, steady voice, as though talking to herself,


    ¡°Listen up, Little Buddy, no matter what happened in that underground tunnel, it¡¯s not your fault, and not anyone else¡¯s fault, either. That is an evil place, scary things happen there. Tragedies will happen there, that seem to tear apart your heart, and leave deep wounds. So no matter what you do, never blame yourself, it¡¯s not Little Buddy¡¯s fault, and it¡¯s no one¡¯s fault.¡±


    ¡°Hazel.¡±


    ¡°If you have to say, the people who built that kind of place long, long ago are to blame, in other words those guys who built the tunnel to the royal tombs. That place is full of evil intention, the tombs continuously emitting the curse of their entire clan towards the world. Precisely because they built a tunnel to the royal tombs, that¡¯s why those kinds of tragedies happen.¡±


    ¡°Hazel¡­ Hazel Graves, what¡¯s the matter with you?¡±


    I search for the silhouette of Hazel Graves in the middle of my blurry vision. I reach my hand out for the figure that¡¯s slightly blocking the sunlight, although I can touch her with my fingertips, because we¡¯re both on horseback, my fingers rub her face even if I don¡¯t move at all.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not like something an experienced adventurer would say, I never thought you would say something so unscientific.¡±


    ¡°¡­Your Majesty, it¡¯s exactly because I¡¯m an adventurer that I say that. No matter how unscientific, seeing is believing. Everything you see will happen, no matter how illogical¡ªIt is just that kind of place.¡±


    ¡°When you say ¡®illogical¡¯, exactly how illogical¡­¡±


    ¡°Like impossible images, or comrades dying for impossible reasons etc.¡±


    The skin I touch, is so dry it doesn¡¯t even feel like a woman¡¯s anymore, carved with deep wrinkles. Back when my eyes could see, she was so energetic and robust, but now she¡¯s aged until she¡¯s practically a different person.


    ¡°But that¡¯s not your fault, Your Majesty. Never blame yourself.¡±


    Suddenly I feel that¡¯s she old and small, and the corners of my eyes grow warm. Hazel Graves spent her life, very long by Earth standards, here in this land where there¡¯s only yellow sand.


    Only her alone.


    People call her Venera.


    ¡°Did you tell anyone else about the same thing?¡±


    ¡°You mean about the underground passage?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Hazel.¡±


    The face and chin in front of my fingers move from left to right.


    ¡°No, I never told anyone. Because as far as I know, no one will go in there.¡±


    ¡°Who would have thought I¡¯m the only one.¡±


    From not far away there¡¯s a call of ¡°Your Majesty?¡±, and also ¡°Yuuri¡ª¡±


    ¡°So only I experienced the same thing you did.¡±


    My hand moves down to her chin along her face, past her neck and chest, exploring downwards blindly. Maybe she can¡¯t stand my clumsiness, because Hazel takes my hand on her own accord.


    ¡°If so, I¡¯m also the only one who can say this.¡±


    She grips my hand tightly, with a palm smaller and fingers thinner than when I could see.


    ¡°Hazel, that isn¡¯t anyone¡¯s fault.¡±


    In that moment it¡¯s like I could see again, at the same time it felt as though I could hear someone saying something. That voice doesn¡¯t go through my ears, but comes out from my throat, resounding in my head directly before the words leave my mouth.


    That person is telling a tall figure, ¡°This isn¡¯t your fault.¡±


    I even thought that this is the same as before when I was underground, a long dream, but the illusion disappears in a second, all I see now is the shape of Hazel¡¯s face. Beyond that is a blur of yellow sand and sunlight merging.


    I rub my eyes with my bandaged left hand, my right hand holding Hazel¡¯s again.


    ¡°But I have to thank you, Hazel. I will try my best not to blame myself, and convince myself to think that way.¡±


    ¡°Perfect, looks like my words still have some use after all. Then I need to go back now, abandoning them in the front like that is really very pitiful.¡±


    Hazel Graves speeds up her horse and catches up with the group ahead, I dazedly stare at the pale brown slowly goes into the distance, approaching a patch of similar color.


    She never once mentioned Josak¡¯s name, or asked about his whereabouts. I¡¯m afraid she already noticed, is this the so-called ¡®samurai¡¯s compassion¡¯?


    ¡°What is it, Your Majesty? Did that woman say something to displease you?¡±


    ¡°Eh? Why would you say so?¡±


    Sizemore drops his arms, finally relaxed, scratching at his receding hair,


    ¡°This is very hard to say, but it feels like¡­ she keeps making Your Majesty yawn.¡±


    ¡°Yawn¡­ Ah!¡±


    Sometimes it¡¯s very hard to understand a rough and tough soldier when he tries to say something subtly. Maybe it¡¯s because I was a bit rough rubbing my eyes just now, so my eyes turned red, or maybe some sand got into them and so I teared up.


    But before trying to explain, I really want to yawn. The oxygen hasn¡¯t even reached my brain yet, and my mouth is already wide open.


    ¡°Sorry, I want to take a nap. I can¡¯t stand it anymore, after this I may keep on sleeping.¡±


    ¡°Ah!? You want to sleep here!?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Captain. Hasn¡¯t the Shou Shimaron king already proven that you can sleep while riding a horse?¡±


    Anyway that guy must be all over Conrad, snoring, right? And I¡¯m sure he¡¯s not dreaming.


    Whatever, I¡¯m exhausted, so tired my body feels like a puddle of mud, and can fall off the horse whenever.


    ¡°Call me when we reach the oasis.¡±


    I don¡¯t care, even if I fall there¡¯s sand underneath me, and even if I do fall to the ground, someone will pick me up.


    I¡¯m not alone in the pitch black darkness anymore.

 Volume 14 - CH 2

    At first I thought we would have more water than we could drink, and more food than we could eat once we reached the oasis, plus more baths than we could ever take, only to get there and realize that nothing is as I expected.


    After we cross the white sand dune, the water source immediately enters our eyes.


    Considering it¡¯s a water source in the desert, you could say this place is both vast and lush, almost the same size as a lake. The overflowing fresh water gets darker in color as it gets closer to the center, and it¡¯s very clear, so much so you could clearly see the pebbles under the water when you stand by the bank.


    Since I can still only see light and shadows, and I can¡¯t distinguish colors, Captain Sizemore is the one who told me all that from behind me. He still thinks my vision is so bad because I suddenly saw sunlight.


    ¡°Your Majesty, there is indeed a lake here, we should add it onto our country¡¯s maps.¡±


    ¡°Captain, we can talk about the maps later. As long as I can drink and bathe, I don¡¯t care if it¡¯s a lake or river.¡±


    From the rustling of the leaves in the wind and the swaying shadows, I can tell that there are a lot of trees here.


    ¡°And there are people staying here, too. Rather than say it¡¯s a water source, it¡¯d be better to call it a town.¡±


    ¡°Seems so.¡±


    But what¡¯s bothering us is that although there are houses here, there¡¯s no sense of any people at all. Maybe it¡¯s because we¡¯re still very far away, but not only can¡¯t we hear any talking sounds, we can¡¯t even hear approaching footsteps, could this be an GHOST TOWN?


    Maybe he noticed my suspicions, because Conrad rides his horse to my side,


    "These aren''t ruins, you know? There are even newly-built houses here."


    ¡°Everything looks white to me, what is this town made of? Stones?¡±


    ¡°They should be bricks made of mud and animal feces then dried in the sun, they look considerably sturdy too. As for the lake¡­ Ah, yes, it should be a quarter of the size of Fenway Park[1], surrounded by 25 to 30 buildings around the sides. There doesn¡¯t seem to be special buildings like a church or shops, but this many buildings is already sufficient for a town and relay point. Oh, yeah!¡±


    There¡¯s laughter in his breathing.


    ¡°There are a lot of clothes hanging out to dry, so it shows that the people here have benefited greatly from the water. It¡¯s strange that there¡¯s not a single person out, though, since it¡¯s obviously still quite some time before nightfall.¡±


    ¡°What are you saying? Ah, that¡¯s right, you¡¯re explaining these sights to your blind master, right?¡±


    Saralegui, finally awake, speaks with a volume everyone can hear. Dacascos takes a while but he manages to catch up to us, asking worriedly, ¡°You still can¡¯t see?¡±


    But Saralegui¡¯s will is really scary. Even though he¡¯s been blindfolded, and his movements restricts, he doesn¡¯t seem uneasy or dejected at all, instead he¡¯s extremely interested in his current situation.


    Who would have thought his fantasy-like looks hid such thick skin? I¡¯ve been completely duped by him, to the point where even I am surprised by my own stupidity.


    In front of Conrad, the Shou Shimaron boy king straightens up unnaturally, maybe he uses his shoulders and arms to get rid of the blindfold, because I can feel his golden eyes looking at me.


    ¡°Good morning, Your Majesty Saralegui. You seem to have slept well.¡±


    ¡°Exactly right, Your Majesty Yuuri. Lord Weller¡¯s chest is so comfortable to sleep on, how I envy you for having such a wonderful subordinate. But he¡¯s Dai Shimaron¡¯s emissary, right? In that case, why would he obey your orders while we were underground? Do you have some secret pact with Dai Shimaron?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no such thing.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? But you¡¯re too smart, I find that very hard to believe.¡±


    I knew a long time ago that his tongue is deadly poisonous, so I can¡¯t let him rile me up.


    Before I start feeling unhappy, I need to think happy thoughts¡ªlike water, food, baths. This is just as I thought, there¡¯s enough water for me to bathe. I turn back and tell Sizemore in a purposefully bright voice,


    ¡°Captain, since there¡¯s no danger, let¡¯s enter the town. Where are Wolfram and the others? Hazel and Ajira-san should have arrived already too, and it¡¯s very weird that there isn¡¯t a single person in town¡­ Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡±


    ¡°Y-Your Majesty, ¡®don¡¯t tell me¡¯ what?¡±


    Sparkly Dacascos asks timidly. It¡¯s okay now that there¡¯s still sunlight, but once night falls, I¡¯m no confident I can recognize him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me some scary dinosaur or huge squid ate everyone in town?¡±


    ¡°I-in this calm-looking lake!?¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty, squids are saltwater animals. And if the people were all eaten, there wouldn¡¯t be so many freshly-washed clothes, right?¡±


    ¡°G-good point.¡±


    I struggled but got off the horse, walking towards the patch of aqua blue. If I¡¯m scared because I can¡¯t see, I may not dare to put even one foot forward. But I still stretch my arms out, so that I don¡¯t trip over any obstacles and fall. If someone else saw me, they might probably think I¡¯m a zombie. Honestly, right now I really feel extremely embarrassed, no matter what I won¡¯t let my beloved daughter see me like this.


    The cold breeze blowing across the surface of the lake reaches my face and neck, and the white shirt I borrowed blows in the wind as well.


    As I walk on the little path between the houses to reach the waterfront, the feeling underneath my feet immediately changes. That feeling is different from the solid hard ground, so soft people might mistake it for a beach. I hear footsteps on the wet sand behind me, and know that Conrad is following closely behind me.


    ¡°It¡¯s water.¡±


    Although I¡¯m not so thirsty anymore, the painful memories from my time underground still makes me kneel by the water. The cool water laps over my fingers, buried in the sand, then recedes.


    ¡°It¡¯s water, Conrad, there¡¯s actually so much water.¡±


    ¡°A priceless treasure in the desert.¡±


    When I bring my face to the surface, there¡¯s a freshwater smell different from that of seawater. It''s freshwater and a whole lot of it.


    And it¡¯s precisely then, that I sense for the first time that there are people in the town.


    A door opens and closes roughly, and I hear a man giving a panicked warning,


    ¡°Yuuri you can¡¯t, the water has been polluted!¡±


    ¡°Wolfram?¡±


    Before I can raise my head, someone¡¯s already pulled me up by the collar, what a close call.


    ¡°You said polluted?¡±


    What a rare word in this world.


    Even if he says this water has been polluted, it looks very fresh and clear. It even smells like mineral water.


    Wolfram pulls my hand and brings me into a building, it looks like the Seisakoku resistance led by Hazel and the four Shin Makoku soldiers Sizemore brought are all here.


    ¡°Why does everyone look so serious?¡±


    Dacascos asks, all carefree, and Hazel doesn¡¯t answer him, instead calling out to me,


    ¡°Your Majesty.¡±


    Since the room is slightly dim, I can¡¯t tell where she is, so I have to deduce her position from her voice.


    ¡°I heard, Hazel. What¡¯s the matter, what do you mean by polluted?¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t drink the water, did you?¡±


    ¡°I almost did. But it smells and feels normal, why would you say it¡¯s polluted? Could this be Shocker¡¯s[2] doing?¡±


    Shocker is an organization Murata really admires. It seems they sometimes poison Tama Lake[3], and sometimes release a poisonous gas that strips people of their motivation to work, sort of like the Poison Lady of Earth. If Shocker doesn¡¯t show up in the weekly must-watch episode of Kamen Rider, Murata will sigh dejectedly.


    ¡°Someone put a houjutsu on the water, and a tricky houjutsu too.¡±


    ¡°They polluted the water with houjutsu--!?¡±


    The image of water pollution in my head immediately shatters with a crash. The original images were¡ªstiff like colorful industrial waste from factories, or thick smog from tall chimneys, or the water surface being dyed never-before-seen colors, with countless fish floating belly up, and then scary poison monsters claw apart the mud and appear etc. And some chemicals mixing in the water, to cause mutations in the fish!


    ¡°W-where are the half fish people?¡±


    Conrad purposely clears his throat,


    ¡°Your Majesty, in order to protect their good name, let me explain, the maidmer always stay in clean seas.¡±


    ¡°Ah, sorry¡­ But Hazel, you said houjutsu pollution, so you mean that although this is such a large lake, not a single drop of water inside can be drunk?¡±


    ¡°Apparently it can only be used to clean.¡±


    Oh, that¡¯s why they gave up on everything, and washed a ton of clothes.


    ¡°So all the people left the town of their own accord, and moved to another place?¡±


    ¡°No, most of them are still staying here. After all abandoning their hometown and moving far away is full of obstacles, and they need to protect the water source generations of their ancestors left behind. You see, they¡¯re desperately doing this kind of work, just like that.¡±


    There¡¯s the sound of rubbing hinges, they probably opened the door of the next house, it¡¯s just that in the dim room, I still can¡¯t tell what¡¯s in front of me.


    ¡°I see~~ They split a large water trough into two halves, one above the other, and connected them using a thin pipe in the middle. The trough on top is half-filled with water, sand, crushed pebbles and dead leaves, but the bottom trough is almost completely empty, who would have thought that was to catch the water dripping through the pipe. In other words this is a Seisakoku-style water filter? But waiting for one drop of water is already taking so long I want to fall asleep, and who are these four shinzokus staring at the apparatus unblinkingly? Hazel?¡±


    Conrad, thank you for that explanation that¡¯s as detailed as an educational program, I will never forget your great kindness.


    It¡¯s thanks to his appropriate descriptions that I come up with the image of a factory manufacturing make-up for different ages in my head. And every time she sees those ads, Mom will start fussing over whether or not she should by those make-up products.


    ¡°These four seem to be performing purification houjutsu, to make the polluted water drinkable. The other remaining residents are also doing the same thing, but it¡¯s hard enough to purify enough drinking water for all these families. It takes so long, no wonder they can¡¯t accumulate any pure water.¡±


    ¡°I see, so this is simple filtration¡­ Ah, using houjutsu to purify the water, right? And it takes so long I almost fall asleep to purify a few drops, what an inefficient task.¡±


    ¡°But they still have to purify drinking water, and even save some for passing travelers like us.¡±


    ¡°So they¡¯re not only purifying water for themselves to drink, how noble of them.¡±


    ¡°We got here first, so we discussed it over with them, to see if they could spare us some drinking water. Because we really need water whether we¡¯re going forward or back, but it seems they can¡¯t provide enough water to let us all continue on our journey. After all, accumulating some takes several days already.


    ¡°I think so too, after all they have to purify one drop at a time.¡±


    I place my hand on my forehead and look upwards, the wound under the bandage throbbing. Is there any more efficient way, to filter a lot of water at once?


    ¡°Aah, I thought of something good! I once saw in a creepy magazine, you can use the power of the pyramid! Just make a pyramid-shaped rack like this, and the water in the cup you put inside will become very tasty. And if you put old milk inside, it¡¯ll even become natto.¡±


    ¡°What did you say!? Animal milk can turn into rotten beans!?¡±


    ¡°Ah, sorry, my mistake. The milk becomes yogurt, and beans become natto.¡±


    Sizemore heaves a long sigh of relief. Wait a sec, if this theory is correct, the power of the pyramid only makes food rot¡­. No no no, not rot, I mean ferment. But what happens after such important water ferments, is beyond me. If Murata were here, he would definitely answer immediately.


    ¡°What about we just build a pyramidal structure over the lake? Maybe this way can even restore the polluted surroundings to normal. Ah~~ But where do we find the materials? Captain, could you get us a bamboo stick that can be adjusted so that they can become really long?¡±


    ¡°But Your Majesty, even if you restore the whole lake, there¡¯s no point if they use the same houjutsu on it again.¡±


    I exclaim ¡°Ah!¡± and then shut up. Hazel¡¯s right, there¡¯s no point if we don¡¯t treat the root of the problem. Speaking of which, who polluted the lake with houjutsu and why? First we need to understand the whole story.


    ¡°Apparently two tribes of equestrian people are warring over this water source, and one side used the polluting houjutsu to be able to monopolize the water.¡±


    ¡°When you say equestrian people, do you mean those guys who attacked you on the surface?¡±


    ¡°Those guys were one of the tribes as well.¡±


    ¡°I see, the equestrian people are shinzoku too, no wonder they can use houjutsu¡ª¡±


    I heard before that in the desert lands in the north, there are a few tribes of equestrian people fighting for domination in the name of protecting the royal tombs, but I never heard that they would even fight over a precious water source.


    ¡°Mn¡ªSince they will surround us out of nowhere, and aim crossbows at us, there¡¯s no point in asking us to undo the curse, either.


    In a time like this, we could really use Poison Lady''s help. If Miss Anissina was here, she would help invent many things like a ¡®Nullification-kun¡¯ that reflects all unreasonable curses and houjutsu, or something convenient like ¡®Drinking Elephant No. 3¡± that can instantly purify any polluted water through its long nose.


    This kind of situation sure is upsetting, like a well-timed safe hit that never comes, when you don¡¯t need her you see the Poison Lady everywhere.


    ¡°About that¡ªAt times like this shouldn¡¯t we ask what houjutsu is it first? Maybe they¡¯ll tell us if they¡¯re in a good mood.¡±


    ¡°Who do you want to ask!?¡±


    Those words make me turn around despite myself, but Dacascos just stands there wordlessly. I¡¯m about to ask why isn¡¯t he reacting, but it turns out to be a language barrier¡ªbecause I accidentally asked him in English.


    This sort of international group is really so confusing. For example, Conrad, Hazel and I are talking in English; Hazel and her comrades as using the Seisakoku language; while I use the common language with the mazokus. So three languages cross over now, Ajira-san acting as the translator between Seisakoku and the common language, Hazel for Seisakoku and English, Conrad and I for English and the common language¡­ It¡¯s getting messier and messier.


    When talking to Dacascos, only the common language goes.


    ¡°Dacascos, who do you want to ask?¡±


    ¡°The houjutsu user who did this, of course. Since it¡¯s his houjutsu, he should know how to break it, right?¡±


    ¡°Could he possibly be that friendly¡ªThey didn¡¯t hesitate to pollute the oasis everyone relied on for their own profit, y¡¯know? Besides we don¡¯t even know where they are, and there are a lot of people in the equestrian tribes, so we have no idea of finding out which one it is.¡±


    Ajira-sa understand us, interrupting,


    ¡°Location, know.¡±


    After that, Hazel who knows the inside information tells us what Ajira wants to say in English,


    ¡°In the past we found out where the equestrian people live through the residents in town. One side lives a day¡¯s trip by horse north-east, the other is half a day away towards the north-north-west. There are other small tribes too, but their people aren¡¯t as aggressive as these two.¡±


    ¡°But even if we got there, we can¡¯t know which of them used the pollution houjutsu, right? Sorry, I meant even if we found that person, would the other party let us meet him so easily? For all you know he could be purposely hidden up, after all he¡¯s an important ace~~¡±


    ¡°Hmph, if it was up to me, I¡¯d give up this place and go to the next water source to stock up on our drinking water. Are there any other water sources ahead?¡±


    "Map, there is not"


    ¡°There might be small-scale wells, but the map doesn¡¯t go that detailed. Even if we rely on the map, it would be no use if we wander aimlessly.¡±


    ¡°But Your Majesty¡ª¡±


    Conrad says in the common language Captain Sizemore and Wolfram can understand,


    ¡°If there was a viable water source ahead, the equestrian tribes wouldn¡¯t need to use houjutsu on this lake in order to monopolize it, right?¡±


    ¡°You have a point¡­ This should be the only important stronghold¡­ Mn?¡±


    ¡°Yuuri, what is it?¡±


    ¡°Hold on a sec.¡±


    I keep musing over my words, trying desperately to gather some inspiration. There¡¯s no water source ahead, this town and lake is an important stronghold, we might not find the houjutsu user even if we get to the equestrian tribe¡¯s base¡­


    ¡°Hazel.¡±


    Just in case, I call her in English. Although I don¡¯t know what level my English is, it¡¯s okay as long as Hazel and Conrad can understand me.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°You patrolled this area before we arrived here, right?¡±


    The grey head moves from left to right, but she also admits in a low voice, meaning I was right.


    ¡°Did you discover any equestrian people around here? Even if it¡¯s one or two of them, whether they¡¯re drinking in a bar or saying some annoying rude things to girls?¡±


    ¡°No, as far as I know there¡¯s not even one.¡±


    ¡°Since this is an important stronghold, why is there not even one of the most basic lookouts?¡±


    ¡°Hng-hng~~¡± Hazel laughs with her nose,


    ¡°That is indeed unbelievable. If they were pretending to be residents and hiding in some house then that would be another matter.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, as long as they blend in with the locals, we won¡¯t be able to recognize them, and we couldn¡¯t find them even if we wanted to. Oh, yeah, Conrad, from your point of view, they shouldn¡¯t have any large scale water sources, right?¡±


    ¡°That is merely my outsider opinion.¡±


    He¡¯s really too humble. Since he¡¯s an experienced veteran warrior, and at the same time a seasoned traveler, he can¡¯t possibly be an outsider to geography and traps. Plus he gained a lot of experience on Earth as well, if someone tells me he joined a merchant team crossing the Sahara Desert, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised.


    ¡°If that¡¯s so, they should really need the water here. Once they need water, what do you think they would do?¡±


    ¡°The equestrian people from north-north-west come here regularly for water, apparently, and the houjutsu user seems to be from this tribe as well. So they probably have a houjutsu user that can control the water quality.¡±


    As I thought. But even if we go over, we might not necessarily find that houjutsu user¡­ That way we can¡¯t do anything.


    No matter which field you¡¯re in, there will be people like those who check out their love rivals or ball scouts. Once they go back to base and report what they find, those with more power will show up. Since the other side can be carefree and wait patiently, then they might also rush here to grab the upper hand.


    Once I think of that, I can¡¯t hide the smile in the corners of my mouth anymore.


    ¡°Then let him come to us.¡±


    If right now the rumor gets out that a super strong helper came to the town, and became a new source of power, what would happen?


    Since that person purified the polluted lake water, the equestrian people won¡¯t be able to monopolize the water source either. Once they get wind of this, the equestrian tribe in the north-north-west would surely rush over here, and they would definitely send the houjutsu user who can control the water quality to recast the houjutsu.


    Perfect~~ Then we just wait for them to rush over here in a frenzy.


    ¡°That¡¯s why we need a pigeon to fly from one of the family¡¯s drawers.¡±


    Wolfram can¡¯t stand my mumbling, retorting,


    ¡°Yuuri, even if ¡®Pigeon Mail¡¯ services go all over the world, they shouldn¡¯t have a branch in Seisakoku, right?¡±


    That¡¯s right, it¡¯s true we don¡¯t have pigeons.

 Volume 14 - CH 3

    That night, taking the place of a pigeon, a townsperson disappears from town.


    Avoids everyone¡¯s eyes and ears, he takes his horse to the sand dunes while looking about warily, and then disappears from the desert¡ªas reported by Sizemore¡¯s subordinates.


    Everything¡¯s going according to plan.


    The man heard the rumors I spread, and in order to report them quickly to his comrades or employer, he avoids the others here and leaves.


    The travelers who came to town purified the polluted lake water. So the townspeople who no longer have to collect their drinking water drop by drop are rejoicing. These travelers have also been instantly promoted to messiahs, so now even the opposing equestrian tribe (the one is the north-east) can enjoy the ample water source


    The messiah part may be a bit much, but rumors tend to get exaggerated. If so, there¡¯s no harm making it exaggerated from the start, and that can count as a compliment to ourselves.


    Once these rumors reach the north-north-west tribe, they will definitely take action. After all they can¡¯t let the water source fall into enemy hands, to prevent this from happening, they need to recast the houjutsu on the lake as soon as possible.


    Then it¡¯s the houjutsu user who polluted the water¡¯s turn to take the stage.


    But they should first send out a smaller team of scouts, to investigate whether or not the water has actually been purified. If they really do that, it¡¯s actually better for us, we can take them on even if we are losing in firepower. Because this way the chances of a houjutsu user tagging along are also higher, and we can get a chance to catch him, then ask him the most efficient method of purification.


    It takes about half a day by horse to reach the camp of the north-north-west equestrian tribe, by the time the spy who left town in the night returns with the team of scouts, it would be the next evening by the earliest.


    So we have ample time to practice our strategy, and can let our bodies relax properly, finally investigating the direction they¡¯re coming in and delegate our people. We asked the townspeople for some water and food, we even asked for permission to swim in the lake, as a substitute for a bath. Although the lake water has been polluted, it can still be used to wash, so bathing is no problem, we just have to be careful not to drink any.


    But swimming in weather like Seisakoku¡¯s seems to be a bit rash. At first it still feels pretty comfortable, but after a while of swimming it¡¯s so cold I shiver, and have to jump into the covers before I catch a cold.


    I finally wake up at sunset, and watch Hazel and her companions, in charge of looking out, leave to rendezvous with Conrad and Sizemore¡¯s soldiers, as well as Dacascos who¡¯s in charge of miscellaneous things.


    Although I say I watched them leave, it''s not like I could actually see them. My vision is the same as yesterday, all a blur.


    After drinking some water, eating some food, and have a nice nap on a long awaited bed, most of the weariness that I collected vanished too. Actually I know very well, the damage done to my body can¡¯t be healed immediately, but when I open my eyes in bed and see only light and shadow, I''m honestly SHOCKED.


    ¡°Did you sleep well?¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡±


    Although I answer the question instinctively, I had slept far from soundly. Because I had a nightmare, and kept getting woken up, returning to the same scene every time I fall asleep, until I can¡¯t help but wonder if I really like retaking exams so much.


    ¡°What about you, Wolf?¡±


    ¡°So-so.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re lying, because you snored as you always do when you''re sleeping like a log.¡±


    ¡°You deliberately pricked up your ears and listened out for that? What a curious baby you are, Yuuri![1]¡±


    ¡°¡­Even if I don¡¯t want to hear it, I still hear it.¡±


    Wolfram and I are in charge of controlling the large dining room that¡¯s acting as our base of operations, in other words we¡¯re on watch duty.


    I wasn¡¯t forced to stay behind, but did so willingly.


    It can¡¯t be helped, after all my vision now is very bad, I can only differentiate between light, shadow and a portion of colors for now, so not only can¡¯t I move on my own, I definitely can¡¯t protect myself in a fight with the enemy. Rather than getting in the way outside, I might as well stay in headquarters like a good boy.


    Wolfram, on the other hand, stayed back to protect me. Although he acts energetic, the truth is he¡¯s a wounded party too, and wounded in the stomach no less. The one who wounded him was me, so I really can¡¯t make him do anything else strenuous.


    What¡¯s surprising is his reaction when he was told to stay on guard duty. Normally he would say something like ¡°I can fight, don¡¯t you trust me?¡± and then there would be a long line of protests, I was even all ready to listen to him complain, but instead Wolfram just said ¡°I see¡±, completely against my expectations.


    There¡¯s one more person in the dining room, and that¡¯s Saralegui.


    But he¡¯s staying in a private room. After the battle meeting ended, Lord Weller brought in Saralegui, who was playing with the horses outside, saying ¡°After all milord is the king of a country, it would far too rude of us not to offer milord a private room¡±, and locked him inside the tool closet.


    He cursed Conrad for quite some time, finally saying ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep!¡± and since then we haven¡¯t hear a sound from him. Looks like his special technique is falling asleep within three seconds.


    ¡°Hey.¡±


    "Seeing my body lean towards his direction, Wolfram immediately utters using a harsh tone,"


    ¡°Keep your distance, keep your distance. Don¡¯t get too close to me.¡±


    ¡°Ahh¡ªOkay, okay, okay, I¡¯m forbidden within a radius of 2 meters, right?¡±


    He hates me, even though not long ago we were so close we could stay in the same large crate.


    ¡°I say, Wolf, I want to confirm with you.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You... chest hair¡­ No, actually, it¡¯s nothing. I just didn¡¯t think that you could keep growing after eighty.¡±


    That furry feeling near his chest, is actually¡­ Honestly I really can¡¯t predict what mazoku growth is like.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m not jealous, got it?¡±


    ¡°What on earth are you mumbling about?¡±


    But we¡¯re not just supposed to talk about body hair.


    ¡°I think apologies are in order¡±


    ¡°You want to make me apologize here?¡±


    ¡°Or course not! I don¡¯t want to make you apologize~! Besides I¡¯m not even angry, though it seems you still are¡­ See, you won¡¯t even approach me. So I wanted to make up with you, and apologize to you first. After all I don¡¯t want this awkward atmosphere to continue anymore, and it¡¯ll be troubling to Captain Sizemore and Dacascos.¡±


    Just in case, we¡¯re sitting while leaning on a table on its side¡ªthis is to guard against any arrows coming through the entrance. Even though us two casualties are sitting two meters apart, it¡¯s still plenty wide enough, I really don¡¯t know how many people is this dining table supposed to seat.


    We¡¯re not sitting on chairs, instead sitting directly on the coarse floorboards.


    ¡°It¡¯s only natural that you would hate me¡­ We¡¯re comrades, but I caused you to get hurt. Not only that¡­¡±


    I can¡¯t help but cover my mouth with my hand.


    ¡°I actually wanted to¡­ k-kill you. Back then I really, truly, wanted to... Damn, I feel like puking.¡±


    ¡°Hold on, other than your eyes and shoulder, are you in any pain?¡±


    I turn my head to a side, waving my right hand next to it to gesture ''no''. Actually I¡¯m not sick, it¡¯s just that the sudden stress and anxiety made my stomach acids flow the wrong way.


    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m so sorry, I never thought it could be you. I¡¯ll repent, if saying it is not enough, then I¡¯m willing to accept any punishment to show my sincerity.¡±


    ¡°About that, at first I wanted to deal with everything here first, and talk about it again once we safely bring the Maou back to Shin Makoku, but since you brought it up now, there¡¯s nothing I can do about it.¡±


    I can feel Wolfram looking at me as he sighs.


    ¡°If you want to, you can even sentence me to death. Not only did I point my sword at His Majesty the Maou, I even attacked you, and injured you. But I swear¡­ I really never thought it could be you.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡±


    Back then, when Wolfram slid down using the rope, I had completely treated him as an enemy. When I saw his sword, shining brightly in the darkness as it reflected the sunlight, I deeply believed that person was an enemy here to kill me.


    ¡°At that moment when I saw the sword.¡±


    ¡°All I saw was a moving figure. Back then I didn¡¯t think whether it was a friend or foe, but the moment I set foot in the dark place, my thoughts immediately became ¡°that was an enemy, that figure is an enemy without a doubt¡±¡­ And even your voice sounded like someone else¡­¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you change the direction of the sword at the last moment? The sword blade suddenly went flat, that¡¯s why Conrad said I only got banged up. But I still purposely picked up the weapon, and just like that, towards your stomach¡­ Mmgh!¡±


    I¡¯m talking about these things, and it hurts so bad just thinking about what happened back then.


    ¡°Are you really okay?¡±


    I break the orders not to get close to him and approach Wolfram, carefully plastering my palm over what should be his stomach.


    ¡°Maybe my healing isn¡¯t as good as Gisela¡¯s, but it¡¯s better than not healing at all.¡±


    ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t use majutsu!¡±


    Wolfram immediately bats away my hand.


    ¡°Why are you such a brainless noob? This is Shinzoku land, you know!? This is the continent with houryoku so strong even Gisela couldn¡¯t set foot here, there¡¯s no way you don¡¯t know the consequences of using maryoku in a place like this, right? It¡¯s precisely because you want to use your majutsu whenever, that¡¯s why I told you not to get near me!¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear me? It¡¯s because you like using majutsu so much, that¡¯s why I told you not to get near me.¡±


    No matter how I ask, the answer is the same. But it¡¯s completely different from the reason I cracked my head to come up with.


    ¡°¡­So you¡¯re not mad at me?¡±


    His breathing is very fast.


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m mad. Who asked you to be so rash.¡±


    ¡°And I thought you hated me¡­¡±


    ¡°Me, hate you?¡±


    Helplessly, Wolfram can¡¯t help but raise his tone at the end, so it feels about like ¡°Me, hate you~~?¡±


    ¡°Could someone who hated the king possibly chase him to the ends of the earth? And¡­¡±


    After that is the sound of rubbing cloth, and he pulls out something with a ¡®whoosh!¡¯ The sound is like something tied on the end of the rope.


    ¡°Carrying this strangely disgusting thing called ¡®G¨¹nter¡¯s Protection¡¯ too.¡±


    ¡°G¨¹nter¡¯s Protection~~?¡±


    This time it¡¯s my turn to raise my tone.


    My hand touches something swaying back and forth, and looks a lot like a small pouch. Even if I stare at it unblinkingly, I can only see a grey shadow. After I confirm it with my hand, then only do I know that it¡¯s small bag knitted from hair. Bu it feels very rough, not only aren¡¯t the stitches not smooth there are even many fibers poking out.


    This should be the amulet Conrad mentioned before. In other words the broken blade I¡¯d grabbed cut into this substitute.


    ¡°But is this really an amulet? Even if I want to say something nice, I still don¡¯t think it will have much effect.¡±


    ¡°This is knitted from G¨¹nter¡¯s hair.¡±


    ¡°Eeeeeeeek--!¡±


    I pull my back my hand hurriedly. This should be a curse, right!?


    ¡°It seems to seal my maryoku too. Meaning as long as I have it on me, I can walk on this land full of houryoku like a normal person. It¡¯s a secret technique that has this function¡­ Ngh¡­ That¡¯s weird, what secret technique was it? How strange, it feels as though my memory¡¯s all fuzzy, I can¡¯t remember.¡±


    ¡°Waa¡ªDon¡¯t remember, you really don¡¯t have to remember.¡±


    I heard that if someone went through too big a trauma, their memories will be automatically sealed to prevent a mental breakdown.


    Although I don¡¯t want to ask for the details, but since the other party is G¨¹nter, it shouldn¡¯t be anything normal.


    ¡°Anyway thank you for being willing to come look for me with an amulet made from hair, it really is an unbelievable thing.¡±


    ¡°What thing?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I cut that amulet in half back then? Why is it completely back to normal now?¡±


    ¡°Now that you mention it¡­¡±


    The room where the two of them were staying alone together is suddenly dead quiet.


    There¡¯s also the world¡¯s scariest secret technique with them, and the amulet that regenerates (made completely from pure hair).


    ¡°I-I still don¡¯t think this protects from anything¡­ There couldn¡¯t be a curse inside, could there?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know, I don¡¯t know. If you¡¯re so concerned about it, put your hand inside and see.¡±


    ¡°Me!? Put it into this thing!?¡±


    The thing in front of me, no matter what I can¡¯t call it anything lucky. Maybe it¡¯s just me being sensitive, but I keep feeling as though not only that bag, but the surrounding atmosphere has turned very dark as well.


    ¡°No, I politely refuse¡­ Waa--!¡±


    Wolfram says I can¡¯t get close to him, but he grabs my left hand and reaches it into the bag, using his sonorous voice to recite a chant non-stop, making all the hairs on my body stand on end. Although it¡¯s not possible, I still have the illusion of G¨¹nter¡¯s hair twining around my arm.


    ¡°Waa--! It feels like something is going around my hand--!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s G¨¹nter¡¯s soul.¡±


    ¡°Sole!? No, soul!?¡±


    If that¡¯s true, his soul is terrifying!


    With as much energy as I¡¯d have running out of a snakes¡¯ nest, I pull my hand out of the amulet. But the after effect causes my back to knock against the table with a ¡®thunk!¡¯, and I¡¯m panting as if I¡¯d just run 400 meters. Once I¡¯ve caught my breath a bit, my brain calms down too.


    ¡°It makes me so impatient.¡±


    Hearing my sudden words, he asks, surprised,


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Waiting for a result like this.¡±


    ¡°True, you¡¯re usually personally on the frontlines. This should be your first time ordering your men, and waiting obediently at HQ for the good news, right? But that¡¯s what monarchs are supposed to be like, get it memorized.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve long since memorized it, but¡­¡±


    I can¡¯t move on my own, neither can I witness the happenings firsthand, what¡¯s more these hands can¡¯t touch anything at all, there¡¯s nothing more frustrating than this current situation.


    And I¡¯m only helping to solve a case in a town I happened to pass, in a land that has nothing at all to do with Shin Makoku. If I get so restless from something of this level, then those past kings who couldn¡¯t handle things themselves must have been even more anxious.


    ¡°What song is that?¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    It seems I had started singing a familiar tune without realizing it. Only I can¡¯t really remember the lyrics, so it¡¯s no different from humming it. That was the song I heard on the first day I stepped onto Seisakoku, the song sung by the people who supported Hazel, Venera.


    Back then I thought it sounded familiar, but I didn¡¯t think it¡¯s a hymn from Earth. Hazel who came to this land on her own so long ago, treated it as a connection between herself and her hometown, singing and humming it constantly. She edited the lyrics, changed the religious target, and slowly spread it in this world.


    ¡°This is the song Hazel¡­ Venera sings, I guess she¡¯s praising the god in her heart.¡±


    Right now the one they praise isn¡¯t God, but bravery. The one that even I¡¯m praying to, isn¡¯t the repenting slave traders, but every citizen of Seisakoku.


    ¡°This is an Earth song.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying, that old lady grew up in the same place as you!?¡±


    ¡°Different countries, though.¡±


    ¡°You never met her while on Earth?¡±


    ¡°Of course not! You should know how many people there are on Earth.¡±


    I raise my chin to look out of the window, the world outside is so bright. Although it¡¯s long since afternoon, the color of the blue sky and white clouds is different, so the sky is still bright enough for me to differentiate it.


    ¡°Venera sure is impressive.¡±


    ¡°Although she¡¯s not young anymore, she is indeed very sharp.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant.¡±


    I didn¡¯t think Wolfram would respond to my mumbling, maybe it¡¯s because we¡¯re both casualties, so we sort of pity each other.


    ¡°She came to Seisakoku alone, and survived until now even though she doesn¡¯t know the language or the environment. Not only did she survive, she even worries about the situation in this country, and tries to release those slaves who are unfairly treated, leading everyone to resist. And they¡¯re not doing it violently, either, but peacefully. Eh, is this what they mean by a policy of non-resistance? Anyway she¡¯s really impressive, you know, I can¡¯t match up to her at all.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you trying to solve everything peacefully, too?¡±


    ¡°But I always get help from everyone around me, and the strategies I come up with never go smoothly, most of the time I rely on coincidence and luck. All I can say is that I¡¯m lucky, that¡¯s how I made it safely until now.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say something so unlucky, what do you mean, never go smoothly¡­¡±


    He¡¯s right, no one would think such unlucky thoughts in the middle of an operation.


    There¡¯s the sound of running footsteps from the corridor, Wolfram holds his sword in his hand, and makes the sound of pushing the blade out of its sheath.


    ¡°Wolf.¡±


    ¡°Stay here, don¡¯t move.¡±


    He kicks the floorboard once and goes around behind the table, causing a breeze behind him¡ªhe should have run to the door.


    Just as the wooden door is kicked open, the sound and movements of the enemy rushes in, together with male voices cursing, and the metallic clang of clashing weapons. Crap, there¡¯s quite a few of them.


    ¡°Wolf! Don¡¯t force yourself¡­¡±


    ¡°Stay there, don¡¯t move!¡±


    The sound of clashing blades which I can¡¯t get used to no matter how many times I hear it, vibrates the air and the room, making me so scared I want to cover up my ears. Although I¡¯m really worried about Wolfram, fighting against multiple opponents, but right now I can¡¯t do a thing to help. Forget helping, it¡¯s all I can do protect myself.


    ¡°Wolf¡­? Wolfram!?¡±


    It feels as though time is crawling past, but in reality it¡¯s probably only been two minutes. I sense the sound of clashing swords and the impacts coming through the floorboards slowly fading, so I called Wolfram¡¯s name.


    ¡°Wolf, are you alright!? Talk to me!¡±


    ¡°As if that needs saying.¡±


    His steps are nimble as he walks back to my side, and his voice sounds energetic too. But there¡¯s the smell of blood emanating throughout the room, and from his body as well. He probably notices my uneasiness, saying before I ask,


    ¡°I¡¯m not hurt, this is all their blood, but they¡¯re not dead. Because you would probably say ¡®tie them into their horses and send them back¡¯ right?¡±


    ¡°Are you really okay?¡±


    ¡°Of course I am. What happened to Yuuri? After your vision got worse, you start worrying about nothing too?¡±


    ¡°No, of course not!¡±


    ¡°How could lackeys like that hurt me? The wound on my stomach is almost healed now, too, not a problem at all. Why don¡¯t you touch it and see¡ªBut first you must promise me you won¡¯t use maryoku¡ª¡±


    Before we can discuss that, there are already new footsteps infiltrating the room, and slowly approaching us.


    ¡°Looks like this isn¡¯t the time to chat.¡±


    The people this time are warier than before, they don¡¯t plan on barging in like that.


    Wolfram swings his sword, hard, throwing off the blood and fats that reduce its efficiency.


    ¡°What on earth is this? Damn, what¡¯s happening?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, either.¡±


    If everything goes according to plan, there shouldn¡¯t be enemies barging in. Don¡¯t tell me something happened to Conrad or Hazel?


    I have an urge to run out and yell, ¡°What happened!?¡± Although I know that will only cause a bother for everyone, but I really can¡¯t stop my legs dashing forward.


    Right then my sensitive ears hear a light tapping on the glass, and someone calling me in a low voice.


    ¡°Your Majesty.¡±


    ¡°Hazel?¡±


    Hazel Graves is outside the window, bending her body and calling me. Perhaps because she swam to avoid enemy detection, her hair is wet.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°All I can say is we were unlucky, and came across the other equestrian tribe.¡±


    ¡°What did you say!?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re warring over the water rights, as long as one side makes a move, the other naturally cannot fall behind. Although there aren¡¯t a lot of them, but they¡¯re already leading their troops and rushing over here.¡±


    ¡°Even those who stay in the north-east?¡±


    I sense that Hazel is nodding, and she says in Venera¡¯s tone,


    ¡°It seems so.¡±


    ¡°When you say there aren¡¯t a lot of them, around how many do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Over fifty. But it¡¯s strange, the fake intel we released got into their ears within a night. Although it¡¯s upsetting, from the way things are looking, even the north-north-west equestrian tribe has spies here.¡±


    ¡°Now isn¡¯t the time to worry about others!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly right.¡±


    I keep getting the feeling she sounds very happy, she really is a brave person.


    ¡°The problem is they¡¯re very cunning. They have quite a few shinzoku who can use offensive houjutsu, I¡¯m afraid those were brought out from the facility in the north.¡±


    ¡°How are our losses? Did anyone get hurt?¡±


    She chuckles once, but her voice doesn¡¯t sound like she¡¯s looking down on me,


    ¡°Your Majesty, you really are gentle. We¡¯re fine, the soldiers and Captain-san protected us with their lives, only Ajira and his cousin were slightly grazed. Lord Weller is stopping the equestrian people from entering through the west side of the civilian houses, although I don¡¯t know if the water purifiers are okay, but he will be fine.¡±


    ¡°Thank goodness.¡±


    ¡°Wait a sec, it¡¯s still too early to relax. The enemies PRINCE put down are a new force that just entered, I¡¯m here to help Your Majesty and the others escape. Two equestrian tribes attacking at once, at the way this is going the chances of a battle breaking out on the streets is very high, so the houses nearby are dangerous too, we have to leave here as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Coming!¡±


    Before I can yell a warning, Wolfram has already engaged the enemy. The sound of metal and clashes once again rings out in the dining room.


    ¡°Wolf, get ready to leave!¡±


    ¡°Are we running away!?¡±


    ¡°Of course we¡¯re escaping! But the townspeople here need to get away too, right? Aren¡¯t those guys trying to break into civilian houses?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, they plan on destroying the water purifiers too, as a warning to the others. But as long as we lead the townspeople away, there won¡¯t be any more serious casualties.¡±


    ¡°Anyway we have to try and see. Wolfram! Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    I was just thinking that the room has gotten quiet again, it turns out the soldiers that barged in afterwards were dealt with as well. Last time I have heard that his swordsmanship is strong, but I never thought he would be this strong, completely different from the Lord von Bielefeld I know, could it be that he¡¯s been possessed by the sword god?


    Could it be¡­


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but the sword feels lighter than usual, and the enemy attacks look really slow too. It¡¯s as though they¡¯re being held back by some invisible tentacles, so they move clumsily.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s not tentacles, but hair¡­¡±


    What a scary ¡®G¨¹nter¡¯s Protection¡¯, new victims of the curse keep showing up.


    ¡°Alright, Your Majesty, there¡¯s no time to take it slow anymore.¡±


    ¡°Okay, my foot is on the windowsill, right? It¡¯s too dark, I can¡¯t be sure.¡±


    As I prepare to step across the window, Hazel tells me in a tone of sympathy,


    ¡°Your eyes still haven¡¯t recovered? Ah~~ No problem, your footing is very stable, the ground underneath is sandy, so even if you jump down it¡¯s okay, PRINCE, you come out too.¡±


    If it was Wolfram¡¯s usual attitude, he would definitely have a fit if a slave ordered him around like that, but today he¡¯s different, and actually followed the old lady¡¯s words obediently.


    I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s because my praise for Hazel is having an effect, otherwise it must be because of ¡®G¨¹nter¡¯s Protection¡¯. But no matter how others say it¡¯s effective, I wouldn¡¯t carry a pouch knitted from G¨¹nter¡¯s hair with me even if you killed me. That¡¯s no different from carrying a mini G¨¹nta[2] around with me everywhere¡­


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    I remember that ¡®there¡¯s someone else we must take with us¡¯. Since we¡¯re escaping, of course we would have to take Saralegui with us. Since he was locked in the single room, I nearly forgot.


    When I pull open the door to the tool closet, Saralegui yawns wide, saying in a voice blurred with sleep,


    ¡°What is it~~ Is it morning now?¡±


    ¡°No, sheesh--! We¡¯re escaping, Sara come with me!¡±


    ¡°Escape¡­ Why¡­ Could it be I made Mother angry again¡­?¡±


    ¡°Mother?¡±


    I¡¯ve never been called with such a fancy title[3] before, so for a second I don¡¯t understand what Saralegui is saying.


    ¡°Why does Mother only get angry at me? Yelshi, does Mother really hate me¡­ Just because I¡¯m not like you, who can use houryoku¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­Sara.¡±


    Since he¡¯s talking in such an upset tone, I can¡¯t help but want to ask what he¡¯s dreaming about. After asking, I also want to grip his hands tightly and say, ¡°Your dreams aren¡¯t the while reality.¡± But that¡¯s impossible. The situation is desperate, and more importantly I don¡¯t even know where Saralegui¡¯s hands are.


    ¡°I said so before.¡±


    I grab his clothes with my uninjured hand, pulling him up forcefully.


    ¡°I think your mom doesn¡¯t hate you. Alright, stand up, ¡®Your Majesty¡¯ Saralegui. If you still don¡¯t wake up, I¡¯m tossing you down!¡±

 Volume 14 - CH 4

    It¡¯s better to have more life experience.


    But can you call being surrounded by fully-armed soldiers, and having guns pointed at you, a good experience? I can¡¯t help but wonder. After living twenty-odd years, from the perspective of a Japanese person¡¯s normal life, this is a very rare sight indeed.


    ¡°N-n-now what do we do, Bob!¡±


    The only person who can be relied on now is Bob, a person from the normal society, no, putting aside the question of whether that man quietly doing radio aerobics in the diving suit he took off halfway is normal or not, at least he¡¯s a big name in the domestic world of finance, and he¡¯s an even bigger player who can affect the world¡¯s economy.


    Completely lit up by the searchlights, Shibuya Shouri asks Bob with a face full of anticipation. There are already a few seaplanes gathering on the surface of Bodensee Lake inside Swiss borders, and even a few helicopters whirring overhead. And we¡¯re standing at gunpoint, even told to ¡°Put your hands behind your head, keep your fingers crossed!¡± Wow! It feels just like those FBI shows on TV.


    ¡°You should have some connections with the military higher-ups, right?¡±


    ¡°Ha-ha-ha¡­ To think I¡¯ll get a chance to let the young ones rely on me, it really makes me exceptionally happy.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great! Hey, we¡¯re saved, Graves! Bob says he¡¯ll do something¡­¡±


    ¡°But unfortunately, I don¡¯t know a single person in the Swiss army.¡±


    ¡°What--!?¡± Shouri yells strangely, pushing the glasses that almost slide off his nose back up,


    ¡°Then why are you still so carefree? ¡®Ha-ha-ha¡¯¡­ What are you ¡®ha-ha-ha¡¯-ing about!? Ah! Hey, let go! No, sorry. Ah~~ Let go! Let go now! Don¡¯t simply touch me like that!¡±


    Shouri can¡¯t help but make weird noises as his body is searched from top to bottom, and by a man, too. The other person just wants to check if he has any weapons on him, but the problem is he¡¯s wearing a super tight diving suit, where could he hide a weapon? Without even his own handgun, Shouri is just a harmless goat.


    He peeks at Abigail Graves beside him, only to see that although she¡¯s being given the full body search just like Shouri, no matter how the soldiers search her she¡¯s still unmoving as a rock, how manly.


    Only the Frenchman who grew up in the Caribbean, Francois, for some reason requires three people to search him. At first he thought it was for safety purposes, who would have guessed those three people are caressing his pecs, their expressions reveling in it. It just proves that anyone would want to touch a beautiful body.


    According to the personal info they heard along the journey, Francois¡¯ birthday seems to be on the 29th of November. As expected, it¡¯s a day of quality meat[1], and very close to Shouri¡¯s birthday as well.


    Was this ... the lower part of Naniwa[2]? Anyway, the self-proclaimed ¡®TOP GUN¡¯ brat DTJ is sulking in a corner of the little boat because everyone ignored him, looks like he¡¯s completely disregarded as a threat.


    Come to think of it, why do we have to suffer such treatment?


    A gun against the back of his head, kneeling on the swaying deck, Shibuya Shouri can¡¯t help but curse everything that happened today.


    Why must an older brother who loves his little brother like me face such harsh treatment? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m here to uncover Switzerland¡¯s national secrets, or to steal a super secret cheese recipe. I¡¯m just here to find the ¡®Box¡¯ that has something to do with my beloved little brother¡¯s whereabouts, that¡¯s the only reason I¡¯m here at this lake.


    He doesn¡¯t know who to take this anger out on, so he decides to curse his brother¡¯s friend,


    ¡°Damn, that stupid Murata! Damned stupid Murata!¡±


    Abigail brings her face closer to the muttering Shouri, and whispers in Japanese,


    ¡°We have no choice. Shouri, prepare to carry out Plan B.¡±


    ¡°Plan B? What¡¯s that, is it Burappi¡¯s[3] manager company?¡±


    ¡°NONONO, it¡¯s the plan where Shouri grabbing the enemy¡¯s machine gun as I pretend to do my shoelaces, and shoots with everything you got. I call it¡­ ¡®Yamato[4] Trickster Woman¡¯.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not called Yamato Trickster Woman, it¡¯s more like Yakushimaru Hiroko[5], right? And how could I possibly do something so dangerous!


    ¡°Anyway, something as scary as sweeping with a machine gun, I can¡¯t possibly do it. Don¡¯t be fooled by how I look, I¡¯m a born and bred Japanese, don¡¯t you look down on the world-famous peace idiots.¡±


    ¡°True¡ªWhen you mention Japanese people, you think of Smith & Wesson[6] and Japanese swords¡ª¡±


    Abigail¡¯s intel seems to be slightly outdated.


    Suddenly they realize DTJ, who was sulking in the corner, is now staring into the sky. His gaze looks just behind the helicopter hovering in mid-air. And then he suddenly starts waving his right hand non-stop, telling Bob, Abigail and Francois in English,


    ¡°Get down!¡±


    The moment she heard the warning, Abigail grabs Shouri¡¯s neck, and presses him down onto the deck in one smooth movement.


    ¡°That hurts¡ªWhat are you doing, Graves!¡±


    ¡°NO¡ªCall me Abby~~¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a real pain, Gai¡­¡±


    Just as he¡¯s about to say ¡®-l¡¯, the threat the TOP GUN predicted came true. A small jet approaches with a roar at extremely low altitude, flying so low it just about touches their heads. Although it can¡¯t actually fly that low, to a layman like Shouri, it¡¯s enough for him to feel as though the hair on top of his head is almost being shaved off.


    The jet may be small, but the air pressure still throws up huge waves on the water surface, the military seaplane swaying violently as well. Faced with the engine of a jet, the little boat Shouri¡¯s on is no match at all.


    The Swiss soldiers standing on the boat fall down one by one, all thrown into the water, caught in the waves and sinking to the bottom of the lake.


    Shouri immediately grabs Abigail¡¯s hand. Because she¡¯s younger, a girl and a Bostonian, he can¡¯t let her drown in a lake so far away from her homeland.


    But he instantly remembers that Abigail has scuba training, and the one really in danger is him. Although he¡¯s wearing a diving suit, he has no oxygen tank on his bank, and the most important thing now is breathing, if they don¡¯t float to the surface immediately they won¡¯t be able to breathe.


    Although it¡¯s a moonless night, the searchlights still brighten up the water. The clear lakewater is dotted with white and blue, until even the faces underwater are all sparkling, the little bubbles from their mouth floating upwards slowly.


    Someone pulls his hand, and Shouri looks behind him, only to see Abigail hand him an oxygen tank the size of a hair gel bottle. The expression on her face is less of a gentle smile, and more of a creepy grin. Accepting the oxygen tank, Shouri takes a deep breath and returns it to her.


    She points at the bottom of the lake where the color is darker, and keeps swimming downwards while pulling Shouri¡¯s hand. Her brown hair floats without gravity, all he movements becoming slow.


    She keeps gesturing ¡®over here over here¡¯¡ªIs that depth somewhere you can dive to without any equipment?


    He closes the mouth that nearly opens, because it¡¯s no use talking in the water. With Abigail pulling his hand, Shouri looks in the direction of the darkness, even if she¡¯s a brave cheerleader cum rash treasure hunter, it¡¯s still impossible for her to simply dive to the bottom of the lake with such a small oxygen tank, right?


    The change occurs at a not-so-deep depth.


    A violent current suddenly appears beside them, light and bubbles both disappearing from the surface of the water. Shouri¡¯s so panicked he wants to yell, but regains his senses after drinking a lot of water, realizing that his limbs can¡¯t move normally, and his body is ten times heavier than usual too.


    The reason he can¡¯t move his heavy limbs freely, is because Abigail is hugging him tightly. She¡¯s not scared or panicked, but trying to push the oxygen into Shouri¡¯s mouth, only they keep swinging about in the water, so she can¡¯t manage it.


    What¡¯s happening here!?


    The same words repeat in his head three times, and there¡¯s still not a hint of an answer.


    Shouri starts moaning in pain¡ªthe pain of his limbs being grabbed, pulled, and his body twisted around. Abigail¡¯s in the same boat, but she¡¯s a lot calmer than Shouri, even trying desperately to move her neck, contemplating the surface and the bottom of the lake alternatively.


    Cursing ¡°Damn!¡± and releasing a ton of bubbles, Shouri pushes the oxygen in his mouth to Abigail. That feeling is a lot like getting tossed into the center of a tornado.


    Must get to the surface. Swim upwards, must figure out a way to swim upwards. But first we must change direction, because we¡¯re sinking to the bottom of the lake head-first. His neck being grabbed, Shouri slowly sinks downwards.


    Before he can find it hard to breathe, Shouri¡¯s throat, having swallowed quite a lot of water, and his temple are already starting to throb. His skin sinks into his ribs under the pressure, his lungs with just remnants of air left bordering on exploding, Shouri clenches hard on his teeth and can¡¯t help but close his eyes. The strangeness his body feels from the water pressure, must mean he¡¯s already in the depths of the lake.


    ¡°What¡­¡±


    Just as he¡¯s about to open his mouth and say ¡°What is this¡±, his surroundings become bright.


    Water flows out of his nose and mouth, the brightness and temperature of his surroundings obviously different from before.


    He¡¯s no longer looking at the lake in the middle of the night.

 Volume 14 - CH 5

    After Wolfram, Saralegui and I escaped from the dining room, we follow Hazel to the lakeside. In order to hide from the equestrian tribes, we advance with our backs bent. As for places without buildings, we creep forward.


    When we come across houses facing the lake, we knock on the windows and doors, if there are residents inside we advise them to leave, even helping children escape through the windows. But Wolfram and I can¡¯t speak the Seisakoku language, and we don¡¯t think Saralegui will help, so the only one in charge of talking is Hazel.


    There are also families who refuse to escape, that¡¯s when she gets to flaunt her speaking skills.


    After all she has plenty of life experience, so naturally her powers of persuasion are exceptional. As a veteran adventurer cum treasure hunter, Hazel Graves was once trapped in the royal tombs, and attacked by crocodiles and tigers in the forest, and surrounded by armed forces, and even had a gun pointed at her head.


    She just has to tell those townspeople how dangerous and scary it is to be surrounded by soldiers, and most of them would immediately run out.


    But thankfully the north-north-west equestrian tribe and the north-east equestrian tribe (what a mess) don¡¯t start fighting on the bank of the lake, the main warzone is in the large streets and small alleys. Mostly they¡¯ll fight one round with their archenemies first, then only break open the doors and threaten the residents.


    In other words, ¡°we can do whatever we want to the defenseless townspeople later, the important thing now is beating the enemy¡±.


    We tell the townspeople not to exit through the door, and escape from the windows facing the lake instead, and then skirt around the lakeside to leave town from the south. That route has a lower chance of bumping into the equestrian tribes.


    There isn¡¯t a moon or stars tonight, so although they won¡¯t be noticed by the enemy, it¡¯s also very hard to advance without a light. Especially since my eyes are completely useless, it¡¯s no different from being in the darkness, but at this moment ¡®Eyes Wide Open-kun¡¯ surprisingly comes in handy.


    Saralegui has night vision several times better than most people.


    ¡°Oh, yeah, come to think of it Yuuri can¡¯t see.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, come to think of it you can see, huh¡ª¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be that jealous, sheesh.¡±


    He laughs like a bird from deep within his throat,


    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll always hold your hand.¡±


    ¡°No need, I mean I politely refuse!¡±


    ¡°Okotowarishimasu[1]? Are you talking about the days where only men have a privilege when watching the performances? But compared to having a special price, I¡¯d rather have softer and more comfortable seats. But now isn¡¯t time to watch the show¡­ Alright, don¡¯t be shy with me.¡±


    Before he finishes his words, Saralegui is already grabbing my right hand forcefully, and I instantly feel a cutting pain.


    ¡°¡­Ow!¡±


    The wound under the cloth in place of a bandage hasn¡¯t healed and starts hurting now, I can only clench my teeth and bear with it. Because my pride doesn¡¯t allow me to cry out in any way in front of Saralegui.


    Instead it¡¯s Wolfram behind me that growls. If it were the normal him, he¡¯d have let his fists do the talking ages ago. Although he really wants to, right now all he can do is bear with it.


    When it comes to Saralegui, as well as the temporary truce with Conrad¡ªwhich means with the Dai Shimaron ambassador, I¡¯ve told Wolf everything without hiding a thing, and he knows what kind of a person the Shou Shimaron king is too. But since it¡¯s safer to let Saralegui hold my hand, he can only open one eye and close the other now.


    Although his personality is very emotional, recently when it comes to any critical moments, he will show the bravery to resist his impulses. After all, he¡¯s a man more suited than me to be the Maou.


    ¡°Yuuri, stop.¡±


    ¡°Wait a sec.¡±


    At the same time Sara stops me, Hazel, who is walking in front, gets us to stop too, tsking bitterly,


    ¡°Those fellas are fighting not far away, there¡¯s about seven or eight of them. There aren¡¯t any more buildings to hide behind up ahead, we¡¯ll definitely get discovered.¡±


    ¡°What do we do now?¡±


    ¡°Be more careful, let¡¯s take a short detour. After a while we can meet up with Lord Weller and the rest.¡±


    Hazel asks everyone to purposely choose an area with many buildings and that¡¯s hard to notice from the streets, and advance through there. Because the space between houses is narrow, they can¡¯t rush immediately at us even if they notice us.


    ¡°You said there are at least fifty riders?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s at least a hundred people trying to kill each other¡­ How did it get to this?¡±


    ¡°Because the north-east equestrian people couldn¡¯t resist anymore and went for the first strike. They probably want to monopolize the water source, that¡¯s why they sent people over so hurriedly, right? Thank goodness it¡¯s only the scouting group, if it were their main forces, it wouldn¡¯t be this sort of little scuffle here.¡±


    ¡°Something of this degree is still called a little scuffle, huh.¡±


    Although right now I can only rely on my hearing, I can still hear the cries, curses, and clashes of weapons from our surroundings. Since the fighting and killing is happening on the other end of the civilian residences, they can¡¯t hear the sounds from nearby, and instead we hear most of the noises. This is the same principle as how it¡¯s easier to see the whole picture if you take one step back.


    When I¡¯m listening to all the voices, I suddenly have the sensation of turning around in circles on the spot. But the one turning isn¡¯t my body, but the air around me, spinning 360 degrees like a donut, when in fact I haven¡¯t moved at all.


    Tragic cries pierce my ears through the spinning. That¡¯s not weak weeping, but desperate shouts for help, probably from the houses nearby.


    ¡°Someone¡¯s crying¡­ It¡¯s a child, a child is crying.¡±


    ¡°Because crying is what they do.¡±


    ¡°Not like that!¡±


    I feel impatient towards the calm demeanor of someone used to this, so I touch Hazel¡¯s back, even grabbing her shoulder to make her stop walking.


    ¡°That¡¯s not crying out of fear, it should be more dangerous¡­ Ah~~ How should I describe this? They need help, someone is crying and shouting, they need the help of an adult.¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty, this isn¡¯t an orphanage, there won¡¯t be just kids, they should have their parents by their side.¡±


    ¡°Could it be their mother died?¡±


    I tell Wolfram the same thing, that there¡¯s a child crying, and we need to save them.


    Hazel says, ¡°What is it?¡± As though comforting me, Wolfram pats my neck gently, completely indulging my rash behavior.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go look.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m coming too.¡±


    ¡°No, you stay here! If anything happens to you, I won¡¯t be able to face His Majesty Shinou.¡±


    After he breaks the window and charges in, there¡¯s no reaction for a long time, while instead my heart beats so loudly even I can hear it. Suddenly there¡¯s a loud explosion, numbing both my sense of sight and sound.


    My previously dark vision instantly brightens, and it¡¯s all orange. Not only can¡¯t I feel the cold from before, my face and arms are enveloped by the approaching heat.


    What on earth happened?


    ¡°Wolf! Wolfram!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here!¡±


    A body heavier than usual jumps out of the window, he¡¯s probably carrying a child, followed tightly by a weeping woman.


    ¡°Is there no one else, Wolfram? It couldn¡¯t be twins, could it!?¡±


    ¡°I want to save¡­¡±


    After that there are two more explosions. This time it¡¯s not just the heat, there are also small bits of sand flying everywhere.


    ¡°Flames¡­¡±


    ¡°As I was saying! It¡¯s those guys setting things on fire, and the fire¡¯s spreading very quickly. The houses nearby are all burning, I¡¯m afraid we will be surrounded by the fire in no time.¡±


    ¡°But aren¡¯t those brick houses? Technically they shouldn¡¯t burn so quickly¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, your eyes can¡¯t see¡­¡±


    His voice suddenly lowers.


    ¡°Maybe that¡¯s better for you.¡±


    ¡°What? What happened?¡±


    I grab Wolfram¡¯s hand, hoping to get an answer out of him. But there¡¯s a warm body between us, and I know he¡¯s carrying a quietly shaking child.


    ¡°What on earth happened? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s not a normal fire?¡±


    ¡°A fire is a fire, it¡¯s not normal or abnormal. Anyway we have to leave here immediately, or it¡¯s a matter of time before we¡¯re forced into the boiling lake.¡±


    Although Wolfram doesn¡¯t elaborate, but using my ears and skin, I can also feel that this fire is different from normal. Not only do the piercing screams increase, the hot air in contact with my face and neck is rather intense as well, as though I¡¯m standing under the high summer sun. The sounds of explosions in all directions tell me the fire is spreading everywhere.


    ¡°The streets are burning.¡±


    Saralegui says happily,


    ¡°Since Yuuri can¡¯t see, let me describe it to you. The streets are burning, and the fire is spreading at a very high speed. The flames are just like a snake of fire, continuously extending and moving. How wonderful~~ It¡¯s my first time seeing this kind of fire, too, it¡¯s very abnormal indeed.¡±


    ¡°When you say abnormal¡­¡±


    Saralegui¡¯s voice becomes two, crashing down on my eardrums.


    ¡°I mean this shouldn¡¯t be a normal fire. Yuuri, you should know that a fire started by majutsu and houjutsu, is different from an average fire. Be it the strength, the spreading, or the method of putting out the fire, they¡¯ll all be different. Did you know? Just a bit of water won¡¯t be enough to stop this fire.¡±


    I remember when there was a huge forest fire near the country borders, I heard something like this before. Gwendal and Wolfram even said, no matter how much water you use, you can¡¯t put out a fire started by houjutsu.


    ¡°One of the equestrian tribes has quite a few shinzokus who can use offensive houjutsu, it must be they forced the shinzoku to do something so filthy.¡±


    Hazel grits her teeth bitterly, but her words are eventually drowned out by a woman¡¯s screams. But Saralegui is still clapping his hands, saying in a tone as though he discovered some rare flower,


    ¡°Goodness, even people are burning.¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°I said even people are burning.¡±


    ¡°People¡­¡±


    Wolfram wants to grab me, now unresponsive, but maybe he misjudged the distance, because only his fingers brush past me, he couldn¡¯t pull my body.


    A wailing woman runs past me at a very close distance, quickly followed by a loud splash. After she passes, the screams and odor of burning hair still linger¡ªthat¡¯s the odor of protein charred to a crisp.


    My legs move faster than my brain, and I give chase. The woman runs into the lake and soaks her body in the water, trying to put out the fire in her hair, but even though the water is waist-deep, I can still hear her screams, I know the fire hasn¡¯t been extinguished.


    The fire hasn¡¯t been extinguished.


    My orange vision turn bright red, the depths of my nose hurts as though I breathed in seawater.


    I feel dizzy.


    It feels as though someone¡¯s yelling my name, but the distance is too far for me to tell whose voice it is, and so I can¡¯t answer.


    At the same time I hear another murmuring voice. The bright red vision slowly fades, finally turning colorless, it¡¯s practically like I¡¯m surrounded by white, a world without darkness.


    The murmurs slowly become words, the white space slowly become a figure.


    That person is definitely angry, and for all I know, extremely upset.


    What should I do? Should I stop here?


    No, I won¡¯t stop. I want to do what I should do, at the time I need to do it.


    No matter the consequences.


    My will¡­ I hope you understand.


    Because this is my life, I decide how to use it.


    That¡¯s right, this is my life.


    I decide how to use it.

 Volume 14 - CH 6

    Seeing the unimaginable scene, Hazel Graves raises her head, so surprised she forgets to blink.


    The lake that was silent and still just a moment again, suddenly changes drastically.


    The overflowing lakewater rises like an inverted waterfall, forming a transparent whirlpool over everyone¡¯s heads. Soon the whirlpool expands until it¡¯s large enough to cover the entire town, and slowly changes in shape.


    This is really unbelievable, water can actually stay in mid-air without any support, keeping its shape without freezing, even become the shape of an animal.


    Even Hazel, who has lived on shinzoku land for so long, and seen many houjutsu unseen on Earth, is wide-eyed and slack-jawed.


    The young man stands waist-deep in the water, glancing over in their direction with a haughty attitude and a sharp gaze.


    Originally he was a gentle and kind child.


    But a long and elegant water creature seems to grow out of that raised arm. At first she thought it was a snake, but according to what Hazel knows, that thing is closer to an Eastern dragon, even the scales appear on its body one by one.


    ¡°Your Majesty¡­ Yuuri!¡±


    Hearing the familiar voice, Hazel looks to the lakeside, and finally notices Lord Weller, running over and yelling at the young man. Maybe it¡¯s because he notices who else is there, Lord Weller points at Wolfram at one side, signaling for him to go to Yuuri immediately.


    ¡°Stop him, Wolf! Stop him now!¡±


    Conrad wants to run here, but he¡¯s knocked over by an escaping woman. Once he steadies his footing he readies himself to keep running , but this time he¡¯s stopped by an incoming crowd.


    Wolfram wants to put the child in his arms down onto the ground, but the frightened little girl grabs him and won¡¯t let go, that little hand buried in his clothes unwilling to relax no matter what.


    ¡°Yuuri! Stop, don¡¯t use maryoku!¡±


    His voice can¡¯t reach the young man¡¯s ears.


    Hazel goes ¡°tsk!¡± and grips her fist tightly again. She runs full-tilt towards Yuuri, who¡¯s standing in the water, trying to shorten the distance between them, but the roiling lakewater is a huge obstruction in her path.


    The water dragon locks on to its prey, attacking the flames in a certain place. The roaring flames go out in the blink of an eye.


    The lakewater rears its head again, rising like a wall of water into the sky, and forming a powerful whirlpool over Yuuri¡¯s head.


    Hazel clenches her teeth, and says this to herself,


    I am an adventurer.


    Quietly she calms herself down.


    As an adventurer, I¡¯ve seen countless scenes. Sometimes when I get into huge problems, I even prepare myself to die. In the ancient tombs and jungle caves I found things that shouldn¡¯t exist in the world, and materials that surpass human understanding, even coming into contact with those powers that pose terrifying threats.


    The scariest is that Box, the Box that blew me up and into this world.


    When coming into contact with that evil power, Hazel thought her skin was burning, her bones turning to powder, her limbs cut and sliced open, her neck twisted and snapped, she felt as though she was literally flying towards the sun¡ªthe power of that Box is exactly that shocking. Afterwards she heaved a sigh of relief too, glad that she never met such terrifying power again.


    And now, that enormous power once again appears before her eyes¡ªthe huge Eastern dragon raising its neck and waiting for its master¡¯s orders. That beautiful and terrifying dragon, incites fear and respect even in a nonbeliever like her.


    But what is this? The ones who were always by his side protecting him yell his name in panic, and are even trying desperately to stop him. But they can¡¯t stop him in time, they can¡¯t even reach him with their outstretched hands.


    The lakewater that rises from the center falls apart at a height about three people tall, it looks like Yuuri is about to be drowned by the rapid currents and beating waves. Before Yuuri is swept intov the waterfall, Hazel Graves is one step faster, grabbing his body.


    In the second she runs into the lakewater, she does her best to take a deep breath. When she was younger she could still hold for a few minutes, but by this age, there¡¯s no guarantee. For all she knows she¡¯ll use up her oxygen in an instant, and can¡¯t stand too long in the water at all.


    Scared? No, how could she be scared.


    Her heart is very calm.


    The lake is like the sea in a storm, unbelievable waves binding around their bodies. Their feet can¡¯t touch the ground, pulled into the dark and blue water, and sinking at a scary rate. She tries to estimate how deep the water is, but all she sees is a deep blue circle, it¡¯s impossible to gauge the bottom of the lake with her naked eye.


    Her right arm is hugging Yuuri¡¯s body, using her remaining left arm to row with all her strength towards the surface, but their bodies aren¡¯t moving upwards at all. It¡¯s as though he¡¯s being tied down by transparent seaweed, pulling him towards the darkness. To find the reason behind it, she looks towards the bottom of the lake again, and realizes that the dark circle is slowly moving, the water around them starting to spin as well.


    Are you kidding me, if a whirlpool appears now, forget swimming to the surface, it¡¯ll be really hard just swimming. Hazel spits out the carbon dioxide in her mouth, smiling bitterly at the direction of the bubbles as they float away¡ªhow she envies the bubbles, able to float straight up without any effort at all.


    She notices that Yuuri isn¡¯t moving at all, and looks at the young man in her arms disbelievingly.


    The young man who was just controlling the water dragon with tremendous power, is now staring at the bottom of the lake without moving an inch, juts staring at the deep blue whirlpool.


    The creases on his brow and that sharp gaze that appeared just now, are all but gone. He¡¯s back to being that polite and kind young man during the travels.


    Since her strokes are getting weaker and weaker, she decides to relax her whole body and just sink. Hazel can¡¯t help but call God¡¯s name, and the lakewater takes that opportunity to flow into her mouth.


    Lord, if Your holy powers can also reach this country, please lend me a hand as You did when I was young, and save this child.


    Even before her prayer ends, Yuuri raises his previously slumped hand, pointing at the bottom of the lake where the whirlpool began, as though searching for someone¡¯s shadow.


    A small dot appears in front of his finger, and that dot gets larger and larger, even becoming a pale blue hole.


    Hazel can¡¯t help but disbelieve her eyes.


    How can this be? This is the only large oasis in the Seisakoku desert, they¡¯re only sinking to the bottom of this turbulent lake because she tried to stop Yuuri who was using maryoku. What¡¯s happening here, what strange power is opening up a hole at the bottom of the lake?


    But when a human head pokes through vaguely from that spot, she finally accepts the fact.


    But this child, is probably coming through the gap this little buddy opened. He¡¯s pulling someone from over there, someone from another world, and bringing them here. It must be some dimensional wall or some other method to cross dimensions, just like how she was blasted into this world.


    Yuuri suddenly twists his body, breaking free from Hazel¡¯s hands. He slowly sinks to somewhere near the bottom of the lake, desperately reaching his hand out to the thing that look like a human silhouette, and then disregards the fact that he¡¯s in the water, yelling,


    ¡°Aniki!¡±


    Hazel forgets her own pain as well, her eyes staring directly at Yuuri and the figure. Actually she just has to reach out her hand, and she¡¯ll be able to hook the young man¡¯s leg. Right now she shouldn¡¯t let him keep sinking, and should instead pull him out of the water. But she doesn¡¯t do that, because she can¡¯t.


    The figures in front of them become clearer and clearer.


    It¡¯s a man and a woman.


    The man is blocked by Yuuri so she can¡¯t see him, but she can see the woman clearly. Her long hair is swaying in the water, a young woman in her teens. She seems to see Hazel¡¯s figure too, her movements stopping in her surprise.


    She grabs the man¡¯s hand with one hand, holding a thin and long cylinder in the other¡ªcould that be an oxygen tank? How could there be such a silly girl, carrying such simple diving equipment?


    But no matter how silly the girl is, Hazel doesn¡¯t plan on scolding her.


    After all, the girl staring at her¡­ Her face¡­


    ¡°Yuuri!?¡±


    Beside the hesitating Hazel, Yuuri yells at that man,


    ¡°I will go back!¡±


    Although they¡¯re underwater, he still does his best to open his throat,


    ¡°Although there¡¯s no way now, but I will definitely go back!¡±


    By the time he finishes his words, the whirlpool has gotten stronger and stronger too, and the two figures that were in the center are both sucked inside. Before they can determine where they are, the whirlpool is slowly getting closer, and is so strong it only pulls the two apart.


    Ah~~ If only I could talk like him.


    Hazel grabs Yuuri¡¯s leg, sighing in her heart.


    They¡¯re underwater, technically they shouldn¡¯t be able to talk, and that fact is what tied Hazel down, so even though the name she wanted to yell is already at her lips, she still can¡¯t send her thoughts to the other party.


    But no matter what, the name she¡¯s thinking isn¡¯t correct, because that girl isn¡¯t April Graves.


    ¡°¡­NIOR! JUNIOR! Hang in there! Your wounds aren¡¯t serious!¡±


    His hearing is back. Shouri takes a while to recover from his daze and realize that something bouncy is pressed on his lips, and that¡¯s why he can¡¯t breathe smoothly. So he desperately waves his hands, to tell everyone he¡¯s still alive.


    ¡°Oh~~ Thank goodness, JUNIOR, you¡¯ve come back to us.¡±


    When he raises his heavy eyelids, he finds that his whole body is dripping wet as he lies on the shore, a naked-from-waist-up Bob and pale Abigail staring at him. What¡¯s surprising is that annoying DJ is expressing his concern too from behind Bob¡¯s shoulder.


    As for the Swiss soldiers standing opposite them, they all look awkward, they probably won¡¯t suspect us anymore, right?


    The only thing bugging him now is the sea-type Frenchman Francois, with his arms crossed in front of his chest. His coffee-colored face and seductive lips, have a very satisfied smile on them.


    Don¡¯t tell me I¡­


    Forget it, it¡¯s better not to think about it.


    ¡°Thank goodness, you weren¡¯t breathing when we pulled you out, you nearly scared me to death. It¡¯s all thanks to Francois, who massaged your heart and performed C¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear it!¡±


    Let¡¯s just pretend that never happened.


    But he was drowning at the bottom of the lake, and the insides of his diving suit are soaked too, while the back of his head is being pricked painfully by the sharp stones in the grass.


    Although he knows it¡¯s irrational, he still can¡¯t help but make a short fuss.


    ¡°By the way, what¡¯s up with that plane? That extreme low-altitude flying style nearly caused an accident! Don¡¯t tell me¡­ Hey, don¡¯t tell me something actually happened?¡±


    ¡°How is that possible, not only is that pilot from the German air forces, their technique is also really impressive, there¡¯s no way they¡¯d crash from this level of aerial trick.¡±


    ¡°Ah? You know that pilot?¡±


    Bob smiles behind his sunglasses.


    ¡°Although I don¡¯t know a single person from the Swiss army, but I have friends in Swiss banks. To spice things up here, I invited him to bring his private jet here.¡±


    Shouri sits on the ground and looks around ¡ªother than overturned oats, there are all sorts of other things floating on the surface of the lake. Not only are there bent branches and broken bridges, there¡¯s also something you can tell at once is military paint, and the soldiers are hastily cleaning up the mess.


    They indeed spiced things up, but why didn¡¯t they take the opportunity to run while the Swiss army are disoriented¡­


    Although the soldiers look embarrassed, they¡¯re still watching us. Even if they¡¯re not treated as criminals, but there¡¯s no avoiding a lecture and apology letter.


    ¡°Looks like we can¡¯t escape anymore.¡±


    ¡°But his actions awakened the power of Lake Bodensee. The best proof is, didn¡¯t you and Abigail peek into the world on that side?¡±


    The world on that side?


    After Bob¡¯s reminder, Shouri finally remembers. That¡¯s right, I sank to the bottom of the lake, and experienced something unbelievable.


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    ¡°Went there!¡±


    Abigail Graves replies in English, swinging her wet hair excitedly.


    ¡°Although it was just for a second, but we went there! We went there, how awesome--!¡±


    ¡°You say we went there, but where the heck is there?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you remember, Shouri? There is the other world, we went to the other world through the bottom of the lake!¡±


    And she added, dissatisfied¡ª¡°Though only our top halves.¡±


    ¡°Mn, meaning you experienced what happened to Murata at the spot-billed duck lake.¡±


    ¡°Goodness, is it a scene like in the movies when a body is chopped in half?¡±


    In that case, it¡¯s not a dream or an illusion. Shouri slowly straightens up his body and stands. That¡¯s not a beautiful dream he had while unconscious, or a happy illusion drawn up by his oxygen-deprived brain.


    I did indeed see Yuuri, and my hand did almost grab my little brother.


    ¡°But JUNIOR and Abigail didn¡¯t touch the Box, right? Then why could you instantly open a door to the other world, and how much power was needed? I don¡¯t believe only a small jet rustling up the water, would have this sort of effect.¡±


    ¡°Forget it, a trivial thing like that isn¡¯t worth worrying about.¡±


    Who cares if it¡¯s something unexplainable by theories, or laws of physics, Shouri still reached his hand out for his little brother. In that short time he managed to connect to Yuuri, and even exchanged a conversation that couldn¡¯t turn to sound. So it doesn¡¯t matter what¡¯s the reason, and whose power it is.


    In any case Yuuri said it: ¡°Although there¡¯s no way now, but I will definitely go back!¡±


    ¡°Although there¡¯s no way now, but I will definitely go back!¡±


    Shouri keeps repeating that line, pressing his index and middle fingers on his temple, hoping to lock his little brother¡¯s voice in there.


    I will wait for you.


    ¡°¡­I will wait for you.¡±


    That little brother who is now far away needs a home to come back to.


    Yuuri, your home is here, so you must come back.


    Shouri holds his hands tightly and puts them on his knees, murmuring to himself: Come back quickly, Yuu-chan. We¡¯re a family, and Aniki will be waiting for you¡­


    Aniki?


    ¡°Aaaaaah--!¡±


    ¡°What is it, JUNIOR? Your glasses disappeared?¡±


    ¡°Now that you mention it, my glasses really are gone, but this has nothing to do with that! Y-Yuu-chan called me Aniki, he called me Aniki¡­¡±


    ¡°Why are you sighing, don¡¯t you wish he would call you Aniki?¡±


    ¡°No! Not Aniki, I don¡¯t want him to call me Aniki!¡±


    Hearing ¡®Aniki¡¯, Francois turns around suddenly, looks like people tend to call him ¡®Aniki¡¯ or ¡®Boss¡¯[1].


    ¡°At a time like this, he still refuses to call me Onii-chan¡ª¡±


    The foreigner Abigail Graves shrugs exasperatedly, looking down on the man who¡¯s wailing over this meaningless reason. In the past she heard that the Japanese don¡¯t really show their familial affections, but it seems the Shibuya household is an exception.


    Thinking ¡°Is his little brother really that cute?¡±, she tries to remember Shouri¡¯s brother that she saw that time. But the one who appears in her mind, is the old grandma beside Yuuri.


    ¡°I keep feeling as though I saw her somewhere, there¡¯s a really familiar feeling¡­ I say, Shouri, is that old grandma your brother¡¯s friend?¡±


    ¡°What? Old grandma? Who are you talking about, how come I didn¡¯t see her? I¡¯m a guy whose head is filled with only Yuu-chan, y¡¯know!¡±


    ¡°Oh dear, but she was hugging your little brother tightly, eh?¡±


    ¡°What did you say--!? An old grandma hugging him--!?¡±


    After being proud of something not worthy of being proud of, Shouri¡¯s expression changes drastically.


    ¡°W-w-w-why would Yuu-chan be together with an old grandma? N-no way, right? I always thought he¡¯s not dating girls of the same age as him because he has no luck with the ladies, and was even relieved from it, but to think he actually likes older ones¡­ Blergh!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, JUNIOR?¡±


    ¡°Because the image in my imagination is too extreme, so s-suddenly my stomach¡­ my stomach really hurts¡­¡±


    ¡°W-when you say that I just realized me too!¡±


    Abigail¡¯s stomach makes an un-cheerleader-like noise too, her guts roaring like a tiger.


    ¡°Mn¡ªSo you greedy things went to the other world to feast.¡±


    ¡°No, we didn¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°Mn¡ªFrancois, could you ask the Swiss army if they¡¯d be willing to lend us the washrooms?¡±


    ¡°YEAH¡ªIt¡¯s our first time borrowing a washroom!¡±


    ¡°YEAH, is it!? Is this the time to yell YEAH!?¡±


    He really can¡¯t stand gangster high school girls.


    But after that they personally experience, how hard it is to take off a diving suit at the critical moment.

 Volume 14 - CH 7

    Not only has the town been razed to the ground, it¡¯s still soaked in the water even now.


    I can¡¯t see this terrible sight, only the last remaining fires in the darkness show up in my vision.


    Advancing along the torched remnants of walls, we meet casualties everywhere on the streets, but most of them are equestrian people. Although it might not be too nice to say this, but just thinking that they robbed these innocent townspeople of their homes and even set them on fire, makes me feel as though they deserve whatever they got.


    But at the same time I still can¡¯t bear to ignore these people in pain.


    I asked Dacascos and the Captain to heal them however they can, and only then do I return to the building acting as our base of operations, supported by Wolfram and Conrad.


    In the end our side lost horribly. No, I can¡¯t say which side lost, if I had to say, it would be my own personal loss.


    I just sit on the hard chair, not in the mood to face the results of the battle.


    I¡¯m waiting for Conrad, standing in front of me, to say something, but he seems to be angry too, and doesn¡¯t say anything to comfort me.


    ¡°I saw Aniki.¡±


    Even I feel it¡¯s really sudden. Just as I¡¯m feeling surprised, the words leave my mouth. I couldn¡¯t stand the silence, but the contents of those words take me by surprise.


    ¡°Rather than say I saw him, I should say I met him.¡±


    That person is indeed Shouri. Not only did I touch his hand, I even said some things to him. Since we were underwater, we didn¡¯t talk the normal way.


    ¡°But what surprised me is that he brought a girl with him, and a foreigner at that¡­ A foreigner! When did Shouri meet her?¡±


    ¡°When?¡±


    ¡°When I fell to the bottom of the lake.¡±


    ¡°Was it when you lost sense of yourself?¡±


    ¡°That way of putting it sounds really bad.¡±


    Conrad immediately apologizes to me.


    ¡°But how did he do it¡­ Without extremely powerful strength or maryoku, he shouldn¡¯t have been able to come to the other world. Does your brother have maryoku?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡ªBut he¡¯s really smart at learning new things.¡±


    ¡°Since your brother has no maryoku, it could be your power that summoned him.¡±


    ¡°I can do something like that?¡±


    ¡°As for that, I¡¯m unable to conclude anything, we can only find out by enquiring at the Shinou Shrine. But you say he wasn¡¯t alone, if the other party asks about it, how would he explain it?¡±


    ¡°I was with Hazel, too, Shouri may have seen her. For all you know that girl¡­ Come to think of it, I feel as though that foreign girl looks a lot like someone, who could it be?¡±


    Although no one¡¯s going to answer even if I ask, but that girl beside Shouri, looks a lot like someone I¡¯ve seen recently. I try to remember how they looked and acted back then.


    They were both wearing skintight black clothes, and I think the girl was hugging Shouri tightly.


    ¡°What on earth was Shouri doing!? Wearing skintight clothes and hugging like that!¡±


    That¡¯s not an image you can let your own brother witness. How embarrassing, I mean to say, how overboard of him. I suspected a long time ago that he has some special preferences, but that¡¯s my first time seeing it with my own eyes. Damn that Shouri, so it turns out not only do you like playing eroge, you even secretly have a fetish for skintight clothes.


    Finding out my older brother¡¯s fetish makes me a little uncomfortable, until my butt even feels a little itchy. No, rather than itchy, it¡¯s more prickly.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    I reach my hand into my pocket, and find the glasses I picked up in the lake inside. That pain was from the frames pressing into my flesh, huh? But I find these frames somewhat familiar, don¡¯t tell me this is a souvenir from Shouri? To think he came all the way to this world, left his glasses, and went back just like that.


    I really can''t tell if this is supposed to be a big deal or not[1].


    ¡°¡­dy?¡±


    ¡°Eh, what?¡±


    ¡°I was asking you, how¡¯s your body.¡±


    At first I still didn¡¯t understand why he would be asking this sort of question¡ªI can¡¯t raise my right shoulder too high, the wound of my left hand still hasn¡¯t closed, I can¡¯t see¡ªConrad should know all this.


    He knows my injuries even better than I do.


    ¡°Ugh¡ªMy stomach hurts.¡±


    ¡°Because you drank it.¡±


    He says in a fed-up tone, ¡°You drank the unfiltered water.¡±


    I personally ¡®tested¡¯ the lakewater that was polluted by houjutsu, to find out what symptoms would show up after drinking it. As I expected, Conrad doesn¡¯t think that¡¯s a purifying houjutsu either, at the most it was just filtered.


    ¡°Anything else?¡±


    ¡°Nothing much.¡±


    ¡°Even though you used such an extravagant majutsu?¡±


    ¡°I see, so that¡¯s it.¡±


    In other words, he¡¯s worried about me losing control.


    Actually, there are still many things that make me uneasy. Other than my long-awaited Ue-sama mode, there¡¯s also the fact that Seisakoku is the land of the shinzoku. Since I used maryoku in a place filled with houryoku, he¡¯s worried that my body can¡¯t take it and I¡¯ll collapse.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing particularly different, and I think it¡¯s different from the past. Last time, I would faint every time, but today I didn¡¯t lose my consciousness from the exhaustion, I just feel a little tired, that¡¯s all. Although, yesterday I nearly collapsed in the underground passage, and today I fought this battle too, so I¡¯d be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t tired¡­ Even so, I¡¯m just really sleepy and my whole body aches. That¡¯s right, it should just be lack of sleep and muscle sores.¡±


    That sort of answer seems to be unable to convince him. After asking questions like ¡°Does your head hurt?¡± and ¡°Is your vision back?¡±, he finally mutters,


    ¡°In that case, purposely keeping Wolfram away would be pointless as well. To think you used maryoku on something other than healing.¡±


    ¡°What, so that¡¯s why!¡±


    I can¡¯t help but grin. Still, I can¡¯t help but be very concerned about the strict attitude he had towards Wolfram during that reunion.


    ¡°I always found it strange, why were you so strict to him?¡±


    Lord Weller clears his throat a little, saying in a solemn tone,


    ¡°Technically speaking, his actions were a serious offense. I didn¡¯t think the only punishment was to keep him away from you, even I feel my brain is getting slower and slower these days. But more importantly, you really don¡¯t feel uncomfortable in any way?¡±


    ¡°Spare me, I really don¡¯t feel weird anywhere. Or would you rather I be unwell?¡±


    ¡°How could that be! I¡¯m just worried about you, that¡¯s all. Didn¡¯t I say so before, worrying about you is my duty.¡±


    ¡°If you really want to worry for me so badly, I won¡¯t stop you. In any case it¡¯s no different from before, and my sight is still terrible too¡­¡±


    Wait a sec.


    I told Conrad my vision still isn¡¯t back to normal, and I can¡¯t even see his face clearly, neither can I completely understand what¡¯s happening around us. Then how did I meet Shouri? Not only did I see my older brother, I even remember the appearance of the girl with him clearly, so clearly I can say she looks a lot like someone.


    Why on earth is that?


    ¡°¡­I could see.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    I don¡¯t know to ask what kind of expression Conrad has on now. Even if I raise my head to look, all I see is the silhouette of the left half of his body, illuminated by the candlelight. But back then I could indeed see¡ªBe it that girl¡¯s hair, swaying in the water, or the while bubbles floating to the surface of the lake, I could see all of it clearly.


    ¡°I could indeed see, back then I really could see. Though now it¡¯s back to the start.¡±


    ¡°Only while you were in the water?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ No, not that¡­¡±


    I start thinking back, arranging the scenes from back then in a row, like photographs in my mind.


    Shouri, the foreign girl, the sky as seen from underwater, the pillar of water with orange light, the water pillar darting about everywhere in the shape of a dragon¡­ Flames, flames, and the townspeople running everywhere.


    And then there were the few equestrian people standing in the fire. Wait a sec, in that case I should have seen that more clearly¡ªThat¡¯s right, there were three equestrian people, the one in the middle had a slender body. Underneath the hat flapping loudly in the hot air, there was a face with bright golden eyes.


    ¡°No way¡­¡±


    ¡°What is it? What did you see? Did you remember something?¡±


    I press the corners of my eyes with my index and middle fingers. How can that be, he couldn¡¯t have been here. It must be because I haven¡¯t used my eyes for too long, that¡¯s why I was mistaken.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, and I didn¡¯t remember anything either, all I could remember is flames, water, and Shouri. Anyway, I could only see while I was in Ue-sama mode, and for a short while after that. What is this, even I can¡¯t figure out the reason¡ªThe me right now shouldn¡¯t be able to figure it out. I just can''t¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­ But it¡¯s a good sign that you recovered temporarily, maybe the period in which you can see will gradually increase.¡±


    Maybe it¡¯s because I look dejected, Conrad hurriedly adds,


    ¡°But on the other hand, your other senses will become sharper, maybe that¡¯ll come in use when it comes to sports. After all, what your eyes see isn¡¯t everything.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the complete opposite of what Hazel said. I remember her saying everything you see will happen[2].¡±


    ¡°I heard her say so too.¡±


    Hazel, the only one who crossed that underground passage before us, once said, ¡°Everything you see will happen.¡± Even if it¡¯s something that makes no sense. But maybe what Conrad says is true, too, and what you see isn¡¯t everything.


    I cover my useless eyes with my wounded palm, slowly thinking back on everything that happened to us.


    I saw mice, they ran past my feet like a grey carpet. But I didn¡¯t see birds and bats, and neither did they attack me.


    What if only the things I saw with my eyes happened? What if it was all an illusion, but I believed I saw it?


    ¡°In that case¡­ In that case, there¡¯s a high chance Josak might not be dead. Don¡¯t you agree, Conrad?¡±


    ¡°Right now you don¡¯t need to think about all that.¡±


    ¡°How can I not think about it!¡±


    Lord Weller sighs softly, and when he speaks again, his tone is as hateful as a stranger¡¯s.


    ¡°What did he say?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m asking you, what¡¯s the last thing he said.¡±


    The image from that time awakens in my mind. I bite my lip tightly, closing my eyes so tightly my eyelids cramp for the exertion.


    ¡°He told me¡­ to keep running.¡±


    ¡°If so, then please follow his instructions, you shouldn¡¯t be thinking back.¡±


    ¡°But he might still be alive!?¡±


    ¡°If he¡¯s still alive, he¡¯ll probably find a way on his own.¡±


    To this day I still remember the stone slab that came down with an enormous noise, the boulder that crashed into the slab, the impact that sent me flying, and the shudder I felt underneath my palm. Until now, whenever I think about that time, my palm still feels numb, I couldn¡¯t forget about it even if I tried.


    ¡°If he couldn¡¯t escape, he would think of something else. Gurrier is a soldier, he made the mental preparations a long time ago.¡±


    ¡°Mental preparations¡­¡±


    ¡°Anyway, he wouldn¡¯t want Your Majesty to be bothered over his sacrifice.¡±


    ¡°If he really died, I would give up[3]!¡±


    Because he smiled like in a Christmas drawing, a smile like a saint from different religions. If that was his final smile, and he would never come back, then I would give up. But if he¡¯s still breathing, if he can still talk, laugh, if I can even touch him again¡­


    ¡°If I¡¯m certain he¡¯s really dead, then I will accept this reality and give up. But if what Hazel said is true, then there¡¯s a high chance Josak is still alive. The things that happened there may all be illusions, and there might not be a boulder rolling down at all. But we saw that boulder, and believed it was rolling down at us, and put down that stone slab while under the illusion, and just like that, left Josak there¡­ That¡¯s right, that must be it!¡±


    I raise my head and grab Conrad¡¯s hands, feeling as though I can see his brown eyes, glowing with silver light.


    ¡°After I lost my sigh underground, nothing happened, nothing at all before you came. The reason I mistook Wolf for an enemy, is also because the light was reflected off his sword¡ªI assumed anyone with a sword was an enemy. Before that Sara once said there was something coming, but I already couldn¡¯t see, and in the end nothing happened. There was just a creature brushing past in the beginning¡­¡±


    ¡°Then what about the fact that the wound from back then is still on your face?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    I touch my face with my hand, and find a long scab. Although it¡¯s a small scratch of barely two centimeters, it¡¯s still the proof of a wound.


    ¡°It¡¯s because at that moment you thought something was coming. Back then you thought it was an unknown creature, like birds or bats flying at you in a swarm, right? In other words, even if it¡¯s just a split-second thought, it would have an effect on your body. Even if afterwards you want to deny it, the terror of that moment will not disappear. Then what about Josak? He saw the boulder rolling down at him, and had no time to suspect it at all.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say anymore!¡±


    My fingers can¡¯t leave the wound. How I wish it could disappear.


    ¡°That¡¯s why he brought down the stone slab to stop the boulder. To him, the boulder wasn¡¯t an illusion, so there¡¯s no way he¡¯s unharmed.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you say anymore!¡±


    If this wound would just disappear, Conrad¡¯s words wouldn¡¯t be true. I try to rub it away forcefully with my finger, but there¡¯s no way it would disappear.


    ¡°You should know.¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡±


    I grab the cup by my hand and throw it at Conrad, my ears picking up the sound of shattering pottery.


    Actually it¡¯s blatantly obvious whose explanation is more accurate. If I just calmed down and thought about it, I would find that he¡¯s right. If the illusion wouldn¡¯t cause harm, then there shouldn¡¯t be a wound on my face. Sometimes your psychological state will affect your body, once you believe something without a doubt, your body will be controlled by your mind.


    But even if that¡¯s true¡ª


    ¡°Even so¡­¡±


    I bring my fist down on the table once, and don¡¯t plan on continuing. After all the strength is already slowly draining out from my knees, it¡¯s a bother to even stand.


    The distance between him and me shouldn¡¯t be that far, but for some reason, Conrad¡¯s voice sounds like it¡¯s coming from a long distance away.


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m a cruel man?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s my first time thinking that.¡±


    ¡°I have no choice, either.¡±


    I can¡¯t stand this sense of powerlessness, my whole body sitting on the hard chair, my arms on the rough table surface, my face buried in my hands.


    ¡°¡­And you want me to do that too, right? To become a cruel man.¡±


    ¡°I never said that, it¡¯s good enough for you to be yourself.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the same as what you said!¡±


    ¡°The situation this time is special, from now on we will try our best to prevent something like this from happening again.¡±


    Footsteps approach slowly amidst the shattered pieces of pottery, a voice speaking from above my head. He stands across the table, on the ground very close to me, and continues,


    ¡°Leave the trivial matters to us. Be it me or Lord von Voltaire, or even Lord von Christ, to keep all these worries off your mind, that is the reason for our existence.¡±


    ¡°You sound just like Gwendal.¡±


    ¡°Someone has to tell you these things.¡±


    ¡°If so, then let Gwendal tell me! That¡¯s more reliable, or more convincing to me!¡±


    Lord Weller is at a loss for words.


    ¡°He¡¯s more convincing than you, who always says you accept me, but is never by my side!¡±


    ¡°In that case, please pretend as though Lord von Voltaire said those words, and take them to heart.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t do something like that!¡±


    I take a deep breath and stop, then slowly release it, forcing out all the air in my lungs. This is to control my emotions, so I only speak after I breath out all the oxygen.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need someone else telling me that. Throwing the annoying matters to others, and enjoying all the benefits by myself, I can¡¯t do something that despicable, and I have no intention to.¡±


    ¡°That is definitely not anything despicable¡­¡±


    ¡°You said so yourself, the death of a soldier is the responsibility of the commander. That¡¯s right, you were absolutely right.¡±


    ¡°But Your Majesty¡­¡±


    ¡°Listen to me! As long as I¡¯m king, all the failures in missions are my responsibility. I don¡¯t know other kings think, but those are my thoughts. Victory is built on everyone¡¯s efforts, but failure is on the commander¡¯s shoulders. Do you know why?¡±


    ¡°¡­I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°No matter how hard you work, it¡¯s impossible to win on one man¡¯s power alone, but it¡¯s easy as pie for one person to bring everything crashing down. This is all my fault, I was too na?ve, it¡¯s my fault the town was destroyed today!¡±


    Maybe shocked by my stubbornness, Lord Weller sighs deeply,


    ¡°It¡¯s best if you take a short rest.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡±


    I follow the walls to the door, touching the doorknob at about waist-height before turning around. The candlelight is lighting up half of Conrad¡¯s body as he stands beside the window, just like just now.


    ¡°Conrad.¡±


    I hear the rustle of clothes, he¡¯s probably switching his arms around his chest.


    ¡°Did you cry?¡±[4]


    He doesn¡¯t answer.


    Even after I leave the room, he doesn¡¯t chase after me. I expected as much, even if I have no confidence in my vision, there are only two doors here, there¡¯s no way I can¡¯t even walk a distance of ten meters.


    I open the door of the rented bedroom, walking to the window with the candle without holding on to anything. Wolfram is lying on the bed next to the window, his back facing me.


    ¡°Are you asleep?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    A muffled answer. He¡¯s laughing at me.


    ¡°You¡¯re lying, you wouldn¡¯t answer if you¡¯re sleeping!¡±


    ¡°That was an instinctive reaction. I realized that you¡¯re coming to me to cry and complain again, so I had no choice but to answer you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you normally pretend to sleep?¡±


    ¡°All I can say is I¡¯m too nice a guy.¡±


    Sitting on the sturdy mattress stuffed full of hay, I raise my head to look at the night sky outside the window. There¡¯s a dim square in my pitch black field of vision, and some bright spots glowing yellow in the middle. There isn¡¯t a moon, or any stars, only the light of a candle flame.


    The wind blows against my face, carrying the smell of charred walls, sand and water. Looks like the glass on the window is broken.


    ¡°Thank goodness I still have you beside me.¡±


    ¡°Your straightforwardness is making me nauseous.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t even have the energy to pretend anymore.¡±


    I can tell with a touch that the bed beside me is wet. It must have been the lakewater that broke the window glass, and wet the room. Is this my punishment for failing the mission today?


    ¡°Can I sleep over there with you?¡±


    Under the weak candlelight, a blurred Wolfram swings the thing in front of his chest,


    ¡°G¨¹nter¡¯s here too, is that alright with you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s really too cruel[5].¡±


    I start laughing to the point I can¡¯t stop, but then my voice starts to crack, so I have no choice but to bury my face in the pillow so Wolfram won¡¯t notice. Just like that, the dim candlelight disappears from my vision.


    Surely I won¡¯t be able to sleep through the guilt and regret.


    But I must let my body rest a while. Because the life we¡¯re living is one where we don¡¯t know when¡¯s the next time we can sleep on beds again.

 Volume 14 - CH 8

    Just as I¡¯m about to ask why there¡¯s a light shining from the right, the surroundings are instantly dyed red, overwhelming the darkness.


    I whip around in shock. After all, after what happened yesterday, I thought it was flames.


    ¡°It¡¯s the sunrise, dawn has broken.¡±


    Saralegui says tiredly. I turn to face the sunlight, covering my eyes because the brightness is too intense.


    ¡°Yuuri, the one who really wants to cover his eyes is me. I can¡¯t withstand light rays that are too intense.¡±


    ¡°In that case, you should bring sunglasses with you.¡±


    This is my first time greeting the sunrise in a desert.


    Of course I have welcomed the morning in the desert before, but in the past I was either in a building, or in front of a campfire, and I was with protectors I could trust, so no matter what the surroundings were like, I never felt uneasy.


    But standing in the middle of a road in the limitless desert, and with no companions nearby, moving ahead as I face the uneasy morning¡ªthis really is my first time.


    The only ones with me are two horses and Saralegui.


    ¡°But you really are surprising.¡±


    The swaying sound comes from somewhere to my left, at about the same height. If we just let the horses run at full speed, we would be able to reach our destination in within a day, but we¡¯re both amateurs when it comes to riding, so we can allow the horses to advance slowly. After all, I¡¯m not good at riding on my own, and with my vision still blurry, there¡¯s no way I can run full tilt.


    ¡°Surprising?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m truly very surprised. To think you could ride a horse on your own even when your eyes can¡¯t see.¡±


    ¡°To me, you¡¯re about the same. Always putting on an ¡®I usually ride carriages¡¯ look.¡±


    The truth is, the same goes for me. Although I¡¯ve practiced quite a few times in the city, but I¡¯m still far from being able to ride freely and easily. Even if the horse is barely trotting, my butt will still float above the saddle, and if it speeds up a bit, my body will keep knocking into the saddle. If I really wanted to let the horse go as fast as it can, I¡¯ll probably be reduced to crying and hugging the horse¡¯s neck.


    ¡°And your suggestion, too. I didn¡¯t think you would suggest such a thing to me.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it true? After all just a few hours ago, your subordinates packed me in a sack, and stuffed me into a tool closet.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha~~¡± Saralegui laughs adorably, as though he¡¯s completely forgotten why he was treated that way.


    ¡°To think we¡¯re traveling alone like this again.¡±


    ¡°This little bit of distance doesn¡¯t count as traveling, does it? It just takes a day to ride to the north-east equestrian tribe¡¯s lands.¡±


    ¡°Traveling is traveling, an excursion is still an excursion until we¡¯re back home.¡±


    ¡°Then bananas count as dessert, huh.¡±


    I avoid the large amounts of yellow sand trying to fly into my eyes and mouth, as I grip the ropes tightly. In the vast desert, all I see is a sea of pure white. There¡¯s a figure next to me that looks like Saralegui, but other than that I can¡¯t differentiate the sky from the earth.


    ¡°And I didn¡¯t think you would still rely on me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not relying on you, this is a deal. I don¡¯t want to owe you anything, so didn¡¯t I say I wanted to make a deal with you?¡±


    ¡°True, but I haven¡¯t decided the conditions of the deal yet, so everything up till now is all you being one-sided, right?¡±


    ¡°Hurry up and decide.¡±


    ¡°About that¡­¡±


    He obviously enjoys this situation. Be it deftly avoiding the surveillance to escape the room, stealing the horses and preparing to escape, or even when I discovered him, he never once looked panicked.


    Actually back then if he truly wanted to escape, he could have easily beaten me and left. After all my eyes can¡¯t see, and I don¡¯t have the power to stop him, but for some reason he doesn¡¯t do that, just laughs, ¡°How did you know it was me, Yuuri? Don¡¯t tell me you have a mind¡¯s eye?¡±


    Even when he was listening to my suggestion, he was completely unfazed. Only now does he say something about feeling surprised, but that¡¯s just talk.


    ¡°Still, your suggestion is really something. Without a certain degree in exchange, I can¡¯t simply agree, y¡¯know.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°After all, you want me to pretend to be Yelshi.¡±


    ¡°Since you guys are twins, it¡¯s worth a shot, right?¡±


    Since setting fires and fighting is all part of the Edo spirit, then a good ol¡¯ switcheroo tactic would naturally require twins.


    Saralegui and his little brother Yelshi, look absolutely identical from every angle. In the past when they swapped identities, even Yelshi¡¯s people in Yelshiurad couldn¡¯t tell them apart. Besides, this is an isolated desert far from the capital, and no one has any experience serving the emperor of Seisakoku or the Shou Shimaron king at close distance.


    So there¡¯s no way we¡¯ll be found out.


    ¡°If it¡¯s the Emperor¡¯s decree, the equestrian tribes would likely obey as well.¡±


    ¡°How should I put it? ¡®This water source is mine, so stop fighting, you guys¡ª¡¯ or something like that?¡±


    ¡°Be a little more serious, would you? You are still the king of a country, at the end of the day.¡±


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you demonstrate for me, Your Majesty? You¡¯re the king of a country too.¡±


    The truth is, all we have to do is order the equestrian tribes with something like, ¡°All the land in Seisakoku, including this lake, belongs to Emperor Yelshi, no one is allowed to intrude¡±. Those equestrian tribes fighting over the rights to the desert are also people of Seisakoku, they should listen to His Majesty the Emperor.


    Although acting on our own without first consulting the Emperor himself, and in someone else¡¯s country at that, makes me a little uncomfortable, but there¡¯s nothing wrong with the content. That isn¡¯t something we came up with, we¡¯re just reaffirming something that¡¯s a matter of fact.


    While not interfering with the internal politics.


    Although it does feel like we¡¯re impersonating Master Mito Komon, thankfully our aim isn¡¯t to eat and run.


    This is the plan I spent all night coming up with. After all, it¡¯s all my fault that the townspeople¡¯s houses were razed to the ground, the streets flooded, and some people hurt. Everyone has suffered. I don¡¯t think doing this can make up for anything, but it¡¯s better than not doing anything at all.


    So I discussed it over with Saralegui, about to make a run for it, and borrowed two horses, leaving the town before daylight.


    The reason I didn¡¯t bring guards with me, is so that our identities won¡¯t be discovered. If it were just me, I could still say that I¡¯m a traveler from a distant country, or his companion. But to Saralegui, acting as his brother Yelshi, it¡¯d be even more cumbersome to have mazoku bodyguards.


    As the shinzoku emperor, if Yelshi had mazoku soldiers with him, it would be way too unnatural.


    Once we meet the equestrian tribes, Saralegui will step up and state that he¡¯s here to observe the royal tombs and the facilities in the north, only to have separated from his guards in the middle of the forest. As for me, I¡¯ll be a follower whose eyes and throat were injured. Even if anyone suspects me, the follower with out-of-place looks, they wouldn¡¯t go as far as to challenge His Majesty the Emperor.


    ¡°But this idea of yours sure is bold, asking me to impersonate my little brother to trick the equestrian tribes.¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t trickery, it¡¯s just reaffirming a fact. It¡¯s a good thing for His Majesty the Emperor as well.¡±


    ¡°Who knows? If we were discovered, the one Yelshi scolds would be me. Looks like I have to ask for an appropriate price in return.¡±


    ¡°Have you decided?¡±


    ¡°Mn¡ª¡±


    Saralegui seems to be fairly frustrated, muttering to himself. After a deliberate pause, the condition he finally comes up with for the deal is somehow very abstract.


    ¡°It should be life, right?¡±


    ¡°Life?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, life. If it was a certain someone¡¯s life, I might be able to make the deal.¡±


    Shocked, I can¡¯t help but ask,


    ¡°Whose?¡±


    ¡°That depends.¡±


    And then he laughs.


    What idiotic idea is this obstinate boy king harboring now?


    ¡°Anyway, why don¡¯t you guys stay in Shou Shimaron for a few days first. After that I¡¯ll figure out how we¡¯re going to play properly.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m asking you, who¡­¡±


    But this will have to wait.


    Because on the sand dune in front of us, there are a few swaying shadows.


    ¡°It¡¯s the equestrian tribe.¡±


    Saralegui says in a small voice.


    ¡°Sara, how many are there? Can you see? Do you know which tribe they¡¯re from?¡±


    ¡°Four, five, six¡­ Six of them, but I don¡¯t know which tribe. That part is really very hard to differentiate, if only we could tell from the color of the clothes.¡±


    They¡¯re wearing hooded cloaks that float in the wind, and feel just like residents of a desert would. But the Seisakoku deserts aren¡¯t hot, there¡¯s foolproof insulation from the cold underneath that material flying in the wind. Apparently the cloaks aren¡¯t just for decoration, sometimes they can be used as carpets, other times as tents, or even scarves.


    It¡¯s just that they don¡¯t use different colors according to their different groups. Even if they¡¯re from the same tribe, they can still wear white, or other non-colored material. It seems that anything pale-colored goes.


    For some reason Saralegui looks exhilarated, grabbing my arm as he says,


    ¡°What to do, are we going to start fighting? Are you going to perform that kind of shocking magic from last night?¡±


    "I won''t do something so reckless again."


    ¡°But at this rate we¡¯ll be captured.¡±


    ¡°That will be even better for us. Rather than walking slowly like this, we can reach their base faster. Listen up, when we get to their place you must call yourself Yelshi, or there¡¯s no guarantee they won¡¯t suddenly come at us with knives.¡±


    How rare it is, for my judgment to be so accurate.


    Faced with Saralegui calling himself the Seisakoku emperor, the equestrian people don¡¯t dare to do anything rash. Because those folks don¡¯t if Saralegui is the real thing or a phony. Besides, for these people living in poverty far from the city, most of them go their entire lives without seeing the king¡¯s true face even once.


    Even if someone here has seen their country¡¯s emperor before, the likelihood of them calling our bluff is really low. Because the boy king of Shou Shimaron and the young emperor of Seisakoku look exactly the same.


    Those guys treat Yelshi¡­ no, they treat Yelshi-impersonator Saralegui with a ton of respect. Sending water, even offering fruits to His Majesty the Emperor, exhausted and having barely escaped with his life. In order to not seem rude, they even let him ride an old horse, bringing him to their home.


    A follower whose eyes and throat are hurt like me, is nothing more than cargo to them. And as ¡®cargo¡¯ means, I¡¯m pushed onto a large horse that¡¯s uncomfortable to ride, following the north-west equestrian people back to their home. Since my character has a wounded throat, I can¡¯t complain or yell. Though even if I could speak, they wouldn¡¯t understand my grievances.


    The one that pisses me off even more is Saralegui, who doesn¡¯t utter a word at the treatment I¡¯m receiving. If he was just a little bit better to his follower, he would at least say some nice things for me.


    The place where the equestrian people live is fairly different from the oasis town.


    There aren¡¯t any buildings here, just a camp consisting of simple tents made from a frame and cloth. They should have some things to block the wind and the sand inside, but I can¡¯t tell how they survive the chill of the nights. Compared to the town of bricks, all I can say is they live very simply.


    But there are benefits of this, too. Once they get wind of an enemy attack, they can immediately pack up and move. Even if there was a fire, their homes wouldn¡¯t be too badly damaged. Because only God can take away something that never existed in the first place.


    It must be Saralegui¡¯s first time seeing a camp of tents, his narration obviously rather excited,


    ¡°How shocking, Yuuri! It¡¯s a bunch of tents! To think people could actually live in these things! This kind of space is narrow and thin, you could hear everything from next door perfectly clearly too, there¡¯s no secrecy whatsoever. Oh, right, have you stayed in this kind of house before?¡±


    Although his non-stop ranting is annoying, but he is the master after all, and I¡¯m the follower, so I can only keep listening to him obediently. A lot of Japanese high school boys have camping experience, so I¡¯m not surprised by this collection of tents. This is just like him, that¡¯s why I feel greenhouse flowers are so hard to deal with.


    ¡°There are over a hundred of them!¡±


    Over a hundred¡­ That is rather large scale.


    By the time he says that, I¡¯m also thrown onto the ground. Before this I was treated as cargo, and carried by six strong men. If they threw me just a little further ahead, at least there would be something that looks like a brown mattress. Thanks to them, the sandy ground breaks the skin on my chin.


    Since I can¡¯t see the afternoon sunlight, I deduce that I¡¯m now in a tent. The man standing in front of me is saying something in a loud voice, and of course he¡¯s not speaking in the common language. Saralegui replies, but he¡¯s speaking in Seisakoku language, so I don¡¯t understand that either.


    Damn, this is so inconvenient. Doesn¡¯t this camp have any translators!? Only now do I finally understand Mr Ajira¡¯s importance.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the person in charge here!?¡±


    Saralegui suddenly uses the common language, and I can¡¯t help but raise my head to look at him, thinking this is some sort of signal. Anyway his words tell me that the man in front of us isn¡¯t the person in charge.


    ¡°Sara, there¡¯s no need to talk to anyone who¡¯s not the chief! Our final ace must only be shown at the most critical moment.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s strange, I thought you can¡¯t talk?¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    Crap, I forget my throat was supposed to be hurt.


    ¡°How about we say you¡¯re a teenager from a different country that I hired? Not only is that closer to our true relationship, it¡¯s easier for you to act out too.¡±


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m starting to understand what you think me as better and better.¡±


    ¡°Then let me explain, my follower. This man says just a few days ago he was still the top gun in this camp, but a few days ago the legendary messiah showed up, so he willingly suggested handing over the power to the messiah, only that man doesn¡¯t seem to have accepted yet. Goodness~~ To think there are still legends of messiahs and all that.¡±


    When I think of messiah legends, three super famous people pop up in my head. Other than them, I really can¡¯t think of anyone else. That¡¯s right, it¡¯s those people from the messiah legend of the century¡ªKenshiro and Amiba and Heart. All you can see are bulging muscles, muscles, muscles, as well as scattering tendons. Oh, right, and there¡¯s another one called Raoh too[1].


    ¡°Mm, ha¡ª¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Yuuri?¡±


    ¡°N-nothing.¡±


    The extreme envy almost made me drool unconsciously.


    ¡°If so, let¡¯s ask this chief and the person pretending to retire, who we should tell His Majesty the Emperor¡¯s decree to.¡±


    ¡°Of course I¡¯ve asked. In the end he said they¡¯re drumming up stuff¡­¡±


    ¡°Drumming?¡±


    Drumming, drumming, drumming¡­ It couldn¡¯t be the younger sister of a cat-shaped robot from the future[2], right? Then they must be drumming up resources. Could it be that the legendary messiah is preparing a feast?


    ¡°What I mean is they want to treat to me to dinner.¡±


    ¡°Eh, wait a sec. It should be ¡®us¡¯, right?¡±


    ¡°No¡ª¡±


    Sara slowly shakes his head and says,


    ¡°Apparently they¡¯re going to have a banquet to welcome the Emperor of Seisakoku, His Majesty Yelshi. As for you, my follower, it seems you can¡¯t attend.¡±


    Crap, at this point of the plan, my part of a follower is having an opposite effect. From the start I should have set it as ¡®a close bosom friend who for some reason is following the Shou Shimaron king¡¯ instead.


    The sky suddenly becomes dark, so I know I¡¯m in a tent.


    As the saying goes, the autumn sun drops¡­ No, the autumn sun sets quickly, but I never asked what season this country is currently undergoing, so I can¡¯t confirm if the sun really did drop quickly.


    Saralegui, impersonating the Emperor of Seisakoku Yelshi, is talking up a storm with the current chief as they walk to the large tent where the banquet will be held. On the other hand, I get the complete opposite treatment, some soldiers carrying me over their shoulders like when we arrived to another tent, as though I could be tossed into the sky at any time.


    The people carrying me keep chanting, ¡°Messiah, messiah.¡± This is the Seisakoku word I just learned.


    ¡°W-wait a sec, guys! What is up with this messiah legend? Why am I carried around like cargo? Is Amiba here to blow his flute!?¡±


    They carry me to a tent full of fragrances, and throw me onto the ground just like before. this time there¡¯s more than just a brown mat, my chin even touches oily fur.


    The equestrian people are still yelling messiah, messiah.


    They tie up my arms, and then tie the rope to the wooden furniture before leaving.


    I feel around with my hands, looks like this is the leg of a table. There are four chairs around the rough and sturdy table, in other words, I¡¯m tied in an unfamiliar room like a dog.


    Maybe this is still slightly better than Saralegui, who was tied onto a bed last night. If there were handcuffs cuffed to the table, I could even play detective. There might even be a nice detective sending me pork chop rice. Hey¡ªYamada, bring the pork chop rice!


    ¡­Who the hell am I playing detective with?


    I turn my face to the right, where something seems to be moving on what looks like a bed. Looks like someone else got here first, but no matter how I look at it, it doesn¡¯t seem to be a person.


    That thing is completely round in appearance, with nothing long and slender like a person¡¯s limbs. Is it a caterpillar? Or a cocoon? But it¡¯s too big. Besides, are there really oddballs in the world that would treat a huge caterpillar as a pet? So worrying, that¡¯s way too worrying.


    Other than the bad visibility, this dark tent isn¡¯t a comfortable place no matter how you look at it. I can¡¯t see clearly, but since I got nothing better to do, I just keep staring at the top of the bed.


    Maybe it¡¯s just me, but I keep feeling as though that thing is getting smaller and smaller.


    The owner of this room wakes up suddenly one morning, and finds he¡¯s turned into a huge caterpillar¡­ Are these non-scientific phenomena actually possible or not?


    Because my mind is full of things like that, I don¡¯t notice the footsteps crunching on the sand.


    The thing that pulls me back to reality isn¡¯t the sound of the men entering the tent, but the aroma that comes with them. That¡¯s the smell of bread, fresh out of the oven, and meat roasted with a lot of herbs, and the slightly charred aroma of vegetables, drizzled with cheese then cooked until they melt in your mouth.


    The smells fill the entire tent, moving me to a daze. To a malnourished brat like me who hasn¡¯t anything decent in almost a week, this is murder to my eyes¡­ No, murder to my nose.


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    The man who seems to be the owner of the house makes a sound that scares me out of my wits, but that voice is very familiar. Problem is, I don¡¯t know any equestrian people.


    In other words, I¡¯m hallucinating due to the hunger. Goodness, malnourishment is scary.


    Maybe it¡¯s because I didn¡¯t answer, the man repeats once more,


    ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    Crap, I really feel as though I know him. This voice that can travel so far even during a competition is¡­


    I raise my head, trying to get a better look at his face. But the tent is a bit dim during evening, plus my vision is still on holiday, so unlike during the day, I can¡¯t even tell where he¡¯s standing.


    ¡°You couldn¡¯t be the muscle¡­ Adalbert, could you?¡±


    ¡°Who else could it be. And where are you looking? Brat¡­ Don¡¯t tell me?¡±


    I sense Adalbert holding his breath in his surprise.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you can¡¯t see? How did it get to this?¡±


    I want to know, too.

 Volume 14 - CH 9

    I didn¡¯t think that me losing my sight is even more surprising to Adalbert than me showing up in the middle of the desert.


    When three people put dishes laden with food on the table, he¡¯s pacing on the sandy ground covered with only a mat, asking again, ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    So I tell him about what happened at the oasis a few days ago, and explain all about coming to the equestrian tribe stronghold¡ªall while there¡¯s a feast in front of me. To a starving high school student, this is basically an interrogation.


    Once he finally finishes hearing out my tales of heroism, Adalbert kicks the table leg angrily. The impact spreads to me, making my wounded shoulder and palm hurt like hell.


    ¡°Damn, how did it get to this? I only came here to get a look because I heard there was some rare ingredient, to think this chunk of meat is actually a clueless mazoku brat!¡±


    ¡°Ingredient!?¡±


    So the equestrian people who carried me here to excitedly think I¡¯m tonight¡¯s dinner? No wonder they were so excited.


    ¡°Even I don¡¯t know if this is lucky or unlucky.¡±


    ¡°On the other hand, what kind of meat do you mean by meat? Seisakoku doesn¡¯t have such a bloody culture, do they?¡±


    ¡°No, no, the equestrian tribes don¡¯t have such a culture.¡±


    The muscleman waves his hand in denial, causing a huge gust of wind. His muscles are surely swaying too.


    ¡°Apparently the West considers people with black hair and eyes a delicacy for immortality, you should have heard about that, right?¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s a delicacy¡­ Can¡¯t believe it¡¯s not a miracle medicine.¡±


    To think that after living seriously for sixteen years, I¡¯ll be treated as an ingredient. Right now I can finally understand how the deer and monkeys in the Chinatown market feel like, they¡¯re surely absolutely tearful as well. But that¡¯s all my fault for not disguising myself properly.


    Maybe it¡¯s because Adalbert gave an order, one of the equestrian people unties the bonds on my hands. They¡¯re moving the food, so I assume they¡¯re the equestrian people in charge of preparing food and beverage.


    ¡°Anyway, sit down first.¡±


    ¡°Mn¡­¡±


    The truth is I don¡¯t really want to approach the dinner table. The reason is simple, faced with so many delicious dishes, I¡¯m just not confident I can stand it. Seeing my hesitation, Adalbert bursts out in laughter,


    ¡°Relax, I won¡¯t stop you from eating!¡±


    ¡°Eh, really?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯ve already fed the ¡®luggage¡¯ over there anyway, it doesn¡¯t make a difference.¡±


    What luggage? Don¡¯t tell me he treats that round thing on the bed as luggage? I really can¡¯t agree with that, Adalbert, even your bed sheets are part of your family¡ªbut before I get to lecture him, my attention is inevitably drawn to the steaming hot food.


    ¡°I can really eat? You won¡¯t wait until later only to tell me I have to pay fifteen thousand in service fees?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t, sheesh.¡±


    As soon as I hear his reply, I say ¡®itadakimasu¡¯ in my heart. But my hand stops, just at that moment.


    Because I can¡¯t see.


    I know the food is right in front of me, I just have to reach out my hand to feel the heat, and I reach down to touch the warm plates. But with night approaching, and there being only a brazier in the room, forget the food on the plates, I don¡¯t even know where the cutlery is.


    The huge shadow sitting opposite me tilts slightly, maybe he¡¯s cocking his head.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Aren¡¯t you hungry? Or are you a vegetarian?¡±


    ¡°Of course not! I¡¯m so hungry my head¡¯s spinning, meat and fish are my utmost favorites!! It¡¯s just that, hold on¡­ Ugh¡ªWhere¡¯s the spork?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right, you can¡¯t see.¡±


    Adalbert grabs my hand and moves it ten centimeters to the side.


    ¡°The meat fork is here.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    But I can¡¯t return his friendliness. Holding the equestrian people¡¯s fork¡­ they might not have sporks here, huh¡­ I try to challenge the middle of the plate, and as expected the results are disastrous.


    The fork doesn¡¯t sink into anything. What a shame, let¡¯s try again. The second time I feel it poking into food, but the food falls off on the way to my mouth. The third time the fork scratches against the cutlery, resulting in a sharp screech that makes me want to hold my ears.


    Disappointed, I hold my head low with the fork in my hand.


    ¡°Whoa¡ª¡±


    Adalbert says in a tone of extreme respect,


    ¡°You¡¯re so classy, ¡®Your Majesty¡¯, purposely using a meat fork even when eating this sort of countryside food. Sorry, I for one have lived in the wild for too long, so I just grab the food with my hands.¡±


    ¡°Eh, grab with my hands?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, this is a dish of wild and tasty finger food. I made it, so I¡¯m surely right when I say that.¡±


    As soon as the words leave his mouth, Adalbert immediately reaches his hand out for the plate in front of him, and I only know that when I hear some light hand noises. But I stare at his shadow in surprise too, watching him bring the soft meat to his mouth with his hands, even making chewing sounds.


    ¡°How¡¯s that, you don¡¯t have to put on such an act with the meat fork, just take big bites like a man.¡±


    ¡°Then please pretend you never saw this.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the smart way. If you did something like this in front of that man who¡¯s forever dripping, I bet he¡¯d faint from the shock, huh? Oh, yeah, why don¡¯t you pick up the plate? Although that looks worse, but anyway we¡¯re at the edge of a desert like this, there¡¯s no need to talk about customs or manners here.¡±


    I bring the food to my mouth as he told me too, and a sweetness mixed with many ingredients immediately melts apart on my mouth. The thick soup slides down my throat, aromas and flavors lingering. It feels as though rather than sliding into my stomach, everything rises to the top of my head.


    This is the happiness I¡¯ve awaited for so long, that of once again experiencing how it feels like to eat.


    ¡°Chef, this is just too delicious. Is this fresh butter? Or yogurt with a tinge of sourness?¡±


    ¡°Yogurt? No, that¡¯s kefir fermented milk.¡±


    ¡°Wait a sec, why would there be kefir in Seisakoku¡­ Ow!¡±


    The edge of the plate touches my wound, and my brow creases with the pain. I want to press the wound with my left hand, but Adalbert seems to have taken note of everything, I didn¡¯t expect him to have such a considerate side despite being so buff.


    ¡°Hm, what¡¯s the matter with your palm?¡±


    ¡°¡­Just a light injury.¡±


    In truth it¡¯s not a light injury, and the wound doesn¡¯t seem to have closed yet either, so it hurts like hell whenever I hold something. But this is all my fault, so there¡¯s no reason for me to complain.


    ¡°It must be because you simply used a short sword you¡¯re not used to, and overexerted yourself so you got cut, right? It¡¯s a common novice mistake.¡±


    ¡°Guess so.¡±


    Amused, Adalbert chuckles once, and then I hear the chair opposite making a sound.


    ¡°Let me heal it for you.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°I said, I¡¯ll help you heal that wound right now.¡±


    If it¡¯s true, I really couldn¡¯t ask for more. But how was he going to heal it? Besides I¡¯m not that close with him either, so I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s just being kind without asking for anything in return. Should he ask for some reward, the me right now really can¡¯t give him anything.


    ¡°Look at you, all suspicious, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve forgotten who I am?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you Adalbert? Lord von Grantz Adalbert¡­¡±


    ¡°Wrong.¡±


    He reaches out his body for the end of the table, his voice becoming very close.


    ¡°I¡¯m not Lord von Grantz, but Grantz. Not a mazoku soldier or an aristocrat, just Adalbert Grantz. Unlike you and His Excellency the third son, I can¡¯t use convenient majutsu, because I¡¯m not mazoku.¡±


    ¡°Come to think of it¡­¡±


    Wolfram and I have suffered at the hands of Adalbert¡¯s houjutsu before. And even earlier before that, when I still couldn¡¯t tell left from right, nor did I know of the skies and seas, it was also this man who played around with my brain. It was thanks to him that I can understand the language here.


    ¡°You¡¯re perfectly fine, even on shinzoku land.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, now do you want to be healed or not?¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright, then give me your hand.¡±


    He holds my hand, recently freed from its rope bonds, and pulls it towards him.


    ¡°Put your hand on my chest¡­ Ah, hey, hey, don¡¯t touch the nipple! Don¡¯t go simply touching!¡±


    ¡°Waa, sorry!¡±


    Murmuring ¡°really, even though it¡¯s through the clothes you shouldn¡¯t simply touch¡±, Adalbert puts my hand on top of those enviable chest muscles, near his collarbone.


    ¡°Listen up.¡±


    Before I can ask, ¡°listen to what?¡± I already hear the powerful heartbeat. Technically I shouldn¡¯t be able to hear a person¡¯s heartbeat directly with my ears, but it echoes in my head through my palm, and brings with it a wave of heat. After that is the impact, finally the power that fixes my body.


    But this healing process comes with intense pain. That wave of heat tears apart the closing wound, cutting through the veins before seeping in slowly through the wound. Of course all this is just a feeling, when in fact the wound doesn¡¯t widen or bleed.


    That power seeps from my left palm to the arm, even running over to the injured right shoulder.


    I can¡¯t help but yell pathetically.


    ¡°It hurts¡­¡±


    ¡°Try to bear with it.¡±


    ¡°Majutsu is gentler than this!¡±


    ¡°Is that so? To humans houjutsu is gentler, but the fact that you find it painful proves that you¡¯re closer to mazoku.¡±


    ¡°How can that¡­ Ow!¡±


    There¡¯s an intense pain like an electric shock, and I pull my hand back subconsciously, my body falling backwards together with the chair from the knockback. But the back of my head doesn¡¯t hit the floor.


    This is all thanks to the people who burst through the cloth screen into the tent.


    Conrad holds up the chair from behind, Hazel grabs my hand to prevent me from sliding off, while Wolfram points at Adalbert and says in a voice on the verge of losing it,


    ¡°Adalbert! What are you doing in a equestrian tribe tent!?¡±


    ¡°You should ask yourself that, Your Excellency the third son.¡±


    I don¡¯t blame him for being so surprised.


    So sorry you had to get mixed up in this rookie mission.


    Conrad and Wolfram planned to follow us from the start.


    After the deep blow to the plan I came up with myself, even if I wanted to leave the town and act on my own, that is still just too rash. However, if you tell me to helplessly face the destroyed town, then leave without a care after even its water supply had been monopolized by others¡ªWell, I can¡¯t do something like that either.


    So after lying dejectedly on the damp bed, this is the plan I came up with.


    Have Saralegui impersonate Yelshi, and then announce to the chief of the equestrian tribe¡ª


    All the land on this country belongs to Emperor Yelshi, even the water supply in the desert is Emperor Yelshi¡¯s property, so no one is allowed to trespass or fight for domination over it.


    To allow Saralegui to impersonate the emperor of Seisakoku, I have no choice but to go alone with him. After all, it¡¯s not natural for the shinzoku emperor to have mazoku guards with him, no matter how you look at it.


    Because of that I talked things over with Conrad and Wolfram, hoping they would agree to the two of us going alone, but the two mazoku were worried about the high probability of danger when we¡¯re without a single guard.


    That¡¯s why I asked them to follow behind us at a distance they wouldn¡¯t be noticed.


    They appeared as promised.


    The trustworthy guide Hazel Guides came along too.


    Everyone else stayed behind in the town to help with healing and reconstruction.


    Adalbert doesn¡¯t stand up, just looks sideways at Wolfram, who¡¯s huffing in anger,


    ¡°If you get too mad you¡¯ll go bald, y¡¯know, Your Excellency the third son.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, mind your own business!¡±


    It occurs to me that Hazel Graves doesn¡¯t know Adalbert, so I took it upon myself to introduce them.


    ¡°Hazel, he is Adalbert.¡±


    ¡°A hunk that looks like an American footballer.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the compliment, old hag.¡±


    ¡°¡­To think he knows he was being complimented.¡±


    She did say it in English.


    ¡°Explain yourself to me loud and clear, Grantz!¡±


    ¡°Yes yes yes, I¡¯m sorry, Mr Captain.¡±


    The captain of the ¡®Find Me Team¡¯? So Wolfram is the captain, that really makes me deeply thoughtful.


    ¡°Although some menial thing like this isn¡¯t worth reporting to Your Majesty the Maou, it seems I am the messiah."


    ¡°Messiah--!?¡±


    Wolfram and I yell at the same time.


    The messiah who, according to what Saralegui heard from the chief, showed up a few days ago is actually Adalbert¡­ Wait a sec, why is he the messiah? Because he¡¯s a muscleman? Because he¡¯s an American footballer? Because he¡¯s a quarterback? If he wasn¡¯t the messiah, but instead a helper sent from the Alliance, I would understand that better.


    The two equestrian tribe officials standing on the sounds hold moldy paper in their hands, yelling in unison and even pointing their finger towards somewhere that fits the conditions.


    ¡°Apocalypse!¡±


    ¡°Apocalypse!¡±


    Hazel translates it just for me.


    ¡°Apocalypse, the messiah legend?¡±


    ¡°What apocalypse, that¡¯s too pessimistic. On the other hand, what kind of guy is that messiah? Where did he come from, and where is he going?¡±


    ¡°Hold on, my farsightedness has gotten worse recently. Uh¡ªThe messiah who comes from the sea has blue eyes and a strong chin, a handsome man carrying a seductive mermaid¡­¡±


    ¡°Strong chin?¡±


    ¡°Seductive mermaid?¡±


    ¡°Eh¡ªSo it¡¯s nothing to do with musclemen, huh¡ª¡±


    Conrad, Wolfram and I, the three of us are surprised by different things.


    Even if the strong chin is a characteristic Adalbert was born with, but what¡¯s up with the seductive mermaid part? Could it be he¡¯s not happy with his muscles, and even tried to grow a fishtail?


    The scene is suddenly dead quiet, it seems I¡¯m the only one out of the loop. Conrad and Wolfram probably found the answer, both looking at the same thing.


    ¡°Eh--!? What what? What did you discover¡ªTell me, sheesh¡ª¡±


    ¡°Conrad, do you think that¡¯s a mermaid?¡±


    ¡°Why are you asking me?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you better versed with that kind of thing?¡±


    What kind of thing are you versed with, huh, Conrad.


    ¡°Speaking of which, are there mermaids here? Is it okay for mermaids to stay on such a dry desert!?¡±


    ¡°¡­If you want to say being all tied up is seductive, I guess that counts.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s the hair.¡±


    ¡°No, it might actually be the beard, the beard.¡±


    ¡°Beard? Do mermaids have beards!?¡±


    Hazel, who has no interest in mermaids or perhaps saw them long ago, ignores our unease and continues,


    ¡°The messiah who came from the sea, saves the wind, saves the earth, saves the fire, saves the goldfish[1]¡­ Ah, that¡¯s wrong, saves the gold, saves the water, saves the tombs, saves the people, saves the fish, saves the insects¡­¡±


    Putting aside the goldfish fishing for now, he even has to save the insects!? Feels like a SOHO worker who accepts any CASE on the spot-- I can¡¯t help but start pitying this messiah.


    ¡°Anyway, since I came from the sea while carrying something that looked like a mermaid, I¡¯ve been treated as the messiah. Whatever, since it feels really relaxing, and since I¡¯ve already been identified as the messiah, there¡¯s nothing I can do about it either. So I was thinking of taking the honorary title for a day, only before I know it it¡¯s been five days.¡±


    Honorary title, huh, I imagine him wearing a ribbon that reads, ¡°Messiah for the Day¡±.


    ¡°Since I was taken to be the legendary man, naturally I¡¯m treated quite well, but these guys really have terrible food and drinks. Drinking wine as bland as water, eating dried fruits and bread that can¡¯t be any harder, it¡¯s just too much¡­ By the time I realized it, I¡¯m already in the kitchen making food for the whole tribe.¡±


    ¡°In other words, you ran all the way here to Seisakoku to save the insects suffering in the desert?¡±


    Adalbert taps the tabletop.


    ¡°Hey, have you been listening closely at all?¡±


    ¡°But how did you get here? I know, you used the convenient tools Anissina made to get here, right? Like the Anywhere Door or Bamboo Copter[2].¡±


    I suffered quite a bit before reaching here, so I have mixed feelings about someone getting here so easily. But the chair under Adalbert¡¯s butt makes a sound, and he shouts in surprise,


    ¡°What? Didn¡¯t you tell him?¡±


    He seems to be addressing Wolfram.


    ¡°I came here with His Excellency the third son to find you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a member of the ¡®Find Me Team!?'' If that¡¯s so, how did you end up as a messiah-cum-head chef in an unknown tribe?¡±


    Just because he was hugging a mermaid.


    How mysterious, how dazzling must a mermaid be, to mess up the life of an American footballer muscleman? Damn¡ªI really want to see, I wonder, between it and Denmark¡¯s Little Mermaid statue, which is more beautiful?

 Volume 14 - CH 10

    This is completely unexpected.


    He knew from the start he could get to this world this way, otherwise he would never make such a serious gamble. Murata Ken relaxes his tightly-gripped left hand. Although it¡¯s now a completely cooled metal piece, but some of the special figures still scalded his palm.


    Still, it¡¯s basically a miracle that he only got this hurt. Murata thinks back to that moment, and his body trembles despite himself.


    Back then, the sky and earth had completely switched around, the grass and trees that were completely normal just a second ago swaying like underwater plants. The world turned ninety degrees, all the straight lines becoming curved. The metal shard used the power of the fire and the explosion to return to where the Box is, while he just hitched on for a ride, and successfully made it to the world his friend is in.


    Back then the fire enveloping him had darted upwards in a spiral, so it wasn¡¯t long before his clothes and hair started burning as well. The heat suffocated him, and his limbs felt as though they were being sliced by thousands of knives.


    But Murata knew he wasn¡¯t dead, so even if the heat was enough to burn his skin, he still faced it calmly.


    That was how he came to the world his friend, Shibuya Yuuri, is in, and without kicking the bucket. Other than some light scalding, he doesn¡¯t have any other obvious external injures. His spectacles, on the other hand, had cracked, so they can¡¯t really be used anymore.


    Shibuya, next time you really must take me with you. This tour was seriously tough to handle, I don¡¯t want to use this method anymore.


    The real terror is afterwards.


    Of course it¡¯s a good thing that he made it to the other world with all his limbs intact, but he has absolutely no idea where this is. The metal piece he relied on is part of the Box¡¯s decoration, so theoretically it should return to where the Box Hazel Graves kept in the Boston suburb, ¡®Inferno on the Tundra¡¯, is. So that¡¯s where he expected to show up.


    The problem is he had no way to find out where the pivotal ¡®Inferno on the Tundra¡¯ is in this world, and couldn¡¯t find any clues on Earth either.


    The moment he ¡®dropped¡¯, the things that appeared in front of him are stone walls and floor. Add that with the white-blue light emitted by the shard in his hand, he has time to observe his surroundings. But the light is vanishing soon, so he has to prepare light before that, at the very least he needs to be able to see after this.


    Murata looks around him, searching for something he could use, but suddenly he finds himself speechless. Although there are many different types of experiences in his memories, but well-versed as he is, he¡¯s still shocked into wide-eyed, slack-jawed silence.


    This is a room surrounded by ancient stone walls.


    The ceiling is really low, making a stone of room of about ten meters squared. But what surprises him isn¡¯t the walls or the ceiling, but the cube in the middle of the room.


    To say he was used to seeing it would be inaccurate, but the ¡®Inferno on the Tundra¡¯ from his memories is very close to where he¡¯s kneeling on the ground. Perhaps it¡¯s reacting to the shard it lost and found again, so the metal sides are even glowing slightly. The cover on top is shut tight, so it won¡¯t cause any harm for now.


    But when he moves his gaze back to the center, he notices that there¡¯s something even longer in front him, and it¡¯s made with a different type of stone from the wall. According to his instincts, or rather, his common sense--


    That¡¯s a coffin.


    And a stone coffin , too, which means this here is¡­


    ¡°Someone¡¯s tomb, huh. Waa!¡±


    Murata can¡¯t help but crease his brow, instinctively holding his breath and covering his mouth with the hand that wasn¡¯t scalded. He holds up for twenty seconds before realizing there was no point overreacting now. 	There are many things that look like rags decorating the room, but he knows immediately that¡¯s not simply cloth. In truth there¡¯s no need to identify anything anyway, he can tell from a glance that those are squatting bodies, and they¡¯ve become mummies, who knows how long they¡¯ve been in this room. They were probably buried here to die together with the owner of the coffin, a common tradition throughout history.


    At first he thought this might be the tomb of a king or someone with a certain amount of authority, but since the followers were also placed in the same room, the person in the coffin must not have been as big a deal as he thought. Maybe a concubine, a dowager, or a prince with no rights of succession.


    But how did the Box get here?


    He sees that there¡¯s something like a wooden bat on the shoulder of the mummy by the wall, so he takes it down carefully. He¡¯s not afraid of ancient bodies, he just doesn¡¯t want to simply damage historical artifacts. Still, he smiles wryly and thinks to himself, ¡°Forgive me for taking this stick, but who should I apologize to?¡±


    The light from the metal piece starts to dim, so he lights up the complimentary matches from the caf¨¦ that he kept in his pocket. The dry wood immediately catches fire, and the room lights up too.


    He confirms again that the cover of the Box is closed really tightly, but the cover of the coffin is open. He tries peeking inside, and it¡¯s exactly as he imagined.


    The difference between this and the mummies as he understands them, is that the corpse was not completely preserved. The owner of his soul from who knows how many generations ago was somewhat related to Egypt, that¡¯s how he knows about these things. Different areas have different methods of handling things, and there aren¡¯t bandages on this body either.


    All the jewelry on the body were completely cleaned out, so all that remains is a naked corpse. That makes Murata heave a sigh of relief, though. Since the corpse doesn¡¯t have treasures adorning it, it proves this tomb was raided before.


    Since there were tomb raiders here before, there must be an entrance they used to get in. Of course there was no way he could dig his way out from inside without tools, but a gang of raiders with time and manpower wouldn¡¯t find it too hard to dig a tunnel from outside in.


    ¡°But I never thought I would come to this sort of place¡ª¡±


    Looking for an exit everywhere and planning to get away as soon as possible, Murata voices his current feelings.


    ¡°At first I was worried what I¡¯d do if I ended up at the mouth of a volcano or in the sea, to think it¡¯s actually a royal tomb, how completely unexpected.¡±


    If someone were to reply him in this sort of place, that would surely be terrifying, but the surroundings are too quiet, giving him the strong urge to talk. Because if he didn¡¯t, there¡¯s a high chance he would collapse under the unease.


    Since he¡¯s already made it safely to the other world, the fear and unease in his heart has also taken a different direction. At first he was worried he wouldn¡¯t be able to make it with all his limbs, but now he has to worry about something else. The problem he faces now is whether or not he can leave this ancient tomb, and successfully find Shibuya Yuuri.


    Even if he finds the tomb raiders exit and makes it out of the tomb, he still has no way of knowing what kind of place it is outside. The style of the tomb here is different from Shin Makoku, so it must be another country, but he has no clue, and no way of finding out which country on this continent he¡¯s in.


    Not knowing his current location makes him really uneasy. He could very well be on an unknown land very far away from Yuuri, maybe even across the sea.


    At first he hoped to meet him again, chat, walk side by side and laugh together, then use the information he knows to assist Yuuri.


    If that hope couldn¡¯t be realized, then there¡¯s no point in him coming to this world.


    Murata kicks the wall in anger. Among the owners of his soul are a doctor, a starlet, a baker, even a convict in prison, and people who make their living on the edge of the law. Although he has the memories of many different lives, he just has to lack a tomb raider or archeologist.


    ¡°Where on earth is the way out of here?¡±


    Although he finds a suspicious-looking hole, it¡¯s only large enough for one person to crawl inside. Would those tomb raiders hugging their loot leave through such a small entrance? If it really is this hole, then they would definitely take whatever they could, and make many trips. But at the same time, he can¡¯t be sure where the pitch black hole leads.


    He turns around to look at the Box hidden in the coffin, thankfully no one touched it. It¡¯s all because the entrance was too small, that¡¯s why the tomb raiders didn¡¯t take it out. The light on the sides of the Box have dimmed, after he leaves this place, the stone room would most likely return to how it was, and once more be filled with darkness and silence.


    Murata murmurs to himself,


    ¡°You just stay there forever.¡±


    Kneeling on the icy cold ground, covered in dust.


    But I¡¯m leaving.


    Really¡ªWhy didn¡¯t you guys become tomb raiders?


    Murata wants to throw a tantrum at the previous owners of his soul. Since they had all sorts of different career experiences, at the very least they should have broken into the Leaning Tower of Pisa once. Thinking of that, he sighs again,


    ¡°The Leaning Tower of Pisa isn¡¯t a tomb¡­ Then they should have broken into the Great Pyramid of Giza.¡±


    Murata walks on the slanted surface, muttering away under his breath. Since his spectacles had cracked, the difference in the vision between his two eyes frustrated him.


    He stops and takes off his glasses, wiping his eyes with his sleeve, but his whole body smells charred, and his burnt hair had also curled up.


    Holding up the wooden stick in place of a torch in front of his eyes, he tries to check how long he¡¯s been walking. It¡¯s only natural he¡¯s tired, if his watch wasn¡¯t faulty, he should have walked for four hours. The light source in his hands having been replaced by a wooden stick, although he¡¯s quite out of breath from the walking, and his knees hurt a lot too, it¡¯s lucky he didn¡¯t use up too much heat. In fact, the insides of this huge tomb are actually a little cold.


    There¡¯s a slight odor of dust in the air, but it doesn¡¯t hamper his breathing. Although he doesn¡¯t believe in Tutankhamen¡¯s Curse or anything, he was rather worried when he opened the coffin. For example there might have been some unknown bacteria or something in the coffin to prevent tomb raiders from breaking in.


    But having breathed the air here for four hours, he doesn¡¯t feel any strange symptoms, only the quickened heart rate and heavy breathing that comes with long term exercise.


    His body was never suited for long distance walking, so that feeling of weariness is all the more intense. If it was Yuuri, he could probably even frog-jump up this sort of gentle slope.


    As he walks, Murata thinks hard on how to escape this huge tomb. He carefully observes his surroundings, trying to find any structure similar to ruins on Earth. Like a pyramid or Emperor Nintoku¡¯s tomb¡­ No, even Daisen-Kofun[1] didn¡¯t take up this much space. No matter how much he considers it he doesn¡¯t know how long he¡¯s been climbing, he just feels a lot like a train climbing up a slope on a Z-shaped track.


    And if he just keeps to the main roads, his chances of survival aren¡¯t high. Logically speaking, after the people who built this tomb put the rulers¡¯ corpses to rest, they would have sealed up the tomb so even the tiniest bug couldn¡¯t fly in. So what he¡¯s looking for is the entrance the tomb raiders dug, and that¡¯s why he would dart into anything at all that looks like a hole to try and see if it connects to the outside world.


    ¡°This is the seventh one.¡±


    Hands on his hips, Murata starts mumbling to himself again, and then he bend backwards just once forcefully before bending down and crawling into a hole, its height requiring him to crawl on his belly to get through.


    The hole he had crawled through earlier led into a treasure room. He crouched down and followed the firelight forward, trying to confirm if there was a path behind the wall. But all he saw was some gold in the corner of the room, and the gems fixed into the wall sparkling in the light. This should be the treasures the raiders didn¡¯t take away.


    Although he found the royal treasures, he felt unexpectedly dejected.


    As the ceiling gets lower and lower, the uneasiness in his heart increases non-stop too. Although he tries his best to stop himself from thinking too much, there would still be some sort of terror lingering. Even if he concentrates hard to forget it, that terror still won¡¯t go away.


    So he thinks about his friend. Thinking about the places they went together in the past, and worrying about how Yuuri is doing now, trying to forget about the dangers threatening him now. But as he advances in this pose, he finds his mind occupied with his family.


    Small things, like ¡°they probably won¡¯t call my phone, right¡±, ¡°when¡¯s the next time Father comes home¡±, and ¡°the soy sauce bottle on the table is close to empty¡±.


    To Murata, the fact that he¡¯s thinking about these things is in fact very surprising. He doesn¡¯t hate his parents, and it¡¯s not like his familial relationships are terrible, it¡¯s just that he never seems to remember his parents¡¯ faces when he¡¯s in danger.


    ¡°This just goes to show that my family is surprisingly full of familial love.¡±


    When he finally gets past the narrow tunnel, he reaches a small open area that can fit about six tatami mats. But besides the tunnel he crawled through, there¡¯s also a large road made of granite stretching in three directions. The sheer scale and grandeur of it are completely different from the ¡®cave¡¯ just now, so wide it¡¯s easy for him to walk even with his arms spread wide.


    This is the first time he came across something like this in his life.


    Which road should he choose? In other words, out of the three roads, which one leads outside? Or should he avoid the three available large roads, and look for another small tunnel? To be honest, he has no idea what to do.


    Murata stands on the spot, holding his head wordlessly. His head really hurts, it¡¯s probably because his vision is affected by his glasses cracking.


    ¡°Ugh¡ªDon¡¯t tell me the tombs are connected?¡±


    He troubles over it for quite some time, and decides to take the path by the left-side wall. Thirty steps, if after thirty steps there is still more road ahead he would return to the original spot and think it over again. After setting that rule he starts counting his steps, one, two, three, four¡­


    ¡°¡­Forty-eight.¡±


    He overshot.


    There¡¯s a reason he broke the rule he just set, because when he was approaching thirty steps, the road ahead of him suddenly broke off, replaced by steps going downward. No matter how he squints he can¡¯t see the end of it, it seems to head somewhere somewhat deep.


    ¡°This way¡­ Wouldn¡¯t I have climbed all this way for nothing?¡±


    If it were the usual Murata, he probably wouldn¡¯t have been tricked. If at this time there wasn¡¯t a swaying light in the distance below, he would have turned around directly and looked for a different path. But what is with that light?


    ¡°Is it the exit?¡±


    He walks down the stairs carefully, step by step. If anything went wrong, he just had to climb up again. And the air here is very clean, so there aren¡¯t any dangerous traps. After staying here for four hours, he is sure that this tomb is like heaven to tomb raiders.


    Murata spends ten minutes to get to the bottom, but that¡¯s because the stone stairs are narrow and steep. When he reached the last step, his knees even shake non-stop embarrassingly. Although he keeps on walking without stopping, the swaying light doesn¡¯t grow larger at all. But that¡¯s not surprising either, after all that light isn¡¯t a candle or a torch, but the light coming through a crack of about two centimeters in the granite wall.


    But just the facts that there¡¯s a crack in the wall and light on the other side, can be counted as a miracle.


    Faced with this unexpected discovery, Murata stands frozen on the spot, thinking ¡®so this is how it feels like when your mind goes blank¡¯, and there are even the sounds of people pacing on the other side of the wall.


    ¡°Eh? Hey! Hey¡ª¡±


    He immediately regains his cool, placing his face to the wall and yelling. Looking through the less damaged lens on his glasses, he only sees some figures with their backs against the light, but it¡¯s obvious there are people there. Without waiting for their response, Murata reaches his hand into the crack, using all his strength to try and pry it open. He thinks to himself, ¡®For all you know this could be a door.¡¯


    ¡°Open the door, help me!¡±


    He keeps yelling in Japanese, English, and the common language of this world. The people on the other end of the wall don¡¯t try to hide their movements at all, immediately picking up tools and breaking down the wall. Murata hurriedly stands back, the impacts going through the floorboards and into his feet.


    Although they¡¯re a bunch of rough fellows, Murata is now relying completely on them to rescue him. It¡¯s an emergency, so he can¡¯t be bothered that much now.


    The crack widens, and a hole wide enough for an arm to reach through opens up in the fragile wall. A few people grab the hole with their hands, and slowly pull the wall open. The thick wall slides to a side, opening a space big enough for someone to pass through. It really is a door.


    Before Murata can say anything, one person pushes through the crowd to walk up to him. Murata braces himself warily, but when he sees that person¡¯s appearance underneath the light from both sides, Murata instantly knows there¡¯s no need to be too cautious.


    ¡°Perfect, it¡¯s you! Is Shibuya with you?¡±


    The other person doesn¡¯t answer, the force grabbing him exceptionally strong.


    ¡°Why, in this sort of place¡­¡±

 Volume 14 - CH 11

    It feels as though someone is calling me so I raise my head, but the problem is no one in the tent called my name. What¡¯s up with this? I keep having this ominous feeling. But I don¡¯t have that ability to sense these things, so it must be my imagination.


    ¡°¡­ri¡­¡±


    Save¡ªme¡ªThat is a cry for help, and at the same time a carefree voice that stops for long periods of time in between. It sounds pretty fun, actually.


    ¡°But that¡¯s not my imagination!¡±


    That¡¯s Saralegui¡¯s voice. I kick aside the chair and get to my feet, curling up the entrance to the tent, and pull the Shou Shimaron king who almost overshot inside. Thankfully his pursuers didn¡¯t notice, but he sprawls onto the mat covered with sand and fats, throwing a tantrum at my rough actions.


    Conrad and Wolfram understand the situation so they¡¯re not surprised, but Adalbert seems to be very taken aback. He probably didn¡¯t think other than me, the Shou Shimaron king would also make a big fuss even in the desert.


    The thing in the corner of my vision suddenly disappears, turns out the living thing that looks like a caterpillar rolled off the bed. What¡¯s going on? Don¡¯t tell me it doesn¡¯t like showing its face in front of prestigious guests? What a shy fella.


    ¡°Sara¡­ Why are you dressed so nice and cleanly?¡±


    Maybe Saralegui accepted their services to bathe and change before joining the banquet, because his light and floaty hair is really clean, his skin really moist. He¡¯s wearing simple and clean clothes, there¡¯s even an ornament in his tied-up hair, though it¡¯s a not-so-cute piece handmade from animal bones.


    ¡°Ah¡ªPerfect, is Yuuri willing to hear me out? Those guys are just too much.¡±


    ¡°Wait a sec, right now you should be in front of the equestrian tribe chief, announcing that the water supply in the desert belongs to Yelshi, right!? Could it be¡­ they found out you¡¯re a fraud?¡±


    ¡°Really, Yuuri, do you think my acting skills are that bad?¡±


    ¡°You couldn¡¯t have¡­ purposely made a mistake?¡±


    ¡°Am I that untrustworthy?¡±


    He looks around him, then starts making a fuss because he doesn¡¯t get the answer he¡¯s looking for, before finally and reluctantly getting to the point.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t found out, the people here believe I¡¯m Yelshi from the bottom of their hearts. Besides, those guys who only know how to train in combat from day to night in the desert, would never be able to see through my acting skills.¡±


    ¡°Then why did you have to escape here?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s precisely because they think I¡¯m the real thing, that¡¯s the big problem.¡±


    Saralegui shakes his head lightly, his tied-up hair falling down.


    ¡°They believe I¡¯m Yelshi, without a shred of doubt, that¡¯s why I had no choice but to run away. Because those guys plan on holding His Majesty the Emperor hostage, and asking for a ransom from the Seisakoku government.¡±


    ¡°Eh, isn¡¯t that an obvious act of treason?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly right.¡±


    While standing, my head starts to feel dizzy, as though my brain is starting to lack oxygen.¡±


    ¡°Sara¡­ You¡¯ve finally been betrayed by your people¡­¡±


    ¡°Not me, y¡¯know, Yuuri!? It should be Yelshi, right?¡±


    Ah, that¡¯s true, I got a bit mixed up. It¡¯s Saralegui impersonating Yelshi who got betrayed by the equestrian people, citizens of Seisakoku, but this has nothing at all to do with the people of Shou Shimaron. The really unlucky one is the Emperor of Seisakoku Yelshi, who nearly got held for ransom while he himself has no idea about this.


    ¡°Anyway we have to hide Sara first. If this goes on and Yelshi is assumed as kidnapped, then wouldn¡¯t it be Yelshi¡¯s substitute who¡¯s held for ransom?¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t want to be locked inside a tool cabinet.¡±


    He really knows how to think for himself. I look around the room, but we are in a simple tent, after all, there¡¯s nowhere at all to hide. The only place to hide should be underneath the bed, but that spot is already taken, two eyes sparkling through the pitch black darkness.


    ¡°Ah~~ Really! Adalbert, move the bed aside, quickly¡ª¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty.¡±


    Conrad¡¯s tone sounds hesitant, the hand reaching out for my right shoulder wandering up and down helplessly. It¡¯s rare for him to look so lost.


    ¡°I told you so many times, don¡¯t call me Your Majesty.¡±


    ¡°Sorry. Yuuri, your eyes¡­¡±


    ¡°Eh? My eyes?¡±


    And then Wolfram asks in a hoarse voice, ¡°Can you see?¡± Hazel only raises her eyebrows, and finally Saralegui says in his usual tone,


    ¡°What, your eyes are okay now?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true! I can see!¡±


    I can see.


    Wolfram¡¯s blonde hair and emerald eyes, Hazel¡¯s wrinkly hands and strong mouth, Adalbert¡¯s buff muscles and butt-shaped chin, as well as Saralegui¡¯s golden eyes. No matter how many times I blink, my vision doesn¡¯t turn blurry, it¡¯s not just shadows, it won¡¯t disappear without a trace anymore.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not dreaming, right? I can see¡­ What are you doing, Conrad?¡±


    ¡°Your eyes are okay now? Is it true?¡¯


    Conrad kneels on the ground and pulls open my eyes to examine them, telling me to move my eyes like an optician in the hospital. He shouldn¡¯t be joking around, but I still feel a bit put-out having to make these movements. Still, I¡¯m really happy to see those brown eyes shining with silver light again. Although I never moved abroad, I still feel as though I¡¯ve come home.


    I can finally come back to reality. No matter what troubles I get into, I¡¯m ecstatic just as long as I can come back. Regaining is a lot better than losing.


    Alright, with this my body is finally back to normal, my palm and shoulder don¡¯t hurt anymore either. Right now I¡¯m full of a ¡®Whether it rains water or spears, I¡¯ll do what must be done!¡¯ attitude.


    ¡°Thank goodness.¡±


    A voice like a parent¡¯s, and the way he puts his forehead on my shoulder, make me feel moved too.


    ¡°You¡¯re exaggerating, Conrad.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not exaggerating in the slightest. If your eyes never got better, I really won¡¯t know how to apologize¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not as though it was your fault.¡±


    The fit senior citizen Hazel laughs.


    ¡°Your Majesty¡¯s bodyguard is overprotective like a godfather.¡±


    She doesn¡¯t know the complicated way I was born, so I can¡¯t tell her ¡°he even gave me my name¡±.


    ¡°But what on earth is this¡­?¡±


    Looking at Wolfram, who¡¯s staring at me non-stop, I really am beside myself with happiness. Really, you¡¯re still very cute! Since you always have such a valiant attitude, I assumed you matured quite a bit in the time we were apart, but to think you still have the beauty of an angel. Though it¡¯s true I can still sense you¡¯ve definitely become manlier.


    Right now I¡¯m in such a good mood I just want to praise everyone and everything, I want so bad to praise everything these eyes can see. If I were to wax poetic now, the first line would be ¡®everything I see tonight is beautiful¡¯.


    ¡°With this you can relax now, huh.¡±


    Adalbert crosses his thick arms in front of his chest leisurely, lightly leaning on the table.


    ¡°Not only have you found your comrades, your stomach is full, and after your emotions relax, your brain doesn¡¯t feel like it¡¯s in danger anymore¡­ Or I should say, deep down in your heart you believe the danger has passed, or the feeling that ¡®I don¡¯t have do everything myself anymore¡¯.¡±


    ¡°When you say ¡®myself¡¯¡­¡±


    Before I can finish talking, Wolfram bumps me with his arm, and even says indignantly,


    ¡°You feel at ease just after a good meal, don¡¯t tell me you were just malnourished? Yuuri¡­ How could you be so mean?¡±


    ¡°No, how¡¯s that possible!? How could a few days of malnourishment make my vision deteriorate so drastically?¡±


    ¡°What~~¡±


    Of everyone on the scene only Saralegui speaks the most rudely.


    ¡°What a shame. This way Yuuri won¡¯t ask me for help anymore.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ Now isn¡¯t the time to say these things, is it? You can barely take care of yourself¡­ Oh, right, you had better hide right now, or make a run for it as fast as you can!¡±


    ¡°Even if I hide I¡¯ll be found soon enough. On the other hand, I wonder how much Yelshi is worth in ransom? Yuuri, how much do you think Shin Makoku would pay for you?¡±


    ¡°Wolf, Conrad, Hazel! In any case we have to get the horses back, and get ready to leave the tent! You too, Sara!¡±


    I feel there¡¯s not much point in listening to Saralegui talk any further, so I grab his neck and walk outside. I came up with the childish plan so I have a responsibility, that¡¯s why I must protect him properly.


    We didn¡¯t bring any large luggage anyway, so we just need horses. Hazel pulls open the cloth at the entrance slightly, peeking at the situation outside.


    ¡°They¡¯re searching in the opposite direction, so if we want to escape we had better do it now.¡±


    ¡°Do you need my help to move this disobedient brat king over there?¡±


    I thought the person who spoke was Conrad, but it actually turns out to be Adalbert. If Sara were lifted by that muscleman, he would surely look like a little birdie on his shoulder. But there¡¯s no such need, and having been treated as luggage Saralegui doesn¡¯t seem too happy with it either.


    ¡°There¡¯s no such need, he can walk on his own. Isn¡¯t that right, Sara?¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Then go for it, you guys, I plan on staying here and living the easy life of a messiah for a while longer.¡±


    Adalbert keeps sitting on the table and waves us goodbye. But the right hand he just raised is beaten down by someone, and his chest grabbed.


    ¡°Look at you, are you still a mazoku like this!?¡±


    That person is Wolfram.


    This image should look hilarious normally, right? After all there¡¯s a huge difference in their body sizes, it looks like a cicada grabbing a large tree. But right now Adalbert is pressed down by Wolfram¡¯s presence, so no one notices the difference in size at all.


    ¡°Right now there¡¯s nothing we want more than another person who can fight, and you want to back out?¡±


    ¡°Hey, what are you doing? I gave up my identity as a mazoku long ago¡­¡±


    ¡°The king is in danger, and it¡¯s one thing for you not to offer to help, but you actually want to keep living all carefree on this shinzoku land that never did you any good!?¡±


    ¡°Hey hey hey, it¡¯s nothing to do with me.¡±


    ¡°Wolf, don¡¯t be like that, we can¡¯t force him.¡±


    I plan on stopping Wolfram, but Conrad stands in front of me, and my mind suddenly says ¡®crap¡¯. Because in a manner of speaking, the relationship between these two is worse than anyone else.


    ¡°Adalbert.¡±


    Conrad shouldn¡¯t go to the extent of hitting people, but I¡¯m still really worried he¡¯ll say anything harsh. To my surprise, Lord Weller just says one line in all seriousness,


    ¡°We need you.¡±


    ¡°¡­Alright.¡±


    The man who was just yelling about how he gave up his identity as a mazoku falls silent for a while, then raises his head and says determinedly,


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    The same answer.


    The tent is completely empty, the soldiers chasing the mazokus all moving out, so the equestrian tribe village falls quiet again. Just then, the caterpillar hiding under the bed finally crawls out.


    He doesn¡¯t care about the sand on his body, rolling around left and right until he eventually loosens up his bonds, and his arms are finally freed. Nigel Weiss Maxine sighs as he shakes his beard. Treated as the messiah¡¯s accessory, although the position seems extravagant, the truth is the life of a mermaid is far from easy.


    But this is the wish of his beloved father.


    Maxine¡¯s blushing expression is extremely cute, but it can¡¯t be seen through his beard.


    This is how Adalbert asked Maxine, ¡°Rather than those vulgar limbs, you¡¯re better suited looking like a mermaid.¡± In truth, what he actually said was, ¡°So how, now you¡¯re utterly helpless. You¡¯re better suited looking like this.¡± Maxine¡¯s strongest suit is misunderstanding others.


    But his suffering is worth it, because his appearance is too seductive, so the equestrian people really admire him. But there¡¯s an unforgivable idiot, who looked at him and said he was a caterpillar.


    Maxine is angry. Damn, that cocky Maou brat, how dare he keep staring at me. And once you have anything to do with that brat, it¡¯s never anything good. When His Majesty Saralegui barged in, he nearly thought he would faint from the shock.


    He finally managed to start over again in the second springtime of his life as a mermaid, but if that ¡¯Majesty found him then it¡¯d be all over. He would definitely be taken back to Shou Shimaron, and keep suffering from that inhumane treatment, stomped under others¡¯ feet.


    This is all the fault of that Maou brat who brought His Majesty Saralegui. The next time he sees the brat, he¡¯ll make him into mermaid rolls, and then throw him into a lake of stinky moss.


    But Father¡­ Maxine hurriedly covers his mouth. Crap, he can only call him Father when they¡¯re alone together¡­ But Adalbert left him here alone, what on earth happened? It¡¯s probably because Adalbert has to handle his private matters, and doesn¡¯t want to put Maxine in danger. But you¡¯re not supposed to think like that with family, plus Adalbert obviously knows that Maxine won¡¯t die no matter what.


    Of course, although he had quickly darted under the bed and avoided Saralegui¡¯s gaze, now he doesn¡¯t know what to do next.


    Adalbert said he already fed the luggage over there just now, but the truth is the equestrian people handled Maxine¡¯s meals, it¡¯s just that they forget sometimes. But he suspects that those equestrian people in charge of feeding him forget to give him food on purpose, just like today, when they only brought a bowl of soup, without bread or a main dish. And when those equestrian people bring food to his mouth with a spoon, they always wear an expression of disgust.


    That¡¯s envy, it must be envy towards the mermaid. Maxine firmly believes that¡¯s the reason, but the true reason is probably the food scraps on his beard.


    But since he¡¯s the messiah¡¯s accessory, how should he live without the main host?


    Mn, he should start by understanding the enemy.


    It¡¯s a rare chance for Maxine to stretch his limbs, the bones in his arms and legs making disgusting noises, and then he stands up with a ¡®hey!¡¯. First he must investigate this village thoroughly; the stakeout is so he can plan the actions he must take for his life from today onwards. Since he was carried here as a mermaid, he hasn¡¯t taken even one step out of this tent to this day.


    Just like the old grandma just now, he peeks out of the entrance, and confirms that there¡¯s no one outside.


    And then he tiptoes out of the tent, to avoid being seen, crossing past the densely-packed tents. Thankfully the ground here is hard with some sand, so as long as he steps lightly, his footsteps are barely audible.


    This green tent has not only sounds of conversation, but also an indescribable aroma. Although Adalbert¡¯s cooking is wonderful, this is a completely different smell. It¡¯s cooking that doesn¡¯t add anything to the ingredients, bringing out the original taste directly. Although it¡¯s just simple roasted potatoes, Maxine is hungry.


    The two things he can¡¯t deal with most are an empty stomach and women.


    Maxine hesitates, and finally decides to pull open the entrance. To fill his stomach, he has no other choice.


    ¡°Oh dear!¡±


    There are about ten people sitting around a campfire, all their gazes moving to Maxine. Twenty eyes on him at once shocks him into putting down the entrance cloth.


    T-this is!


    They are all women inside, young and old women sitting around the campfire and roasting potatoes as they chat. And they¡¯re all shinzoku, so to him they all look identical. Nigel Weiss Maxine is panicking.


    Is this the legendary women¡¯s tent?


    His tied-up hair shakes non-stop. By the way, since he has long hair, his hair style is cropped upwards.


    No way, he can¡¯t stay near here. He feels¡­ it¡¯s very likely he will lose his life.


    Once you get involved with women you will definitely lose your life, that is the lesson young Maxine learned with his own body. And their eyebrows are three times thicker than a man¡¯s.


    Following his lesson, he quietly leaves the tent with the overwhelming aroma. Although his heart is reluctant to leave the roast potatoes, but no matter what he doesn¡¯t want to barge into that mound of women.


    Tragedy strikes him anyway. While making a petite noise, a petite body rushes at him, catching him through the thick canvas.


    ¡°Gah--!¡±


    ¡°Ponytail!¡±


    ¡°Ponytail!¡±


    Completely disregarding the fact that Maxine screams out loud from the impact to his ribs, the two petite young girls hug him tightly with every last ounce of strength they have. That floaty almost-white blond hair, those slender limbs, those golden eyes, and those identical faces, it looks like they¡¯re twins. These are all classic shinzoku traits, but that¡¯s not the main point¡ªthese two look very familiar, extremely familiar.


    But logically speaking, on a land so far away from home, there¡¯s no way he would bump into someone he knew. Maxine starts denying, but the two girls won¡¯t let him go.


    ¡°Ponytail, do what?¡±


    ¡°Ponytail, cropped hairstyle?¡±


    They use their unique accent to ask, while attacking his stomach and legs. This is their way of getting their feelings across.


    ¡°J-Jason, Freddy¡­ Mm-guh!¡±


    ¡°Ponytail--!¡±


    Their favorite Ponytail (nickname) still remembers them, the girls delightedly use their fists to knock those ribs that are already hurting like hell. Basically he hadn¡¯t gotten any plumper, so he can hear the sound of them hitting his bones directly.


    That¡¯s right, the more he remembers it the more he feels they¡¯re painful memories. It was the same back then.


    Back then Maxine had bought the girls with money, he planned to use the twin girls as powerful houjutsu users. At first he should have been their owner, but they ignore him when he sends them on errands, and if he makes them go to bed early they will stuff thistles into his pillow, and if he asked them to practice their houjutsu they will use him as their target.


    But since they¡¯re important firepower, Maxine took very good care of them. Sometimes he would make scarfs for them, sometimes he would make aprons. When he did everything he could to finally put them on good terms with each other, the Maou suddenly came visiting, and even took the girls he worked so hard into raising away.


    ¡°Damn, it¡¯s all that Maou brat¡¯s fault!¡±


    The girls stop suddenly, two pairs of golden eyes staring at the bearded man in front of them.


    ¡°The Maou is here?¡±


    ¡°Ponytail, Yuuri came?¡±


    ¡°Who cares if he¡¯s Yuuri or Furi, in any case that Maou I hate deep in my bones was just here in this village.¡±


    Jason and Freddy suddenly cry out in shock. Crap, if this goes on they will only cause a ruckus, and the soldiers on guard will also gather here, so Maxine hurriedly stops them.


    ¡°Wait a sec! Wait a sec wait a sec! On the other hand, how did you guys end up in this sort of place?¡±


    ¡°Caught here.¡±


    ¡°Right, caught here. Maxine, know the detention facilities?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know, don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°By the equestrian people.¡±


    Although it¡¯s really hard to understand, but based on his super translation skills, it should be ¡°we were caught and brought here by the equestrian people when we were at the detention facility¡±. It¡¯s extremely common for them to use shinzoku with offensive houjutsu as firepower, and if the targets are kids, it¡¯d be even easier.


    ¡°But the food here isn¡¯t bad.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, very delicious. All thanks to the messiah and mermaid.¡±


    Well of course, Adalbert has been commanding the kitchen these past few days. But Ponytail doesn¡¯t know whether he should confess that he¡¯s the mermaid.


    The girls ignore him as he hesitates, having a discussion of their own then saying to Maxine together,


    ¡°Know where Yuuri is?¡±


    ¡°What? How would I know something like that.¡±


    ¡°Ponytail, take us there.¡±


    ¡°Why are you asking me!?¡±


    The twins look at him tearfully, lacing their fingers in front of their chests,


    ¡°Because Ponytail is really friendly, the adults here aren¡¯t gentle at all. As expected, Ponytail is still gentler.¡±


    ¡°Because Ponytail, is just like Papa.¡±


    Just like Papa? Like Papa? Like Papa?


    To think that they would reunite in a foreign country, and then he¡¯d have to face something like this before they even exchanged greetings? Maxine¡¯s head starts hurting, but is that because of the girls¡¯ overenthusiastic show of feelings? Or is it simply hunger? No one knows, but thankfully Jason pulls something out of her pocket, making his dizziness disappear in a flash.


    ¡°Ponytail, this is for you!¡±


    ¡°As long as you take us, it¡¯s yours.¡±


    ¡°Mgh¡­¡±


    Jason and Freddy maintain the same position, keeping the momentum to land more hits by repeating the same words.


    ¡°Because Ponytail, is just like Papa.¡±


    Having been bought over by roasted potatoes despite already being an adult, Nigel Weiss Maxine mumbles to himself:


    To my dearest Father, although this is rather sudden, you have granddaughters now.

 Volume 14 - CH 12

    Right now I can¡¯t complain that galloping on the horse will knock my butt around.


    Because ¡°it¡¯s best to prepare a spare horse¡±, I¡¯m currently riding a horse on my own.


    Saralegui is riding with Adalbert, to be more precise, I should say he¡¯s tied onto Adalbert¡¯s back. I¡¯ve never seen such a depressed-looking piece of cargo. Seriously, I can¡¯t believe that there are men in this world who don¡¯t envy muscles.


    To be honest, I¡¯m really extremely pleased with myself right now. Although the danger isn¡¯t over yet, and I¡¯m still in a pinch, but having my vision back makes me feel as though there¡¯s nothing I can¡¯t do, as though there¡¯s nothing in the world beyond my means.


    I can ride a horse on my own, get away from the equestrian people who plan to kidnap the Seisakoku emperor for a ransom, solve the problem of the oasis¡¯ water source, save Jason and Freddy, and in accordance with their wishes, help Venera¡ªin other words Hazel, reach the royal tombs, make sure the Box is safe and then return to Shin Makoku.


    After that I¡¯ll fulfill the promise I made my brother and return to Earth, return home.


    The maseki in front of my chest heats up again after so long, too, so I believe everything will go smoothly.


    ¡°Yuuri.¡±


    Still a little nervous being on horseback, I glance to my side, and see Conrad riding up to me. Although we¡¯re on the run, his expression is very calm, and he¡¯s smiling at goodness-knows-what.


    ¡°You¡¯re riding well so high up, huh.¡±


    ¡°Are you trying to say ¡®riding on a high¡¯? Please spare me the cold jokes![1]¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not.¡±


    It seems it¡¯s been a long time since I saw Conrad¡¯s gentle smile. How strange, not long ago we saw each other every day.


    ¡°While you were away, I practiced properly.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Looks like you had a good teacher.¡±


    I can¡¯t say he¡¯s lying, either.


    ¡°I feel as though just being able to see makes my riding skills fifty percent better.¡±


    ¡°Yuuri, about that¡­¡±


    His tone sounds like he¡¯s going to say something important, so I lean my body forward in order to hear him better, and at the same time I apply pressure with my thighs to make sure I don¡¯t fall off.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Your soul¡­¡±


    I never hear the rest of it, because Adalbert, in charge of the rear, issues a warning in a voice that can be heard clearly even during a game,


    ¡°The pursuers are here!¡±


    ¡°So soon!?¡±


    ¡°Because they¡¯re equestrian people, as long as they go all out on their horses, they¡¯re extremely fast.¡±


    Wolfram catches up to us, the corners of his lips curling up. Under these circumstances, all he can do is smile strangely. Despite his angelic looks, he can also say something so mature. To think he can show a smile completely unlike his two brothers, saying such brave words.


    Watching him grow up so quickly recently, I can¡¯t help but feel panicked. If I keep assuming he¡¯s on the same level as me, one day I will surely be left behind in the dust.


    I maintain my balance as I look behind me¡ªas expected they¡¯re right, although it¡¯s only the size of a one yen coin, I can still see the speeding horses kicking up a cloud of dust in the distance.


    With this it¡¯s not too good to continue having Adalbert holding up the rear, once they take out weapons like crossbows, he¡¯ll soon have to strike out. Saralegui, tied on his back, must now be experiencing a terror unlike any other before.


    ¡°Adalbert! Come over to the front!¡±


    ¡°Understood. I really don¡¯t want to, but at the same time I don¡¯t want anyone wetting themselves on my back.¡±


    ¡°I already used the toilet before we set off.¡±


    Looks like he¡¯s not that terrified after all.


    Rushing over to the front, Hazel¡¯s steed raises its front legs majestically. Hazel Graves steers the brown mare to stand on its hind legs with her brilliant riding skills.


    ¡°BOYS!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter!?¡±


    ¡°We have a situation in front!¡±


    I focus my gaze and see a building about as tall as a hill in the distance. At first I thought it was a pyramid, but it¡¯s not a simple pyramid shape, more like a slightly crooked mound, but its height and width are both several times that of Japanese ancient tombs. Maybe it¡¯s the king¡¯s or emperor¡¯s family tombs, otherwise it¡¯s seriously too huge to live in.


    But the problem right now isn¡¯t the tomb itself.


    The danger isn¡¯t the historical building, but the new power that had been long since waiting in place ahead of us. A large group of people stand in a horizontal line, probably not more than two hundred people in total, and they¡¯re advancing onto us.


    From this distance I can see the shadows of spears and axes on their backs, so I can deduce they¡¯re soldiers. But they¡¯re different from equestrian people hot on our tails, because there aren¡¯t a lot of soldiers on horseback, most of them are foot soldiers. Although we can¡¯t be sure if they¡¯re friends or foes yet, or even completely unrelated to us, just a group we happened to stumble across, but we can¡¯t still be sure of their true identities¡ªbecause their limbs are different from normal people.


    ¡°Could it be¡­ the revived group¡­¡±


    Right now isn¡¯t the time to call them such a cute name. Those guys are all dead people, they¡¯re the accursed undead that attacked us back before we entered the underground tunnel.


    We have no choice but stop the horses, and our pursuers may also have realized that their messiah is with us. In that case, if things get bad all we can do is ask Adalbert for help¡­


    ¡°Your Majesty, maybe this is just me.¡±


    Hazel asks in a careful tone unlike her, as though there¡¯s something she finds hard to say.


    ¡°That cold case ahead of us, I keep feeling as though I¡¯ve seen it before.¡±


    ¡°What cold case¡­¡±


    Only after she says that, do I see ¡®that¡¯ opposite us, and start disbelieving my own eyes. I have indeed seen it, my vision capturing the image and sending it to my brain, which then quickly analyses the image. But I can¡¯t believe that the answer I get is correct, so I start wondering if my eyes that just recovered are problematic.


    I refuse to believe that what my eyes see is an illusion.


    Wolfram¡¯s low murmur to himself gives me a confirmatory answer.


    ¡°Gurrier¡­¡±


    It can¡¯t be, right?


    ¡°It can¡¯t be.¡±


    How could it be.


    Gurrier Josak is obviously there¡­ I don¡¯t want to keep remembering, grabbing my throat with my left hand, my fingers grappling my neck tightly.


    ¡°Josak is still alive.¡±


    If that¡¯s true, even if there¡¯s a stone stuck there, I still want to squeeze a sound out of my painful throat. I don¡¯t know whether the words I hear next are Conrad¡¯s, or my own.


    ¡°If it really is him, then that before was an illusion, and, my, hypothesis¡­¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s exactly as Your Majesty said.¡±


    Right now, Lord Weller seems absolutely polite and humble.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be!¡±


    Although his tone sounds very heartless, but he probably noticed long ago.


    The man that looks like Josak rides a red horse in the middle of the group. He¡¯s wearing different things from when we were separated, his body wrapped in a grey cloak that¡¯s easily mixed up with the sand, something the equestrian people commonly wear. He¡¯s not wearing the hood, so his orange hair flies in the wind, and the distance is too far for us to see his eyes clearly.


    Is it the blue I¡¯m familiar with? Or a scarier color? Or some other emotionless color?


    In front of the man¡¯s horse, there¡¯s something that looks like a mountain of rags. Having noticed our gazes in him, he carelessly tosses the item over. The black object lands in the sand with a thump.


    The object wrapped in rags slumps on the soft sand.


    It has limbs, and the back of that black-haired head is facing us.


    There¡¯s also something that seems like glass on his finger, sparkling in the sunlight. Although his shoulders twitch a little, they stop immediately. That person is alive, at the very least he¡¯s still alive now.


    His head moves slowly, the black hair rubbing against the ground, it seems like he wants to raise his face, but he can¡¯t so it¡¯s buried back into the sand. He doesn¡¯t groan, and I can¡¯t hear any breathing sounds.


    But I know who he is. All from a glance of his forehead, and those eyes with the same color as mine, I know.


    ¡°¡­Murata?¡±


    He doesn¡¯t hear me.


    ¡°W-why¡­ Josak¡­¡±


    My body reacts one step faster than my mind. I can¡¯t control myself at all.


    ¡°Hold on a second!¡±


    ¡°How do you expect me to wait! Murata¡ª¡±


    Conrad holds me back by putting his hands under my armpits, preventing me from jumping off the horse.


    ¡°I will definitely save him, so please hold on a second.¡±


    ¡°How will you save him!?¡±


    ¡°No matter what methods I use, I will definitely save him.¡±


    ¡°But!¡±


    Saralegui walks over to where we¡¯re arguing, his steps unsteady, it was probably Adalbert who let him down. His face and neck look even fairer under the desert sun, and then he asks something completely meaningless in a happy tone.


    ¡°Yuuri, do you remember the contents of the deal?¡±


    ¡°Ah!? At a time like this, what are you talking about! It¡¯s obvious now isn¡¯t the time to discuss that!¡±


    ¡°Listen!¡±


    The powerful order makes me shut up.


    ¡°I said before I wanted a certain person¡¯s life, right? Looks like it¡¯s exactly as I expected. I¡¯ve decided.¡±


    ¡°I already said it¡¯s not the time to discuss that.¡±


    ¡°But not your life, mine. You have to let me leave this country safely.¡±


    ¡°Eh, why¡­¡±


    Saralegui¡¯s golden eyes, sparkle like a cat forced into a corner. But even though he¡¯s been forced into a corner, there isn¡¯t a hint of despair in his eyes. The corners of his lips even lift into a fearless smile, my first time seeing such a smile on him.


    ¡°Because the situation has changed.¡±


    His gaze goes over Josak, looking at someone in the back. A slender body wrapped in a hooded cloak rides a white horse in the flying yellow sand, that appearance alone a world¡¯s difference from the surrounding soldiers. Suddenly, my pinky starts heating up again, the pale pink ring tightening harder and harder, but not to the point of pain.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    A strong gust of wind blows up the hood hiding that face.


    The same hair, the same face, the same figure.


    ¡°Yelshi¡­¡±


    The young Emperor of Seisakoku, Yelshi, smiles with the same golden eyes as his older brother.

 Volume 15 - Prologue

    To my dearest father¡­


    It happened rather suddenly, but you have grandchildren now.


    I wonder what expression you¡¯ll have when you find out? But you are a naturally shy person, perhaps you will resist the smile on your face until your cheeks muscles cramp, or maybe you¡¯ll threaten to bury my whole body into the ground, leaving only my head on the surface.


    But I believe you will be ecstatic to have a new member in the family.


    His hair color and beard look just like you, no matter how I look at it, probably due to a trans-generation inheritance. And just like you he¡¯s always saying things like ¡°useless ponytail, idiot ponytail¡±, probably also because of a trans-generation inheritance. And the way he expresses his feelings is very rough and painful, also like you¡­


    For some reason, I¡¯m feeling lonelier and lonelier.


    Because the only part of him that doesn¡¯t seem like anyone, seems only to be the ponytail?

 Volume 15 - CH 1

    "Interesting!"


    The moment he found out that the person standing in front of us was Josak, Adalbert''s face lit with joy.


    He''s swinging his hand in which he was holding a big sword. He''s so excited that he could attack the group in front at any moment.


    "This is good, we can settle the match that was left undecided sometime ago!"


    "Stop, Adalbert ! If you do that Murata will...."


    The pain in my left hand suddenly increased and I crouched down on the hard soil. The light crimson colored ring was eating into my little finger.


    "Your majesty"


    Conrad got down on his knees and with his hands rubbed the finger I was gripping.


    "...Its fine, I''m alright. I know the reason behind it"


    This means that Yelshi has gotten closer. It might be Yelshi himself who is manipulating this, it belongs to his mother after all, and he might have invoked a curse or something. If it gets worse, I begin to think that I''ll have to cut down my finger. But right now the pain isn''t unbearable.


    "If I grip it tightly like this, it feels better. More importantly, stop Adalbert. If they are attacked liked that, I don''t know what will happen to Murata"


    "Hey, what''s wrong Maou, noticing the color I thought it was a ring, but is that a curse stone?"


    However fortunately, looks like Adalbert¡¯s attention has been drawn by my finger. He raised the heavy sword to his shoulder like a fishing rod and started looking down. He still hasn''t rushed to the enemy line.


    "Did you get it from someone? If you¡¯re going to beg for something in any case then instead of begging for something as useless as this at least beg for something useful. Something like insect repellent or a draft to pass through"


    "Shut up! Yuuri, you can''t take it off?"


    When I thought that the setting sun had been blocked, it was Wolfram who was peeking. I can''t have even him worry about me. He himself is carrying that ominous sack.


    "I can''t get it off, but I''m alright. This is not the time to wor...ry about it."


    I raised my face and focused on the group right in front of us.


    I felt like it was even harder to see than before, although I remember the anxiety from my just recovered eyesight, I immediately understood it was due to the darkness in the surroundings. The sun had approached the horizon, the heavens are turning vermilion and the ground is turning grey.


    The person with the same color as that sky is on a horse right in front of us. It''s Gurrier Josak. Although I thought that he had lost his life because of me, that sadness was overcome in the worst form.


    The Emperor of Seisakoku Yelshi had mounted on a white horse aligned near him. He has the same hair, same eyes and same face as the king of Shou Shimaron Saralegui who is beside me.


    And at their feet was my friend who had been thrown like a piece of rag cloth.


    It''s Murata Ken.


    "...Murata?"


    Of course even if I whisper, it won''t reach him.


    "Murataaa!"


    Even when I screamed, there wasn''t any sign of movement. He was lying on the dried ground just like that he doesn''t even twitch a bit. Even though, he was moving a little while ago. Only the wind carrying sand is caressing his dusty hair.


    "Murata, it couldn¡¯t be, such a thing...."


    "Calm down Yuuri. His Eminence is alive. There¡¯s no way they would kill their hostage so easily"


    "...hostage?"


    "That''s right."


    At nearly the same time as Conrad nodded, in a clear boy''s voice Saralegui was talking to his younger twin brother. Although his tone is not at all impressive, it''s not like my bewildered undignified distraught tone either. It was the voice of a king that doesn''t lose his calm.


    "Yelshi."


    If I peek from diagonally below, although I wouldn''t say that he''s enjoying himself but those were the eyes that did not show even a little despair even when he''s in a predicament.


    "Speak up, Yelshi, using such underhanded methods, what do you wish to gain? Oh little brother, I wonder if you''re sad, was it that you can''t understand Shimaron accent well. Then I''ll say it for you in Seisakoku language. Listen Yelshi, what is it that you desire?"


    Following that Saralegui questioned him in Seisakoku language which we couldn''t understand.


    "Exchange"


    And then Yelshi answered in common language. That''s right he can speak common language. Although one could say that he''s not fluent.


    "Exchange with this man. The King of Shou Shimaron and the Maou of Shin Makoku"


    "Yuuri and I?"


    "That''s right Sara. You and Yuuri"


    The moment Yelshi took my name, the pain in my little finger became more intense. Rather than calling it pain, it was a strong numbness which ran from my arm to my spine. When I thought that passing through my cervical vertebrae it had reached to the back of my head, along with it a symptom I''m not used to appeared.


    Along with the surge of pain and numbness, the voice that I had just heard now came flowing in.


    "In exchange for this double black, I want Saralegui and the Maou of Shin Makoku"


    What...?


    "To the mazoku, Shou Shimaron is as good as an enemy. So Saralegui is immediately going to back out. But, what will the Maou do? Even if your subordinates will stop you, what will the Maou himself do? I don''t believe this kind and foolish man will sacrifice this double black for his sake"


    This isn''t the first time that a person''s voice is echoing deep inside my chest. I''ve experienced it so many times up till now. But I feel that it''s different this time around. The words are not coming from deep within myself but they are being transmitted along with the pain from outside. What is this rough bad feeling irritating the surface of my skin.


    "If you had fallen into our hands without causing so much trouble yesterday, we could have ended this without having much trouble"


    Is he talking about the fire?


    On the other hand my real hearing is catching Saralegui''s questions.


    "In other words you want to trap Yuuri and me in Seisakoku and make Shou Shimaron and Shin Makoku to follow you?"


    Without even replying, Yelshi smiled. As if his big brother is arching his pale lips and smiling with the same face.


    "Obediently playing the part of a dim-witted younger brother, you surprised me and Yuuri"


    "Hey, don''t count me together with...you."


    Yelshi''s voice echoes along with the pain.


    "It''s much more simpler than signing a treaty. And I''ve heard that among the mazoku the special ones are given special treatment...."


    I held my head with both my arms. I plunge my fingers into my hair, the ring touched near to my ear. As if it''s serving as a sound collector, the voice comes from there and resonates directly in my bones.


    "Even though originally, the extremist group that didn''t wish for diplomatic relations with Shimaron was supposed to abduct you. Since they let you slip through and escape that time, I had to lend them my hand. I don''t know by what coincidence it overlapped but you really have good luck."


    I lost the power in my knees and ended up collapsing on my back. Lord Weller''s arm was there as if he had predicted it. My back touched the body warmth that I was used to.


    "...Then...in that case, even the ones who targeted Sara on the execution ground, even the living dead army that attacked in the underground, everything was his instigation. Even the plight after running off into the underground passageway... and because of that..."


    When I raised my face, there was man with orange hair in my line of sight. But those emotionless eyes, looking past here are facing the void. They are not looking at the sky or at the sand or even at me.


    At his feet Murata has been rolled up. It couldn''t be helped that I was anxious whether he was hurt or not.


    "Everything happened because of him... it turned out like this..."


    Saralegui whispered yes, that''s right. This was not a thought transmitted over the ring but his real voice.


    "You''re more of a bad child then I though."


    They''re truly brothers.


    I''ll give you time till the sun goes down.


    After saying that in a tone similar to his brother, Yelshi disappeared in the middle of the army. Although I can''t see clearly from here, there seems to be something like a camp at the center. Even though I looked straining my just recovered eyes, since the soldiers standing in front are a hindrance and I cannot confirm.


    "Being among a group of the dead, if it was me, I''d refuse to spend even a second there."


    While seeing off the back of the young Emperor of Seisakoku, Adalbert sheathe his sword.


    "Firstly, won''t it be stinking. I''m curious about him too. He has some nerve to stand in such a place and be the leader."


    Even after Yelshi has left, Josak was in front of the group. Maybe he''s keeping a watch so that Murata can''t escape.


    What in the world might he be thinking about, even I and Conrad don''t know that. No, before that I couldn''t even affirm whether he''s the real Josak or not from a faraway place. Rather he seemed to be fake. Just like twins that are often spotted among the Shinzoku, how good would it be if he just had the same looks as Gurrier Josak and inside was a completely different personality.


    May the man whose doing such things to Murata not be Josak.


    Although that is what I want to pray for, there''s exists another fear at a corner of my head.


    If that man is not Gurrier Josak, then the Josak that I know is in the middle of the underground passageway... When I tried to deny those dreadful memories, I closed my eyes tightly and shook my head.


    This is not the time to be grief stricken. Just think about rescuing Murata right now.


    "Although I''m talking as if the army of the dead does not exist, but aren''t there walking bones in Shin Makoku? Isn''t it not much different than that?"


    "It''s completely different. The kohi are living. They don''t just walk, there are some that even fly. That''s their species. They have curtailed all the parts that need to be curtailed, that''s their simple yet stylish body. Look carefully, they''re not similar at all. Aren''t those guys are clearly a dead body in their last stage of decomposition."


    "Is that so? I think they''re the same."


    "They are clearly different."


    If you look at it like that then the kotsuhizoku and the kotsuchizoku do have some cute points. When they find a good graveyard they become infatuation with it and start digging, properly burying the lower half from their pelvis with taking a half body bath, and they leisurely get entranced too, when they''re really surprised their skull becomes detached, and falls on the floor just like that. At such times the kohi are an unexpectedly cute group. For loving rare animals, they''re just irresistible.


    And compared to that how is the resurrected army. When you think that they are carrying weapons with those thin arms that could break off, aren''t they attacking us living beings. Furthermore without resting in peace after having their arms or legs cut, they even need to be hit on their head.


    Even with just a little rotten meat and flesh remaining, to have become such disgusting things.


    "Our kohi move on their own will, but isn''t the resurrected army being manipulated?"


    "That''s right. His, Yelshi''s mother, she did seem to have such powers."


    "When you say Yelshi''s mother... isn''t she a mother to you too Sara."


    "Biologically. But the previous ruler of Seisakoku was the woman who abandoned me."


    "...That''s most probably because she must have had some dire circumstances."


    There was no proof even to oppose him, I just evaded it with vague words. I couldn''t possibly say that I had seen it in my dream.


    "It''s fine. Yelshi obtained mother''s country from mother, and I went along with father and obtained his country, each one inherited their own."


    "If you think of it, you two are the world''s best celeb twins."


    "What''s celeb? Is it that thing that''s on a fish''s back?"


    Even if he pretends to be cute and tilts his head, he won''t be able to make a pass on me now.


    "That''s right, somehow looks like last night''s fire was also Yelshi''s doing."


    "How did you know that?"


    "That''s because he thought it to be so."


    I thrusted the light crimson colored stone in front of my face. Due to the little evening sunlight it was not its original color, it was turning into a color which looked liked white had been printed vermilion.


    "Maybe in undulations to his feelings, this ring gets tighter. And I think along with that it''s transmitting his thoughts to me. In fact now that this pain has stopped his words don''t flow. Even though I couldn''t hear it at all the last time, but this time around I could understand it, which means that either I''ve started remembering Seisakoku language or at that time Yelshi......"


    "What''s that convenient product?"


    He raised his eyebrows, while still keeping his lovely mouth open, Saralegui grabbed my finger.


    "I''ve never heard of such an enjoyable mechanism. Let me borrow it for a while Yuuri. Even I want to peek into Yelshi''s heart."


    "Ow ow, it hurts! Hey, wait Sara, don''t be so forceful."


    "I said let me borrow it."


    With the strong power that doesn''t suite such slenderness, he even pulled the skin around my finger. To add to it his pointed nails eat into my skin. The nails of a king who had a sheltered upbringing, seem to grow longer even if left neglected for just a few days.


    Before Conrad and Wolfram could step in and stop him, I somehow managed to pull back my arm with my own strength.


    "Spare me. Since its tight to begin with, it won''t come off so easily, will it!?"


    "You don''t want to take it off? You don''t want to return it, hmmm. So you were just acting that you disliked it so much."


    "I''ll return it properly to you later. Having cut it into two equal parts that is."


    For the time being, I had no intentions of returning it to its original owner. More than confronting them friends or foes like this, this ring can be pretty useful. Even if it''s accompanied by some pain, if I can read what''s deep within Yelshi''s heart then nothing is better than that.


    Even if I say that, until Yelshi reveals his feelings and I make contact with him, this is nothing more than an annoying accessory. It didn''t even read his thoughts.


    Without any plan, without even the wisdom to take measures, being extremely perplexed I hugged my knees above the sand.


    "...If it''s same as a game, then the zombie group must be weak against fire, right."


    Wolfram who was standing next to me folded his knees. And soon the emerald green eyes were sparkling close to me. His fire techniques are magnificent. By controlling a fire beast effectively, he could burn down only the dead.


    "Don''t do it."


    But if I think about the nature of the locality, I couldn''t let him do something unreasonable.


    "Why are you stopping me."


    "Didn''t you say that magic doesn''t work in the land of the Shinzoku."


    "But.."


    "Even if you have Gunter''s protector, how can I let you do such a reckless thing!"


    "Boys! Enough of your playing around."


    Hazel Graves returned. She ran her horse through the east and west and had confirmed the scope of the enemy from the sides.


    "Shouldn''t you decide something which must be decided."


    She nimbly jumped down from her horse. If I judge from her smile less look, the reconnaissance results must have not been optimistic at all.


    "Even if it''s just a rough plan, I want you to tell me. Are you going to run away or are you going to strike."


    "Basically, run away."


    "That''s the safest plan. Then next, are you going to snatch the hostage and run away or it''s a pity but just like this..."


    "We don''t have a choice there."


    "Are you serious?"


    Conrad, who hadn''t interjected, raised one eyebrow slightly. The one with the scar, it was his right eyebrow. Hazel without even looking at him deepened the wrinkles near her mouth.


    "It''s such a coincidence. Even I have never chosen to abandon my comrades."


    "I''m glad."


    I patted my chest.


    "Although I do have that option."


    I didn''t want to tut thinking it''s someone else¡¯s problem. Adalbert was insisting on exchanging at least one round.


    "I won''t ask you not to run away, but if you''re going to run away swiftly anyways let''s take those guys by surprise and retreat while they are kicking about. We can just save that double black later after merging with the other search parties. If you like it, you can get this old lady and the many living people here involved too. I can''t think that you''d expect me to be a helper though."


    "I refuse that plan too. I''m worried about Murata''s body till we can attack them again. It shouldn''t be a problem if he as healthy as me, but with that weakened condition, can I even leave him like that for even a day."


    Adalbert snorted lightly and erased the sand painting he was drawing with his toes.


    "Well, whether it''s rescuing or fleeing I don''t side with either. For now if I just get to cross swords with Gurrier."


    "You can''t, if I leave it to you, you''re quite capable of letting him die."


    "I think its unnatural to show any mercy to a traitor."


    "Whether he has betrayed us or not is still..."


    "Even after that?"


    He points at the group in front. Without any room for justification, I clogged at my words.


    "Hey, let me do it. Hasn''t it turned into something interesting this time for that bastard who harshly calls others traitors. I''d really love to hear from him what it feels like. By using..."


    He tapped on the long sword he wore on his waist.


    "This."


    Although this is frustrating, what Adalbert is said was right. It''s difficult to defend the man who hurt Murata and is leading the enemy. Furthermore, even though I thought that he had lost his life because of me, the happiness of our reunion has vanished in a moment.


    Come to think of it, a little while ago I was in a similar situation.


    A precious friend, who had disappeared, appeared in front of my eyes wearing a military uniform I''m not used to, and of all things as the enemy warrior. Even at that time I thought that he had been brainwashed, and I desperately tried to convince me that he was being manipulated. Lord Weller affiliated himself with Dai Shimaron on his own will and put on that brown and yellow colored military uniform.


    If even Josak is the same then....


    Conrad is here. So to speak, currently he''s in a truce agreement with us, at least he''s not hostility towards us. Isn''t even Josak limited to such a thing.


    I bit my lips. The smell of rust spreads rapidly in my mouth.


    "I really can''t allow you. Unfortunately that''s not what needs to be done immediately."


    If I twist half my body and look back, the equestrian people who followed us from behind, were together at a distance of seven horses. It was evidently the feel of wait and watch.


    "The only one who can stop those guys is you."


    "What?"


    Adalbert''s voice is clearly filled with dissatisfaction.


    "At least they will do something even if they receive a word from you. Since you are their savior."


    "As if I care."


    "It''s not that you care. You''re the savior of the people from the desert. Since you have already taken up that status, fulfill it till the very end."


    Although the man who was like a migratory bird carrying a mermaid, looked at my face and said something, he worried from around three seconds and then shut his mouth.


    Since it couldn''t be helped, he raised his heavy hip and turned his enviable body back. The equestrian people who confirmed his appearance, rode their horses till they got very close to us.


    "Alright, listen up you rascals!"


    His voice was such that it resonated throughout the field.


    "It couldn''t be that you guys have forgotten that I did you a favor by feeding you delicious rice!"


    There was no reaction from the equestrian people. Although I can''t see clearly in the twilight, under the food that had been avoiding sand there must have been making a puzzled expression.


    "Alright, remember, the dinner you enjoyed that day. The sand mice pot that everyone encircled."


    This is starting to sound like the words of a graduation ceremony.


    "We danced till morning, the huge bon fire... wait, they don''t understand my words."


    "I''ll translate it for you. After all you let me ride behind you up till a while ago right?"


    Without even waiting for an answer Saralegui started translating Adalbert''s common language into Seisakoku language. Keeping both his hands near his mouth he shouts.


    Although we didn''t have the slightest idea of what he''s saying, it''s way longer than the lines before translation. Hazel who was well versed in Seisakoku language smiled.


    "Oh my, oh my."


    "Is he saying something strange? Is he badmouthing me?"


    "He''s not really slandering anyone, he''s saying something interesting indeed. Should I translate it for you. Listen carefully my friends, the savior is saying this."


    If I rely on Hazel Graves Translation Theater then, Saralegui made a megaphone with his slender fingers and looks like this is what he''s speaking.


    "Alright, listen carefully. The savior is saying this. My brethren, you must not hurt this group. I am... ah, this is not the savior but ME."


    He pats his chest several times.


    "This is about me. I am the double of Seisakoku''s Emperor Yelshi! I am the double. That person on the horse right there is Seisakoku''s Emperor Yelshi himself. That''s why it''s useless even if you kidnap me, since the real one is there."


    Adalbert, who is the savior, was also bewildered.


    "...Hey, I wasn''t speaking for that long."


    "It''s alright, just leave it to me. And the savior is also saying this. Although the one who is here is just a humble double, but since he''s a comrade who has sat at the dinner table, he''s already as good as a friend to the equestrian people. You must not hurt him no matter what."


    It was such a good talk for our circumstance that I could raise my voice in admiration. He did well to come up with such a believable thing in an instant. It must be the talent of a certain species.


    The equestrian people glanced at each other and after nodding their heads raised some doubts.


    "Yomosue."


    "Yomosue."


    "Mermaid."


    Without any translation, what I could understand was only the last word. Maybe it was the same with Adalbert, he dropped his shoulders in dismay.


    "...Is food and mermaid the only thing they''re interested in."


    Saralegui bending his pale lips makes a beautiful smile.


    "But isn''t the mermaid a symbol of the savior? The mermaid and you are the same thing. They are asking why the savior is not holding the mermaid."


    Even during that time the equestrian people''s calls were getting violent.


    "Mermaid"


    "Mermaid"


    "Maidmer"


    "You¡¯re being too noisy!"


    Adalbert imposingly threw a tantrum and shook the fist he was gripping.


    "Didn''t I come to your village since I was the God who protects mermaids! If you keep on causing trouble like this then my mermaid will spout out fire!"


    "Ehh!"


    I wasn''t the only one who was surprised. Even Wolfram is making a face that he was caught by surprise.


    Will spout fire...


    My yearning for a mermaid along with a fragile image crumbled away.


    However thanks to this super translation, an explanation which you can even call a hoax, from here on the equestrian people targeting Saralegui will come to a conclusion. Exactly because they had believed that Saralegui was Yelshi, they had thought of kidnapping him and demanding for ransom.


    If he''s a mere double then they have no use for him.

 Volume 15 - CH 2

    The enemy really does hold back their soldiers as promised, not approaching even a step.


    Not making any moves at all despite having so many pieces in hand, feels even scarier.


    ¡°But why don¡¯t they attack us all in one go, and spend so much time exchanging hostages instead? They can win by numbers alone, or is there a reason they can¡¯t make a move?¡±


    ¡°You have to ask?¡±


    Hazel stares at the resurrection group on standby, as well as Josak, standing in the middle like a general, and says,


    ¡°Those guys are corpses, so they like the night. A long, long time ago, the undead could only move outside after dark. As long as there¡¯s sunlight, their movements won¡¯t be as agile as at night, right?¡±


    I see, putting aside the viral disease plot point that¡¯s spreading like wildfire these days, most zombie flicks take place at night. If we follow this principle, their movements should be as slow as the undead of the early eras. But we¡¯ve gained quite a bit of experience from our previous battles, their movements are actually rather agile.


    The sun will set soon.


    Murata¡¯s glasses, having fallen onto the ground, sparkle in the last rays of the sunset, the sky further away from the sun slowly turning purple. Even the sand, now dyed orange, will soon turn to dark grey, followed by the nightfall.


    At that point we¡¯ll be in their territory.


    ¡°Should we grab His Eminence while they¡¯re still sluggish, and then make a break for the encampment following the way we came?¡±


    Compared to the enemy side, our side moves a lot more, because Hazel¡¯s friends who finally caught up and Mr Ajira are helping us collect dry grass. There are very few plants here on this dry land, and we really need some fuel for a fire.


    Looking at the busy Seisakoku people, I reply to Wolfram¡¯s question,


    ¡°Not a bad idea, this way we can get to somewhere safe and they can¡¯t catch up.¡±


    But as soon as the words leave my mouth I change my mind.


    ¡°No, it won¡¯t work. If the sun just happens to set at that time, they will catch up with us. If we escape to the encampment, we¡¯ll cause them to attack the equestrian tribe¡¯s village.¡±


    There are still children there, mothers, and elderly with no place in battle, I can¡¯t drag them down with us.


    ¡°Then what do we do?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t figured it out yet.¡±


    But we must make a decision in the short time before the sun sets. After all, I was the one who brought everyone here in the beginning, I just can¡¯t say something like ¡°Don¡¯t ask me if anything happens¡±.


    As for my advisor ¨C Murata Ken, he¡¯s currently suffering alone in a distant place.


    Just thinking about how lonely and scared he must be right now, makes me jumpy and uneasy.


    ¡°Damn!¡±


    I kick the deep grey sand, the tips of my toes hurting because the unfamiliar shoes hit the hard ground. I hate myself for my uselessness, and keep experiencing that pain over and over again.


    Maybe she can¡¯t stand my embarrassing attitude anymore, Hazel crosses her arms over her chest and says to Conrad,


    ¡°It should at least be good news that the other side doesn¡¯t have SHOOTERs, right?¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t have archers?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, just the fact that we don¡¯t have enemies that attack long range is already very LUCKY.¡±


    ¡°It is indeed good news.¡±


    Conrad and Hazel seem to be thinking about the same thing. If the resurrection group without muscles can pull a bow, that would be way against the rules.


    ¡°So it¡¯s okay as long as we don¡¯t get close to them?¡±


    ¡°For now at least, at the very least we don¡¯t have to worry about snipers. Even if we fight seriously, it will only be melee battles, we just have to be careful of enemies within arms¡¯ reach.¡±


    ¡°Since we don¡¯t have to worry about arrows coming when our backs are turned, there¡¯s also less risk when retreating.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Is that the only good news?¡±


    Hazel shakes her head of white hair, then nods,


    ¡°So sorry.¡±


    Conrad touches the scar on his right eyebrow with his index and middle fingers, then puts down his right hand, rubbing his thigh with his fingers, as though wiping away blood on his hand.


    ¡°If we must resolve this peacefully, this will be a problem¡­¡±


    ¡°How is that possible, the enemy is long dead, right!?¡±


    How could we resolve things peacefully faced with a troop of zombies.


    ¡°If we have no choice but to fight, Adalbert and I can probably take down quite a few, Wolfram should be okay too. Judging from the feeling I got last time we fought¡­¡±


    Maybe because ¡®fighting with zombies¡¯ is an interesting thing, Conrad laughs lightly from deep within his throat,


    ¡°I understand their abilities very clearly. They slow down considerably as soon as you cut off their heads, so they¡¯re not really a threat.¡±


    ¡°How many to how many? I don¡¯t mean odds, but enemy numbers¡­ I¡¯m sorry to make you give a number.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably one to ten¡­ or fifteen? To soldiers, this should be only natural.¡±


    ¡°I can take down twenty!¡±


    ¡°I understand mazokus don¡¯t give up easily, but I want to hear the truth, without exaggeration. Sigh, there should be about two hundred zombies, huh? Add that to seven or eight human soldiers¡­ and him. Our aim is to save Murata, and find a way to handle Josak¡­ such as tying him up, or making him lose consciousness, basically to incapacitate him so he can¡¯t resist. Can we do it?¡±


    ¡°Hey hey hey, this is completely different from what you said just now, right?¡±


    Adalbert rushes out immediately upon hearing that. Because the great messiah pulled in the equestrian tribe for us, and also because of his persuasiveness plus Saralegui¡¯s exaggerated translations, the desert equestrian people have quieted down considerably.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t we say ¡°grab His Eminence and then make a break for it!¡±? Why are we suddenly analyzing battle power? Are we changing battle plans?¡±


    ¡°We haven¡¯t decided.¡±


    ¡°I say, Young Master¡ªNo, Your Majesty the Maou, how many men do you have? Even if the cocky His Excellency the third son is very loyal, right now Lord Weller is the ambassador from Dai Shimaron, right?¡±


    I can only nod and admit to that.


    ¡°Sizemore may be an excellent soldier, but that eye-blinding man can¡¯t even act as a meat shield, can he? The only shiny thing is that head, rather than a warrior, he¡¯s more like a miscellaneous man. And those thin, weak slaves, no matter what weapons they¡¯re holding they can¡¯t fool anyone, y¡¯know. Who else do you have? Hah?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s still you, Grantz.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? There¡¯s still me. Mn, I¡­ What!? You included me in as well?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say you want to fight?¡±


    ¡°I just wanted to cross swords with Gurrier!¡±


    Maybe he completely didn¡¯t expect this result, because Adalbert seems especially nervous, his white skin turning immediately red,


    ¡°Stop joking, aren¡¯t you misunderstanding something? Not only am I after your life, I even left my hometown while it¡¯s in the middle of rebuilding, I even left Shin Makoku! How could I possibly listen to the Maou¡¯s orders?¡±


    ¡°How unseemly, Adalbert. If you¡¯re a mazoku, you should obediently obey the promise you made.¡±


    ¡°When did I ever promise anything!¡±


    ¡°You did. You said as long as I gave you a crate of expensive Bielefeld wine in exchange, you¡¯ll willingly do anything I ask you to. That¡¯s what you said on the ship.


    Adalbert exclaims an ¡®ah!¡¯, his thick arm stopping in mid-air.


    ¡°O-on the boat?¡±


    ¡°Yup, that¡¯s right.¡±


    Maybe it¡¯s just me, but it feels as though Adalbert¡¯s powerful muscles shrivel quite a lot, looks like he¡¯s a man who easily makes mistakes because of alcohol. Wolfram, too, uses poisonous words unbefitting his pretty face to add salt to the wound,


    ¡°Oh dear, don¡¯t tell me you want to say you were drunk then? That can¡¯t be possible, people call you the Grantz boss, how could you have gotten drunk on one barrel of wine? By the way, you also said you don¡¯t sleep while hugging baby bears anymore.¡±


    Hearing that unknown fact, I can¡¯t help but mutter to Conrad,


    ¡°Hugging baby bears¡­ Wine sure is scary¡ªI better not touch it in my life!¡±


    ¡°Actually, it¡¯s fine in moderate amounts, Your Majesty.¡±


    Afterwards, according to my investigations, it seems there was never ¡®a promise on the ship¡¯. Wolf replies with a straight face, ¡°I was just winging it.¡±


    He even tells me, ¡°He¡¯s the man who betrayed Shin Makoku, and stood on the humans¡¯ side. I really hate my uncle and Grantz, rather than giving Adalbert wine, I¡¯d rather pour the highest quality grape wine into the river.¡±


    To think he could tell such a lie so easily, seems like he¡¯s matured too.


    ¡°Then how many can you take on?¡±


    ¡°As long as I can defeat Gurrier, I¡¯m happy!¡±


    ¡°Can you stop making a fuss? If you stay hung up on Gurrier any longer, I¡¯ll tell my brother!¡±


    I didn¡¯t think bringing up Lord von Voltaire¡¯s name would have any effect on Adalbert, who left Shin Makoku to wander around. But the moment he said ¡°I¡¯ll tell my brother¡±, everyone can¡¯t help but cower and apologize, why is that?


    Even this muscleman can¡¯t seem to handle the ¡°Tell My Brother Strategy¡±. The word ¡°Onii-chan¡± sure is powerful, that¡¯s why I refuse to say it no matter what.


    ¡°If it¡¯s me¡­ Twenty-two of them.¡±


    As I thought, they refuse to give in.


    ¡°So how many is that altogether? Uh¡ªFifteen, twenty, twenty-two, that¡¯s seventy-five in total! Hm¡ªThat¡¯s not even half of them, even if Captain Sizemore and all his men get here in time, we probably can¡¯t handle even a hundred of them.¡±


    ¡°Yuuri, you still plan to¡­¡±


    Wolfram tries to say something, but Lord Weller puts a hand on his shoulder, looking at him and shaking his head. As expected of brothers, they understand each other telepathically even without words.


    Even if I see their brotherly camaraderie, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that we¡¯re at a disadvantage. Naively I think, ¡°If I keep staring, will the enemy numbers decrease?¡± and turn my gaze to the enemy lines.


    There isn¡¯t any movement there, and it¡¯s pin-drop silent.


    This atmosphere, this silence, suddenly reminds me of a cemetery at night.


    ¡°I really hate this sort of silence.¡±


    Hazel and Conrad raise their heads at almost the same time.


    ¡°Yesterday, too, waiting for something to happen like today, I know I have a bad temper but this feeling is even more annoying, and painful. Because the enemy is right in front of my eyes, my friend is right in front of my eyes, but¡­¡±


    I can¡¯t save him¡ªI bury my face in between my knees, so no one can hear those words.


    Adalbert rubs the decoration of his sword sheath, saying calmly,


    ¡°It is indeed rare for the king to appear at the frontlines himself.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Other than Shinou, I heard there are only two others who went to the frontlines of their own volition.¡±


    ¡°Surely Yuuri will be praised by the poets in the future as a brave king, huh? Although in truth you¡¯re such a noob.¡±


    ¡°Noob¡­ That¡¯s right, it¡¯s because I¡¯m a noob that I can¡¯t stand this atmosphere.¡±


    Wolfram leans back slightly and makes fun at me, but until now I can¡¯t think of a decent strategy, so I don¡¯t even have the energy to retort him.


    ¡°But once we start taking action we won¡¯t have time to catch our breaths anymore, in any case it¡¯s always like this before a battle. If the battle were extended, not only will both sides decide on a day of ceasefire, the villages nearby would even come over to sell food.¡±


    ¡°You bought food from the locals before!?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°How could you be so careless, and what about the supply troops, have you thought about them?¡±


    ¡°You guys rarely come to the frontlines anyway.¡±


    ¡°Even so you can¡¯t buy from the locals, what if you get poisoned?¡±


    ¡°The worst that could happen is we get stomachaches, it¡¯s still better than starving as we wait for supplies. Besides, how can live mountain goats and sheep be poisonous? Don¡¯t tell me they¡¯ve been eating poisonous feed since they were born? If you had the time and energy to do that, wouldn¡¯t it be more effective to attack the idiots camping out in the open with flaming arrows? But even I only came across such easy battles a few times back in the beginning.¡±


    Adalbert pulls his sword out of its sheath and points it at the sky,


    ¡°Anyway, that was when I learned how to kill goats.¡±


    The steel glitters with an ominous color under the twilight rays, giving one¡¯s imagination a direct image.


    ¡°¡­No matter what I can¡¯t do it.¡±


    ¡°I think most gourmets who enjoy meat can¡¯t kill livestock either, sheesh! Just like a certain aristocrat who gets shocked out of his wits when you just toss a little goat at him, even yelling ¡°Don¡¯t torture the baby goaty!¡± That¡¯s why whenever I want to throw something, I¡¯ll grab Maxine.¡±


    ¡°Wait a sec, if you want to throw something you can throw a ball, right?¡±


    The only sports involving throwing people around are judo and sumo wrestling, so throwing little goats is in fact animal abuse. If someone randomly picked up livestock not meant for eating and thrown them around, you¡¯d scold him even if you¡¯re not Gwendal. As long as that doesn¡¯t count as local culture¡­


    ¡°Conrad.¡±


    Something occurs to me, and I call out to the man who knows Earth very well.


    ¡°Have you been to Mongolia?¡±


    ¡°Mongolia?¡±


    He muses over it for a moment, and then replies,


    ¡°If it¡¯s in Afghan, I have indeed seen a strange sport over there. It was an intense competition similar to polo, where people rode on horses and fought over goats or sheep.¡±


    ¡°Exactly, that¡¯s the one! That sport that¡¯s like acrobatics!¡±


    Sitting on horseback and bending over to grab the goat from the ground, then protect it from enemy hands and return to base¡ªthat¡¯s the sport that appears in my mind. As long as we send a few horses into the enemy lines at once, and use this method to grab Murata then run, we might be able to get past the enemies who consist mostly of foot soldiers.


    Even if we can¡¯t run towards the equestrian tribe¡¯s encampment, if we investigated the geography here a bit more, we could avoid the east and head towards the sea, maybe we might be able to reach the search ships.


    But in that case we might have to hang in there for a few days¡­ No, there¡¯s a chance we could rendezvous with the other search teams on the way. If only things would go that smoothly.


    Murata isn¡¯t all that heavy either, the only question is if anyone can ride a galloping horse up to him at a hair¡¯s breadth away and then reach out to grab him.


    Of course, this job can¡¯t go to Wolfram. He¡¯d probably lose it if I told him directly, but the position required is very challenging, and you¡¯d need to pull up a high school student with one hand. Therefore not only would you need good riding skills, you also need powerful arm strength.


    I never considered myself from the start. I just learned how to ride a horse on my own, after all.


    If we¡¯re talking about arm strength, the only candidates left are Captain Sizemore and Adalbert, but at the same time I¡¯m worried the captain¡¯s stomach might get in the way, even if it doesn¡¯t stick out that much¡ªMore importantly, I don¡¯t know how his riding skills are like. Someone without brilliant riding skills wouldn¡¯t be able to complete the mission.


    Hazel Graves winks at me,


    ¡°If you¡¯re talking about horse-riding, the experts are right there, y¡¯know!¡±


    I follow Hazel¡¯s gaze and see an equestrian tribe member taking care of a horse, even caressing its neck sympathetically.


    Oh yeah, the top horse-riding experts are right in front of us.


    ¡°They chased us here.¡±


    So I immediately ask the messiah about them.


    ¡°Amongst the equestrian people, are there any you would call elites?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, if it¡¯s nothing to do with liking mermaids and fighting power, I guess they¡¯re pretty good.¡±


    ¡°If we ask them to ride horses, they should become even stronger, right?¡±


    The legendary messiah rubs his perfect butt-chin as he replies,


    ¡°They claim they were born on horseback. Though I don¡¯t think any woman would give birth there.¡±


    ¡°But Yuuri, they¡¯re chasing after me in order to get a ransom, y¡¯know. Rather than soldiers, they¡¯re more like debt collectors.¡±


    ¡°Debt collectors? If only they could collect it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, they should be able to pull it off.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it should be easy as pie, right?¡±


    Seeing the way Conrad¡¯s agreement lightens my mood, Saralegui interrupts from the side,


    ¡°Not bad, huh~~ Yuuri, you thought up a decent strategy, then allow me to translate it for you!¡±


    ¡°No need, I have no hopes for your translations.¡±


    If it was just the meaning that got lost in translation then it¡¯s still not too bad, but if you randomly add things on your own, even we might made out to be bad guys. Although we¡¯re translating it from weird English to the Seisakoku language in a unique way, but it¡¯s still better to ask Hazel for help.


    However when it comes to convincing the equestrian people, Hazel Graves seems somewhat reluctant, completely unlike her usual style.


    ¡°The way I see it, this plan could work. And as long as we discuss it with them in detail, I believe the desert people would also be willing to help, then the only issue is the reward.¡±


    ¡°I see, we can use money!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s okay if we pay the reward later too. Only, Your Majesty, if you ask me to tell them the strategy, I don¡¯t think they will listen obediently.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Hazel¡­ now known as Venera, shows me a crooked, self-deprecating smile,


    ¡°Because I belong to the slave class.¡±


    ¡°Eh? This isn¡¯t the city full of conceited people.¡±


    ¡°Such prejudices are even stronger the more backwater the place is.¡±


    ¡°But wasn¡¯t their attitude perfectly normal before? The same goes for the people at the oasis!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because we didn¡¯t do anything to cross the line. They assume we¡¯re docile slaves who serve His Majesty and PRINCE, as well as His Majesty Saralegui who looks like the perfect shinzoku city person, that¡¯s why they weren¡¯t harsh on us.¡±


    Although he¡¯s listening to a foreign language, Mr Ajira may have deduced what we¡¯re talking about through our tone, lowering his head unhappily.


    ¡°But if lowly slaves speak to regular citizens as equals, that¡¯s something else altogether. Because the desert tribes don¡¯t belong to the slave class, even if their lives aren¡¯t as good as the city people, they have the important duty to protect the royal tombs, so they still count as citizens of Seisakoku¡­ even though they don¡¯t work that seriously. It¡¯s just that this way, even if what I say is reasonable, they won¡¯t agree. Because many of them think it¡¯s unfeasible to agree to something suggested by a slave.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no such thing, Hazel! No, Venera!¡±


    Venera cocks her head and shrugs helplessly, shaking her soft-looking hair,


    ¡°Even if it¡¯s slightly hard to understand the common language, but I think it¡¯s better if Your Majesty talked to them directly through Ajira¡¯s translations, and it¡¯s more practical too.¡±


    ¡°But the one who suggested asking the equestrian tribe for help isn¡¯t me, it¡¯s you. I can¡¯t do something like stealing your credit.¡±


    ¡°My comrades and I won¡¯t mind stuff like that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­¡±


    My sentence stops at ¡®but¡¯, I can¡¯t continue.


    Wolfram was watching our conversation from a side, and finally breaks the awkward moment,


    ¡°So all you need is position?¡±


    With his hands on his hips, he tilts his upper body back, his tone sounding as though he understands the English we¡¯re speaking.


    ¡°In that case, just make her our goodwill ambassador. Won¡¯t it be fine if you make this old woman Seisakoku¡¯s goodwill ambassador to Seisakoku right now?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±


    It¡¯s just like Japanese celebs that go to Hawaii often, or eat so many Hawaiian beans they get such a title. Although I don¡¯t know what the conditions are, the situation now is dire, so as head of the country I¡¯ll elect her as goodwill ambassador, in order to get everyone¡¯s understanding.


    ¡°That makes sense, even if they¡¯re looking upon as slaves in this country, with a title like ambassador they¡¯ll have the proper position to make their opinions heard. Looks you¡¯re not just a pretty face, your brain is not bad either!¡±


    Completely ignoring how Mr Ajira the translator is explaining things to the equestrian people, Saralegui tells us their conversation with an innocent smile,


    ¡°They¡¯re saying the friend of the body double is pretty impressive¡ª¡±


    ¡°C-Crap!¡±


    ¡°Really, Yuuri, you forgot the roles you set in the beginning? I¡¯m playing Yelshi¡¯s body double, and you¡¯re my friend from a foreign country, right?¡±


    ¡°Waa¡ªthat¡¯s right! The body double¡¯s friend doesn¡¯t have much right to say anything.¡±


    At this important moment, my black eyes and hair have no effect at all. Although I really hate getting special treatment, it¡¯s rather inconvenient to be treated as a normal person too. Wolfram looks at me, all dejected, in surprise.


    ¡°Why are you all depressed?¡±


    ¡°Nah¡ªAlthough having people serve me makes me panic, but being completely overlooked makes me feel uncomfortable too. This reminds me of my life as a benchwarmer¡ª¡±


    ¡°No matter what others say, they can¡¯t change the fact that Yuuri is Yuuri, so why are you bothered about?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±


    What he¡¯s saying is absolutely right, but he¡¯s a pretty boy with a flawless background and looks, plus he¡¯s naturally confident, so of course he can hold his head high and say that. I¡¯m just a baseball boy from a normal family, even if he tells me righteously not to be scared, I still don¡¯t know what to do.


    ¡°It is indeed very hard for you, since you¡¯re still immature.¡±


    ¡°Mn? You¡¯re not calling me a rookie anymore?¡±


    He blinks his eyes, as emerald as the bottom of a clear lake, and says,


    ¡°Well¡ªYou¡¯ve been on the throne for quite a while, after all.¡±


    ¡°Have I grown just a little bit as well?¡±


    ¡°I guess there¡¯s a little change. But in the time you changed from a rookie to immature, you still couldn¡¯t come up with a solution to convince the people. Sigh¡ªReally, then allow me to do what little I can for Your Majesty.¡±


    Wolfram rants away with a smile on his face, then takes out a roll of thin paper from his pocket. It¡¯s a pale green slip with a smooth and shiny surface that makes it look really high class. And then he reaches his hand into his chest hair¡­ No no no, into the little wool pouch hanging in front of his chest, and pulls out stationary from inside.


    Goodness, to think ¡®G¨¹nter¡¯s Protection¡¯ has such a use too.


    ¡°Since your identity is false, of course your authority is electing an official isn¡¯t recognized. Alright, turn around!¡±


    I don¡¯t know what he writes on the pale green slip, and he doesn¡¯t seem to be bothered by how uneven my back is, either, writing and signing his name fluidly. I don¡¯t care what you¡¯re doing, but that really is very ticklish.


    ¡°Wolf, what are you writing¡­¡±


    ¡°I elect you as the Bielefeld territory¡¯s goodwill ambassador to Seisakoku. See!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    He waves the paper in front of my face. Having lived more than eighty years as an aristocratic heir, he seems used to homework like this, easily giving Venera a position.


    ¡°This is something we do commonly in the territory. Choose a suitable representative from amongst the people and honor them with a title in public, so that uniting the people will henceforth be his job, and he doesn¡¯t have to come to us for some of the small stuff too.¡±


    ¡°Is that so~~ To think you¡¯re so used to these things.¡±


    ¡°Although I¡¯m a soldier loyal to the Maou in the capital, my job when I¡¯m back at my territory is more like an administrator.¡±


    ¡°Are you learning how to be a good leader? What mature thinking¡ª¡±


    Just in case, I add my signature to the slip too before handing it to Venera. Surprisingly, she seems very happy,


    ¡°I¡¯ve never met the President in my life, but now I actually have the honor of receiving His Majesty the Maou¡¯s very own signature.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m counting on you, Ambassador. Ah¡ªAlso, can I ask you if we can use non-Seisakoku currency?¡± Just then, something in the corner of my vision moves.


    ¡°He¡¯s waving!?¡±


    Murata, who had been lying on the floor, raises his left hand and waves it lightly. I can¡¯t help but grab someone¡¯s clothes and yell,


    ¡°He¡¯s waving, he¡¯s waving! Murata, Murata--! Thank goodness, you¡¯re still alive! You still have strength! Thank goodness¡­ Thank goodness I can see you again!¡±


    ¡°To think you would get so excited over such a trivial thing.¡±


    Crap, that¡¯s Adalbert¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Since he can survive all the way until just now, there¡¯s no way he¡¯ll die so easily.¡±


    ¡°Murata¡¯s specialty is his brain, so his stamina is really bad, and it¡¯s not like he had training like you.¡±


    ¡°In other words he¡¯s really weak¡­ But he looked really strong at the ¡®World¡¯s Strongest¡¯ tournament. By the way, why isn¡¯t he with you? You two double blacks should stay together like good boys, it¡¯d be easier to protect you that way. It¡¯s precisely because you separated that all these bothersome things happen.¡±


    ¡°A lot of things happened to us too, what¡¯s why we came to this country separately.¡±


    To be precise, this world.


    How on earth did he come here though? Without relying on my power, he came to this land far, far away from Shin Makoku all on his own. Could it be he used a third person¡¯s power? Someone I don¡¯t know brought him here?


    If that¡¯s true¡ª


    ¡°If that¡¯s so, why did they throw him into such a place¡­!¡±


    Even if it was someone who brought Murata here, why did they throw him into the enemy lines alone and then wash their hands of him? That¡¯s way too cruel, I can¡¯t forgive that.


    Murata raises his face that was plastered to the ground, clearing his throat to try and turn sound into words, but he fails several times until he finally manages to call my name,


    ¡°Shibuya.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m, here.¡±


    ¡°Shibuya, we sure met up in a nice place.¡±


    ¡°Please, how is this nice? This is the worst!¡±


    ¡°If we didn¡¯t meet here, we might have met with something even worse.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­ Can you speak? Did your wound open again!?¡±


    Still lying on his belly, Murata struggles to pull his right hand out from underneath him, splaying his fingers open for me to see. His arm and shoulder aren¡¯t curved at any strange angles, so it seems nothing was broken.


    ¡°My injuries aren¡¯t as bad as they seem, I wouldn¡¯t call them serious.¡±


    ¡°What about the blood!? Has it stopped?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­ I¡¯m not hurt¡­¡­ Also, don¡¯t make that sound like you¡¯re on the verge of tears.¡±


    ¡°But you look really badly injured, and you got wounds everywhere, I thought maybe you were dead¡­¡­ I was worried, it¡¯d be terrible if anything happened to you.¡±


    ¡°Mn, I am covered in wounds, but there¡¯s nothing life-threatening, just light bruises and pulled muscles, is all.¡±


    The break in his sentence is really unnatural, making me even more uneasy. He sighs forcefully, until I feel as though I can hear his breathing. Actually, it¡¯s good that I can hear it.


    ¡°Murata?¡±


    ¡°Relax, I¡¯m very much conscious. The reason I can¡¯t move now isn¡¯t because I¡¯m injured¡­ but because I¡¯m tired. After all, before I came here, I underwent all sorts of trials and tribulations. Even if I was pulled out of the tombs, I suffered quite a bit in the process¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m asking you, how did you get here?¡±


    ¡°Forget about that for now, on the other hand I want to ask you what on earth happened here. Ah¡ªReally, where are my glasses?¡±


    He reaches out his uninjured right hand, picking up his dusty, sandy glasses. But it looks to me that both the frames and lenses are beyond repair, so he tsks angrily.


    ¡°¡±Don¡¯t worry about your glasses, I have a spare here.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why you would have a spare, but I¡¯ll say thanks in advance, I¡¯ll be borrowing it temporarily. I¡¯ve decided! Once we get back to Earth I¡¯m switching to contacts, otherwise I just can¡¯t rest easy, since I can¡¯t see your face like this.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡±


    I¡¯ve already personally experienced how uneasy and scary it is to have something I could see previously suddenly disappear from my vision. At first it felt like the world disappeared without a trace, but in truth nothing changed, the only one that changed is myself. It¡¯s just that it takes a rather long time to notice that.


    ¡°Relax, I¡¯ll keep talking to you, so you know that I¡¯m right here. But you need to voice out too, okay?¡±


    ¡°Actually, you don¡¯t need to, talk to me. I have a lot of things to ask you, though.¡±


    ¡°What things?¡±


    ¡°Tell me, what happened to you here?¡±


    Murata ignores the sand on the ground, shaking his head from left to right as he says,


    ¡°What changed in the time I¡¯ve been chasing you? Have you been usurped?¡±


    ¡°No, I haven¡¯t been usurped¡ªI think.¡±


    I turn back to look at Wolfram uneasily, and he nods with a perfectly solemn expression, so it seems the Ten Aristocrats haven¡¯t abandoned me.


    ¡°If that¡¯s so, then how did he become the enemy?¡±


    He¡¯s pointing at Josak. The man with hair the color of the setting sun stays silent, his head lowered and looking at Murata motionlessly.


    My heart feels like someone¡¯s twisting it in my chest. Thinking back to those days in the endless darkness, I suddenly find it hard to breathe as my windpipe constricts.


    Why is he standing on that side? Why isn¡¯t he standing by my side?


    ¡°Sorry¡­ About that, I don¡¯t know either.¡±


    Wolfram whispers into my ear, ¡°Could he have been controlled?¡± After all, Josak¡¯s loyalty is well known, no matter how lightly he treats it, everything he does is for Shin Makoku, so even if the truth is right in front of our eyes it¡¯s hard for us to believe it.


    Murata doesn¡¯t notice my confusion, changing the topic immediately,


    ¡°Then what situation am I in¡­¡±


    ¡°What situation? Looks like I didn¡¯t hear the deal made just now. Don¡¯t worry, these people are just scared seeing an unfamiliar hair color, once they know you¡¯re not dangerous, they should immediately let you go.¡±


    I can¡¯t tell Murata, weakened as he is now, that he¡¯s currently a hostage. Murata clears his throat again, as though he has something to say, or maybe it¡¯s just sand or dust in his throat.


    ¡°Murata, it¡¯s okay for you to talk facing the ground, I can hear you no matter how soft your voice.¡±


    I sprawl onto the ground and plaster my right cheek and ear onto the ground, the cool touch of the sand on my skin. The desert in this country is dry and cold, as I thought.


    My friend says in a voice close to me,


    ¡°Technically that¡¯s not possible, it¡¯s not like this is a paper cup telephone.¡±


    ¡°I already said I can hear you even if you don¡¯t speak so loudly.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll say it now, I¡­¡±


    ¡°If you tell me to leave you and escape now, I¡¯m breaking up with you! I won¡¯t be your friend anymore!¡±


    ¡°Then that¡¯s troublesome¡ª¡±


    As I expected, he was going to say that stupid line. Murata sighs,


    ¡°Then I might as well die and get it over with.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t simply talk about dying or whatnot!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying it simply.¡±


    He takes a breath, and then lowers his voice,


    ¡°The truth is I have some important things to tell you secretly, but if I lower my voice you won¡¯t be able to hear me.¡±


    ¡°Then say it in Japanese, Murata. If you use Japanese, only the two of us will understand it.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡ªThat¡¯s right, use Japanese.¡±


    Suggesting that we use Japanese under these circumstances, gives even me a strange feeling. But I¡¯ve been using English with Hazel anyway, so of course I can use our mother tongue with Murata. We are Japanese people, born and bred, after all.


    ¡°The Box in the stone room¡­¡±


    Just as Murata is about to continue, a ray of light pierces through the air. The sword that comes down brushes past the tip of his nose, and embeds itself into the hard ground.


    My heart nearly stops from the shock. Both of us forget to breathe, not moving a single finger.


    Josak, sitting on his horse, had attacked suddenly, trying to stop Murata from talking.


    ¡°Stop!¡±


    Just saying that requires a lot of courage.


    ¡°Stop, Josak!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Yuuri, I¡¯m fine.¡±


    He seems to only want to scare Murata, without actually hurting him. Murata¡¯s voice is very calm, and our conversation switches back to the common language.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°R-really?¡±


    ¡°Really, but¡­ I¡¯m so tired, I want to rest a while. I¡¯m not fainting, just taking a short nap to recover my strength.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, go ahead and sleep, leave the rest of it to me.¡±


    By the time you wake up, we¡¯ll have gotten you back from those guys.


    Having ended the conversation, I support myself with my palms on the sand and stand up, then I ask Wolfram to watch him for me, turning around purposefully. Only after taking a few steps do I realize that I¡¯m covering my mouth with my right hand, so I immediately add my left hand too, then I leave everyone with my head lowered. I feel as though if I let go, I¡¯ll sob out loud.


    Five feet away, there are two mares with docile gazes wandering about, carefree. I stumble up to them, and they look at me in unison too, before turning their gazes away indifferently. Standing in between the two horses, I reach out to touch their warm sides.


    Feeling the pulse underneath the skin.


    Suddenly I feel nauseous, so I can¡¯t help but crouch down between the horses. Pressure, it must be the pressure. This feeling is the same as when facing an important competition, when I¡¯m so nervous I could puke.


    ¡°Yuuri.¡±


    My lowered gaze spots a pair of brown army boots, it¡¯s Conrad. Why does he always appear at the perfect timing?


    ¡°Why¡­ are you here¡­¡±


    He touches my hand, plastering his palm against my bent arm,


    ¡°Because we can¡¯t be seen here.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t be seen? We really can¡¯t be seen?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    I grab Conrad¡¯s right shoulder, putting my head on his chest, but I don¡¯t allow myself to plaster my face there.


    I clench my teeth and try to stop my body from shaking, forcefully steadying my feet. It feels as though a large hole has opened up under my feet, and I¡¯m about to fall into an abyss whole. I take a deep breath so hard my lungs hurt, and then exhale loudly. I even take care not to increase my breathing at all times.


    Hold back¡ªThis is my body, my emotions, I should be able to hold them back.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­ The one suffering isn¡¯t me, it¡¯s Murata.¡±


    Conrad touches my lips with his thumb, the place he touches hurts a little.


    ¡°Your lip is cracked.¡±


    There¡¯s the taste of blood too, it¡¯s not a superficial wound.


    He pauses for quite some time before speaking again,


    ¡°I told Josak¡­ Gurrier before, that if anything were to endanger you¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡±


    ¡°At that time I would personally¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say anymore! Now isn¡¯t the time to say those things, for all we know he¡¯s been controlled, and we don¡¯t know how he survived either! Maybe he¡¯s just moving because of Yelshi¡¯s houjutsu, when in fact he¡¯s long¡­¡±


    My vision goes suddenly black, and I feel dizzy too, so I grab onto his clothes with my fingers hurriedly. In order to support my body, Conrad hugs me tightly. His hair and face just manage to touch my ear.


    He calls my name, and says in a tone as though comforting a child,


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t say anything.¡±


    ¡°Conrad?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the one who made you so upset.¡±


    The arms holding me press hard and hurt my back.


    ¡°Not only did I make you worry, I even show up in the enemy¡¯s uniform, I¡¯m the one who made your feelings so complicated.¡±


    So he¡¯s repenting.


    It¡¯s all because of that adult¡¯s pride, that¡¯s why it hard to lower his head obediently and admit his mistakes, that¡¯s why he never said it, until a moment like this comes and he can toss away his inhibitions, speaking out loudly.


    ¡°I made you suffer.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    I assume he¡¯s crying, so I move the hand on his shoulder to lightly surround his neck,


    ¡°You disappeared from in front of my eyes without a word, making me worry like hell and then you show up in a Shimaron uniform instead. At first I thought you would return to my side, but then you actually tell me I¡¯m not the best king.¡±


    ¡°Yuuri.¡±


    ¡°And I worked so hard too, in order to make you recognize me as a good king, hoping you would feel I¡¯m special.¡±


    ¡°You were, from the start.¡±


    His voice reaches my ear, his breath mingling with the dry air and blowing into my heart.


    ¡°From the start, you were already a good king.¡±


    ¡°In that case why didn¡¯t you say so? I¡¯m not a kid anymore, if you just tell me the reason properly, I¡¯ll understand. If you had just explained things clearly, I would have watched you leave with a smile.¡±


    ¡°I went to sow seeds.¡±


    ¡°Sow seeds?¡±


    I repeat his words like an idiot, not understanding a thing.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, just like what Venera is doing.¡±


    The mares neigh at that moment, informing us of a change in our surroundings. Maybe Venera is convincing the equestrian people to make a move.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡±


    I sigh deeply, patting Conrad¡¯s shoulder. If it weren¡¯t for this chance today, I really don¡¯t know how long I¡¯d have to wait for him to confess everything.


    ¡°The sun is setting, now isn¡¯t the time to be dejected. We need to get the hostage back.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    The protector¡¯s warmth leaves me, making me feel in that instant like an uneasy chick left in the nest. But I already said so just now, I¡¯m no longer a child, I have to work hard to become a good king.


    In that case, I must first do what needs to be done.


    No matter how much I want to close my eyes and run away, I still have to face reality. My vision is back, and this is what my eyes are for.


    ¡°Conrad.¡±


    He replies with a nod.


    ¡°Can I make everything back to normal again?¡±


    ¡°Of course you can.¡± We¡¯re walking back to where our companions are, step by step. Wolfram, Hazel and Adalbert are staring at me, if only my footsteps were more stable than when we came.


    Before walking into the circle they made, I raise up my right hand first. This gesture means I want to say something, while at the same time stopping the others from moving.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you all saw that, the sword was right in front of Murata¡¯s nose.¡±


    All three of them reply ¡°that¡¯s right¡± in their respective voices.


    ¡°To be honest, I was scared to death then.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡±


    ¡°Even if those guys seem to be indifferent to everything and take everything casually, the truth is they have a hostage in their hands. If it¡¯s a simple plan like riding a horse to grab Murata back, the chances are it won¡¯t be that easy to rescue him.¡±


    ¡°Maybe. But I¡¯m of the same opinion, so it looks like there¡¯s a need to come up with another plan.¡±


    ¡°But even if there¡¯s another plan, there¡¯s a limit to how effective it¡¯ll be, right?¡±


    That¡¯s right, there is indeed a limit.


    So I stand with my legs slightly apart, and say forcefully,


    ¡°Then let¡¯s agree to exchange hostages.¡±

 Volume 15 - CH 3

    Not long ago, Sizemore and Dacascos had a short tour of the ancient tombs.


    ¡°I¡¯m not complaining or anything, it¡¯s just that this team seems a little too basic.¡±


    Maybe it¡¯s just him, but it feels as though the horse he¡¯s riding on isn¡¯t very motivated either.


    ¡°We can¡¯t help it¡ªThe moment we discover the other search teams, we have to take them to His Majesty as soon as possible.¡±


    The men were left behind at the water source to rebuild the village, while they chased His Majesty¡¯s group from the back, and finally caught up with Yuuri and co after experiencing those impactful events. As soon as they rendezvoused, though, they were sent on this mission.


    Their mission is to leave the front that¡¯s currently in stalemate, and look for the other search teams that separated after landing in Seisakoku. If they found the others nearby, they were to lead them to the battlefield as quickly as possible.


    In others words, they¡¯re in charge of reception.


    Shin Makoku¡¯s highest commander Yuuri nods as he says,


    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s an SOS.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Does milord mean the sisters that only get along with the Seisakoku?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m talking about a help signal you send out when in distress. When you¡¯re stranded on an uninhibited island, you should find a way to tell the ships or planes in the distance where you are, right? That¡¯s why you use a smoke signal or a mirror to reflect light and ask for help.¡±


    With that Dacascos finally understood, that His Majesty¡¯s target was his head.


    That¡¯s why bright-headed (even though they¡¯re completely reluctant about it) Dacascos and Sizemore temporarily left their king¡¯s side, setting out on a journey to lead their reinforcements here.


    ¡°Actually, His Majesty really didn¡¯t need to be subtle about it, he could have just said our shiny heads would help in the desert, and we would have immediately accepted the mission¡­¡±


    ¡°Mn, this should be a sign of His Majesty¡¯s compassion. After all, when he saw the thinning hair on my head, he even praised me by saying I¡¯m like a baby bird, calling me very cute.¡±


    But their worth as signal lights is quickly diminishing, from the moment the sun sets completely to the time when the moon rises into the sky, they are completely useless. Because their heads can only reflect the light, and not emit their own light like stars.


    ¡°We have to return to them quickly once the sun sets, after all it¡¯s better to have more fighting power. Even though I, Sizemore, am better at naval battles, but I still won¡¯t lose to a regular soldier on the land, even unarmed I can take on two or three enemies. I won¡¯t let anyone make fun of me by calling me a tuna out of water!¡±


    ¡°Of course. Although I¡¯m not that experienced in battle, running errands is my main job. I can help everyone tidy up bones, harvest flesh pieces. If I could bring a sample of the living dead back, Lady Anissina would definitely praise me!¡±


    Rather than running errands, that¡¯s bordering into scientific search.


    ¡°So do we go back now? Or continue on His Majesty¡¯s important mission? It¡¯s so hard to choose between the two.¡±


    ¡°Mn, that¡¯s right. We still have important business at hand, so we must make a decision before nightfall.¡±


    But to the one people call ¡®Master of the Seas¡¯ as well as ¡®the Scary Monk on the Sea¡¯¡ªCaptain Sizemore, this dry land really is torture.


    ¡°Just the issue of my dry skin alone seems unresolvable, I¡¯ll probably never live in the desert until the day I die.¡±


    ¡°Oh~~ That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right, you can use this if your skin is dry. I bought this at the port on the way here when I found out we were going to the desert. Use this, moisturizer! It¡¯s a new item from the Queen¡¯s Inventions, though it¡¯s meant for the ladies.¡±


    ¡°Oh, thanks a lot.¡±


    ¡°Here you go.¡±


    Sizemore accepts Dacascos¡¯ bottle, dripping a few drops onto his hand and rubbing them onto his face, directly connected to his scalp, without checking the color and smell first. For some reason, the spots covered in the medicine burn painfully, and immediately turn red and swollen.


    Sizemore screams in a way completely unlike himself, and then grabs a stunned Dacascos by the collar,


    ¡°W-w-w-what is this!? Is this really moisturizer!?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what it says on the label.¡±


    ¡°Something so dangerous technically shouldn¡¯t be circulating on the market¡­¡±


    Anything invented by Lady von Karbelnikoff ¡°Mad Scientist¡± Anissina, has an eighty per cent chance of being dangerous. But regular consumers don¡¯t know that, and buy her failed products happily. Even though the final product is very safe, the truth is the ones they bought are all failed products. Those passionate devotees are really very scary.


    Sizemore also believed in its quality because of Her Majesty the Queen¡¯s guarantee. That¡¯s why he can¡¯t believe he¡¯s suffering like this, and hurriedly checks the bottom of the bottle. There is indeed the name of the producer there, written in a bright red color that brings to mind the founder¡¯s hair, ¡°The Quin¡¯s Invention¡±.


    ¡°Quin¡­?¡±[1]


    So it¡¯s a fake.


    ¡°W-what do we do now, Dacascos!?¡±


    ¡°C-c-c-calm down, Captain! You just went a bit red, changing from the monk on the sea to the lama on the sea, that¡¯s all!¡±


    ¡°The lama on the sea--!?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, the lama on the sea. Its position on the sea chart is higher than the monk. That¡¯s wonderful¡ªLord Captain, this is an evolution, y¡¯know--!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to get away with it!¡±


    ¡°Just relax, Lord Captain, I also have here a folk remedy for healing coarse skin.¡±


    Dacascos carefully takes out a fingernail-sized stone that shines with a brown glow from his pocket.


    ¡°What is that? A bone?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a tooth.¡±


    ¡°Dacascos, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re only now becoming an adult?¡±


    ¡°No, this isn¡¯t my tooth, I picked it up on the ship. My old mother back home told me, if your skin suddenly becomes coarse, you may be able to heal it by wishing on a tooth you found by accident. This is Lilit Latchie Nanata Micotan¡¯s family remedy, passed down the generations.¡±


    Putting aside the fact that it ¡®may be able to heal¡¯, Dacascos¡¯ habit of collecting things came from his mother after all. And then he puts his mouth close to the tooth he picked up, chanting what sounds like a spell,


    ¡°Now I pray to the fairies in the springs of paradise, heal the Captain¡¯s coarse skin! Heal the Captain¡¯s coarse skin!¡±


    ¡°Dacascos¡­¡±


    Although the two of them were thrown together as master and follower abruptly for a last minute job, Sizemore didn¡¯t think Dacascos would work so hard for him, and can¡¯t help but be deeply touched.


    ¡°But Dacascos, what does a tooth found by accident have to do with coarse skin?¡±


    ¡°Heal the Captain¡¯s coarse skin¡­ Because of that, Captain! Heal the Captain¡¯s coarse skin¡­ After all, when you find a tooth by accident, you can¡¯t help but say, ¡®Eh, it¡¯s a tooth¡­ eh, it¡¯s a tooth¡­ coarse skin¡­ coarse skin.¡±[2]


    ¡°Mn~~? Eh, it¡¯s a tooth¡­ eh, it¡¯s a tooth¡­ coarse skin¡­ coarse skin¡­¡±


    A chill suddenly rises in Sizemore¡¯s chest.


    Before the wish to the fairies is transmitted, his previously scalding face has already cooled down drastically.


    But it seems that wish didn¡¯t reach the paradise where the tooth fairies reside, but a completely different place.


    The experiment lab from hell where the devils reside.


    Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina is busy as a bee in the lab in the middle of the night, while Greta sings a song behind her.


    ¡°Oh dear, what an unfamiliar song.¡±


    ¡°Yuuri taught it to me. It¡¯s called ¡®To Steal and Pick Up¡¯, apparently it¡¯s very popular among children.¡±


    Even though the lyrics may not be accurate, but seeing the little girl sing happily with her hands on the table, nobody would say anything to break the atmosphere. As for Anissina, who has no interest whatsoever in famous songs from a different world, she makes some black tea for the girl and herself instead.


    ¡°Greta is staying up a lot recently, huh.¡±


    ¡°Anissina¡¯s been staying up for many days in a row¡ª¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay for me, the Poison Lady has a different biological clock from regular people. Just like meat and vegetables, when night and day all feel like day. For more details, please read ¡®Oh Night Fog, The Poison Lady Again Tonight¡¯, expected to be published the year after the next.¡±


    ¡°Although I don¡¯t really get it, but wow--!¡±


    No matter how evil the villain is, they wouldn¡¯t want to do anything bad once they¡¯re liked by a child. Even Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina, with scary names like the Red Devil or the Impenetrable Surveillance Monitor, can¡¯t help but consider making useful things instead, so close so close.


    ¡°Speaking of which, what do you plan on doing with those puzzle bones? Don¡¯t tell me you want to make a trap house at a 1000:1 scale?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    There¡¯s a set of ¡®Happy-Happy Bone Puzzles¡¯, adapted from ¡®Oh! Stack the Bones High¡¯, on the table in front of Greta. That is indeed a toy she likes, but she¡¯s carrying it around with her not because she wants to play with it.


    ¡°I was wondering if we¡¯d hear any more information from it.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡ª¡±


    As a human girl, Greta experienced hearing bone-statics for the first time a few days ago. What His Majesty Yuuri calls bone-statics, is actually an ability the kotsuhizoku and kotsuchizoku use to communicate and transmit messages between themselves. There are many things people still don¡¯t know about their biology, and bone-statics are just one part of it. What is the logic and the principles behind the transmission? How large is the area of reception? Such questions are innumerable.


    But the reality is that they can communicate through the bones, and the bones also transmit some sort of signal.


    No one knows if it¡¯s a coincidence or her natural-born ability, but Greta can actually hear those signals. When she was playing with the Happy-Happy Puzzle Bones, she heard the bone-static transmission from a veteran grass kotsuchizoku (those kotsuchizoku who leave Shin Makoku on spy missions and lie on foreign land have the word ¡®grass¡¯ added in front).


    From then on, this heap of Happy-Happy Bone Puzzles never left Greta¡¯s side.


    Greta even bathes and sleeps with these puzzle bones, kept in a white pot and wooden box. If Yuuri saw this after coming back, he would definitely sob, ¡°Let them rest in peace.¡± After all, this is way too unlucky to the Japanese.


    Tonight, the girl is still observing Anissina¡¯s poison experiments as she pours the bones onto the table.


    The scallop-shaped bone piece she heard the signal from a few days ago is the closest to her, but even if she plasters it to her left ear, all she can hear is the background noise from a cemetery.


    Greta taps on the bone piece with her index finger while staring at Anissina¡¯s hands¡ªher left hand is bringing the black tea to her lips for a sip while her right hand is busy mixing medicines. Normal people would just praise her for her dexterity, but to Greta, who respects anything and everything the Poison Lady does, her graceful, dignified, delicate yet brave actions merit more than even a hundred praises turned to a thousand.


    To this day, the girl still can¡¯t decide on her future target.


    Although there are two charismatic living examples for her to follow, she¡¯s very conflicted over who she should recognize as her master. Should she be the Poison Lady? Or the Demon Sergeant? It¡¯s because these two paths are both cool yet beautiful, they¡¯re both wonderful even if they¡¯re completely different.


    Greta pouts, mimicking Lord Weller¡¯s personal ducky while she continues knocking on the scallop-shaped puzzle bone. Just then, she hears something that¡¯s neither the ¡®To Steal and Pick Up¡¯ she¡¯s humming nor the sound of dirt-colored poison boiling.


    ¡°Mn?¡±


    It¡¯s like a song or a cry, or more like a spell.


    ¡°Mn?¡±


    The girl picks up the bone piece and puts it by her little ear. It¡¯s true, there really is the sound of someone talking from this puzzle bone.


    ¡°Anissina!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s bone-statics again!¡±


    Hearing Greta¡¯s words, the Poison Lady also puts the bone piece offered to her to her ear. But all she hears are groans like ¡®woo¡ªwoo¡ª¡¯ and the sound of wind in the cemetery.


    The mad scientist immediately rushes to the room next door, taking out a large metal object about the size of a carriage wheel.


    ¡°Is that a pot?¡±


    ¡°No, this is a new and improved version of the high performance receptor ¡®BS-kun¡¯, the super high performance receptor ¡®BS-kun, Present!¡¯. It won¡¯t rust even if the floor is covered with snails and centipedes, and can correspond with digital ground waves. Even though it¡¯s this price and this size, there¡¯s even an intelligent response function. Once we connect this to the bone piece¡­ Jack, this is amazing!¡±[3]


    The voices from the bone piece becomes clearer, and there¡¯s a man¡¯s aside, ¡°More and more things are corresponding with digital ground waves these days.¡±


    ¡°Oh dear, Kusanagi spoke. I forgot that I once installed an immediate voice broadcast through digital ground waves. Right now I just have to temporarily turn it off¡­¡±


    Suddenly Anissina kicks the ¡®BS-kun, Present!¡¯ hard. The voice broadcast disappears immediately, returning to something like the sound of the wind in a cemetery, only this time there are voices mixed in as well, and so the two of them perk up their ears to listen.


    Heal... tain¡¯s coarse¡­ skin¡­


    The spell, repeated over and over again, becomes clearer and clearer, the only problem is with the contents of what they¡¯re hearing. Not only are the contents unlucky, they¡¯re also really strange.


    ¡°Meet coarse skin¡ª¡±


    ¡°No one would want to meet that, right?¡±


    Greta¡¯s expression is all tense too.


    The sounds keep on coming as they clear up, and it sounds like two travelers. Unlike last time, this time the kotsuchizoku aren¡¯t just reciting poetry to themselves, receiving the conversation nearby instead.


    ¡°Meet coarse skin¡ªmeet coarse skin¡ª¡±


    ¡°But Dacascos, can this folk remedy really heal coarse skin? I feel the reason behind it should be this item from the Quin¡¯s Invention.¡±


    The Poison Lady and Greta can¡¯t help but join in their conversation,


    ¡°The Quin¡¯s Inventions!?¡±


    ¡°Even if you meet coarse skin, it can¡¯t be healed, y¡¯know!?¡±


    ¡°Wait a sec, you kamaitachi[4] over there! No, I mean, you two!¡±


    Seeing Gwendal barge in and squeeze in between the two of them, the girls are a little miffed. This is a late night experiment limited to girls only, it¡¯s rather clueless for a man to run in here at a time like this. Even though Lord von Voltaire is a little scare, he continues anyway,


    ¡°That¡¯s not what¡¯s you should be focusing on right now!¡±


    ¡°Because this bone piece mentioned the Quin¡¯s Inventions, y¡¯know!? That must be something a man made! It must be a man!¡±


    ¡°Really, it doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s the Quin or the Niuq![5] Didn¡¯t you hear that? Just now, from this piece of bone, I really heard the word ¡®Dacascos¡¯!¡±


    If the person he¡¯s talking to was his subordinate, he would definitely have grabbed their chest and yelled, ¡°You useless thing!¡± But that person now is Anissina, so he really can¡¯t do something so terrifying.


    ¡°Dacascos is G¨¹nter¡¯s subordinate, if we heard his name, that means this bone piece is receiving a conversation between the search team members! There could be other important intel, listen carefully, the two of you!¡±


    And so the three of them stand in a line in front of ¡®BS-kun, Present!¡¯, perking up their ears and listening intently to the conversation.


    ¡°Ah, Captain! It seems to be slightly better, the red swelling is slowly fading!¡±


    ¡°Really? But rather than the tooth fairy¡¯s blessing, I think it¡¯s more likely because of that cold joke just now.¡±


    Tooth fairy? The three eavesdropping on the conversation exchange glances. From the way Dacascos calls him ¡®Captain¡¯, the person talking to him should be Sizemore. To think that burly Master of the Seas is actually a devotee of the tooth fairy.


    ¡°You misunderstood, that wasn¡¯t a cold joke. Thank goodness we believe in the tooth fairies, and pray so devoutly¡ªHeal the Captain¡¯s coarse skin¡ª¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s so rare for us to come looking for the other search times, and yet we haven¡¯t found a trace of them at all. The way this is going, I bet we won¡¯t have any results by nightfall. Why don¡¯t we just end the mission here, isn¡¯t it better to return to His Majesty¡¯s side?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡ªAlthough there¡¯s His Excellency Wolfram and His Excellency Conrad, as well as that Grantz with him, it¡¯s still better to have an extra pair of hands.¡±


    ¡°Mn.¡±


    That means Wolfram has successfully rendezvoused with them¡ªthe oldest son heaves a sigh of relief, thinking, ¡®Thank goodness.¡¯


    But how did Conrad end up operating together with His Majesty as though it¡¯s only natural? No, because that little brother couldn¡¯t possibly betray His Majesty for real, so it¡¯s understandable that he would support the monarch secretly. Judging from his position, though, he should be a member of Dai Shimaron, is it really okay for him to join the Maou¡¯s forces now?


    ¡°His Excellency Conrad has to protect that king called Saralegui at the same time, too, the poor thing. I think it wouldn¡¯t be enough even if he had three heads and six arms.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, where would he get so many arms¡ª¡±


    I see, that¡¯s how it is.


    The king of Shin Makoku and the boy king of Shou Shimaron have the same interests right now, so as the ambassador of Dai Shimaron, he has to protect both of them at the same time.


    Gwendal hmphs with displeasure, while Anissina tsks discontentedly as well. Greta is grinning from ear to eat, because it¡¯s been a long time since she heard her favorite Lord Weller¡¯s name.


    ¡°But that person called Hazel seems rather reliable.¡±


    ¡°Oh~~ You mean Venera? That¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°On the surface she looks like she¡¯s from the same generation as my mother, but she¡¯s sprightly for her age, not only are her movements agile, she¡¯s decisive when they stumble into incidents as well. As expected of the leader who led all those slaves to oppose the Seisakoku emperor, she¡¯s really worthy of respect~~¡±


    Thank goodness that Dacascos is here, seeing as he¡¯s so fond of narrating the current situation.


    Deducing from their conversation, His Majesty Yuuri should now be moving with the forces opposing the emperor of Seisakoku, looks like he interfered into something bothersome again. Gwendal mutters in a low voice, ¡°That¡¯s a regular occurance.¡±


    ¡°By the way¡ª Gwendal, what are those pajamas you¡¯re wearing?¡±


    Lord von Voltaire, sighing with his fingers on his brow, only remembers what he¡¯s wearing when Anissina mentions it.


    On top of the long pale yellow nightgown, there are even five fried egg buttons. The indoor slippers he¡¯s wearing are pale pink bunnies with eyes and ears sewn on. He seems to have gone to bed early, because there¡¯s even a nightcap with tassels on his head.


    The biggest problem isn¡¯t his cute pajamas.


    ¡°There¡¯s even an animal in your stomach!¡±


    His Excellency Lord von Voltaire Gwendal¡¯s nightgown has a pouch, and a little animal pokes its head out from inside. Those long ears, matched with those big brown eyes, are really very cute. When its gazes meet with Greta¡¯s and Anissina¡¯s, it ducks back into the pouch bashfully.


    Has this man finally started rearing marsupials?


    ¡°Mn, this? This is a possum, Hide-in-Tummy Baby¡­ No no no, I was worried it was unhealthy to sleep with the bed as cold as it is, so I rear it to stay warm.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s so rare, and so cute¡ª¡±


    Greta and the baby possum stare at each other, and it¡¯s love at first sight for her. Although she¡¯s tends to prefer rare animals, she also like cute ones.


    ¡°These pajamas with a pouch are also really cute.¡±


    ¡°Do you think so? Then after a few days I¡¯ll make one set for you to put on your dolls.¡±


    ¡°Hidey¡¯s parents aren¡¯t suspicious diplomats, are they?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s called Hide-in-Tummy Baby! It¡¯s an orphan, abandoned by its parents.¡±


    Only the baby possum¡¯s ears and eyes are poking out. Since it was simply too cute, Greta can¡¯t help but cheer out loud.


    Watching them, Anissina leaves the receptor with a smile, turning around to investigate documents about the habits of marsupials and whether or not they¡¯re poisonous. Gwendal also reaches his slender long finger into his pouch, rubbing Hide-in-Tummy Baby¡¯s back.


    Just then, they hear a terrifying fact. Dacascos¡¯ one line freezes the air in the room in an instant.


    ¡°But I really got a shock, seeing Gurrier show up on the enemy side¡ª¡±


    ¡°What did he say?¡±


    The truth is, Gwendal didn¡¯t plan to speak.


    Be it as a warrior or an administrator, Lord von Voltaire could face an emergency at any time. People in high positions must maintain their composure, and must never let their political opponents find any weak spots. Even he regards himself as good at controlling his emotions.


    He doesn¡¯t realize that he spoke, but the people beside him understand why he would put his confusion to words.


    Because Dacascos¡¯ words are just that surprising.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t understand how it turned out that way, I thought Gurrier would never turn traitor.¡±


    ¡°Mn, and he¡¯s even holding His Eminence hostage. A scene like that is too much even for a man like me, a veteran trained on the sea.¡±


    ¡°Gwendal, where are you going in the middle of the night?¡±


    Anissina doesn¡¯t just watch and let Lord von Voltaire leave the room after hearing that conversation.


    ¡°I want to set sail to search for His Majesty Yuuri.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you send out search ships a few days ago?¡±


    ¡°The situation now has changed, I want to increase the manpower. I plan on taking a high-speed boat myself and catching up with the team we sent earlier.¡±


    ¡°Wolfram and G¨¹nter have already gone along, and now you want to go too?¡±


    ¡°Anissina, you should understand what this situation is, right!?¡±


    Gwendal turns around, gripping his fists agitatedly. The possum, frightened by his tone, quickly jumps out of the pouch and escapes to a corner of the room.


    ¡°It looks like Conrad is by His Majesty¡¯s side, well, that¡¯s okay, I could even say that¡¯s good news. But once we heard that His Eminence has been taken hostage, and one of country¡¯s finest soldiers Gurrier has gone to the enemy side, that¡¯s not a normal situation anymore. It counts as an emergency, so it¡¯s only natural to send more forces there!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not berating your judgment.¡±


    Lady von Karbelnikoff leaves the receptor, drinking her cold black tea calmly,


    ¡°I¡¯m asking about this country. If both Lord von Christ and yourself are away, who¡¯s to protect this country? Don¡¯t tell me you want to ask the Bielefeld bunch? Or that Stoffel you hate the most?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t joke with that!¡±


    Her words bring back nightmarish memories, and Gwendal¡¯s frown deepens. In order to cut down that man¡¯s position, he put so much time and effort into it, he sacrificed so much. That is the person Gwendal would die rather than admit he¡¯s related to.


    ¡°Then what do you plan to do? His Majesty left a heavy responsibility on your shoulders.¡±


    ¡°I-in that case¡­¡±


    He grabs the black tea from the experiment table and takes a drink without thinking whose cup that is, and the stone that seemed to be stuck in his throat loosens considerably.


    ¡°I-I¡¯ll hand it to you.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡±


    Lady von Karbelnikoff raises her eyebrows slightly, tilting her head and swinging her flaming red hair,


    ¡°Our clan is only good with business, and I personally am only interested in majutsu and poison studies and literature and increasing women¡¯s social standing and increasing the quality of daily life and martial arts fighting and observing Lord von Voltaire, yet you want to trust the country to me?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°I really don¡¯t understand, I know what my abilities are, but I still didn¡¯t expect you to make such a decision.¡±


    ¡°I trust in your abilities.¡±


    Anissina tilts her head again as she muses, tapping the kettle of poison lightly with her fingernail, trimmed short for her experiments, as though hastening Gwendal to continue.


    ¡°I trust in your love and loyalty towards Shin Makoku.¡±


    After a long, silent contemplation, Her Excellency Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina finally nods,


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡±


    ¡°I should be the one thanking you.¡±


    Lord von Voltaire has already walked briskly out of the room, without hearing her out. Left alone in the experiment lab, an excitement she hasn¡¯t felt these past few years rises in Anissina¡¯s chest, and she relaxes her tightly-crossed fingers.


    The new product, ¡®BS-kun, Present!¡¯ continues to receive bone-statics, but there¡¯s no one left listening in this room.


    ¡°That¡¯s strange¡ªCaptain, where on earth did we come from, and where are we going?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a very philosophical question. I didn¡¯t expect you to be this pretentious.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re misunderstanding, it¡¯s not what you think. See, the sky is already dark, we can¡¯t see our targets regardless of whether we want to move forward or trace our steps back.¡±


    ¡°¡­Are we lost? Does this mean we¡¯re lost in the desert!?¡±


    If you¡¯re lost in the desert, all you have to do is look up and find the right direction. Anissina accidentally overhears their conversation as she¡¯s flipping through a gentleman¡¯s manual, and murmurs to herself, ¡°Men of the sea couldn¡¯t possibly not know that!¡±


    Even if you lose your way on the sea or in the desert, it¡¯ll be fine as long as you raise you head and look at the sky. The stars shining down on everyone will definitely have a fixed position, emitting a fixed light.


    Because the friend that she liked, used to say that often.


    Not long later, she glances towards the furry little animal curled up in the corner of the room near the window, and immediately walks to it and picks the baby possum up. After examining its stomach, she smiles in satisfaction!


    ¡°Oh dear oh dear, the future sure is exciting.¡±


    It¡¯s female.


    Lord von Voltaire Gwendal prepares everything at an unprecedented speed and jumps onto the boat headed for the port. During this season, it may be faster to go down the river currents than riding a horse.


    It¡¯s only halfway through the journey that he realizes he¡¯s gripping a Happy-Happy Bone Puzzle piece in his hand tightly.


    ¡°If I can use this thing properly, it should become a somewhat convenient means of communication.¡±


    Regrettably the bone-statics seem to work only at specific times and places, and he won¡¯t get anything at all if he¡¯s unlucky. That feeling is like a broadcast show from far away that you can only hear in the middle of the night.


    Gwendal puts the bone piece in his pocket, and only then does he jump in shock¡ªTo think he actually forgot to change out of his pajamas.


    But the next second he discovers another terrifying fact, and can¡¯t help but hold his head in vexation. He¡¯s always been calm and steady, but now he can¡¯t help but yell out loud, and even wants to jump into the river.


    The living thing in his pajama pouch isn¡¯t an abandoned animal with doleful eyes, but a human girl.


    Crap! The soldiers had really strange expressions just now when he was boarding the boat, could this be the reason why? Most of the soldiers don¡¯t dare to look directly, there are even some who were about to speak then stopped. If Greta was hiding in the pouch then, it¡¯s no wonder his subordinates acted so strangely.


    Although many of the young soldiers were yelling in their hearts, ¡°This is too farfetched, isn¡¯t it!?¡±, the only one who seemed completely oblivious to it was Gwendal. Because he always mistook the heavy feeling in his stomach for the possum, Hide-in-Tummy Baby.


    The girl crawls out of his pouch and crouches in front of him, so by now it won¡¯t help even if you were to say ¡®there¡¯s way too big a difference in the weight¡¯.


    Gwendal sags his shoulders dejectedly,


    ¡°Greta¡­ Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°Greta is really worried about everyone too!¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re using your skills as Trap Lady?¡±


    ¡°I may be the Trap Lady, but this is what Gisela taught me.¡±


    ¡°Gisela taught you how to stowaway?¡±


    But openly entering an adult¡¯s pouch and then boarding the boat without a worry while everyone is aware, isn¡¯t really called stowing away, is it? However, Greta explains as she puts on her shoes,


    ¡°Not that, I meant switching with stone weights.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Switching with stone weights! Apparently a long time ago in a warzone, there would be many dangerous traps buried underground. Your leg would be clamped horribly once you step on it, so you must light~~ switch with things of the same weight to escape.¡±


    So it¡¯s trap dismantlement.


    ¡°That¡¯s what Gisela told me, she said she tried quite a few times too. The secret in it is to put the same weight¡¯s worth in mud or stones, and it¡¯s a job that puts your life on the line. This story¡¯s really awesome, right?¡±


    ¡°I think little children shouldn¡¯t know things like that¡­ Anyway you got me.¡±


    ¡°Yayy¡ªCan Greta become a worthy Demon Sergeant--?¡±


    ¡°Mn, you can definitely become a worthy Demon Sergeant¡­ Wait, a worthy Demon Sergeant? Greta wants to become a sergeant when you grow up?¡±


    And a Demon Sergeant, too¡­


    ¡°That¡¯s right, recently Yuuri wanted me to reconsider my future, he said I can be whatever I want, but the only thing is I must give up becoming Poison Lady. So I was thinking, it should be pretty nice to become a Demon Sergeant¡ª¡±


    Faced with the girl who has already decided her future goal at ten years old, all the blood drains out of Gwendal¡¯s face.


    ¡°I-isn¡¯t there anything else you want to become? Such as a bride, or a princess etcetera.¡±


    ¡°Anissina once said, only ¡®weak¡¯ men like Gurrier¡­¡±


    Greta doesn¡¯t continue, feeling as though it¡¯s best not to mention Josak. That isn¡¯t a problem children can interfere with¡ª The young girl who has experienced cruel things, stops talking as soon as she understood that fact.


    Instead, she reaches out her slender arms towards his tall figure. Gwendal bends down, so Greta¡¯s arms can hook around his neck.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Gwendal, it¡¯ll definitely be fine.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right¡­¡±


    The little boat carries the girl and the adult, heading down the shortest path to the navy port.


    But there are also people in this world suffering from a lack of means of communication and transportation.


    In a port hospital in a certain country, the nurses from the day and night shifts are exchanging their positions.


    ¡°Oh right oh right, be careful of the patient in room one oh eight.¡±


    ¡°Oh dear, wasn¡¯t he in the regular ward yesterday? Did something happen?¡±


    The lady nurse getting ready to go home puts her hand to her mouth and whispers,


    ¡°Apparently he pulled out his own hair, and then used that hair to knit things.¡±


    ¡°Goodness, then he really is slightly sick.¡±


    ¡°Exactly, when the head of department came to stop him, he even said, ¡®As soon as I finish knitting this, I can go to a foreign country as I wish!¡¯¡±


    ¡°Eh, does he want to go vacationing overseas that badly?¡±


    ¡°Who knows? We tried to stop him quite a few times, too, there¡¯s already a coin-sized round bald patch on his head, too. The patients around him all found him disgusting, that¡¯s why we moved him to the muscle ward.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    The young male therapist taking the night shift is just flexing his biceps, it¡¯s as though they can hear the sound of muscles vibrating.


    ¡°If he does anything dangerous, the muscle therapist would stop him with his body, huh?¡±


    ¡°Of course, leave everything to the muscle therapist!¡±


    The therapist winks, patting his thick arm bound in leather belts. As expected, he puts one¡¯s heart to ease.


    ¡°Besides, wasn¡¯t that person transported here directly by boat because he used up all his stamina?¡±


    ¡°Exactly, huh.¡±


    ¡°Then he must be some stowaway, who was chased out in this roundabout way after he was discovered. But he looks out through the window and into the distance, he¡¯s always muttering, ¡®Today, His Majesty¡¯s white pigeon would definitely¡­¡¯, y¡¯know.¡±


    ¡°Oh dear, who¡¯s this His Majesty he¡¯s talking about?¡±


    The nurse who just ended her shift lowers her voice,


    ¡°It must be his delusions!¡±


    The night shift muscle therapist grips his hands tightly, resting his chin on his hands,


    ¡°How scary~~!¡±


    ¡°That patient has always been hugging the pouch made from his own hair tightly, and keeps on waiting for a white pigeon that will never come.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­ And he¡¯s so pretty too, how simply pitiful.¡±


    But their topic of concern immediately leaves the special patient, moving on to discussing where they¡¯d go for their next vacation. ¡°Oh yeah, speaking of overseas vacations, do you want to go to Hildyard next? I¡¯m saving up money to ¡®meet the king¡¯, y¡¯know!¡±


    This is the story of the man, Lord von Christ G¨¹nter in a foreign port city.


    Come, pigeon, fly here quickly!

 Volume 15 - CH 4

    Someone said once, that there¡¯s no such thing as an endless night in this world.


    Even so, is there really no way to prevent the sun from setting in the west? But even as I mutter that wish, unattainable from neither the scientific nor the astronomical point of view, to myself, the evening sun in Seisakoku continues to fall cruelly.


    The red sun sinks into the horizon on the left, even further away than the tombs. The orange-red sky is almost all gone, darkness rushing in from all directions.


    The time is up.


    I stand in front of Wolfram, Conrad, Hazel and Adalbert, presenting my strategy after some tweaks¡ªalthough I feel as though it got worse after the tweaking.


    I didn¡¯t let Saralegui join the meeting. He¡¯s been staring at the direction Yelshi is, kicking the sand underneath his feet non-stop. Are you a kid?


    ¡°This isn¡¯t a hostage exchange, but taking turns being the hostage. I¡¯ve decided to become the hostage on my own will.¡±


    I¡¯d long expected to hear protests, so before Wolfram says anything, I announce my reasons, ¡°I¡¯m physically stronger, so I¡¯ll be easier to rescue than Murata, who can¡¯t move. At the very least I can still move on my feet, and I don¡¯t have to worry about being trampled by hoofs either. As long as the hostage is unharmed, he¡¯d also be more likely to grab a chance and get away on his own.¡±


    ¡°I see, it makes sense.¡±


    I didn¡¯t expect Wolfram to nod twice, accepting my rookie opinion.


    ¡°It makes sense, huh? If I could phrase it better, not only would I be able to fight for enough time, I might even be able to beg forgiveness by telling bedtime stories.¡±


    ¡°How amazing, Your Majesty, you might even buy us a thousand and one nights¡¯ worth of time if all goes well.¡±


    Hazel laughs, and then returns to that expression of a grandma worried about her grandkid,


    ¡°In that case, it won¡¯t change the risk to the hostage character, do PRINCE and Lord Weller really not mind? You guys are His Majesty¡¯s bodyguards, right? How could you let your monarch face such danger?¡±


    ¡°I only listen to the king.¡±


    Wolfram accepts my opinion obediently this time too.


    Lord Weller stays silent, musing. After all he is the ambassador from Dai Shimaron, so he has to find a way to compromise without harming the country¡¯s benefits. But if his previous words weren¡¯t a lie, he would probably take the mazoku¡¯s opinions into account too.


    Adalbert takes a torch from the equestrian people, sticking it into the fire desperately. He doesn¡¯t seem to have the slightest bit of interest in the hostage exchange.


    Hazel looks around her, saying in a slightly deeper tone,


    ¡°Since he himself said so, I¡¯m fine with it as well.¡±


    ¡°But of course, I don¡¯t plan to stay in their hands.¡±


    In order to dispel her unease, I add,


    ¡°Please rendezvous with the other search teams, prepare everything and then return to rescue me. I won¡¯t say something like an elementary school student such as ¡®it¡¯s embarrassing to be rescued¡¯, so please, you must save me¡­ and that one.¡±


    In front of my chin, Saralegui is still kicking sand. Even though Ajira and his cousin walk past him carrying dried grass, he has absolutely no intention of helping.


    ¡°If you have time, help collect firewood. If we don¡¯t have a fire, everything else is forfeit.¡±


    This isn¡¯t the city center with neon lights and flashing traffic lights, but a desert where there isn¡¯t even a house¡¯s lamps. Once the night has completely fallen, it¡¯ll be totally pitch black. Even if we don¡¯t have a campfire for roasting marshmallows, we still really need a fire and torches for illumination.


    Besides that the temperature will also drop drastically too¡ªI already started rubbing my hands together, the weather already feels rather cold.


    On the other hand, forget campfires, the enemy camp hasn¡¯t even lit torches. Although there¡¯s a tiny light in the middle of the camp where Yelshi is, there isn¡¯t a shred of light amongst the other soldiers.


    They¡¯re standing under the moonlight without a worry, not giving two hoots about us, searching for precious fire fuel everywhere.


    Thinking about it, most of them are corpses, so they won¡¯t worry about what happens when the night gets too dark to see in, they can¡¯t see anything to start with. Forget their eyes or corneas, even their eyeballs would have more or less fallen out by now.


    ¡°They won¡¯t be bothered even without light, huh?¡±


    Covered from head to toe in sand, I approach Saralegui and say,


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, Sara, stop throwing your tantrums, stop acting like my dog at home.¡±


    ¡°Mind your own business.¡±


    ¡°Where did that ¡®natural-born king¡¯ attitude of yours fly off to?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m throwing a tantrum. Because in a moment, I¡¯ll become a hostage not of my own volition, but because someone else made the decision on their own.¡±


    ¡°Like I said, that¡¯s just a temporary plan. To save Murata, this is the best method¡ªit¡¯s the best method for you, too. Didn¡¯t I said we¡¯d come back alive?¡±


    Sara just looks at me wordlessly.


    ¡°But we need time, we have to wait for the reinforcements, so we can gather enough firepower. That¡¯s why now we need to buy time, you got it? Haven¡¯t you been king of a large country for two years now? Aren¡¯t you more capable than me, didn¡¯t you create a lot more strategies than I have?¡±


    ¡°But even if I create a strategy now, I don¡¯t have soldiers to obey me.¡±


    ¡°Sara¡­¡±


    ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll have to give up my own free will, and exchange hostages together with you. I¡¯m asking you, if we were imprisoned by Yelshi, what do you think will happen?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±


    I expect that hostilities would start again within a day and a night, so all I can imagine a desert journey surrounded by zombies, but Saralegui suggests a surprising long-term development,


    ¡°He would definitely force us to sign a contract that¡¯s beneficial to Seisakoku, and then keep us under house arrest after his plan succeeds, where he¡¯ll force feed delicious food to us, and make us fat as pigs.¡±


    ¡°The first half is what you did before.¡±


    I¡¯m about to say ¡®you brothers are just the same¡¯ when I remember Yelshi¡¯s true thoughts that had been transmitted into my brain. Sara, maybe we won¡¯t be forced to sign a contract. It¡¯s more direct to use the hostages and control the other countries as he likes, that¡¯s what Yelshi is really thinking.


    In that case, the younger brother¡¯s opinion is more flexible. As for Saralegui, who wants to do everything the official way, he should be the common sense type.


    ¡°And then he¡¯ll bring me, all fat and ugly, to show the public. Goodness, everyone will be so completely disappointed, complaining about how the beautiful king of the past is now ugly as a toad.¡±


    ¡°How long do you think we¡¯ll be held under house arrest? And your imagination is way too wild. How about this, while we¡¯re hostages, why don¡¯t you work out with me? Burn off the calories we eat with push-ups and frog jumps, then when we¡¯re released, you¡¯ll have become a muscleman. Once you have the ideal body, your people would love you more too.¡±


    ¡°I hate working out.¡±


    Discovered, an enemy of exercise!


    ¡°Then how about this, we¡¯ll send a few people with fast horses to the port while we¡¯re preparing, and they can return to Shou Shimaron then report that the king is trouble? That way, there would be many soldiers who obey your orders rushing here.¡±


    ¡°Do you know how much time that will take? And you probably haven¡¯t forgotten how hard it is to enter and leave Seisakoku, right? Without passing through those nightmarish seas, there¡¯s no way the orders would reach Shou Shimaron.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡ª¡±


    I¡¯d better not tell him there¡¯s a route that circles the continent and avoids those seas, just take it as an advantageous piece of information specific to mazoku.


    Saralegui harrumphs with his nose, pouting like a pissed-off child,


    ¡°There¡¯s no other way.¡±


    I¡¯ve always been envious of him. Although he¡¯s really young, but be it his manner of speaking, acting or thinking, he¡¯s always very kingly, and sometimes I¡¯m rather fond of his arrogance too. I believed deeply that as long as I did my best to survive, and receive all the proper education, even a regular rough guy would be able to become an impressive boy king like him.


    But since we came here, I kept away those envious thoughts. Now, instead, I feel really sad.


    Saralegui¡¯s unrelenting gaze sparkles gold underneath the weak rays of light, but he¡¯s scared, scared that he would soon be controlled by the enemy. Even if it¡¯s only temporary, he¡¯s scared that the world won¡¯t turn according to his will¡ªbecause in the past, his world always revolved around him.


    People who have never tasted failure sure are unfortunate.


    To me, who¡¯s always been failing from the start, failure is considered a very natural thing; but to Saralegui, who¡¯s never experienced it, there¡¯s no better way to describe it other than a nightmare come true.


    ¡°If you want to escape, go ahead on your own.¡±


    The Shou Shimaron king asks, surprised,


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re scared to become a hostage with me in the enemy camp, you can escape quietly. I¡¯ll give you a horse, and I can let you take some equestrian people with you as bodyguards as well. If you escape to their encampment, they might mistake you for Yelshi and catch you for ransom. If you think that¡¯s a lesser threat to your life, then go ahead, I won¡¯t blame you.¡±


    ¡°But if I escape, Yelshi won¡¯t release your friend, y¡¯know?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll figure out a way to solve that problem.¡±


    From the corner of my eye, I spy Conrad and Wolfram discussing something. Maybe they want to tell me the results of their discussion, because Wolfram nods at me with a mysterious-like expression.


    Hazel is helping Ajira and his cousin, trying their best to make the dried grass into a torch. But Adalbert, who¡¯s considerate of the elderly, takes the work away from her hands and continues doing it.


    As for the equestrian people waiting at a distance behind, because the flames in their hands are too close to the ground, they¡¯re not helping much with the illumination.


    This is the current situation.


    ¡°I will figure out a way to solve it.¡±


    These are all the resources I have.


    Yelshi appears riding on a white horse, holding a small lamp. He¡¯s not in the front of the pack, but two rows of undead behind, advancing together with other cavalrymen.


    My mind is full of stupid things like ¡®not only is his steed pure white, he¡¯s as white as the horse himself, so it mustn¡¯t be easy for him to survive in the desert, huh?¡¯ There¡¯s even a confused ¡®with such a small lamp, he probably can¡¯t even see how many fingers he has, can he?¡¯


    I¡¯m still standing on my own two feet in the sand. After all, the brown horse I was riding had been borrowed from the equestrian people, so by now it¡¯s already exhausted.


    ¡°The sun has set.¡±


    Yelshi speaks simple common language, his relaxed tone carrying a hint of amusement,


    ¡°Hand over the Maou and Saralegui.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    The lamp Yelshi is holding is really too small, so I can only locate Murata, lying on the ground, by moonlight. Is he sleeping? I wonder if he¡¯s a bit better now.


    The moonlight also shines on Josak, on horseback. Gurrier Josak¡ªor a man who looks a lot like him. If I wanted to determine his expression, the moonlight now still isn¡¯t bright enough.


    I want to bring them back together.


    Standing in our frontlines, I say loudly,


    ¡°I agree to exchange hostages. I¡¯m heading there right now.¡±


    ¡°Then Sara?¡±


    Yelshi seems to be tilting his head, his hair sliding to the side.


    ¡°Due to Saralegui¡¯s position, I cannot interfere with him under my jurisdiction.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    I take a deep breath, and continue.


    ¡°He is from Shou Shimaron, we mazoku have no right to decide His Majesty Saralegui¡¯s future! If you want to take away His Majesty Saralegui no matter what, then deal with Shou Shimaron directly!¡±


    To be honest, he¡¯s not even here anymore. Not long ago I had let him escape under the cover of dusk, even giving him an easily manageable horse plus an equestrian tribe bodyguard. Besides that, I also reminded him not to light his lamp before getting a certain distance away, even telling him to go in a specified direction.


    He was a Shou Shimaron person to start with, plus he¡¯s the boy king of a large country. He has no obligation to obey my orders, neither do I have the right to order him.


    The cards in my hand don¡¯t include Saralegui.


    Maybe he understands that it¡¯s no use no matter how he asks, because Yelshi¡¯s tone becomes slightly anxious,


    ¡°Where is he?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Yelshi gives his men a simple order, and two horses leave immediately. Lucky, now the enemy has two fewer soldiers.


    Get as far away as you can, Sara¡ªAlthough he hasn¡¯t done anything good for me to pray for him, I still say that quietly in my heart.


    ¡°By the way, the only hostage you have is Murata, right? But you¡¯re asking to exchange him with two people, isn¡¯t that way too unfair? Technically I should be more than enough!¡±


    I don¡¯t wait for Yelshi to reply, turning around immediately and walking towards the tent where the horses are gathered. I choose a docile horse and check if the saddle is steady. To prevent myself from tripping, I even tied up my cloak carefully.


    ¡°I wonder if we stand a chance¡­?¡±


    Hazel looks at me silently, the corners of her lips rising as she murmurs. The light from the small fire allows me to see my companions¡¯ expressions clearly, and it puts my heart considerably at ease.


    ¡°This is your first time going into a battle without standing a chance?¡±


    ¡°Of course not, I¡¯ve been facing situations like this all the while.¡±


    ¡°Or do you always win your battles?¡±


    ¡°Not that, either.¡±


    ¡°No no no, I can see from your expression, you should stand a rather high chance. According to my many years¡¯ of experience observing people, I can tell just by your expression.¡±


    ¡°Does this count as fortune-telling?¡±


    The old lady laughs, shaking her head. A thousand things are running through my head, but all I can say is,


    ¡°Hazel¡­ No matter what, don¡¯t get hurt.¡±


    ¡°Why so suddenly?¡±


    I came here on a request to save you, but the problem is not only did I fail to save you, I even put you in more danger. I feel guilty towards those children.


    I didn¡¯t think that it would be so hard to get onto a horse. I step on the stirrup with my left foot, straightening up my body in one go with my arm strength, and then move my right leg onto the other side¡ªbut just a moment¡¯s distraction will mess it up.


    ¡°Do you plan on going alone?¡±


    Wolfram walks up to me quickly, perhaps to help me out.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m taking Ajira with me. Although I feel bad for asking him, I still need a translator. Although I think it¡¯s not too possible, but Wolfram, um¡­¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you come with me now.¡±


    Lord von Bielefeld narrows his eyes, saying in a calm voice,


    ¡°If milord just says the word, I would gladly go to the ends of the earth for you.¡±


    He¡¯s sounding all polite and respectful again, even though he knows very well I can¡¯t handle him at all when he¡¯s like this.


    ¡°Stop joking around, I¡¯m going off to be a hostage, how could I possibly let you come along.¡±


    ¡°To be able to do even the slightest thing for Your Majesty, is my utmost pride and glory.¡±


    ¡°T-thank you for your kind intentions, but I can¡¯t let you come with me, Lord von Bielefeld.¡±


    I don¡¯t know how many times I¡¯ve come across this situation already. Once the other person treats me so sincerely, I get frustrated and impatient because I feel I need to repay in kind. In the end, I¡¯ll either make it worse, or say a bunch of random things.


    ¡°My beloved officer¡¯s life shouldn¡¯t be sacrificed for me, but contributed to the country.¡±


    ¡°The two are one and the same.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that, Wol¡­¡±


    That moment just as I¡¯m turning around to face him, a strong impact assaults my stomach, and I nearly stop breathing. My mind goes blank for about five seconds, and I¡¯ve no idea what happened, only managing to kneel on the ground, groaning in pain. I try to take in a breath so hard, but I can¡¯t do it.


    ¡°Wolf¡­ What did¡­ you do¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    By the time I realize that I had taken a punch from him, he¡¯s already taken off my hooded cloak. I¡¯m all curled up, lying on the sand, the pain making me hold my stomach, unable to breathe. It¡¯s obviously already night time, yet my eyes are filled with a sea of red, my throat making a piercing sound, and still the air doesn¡¯t enter my lungs.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    A strong and forceful hand suddenly grabs my jaw, closing my mouth so I can¡¯t make a sound. I can¡¯t stop the tears from flowing due to the pain.


    ¡°See, once you let your guard down, tragedy will strike.¡±


    I open my mouth like a fish, but can¡¯t breathe normally because of that palm. The tears well from the corners of my eyes and slide down my cheeks, wetting his fingers.


    ¡°Shh¡ªHey, don¡¯t bite me, my fingers aren¡¯t food.¡±


    He drags me behind the horse, my body almost suspended in the air with only the balls of my feet touching the ground, while my back is leaning on Adalbert¡¯s sturdy pectorals.


    ¡°It¡¯s because the third son made the move that you¡¯re suffering so much now, this way you¡¯ll be hurting for another two, three days. If it were up to me from the start, I just had to give you one blow to the heart and you¡¯d be out cold.¡±


    My vision finally returns to normal. In front of my eyes, blurred with tears of pain, I see two familiar figures. The shorter one quickly puts on the hooded cloak, as though scared of being seen. As my sight clears up, I see the other figure, undisguised.


    The figure on the horse in just in between us and Yelshi, but he seems to be closer to us.


    Adalbert is muffling my mouth as I murmur,


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Why is it Conrad and Wolfram?


    The translator and I never stepped out from our frontlines, so why are Conrad and Wolfram going to Yelshi?


    ¡°Your Majesty the Emperor of Seisakoku!¡±


    Lord Weller yells out to Yelshi. Although I can only see his brown hair and back, I still know what expression he¡¯s wearing as he starts the negotiations. He must be calm and collected, his brow creased but not as bad as his older brother, a small smile on his lips.


    But once I hear his next words, even I can¡¯t guess his expression anymore¡ªBecause Conrad holds his little brother¡¯s shoulders lightly as he says,


    ¡°I¡¯m taking His Majesty Yuuri over there now.¡±


    Who?


    I can¡¯t voice my question. Even if my mouth wasn¡¯t covered, the sound I make is still unbelievably hoarse.


    Who did he say he was taking to Yelshi¡­ His Majesty Yuuri¡­ Me?


    ¡°I wonder if it¡¯ll work, huh. Although the body shape is about the same, but everything will be ruined once the other side sees his hair. If right now the hood is taken off, it¡¯ll all be over.¡±


    Adalbert mutters into my ear,


    ¡°Now we can only pray the wind won¡¯t blow.¡±


    Ahead, Lord Weller raises his right hand to show he isn¡¯t hostile,


    ¡°As for the matter of the Shou Shimaron King, Saralegui¡¯s escape just now, I have a suggestion here. I am Lord Weller, participating in this journey as the ambassador of Dai Shimaron. I¡¯m also in charge of overseeing His Majesty Saralegui¡¯s actions as the suzerain of Shou Shimaron.¡±


    Since the enemy has the hostage Murata, they can¡¯t simply walk to the middle, and thus they stop where they are and continue speaking to Yelshi,


    ¡°That¡¯s why, regarding His Majesty Saralegui¡¯s actions, I have to bear responsibility as well. From Dai Shimaron¡¯s point of view, I don¡¯t wish to ruin Your Majesty the Emperor of Seisakoku¡¯s mood with this diplomacy trip, which would then affect the relationship to be built in the future between you and Shou Shimaron, or even Dai Shimaron. Therefore, Your Majesty Yelshi¡ª¡±


    A breeze interrupts Conrad¡¯s speech, and scares me until I shake uncontrollably. Thankfully the breeze only slightly moves the grey cloth.


    ¡°Could you please restate the requests you have of His Majesty Saralegui? I hope you can tell me what your country wants from Shou Shimaron. If possible, we, Dai Shimaron, will discuss your requests in place of Shou Shimaron, and hand this person¡ª¡±


    He pushes Wolfram softly,


    ¡°¡ªThe Maou of Shin Makoku, His Majesty Yuuri, as a gift to you.¡±


    No, that¡¯s Wolfram, not me.


    My stomach, having taken a fist, hurts even more. The vision that had cleared blurs once again.


    ¡°Forgive me for being rude, but if it¡¯s to do with Shou Shimaron¡¯s national matters, I think I should be of use.¡±


    Just as usual, his tone puts the listener at ease, or it could be because of his smile.


    ¡°In order to successfully solve this hostage incident, we have been mentally prepared to fulfill all your requests. If you can understand our Dai Shimaron¡¯s position, there may be more room for discussion.¡±


    What does that mean? What is that person saying?


    ¡°He¡¯s showing that his position is fairly important.¡±


    ¡°Wha¡­¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t heard?¡±


    Covering my mouth, Adalberts whispers,


    ¡°Lord Weller suddenly came to Dai Shimaron one day, and became an unmistakable presence among the high officials in no time at all. Of course it helps that his swordsmanship is exceptional, but that¡¯s not the most important reason.¡±


    I touch Adalbert¡¯s finger, and he relaxes his hand a little too. This way not only can I breathe easily, I can talk as well.


    ¡°After all, to the common folk, he¡¯s His Excellency the Prince.¡±


    ¡°Because he¡¯s Lady Cheri¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°Not that.¡±


    I look at Conrad and Wolfram¡¯s backs, as I listen to ¡®Lord Weller¡¯s¡¯ situation in the foreign country.


    ¡°Weller¡¯s ancestors used to be the kings that ruled over part of Dai Shimaron. But halfway through, they were forced to change their name and kept under house arrest in the castle, until his father''s generation left the country. You should know ¡®im, right? Yup, it¡¯s Dunheely Weller. The man who was in love¡­ had an intimate relationship with the mazoku queen. Although I heard this rumor before, when I saw that actual documents also mentioned this incident, I couldn¡¯t help but laugh out loud. Don¡¯t you find it ironic? The descendants of the king who were chased out of the human country, actually ended up with the ruler of the mazoku. And besides¡ª¡±


    Since Adalbert is suppressing his laughter, his wide pectorals are trembling non-stop.


    ¡°Speaking of being exiled from the homeland, the truth is the same goes for us Ten Aistocrats.¡±


    The Conrad in front of my eyes continues to talk in an even deeper, steadier voice, his voice so soft we can¡¯t hear it.


    ¡°To you, Conrad¡¯s impression in our eyes is very capable even if people do complain about him, he¡¯s a brilliant soldier, and he¡¯s also Her Majesty the Maou¡¯s second son. But that¡¯s not the case for those guys in Dai Shimaron. After all, there are many people in the continent Shimaron is governing who still support his ancestors, that¡¯s why even if the current king Berard wants desperately to cut him down, he can¡¯t show it on the surface. Besides, rumor has it that some of the people holding important positions at the palace secretly still respect the exiled royalty a lot.¡±


    ¡°To them, Conrad is¡­¡±


    ¡°Practically a messiah-like existence, just like a religion. Though my position right now is of a messiah as well.¡±


    I recall Berard the Fourth and Second that I faced off a few times before. Although they¡¯re uncle and nephew, the two of them don¡¯t get along at all. If another opponent shows up with a lot of secret supporters¡ª


    ¡°Berard wouldn¡¯t like that, huh¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why it¡¯s complicated.


    ¡°If they¡¯re hostile, they would incur the dislike of those who worship the Weller family; if they raise their hands in welcome, they would harm the political authority they have now. That¡¯s why Berard decided to treat the descendant of the exiled royalty with a respectful, open-hearted attitude, welcoming Lord Weller Conrad as Dai Shimaron¡¯s friend and guest. For Berard, he wanted to show off his own generosity, but instead he was met by a lot of dissatisfaction, from those who think he gave the newbie too much freedom.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that really dangerous? For all you know those people who are unsatisfied might try to assassinate him.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡ªMaybe he expected this sort of result from the start, and still went back to Dai Shimaron. But after he went back, there have been quite a few shocking rumors.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me they¡¯re assassination plans!?¡±


    I turn my head to stare at Adalbert¡¯s blue eyes, and the hand around my mouth naturally lets go as well.


    ¡°Either that, or someone in Dai Shimaron wants to kill Conrad, who¡¯s in the way.¡±


    ¡°Of course not, the rumors are that his previously peaceful worshippers are starting to move in secret. I heard that there¡¯s a bunch of underground communications that cannot be known to the public.¡±


    This reminds me of something he said.


    I went to sow seeds.


    ¡°Conrad¡­¡±


    What kind of seeds did you go to Dai Shimaron to sow?


    Even if my heart is full of questions, Lord Weller¡¯s discussions with the Seisakoku emperor continue on unperturbed. Conrad raises the torch up high, saying something to Yelshi. Because the torch is raised high, and the light finally reaches the frontlines of the enemy camp, I manage to see Murata¡¯s body move a little.


    ¡°Murata!?¡±


    I can¡¯t help but want to rush forward, desperately breaking away from the thick arms holding me captive.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t squirm around!¡±


    But I¡¯m immediately captured again, the pain in my abdomen making me weak. Plus, my muscles can¡¯t beat his.


    ¡°Let go of me, Adalbert! I can¡¯t not go!¡±


    ¡°Sorry, that¡¯s impossible. I was asked not to let you, the real thing, escape while they¡¯re going there in your place. Did you think those two would offer their beloved king to the enemy? If you really did think so, there¡¯s a major problem with your brain.¡±


    Adalbert lifts me up with his arms and gets on horseback. The original plan was to use this method to grab Murata and then run full speed away, but now I¡¯m the one carried onto a horse instead. How did it end up like this!?


    ¡°This is those guys¡¯ decision ¨C even if they have to sacrifice their lives, they will let their beloved lord escape, how loyal of them! As for my loyalty, I threw it away into a toilet on my journeys a long time ago.¡±


    ¡°Wait a sec! Just wait, damnit! What sacrifice! I don¡¯t want things to end up like that! I didn¡¯t ask them to do it, how could you let them do it!? Is this a secret rebellion? Hazel, this counts as rebellion, right!?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, Your Majesty...¡±


    Hearing me call her in English, Hazel Graves shakes her head of white hair,


    ¡°All I see is self-sacrifice for their lord.¡±


    I really shouldn¡¯t have asked a Christian like her.


    ¡°Hey hey hey, Your Majesty! Didn¡¯t I tell you to pipe down? Thank goodness you weren¡¯t discovered, we have to take this chance and get out of here. You stay still a bit, I won¡¯t treat you bad.¡±


    ¡°But Murata, and Wolfram, once he¡¯s discovered to be a fake¡­¡±


    ¡°Hold on a sec, Your Majesty!¡±


    Hazel says, simply and efficiently, in a low voice to grab my attention. She points at the enemy lines behind Conrad, in other words at the feet of the man that looks like Josak. My gaze follows the direction her finger is pointing, and I can¡¯t help but yelp in surprise.


    Murata, who had been lying on the ground, is trying to support his upper body with his hands. He couldn¡¯t possibly have heard me, but when I called my friend¡¯s name in this faraway place, he seems to have regained consciousness.


    The problem is the next second.


    ¡°Your Eminence!¡±


    Conrad calls out to him. Murata probably can¡¯t see his face without his glasses, but he should be able to know who the newcomer is judging from the voice. Hearing a friendly voice from his own side should put his heart slightly at ease.


    But instead of feeling comforted, Murata makes a sound like a wail,


    ¡°Why is Lord Weller here!¡±


    With that not only us, even Yelshi is taken by surprise. The man that was unconscious on the ground, suddenly makes a sound that reverberates everywhere. Where did he get that strength from? But what surprises me isn¡¯t his powerful voice.


    ¡°No! Lord von Bielefeld and Lord Weller mustn¡¯t come here!¡±


    ¡°Your Eminence!?¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty the Emperor! Your Majesty the Emperor of Seisakoku! Anybody, anybody, just help me translate! These two people have no authority whatsoever, they don¡¯t have any power or assets even after they return to the country. Don¡¯t exchange me with those two!¡±


    Putting Conrad aside, I don¡¯t know how Murata discovered it was Wolfram, but he really is desperate to stop them advancing any further.


    ¡°They¡¯re trying to trick you, Emperor of Seisakoku! They plan on sending two people who are strong in martial arts to kill me in case I pose a threat to them later! You can¡¯t let them get near! They plan on taking Your Majesty the Emperor¡¯s life after they¡¯ve dealt with me! You mustn¡¯t make a deal with them!¡±


    Why is he resisting so stubbornly? But I immediately think of the reason.


    The Box in the stone room¡­


    I think Murata said something like that?


    I hear a short murmur from behind me, and the power gripping me instantly relaxes. So I throw caution to the winds and desperately wave my limbs to break free from Adalbert¡¯s grasp, only to fall off the horse as a result. My waist is hit with an intense impact, but now isn¡¯t the time to yell in pain.


    Hazel was forced into this world by the Box running out of control, and then Murata told me in Japanese that the Box is in the tomb. In that case¡­


    ¡°Over here!¡±


    Even if I stumble due to my feet sinking into the sand, I still dash forth with everything I have.


    I must not let Conrad near the Box!


    I¡¯m afraid even Wolfram can¡¯t be allowed near it. Since Murata said that, it¡¯s highly likely Lord von Bielefeld is a hazard risk related to the Box as well. No matter what, I can¡¯t let the two of them go anywhere near the forbidden Boxes.


    The tragedy of Caloria must never be repeated!


    ¡°I¡¯m here!¡±


    All eyes gather on me.


    It took a while, but I was supposed to be the hostage from the very start anyway.

 Volume 15 - CH 5

    By the time I finally catch up to those brothers, I¡¯m already panting for breath. Add that to the cold sweat on my brow from the pain in my stomach, and I¡¯m the furthest thing from being calm and collected.


    Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m too much of a mess, Conrad and Wolfram both reach out their hands to try and help me up, but I don¡¯t need their kindness right now.


    ¡°Did I ask you two to do this?¡±


    Maybe he didn¡¯t expect me to ask so suddenly, because Wolfram seems to be frozen in shock.


    ¡°Whose idea was it?¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty.¡±


    Conrad wanted to interrupt, but Wolfram gets there first, replying,


    ¡°It was mine.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re far too insolent!¡±


    Before I even finish saying the words, I¡¯ve already pulled him by the clothes on his chest. I don¡¯t hold back at all, our faces almost colliding. His eyes look different than usual, because of the illumination from the torch.


    ¡°What does it mean when you hit my stomach, huh? You want to divorce? Or remarry?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s to show my love and respect¡­¡±


    ¡°Spare me the crap!¡±


    I took a punch to the stomach for nothing, and it¡¯s been hurting ever since then all the way until now. If I don¡¯t force myself to stand with my back straight, I¡¯d probably be holding my stomach and crouching on the ground by now. If it weren¡¯t for Yelshi watching from the side, I¡¯d have done that long ago.


    To be honest, I really want to hit him hard over the head, but exerting myself now will only make the pain worse. That¡¯s why I thought of admonishing him in public.


    ¡°I¡¯ll remember this, and make you pay!¡±


    I brush off Conrad¡¯s hand, trying to support me, and say with my back turned to them,


    ¡°Go back, both of you!¡±


    ¡°But Your Majesty¡­¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear me?¡±


    The two fall silent.


    I face Yelshi once more, walking towards him step by step,


    ¡°Your Majesty Yelshi, I¡¯m coming over now. That¡¯s right, I don¡¯t have any guns on me.¡±


    Just like the cops on TV, I raise my hands up high to show I¡¯m not carrying any weapons. This is my first time becoming a hostage of my own will too, so I really don¡¯t know what to do.


    ¡°That¡¯s not right, is it!?¡±


    Murata starts yelling again. He¡¯s sprawled on the ground and trying his hardest to stand. I want to tell him not to force himself, but I also wish he¡¯d get here faster, get back to our side faster!


    He raises his head to look at Yelshi diagonally behind him,


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you exchanging with your older brother!? Why is it suddenly Shibuya, why must you pull Yuuri into this? You brothers should settle your arguments on your own! That¡¯s what everybody else does!¡±


    ¡°Relax, Murata. Everything will go according to the original plan. Your Majesty Yelshi!¡±


    Damn, although I want to sound commanding, I just can¡¯t exert any force with my stomach.


    ¡°Everything goes according to the original deal, exchanging me with the hostage. But the hostage in question cannot walk on his own, please have someone come with him.¡±


    My finger points at Josak, on horseback, but his gaze is still trained on the sky. He looks completely unconcerned with me and Murata, or even his current master Yelshi, acting as though his soul isn¡¯t home.


    ¡°You really want him? He¡¯s an elite soldier, you know?¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    I know better than anyone.


    Yelshi gives an order in a few short words, and Josak gets off the horse to grab Murata¡¯s right hand. But his rough actions make me feel like screaming.


    Stop, don¡¯t be so rough! That¡¯s Murata there, aren¡¯t you two really close!? There¡¯s no need to treat Murata like that, is there!? Besides, I thought you don¡¯t understand Seisakoku at all? Didn¡¯t you say you don¡¯t understand their language whatsoever?


    But he¡¯s still dragging (our) friend[1] towards Conrad¡¯s direction, and I desperately swallow the words I want to scream. Nevertheless, some of that anger I can¡¯t control still turns to words,


    ¡°Now that it¡¯s come to this, you shouldn¡¯t need any elite soldiers, should you, Yelshi? Yor Majesty has a ton of guys who aren¡¯t scared of dying with you, or could it be¡­¡±


    When I¡¯m angry, I just want to say something to rile them up, just like an elementary school student.


    ¡°Maybe they¡¯re not unafraid of dying, but simply unfortunate people who were abandoned? In that sense they¡¯re rather like you, Your Majesty Yelshi.¡±


    What a perfect performance of a sore loser.


    But Yelshi reacts to these sour-grape words, and so the blood vessels in my left pinky are affected as well, so much so I nearly yell ¡®ouch¡¯. I seem to see red light scattering in front of my eyes, so I look around hurriedly, but all I find are the moonlight and some torches shining down lightly on Yelshi, the horses, and the resurrected group.


    On the other hand, the red light is moving towards my brain instead. There are even images like drawings or photos flashing by. I can¡¯t describe it very well, but it feels a lot like taking pictures with a camera while standing in the middle of countless grey bottles.


    What were those images?


    But before I can figure out the answer, the images have already vanished from my brain. Maybe it¡¯s because Yelshi isn¡¯t as agitated anymore, so the thoughts transmitted through the ring are cut short as well.


    Josak is probably showing his regular caution unconsciously, stopping ten steps away from Conrad and releasing Murata, who he had been dragging all the way here, then retreating quickly as they reach out to catch Murata.


    Operation Capture Gurrier has failed.


    I don¡¯t have the time to regret it before my wrist is grabbed by Yelshi, on horseback, and I¡¯m taken back to their base.


    We couldn¡¯t see that clearly from our base after all, so I didn¡¯t expect to see a large open space in the middle of Yelshi¡¯s camp. It¡¯s practically like a Japanese warring period army base there, and there¡¯s everything the lord could need during his stay. There are even two shinzoku soldiers holding up torches, so it¡¯s a lot brighter than outside the lines.


    There are two ¡®thrones¡¯ much more extravagant than folding chairs in front of the tombs, and there¡¯s someone sitting in one of them.


    That person is wearing formal clothes made of high quality ebony-colored cloth, the collar almost covering the chin, as well as sleeves and gloves covering the arms, so there¡¯s not a single inch of skin exposed. Those white hands¡­ No, white gloves are holding a thick book, with the same leather cover as G¨¹nter¡¯s diary.


    Rather than looking at her face, my gaze is attracted to the fearsome object in front of the chair.


    Faced with the reunion I wouldn¡¯t have wanted in a million years, my pulse speeds up, as though someone has a tight grasp on my heart.


    ¡°Why would it be in a place like this¡­¡±


    That is the familiar wooden box I couldn¡¯t forget even if I wanted to, the one I had seen a few times before¡ªonce in Caloria, once in Shimaron.


    The Box that has the soushu with terrifying power sealed inside, will only bring disasters unto people. The only thing inside is unpredictability, without any hope whatsoever; it is something hard to grasp.


    The reason Murata used Japanese was to tell me about this.


    ¡°What do you plan to do by bringing the Box to this sort of place?¡±


    My voice is exceptionally calm. So that¡¯s it, since the Box is here, it¡¯s only natural that we can¡¯t let Lord Weller get near it. But from the way Murata was shouting desperately, it seems to be related to Wolfram as well, though this is the first time I¡¯ve heard about this myself.


    Although the size is about the same, it looks drier than the previous two, and there are a lot of scratches on the surface of the wooden box. And compared to the simplicity of the past ones, it has really extravagant decorations. I was wondering why its position seems rather high, and it turns out it was placed on a trolley. This way they could pull it along with horses, which is indeed very convenient.


    I don¡¯t know where it was dug out from, but the surface of the Box is covered with shards of stone and dust. The place where it left the earth¡­ is probably the place Hazel Graves arrived in this world after being blasted here.


    Yelshi revels in it, caressing the dusty surface of the Box with his white palm,


    ¡°This is Mother¡¯s precious Box.¡±


    I¡¯m taken by shock, could it be that he knows the power of this wooden box and its reason for existing?


    ¡°Mother always said, this is the Box of miracles.¡±


    ¡°Forget miracles, it¡¯s the Box of disasters.¡±


    When Yelshi mentioned ¡®Mother¡¯, he glanced at the person in formal clothes sitting on the chair. In that case, that person is none other than Yelshi¡¯s mother, Alazon, huh? But her son is talking to a stranger beside her, and she¡¯s still unmoving as stone, could she be asleep?


    ¡°This is the Box of miracles that can bestow life.¡±


    ¡°I already said it¡¯s not nearly something as good as that! Throw it away, throw it away immediately! Otherwise yet another place would¡­ I don¡¯t want to say anything unlucky, in any case just put it back where you found it.¡±


    Yelshi denies it strongly, creasing his shaped brows. Does he seriously think that¡¯s a Box of miracles, does he really believe it will do something as peaceful as bestowing life? Too bad I can¡¯t tell from his expression, and besides, my persuasion skills aren¡¯t good enough to bring out his true feelings.


    And I don¡¯t know the Seisakoku language either, the only reason I can communicate with Yelshi is because the other side knows the common language.


    In that case, there¡¯s only one way to find out his true thoughts. Although it¡¯ll hurt a lot, it¡¯s the most practical method.


    ¡°Oh¡ªSo it¡¯s the Box of hope, huh? You sure love peace, huh, Your Majesty Yelshi. But your older brother sure understood perfectly well what power it has, y¡¯know! Looks like your brother Saralegui is one step above you.¡±


    I have to do my best to make him angry, rile him up, get his emotions agitated.


    ¡°Saralegui doesn¡¯t know.¡±


    On the surface, it looks like he replied very calmly, but the roiling emotions in his heart prove otherwise, yelling out something completely different.


    (No way, there¡¯s no way!)


    If he doesn¡¯t take my words to heart, that would be the end of that, but Yelshi is successfully riled up by my amateurish methods. He probably isn¡¯t that used to being looked down on, huh? When the voice of his heart reaches my brain, my pinky is pinched tightly as well.


    (He dared say that damned guy is smart? There¡¯s no such thing at all!)


    How could he say something like ¡®damned¡¯?


    ¡°It¡¯s precisely because he¡¯s too perfect that he was sent to your father¡¯s country, right? He was really smart since he was young, and it was highly likely that he would threaten your position.¡±


    He cocks his head adorably, as though he doesn¡¯t understand at all, but his inner thoughts are extremely agitated.


    (There¡¯s no way, it¡¯s impossible! I asked so many times, when I asked, crying, ¡°Why did you send Saralegui to another country?¡±, Mother would tell me everything, she told me!)


    I resist with everything I have, refusing to look down no matter how much my stomach and pinky hurt. Just thinking that I can¡¯t let Yelshi sense anything amiss makes me afraid to move even an inch without thinking it through first.


    If he were to find out this ring¡¯s effects and control his own emotions, I won¡¯t have any way to find out what he¡¯s thinking. Once I think that, all I can do is grip my choked pinky tightly. I press my palm on my lap, staring at Yelshi quietly, my tightly clenched teeth even creaking.


    (Apparently it¡¯s so he won¡¯t die. What did she mean by not letting him die, how stupid. I heard the maids say, he didn¡¯t have any signs of life from the moment he was born, he was dead when he was born! Before Mother carried him down the funeral path to this tomb, before the gods and our ancestors in heaven bestowed him with life, Saralegui wasn¡¯t breathing at all.)


    I can¡¯t help but think of the dream I had in the underground tunnel. A young woman who looked like a mother crying and praying with a baby in her arms, praying that this child would be saved no matter what she had to do, even saying things like why would you steal the son I finally managed to get from my hands.


    Did she mean Saralegui?


    (Mother always said that Saralegui¡¯s life comes from the Box. If it weren¡¯t for that Box, my older brother would have died long ago. Afterwards the shadow of death slowly enveloped him, so she sent Saralegui back to Shou Shimaron together with Father. She was scared the Box would take away the life it gave, so she sent Brother to another country, definitely not because he¡¯s smarter than me. Idiot, the one who knows nothing about the Box is you.)


    You keep on getting worked up, before I find out everything to do with the Box, you can laugh at me and insult me all you want.


    (This time the Box will surely also bestow life again, and give weakened Mother a brand new life.)


    ¡°Don¡¯t you agree, Mother?¡±


    Yelshi says to the woman in formal clothes, pulling up her veil happily with his fingers,


    ¡°Mother, the king of Shin Makoku came to greet you.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s long dead.¡±


    Murata clears his throat and says,


    ¡°Long dead, that¡¯s just a corpse. No, it¡¯s not even a corpse, it¡¯s become a mummy. Yelshi has always been living with his mother¡¯s remains.¡±


    ¡°But would the shinzoku allow such-- such disrespectful behavior!?¡±


    Morally upright Lord von Bielefeld reacts first, creasing his brow with an expression of disgust.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand shinzoku religion at all.¡±


    ¡°Well, religiously speaking, it¡¯s not like there¡¯s no such thing.¡±


    Hazel Graves speaks up as she throws the precious fuel into the fire. It seems as though she knew about the term ¡®mummy¡¯ from the start, could it be that the pronunciation is very similar in English and the common language? Murata tries to compare the two languages, and realizes that there are no similarities at all.


    ¡°In Central and South America, there are those who feed and offer incense to the mummies, or even live with them. In the past I went to villages where they greeted or talked to mummies like usual. Rather than a god, it¡¯s more like they treat him as head of the family. There¡¯s been this culture of living with the dead since a long, long time ago."


    Then she adds with a shrug,


    ¡°It¡¯s fine once you get used to it. Besides, in that trip I wasn¡¯t looking for the ancient secret chambers the mummy was protecting, but a crystal football.¡±


    ¡°Hazel, you didn¡¯t call me for that trip.¡±


    Murata is also shocked with the words he said without thinking, but he immediately warns himself¡ªnot me, I¡¯m not the French doctor.


    Hazel is out of the loop, her expression full of surprise as she stares at the boy she met for the first time,


    ¡°Have you seen me somewhere before?¡±


    ¡°No, this is our first time meeting each other, I¡¯m just slightly nostalgic, that¡¯s all. Anyway, Yelshi is living with his mummified mother, and he believes that his mother Alazon is still alive.¡±


    He takes a few gulps of the water someone else gave him, and coughs a few times before saying,


    ¡°Because she can speak.¡±


    ¡°Speak!?¡±


    Wolfram seems to really interested in this. Feeling the heat from the fire, Murata thinks how warm this place is while he worries for his friend who is heading for somewhere cold. He must think of something, and the sooner the better. He doesn¡¯t want to let him stay by those guys¡¯ side for even a second.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like she really can speak, it¡¯s just Yelshi¡¯s personal thoughts. He can sense the strong will left on the corpse, and decided that his mother is speaking, when in fact it¡¯s only the residual thoughts left on the corpse. At times like this, I feel that people with supernatural powers, like ESP or super senses, are just a pain.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I think Germany did some research in that area.¡±


    ¡°To me, Esper Ito[2] is more than enough when it comes to supernatural powers, or at least he¡¯s way better than that guy.¡±


    But on this land where bone-statics are often used to their full extent, it¡¯s hard to deny supernatural powers even if you wanted to.


    ¡°On the other hand, when on earth will the special forces team get here? I can¡¯t wait to get some strong reinforcements so we can get Yuuri back.¡±


    ¡°Sizemore and Dacascos have already gone out scouting, and Yuuri ordered them to take the next course of action immediately if they don¡¯t find anything.¡±


    ¡°You should be calling him Your Majesty, Lord Weller.¡±


    Conrad hears that but brushes it off with a vague answer.


    ¡°But what is the next course of action? Does anyone know?¡±


    ¡°Since they¡¯re supposed to keep going in the same direction, maybe it¡¯s to head for the secret port. Otherwise¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright, Lord von Bielefeld, you tell me what else is in that direction in a while. Then right now, your orders are to meet with the special forces team, and launch a surprise attack when the sun comes up. If the zombie army moves in the night, follow them and find out what they¡¯re up to. Am I right?¡±


    ¡°It seems that way for now.¡±


    ¡°What is this, to think Yuu-chan¡¯s plan is so well thought out, and also unexpectedly cautious. But he is king, after all, and he¡¯s a catcher to boot, so it¡¯s not surprising he¡¯s so detailed.¡±


    Conrad is somewhat anxious, and asks in a tone that says he can¡¯t hold it in anymore,


    ¡°Your Eminence, do you really plan on letting that guy go on his own?¡±


    Speaking of which, Adalbert has been nowhere to be seen since just now, and he¡¯s not mixing with the equestrian people either.


    ¡°Do you still have to ask? It¡¯s too dangerous to send you or Lord von Bielefeld, and we don¡¯t know when the Box will open, releasing those guys. And that Box just has to be ¡®Inferno on the Tundra¡¯, too. If anyone from the Bielefeld family were to get close to it, nothing good will come from that.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°It means, someone in the Bielfeld family is the Key.¡±


    The two mazoku princes both hold their breaths in surprise.


    ¡°It may not necessarily be you, but there is a Key somewhere in your clan. As for that Box¡­ in other words, ¡®Inferno on the Tundra¡¯, it¡¯s still stuck in the cave now, so there¡¯s nothing much to worry about as long as the Key doesn¡¯t approach it¡ªthough that¡¯s only as long as it¡¯s not disturbed.¡±


    ¡°Why would someone in Wolfram¡¯s clan be the Key?¡±


    ¡°Mn, in truth I didn¡¯t need to wait until we found the Box to tell you about this. Because that was decided long in the distant past, apparently the four Keys to the Boxes sealing the soushu were each handed to trustworthy clans who fought the soushus bravely. Three went to the mazoku and one to humans, von Bielefeld and Weller being two of them. Ah¡ªback then they were called Belar? The memory¡¯s too old, so I¡¯m a little confused. Is it Weller or Mohenja-Daro?¡±


    ¡°What about the other two? Don¡¯t tell me one is Voltaire?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    Worried about his oldest brother, the third son puts his hand on his forehead, lowering his head as he mutters.


    ¡°And the last one?¡±


    ¡°Wincott.¡±


    ¡°Wincott!?¡±


    Conrad looks very uneasy as he murmurs to himself. According to Murata¡¯s observations, he has a very deep connection to the von Wincott family.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, they tend to be a kind and compassionate, yet at the same time brave and proud family. And they really hate things that break the rules, too, they won¡¯t tolerate everything regardless of good or bad. Although I don¡¯t know what their descendants are like¡­ Anyway, there will definitely be someone holding the Key in these four families, that¡¯s why I warned you not to approach the Boxes no matter what. As for Yuuri¡­ As long as the other side doesn¡¯t mess around, he can¡¯t open the seal on his own.¡±


    He says the last bit vaguely, so the others can¡¯t understand what he¡¯s talking about.


    ¡°Hearing the equestrian people¡¯s panicked voices, Venera and Conrad walk towards the back. They¡¯re probably just temporarily nervous because they can¡¯t see their messiah and mermaid.


    Left alone with Murata, Wolfram murmurs,


    ¡°I heard that the Key rests in one part of the body¡­¡±


    ¡°Mn, that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Weller¡¯s is the left arm¡­ Brother and I¡­¡±


    ¡°So what if you know? Besides, the Key isn¡¯t necessarily you. You can¡¯t tell who the Key is from the outside, y¡¯know! If you want to know no matter what, then go investigate the birth dates. If you weren¡¯t born when someone in the clan died, the chances of you inheriting the Key are really low. Although I think the mazoku don¡¯t place much emphasis on birthdays, right?¡±


    ¡°That is true. Wait, do you mean it¡¯s reincarnation?¡±


    ¡°Could we call it reincarnation¡­¡±


    Murata sags his shoulders, feeling irritated with Wolfram¡¯s stubborn insistence on getting to the bottom of things. In his heart he¡¯s thinking, ¡°I¡¯m a patient, you know, you tell me to rest then ask me a ton of questions. And right now the most important thing is saving Yuuri. Besides, I never once thought you guys would actually hand Yuuri over so easily, at least you should resist a bit, right? No matter how obedient you are of his orders, you should still see the situation, right?¡± It¡¯s just that no matter how he curses them in his heart, he can¡¯t change the fact that he¡¯s helpless.


    Right now there¡¯s no way to solve this seeming stalemate either.


    ¡°The problem is in the soul. Think about it, what method is there to make sure every generation has something that important? It¡¯s to hide it in the soul, otherwise there¡¯s no better way to pass it down the generations. In the von Bielefeld family, there should be one person who owns a soul that¡¯s been used over and over again since their ancestor¡¯s time. It may be your father, or your uncle, or someone who married out of the family, or it could be some distant relative who doesn¡¯t have the Bielefeld last name now, or might not even be in this world right now. Anyway, that person with the same soul has the Key in one part of their body before they are born.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s all in the soul!?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, isn¡¯t it the same with maryoku? That is also buried somewhere deep in the soul. Otherwise let me ask you again, do you think there¡¯s any other method?¡±


    Lord Weller, who was talking with the equestrian people, turns around and says loudly,


    ¡°Your Eminence, it¡¯s not good for your body if you force yourself, you¡¯ll make His Majesty worry.¡±


    ¡°Oh dear, the only person present who has no right to tell me off is you, Lord Weller. Don¡¯t forget who it was that made my Yuu-chan worry so much¡ª¡±


    ¡°If that someone is me, that is far too flattering.¡±


    Hazel can¡¯t understand a word they¡¯re saying, and yet she laughs with her arms across her chest,


    ¡°You guys are just like little teenage girls.¡±


    No matter how you look at it, that is not a compliment.


    Although it does need life, it¡¯s already far too late for this body.


    It¡¯s hard for me say that as I watch Yelshi talk to the mummified remains in front of me, even bringing his ear up to it and then laughing from deep within his throat,


    ¡°Listen, she replied.¡±


    ¡°¡­Who?¡±


    ¡°Mother.¡±


    Of course Alazon¡¯s decayed body can¡¯t speak.


    ¡°The only one talking just now was you, that person is already¡­¡±


    ¡°No, she spoke.¡±


    Yelshi raises his pretty brows. By the time I realize ¡®I pissed him off¡¯, the pain has already gotten more intense, a lot like I¡¯m being poked by a bunch of needles. But I haven¡¯t forgotten that when the ring hurts me, Yelshi¡¯s thoughts reach my mind as well. Of course, it¡¯s the same now.


    He turns back and says again to his mother,


    (Please forgive his rudeness¡­)


    The next second I immediately unleash a scream, my whole body moving back and away from them. I know my face is getting paler and paler, my mouth gaping like a koi from the extreme fear.


    I heard Alazon¡¯s voice.


    In reality Alazon hadn¡¯t spoken, and her voice didn¡¯t reach my ears either. It¡¯s just the voice Yelshi heard reaching my mind through his thoughts.


    In those short couple of seconds, one word was repeated again and again at a speed normal people could never manage. This is what Alazon said:


    KeyKeyKeyKeyKeyKeyKeyKeyKeyKeyKeyKeyKeyKeyKeyKeyKeyKeyKeyKeyKeyKeyKeyKeyKeyKeyKeyKey.


    This is really too unbelievable.


    ¡°Yelshi, this person is dead! She can¡¯t possibly speak, once a person becomes a mummy like this, there¡¯s no way they could still be alive!¡±


    The second after I yell, my gaze meets Alazon, and a chill runs down my spine. No, she¡¯s not glaring at me, it¡¯s just that her eyeballs are fixed forward.


    Although Alazon looks like a properly-made mummy, her eyeballs are still intact. Of course they¡¯re completely different from a live person¡¯s, the humors are completely murky. I really want to ask Murata what they must do to a body to make it this way.


    But right now Murata is in a safe place with my comrades, so that¡¯s the most comforting news in these past few hours.


    ¡°Besides, if Alazon really is still alive as you say, why would she say ¡®Key¡¯!?¡±


    (She¡¯s alive, Mother is still alive!)


    Even if he¡¯s screaming like that in his heart, on the surface he¡¯s still looking at me with a smile. How on earth did he train up that poker face? I really want to ask him for his secrets.


    (Although she¡¯s a little weak now, she just has to get life from the Box, and Mother will return to her original healthy body!)


    ¡°I already said this body¡­ isn¡¯t something so good as to bestow life, in fact it¡¯s a terrifying Box that brings disasters. But you can¡¯t open it without a Key anyway.¡±


    ¡°Key?¡±


    Yelshi smiles. When I know how cunning and manipulative his older brother is, I feel as though his smile looks like an angel. But no matter what, don¡¯t fall for it¡ªthe pain darting from my finger to my back makes me shake my heavy head.


    Don¡¯t fall for it. Even if he has a gentle, honest face, this is the man that controls the dead and Josak, the one who put Murata through so much suffering, even now¡­


    ¡°There¡¯s a Key.¡±


    Golden eyes reflect the swaying light of the torch, and my hand is gripped tightly, until I couldn¡¯t break free even if I wanted to.


    He seems to know that I¡¯m now suffering from pain from my stomach, my head, and the pain caused by the ring.

 Volume 15 - CH 6

    ¡°Wait a sec, Yelshi! You seem to have misunderstood something!¡±


    Yelshi orders Josak to walk here from the frontlines in Seisakoku language, and he glances at me once before twisting my arms behind my back, then grabbing my neck and pushing me towards the Box. The stone shards and sand on the cover keep on scraping my cheek.


    Standing beside his mother, Yelshi just cocks his head with a smile, pretending not to understand me. Only then do I realize I can¡¯t hear his inner voice. Crap, I can¡¯t let him calm down! In order to know his true intentions, I have to figure out a way to agitate him.


    To make someone angry, you must diss their family. If someone insulted my mother, I¡¯d fly off the handle too. Although it¡¯s really tough to insult someone else¡¯s mother, now isn¡¯t the time to worry about little things like that.


    ¡°Yo¡ªYour momma is a mummy!¡±


    That doesn¡¯t seem right, but if you¡¯re asking me to insult someone from the bottom of my heart, I really can¡¯t think of what to say immediately.


    ¡°Yelshi, I don¡¯t know if that stick-thin corpse that¡¯s nothing more than bones wrapped in skin is your mother or not! But that Box isn¡¯t the convenient treasure chest you think it is! Forget bestowing life, it might even bring big problems¡­ No, no! Even if you open it, it¡¯s empty inside! That hurts, that really hurts!¡±


    ¡°Stop, Josak!¡±


    In that second, it feels like the force lessened, making me think he may have heard my voice, but it immediately returns to full force, so it seems like that was just me. And my body is even turned around so I¡¯m lying on the Box, my whole body pressed between the Box¡¯s corner and Josak¡¯s arm, while my neck is being wrung.


    How ironic, this is the way I meet him face to face for the first time. I stare at his eyes, but there¡¯s no familiar twinkle in his eyes, just darkness, emptiness, slightly reflecting the light of the torch.


    ¡°Josak¡­ You¡¯re wrong¡­ You¡¯re not this kind of guy¡¯s¡­ subordinate.¡±


    I¡¯m starting to gasp for air.


    (But he¡¯s obviously a Key.)


    Yelshi¡¯s thoughts suddenly reach my brain again. But right now I can barely breathe, and I can¡¯t tell anymore if the pain I¡¯m feeling comes from my little finger. Although, even if I don¡¯t make him angry, it seems that his uneasiness from the confusion and impatience is enough to let the ring work.


    (I heard that a special member of the mazoku is the Key to the Box, and it¡¯s apparently the double-black Maou. Although that double-black just now wasn¡¯t it, this one must be the right one. Technically there shouldn¡¯t be anyone more special than him!)


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡­ to Murata, too!?¡±


    Murata was treated this cruelly as well!?


    In the span of the next three heartbeats, something changes inside my body, it feels like all the skin on my body opens up, and some power trembling in wait inside is about to explode from the surface. It¡¯s obviously my throat, my eyes, and my mouth, but it feels like I¡¯m sharing them with another, that anxious feeling making me tremble from the tips of my fingers.


    ¡°What they call the inferno¡­¡±


    Even the words I speak aren¡¯t of my own volition.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t exist in this world, a power that even I don¡¯t have.¡±


    My hand moves on its own, knocking into the inner side of Josak¡¯s arm. At the same time, I make a sweep with my leg, taking him off balance and then kicking him hard in the stomach, then swinging my left fist at his jaw, using the momentum to stand up and then bending over, attacking his eyes with my right hand unhesitatingly. Before he can manage to avoid that, I kick his head when he¡¯s off-guard.


    Just like that, Josak collapses to the ground.


    ¡°O fire, o wind, o earth, vanish as you wish! Those who obey others have no choice but to die! Only I have the right to exist in this world, and only my power can destroy the world!¡±


    I step on the orange-haired man¡¯s hand to seal his movements, and look at the young man who seems to be a king, standing still¡ªThat is a child with fair skin, something like a tomb next to him, and his hands are gripping a corpse tightly. It looks like an unfamiliar religious ritual.


    ¡°Are you the one trying to release the Inferno on the Tundra?¡±


    His slender arms don¡¯t look like they held a sword before. Such a weak creature wants to release the soushu of fire? With every step I take forward, the sand underneath my feet slides along as well, and it feels very uncomfortable.


    ¡°Remember, if you want to destroy this world, if you want to end it, you do not need to rely on flames. Only the tranquility of the bottom of the water can put all life to eternal sleep.¡±


    The young man¡¯s golden eyes go wide, so it looks like it¡¯s his first time meeting someone with a Key.


    ¡°I forbid you from obeying others.¡±


    My finger reaches for his jaw, even moving down his cheek, stiff with terror. He¡¯s shaking.


    (Who!?)


    Yelshi is shaking, the voice transmitted directly into my brain turning sharp and short from the extreme fear. Is he afraid of me? Afraid of me, who was just pressed down and unable to move, like a frog waiting to be dissected?


    I can¡¯t help but shrink my hand back, what, what on earth did I do!?


    This is different from the situation after I use majutsu, instead of saying it¡¯s really easy for me to recall what happened in those dozens of seconds, it¡¯s better to say I don¡¯t have to recall anything at all, because my memory never stopped from the beginning. That feeling is like someone borrowed my body, and it¡¯s as smooth as a pilot and co-pilot taking turns steering the plane.


    But even if I remember what my body did, I can¡¯t remember what I said very well. I think I mentioned water or fire, or something.


    What does ¡°do not need to rely on flames¡± mean?


    It¡¯s completely opposite to what I said, because the situation has changed with the help of fire. I just saw something red fly by my eyes when a gust of hot wind blows past me, and the resurrection group nearby starts burning. Only then do I know that someone is setting them on fire.


    It¡¯s not flaming arrows, more like shuriken or low-flying sparrows. The flying flames coming non-stop send Yelshi¡¯s army into disarray. No, to be exact the live soldiers are a mess, the resurrection group don¡¯t care either way even if they¡¯re made into target practice.


    Judging from this situation, I can only decide for sure that they have no emotions, and that it¡¯s going to take a lot to try and escape even in this commotion.


    The good thing about having a healthy hostage is that they can escape on their own. Not only can I use my legs to run away, I can also volunteer as bait.


    I roll and use the momentum to knock aside a nearby soldier (a precious living person), and then I grab his knees tightly, trying to pull him off the horse.


    Some members of the resurrection group reach out to catch me, even waving their swords to try and prevent my actions. Come on, please give me more flames, just mess these guys up a little bit¡­


    Everyone is shocked by the flames soaring through the sky from behind them, and hurriedly turn back to look.


    ¡°Who just did¡­¡±


    Only then do they see two torches advancing slowly in the pitch-black world, and that¡¯s the direction where the flames are coming from too, the previously weak blue flames shooting off after an increase in temperature and change in color. The flames fly into the ranks of the resurrection group, and immediately start burning.


    ¡°Stop! What are you doing!? Don¡¯t use fire!¡±


    The shooters approach them slowly, until finally they can see what the strangers look like. At first they were wondering why these people were so carefree, until they realize that the shooters aren¡¯t riding horses.


    ¡°Why is it donkeys again?¡±


    Venera can¡¯t help but mutter as the girls holding torches ride up to them on a couple of mules, and has to wonder exactly how long they took to reach here, but those two brave and combative girls aren¡¯t the reason the equestrian people are making a ruckus.


    The two donkeys are dragging something wrapped in a thick wool carpet between them, although it¡¯s a little worn on the surface, that is indeed¡ª


    The up-and-coming star of the desert, the mermaid.


    The mermaid has come to the battlefield! That is enough to fire up the equestrian people, when in fact the person inside is Nigel Weiss Maxine¡ªthe man who shaved off his beard.


    Completely uninterested in mermaids, Conrad gets onto horseback without paying him any attention, and scouts the enemy base from above, desperately looking for that hostage who¡¯s moving about everywhere.


    ¡°Jason, Freddy!¡±


    Keeping exceptionally calm, Wolfram tries to stop the shooters trying to rush at Yelshi.


    ¡°Eh, you guys¡­¡±


    While he tries to search the memories of his current life, the twins are still advancing on their brave donkey steeds.


    ¡°Wait a sec, just hold on, you two! Don¡¯t use fire, you can¡¯t attack them with fire! There¡¯s a dangerous weapon there, if the fire causes a huge impact it¡¯ll open the Box¡­ Hm¡ªexplode? It might explode too, so it¡¯s too dangerous to attack with fire!¡±


    ¡°Box?¡±


    ¡°Box.¡±


    The twins repeat the word in unison, and cock their hands confusedly on donkey-back,


    ¡°But Yuuri¡¯s soul is there.¡±


    ¡°We, see soul.¡±


    ¡°Rescue him?¡±


    ¡°Rescue him from there.¡±


    With that the two of them exchange a glance, and nod.


    The carpet in between the two donkeys also makes a ¡®patter-patter¡¯ sound, which probably means the mermaid agrees with them as well.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have the time to explain now, in any case you can¡¯t use fire to attack.¡±


    Jason and Freddy¡¯s surprise attack isn¡¯t the only danger the Box is facing, the small elite tracking team of the equestrian tribe also makes a strange sound before launching an attack on Yelshi¡¯s army, yelling, ¡°Mermaid, breathe fire! Mermaid, breathe fire!¡± To them, the mermaid lying in between the donkeys, Maxine, is worth more than the gallant donkey-riding twins.


    ¡°All of you stop, be careful! The hostage¡­ Yuuri is still there, you know!?¡±


    He doesn¡¯t have the physical power or any ability in combat, so Murata can only stand and stare helplessly as he mutters,


    ¡°Damn! This is why random forces like this are uncontrollable!¡±


    ¡°Your Eminence!¡±


    Looks like it¡¯s not just the equestrian people, even Conrad is ready to move out.


    ¡°I really can¡¯t just sit here and watch, since it¡¯s dangerous for Wolfram to approach, then I¡¯ll¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course not! Lord Weller, you are the only person here who¡¯s confirmed to be a Key! Even if you¡¯re the Key for ¡®Wind¡¯s End¡¯, you might still open other Boxes, so how could I let you go?¡±


    ¡°But if this goes on¡­¡±


    ¡°Even if your arm has lost its strength since it¡¯s a replacement, what if something goes wrong this time as well? That¡¯s why I only sent Grantz.¡± ¡°How about after Yuuri leaves the Box!?¡±


    ¡°You should call him His Majesty, right, Lord Weller? Once Yuuri has gotten away, you can go pick him up¡ªBut before that, you go over to the back and cut off their escape route, don¡¯t give them a chance to get away.¡±


    Conrad turns his horse away reluctantly, and Murata feels suddenly uneasy, thinking to himself, ¡°Will he listen to my orders?¡±


    ¡°Which direction did Sizemore head off to?¡±


    Wolfram replies immediately,


    ¡°North-east.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s head there too.¡±


    ¡°And abandon Yuuri!?¡±


    ¡°Of course we¡¯re taking him along, but we can¡¯t let the enemy escape for that, it¡¯ll be even more troublesome if they don¡¯t try to chase us. The two girls and the mermaid come along too. What else can you do other than flames? Do you know Ki? Y¡¯know, the thing where you compress the air and blow your enemy away. I hope you can circle over to the east side, and pressure them from the side. As for us, we¡¯ll lure them into advancing towards the north-east, and hope they will give chase, all the way to the north of the continent.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    The fair twins don¡¯t hesitate at all, nodding in reply instantly.


    ¡°Go with that suspicious big brother over there.¡±


    So the brave donkeys carrying two people (and a mermaid) follow behind Lord Weller.


    ¡°And then¡­ Oh, yeah, we still need a bait to lead the way, that¡¯s a very dangerous job.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go.¡±


    ¡°Mn, since you represent the slave class, I¡¯ll have to ask you to go straight for the target destination. And then there¡¯s Lord von Bielefeld.¡±


    Murata raises his head and narrows his eyes. Although his vision isn¡¯t very clear, he can still see that person¡¯s beautiful appearance. Not bad, he¡¯s a very good candidate for marriage.


    ¡°There should be good news on Shibuya¡¯s side soon, and your value is on the rise as well.¡±


    ¡°Got it, then I¡¯ll be the bait.¡±


    ¡°Great, I¡¯m counting on you. There should be half of the enemies going after you straight away, but foot soldiers won¡¯t go too fast. Do you know where to lead them to?¡±


    ¡°The north end of the continent.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    After that it¡¯s probably going to be Yuuri¡¯s strategy coming into play, he can only hope it goes smoothly.


    The most important thing in this world is timing, Shibuya.


    As he watches his comrades prepare to move out, Murata murmurs,


    ¡°The most important thing is timing, Shibuya. Whether we¡¯re lucky or not is all in the timing.¡±


    I fall on my butt in order to avoid an attack, and to make things worse, a zombie soldier is right in front of me, even raising his rusted iron sword up high. Thinking ¡°I¡¯m a goner!¡±, I raise my arm in front of me, and squeeze my eyes shut instinctively .


    However, what I feel in the next second isn¡¯t pain from my arm, but a surprising breeze. And then the sword, a notch cut out of its blade, falls to the ground with a deep clang.


    (Don¡¯t kill him!)


    ¡°Yelshi¡ª¡±


    The Seisakoku Emperor appears eight feet away from me, back on horseback. What is this, I ran with all my might, and only got eight feet away?


    There¡¯s a cart tied to horses behind him, and everything looks ready to go. The Forbidden Box and his precious mother are of course properly seated on the cart. Letting his aged mother ride a cart, isn¡¯t that a bit too stingy? Looking at his nonchalant expression, I can¡¯t help the urge to scold someone.


    (He¡¯s an important Key, we must take him away.)


    ¡°I told you, I¡¯m not a Key!¡±


    ¡°Then who is?¡±


    Yelshi looks calm and composed on the surface, only talking to me in simple common language, but it¡¯s a completely different matter inside. The sudden fire attacks and the equestrian people¡¯s charge has sent the rear into disarray, and after things got this bad, to get the Key wrong as well makes him feel agitated and confused.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say.¡±


    (Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s those two who just left!? I see, I get it now¡­)


    The thoughts hat reach my brain next aren¡¯t words or voices, but a feeling like turning circles in a washing machine, it¡¯s probably the intense unease he feels. It makes me feel dizzy too. Even if it¡¯s a big impact on him, can my brain put up with such a feeling as well?


    (So that¡¯s why the first double-black let you come here? Because they¡¯re Keys, because one of them is the Key to open the Box of Life!)


    I don¡¯t want to correct him anymore, that¡¯s not the Box of Life.


    When the continuous stream of thoughts is suddenly interrupted, Yelshi raises his head in surprise, looking to the left. After murmuring a bunch of things the ring can¡¯t receive, he suddenly yells out,


    (It¡¯s that man!)


    My features contort in pain, and I raise my hands to cover my ears. The truth is his thoughts don¡¯t reach me through my hearing, so it¡¯s pointless even if I cover my ears. His gaze goes past several rows of the resurrection group on the left, staring at that golden hair glowing a fiery red in the torchlight. But those emerald eyes, its color looking even more complex with red mixed in, are shining with a light even brighter than his hair.


    Wolfram turns back deliberately, even smiling a challenge, then he slowly kicks the stomach of his horse, purposely taking off at a speed we can catch up with.


    Seeing this act of his, Yelshi naturally takes the bait. From the cavalry to the foot soldiers, from the few living soldiers to the near two hundred zombies, his entire army starts chasing Wolfram.


    That¡¯s only natural, because this group moves completely based on him, on Yelshi¡¯s will.


    In order to keep up with the pursuers speed, I look around hurriedly and grab on to the cart that¡¯s dashing ahead. I sure don¡¯t want to stay behind and keep the zombie foot soldiers company.


    Next to me are the Box that¡¯s behind all this commotion, and Alazon¡¯s¡­ dried-up corpse. I try my best not to get close to her, my body leaning on the sturdy Box. Relax, I¡¯m not the Key to this Box. That¡¯s right, I¡¯m not the Key to the Box.


    Now isn¡¯t the time to think about these things. Although I¡¯m on a cart, but the horses are still running really fast in the desert, and the cart carrying the Box, Alazon and I also sways vigorously. The previous monarch of Seisakoku only sat still and properly at the very start, but as we advanced further, the vibrations knock her out of place too, and she even almost rolls onto the ground because we¡¯re going too fast.


    I don¡¯t know what to do either, but an elderly is facing difficulties in a vehicle, and as a fellow passenger, of course I can¡¯t just ignore that. And she¡­ Although she is a mummy, she was still the leader of a country, if she were to get injured¡­ No, if she were to get damaged, it feels like I¡¯d be cursed.


    So I try to pull Alazon¡¯s waist back, while trying my best not to touch her directly.


    ¡°Aaaah!¡±


    It snapped.


    Her waist broke in half with a loud snap, and now her upper body is sprawled forward. Prostrating mummy, I¡¯m really very sorry. But it¡¯s still better than smashing into smithereens on the ground. On the swaying cart, I use all my strength to pull her back, and lean her back into her original chair.


    Just then, the book with the yellow leather cover slides off from Alazon¡¯s knee. When I pick it up with my right hand, then reach out to try and return it to its owner, the horses dragging the cart suddenly screech to a stop.


    What to do? Although it¡¯s a mummy, but my face is buried in the chest of a married woman¡­ No, no way, although she is a married woman, the biggest problem should be that my face is buried in the chest of a mummy, right? Thank goodness we have a thick layer of clothes between us.


    But Yelshi, only this is undeniable.


    I mutter at the ring. This gadget is a communication device that relays Yelshi¡¯s thoughts one-way, so no one can hear my monologue, but I have to say it.


    Alazon¡¯s heart isn¡¯t beating.


    As I thought, this person has already returned to the Lord.

 Volume 15 - CH 7

    After that, almost everything goes according to my plan.


    The place we¡¯re supposed to lure Yelshi to is the facility where Jason and Freddy are, at the northern-most end of the continent. If Sizemore and Dacascos, who were sent out scouting, couldn¡¯t meet up with the special forces team nearby, then they were to head for the north of the continent directly, based on the situation¡ªbecause I ordered them to head for the facility first.


    Luckily, they followed my instruction and reached the facility first, even rendezvousing with the nearby teams, and were waiting for us there.


    And then Saralegui, who had escaped with a member of the equestrian tribe, fulfilled his promise as well. At first I thought there was only a fifty-fifty¡­ No, a thirty-seventy chance that he would do as I asked him, but the results are surprising.


    Saralegui escaped to the facility I mentioned, and told the shinzoku guards he met, in Seisakoku language,


    ¡°I¡¯m being chased by the dead.¡±


    As well as,


    ¡°On the way back from my family tombs, I was attacked by an army of the dead, and only a few of my guards managed to survive. Thankfully I met this equestrian person, his riding skills are the only reason we could throw off the dead. But those things would surely come after me here.¡±


    When someone who has the same face and voice of the boy emperor says that, even soldiers stationed in the middle of nowhere would fall over themselves to protect their monarch. Saralegui, posing as Yelshi, continues,


    ¡°Those members of the dead used a strange houjutsu to make us lose consciousness, and then they controlled us when everyone is dazed. The surviving guards were tragically taken down as well, and now they¡¯ve become puppets controlled by the enemy. If I¡¯m struck by those guys¡¯ houjutsu again, there¡¯s a high chance I¡¯ll be taken away. Listen up, everyone, even if I¡¯m standing with those things, that just means I¡¯ve been controlled, don¡¯t treat me as the enemy! Just aim for the dead, you just have to deal with the dead!¡±


    All that may sound confusing normally, but to the excited guard captain, that¡¯s perfect news. After all, to soldiers whose usual job is watching over the slaves, this is an important event that comes once in a lifetime. Faced with an emergency situation coming in like a tsunami, very few people can maintain their cool.


    At a time like this, Saralegui used a reverse-manipulation method to impersonate the Seisakoku emperor, as expected of the self-proclaimed substitute. But the equestrian person who followed him probably only thought, ¡°Goodness~ The substitute is up to his usual tricks again.¡±


    Afterwards he said, ¡°I hate owing people debts!¡± But the truth is he had no other choice, and had to cooperate obediently even if it¡¯s a plan by a rookie like me. In life, there are times when enemies end up on the same boat.


    Anyway, that¡¯s how the theatre major Shou Shimaron king, Saralegui pulls in the Seisakoku guards who were guarding their borders dutifully into becoming our allies. Just as the agitated guards are raising their swords and yelling, ¡°Defeat the dead, protect His Majesty!¡±, Sizemore, Dacascos and about ten members of our special forces team have already slipped through the loose defenses and released the slaves in the facility. We don¡¯t let them escape immediately, though, instead we¡¯re looking for a suitable opportunity to hand them over to Venera.


    By the time Yelshi¡¯s army, carrying the Box and me, reach the northern end of the continent with Wolf and Venera, who had successfully fulfilled their roles as guideposts, the facility where they kept those who returned from overseas had already had a ¡®WELCOME, dead people¡¯ party poised and ready.


    Even if the ones who rush in there are a part of the boy emperor¡¯s actual army, since his men are all members of the resurrection group who look terrifying and rather unlucky, they are treated as the enemy instead.


    Although I say soldiers, in truth there are only about twenty guards at the facility. By sheer numbers alone, Yelshi has an overwhelming advantage.


    Although the men fight the resurrection group bravely, the difference of almost five times in manpower will decide the outcome of this battle.


    Just then, Hazel Graves makes a signal as Venera.


    She tells her many comrades in the facility, to fight for Yelshi.


    They¡¯re mostly rather powerless slaves, and their time in the facility has also weakened their bodies, but Venera still says,


    ¡°Even so, there isn¡¯t a citizen in this world who wouldn¡¯t protect the leader of their country. Even if he¡¯s a king who tortured us for so long, and wouldn¡¯t listen to our voices, there still isn¡¯t a citizen who would hand their leader over to the dead!¡±


    Surprisingly, all her comrades obey her, sitting on horseback with her right hand clenched into a fist and raised high. I really admire someone like her, a true leader, and my admiration is so much that I can¡¯t help but pat the mummy¡¯s shoulder.


    So everyone holds up their household weapons¡­ in other words, pickaxes and shovels, yelling, ¡°Return our home, return to ashes!¡± as they fight, making the whole scene into an extremely rare crusade battle. I really don¡¯t want to think back on that scene.


    I jump down from the cart carrying the Box and ready to escape, since I have to find Murata, as well as the lead bait, Wolfram. But I barely get a few steps away before I hear Yelshi¡¯s voice, full of authority, and a few members of the resurrection group block my path. Damn, he shouldn¡¯t have noticed me.


    One zombie seems to be suspecting what my object of subjugation[1]¡­ in other words, what this wooden baseball bat can do, but the problem is I already showed I was unarmed during the hostage exchange, so I don¡¯t have any weapon on my hands at all. I don¡¯t have a wooden rod or a stick or a pan or a mace. In that case, I might as well use Alazon¡¯s bones¡­


    The three zombies standing in front of me suddenly vanish, and my field of vision turns wide. One of them has been beheaded, and the other two are destroyed as well, their bones scattered across the ground with what looks like no hopes of recovery. That¡¯s not something a blunt sword can do, but a blow from the back by a bigger, heavier blade.


    ¡°Josak¡­¡±


    He¡¯s standing with his back to the moon. I can¡¯t see his eyes, face, or mouth, only his shadow extending to my feet.


    But with only that I can¡¯t tell if Josak Gurrier is a friend or enemy. If I don¡¯t go closer, I really won¡¯t know if he¡¯s returned to normal or still under someone¡¯s control.


    In front of me, Josak twirls the heavy broadsword that can cut a person in half with the power from his wrist alone.


    ¡°Josak, I¡¯m asking you.¡±


    My words end there, but we don¡¯t move or speak, like two wax statues frozen on the spot.


    Someone seems to be calling my name from a distance. It¡¯s a comrade¡¯s voice. Although I want to say, ¡°Forget about me, go look for Murata¡±, I keep feeling as though if I make a careless move now, the balance in front of me will collapse, and so I¡¯m too scared to make a sound.


    The person who broke through the stalemate isn¡¯t me, and neither is it Josak.


    ¡°Conrad!?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t stop him in time. Body tilting forward, footsteps flying, even if he tripped on the sand and lost his balance, Conrad still used his unsheathed blade to block the broadsword in Josak¡¯s hands.


    ¡°I said it before, I will kill you with my own two hands!¡±


    For a split second, he smiles that gentle smile I know so well,


    ¡°Kill you with my own two hands.¡±


    He draws his sword and deflects the broadsword with the notch before even finishing his sentence, but Josak doesn¡¯t relax his grip, instead using the momentum to bring the blade that had been lifted over his head down hard. The two metal weapons clash with a dull sound, the blades drawing out a line of silver and lighting sparks between the two men.


    I try to stop them, yelling, ¡°You two are good friends, don¡¯t do this!¡± But if I barrel in at a time like this, I¡¯ll definitely get hurt. Not only that, one of them may lose their balance trying to avoid me, and might even get fatally wounded, so I can only stay where I am helplessly.


    Conrad takes one step back.


    ¡°Move aside and take it easy, you couple of good friends!¡±


    Suddenly Adalbert comes in from Josak¡¯s side, though Josak already reacted to his voice. It looks like Adalbert jumped down from a height, and so just manages to step in between the two. He uses his back and muscular shoulders to forcefully push Conrad back.


    ¡°Adalbert!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you two were actually fighting seriously!? I said I¡¯d do it! And besides didn¡¯t we say over and over again that you mustn¡¯t approach the Box¡­ Whoa whoa whoa!¡±


    Adalbert steps back to avoid the tip of the blade closing in on him, even laughing approvingly. I watch him bounce around happily, switching his sword to the other hand so he can wave his right hand,


    ¡°That was too close, too close, looks like I really can¡¯t afford to underestimate a survivor of Arnold.¡±


    Of course Josak doesn¡¯t stop attacking while he¡¯s talking. When his sword is blocked, he changes his stance by holding it with both hands and stabbing at Adalbert. That way, it¡¯s easier for him to get closer to Adalbert, whose moves tend to open and close widely.


    Adalbert should be used to these kinds of attacks too, though, dodging with ease every time it seems his skin is about to be sliced open. And when Josak dashes straight at him, he easily avoids him at a hair¡¯s breadth as well.


    But Josak doesn¡¯t fall over, using the tips of his toes to force his body to a stop. Even so, his upper half is now completely unprotected. If his opponent were to get a hit in now, he would surely sink into the sand. However, Adalbert also loses his balance, only taking one big step with his right leg.


    ¡°Tsk!¡±


    I hear someone tut their tongue. The tip of Josak¡¯s sword presses in, cutting open the clothes on Adalbert¡¯s chest, and a jet black liquid spurts out.


    ¡°Grantz?¡±


    The little bottle splits in half, falling onto the dry sand, but that liquid isn¡¯t blood. It looks a lot like blood under the moonlight and torchlight, but it¡¯s not anyone¡¯s blood, just the liquid in Adalbert¡¯s bottle.


    But my relief lasts only a second, because Josak is crouching on the ground, groaning like a beast. His left hand is covering his eyes, and he even drops his sword to the ground, until finally he just falls to the floor and rolls around in pain.


    ¡°Josak¡¯s¡­ eyes¡­¡±


    ¡°Adalbert, what liquid was that?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, anyway it¡¯s a potion from the Red Devil. The only thing we can be sure about is that it¡¯s nothing good.¡±


    ¡°Could it be poison!? Josak!¡±


    ¡°Let go of me!¡±


    I want to help Josak up, but Conrad stops me. Since I¡¯m behind him, I can¡¯t see too clearly, but it seems like he did something near Josak¡¯s neck, and sure enough Josak¡¯s limbs stop moving.


    ¡°Josak, don¡¯t tell me¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, he¡¯s not dead. No, more importantly, Your Majesty, he¡­¡±


    ¡°Yuuri! Found you found you, I finally found you! Eh, what¡¯s up with him? Did he die again?¡±


    As I¡¯m looking at Josak lying on the ground, the words that slip out of Saralegui¡¯s mouth really upset me. But Saralegui did indeed help a lot in the plan this time. If it weren¡¯t for him, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to pull the guards at the facility to our side. Thinking of that, I force myself to keep my emotions in check.


    Saralegui wasn¡¯t chased by either friend or foe, and I don¡¯t know when he managed to dart past so many swords and shovels to get to where I am. As for where I am, it¡¯s also really close to his little brother.


    ¡°Sara, what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Hi, Yelshi. You look really energetic, huh. Don¡¯t tell me you plan on throwing your big brother aside and galloping into the sunset on your own?¡±


    ¡°Are you an idiot? When two people who look exactly the same show up at the same time, they¡¯ll see through it for sure!?¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll hide you¡­ Oh dear!¡±


    He was planning to joke around at first, but shut up as soon as he sees the thing on the cart. In the beginning I thought Saralegui saw Alazon¡¯s remains, and was shocked into silence, yet it seems the thing he¡¯s interested in isn¡¯t his mother¡¯s dried corpse, but the large object next to it instead.


    ¡°Ahaha, so it¡¯s in a place like this, how unexpected.¡±


    Saralegui laughs hysterically, his gaze going between me, Yelshi, and the Forbidden Box.


    ¡°Goodness, ignorance sure is scary, Yuuri. Don¡¯t tell me Yelshi wanted to use you to test this Box?¡±


    His every move is suspicious to me, but I still nod and reply,


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°He must have no idea what this is, then. All that about the power to control the dead, don¡¯t tell me he thought this Box is full of stuff like that? It¡¯s obviously not. And after seeing Yuuri¡¯s majutsu yesterday, to think he still thought the Maou is the Key, what an idiot. You saw such a magnificent water dragon, and still didn¡¯t realize that Yuuri¡¯s element is water! You actually thought the current Maou who controls water can release ¡®Inferno on the Tundra¡¯!¡±


    ¡°Sara, how did you¡­¡±


    How did he know that this is ¡®Inferno on the Tundra¡¯? Where did the information leak? Or did he know from the start, and was hiding it with his superior acting skills?


    ¡°Yuuri, I really want to correct something you said before. Yelshi and I aren¡¯t alike at all, not in the slightest! Ah¡ªReally, he¡¯s just too dense, I can¡¯t believe we share the same blood!¡±


    Saralegui doesn¡¯t notice my suspicions, continuously poking fun at his little brother,


    ¡°I finally understand why you could only inherit Seisaoku, you big moron.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to challenge him that much¡­¡±


    ¡°Shh¡ªBe quiet, Yuuri. Yelshi controls all his zombie subordinates, and treats them like pieces on a chess board. Oh, yeah! Lord Weller, aren¡¯t you really good at bad jokes?¡±


    Adalbert¡¯s expression changes drastically as he carries the unconscious Josak onto his shoulder, and he prepares to escape.


    ¡°Eh!? What!? Is it okay if it¡¯s related to the presidential election?¡±


    ¡°As long as it has anything to do with race, it¡¯s forbidden--! What could you say¡­ something like a nice fellow in a good mood!¡±


    As soon as he hears my words, Conrad¡¯s mouth turns downwards, and the arms that were blocking off the enemy stop as well,


    ¡°What--?¡±


    ¡°D-don¡¯t stop moving your hands, aah--!¡±


    I was rejected by Lord Weller, and hurt beyond words, I had hoped to get a compliment from him, too¡­ Next to me, Saralegui claps his hands together loudly, as though about to bring out his final trick,


    ¡°Alright¡ªNow I will announce a meaningless fact¡ªBefore Yelshi turned three, he was always hiding in Mother¡¯s chest, y¡¯know¡ª¡±


    Yelshi stiffens where he stands, his face slowly turning red, as the rest of us harbor suspicions in our hearts,


    ¡°Why would he hide inside¡­¡±


    ¡°How would I know¡­¡±


    ¡°The fact that I didn¡¯t say that in Seisakoku language is a sign of your big brother¡¯s love for you, Yelshi. That¡¯s the only reason your men don¡¯t know about it now.¡±


    Just then, something completely unexpected happens.


    There is an archer with really bad archery skills among the Seisaskoku guards, who are currently out allies. Not only is it dangerous to let loose arrows in the middle of a chaotic battle like this, he even neglects some basic understand that elementary school kids know, shooting flaming arrows from the facility¡¯s tall observation tower. Maybe he thinks that setting the luggage on fire would destroy the undead, but the spectacularly lousy archer doesn¡¯t notice that their king Yelshi isn¡¯t that far from the thing he¡¯s aiming at, and shoots with all his might.


    The flaming arrow cuts through the night, aiming straight for its target¡ªthe Forbidden Box, ¡®Inferno on the Tundra¡¯.


    ¡°His Eninence said we can¡¯t use fire!¡±


    Although quite a few people noticed it, but no one can keep up with the speed of the arrow, so no one could stop it in time.


    They just watch quietly as the burning arrow hits something with a ¡®thunk!¡¯ before reaching the wooden box. That was when Alazon, sitting next to the Box, fell over, taking the arrow directly as though protecting the Box, and taking it straight in the heart, too.


    The people around her don¡¯t even have the time to register their surprise before the dried-up body burns and explodes rapidly. All we see are burning pieces of the corpse scattering onto the earth of her motherland.


    Yelshi screams, a sound so tragic it doesn¡¯t seem to belong to this world.


    When the sky turns pale white, I finally reunite with Murata on the desert covered with zombie parts.


    We¡¯re just like brothers who were nearly separated by death, hugging each other tightly. We touch each other¡¯s arms and backs, reassuring ourselves that the other person is bruised but not broken, and we don¡¯t stop.


    ¡°Murata, ah¡ªReally, damn¡­¡±


    Thank goodness you¡¯re still alive.


    ¡°Thank goodness you¡¯re still alive.¡±


    ¡°Shibuya, I¡¯m the one who wants to say that. Have you any idea how worried I was. In order to find you on Earth, even your brother was running around everywhere¡­¡±


    With that my friend sighs, the shoulders I¡¯m hugging sagging as though the air was let out of them.


    ¡°Sigh--¡±


    ¡°What? What happened?¡±


    ¡°I thought I was a goner for sure.¡±


    His eyebrow droop in fear, and his words come haltingly, completely unlike his usual, bright and lively self. I assume he feels uneasy, so I grab his cheeks with my hands, and touch his forehead with mine rather roughly. I guess it would be more accurate to say I ¡®butted¡¯ his head, and I even smile to show I controlled my power.


    ¡°Relax, I¡¯m here for you.¡±


    Even if he has memories of the past so long I can¡¯t even imagine, he¡¯s still my friend of the same age.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright now, Ken.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t talk like the doctor, okay, Yuu-chan?¡±


    Murata can¡¯t help but laugh too.


    ¡°Don¡¯t make yourself sound so mighty. The only reason I tortured myself so badly just to get here, is because you went missing, you know?¡±


    ¡°Please, you¡¯re the paperwork expert, I¡¯d be just as healthy and lively without you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant!¡±


    His tone grows stronger at the end of the sentence, and I think ¡®then what do you mean?¡¯ as I wait for him to continue.


    ¡°I wanted to find you myself, I wanted to find you with these hands, and these eyes!¡±


    The words that come out are thanks. But it sounds very comical to my ears, so I just nod in reply.


    ¡°I always wanted a true comrade I don¡¯t have to hide and act around, a friend I can share everything with.¡±


    ¡°Mn.¡±


    ¡°I always wanted a friend like you.¡±


    ¡°Mn.¡±


    ¡°So I had to find you myself.¡±


    Wondering why all I can do is to keep nodding my head, I take out the glasses from my pocket and put them on Murata¡¯s dirty face. I¡¯m not used to it, though, so I just can¡¯t seem to do it right. But Murata still waits patiently for me to put it on him, only raising his head when his vision is restored.


    I¡¯m really happy to see you.


    Venera and Wolfram walk over to us, wearing tired smiles. Although they look exhausted, their smiles are still full of joy. Wolfram unsheathed sword is covered in scraps of meat and skin. In many ways, this was a nightmarish battle.


    Her laugh lines even more obvious now, Venera says happily,


    ¡°GENTLEMEN, you guys did well!¡±


    Wolfram finds Saralegui crouching down next to his little brother, and says in a rare, happy tone, as though to take revenge for that arrow back then,


    ¡°I heard the ships your country sent are turning circles like a lost child out there in the ocean, looks like Shou Shimaron¡¯s navigational skills need some work, huh.¡±


    It¡¯s almost dawn.

 Volume 15 - CH 8

    After the night of the chaotic battle gave way to dawn, the country of white sand at the ends of the ocean changed drastically. This is the first time in Seisakoku history that slaves helped soldiers to save the Emperor¡¯s life. Not just the slaves, but the equestrian people and the soldiers all know what happened last night, so it has become an undeniable truth¡ªthat the ones who were never recognized as shinzoku saved the Emperor.


    The country might not change suddenly, but it is indeed changing, slowly listening to the voices of the oppressed.


    ¡°Give my life to this child.¡±


    Sitting on a narrow staircase in the secret port for pirates and smugglers, Hazel Graves is reading a certain woman¡¯s diary. Her finger wanders over the surface, reading aloud any beautiful scenes as though it is poetry,


    ¡°Give my everything to this child¡­ When faced with the death of a loved one, any person would descend into a grief where you have to choose between a rock and a hard place.¡±


    Wolfram and I, with two girls grabbing our waists, walk slowly on the uneven stone steps. The salty sea breeze sure feels comfortable.


    ¡°I wonder who helped her fulfill her wish. Her son was revived, but Alazon didn¡¯t die immediately. Although this situation is slightly surprising, the fact is that her heart didn¡¯t stop immediately. Instead, she weakly, slowly¡­ passed away. For example, by the end of that year she couldn¡¯t move her legs, and by the next year it was her arms. Soon her insides started to rot¡­ and slowly she died. She thought of her son¡¯s life as more important than her own, so she helped him extend his life. Whoever it was that helped her fulfill that wish, it¡¯s just too tragic.¡±


    ¡°If you ask me, it¡¯s more of a horror movie than a miracle.¡±


    ¡°The young Empress Alazon was very lively, but afterwards she rarely showed up in public anymore, so this is the reason why.¡±


    ¡°Does it have something to do with the Box?¡±


    ¡°Well, who knows? According to His Eminence the Sage, that Box can only ¡®destroy¡¯, right?¡±


    ¡°It seems so.¡±


    ¡°In that case, maybe it was a god they worship, or the soul of a royal in the tombs or the underground tunnel. Think about it, that woman carried a dead baby into the underground tunnel that could fulfill her wish! And besides, that unlucky Box may have some functions the Sage doesn¡¯t know about. Or else¡ª¡±


    With a melodic sound, Hazel closes the diary and hands it to me,


    ¡°¡ªIt could be a miracle brought by Alazon¡¯s own power. I really can¡¯t say for sure¡­ Eh?¡±


    As though it¡¯s her first time seeing them, she stares at Jason and Freddy, asking,


    ¡°So you¡¯re the two lovely young ladies who were worried for me?¡±


    The twins are surprisingly docile and timid, their usual arrogance completely gone, as though they understand it¡¯s not good to probe into someone else¡¯s help. Although I don¡¯t know who taught them that, but how polite of them.


    ¡°You girls told me to ¡®help Venera¡¯, right? That Venera, is this person here¡­ Hazel Graves?¡±


    The twins raise their heads in unison,


    ¡°Hope you can help her.¡±


    ¡°Right, with majutsu.¡±


    ¡°With majutsu?¡±


    Again they nod at the same time.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®help¡¯? What do you want me to do? Help her abolish slavery in this country?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°That, we¡¯ll do ourselves.¡±


    What impressive determination.


    ¡°Then¡­¡±


    ¡°Heal her.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, heal her. Heal Venera¡¯s body.¡±


    Even if they ask me to, but Venera¡­ Hazel Graves was just fighting valiantly on the battlefield, it sure doesn¡¯t look like she¡¯s sick. As for the person in question, she can¡¯t understand the common language, so her expression is one of surprise,


    ¡°If it¡¯s possible, could you say that in this country¡¯s language? Oh, right, those children seem unfamiliar with the Seisakoku language, in that case English is okay, too, Your Majesty. Are you talking about me? You are talking about me, right?¡±


    ¡°They want me to heal your body.¡±


    ¡°But I don¡¯t remember being sick?¡±


    ¡°They say it¡¯s not a sickness.¡±


    My translation makes the twins nod even harder.


    ¡°No, we see, Venera¡¯s soul.¡±


    ¡°Right, light of the soul.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s weakening.¡±


    ¡°Since the first time we met, the light has been weakening, bit by bit.¡±


    ¡°So you think it¡¯s a sickness.¡±


    ¡°They did do something like a fortune telling before.¡±


    The one who had his fortune told back then wasn¡¯t me, but Wolfram. But back then not only weren¡¯t they talking about weakening or whatnot, they even said he had a king¡¯s aura, so surely that must have made him happy?


    ¡°Is what they say accurate?¡±


    Hearing my question, Wolfram thinks back for about ten seconds, his arms crossed over his chest and his left leg stretched slightly ahead, a hint of a smile on the corners of his lips,


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not accurate at all.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t not be accurate!¡±


    One of the twins, probably Freddy, seems really angry, and can¡¯t help but protest. But Hazel interrupts her,


    ¡°Are you done talking about me?¡±


    ¡°Not yet, Hazel. According to these children, your soul¡­ Uh¡ªUm, something like the light was really weak since the beginning, anyway they suspect that you¡¯re not feeling well somewhere.¡±


    ¡°They said my light is really weak?¡±


    Hazel Graves frowns, her mouth tightly closed, as she pulls her hair upwards with her hand,


    ¡°How troubling.¡±


    Her eyebrows droop as she says, perplexedly,


    ¡°Children, that¡¯s called aging.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°If you know how long I¡¯ve lived, you would definitely be in for a shock. Just among the slaves in this country, I should be the oldest. I¡¯m far older than those nobles who enjoy all the best food in the palace, and have the best medical teams waiting on them twenty-four seven. Not only that, even if you go investigate the most resilient family, the Graves, there still isn¡¯t anyone who lived longer than me. However¡­¡±


    The old lady winks like a child,¡¯


    ¡°It¡¯s true that I don¡¯t know how long mazoku lifespans are.¡±


    ¡°Mazoku lifespans are longer than you can imagine. As humans go, however, you are rather long-lived.¡±


    Hazel disappeared from Boston before World War II. Although I¡¯m not too sure how to calculate the time in this world, seventy years have passed on Earth. If she was sixty-something-years-old back then, she would be at least a hundred and thirty years old now, and that¡¯s well enough to get into the Guinness Book of World Records.


    Still, what¡¯s surprising isn¡¯t her age, but her strong body despite her age. She can live in such a tough environment even though she¡¯s over a hundred years old, doing back-breakingly hard work, even leading the slaves on a trip with us, and fighting to rescue her comrades. I can¡¯t say that she¡¯s as strong as a mazoku, but compared to humans on Earth, such a strong body is nothing short of a miracle. It¡¯s not just the body of flesh and bone either, even her mental resilience is highly admirable.


    But Hazel Graves is telling everyone that her body is weakening. She¡¯s not sick, but aging.


    ¡°My eyes, nose, brain, limbs and waist all are. Oh, right, here too.¡±


    She raises her fist and beats her chest. Does she mean her heart, or her spirit?


    ¡°Because I¡¯m old, my limbs are already shaking, and they become powerless if I use them for too long. So even if the flames of my soul become weak, it¡¯s nothing to be wondered at; in fact, it¡¯s completely normal.¡±


    Jason and Freddy seem to have figured out what she meant by the simple words she used, hugging my waist as they say,


    ¡°Heal her, we can¡¯t save her.¡±


    ¡°Yuuri, use majutsu.¡±


    ¡°Venera, hope. Venera is this country¡¯s hope.¡±


    ¡°Everyone says so.¡±


    Those golden eyes shine with pleading and hope, until I¡¯m at a loss on how to reply.


    ¡°Ah¡ªThat can¡¯t be cured.¡±


    Hazel herself has her hands on her waist, smiling really happily. It¡¯s the triumphant smile of a grandmother thinking, ¡°Although my grandchildren said some unattainable fantasy things, but they really are such adorable and bright children.¡±


    ¡°Anyone would become an aged elderly person, that is something unavoidable, and uncurable. Although the rate I¡¯m aging at is really slow, but after a long period of time, what will come will come.¡±


    ¡°Hazel¡­¡±


    ¡°Since the light of my soul is weakening, that means that I¡¯ll have to embrace that moment soon. I have finally reached a place where I can see the gate to heaven.¡±


    ¡°But to those of us who can¡¯t see something as troublesome as the soul, you are still strong despite your age, and also very beautiful.¡±


    Conrad, used to dealing with women, walks past and nonchalantly says something pleasant to the ears. That is an advanced speaking technique that I can¡¯t achieve, all I know is that he spoke really well.


    ¡°Hazel, I can¡¯t heal your aging, but there is one thing I might be able to do.¡±


    Hazel Graves raises an eyebrow in surprise.


    I don¡¯t complete my sentence, ¡°I might be able to take you back to Earth¡±, because I don¡¯t have the confidence. Even Murata and myself can¡¯t be certain when, at what point in time we¡¯ll land, and with so many uncertainties in the conditions, I really can¡¯t be sure I can bring an old lady I just met on the Star Tour successfully. It¡¯s just that, if she wants to return to Earth, there might be a hope of succeeding.


    ¡°Your suggestion is indeed very tempting, and I am very grateful, but I want to stay in this country.¡±


    ¡°Although I don¡¯t know what are the chances of succeeding¡­ Eh!?¡±


    I am shocked into raising my head by the unexpected answer, but the adventurer¡¯s wrinkled mouth curves into a mischievous smile,


    ¡°I don¡¯t plan to go anywhere. If I return to Boston, those young relatives of mine may welcome me, but¡­¡±


    She looks at someone in the distance beyond my shoulder, I¡¯m guessing Conrad, or maybe she¡¯s looking past him as well, looking for some other illusion. She sighs, and sings for a short while, but immediately stops.


    ¡°Since I¡¯ve started this challenge, I might as well make it a long journey.¡±


    ¡°You have a point.¡±


    ¡°But isn¡¯t it pretty interesting, trying to become this country¡¯s Lincoln?¡±


    ¡°You want to become Seisakoku¡¯s president?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to be anyone great like that. But until now we¡¯re still not sure if we should make someone else as Emperor to replace Yelshi, maintaining the emperor system, or step in a little and make it back into a monarchy. In any case, I just hope to release the people from this illogical caste system.¡±


    Hazel looks around the small port from the narrow stone steps as she speaks. The people who just left the facility are loading cargo into the mazoku vessels, or accepting unneeded rations and supplies from the ships. As for the equestrian people who recovered really quickly, they are discussing something on their horses that still refuse to move forward. In such a crowded place, it¡¯ll probably be faster to move on your own two feet.


    ¡°After I¡¯ve seen these children released from this tyranny with my own eyes, I plan on a quiet retirement.¡±


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t take too long, right?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, only God knows.¡±


    ¡°Once the dust has settled, you will come to Shin Makoku for a visit, right? It¡¯s a great place, and the weather is beautiful.¡±


    Shin Makoku¡¯s good qualities flood my brain, and I realize that if I want to explain how wonderful my hometown is, it¡¯s probably not something I can finish saying in an hour or a day, but I can¡¯t say it clearly either, because the more I think back the more I want to just go back already, until my nose starts to burn.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ever forget, Venera. You are the goodwill ambassador, after all, you have a duty to come to my country and meet the king.¡±


    ¡°I also want to have a chat with His Eminence, and listen about my granddaughter¡¯s adventures.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll warn you beforehand, Murata¡¯s story is really long, so you must stay in Shin Makoku for quite some time. Just come to my country for a good rest, there are the hot springs women love so much there, too.¡±


    ¡°You have a point.¡±


    Hazel Graves nods lightly, pulling her hair upwards with a smile.


    Lord Weller, who walked past me just now, is now talking to Captain Sizemore near the mazoku ships.


    ¡°Although I can¡¯t order you, could I ask you for a favor as a friend?¡±


    ¡°Of course you can.¡±


    ¡°Then please remove everything sharp, including the tables and chairs.¡±


    ¡°I know, leave it all to me, I have experience escorting those wounded in battle too. Um¡­ not just those who were wounded physically, but in other areas as well.¡±


    Captain Sizemore nods, his expression grim. Although I don¡¯t purposely want to lighten up the atmosphere, I still speak up in a cheery tone,


    ¡°Conrad!¡±


    Conrad turns around to look at me with a steady smile.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Josak?¡±


    ¡°It seems he¡¯s been taken into the vessel Captain Sizemore arranged for. He¡¯s very quiet, it¡¯s just he looks dazed. Really, causing everyone so much trouble.¡±


    ¡°Even Miss Gisela couldn¡¯t heal him, huh¡­¡±


    ¡°Even if she could heal his body, we can¡¯t fight poison with poison when it comes to his memories and spirit.¡±


    ¡°Poison!? Then Miss Anissina¡­¡±


    ¡°No one knows what will happen. Although I can¡¯t be sure, you tend to have an idea already in your heart.¡±


    Conrad murmurs a famous tragedy.


    ¡°Shakespeare?¡±


    ¡°Although it¡¯s slightly different, all we can do now is gamble on it. Anyway, even if we have to do it by force, we must bring him back to Shin Makoku, we can¡¯t leave him on foreign soil no matter what.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    When I remember the way Josak looked when his eyes were splashed by the liquid Adlabert brought, and he was rolling on the floor in pain, all the hairs on my body stand on end. But it¡¯s already much better than earlier, that moment when we were separated in the underground tunnel.


    Compared to the despair from back then, the uneasiness I feel now is much lighter.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay as long as he¡¯s by my side, it¡¯s enough as long as he¡¯s still alive.¡±


    And then I clear my throat, changing the subject,


    ¡°Speaking of which, what does Lord Weller plan to do from now on?¡±


    ¡°Until Shou Shimaron¡¯s close guard land, I still have to watch Saralegui.¡±


    ¡°The job of a bodyguard sure is tough. Ah~~ But since you were trained by me before, you should be used to it now, right?¡±


    ¡°No way, the pleasure in it is completely different.¡±


    Our conversation is like a child who likes to prank people. To the mazoku, this may be a meaningless experience, but I can¡¯t be a rookie forever. I researched economics a little, and I know politics more now. So I nonchalantly ask the suspicions I have from the term ¡®politics¡¯.


    ¡°I say, Conrad, what do you mean by ¡®I went to sow seeds¡¯? Don¡¯t tell me you want to gather up your supporters, and, um¡­ try to regain the throne?¡±


    ¡°Of course not! I¡¯m not made for that.¡±


    He denies it in surprise, but if we¡¯re judging if someone deserves the throne based on their talent, I¡¯d be the least qualified. He tells me,


    ¡°It¡¯s impossible, I¡¯m a narrow-minded man. I don¡¯t want to get any position, just to spread my true intention. I want to tell them, my father and grandfather craved peace, not invasion. But it¡¯s really rather difficult to gain their trust¡­ You really are a great person.¡±


    Conrad lowers his head slightly, his eyes narrowed and his smile bitter, exactly like the oldest son. That thought takes me off-guard, and in my daze I forget to ask something really important.


    ¡°Um¡­¡±


    ¡°I know, the Shimaron ships seem to have arrived.¡±


    The extravagant-looking ships block the narrow port until there¡¯s no space left, meaning Saralegui¡¯s ministers have arrived.


    ¡°Once the handing-over is complete, my mission would also be over. At that time, I will catch up immediately.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay if you take your time.¡±


    I forgot to ask, does his ¡®catch up¡¯ mean coming back to my side?


    But someone has to stay behind.


    ¡°I have to stay behind!?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you? Because you and the mermaid are the equestrian tribe¡¯s messiah, right?¡±


    ¡°Why the heck do I have to stay behind!? It¡¯s not like their village was damaged, they¡¯re completely unharmed, y¡¯know!? Why do I have no choice but to stay behind as their designated chef!?¡±


    ¡°Anyway the term messiah is just a title, it¡¯s just that this incident made you into an accidental hero, and after this their deals with Yelshi and the former slaves will decide the direction of this country, am I right? If you¡¯re there to offer opinions from the side, I would be much more at ease. Because you¡¯re talented, and one of the Ten Aristocrats, plus you¡¯re really familiar with politics and governing territory. Wolfram mentioned before, the nobles¡¯ usual work is like the administrator of the territories. You¡¯re really good at delegating, aren¡¯t you? So I think you would stay behind, and help their administration from a side.¡±


    Adalbert hardens his expression as he uses his finger to touch his proud chin, asking,


    ¡°Why must I listen to the Maou¡¯s orders?¡±


    ¡°Eh? Did I make any order? I don¡¯t remember, I just said, ¡®I think you would stay behind¡¯, y¡¯know?¡±


    ¡°¡­I am the man who betrayed the mazoku, y¡¯know!¡±


    ¡°So what?¡±


    ¡°If all goes well, I could even make this country anti-mazoku, y¡¯know!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all right, go ahead.¡±


    I don¡¯t have any sense of uneasiness, that really is what I¡¯m thinking. If he can do it, then go ahead, but he definitely won¡¯t do it.


    ¡°Besides, you already made a family here, didn¡¯t you? I heard, Adalbert! I heard you have a stern daughter and cute grandchildren? How mean of you not to tell me¡ªAs expected of the muscleman, the impressive butt-shaped chin! Good job, Grantz¡¯ young boss! From now on, you¡¯ll be living the ¡®Doki-doki!? Mermaid Life¡¯.¡±


    Hearing me say that, Adalbbert¡¯s expression becomes very strange¡ª


    But I immediately hear something similar from Saralegui¡¯s side, apparently the Shou Shimaron king Saralegui is somewhere nearby, putting his grieving little brother to sleep. Since he¡¯s acting like the perfect older brother, his men who finally reached this port to receive him aren¡¯t blaming him.


    ¡°You¡¯re really not nervous at all? There¡¯s a high chance I would replace Yelshi as leader of this country, y¡¯know!¡±


    ¡°If you really did that, it would just mean you have to fight it out with Venera and the others. And we don¡¯t know if you could decide the winner quickly, it might end up taking a long time, and in that case, what about Shou Shimaron?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave the best people in the country, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m the only capable one.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about the people you leave in the country, what I¡¯m asking is, can you yourself leave your hometown?¡±


    ¡°Otherwise I could follow the original plan, and have Shou Shimaron and Seisakoku form an alliance, making conditions favorable to our Shou Shimaron. That way, we¡¯ll have the shinzoku as powerful firepower, and we twins will govern twin countries to control the world¡¯s superpowers. Shin Makoku and Seisaskoku¡¯s alliance will fall behind Shou Shimaron¡¯s, you know?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, as long as you two get along, after all you are brothers. Go ahead and make up for the blank days in the past as family members, as country leaders that get along. Just like how me and my brother are so close.¡±


    I hope you two will become good brothers who would discuss how to make a move in front of me before doing it, who know each other so well you could be each other¡¯s body double.


    ¡°If you want to make any strange contracts, Venera and the equestrian tribes won¡¯t say quiet. To be honest, I don¡¯t know how much longer Yelshi¡¯s own dictatorship could have lasted. But I think you are really skilled politically, much better than I am. I trust that you have the ability to stabilize this country.¡±


    It¡¯s obvious that Saralegui figured out what I¡¯m thinking long ago, but he still pretends, ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°Support your lost little brother. You should lead him towards the right direction.¡±


    ¡°Really, this pathetic little brother is just too much.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget, there¡¯s a group of people who were tortured by your pathetic little brother for many years. Oh, right, this.¡±


    I hand the pale red ring and the leather-bound book to him. Murata helped me take off the ring. He strung silk thread between the finger and the stone, winding and tying a little before pulling it off. Thank goodness the ring came off before I decided to chop off my finger, it was a great help.


    ¡°I think Alazon¡¯s diary should be given to you for safekeeping. The contents are really long, extremely long. Your mother¡­ Alazon¡­¡±


    Saralegui¡¯s reply is even more decisive than I imagined,


    ¡°I knew long ago, I knew she was dead.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Father told me. He told me what happened to the person who sent us away from Seisakoku, I heard it was a sickness that made the body die gradually. Today it¡¯s the leg, tomorrow the arm, this year the lips, next year the eyelids.¡±


    ¡°What a terrible sickness.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s not a sickness, but a curse. In any case, in the end it wasn¡¯t just Mother¡¯s physical body, but even her spirit was corroded. She even said she could see the dead, that the dead were surrounding her. It was after that I was chased out of the palace, the reason being I don¡¯t have the power I should have. That person even said, ¡®You are not my child!¡¯¡±


    He seems to be remembering a scary nightmare from the past, continuing to narrate that terrifying nightmare that he has almost forgotten,


    ¡°I still remember it clearly to this day. She let three-year-old me stand in the darkness, pulling my hair from behind so my head was facing up, and said over and over, ¡®You are not my child, Saralegui! So I definitely won¡¯t take you away!¡±


    ¡°Could that be she couldn¡¯t let you be taken away?¡±


    ¡°Why would you think so?¡±


    ¡°Read this diary if you have time. It¡¯s okay if you want to read it at night, just read it slowly on your own, this is already yours.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll take it. Oh, yeah, Your Majesty Yuuri.¡±


    I had turned around and was about to leave when Saralegui asks me unhesitatingly. Although he just faced the fact that his mother died, he¡¯s still a truly greedy, and truly intelligent man.


    ¡°Do you know what happened to the Box? While I was caring for my little brother, it seems to have vanished.¡±


    ¡°About that, who knows.¡±


    Just then Wolfram waves at me, so I leave the scene without replying. I really want to throw it somewhere, but I can¡¯t just leave it alone either. That is the sealed, ominous Box that the mazoku destroyed, and sealed. I really want to forget about it, but I think about it with every step, and it presses down on my chest every time I breathe, making me gasp for breath.


    ¡°Is your stomach okay?¡±


    As soon as we¡¯re out of Saralegui¡¯s field of vision, Wolfram immediately looks apologetic, even saying,


    ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡ªThat? Oh, right, Wolf, that punch really hurt! Although I was at fault too in the tunnel that time, you were wrong to hit me in the stomach. That is totally DOMESTIC VIOLENCE!¡±


    Although it¡¯s not serious or common, Wolfram looks surprised to hear an unfamiliar term. What a bother, since I¡¯m used to talking to Hazel, I¡¯m starting to use a lot of Earth terms now.


    ¡°DOMES¡­ what does that mean?¡±


    ¡°Hm¡ªSomething like in the country or a product of the country, I guess!¡±


    ¡°I already told you many times, I will formally ask for my due punishment once we get back¡­¡±


    ¡°No need, it doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s official or not, it¡¯s okay whenever you want to apologize.¡±


    He¡¯s about to say something formal again so I pat his back hard without hesitation, and it gives me a feeling of reality, like ¡°Ah¡ªright here¡±. I¡¯m here, and so is Wolfram.


    ¡°Because we¡¯re already back.¡±


    We¡¯re all here, be it Conrad, Murata¡­ or Josak.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say for all of it, but I brought us back with my own strength.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡±


    The sea breeze caresses Wolfram¡¯s hair, and he nods his head firmly in reply, very naturally extending his hand to me, standing on the side of the port,


    ¡°Come home, everyone is waiting for you.¡±


    Nobody knows how things will turn out in the future, but this country will definitely change.


    I follow the creaking staircase as I climb upwards, preparing to return home.

 Volume 16 - Prologue

    Day 0, opens eyes.


    Day 0, feeds it mountain goat¡¯s milk. That¡¯s what little animal babies drink.


    Day 0, Anissina says contemptuously, ¡°Little animal babies can walk by themselves even without support.¡± I reply, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with supporting it a little?¡± But she answers, ¡°That is overprotection.¡± Leaving me lost for words.


    ¡°Animals naturally have the instinct and habits to survive. All they have to is observe quietly, and they¡¯ll emulate the way their parents walk. If you don¡¯t wait it out patiently, and insist on forcing them to develop before they¡¯re ready, all you¡¯re doing is wasting their natural abilities.¡±


    Therefore I ask her, what about little babies whose parents aren¡¯t there to teach them? Anissina says with the air of a know-it-all, ¡°Then you just have to teach it yourself.¡±


    And so in front of the delicate little kitten, I put all my effort into a cat walk for it to observe.


    Conrad catches me in the act.

 Volume 16 - CH 1

    That¡¯s right, animals have a natural instinct, and that is to try and breathe as long as they¡¯re still alive¡ªI¡¯m no exception. Without waiting for my vision to clear, my mouth and nose are already desperately trying to breathe.


    Oxygen and seawater assault my tongue at the same time, and the insides of my nose are stinging painfully, just like how it feels when I fail at diving in a pool full of chlorine. But although I can breathe, it feels like someone is pulling my collar from behind, which is why my constricted throat hurts so much.


    What¡¯s the matter? What on earth happened? Oh, yeah, I fell into the sea.


    Murata and I fell into the blue-black whirlpool that suddenly appeared between the waves.


    Although I nearly drowned, I think I still held on tightly to that important friend of mine that I cannot be separated from no matter what. However, my friend¡¯s body in my embrace keeps flailing about.


    ¡°Mn¡ªHang in there, Murata, your injuries aren¡¯t serious at all.¡±


    Otherwise there¡¯s no way he would still be this energetic, and flailing about non-stop like that.


    Hm? Flailing about?


    I force my eyes open. I don¡¯t hesitate or hold back with it, instead using so much force it almost makes a shutter sound. But the dazzling sunlight and seawater sure hurt my eyes.


    Silver skin and a neat, detailed mesh pattern appear in front of my eyes.


    The one I¡¯m holding on to so carefully isn¡¯t Murata, but a large bonito.


    ¡°What is this!? Why am I hugging a bonito!?¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­ Although I wear glasses, I¡¯m not Nakajima[1], y¡¯know¡­¡±


    I want to look towards the direction the voice is coming from, but my head is fixed in place and can¡¯t turn properly. Even if I want to wave my legs, I can¡¯t move an inch be it forward or backward. And though my limbs can¡¯t move, my whole body is still swaying. I was about to ask why I feel so floaty, then I realize that we¡¯re caught in a fish net, and suspended in mid-air too. No wonder I feel that way.


    Other than the bonito I¡¯m hugging tightly, there are silver fish scales pressing on my back, front, left, right, brain and stomach. In conclusion, we¡¯ve fallen into a fisherman¡¯s net together with a school of fish.


    We¡¯re hanging in the fishing net directly above the fishing boat, looking down on the fishermen underneath us, but they¡¯re grinning from ear to ear at the rare harvest they got.


    I¡¯ve only had baseball on my mind for the past sixteen years, so although I experienced batting an out that got stuck in the net, I¡¯ve never experienced being trapped in a fishing net myself. No, wait a sec! I think I did get successfully caught in a bug net before, but that was just a game between children, after all.


    On the other hand, getting pulled upwards together with fish in a net by fishermen is an experience I probably won¡¯t get again in this lifetime. I should say, if possible, I hope I¡¯ll never experience it again.


    ¡°Ah~~ How troublesome, if Aniki found out about this, he would definitely look down on me¡­ He would surely say I¡¯m a ¡®Human Sunfish¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Sunfish are a docile species of fish, and they get caught even if they noticed the net because they can¡¯t avoid it¡ªSpeaking of which, why are you hugging a bonito so tightly?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still asking me why?¡±


    My arms are still wrapped around seafood until now.


    But there¡¯s a reason I¡¯m holding on so tightly. Not because I¡¯m hungry, but because I must never get separated from Murata no matter what.


    Murata and I jumped into the entrance of the Star Tour together from the sailing mazoku vessel. Although I¡¯ve long since gotten used to this kind of commuting, the Star Tour is still a journey to a different world. Maybe I have to ask Ulrike or Miss Anissina to find out what combinations and devices allow us to fly to a different world.


    And judging by my current condition, I don¡¯t have any elite humanoid flying robot or guardian fighter jet. Add that to the fact that we¡¯re guided by maryoku, moving in a space that isn¡¯t Earth or Shin Makoku, and the consequences could be irreparable if we got separated from our comrades.


    So I have to hold onto him tightly! When we were engulfed by the rapid water, that¡¯s the thought that immediately came to mind.


    And besides, I hadn¡¯t planned to return yet, it was Wolfram beside me that pushed us into the sea from the back, so even if it wasn¡¯t of our own volition, in the end we still fell down towards the blue-black whirlpool.


    Just as Wolfram said, I know he did it completely out of kindness. He probably wishes I can return to Earth and sleep peacefully, eat Mom¡¯s cooking, then recharge and rest up properly before returning to Shin Makoku. But in the end¡­


    ¡°This is very obviously not Japan.¡±


    ¡°I think so too, huh.¡±


    Although that guy made such a decision to give us a push, if he finds out later that we didn¡¯t return to Earth, I sure hope he won¡¯t blame himself too much for it.


    We¡¯re like animals caught in a trap and hanging from a tall tree, the people with hair and eye colors very unlike Japanese ones pointing at us from below. Their hair is brown, red-brown, red, even blonde. As for the fishermen¡¯s sun-baked skin, rather than the color of wheat, it looks more bronze.


    Although we really hope this is Earth, it seems that wish isn¡¯t likely to come true. The proof is that I can understand what they¡¯re saying. If this were Italy or France on Earth, putting aside Murata for now, I shouldn¡¯t be able to understand what they¡¯re saying.


    But after they got over their initial shock, their expressions are now turning to fury, while they yell things like ¡®No matter what you¡¯ve gone overboard¡¯ and ¡®This is obstruction of fishing, getting more and more agitated as they go. ¡®Obstruction of defense¡¯ or ¡®obstruction of base-running¡¯ I hear a lot, but this is the first time I heard of ¡®obstruction of fishing¡¯.


    Even so, any fisherman in any world would be disappointed to find something they can¡¯t grill with salt or make sashimi out of trapped in the net they worked so hard to spread. I¡¯m really sorry that today your harvest is made of high school boys.


    ¡°How troublesome~~ What if they ask us to pay damages for their fishing losses and net? The ¡®I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying¡¯ excuse won¡¯t work, either.¡±


    ¡°Now isn¡¯t the time to be worrying about that.¡±


    A deep, charismatic baritone sounds from beside my ear, almost making me jump,


    ¡°Gwendal!¡±


    That is the oldest of the very similar three mazoku brothers, Lord von Voltaire Gwendal. He really likes the Bando dolphin keychain, but I can¡¯t be sure if he likes living bonito. That Gwendal is pulling my collar tightly from behind with his large hand, no wonder I¡¯m having difficulty breathing sometimes.


    ¡°W-why is Gwendal here?¡±


    ¡°That should be my question.¡±


    When I finally turn around while straining my stiff muscles, I find that a frowning Lord von Voltaire is also trapped in the fishing het. Although hunks like him look handsome no matter what, the seaweed entangled in his hair does cost him a lot of points. Even if I say it as positively as I can, he still looks like a drunk salaryman.


    ¡°Watching the king¡­ and His Eminence fall into the sea, which idiot would stay still and not do anything? That¡¯s why I dived into the sea without hesitation, planning to grab hold of you two¡­¡±


    ¡°But in the end you were sucked into the terrifying water currents? Sorry, it was our fault for dragging you into this.¡±


    ¡°Dragging me into this?¡±


    ¡°Mn¡ªThe reasons behind it are very complicated.¡±


    ¡°Let me explain, then!¡±


    Murata says excitedly. I¡¯m glad that you¡¯re so energetic, but our situation now is that moving one hair moves us all, so please spare me. As for the fishermen, they seem to have given up on today¡¯s harvest, so they start steering the ship back to the port, making our situation even more unstable.


    ¡°We fell into the sea in the evening, right?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°But now it¡¯s the middle of the day. See, the sun is way up high in the sky.¡±


    He puts his hand near his face, pointing at the sun above his head,


    ¡°Right? This means there¡¯s a time difference, so we¡¯re not anywhere near where we started. Unless we lost consciousness together, and drifted on the sea for a whole night.


    For all three of us to be unconscious on the sea from evening to the next day when the sun is blazing¡ªdoesn¡¯t seem too possible no matter how I think about it. Putting aside outsiders like Murata and I, Gwen is an excellent fighter, so something like that would never happen to him.


    ¡°My conclusion is that although we were preparing to return to Earth, there seems to have been some interference, and in the end Lord von Voltaire came along for the ride to somewhere far away but in the same world as Shin Makoku.¡±


    ¡°But, by ¡®some interference¡¯, what do you¡­¡±


    Gwendal clears his throat softly,


    ¡°¡­It wouldn¡¯t happen to be me, would it?¡±


    ¡°Ah~~ I think it shouldn¡¯t be you¡ª¡±


    Murata peels off the algae plastered to his cheek, and even takes a bit from that really salty-looking rim,


    ¡°Although it¡¯s just my guess, I think it may have been Shinou¡¯s doing. I think there¡¯s a high chance he would do something like this.¡±


    ¡°Eh!?¡±


    A deep voice instantly overlaps with the perfectly-pronounced voice. Although I¡¯m really surprised, I didn¡¯t think Lord von Voltaire would be too.


    Speaking of Shinou, he¡¯s something close to God to the mazokus.


    What should I do? My friend, who may yet live for many years, suddenly said he heard the voice of God. Since he¡¯s a smart guy, even if the world is destroyed or threatened, there¡¯s no way he would be cheated by a strange cult.


    The bonito in my arms seems to agree, flailing about non-stop.


    But Gwendal expresses his interest one step ahead of me,


    ¡°You two spoke!? You and His Majesty Shinou!?¡±


    ¡°Mn¡ªI¡¯m not sure if we spoke or met.¡±


    ¡°You two met each other!?¡±


    He¡¯s getting more and more farfetched, what do I do now? He actually said he met God? I patted my friend¡¯s shoulder,


    ¡°Murata, it¡¯s best not to talk about that sort of thing with others. Because everyone think God is unattainable.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to advise me so solemnly, I won¡¯t sell the news to the paparazzi.¡±


    Such dangerous gossip, I think even ¡®Tokyo Sports Paper¡¯ doesn¡¯t publish stuff like that anymore.


    ¡°You say you met God- Wouldn¡¯t that have terrified you--?¡±


    ¡°Please! Shibuya, it¡¯s not like he¡¯s a ghost.¡±


    Poor Gwendal, this seems to be a test for his previous religion. And his brow is creased even more tightly now, as he murmurs, ¡°To think that other than the oracle priestess, there are others who can hear His Majesty Shinou¡¯s voice.¡± By now I can¡¯t be sure if he truly believes what Murata is saying anymore.


    ¡°Poor things, the mazoku have way too many dreams and hopes towards Shinou.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t blame them, His Majesty Shinou¡¯s position in Shin Makoku is just like a god. Like Pele place in your heart¡­ Eh, is it Pele? Or Zico? Maradona?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Beckenbauer!¡±


    The fishing net trapping us tilts and sways. It seems that since the boat is about to enter the port, their steering angle is huge.


    ¡°Anyway, not long ago I met Shinou, it¡¯s just that it¡¯s hard to explain in concrete words.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t say it in concrete words, I¡¯m really bad at sciences.¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯re bad at sciences and languages, all the development has gone to your limbs.¡±


    In order to help me understand, Murata explains it to me in the same style as elementary school compulsory reading assignments.


    The mystery of the pyramids and the secret of the Boxes.


    The bespectacled adventurer Murata Ken, jumped through dimensions from Japan on Earth and into the pyramid. He used the theory that a piece of the Box and the Box itself would attract each other. But back then, Murata Ken had not jumped directly through the dimensions to the pyramid.


    ¡°Murata, I think you can use slightly harder words for sixth grade elementary students.¡±


    ¡°In the middle of the journey, I was pulled to the space he exists in.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean? Isn¡¯t His Majesty Shinou dead?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not really alive but neither is he dead. He used his own power to create a unique space, and his soul now exists there.¡±


    ¡°Then he really is a ghost¡­¡±


    ¡°No, ghosts don¡¯t have the power to change the course of the world.¡±


    ¡°In that case, how would the soul you¡¯re talking about change the course of the world?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll send word to the priestess and have the people do his bidding, or he¡¯ll use maryoku to get in the way of someone¡¯s actions. Just like us now.¡±


    So that¡¯s it!


    In other words, according to Murata¡¯s speculations, the reason we can¡¯t return to Earth successfully isn¡¯t because Gwendal followed us down into the sea, but His Majesty Shinou¡¯s soul used maryoku to prevent us from going back¡­ But what good does it serve him to do that?


    ¡°Does His Majesty Shinou not want me to go back to Earth?¡±


    A ray of light flashes past Murata¡¯s slightly inaccurately-powered glasses, and he says solemnly,


    ¡°Maybe, that guy seems to be having some funny ideas.¡±


    ¡°Hey hey hey, don¡¯t suspect a god-like guy just based on your instinct.¡±


    ¡°If you really want to put it that way, what about you who assumed he was a god just based on your instinct? How will you explain that?¡±


    ¡°Ugh, hm¡ª¡±


    He¡¯s right.


    ¡°Someone in my memory said this, ¡®It¡¯s best not to deify His Majesty Shinou too much.¡¯ He¡¯s really good at fighting, but although he really loves the mazoku, he¡¯s still a man who won¡¯t be satisfied until he has everything under his control. Such as fame, authority¡­ and also violent power. How could someone as petty as him be a god?¡±


    ¡°When you put it that way, it does seem like he¡¯s not.¡±


    ¡°And his leadership charisma is really bothersome too.¡±


    ¡°You would think it¡¯s bothersome! Because he¡¯s a great king and at the same level as a god, of course it¡¯s good that he has charisma! I mean, it should only be expected, right!? Like me, I¡¯m all troubled because I¡¯m not good enough in that area.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s bothersome precisely because his charisma overshadows the current Maou.¡±


    My usually cheerful friend hits me over the head with those words, making me especially embarrassed. I have to take the words of someone who met Shinou for real seriously. Although I don¡¯t know how he managed to get to his resting place, but this is the era where you could get to an alternate world by being flushed down the toilet, even if your wish to ¡®go to an ancient tomb¡¯ becomes ¡®welcome to the world of my heart¡¯, it¡¯s nothing to be surprised about.


    ¡°But instead of leadership charisma, Shibuya wins by his passion and justice, now that¡¯s not too bad either, is it? And anyone can tell that you don¡¯t have any ulterior motive.¡±


    ¡°¡­it sounds like you¡¯re saying I¡¯m a catcher with no calls at all¡­¡±


    If I really look like I have no plans at all for the rest of my life, that¡¯d be really bad. No one would want to follow an empty-brained king.


    ¡°What¡¯s so bad about that? You look like you¡¯ll do exactly what you say, at the very least you¡¯re much better than that guy who collects dangerous items for his own interests.¡±


    ¡°Baseball cards aren¡¯t dangerous, y¡¯know.¡±


    ¡°Not baseball cards, Boxes.¡±


    Having gotten everything off his chest at once, Murata sighs heavily, his expression spelling out ¡®to think my own people are being idiots too, at this rate the problem won¡¯t be easy to solve¡¯.


    ¡°By ¡®Boxes¡¯, do you mean that!?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. That guy, in other words His Majesty Shinou is planning to collect all the Forbidden Boxes. Although he can¡¯t do it.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me His Majesty Shinou really wants to¡ªto the Forbidden Boxes!?¡±


    Completely confused, Lord von Voltaire can¡¯t help but interrupt as well,


    ¡°His Majesty Shinou¡¯s plan is to gather all the Boxes in Shin Makoku?¡±


    ¡°Strictly speaking, he wants to keep them by his side, he hopes to control all the Boxes and Keys. Because he¡¯s a man who will only rest when he has everything under his control. Those Boxes could be called the proof that he sealed the soushu, to Shinou they¡¯re like trophies showing off his past achievements. Although they¡¯ll cause a disaster if they¡¯re opened by accident, even though to us they¡¯re terrifying and low grade souvenirs, to him they¡¯re toys that make people tremble in their boots. He wants to make it so they can be activated at any time, and then keep them by his side.¡±


    ¡°Collect? It can¡¯t be, right?¡±


    My friend wants to wave away my muttering, but he can¡¯t move because his fingers get hooked on the net,


    ¡°No, in order to protect his reputation I must admit, he doesn¡¯t plan on using the Boxes, that will really tick him off. Because he wants everything to be in his control.¡±


    ¡°But Ulrike didn¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. As long as the oracle announces the sacred decree of the god-like His Majesty Shinou, all the people of Shin Makoku would most likely obey that order. If he ordered to gather all four Boxes in this country, even if their hearts are full of questions, they would probably obey anyway. The fact is he didn¡¯t make his intentions known, so forget ordering them to be gathered, I even wanted to bury the Forbidden Boxes.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing he didn¡¯t mention this to the oracle, or to anyone at all. In other words, to him, the current situation at least is beyond his expectations.¡±


    ¡°Does he think it¡¯s easier for people to find the Boxes based on their own imagination? Or could it be because¡­¡±


    Maybe it¡¯s because I swallowed some air together with my saliva, so my throat makes a strange noise.


    ¡°¡­I wanted to throw away the Boxes?¡±


    ¡°Maybe. I don¡¯t know, maybe it¡¯s not just because of that.¡±


    Murata shakes his head lightly,


    ¡°But you don¡¯t have to do according to his wishes.¡±


    The fishing vessel successfully enters the port, and I hear the heavy sound of the ship going across the surface of the water. That sound incites my imagination¡ª¡®If the Boxes that breed disasters were to sink into the sea, would they make that sort of noise?¡¯ But that¡¯s just the sound of the ship setting anchor at the jetty.


    Sorry, but I still want to throw it away.


    I murmur to myself, telling the absent His Majesty Shinou.


    I want to sink that to the bottom of the sea.


    ¡°You just have to do what you want to.¡±


    Murata nods lightly,


    ¡°But if you want me to give you a suggestion, each Box has a ¡®resting place¡¯ suited uniquely to itself.¡±


    ¡°Resting place?¡±


    ¡°Mn, you could see it¡¯s a place to keep them, or to throw them away. In any case, it¡¯s a place where the soushu sealed inside will lose their power forever. Even if the best course of action now is to sink them to the bottom of the sea where no one can reach them, I still hope to bury them in those places in the end.¡±


    ¡°But Murata, do you know where those places are?¡±


    ¡°The hints are right there in their names.¡±


    The names of the Boxes are ¡®Wind¡¯s End¡¯, ¡®End of the Earth¡¯, ¡®Inferno in the Tundra¡¯ and ¡®Mirror¡¯s Depth¡¯, separately.


    ¡°It sounds to me like none of them exist.¡±


    ¡°I think so too. There isn¡¯t a place in this world where the wind stops, if the planet of this world is round¡­ it shouldn¡¯t possibly not be round¡­ In that case we won¡¯t know where the ends of the earth are either, and there can¡¯t possibly be a tundra where an inferno burns.¡±


    ¡°Besides, the one that¡¯s like a mirror isn¡¯t the water¡¯s depth, but the surface, right? Exactly, it¡¯s precisely because those are four places that couldn¡¯t possibly exist, that¡¯s the only way the Boxes can lose their power.¡±


    ¡°In other words, no matter what we have to find these places?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I already have some ideas.¡±


    Murata looks very happy, but Gwendal hasn¡¯t said a thing the whole time. He¡¯s very intelligent, and extremely experienced too, so he should contemplating things even further after that.¡±


    ¡°But as for the danger right now¡­¡±


    My friend narrows his eyes behind those lenses,


    ¡°It¡¯s the possibility that your cute Lord von Bielefeld might be a Key.¡±


    ¡°Wolfram¡­ I remember now, you said before not to let Wolf approach that Box, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, didn¡¯t I mention it? The Keys to the Boxes will show up on someone in those four clans respectively. Well, instead of clans, I should say on close blood relations. Because it may also show on their relatives from their mother¡¯s side.¡±


    ¡°Do two of those Keys belong with the current Weller clan and the Voltaire clan?¡±


    Hearing Gwendal¡¯s angry question, Murata retorts instinctively,


    ¡°How did you know?¡±


    ¡°Because there was that incident with Conrad¡¯s arm, and someone related to me by blood also lost an eye to one of the Boxes.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, and unfortunately these people were all very close to the real Keys, as in they may have been born just a few hours apart. We¡¯ll know if we just investigated their birthdays, but unfortunately¡­¡±


    Gwendal narrows one eye and forces out the words, as though it was his face that was burned,


    ¡°Because mazoku don¡¯t place any importance on birthdays, we don¡¯t keep detailed records.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, and that¡¯s a bad habit as well, y¡¯know!¡±


    No wonder Murata would sound so upset.


    ¡°That¡¯s why we can¡¯t predict exactly who the Keys are, and the only one with all the information is that calculating Shinou. If you had the habit of recording births in detail, we could look at the day the previous owner of the Key died and choose a child that may have that person¡¯s soul.¡±


    ¡°Hm? In that case, the moment the previous owner of the soul dies, the next person will use that soul again?¡±


    ¡°In theory if no one else tries to keep the soul somewhere, that¡¯s how it goes. But if the Box doesn¡¯t do anything, most of the people who were chosen to be Keys would live their whole lives without knowing their own importance. And then among the two remaining Keys¡­¡±


    ¡°Is the Bielefeld bloodline, right?¡±


    Gwendal frowns,


    ¡°As I thought.¡±


    ¡°Eh? That means all three of you brothers are!?¡±


    ¡°Calm down a little, Shibuya. That just means that the bearer of the Key was born in their clan, it doesn¡¯t mean that all three of them brothers are Keys. Only, unfortunately, Lord Weller¡­ seems to be it.¡±


    I think back to the time when Conrad¡¯s arm ¡®almost opened¡¯ one of the Forbidden Boxes.


    ¡°But in one sense of the word, it¡¯s lucky he¡¯s aware that he¡¯s a Key. And he would try his best to make sure he didn¡¯t get too close to the Boxes, so he might even be able to control the power of the soushu when push comes to shove.¡±


    ¡°Just ¡®might¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll switch it to he can control it properly. As long as he still keeps his senses at that time.¡±


    ¡°And he even has to keep his ¡®senses¡¯?¡±


    But when faced with such an insane threat, I think no one would be able to keep their senses.


    ¡°You could say we were lucky that time in Caloria, because not only was the Key different from the Box, the Key itself wasn¡¯t whole either, so it all ended in an instant, and the damage was kept at such a minimum.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I mean, that can¡¯t be right. Didn¡¯t you say that if it¡¯s the first Key, even if the effect doesn¡¯t match, it will still affect all the Boxes?¡±


    ¡°I did say that.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°Just as I said, the triggering mechanism is very simple. Because it¡¯s simple, it can open all of the door slightly. But even so, it can open slightly. Add that to the fact that it¡¯s just the arm of the wielder, and that¡¯s why it would burn out in an instant. No, it didn¡¯t really burn out. But think about it, that was left arm. As a part of the body, isn¡¯t that a considerably simple and easy part to use?¡±


    Then who does the left arm Conrad is using so freely now belong to?


    Asking ¡®who¡¯ seems strange, because after all someone else¡¯s arm shouldn¡¯t be able to become your own. Although I can¡¯t understand the overly complicated things, but without the most advanced medical techniques to perform a transplant, that shouldn¡¯t be possible, right?


    In that case, could it be a prosthetic limb? Or a convenience store item that operates with convenient majutsu? But Conrad doesn¡¯t know majutsu, the possibility that it¡¯s a ma-powered device isn¡¯t high.


    Just like that I¡¯m stumped, and I can¡¯t ask him either. Because Murata¡¯s next words weigh down heavily on our hearts.


    ¡°If it¡¯s just the arm, you won¡¯t have to worry about losing your life.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­¡±


    I have no choice but to take a breath before continuing,


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me the other Keys are even more dangerous?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Because they were designed to be even more closely tied to the soul and body. Maybe it¡¯ll be easier to understand if I explained it according to the process.¡±


    Even though he¡¯s the one speaking, Murata might also be feeling the pain, because his gaze moves downwards,


    ¡°When we created the first Key, we also repented on it. That¡¯s why the other three Keys had to be more closely tied to the soul and life. That¡¯s also why, the relationship between the Box and the Key, as well as between the Key and the power became tighter, and in the end only one Key would react with one Box. Theoretically, at the same time the disaster is released, it can be controlled.¡±


    ¡°That was what the ancestor of your soul and Shinou did.¡±


    My friend raises his solemn face, staring at me steadily. His gaze on me is full of confusion, as though I said something weird.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, isn¡¯t it? Did I say something wrong?¡±


    ¡°¡­You didn¡¯t say anything wrong. That¡¯s right, it¡¯s just as you said. It wasn¡¯t me, but my soul¡­ the person who owned my soul a long, long time ago who did it, ha~~¡±


    The reason the end of Murata¡¯s sentence sounds weird is because the net trapping us sways violently from side to side, and our bodies move in tandem. Being suspended in mid-air and swinging violently makes us so unstable we can¡¯t help but scream.


    ¡°Waa-yea! Waaaaa!¡±


    ¡°Ahaha¡ªIt feels like we¡¯ve become prizes in a claw machine!¡±


    ¡°Then what about the last Key?¡±


    I didn¡¯t think Gwendal would stay so calm, pushing Murata to continue talking even under these circumstances.


    ¡°Who is the last Key?¡±


    ¡°The last Key? Oh¡ªIt¡¯s Wincott! But you don¡¯t have to worry about that now, because ¡®Mirror¡¯s Depth¡¯ isn¡¯t in this world!¡±


    When Murata says that in a manner as though yelling, the bottom of the net that had been wrapping us tightly suddenly gives way, so the three of us end up flying through the sky. Although we brace for impact, either luckily or unluckily we land on a heap of fish, so our bodies don¡¯t hurt, but we¡¯re covered from head to toe in silver scales and sticky slime.


    My friend closes one eye as he wipes away the scales sticking to his lenses with his hand,


    ¡°It was sent to Earth. The first owner of my soul betrayed His Majesty Shinou.¡±


    ¡°Betrayed His Majesty Shinou?¡±


    I ask carefully. Because according to the prime minister-cum-my royal instructor Lord von Christ G¨¹nter, did the ancestor of Murata¡¯s soul, the Daikenja get along very well with His Majesty Shinou?


    If he betrayed His Majesty Shinou, then aren¡¯t things really bad?


    ¡°Their opinions differed, plus both of them were very childish, so it became a situation where neither would give to the other.¡±


    ¡°In that case, it¡¯s not so bad. The problem is you said that great character who wouldn¡¯t give in to God is very childish, now isn¡¯t that going a little too far? They were the great people who established the mazoku country, after all.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no such thing, the two of them aren¡¯t as great as people think. I don¡¯t know how the descendants exaggerated things, but I hope you¡¯re not too scared.¡±


    Murata finishes saying those words that would definitely make G¨¹nter faint, and then tosses his head vigorously, shaking loose a ton of fish scales and water droplets from his long-ish hair.


    In any case, we¡¯ve escaped the fishing net. I glance at Gwendal, trying to figure out what he plans to do next, but he¡¯s just sitting there motionlessly in the fish pile, pressing his index finger to his brow, which is even more creased than usual.


    Even though he¡¯s cracking his head over me, the rookie Maou, I figure he¡¯s long since gotten used to that, so it should be the new Earthling he just met that brought him too much excitement. It¡¯s no wonder, after all the brat that he¡¯s facing now actually treats Shinou, the one who¡¯s treated as a religious symbol, like a friend. Since he¡¯s naturally strict, he must really be at a loss now.


    If I told him now that Murata is only sixteen years old, I wonder how he would react. Although Murata keeps talking about all these ancestor stories, his own life experience is only sixteen years long, like mine.


    ¡°Waa¡ªBut my whole body reeks of fish~~ I feel like cat food¡ª¡±


    ¡°On the other hand, Murata, I wanna ask you a strange question.¡±


    ¡°What question?¡±


    ¡°Does Shinou look a lot like Wolfram?¡±


    ¡°Does he look like Lord von Bielefeld? About that¡­ How should I put this~~¡±


    Murata¡¯s expression is saying ¡®what kind of a question are you asking so randomly¡¯ as he takes off his glasses and considers. As for me, I just want to know what kind of an impression he gives off to people, so I can prepare myself in case we meet one day. But this is also because of your ¡®don¡¯t be too scared¡¯ line just now.


    ¡°I think Lord von Bielefeld is a lot cuter than him¡ª¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    At least now there¡¯s a lower chance of the danger that I would shirk away in fear when facing a pretty boy that¡¯s too pretty.

 Volume 17 - Prologue

    There seems to be a group of people, who think that the relationship between my brothers and I isn¡¯t that good.


    It is true that Gwendal isn¡¯t very good at expressing his feelings, and even if he shows up at an event with our youngest brother and I, he doesn¡¯t smile that often. Even so, both Wolfram and I like him a lot, and see him as a brother worthy of our respect.


    That day, however, it is also undeniably true that I was unhappy with Lord Gwendal von Voltaire. Something as trivial as scouting the mountain ranges to determine how many reinforcements to send can be left to rookie soldiers in charge of administration, and is definitely not the jurisdiction of me or someone like Gurrier.


    Therefore as soon as I returned to the capital, I headed straight for his room with every intention to piss him off. I even deliberately said it was an urgent report.


    Although the secretary did mention it, it didn¡¯t matter to me whether he was being experimented on by his childhood friend.


    Still, when I saw what greeted me beyond the door, I could only address him as such:


    ¡°...Something urgent to report¡­ to Daddy Kitty¡­ Meow¡­¡±


    His Excellency was working hard to raise a kitten.

 Volume 17 - CH 1

    Papa, Papa, Papa¡­ Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina murmurs that unfamiliar noun as she strides down the castle corridors, her footsteps clacking.


    That man is now a father, perhaps it¡¯s time to forgive his past sins. That¡¯s right, this isn¡¯t just for that man, but also for that newly born child, or maybe even for that open-minded young woman who married him.


    To be honest, she doesn¡¯t want to meet that person at all.


    That man took her friend¡¯s life. No, although he wasn¡¯t the direct cause, it was still his unreasonable suggestion that forced so many people to the frontlines in Ruttenberg. To save those children who were left behind, even Julia, who was part of the support troops, went to the border¡­ Although Gisela never said any more about it, Julia probably went even further than that.


    If he wasn¡¯t Lord von Voltaire¡¯s cousin, Anissina would have dealt him the proper judgment long ago. And she would not have stopped at anything, she may even use her adorable ma-powered devices.


    In a way, the way Gwendal handled it was very suitable. If that man hadn¡¯t been exiled out of the country, there would have been yet another victim of the ma-powered devices.


    That criminal had recently returned to Shin Makoku.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t the time to care about personal feelings.¡±


    Sighing softly, Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina pushed open the door in front of her. Without its master around, Blood Pledge Castle seems a little dark, and cold.


    Maybe it¡¯s her mind playing tricks on her. On the carpet that looks vaguely red, there stands a tall man and a young woman. The woman looks like no more than a girl from afar, and the man is standing slightly unsteadily, looking a lot older than his actual age.


    Both of them seem distracted. As soon as they hear the door opening, they turn towards Anissina¡¯s direction in unison.


    ¡°Anissina-sama?¡±


    Only the woman speaks. The corners of the man¡¯s mouth start trembling slightly as soon as he lowers his head, his normal eye looking at the ground. There is no telling whether or not his left eye under the grey eyepatch moved as well.


    ¡°Long time no see, Nicola. I¡¯m happy to see you so spirited, how¡¯s the child? If anything comes up with you or Baby, just call the Poison Lady health division anytime. They will send an excellent Poison midwife to you immediately.¡±


    Although that title seems rather ominous, any subordinate of Lady von Karbelnikoff would surely be extremely capable. Knowing this, Nicola smiles happily,


    ¡°Thanks to m¡¯lady, the baby is very healthy. And the madam is taking very good care of the baby as well.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great.¡±


    The people waiting in the visiting chamber are Nicola, who married into Shin Makoku from human territory, and her husband Grisela Gegenhuber.


    It was Anissina who summoned them here from Grisela Gegenhuber¡¯s mansion. The man¡¯s father owns some land in a corner of Voltaire territory. Perhaps wary of Shin Makoku¡¯s central power, where Gwendal is in charge, the head of the clan hadn¡¯t allowed his son to inherit the family business.


    Besides, to the wife who had grown up in the city, a life without the family business might even be more carefree and fun. Nicola keeps surveying her surroundings, and asks Anissina,


    ¡°Anissina-sama, about that¡­ where are His Majesty Yuuri and His Excellency Gwendal?¡±


    ¡°They had no choice but to leave the castle due to some circumstances. Aah, don¡¯t try to ask anymore.¡±


    Anissina raises a hand to stop the curious human girl as she walks towards the Maou¡¯s throne,


    ¡°That¡¯s also the reason I called you guys here. While His Majesty and Gwendal are absent, you two should be of some use.¡±


    ¡°As long as we can help, it doesn¡¯t matter what you want us to do.¡±


    Her expression had been disappointed since she could not meet her respected king and relative, but here it abruptly brightens up again.


    ¡°What do you want us to do? I have no idea at all.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps. I think your husband over there should have guessed by now. In any case, there will always be some problems should the king and lead advisor of a country be absent at once. If the people were to find out about this, there would be even more problems. The more loved a king is, the more uneasy the people would be every day he¡¯s not within the country borders. So Gwendal and I came up with a plan.¡±


    Nicola tilts her head, her expression still completely lost.


    ¡°I hope you two can be the shadow warriors of His Majesty the Maou and the advisor Lord von Voltaire.¡±


    ¡°Shadow warrior?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. For further details, please consult ¡®Learning about Japanese Warring States Period from the Poison Lady¡¯.¡±


    The author is naturally Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina. This was the children¡¯s book she had drawn out after twenty days of tirelessly quizzing His Majesty the Maou, who grew up on Earth. But the informant, Yuuri, wasn¡¯t very good at history, so as a result the Sengoku era became a mess. This wasn¡¯t a problem, though. After all, Anissina is the Poison Lady, not the History Lady.


    ¡°It¡¯s written here in the fourteenth chapter, shadow warriors are those who look similar to the warring state generals.¡±


    Nicola can¡¯t help but frown when she sees what Anissina is pointing at. Although it¡¯s a picture to go with the descriptions, the person on it has messy hair, his armour is sliding off his shoulder, and there are quite a few arrows embedded into his body. There¡¯s even blood dripping down his forehead, and his gaze is extremely vengeful.


    ¡°Um¡­ No matter how I look at it, that person doesn¡¯t look like a general¡­ or the substitute for a king.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, that¡¯s a soldier who lost.¡±


    ¡°I see, and I thought the kings in the Sengoku era look so tragic!¡±


    ¡°So, what exactly do you want me to do?¡±


    Gegenhuber finally spoke, but maybe his excessive nerves made his voice somewhat hoarse. ¡°Oh my my, even this man has denigrated this much?¡± Anissina can¡¯t help but be surprised.


    He was once arrogant and conceited because he was supported by the queen¡¯s powerful brother, but now he¡¯s just a regular citizen. To be able to enter this visiting chamber has made him so nervous his voice turned hoarse. Anissina thinks to herself, ¡®That¡¯s right, because the master of this country isn¡¯t a man who would selfishly use the citizens.¡¯ She never once thought that Gegenhuber would be so nervous because of her.


    ¡°I wish to have you two act as His Majesty and Lord von Voltaire¡¯s shadow warriors.¡±


    The husband and wife open their mouths at the same time, their expressions saying ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡ªNaturally, I won¡¯t ask you two to handle the duties and diplomatic matters that come up in this period. The shadow army and I will figure out how to deal with those, you two just have to pretend to be His Majesty the Maou and Lord von Voltaire respectively. It¡¯s okay if you just sit on the chairs quietly.¡±


    ¡°But why us¡­ Forgetting me for now, His Majesty isn¡¯t even the same gender as my wife.¡±


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you two mistaken for His Majesty Yuuri and Lord von Voltaire before?¡±


    To be precise, it was Yuuri and Gwendal who were mistaken for these two. And that was because the sketch was drawn too simply, so it does not in any way mean Yuuri and Nicola look similar, but there¡¯s no point talking about that now either. As for the cousins, Gwendal and Gegenhuber do look quite alike. Only those who have seen them at a close distance would be able to tell them apart.


    ¡°Whether or not we have someone acting like the king and sitting on the Maou''s throne makes a big difference in the stability of the country. The same goes even if there is a regent or a prime minister. Even if you¡¯re just a silent substitute, your role is still very important.¡±


    ¡°I-I heard of this before.¡±


    Gripping her fists tightly, Nicola says to her nobleman husband,


    ¡°I saw this in ¡®Stories of the Poison Lady who is Familiar with the Other World¡¯. There was a woman who exchanged identities with her noble brother, and then took the world by storm on horseback, right? Uh¡ªI think it was Substitute¡­ That¡¯s right, it¡¯s Substitute Horse Whisperer[1], right?¡±


    That seems to be an impressive and intelligent substitute, but Anissina just waves her right hand coldly,


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you don¡¯t do anything, all you have to do is sit there obediently, like a borrowed kitten. If you want to say something, just say ¡®I¡¯ll leave it up to you¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Is it okay just like that? I mean¡­ Don¡¯t we need to passionately shake hands with people on the street, or give roadside speeches?¡±


    Nicola seems to have gotten a monarchy and a democracy mixed up.


    ¡°You¡¯re forbidden to go out anyway, so naturally you can¡¯t tell anyone about this. It¡¯s a promise, if you break that promise then I¡¯ll deep fry both of you in hot oil, and if you say anything you¡¯ll have to swallow a thousand needles.¡±


    ¡°Goodness, I don¡¯t want to swallow those!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just to show your determination to go through with everything we just said.¡±


    ¡°Ah, but¡­¡±


    Even if the unexpected request took her by surprise, Nicola was quite excited about it. Now, however, she suddenly seems uneasy, and asks with a frown despite herself,


    ¡°U-uhm, but how will I care for my child? If I have to leave the baby, I¡­¡±


    ¡°You are perfectly allowed to continue taking care of the baby, I highly support the mother personally raising her child. As for the household chores during that period, just throw them at the men. Ah¡ªfor example when you¡¯re sitting on the Maou''s throne, just give the baby to Lord Grisela. He¡¯s impersonating Gwendal, and by now nobody would find Gwendal carrying an adorable infant surprising anymore.¡±


    Maybe this answer finally put her at ease, Nicola says something that a couple looking at houses would say, ¡°You decide, honey¡ª¡± Anissina takes this chance to take out a palm-sized machine that she had mysteriously hidden goodness knows where before now.


    ¡°In that case¡ª¡±


    ¡°W-what is that?¡±


    ¡°This is Fiercely Head-shaving Man, ¡®Fierce Man¡¯ for short.¡±


    They don¡¯t even have time to wonder, ¡°Why isn¡¯t it ¡®Fierce-shave Man¡¯?¡±, because Anissina is already pulling Gegenhuber¡¯s long hair towards herself, and bringing that machine to his head.


    ¡°Please wait, wait a sec¡ª! Why must you shave off the hair from the top of my husband¡¯s head? After all, Hube and I are supposed to be His Excellency Gwendal¡¯s and His Majesty¡¯s shadow warriors¡­ Uh¡ªuh¡ªLike that!¡±


    The wife points at the open book, saying,


    ¡°Although the head of the fallen warrior looks like a plate, but a shadow warrior doesn¡¯t need to do that, right!?¡±


    ¡°Nicola, that¡¯s a bald warrior.¡±


    ¡°Bald¡­ Eh¡­?¡±


    ¡­Nicola can¡¯t help but press the top of her head with a look of distress, terrified that she would meet the same fate.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! How could I shave off your hair? A woman¡¯s hair is her weapon, y¡¯know. In emergencies, it can even be made into a whip or rope. After your child abandonment is all over, grow your hair out a bit longer.¡±


    ¡°Please wait, Lady von Karbelnikoff.¡±


    After a desperate struggle, Gegenhuber finally manages to save his head from the Poison Lady¡¯s clutches,


    ¡°I¡¯m not hesitating because I don¡¯t want to lose my hair. Although that isn¡¯t the case, but based on how Lord von Voltaire would think, I don¡¯t think His Excellency would want me to be his shadow warrior.¡±


    ¡°Why? Because he hates you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­¡±


    ¡°Idiot!¡±


    Surprised, Anissina closes her eyes softly while yelling up at the ceiling,


    ¡°As long as it¡¯s for Shin Makoku, Gwendal wouldn¡¯t care at all who the one impersonating him is. Even if he¡¯s unhappy or dissatisfied about it later, that¡¯s still a small matter that can be solved with a sniffle or two. After all, this is all his fault for being so careless, and simple leaving the castle empty like this. If he doesn¡¯t like it, just come to Blood Pledge Castle. And besides¡­¡±


    The machine in Anissina¡¯s hand makes a sound and folds in on itself.


    ¡°Besides, I didn¡¯t call you to the capital just to be a shadow warrior.¡±


    Gegenhuber can¡¯t help but shudder.


    Although he did commit an unforgivable sin, a life spent wandering far away from home was both empty and painful. But there are still some benefits of living overseas. That way, he could avoid being Lady von Karbelnikoff¡¯s lab rats for her ma-powered experiments.


    Compared to Gwendal, who was forced to live with her as younger brother, he was far less often used as a lab rat. Even so, the nightmares still woke him up at night several times. To this day, his eyepatch would loosen with tears whenever he recalls the tragedy of the fully ma-powered toilet washing.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t mean¡ª¡±


    ¡°Exactly, it¡¯s just as you¡¯re thinking.¡±


    Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina approaches him with the aura of a manager waving a whip,


    ¡°If you remain silent, I¡¯ll just have to ask your body directly. Alright, tell me everything about the Boxes!¡±


    This time, the eyepatch loosens for a different reason.

 Volume 17 - CH 2

    Walking down the corridor in front of His Majesty the Maou¡¯s governing office, Gisela suddenly stops dead in her tracks. Right now she¡¯s standing just outside the meeting chambers, as G¨¹nter and Wolfram push a long box towards her from behind.


    The box is just the right size for a grown person to lie down in. It looks like a coffin from the outside, but it¡¯s not a coffin, because the person inside is Josak, sleeping deeply in a state of suspended animation. Since the determined artist, Lord von Christ G¨¹nter made some decorations to it, the weight of the box is now twice that of a regular wooden box. Even with two people pushing it, it¡¯s utterly exhausting.


    ¡°Speaking of which, why am I pushing Gurrier¡¯s sleeping box too?¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped, since we can¡¯t leave that to anyone else. Because he¡¯ll definitely say something once he wakes up.¡±


    ¡°Say what?¡±


    ¡°Something like ¡®thanks¡¯. He¡¯ll definitely say it.¡±


    ¡°Just for that!?¡±


    ¡°For all you know, he might even teach us how to cross-dress out of gratitude.¡±


    ¡°We wouldn¡¯t be able to use it even if we do learn how¡­¡±


    ¡°Shh--! Quiet, you two!¡±


    Gisela presses a finger to her lips, putting her ear to the closed door to try and gauge what¡¯s happening inside.


    ¡°There are voices in the meeting chamber. That¡¯s strange, both His Majesty and His Excellency Gwendal are evidently not here.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡ªIt might be Anissina, Brother said he left her in charge while he¡¯s away.¡±


    ¡°No, this is a man¡¯s voice. Does the Poison Lady have male subordinates?¡±


    She has quite a few male experiment subjects. But when it comes to male subordinates, they really couldn¡¯t think of any.


    ¡°What did you say? Male¡­ Pff!¡±


    The next second, he crouches down while holding his face. Because when G¨¹nter pushed Gisela back to bring his face closer, the door suddenly swung open, and that beautiful face took a solid hit.


    ¡°What are you guys loitering suspiciously in front of the governing office? Huh?¡±


    Standing at the door, Anissina observes each of the three people in the corridor one after the other,


    ¡°Aren¡¯t these G¨¹nter, Wolfram, and the girl general?¡±


    No one has ever, in the history of the world, called Gisela like that. Only Anissina would have the guts to do that. Because everyone has always respected and feared Gisela like a demon, so almost no one had ever called her a girl, not even her arch nemesis, the Poison Lady¡­


    ¡°I won¡¯t be moved.¡±


    But Gisela is rather calm right now.


    Anissina looks towards Gisela¡¯s adopted father with an expression of disinterest. He¡¯s still holding his nose and forehead now.


    ¡°Oh my, Papa von Christ, you¡¯re spewing juices as usual.¡±


    ¡°Bish ishn joosh, ish bohd. Ish nosh bohd.¡±


    ¡°Ish bohd?¡±


    No, it¡¯s nose blood. Regardless, this isn¡¯t the time to argue over trivial matters such as mishearing things. With blood flowing from his nostrils, G¨¹nter turns back to look at the long wooden box. There isn¡¯t a cover on it, just a beautiful piece of cloth.


    ¡°Ish gud you kem, we wehr going to poosh him to your lab. Gurrier¡­¡±


    ¡°I heard, because the pigeon mail got here a long time ago. So this is the box with the spy in it?¡±


    She flips open the cloth without waiting for an answer, and stares intently at Josak lying within. And then, with a gentleness completely uncharacteristic of her, she lightly caresses the cold, pale face, even brushing away the hair sticking to his cheek,


    ¡°Goodness¡ªThis is a wonderfully perfect state of suspended animation, who did this? It wasn¡¯t Lord von Voltaire, was it? Could it be the girl general?¡±


    ¡°No, it was my adopted father¡­ It was His Excellency G¨¹nter.¡±


    Perhaps because she was being praised, she nearly misspoke. Anissina nods with satisfaction,


    ¡°Your techniques aren¡¯t too shabby. This way, the freshness can be maintained even on a sea journey. G¨¹nter, it¡¯s been a while since you performed so excellently.¡±


    ¡°Will he get better?¡±


    ¡°His body should have recovered appropriately by now, it¡¯s now up to him¡­ What is this?¡±


    Anissina stops pulling down the cloth at his knee.


    Because his condition knee-down is an utter mess. It¡¯s not the damage you would sustain in a sword battle. Rather than that, it¡¯s more like an entire leg was flattened. Although she heard that the wound on his chest has stopped bleeding, for some reason he¡¯s about to lose an entire leg instead.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either, Gurrier never explained what happened.¡±


    Just as they¡¯re discussing, suddenly a petite figure enters G¨¹nter¡¯s field of vision. It looks like the visitors who had arrived before them are now walking out.


    ¡°Did something happen? Anissina-sama¡­ Oh my goodness!¡±


    The young woman makes a sound that is either a scream or a sigh, covering her mouth with her petite hands. Because there¡¯s a buff young man lying stark naked in front of¡ªalthough his actual age is almost a hundred years old.


    ¡°Oh my gooodnesssss, eeeeeeeeh!¡±


    ¡°Nicola, you can¡¯t! Don¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°But butbutbutbut¡ª¡±


    Gisela¡¯s hand-carved ice swan has already melted to a rather ominous degree. The girl named Nicola, or rather, her husband pulls her away from the box by her arm.


    ¡°What are you doing, Nicola? You¡¯re not that young anymore.¡±


    ¡°Wait, miss! No, not you, miss, but your husband beside you! You wouldn¡¯t happen to be¡­¡±


    It doesn¡¯t matter what unsightly actions Nicola does, but there¡¯s no way they can ignore the person next to her. Both G¨¹nter¡¯s and Gisela¡¯s expressions change drastically, but the one who rushes in first and grabs the man¡¯s collar is Wolfram.


    ¡°You¡­!¡±


    His face and aura says he wants nothing more than to tackle this much taller man onto the ground. His steps in the floorboards were so forceful that his footprints remain on the red carpet.


    ¡°Gegenhuber! How shameless could you be to set foot in this castle again¡­ Do you think Brother and the others would let you in!¡±


    ¡°Your Excellency, don¡¯t act like this.¡±


    Although Gisela tries to interrupt, she can¡¯t pull them apart without the bear paw.


    ¡°Let go of me, Gisela! It was all this man¡¯s fault that the war was at a standstill! Don¡¯t you hate this man to the core as well?¡±


    ¡°Your Excellency!¡±


    ¡°Conrad nearly lost his life, and Julia¡¯s death, they¡¯re all because of this man¡­ Although Brother was kind enough to let him escape harsh punishment, but to think he has the nerve to step into the capital again! His sins are irredeemable!¡±


    ¡°But Julia¡ª¡±


    Gisela suddenly puts down her hand, which in turn causes Wolfram to let go.


    ¡°Julia¡­ That person wouldn¡¯t have wanted things to turn out like this¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, Wolfram! I called these two here.¡±


    Anissina¡¯s tone turns strict as though to hide her last, almost illegible words.


    ¡°I wanted them to act as His Majesty¡¯s and Gwendal¡¯s steam baldies.¡±


    ¡°Anissina-sama, you mean shadow warriors, shadow warriors.¡±


    Nicola mutters, ¡°If you really steam it, that¡¯d be terrible for the scalp.¡± But the Poison Lady doesn¡¯t hear her.


    ¡°For a palace with open gates, it¡¯s very important to have open administration, but some things shouldn¡¯t be made public. It is also a national defence strategy to hide the king¡¯s absence from the people.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    Having heard Anissina voice out, Wolfram has no choice but to release the hand grabbing Gegenhuber¡¯s collar. The man didn¡¯t resist at all, and so he loses his balance, almost falling to the ground.


    ¡°Besides, that man is a very important witness.¡±


    ¡°Witness? What witness?¡±


    ¡°The Box¡¯s.¡±


    Only Nicola looks at Josak¡¯s wooden box. Since his lower body is being covered by a cloth, there¡¯s nothing to worry about even if she is another man¡¯s wife. On the other hand, the three returnees stiffen up, while Gegenhuber narrows his eyes, looking into the distance.


    ¡°Because Grisela Gegenhuber is a victim of the Forbidden Box.¡±


    At some point, Anissina¡¯s expression turned deadly serious, and she says with her arms crossed on front of her chest,


    ¡°I know about Gurrier, just leave that to me. But according to the pigeon mail, you guys should be carrying another important Box back. One of the four Boxes to seal the soushu¡ª¡®Inferno on the Tundra¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡ªAnissina, about that¡ª¡±


    All three of them start looking away. Their reaction is so abnormal, it¡¯s only natural that Anissina would be suspicious. But the mouth she had opened to start interrogating them actually closes again unhappily, and some of her red hair floats up suddenly as though it was alive.


    ¡°Mmh¡­¡±


    ¡°About that matter, let me be the one to explain.¡±


    As soon as she hears that unfamiliar voice, her already sticking-up hair actually stands on end, just like a lightning conductor. Anissina harrumphs, frowning.


    ¡°The Box was lost.¡±


    Anyone who looks at this man would know instantly that he¡¯s mazoku. He walks over from the other end of the corridor as he speaks, his shiny golden hair and icy blue eyes somehow really reminiscent of the Bielefeld or Spitzberg families. But maybe because his lips are really thin, he gives off a cold feeling even despite his good looks.


    However, there is a problem. No, to think of it, there¡¯s more than one problem, there are two. The first is that, no matter how you look at it, this man is fully naked.


    ¡°And it was based on Yuuri¡¯s wishes. We sunk it into the depths of the sea where even fishing boats won¡¯t pass by it. All according to your His Majesty the Maou¡¯s plans.¡±


    The second problem is that while he¡¯s talking with a confident tone, he¡¯s also riding on a young girl.


    ¡°Wah! Y-Your Majesty.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    It might not be too accurate to say that he¡¯s riding on the young girl, because the man seems to be emerging from the prophetic priestess, Ulrike¡¯s back. To be more precise, Ulrike is carrying a sack on her back, from which a topless man crossing his arms over his chest with a superior attitude is emerging. As for the priestess carrying the man, she¡¯s already panting for breath.


    ¡°Y-Your Majesty, that¡¯s a bit overboard.¡±


    ¡°Overboard? What¡¯s overboard?¡±


    ¡°It looks like you¡¯re abusing a young girl.¡±


    ¡°A young girl, you said? How old do you think Ulrike is? She¡¯s evidently lived longer than all of you. I¡¯m not wrong, am I, Ulrike?¡±


    The highest priestess of the Shinou shrine nods without saying anything, her breathing extremely ragged.


    ¡°In that case, you¡¯re abusing the elderly!¡±


    ¡°Telling a woman she¡¯s old to her face is even more impolite. G¨¹nter, this is why you could never find anybody to marry into the family.¡±


    Behind them, Nicola makes another indescribable scream. Even if she doesn¡¯t peek through her fingers covering her face, it¡¯s not like the other guy is revealing anything unspeakable. His butt and his things are covered very nicely, it¡¯s just that this image may still be too much for a newly wed wife. She even starts ranting at her husband, ¡°What a waste of such pretty looks¡ª¡±


    Besides, not that much earlier, he was still sticking only a head and an arm out of a hundred per cent hair pouch sitting on a chair. Compared to that disgusting condition, he looks a lot more normal now.


    ¡°Even so, it¡¯s just too pitiful to have tiny little Ulrike carrying Your Majesty! Anissina, hurry and take out a ma-powered device that would help.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina takes out a small leaf from her pocket. Its size is just big enough to cover one¡¯s crotch.


    ¡°Here¡ªMa-powered underwear, Leaf-kun¡ª¡±


    ¡°Anissina, is that a ma-powered device? Is that really a ma-powered device?¡±


    ¡°And what¡¯s up with that ¡®Here¡ª¡±? Why isn¡¯t there any oomph in that at all!?¡±


    ¡°No, you must never accept the Poison Lady¡¯s plants!¡±


    The three people had three different reactions. Once you consider the other person¡¯s position, Anissina¡¯s attitude is more than a little inappropriate. Besides, he¡¯s not a child or a tengu, it¡¯s too much to hide it with a leaf. Although the man who¡¯s getting this kind of treatment seems okay with it.


    ¡°Uhm, actually, it¡¯s not as heavy as you guys think it is.¡±


    Ulrike says that, but she can¡¯t even speak properly, and sweat is pouring down her forehead.


    ¡°Maybe, my maryoku, isn¡¯t enough.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, that¡¯s why! Because His Majesty Shinou is using other people¡¯s maryoku to materialise in the real world! Anissina, quick, make him something that would increase maryoku! Otherwise, you¡¯ll be the one to carry His Majesty!¡±


    Anissina¡¯s expression remains stern even when she hears ¡®Shinou¡¯, but Grisela Gegenhuber goes deadly stiff from the shock, so much so that his eyepatch nearly flies off.


    Of course, Wolfram and Gisela no longer fear this man known as the founder of Shin Makoku as much. The Shinou of their memories has changed over the span of the voyage. After all, he is the powerful existence worshipped as a god, so even though their rating of him hasn¡¯t dropped to rock bottom, it has fallen to the ¡®was once an impressive king¡¯ level.


    And that¡¯s all because they lived with Shinou, materializing from a pouch, for several days. The ability to get used to something is scary indeed.


    Gegenhuber, on the other hand, still can¡¯t pick his jaw from off the floor. As his wife, Nicola senses her husband¡¯s condition, and using her wise judgment, quietly takes a step back. She feels as though it¡¯s best for her not to say anything at all ¨C truly admirable judgment.


    The man addressed as Shinou says to the two he just met for the first time today,


    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder that you are so surprised. For a man to suddenly appear and call himself Shinou must be difficult to believe, no? Why don¡¯t I do as before, and try saying some of your secrets. If my power is dependable, then I would probably be able to convince you two. But if the secrets I divulge are super secret things you don¡¯t want anyone else to know, I¡¯m not taking any responsibility for that, okay.¡±


    ¡°If that is the method Your Majesty wishes to use, please go ahead.¡±


    As opposed to Gegenhuber, still gaping like a koi fish, Anissina seems unnaturally calm. Rather than calm, it¡¯s more like her gaze is cold.


    ¡°If doing so would please you, do go ahead and spell out my secrets.¡±


    Shinou¡¯s face approaches Anissina over Ulrike¡¯s head,


    ¡°¡­No matter what secrets I make public, you seem to be unfazed.¡±


    ¡°Gwendal might panic, but I wouldn¡¯t find it especially troubling.¡±


    ¡°¡­In that case, that guy is just too pitiable. I¡¯ll pass, then.¡±


    Things that Lord von Voltaire would deem as reputation damaging are no big deal for Anissina. The others widen their eyes, but sigh when their ¡®what on earth could it be¡¯ expectations fall short.


    ¡°Even if you don¡¯t do that, I will admit that you truly are His Majesty Shinou. Because observe, sire!¡±


    She points at her hair, standing straight towards the sky,


    ¡°My ma-powered maryoku detection devices. Ah, it¡¯s because of the reaction from ¡®His Majesty Shinou is just there¡¯, or ¡®Shinou Antenna¡¯ for short.¡±


    It should be ¡®Just There¡¯ for shirt, right? Why is there suddenly a strange accent? Do you really think of His Majesty Shinou as a youkai!? But there isn¡¯t anyone who would rant about trivial things like that anymore, all of them just stand there and stare.


    ¡°Naturally, Your Majesty would know about this too.¡±


    ¡°No, as a matter of fact, I don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s because this never had a reaction until today, so that comes as no surprise. Ah¡ªum, Messenger Soldier One and Two over there, come here for a bit! Move this box to my lab for me. Listen closely, don¡¯t you ever lift that cloth. If you disobey my instructions, I will curse you for generations and generations, got it?¡±


    Even without such a threat, there shouldn¡¯t be anyone who would want to see Anissina¡¯s things.


    After the two terrified soldiers take away the spy¡¯s box, the atmosphere on the scene finally returns to a level where they can discuss matters. But since everyone is standing between the corridor and the meeting chambers, they¡¯re in a highly awkward position.


    ¡°Josak will be fine, I will definitely restore his ability to walk¡­ On the other hand, Your Majesty, I cannot pretend to not have heard what you just said. You did in fact say that you threw away the Box?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I threw it into the sea. Because that¡¯s what Yuuri wanted.¡±


    Sitting on the chair in the meeting chamber, Ulrike¡¯s face is still very pale. You can¡¯t blame her, in order to let Shinou materialize here, she has been continuously using her maryoku. After all, the pouch with Wolfram¡¯s collective maryoku over a few days was only enough to let him materialize his head and an arm. In order to create everything until the undesirable bits, you would need more than the average maryoku.


    The pretentious naked man is now emerging from the back of an exhausted girl (about eight hundred years old).


    Nicola walks out of the room quietly. Sorry, Hube, I can¡¯t do this anymore, I want to go back to my child.


    Perhaps his wife¡¯s exit helped to boost his spirits. Gegenhuber raises his head once more, his eyepatch returning to its original position,


    ¡°The Box has been disposed of?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, and we didn¡¯t take down the coordinates or the depth either.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no better way to do this. That isn¡¯t something we should keep near us.¡±


    ¡°Why would you say that? I for one think it¡¯s a very useful object.¡±


    ¡°¡­Because I personally experienced its horror.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, Gegenhuber. Because you¡ª¡±


    With his arms crossed in front of his chest, Shinou throws his head back and laughs, pitching Ulrike forward as she loses her balance.


    ¡°¡ªare closely related to Gwendal, how tragic. Could it be that you were used as an experimental guinea pig by the humans who roughly figured that out?¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t know?¡±


    Opposite him and furthest away so that they can¡¯t even see her face, Anissina asks,


    ¡°I thought there was nothing in this world that Your Majesty wouldn¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Me? I have no interest whatsoever in what those humans do. I just want to know exactly how terrifying Hube¡¯s experience was. I never thought anyone would want to open that Box.¡±


    ¡°¡®Terrifying¡¯ doesn¡¯t do it justice.¡±


    Gegenhuber describes the truth, grateful of his wife¡¯s absence at the time.


    ¡°My left eye caught on fire, and I lost mobility in half of my body. Maybe because I wasn¡¯t the real Key, so that was the extent of my injuries. Or could it be I only suffered like that because the Key didn¡¯t match? To be honest, I¡¯m not so sure myself. Do you want to see?¡±


    He reaches for his eyepatch.


    ¡°N-no, there¡¯s no need for that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll look at it later. Maybe I can find a more suitable method of treatment.¡±


    The panicked G¨¹nter and Gisela, adopting the stance of a medical practitioner, show the utter difference in attitude between the father and daughter.


    ¡°Humans seem to understand the Box better than we do. Although I don¡¯t know where they obtained the knowledge from, but the existence of the soushu, its power, and even the incident where we mazoku sealed the four soushu away in the distant past, they know all of it well, albeit only a few of them. Not only that, they also know that the Keys to the Boxes aren¡¯t objects, but live people. They even found out that the Keys are only born into specific mazoku families.¡±


    These are all things that G¨¹nter, Wolfram and Gisela found out from Shinou himself a long time ago.


    ¡°However, they don¡¯t seem to be certain which people from which families. I was only caught for their experiments because I happened the only mazoku around when they obtained the Box.¡±


    ¡°Lord Grisela, that means that once a Forbidden Box falls into human hands, all the mazokus currently living overseas might meet the same danger?¡±


    Faced with Anissina¡¯s question, Gegenhuber says with an expression of distress,


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid so.¡±


    ¡°In that case, all the mazokus venturing into human land for work or travel purposes are now in deep danger because of this.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why, Anissina.¡±


    Shinou interrupts with a smile,


    ¡°Taking ¡®Inferno on the Tundra¡¯ out of Seisakoku to prevent it from falling into Shou Shimaron hands, and sinking it into the ocean was the right decision to make. Although the ones who sunk it are Wolfram and I.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, it was a very correct decision.¡±


    ¡°As expected of your His Majesty Yuuri, always so straightforward and smart. What do you think, the candidate I chose ain¡¯t too shabby, huh? If Gwendal was here, I¡¯d really like to ask his opinion. What do you think, Wolfram? Didn¡¯t you get into a fight with him when you first met?¡±


    Even though Shinou asked him such a sudden question, Wolfram still nods in reply, without an ounce of hesitation,


    ¡°I think he¡¯s someone worth our loyalty.¡±


    Wolfram, G¨¹nter and Gisela are sitting on Anissina¡¯s left, while Ulrike and Shinou are on the right. The remaining seats stay unnaturally empty, making this a conference with incomplete members.


    ¡°The one Hube was taken to test was ¡®The End of the Land¡¯. Though I¡¯m reluctant to tell you, keeping it secret won¡¯t help me any, so I¡¯ll just tell you. The Key to that Box is Gwendal, so there would be an effect if the person involved has Voltaire family blood, especially unlucky fellas. Did you know that, Anissina?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t. when I heard about Lord Grisela, though I did speculate that the Key should be Lord von Voltaire, but I could not confirm it. Even if we mazokus were the one who slaughtered the soushu and sealed the threat, there aren¡¯t many surviving documents in this country about the Boxes. This really mystifies me.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t blame me, blame that guy.¡±


    The great man points towards the door with a condescending expression. He seems to be pointing at the wall where the portraits are hanging.


    ¡°Lord Daikenja thought that no records should remain, so he destroyed everything.¡±


    ¡°I see, I can understand why.¡±


    ¡°Then do you know which families the other three Keys are from?¡±


    Wolfram asks, narrowing his eyes into an expression very much like his brother¡¯s.


    ¡°Bielefeld, Weller, and Wincott respectively.¡±


    ¡°Wincott!?¡±


    Gisela can¡¯t help but cry out, but she immediately apologises and closes her mouth.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Gisela. Even if you¡¯re the only one to be so surprised, I¡¯m very glad. This means that my providing this information was very worth it. Because the information source of Shin Makoku ¨C Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina¡¯s expression tells me she knows something about this. Besides, Wolfram should first be concerned for his two older brothers. He knows quite a bit about Lord Weller¡¯s arm, but until a few days ago, he had no idea that his oldest brother and himself are involved as well. But to put it another way, almost all the mazokus other than the three of them can relax. But you must never let the humans in on this secret, even I wouldn¡¯t want to tell them.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    If the humans found out, it¡¯s obvious what would happen next. Not only would they be locked in on, other countries would also amp up their efforts to locate the Boxes. Since they already know where the Keys are, they would just need to find the weapons to obtain that power.


    They can already anticipate a war happening.


    ¡°Although Gwendal and Conrad are both not here presently, fortunately one of the Boxes is now within the country, and the other ¡®Inferno on the Tundra¡¯ has now been thrown into the sea. As long as the information about the Keys doesn¡¯t get around, Wolfram can rest easy for now as well.¡±


    ¡°Please wait a moment. Wincott¡­¡±


    Gisela interrupts Shinou again.


    ¡°The Wincott Key to the ¡®Mirror of the Deep Waters¡¯, who is it with now?¡±


    ¡°About that¡ª¡±


    Shinou puts his chin on the backs of his hands, his elbows on Ulrike¡¯s head. Poor Ulrike is being used as a table.


    ¡°After the last wielder passed away, it should have been inherited by a certain someone. And that someone may have, due to certain reasons, been born somewhere very far away from Shin Makoku.¡±


    ¡°Somewhere very far away!?¡±


    ¡°It may not have been someone with Wincott family blood moving to another country. It could have been a situation not unlike that handsome fellow over there.¡±


    Hube can¡¯t help but hang his shoulders.


    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s a child born with a human woman. If the relation is distant enough, they themselves may not be aware of it. It¡¯s just that the Wincott blood is very special, I believe they know as well not to have too many descendants outside the country borders. Have you heard anything from your friends or relatives, Gisela? If you have any clues, I hope you can tell me.¡±


    ¡°¡­I didn¡¯t hear anything.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? But you¡¯ll know who it is sooner or later. Because that is something that won¡¯t be lost no matter how faded it gets. Blood and soul¡¯s¡­¡±


    Although he doesn¡¯t complete the sentence, no one else asks him to continue, perhaps afraid of any mistakes.


    ¡°But the people who tried to release the power using Lord Grisela¡¯s power are Shou Shimaron.¡±


    Upon hearing Anissina¡¯s stern tone, even Shinou who wasn¡¯t there can¡¯t help but nod in agreement.


    ¡°At least Shou Shimaron¡¯s understanding of the Keys exceeds our own. Lord Grisela, why didn¡¯t you report such an important matter back to the country?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°Hube did report it, y¡¯know, Anissina.¡±


    Once again it is His Majesty Shinou who replies. Although he says he¡¯s not interested, he¡¯s clearly become Gegenhuber¡¯s spokesperson.


    ¡°It¡¯s just the report didn¡¯t reach Central. Gegenhuber once set a pigeon mail, properly reporting that he was experimented on as the Key to the Box, that the humans had already obtained ¡®The End of the Land¡¯, and that they figured out the Key is a certain mazoku. He reported it to Lord von Spitzberg Stuffel.¡±


    That is the older brother of the previous Maou, and the man who once abused the country¡¯s power. After the previous Great War ended, he had been slowly losing influence, and has now retired to his own territory. Out of the seven people present, five of them don¡¯t want to hear his name.


    ¡°Why the hell did you report to Stuffel!¡±


    ¡°Hey hey hey, don¡¯t be unreasonable, G¨¹nter. Don¡¯t you know what Gegenhuber¡¯s mission was?¡±


    ¡°I heard it was the find the mateki.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s a meaningless, shitty job.¡±


    Even though the national treasure was put down to that degree, no one truly dared to get mad at His Majesty Shinou. Besides he honestly, from the bottom of his heart, thought that a flute that can summon the rain isn¡¯t much. A toy like that doesn¡¯t have any fighting power at all.


    ¡°You initially planned to report to Gwendal that you didn¡¯t find the mateki, and your travel journals other than that had no reason to be sent to Central, much less to the cousin who despises you. If you want to read a diary, just read my book. Aren¡¯t I right, Mr. Masked Author?¡±


    He even knows something like that so clearly, they really can¡¯t tell who His Majesty Shinou is truly interested in anymore. The man whose strike zone is especially wide gets mire agitated as he speaks, as though defending Gegenhuber,


    ¡°Hube was initially Stuffel¡¯s trusted advisor, it¡¯s only natural that he would do that. To want a lonely and disgraced dog wandering far away from home to consider so much and contact Central himself just because his boss may cover up the news is a bit too cruel. Although in the end, Stuffel did cover up the news after all.¡±


    G¨¹nter scolds angrily,


    ¡°That guy!¡±


    ¡°But I¡­¡±


    Gegenhuber wants to say something, but still stops himself after some hesitating. Because he¡¯s afraid it¡¯ll be treated as excuses in order to protect himself.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave von Spitzberg¡¯s brother¡¯s punishment up to you guys, it¡¯s okay to scold him all you like if you¡¯re that pissed. I¡¯ll just teach you all something first, this time you have to bear in mind that it¡¯s troublesome to have enemy within your own inner ranks.¡±


    This time, Lord von Voltaire probably won¡¯t sit still about this. Once he returns to the country, Stuffel will probably suffer the just consequences. Be it officially or unofficially, the man who was once acting ruler will never have a chance to return to the stage.


    ¡°But now isn¡¯t the time to scold him for previous mistakes. Instead, you should look at what to do next. I can stand here in front of you all, and even take back half of the Boxes from human hands, and I know which people are the Keys. That¡¯s right, now you have to worry about what to do next.¡±


    ¡°You are absolutely right, Your Majesty.¡±


    It might just be their imagination, but it seems that G¨¹nter¡¯s violet eyes are turning moist as he nods extremely forcefully. If left alone, he might even excitedly let the tears flow as he agrees to everything the naked king riding on a young girl¡¯s back says.


    ¡°After all, you have to consider the future of Shin Makoku. You guys should probably wait for His Majesty Yuuri to return before discussing it, but the situation right now does not allow for any more waiting. Even as we¡¯re discussing this, other countries are surely preparing their power, searching far and wide for the Boxes. And before that, we need to take measures to being back His Majesty Yuuri and his friend. We have no time to sit around.¡±


    ¡°Although you say you already retrieved half of the Boxes, I would still like to ask His Majesty to briefly describe the situation back then. This way, not only can we use it as future reference on how to deal with the other Boxes, it will also help my research and records.¡±


    You need quite a bit of courage to pull back the topic of conversation from such a great king. However, Anissina does have that courage. Be it the father or the mother of the country, the Poison Lady harbors no fear whatsoever.


    ¡°It should be fine to say it, right?¡±


    This time, it¡¯s Wolfram who interrupts Shinou¡¯s question. With his back straightened and his fingers crossed on the table, he¡¯s not staring at Anissina, who asked the question, but at the forefront of the room.


    All that¡¯s there is the empty Maou¡¯s throne.


    ¡°Just as His Majesty Shinou said, I, as the Key, personally sank ¡®Inferno on the Tundra¡¯ into the sea as per His Majesty Shinou¡¯s instructions. Not only did Yuuri wish for that, I myself would prefer to keep it away from the country to prevent getting involved. As for this Box out of the four, we don¡¯t have to worry about it until it shows up again.¡±


    Standing on both sides, G¨¹nter and Gisela nod in agreement.


    Shinou smiles as though towards a cute student, and then says to Wolfram,


    ¡°Yes, and ¡®The End of the Land¡¯ is in our hands as well.¡±


    Head raised and chest puffed out, he crosses his arms once more, smiling fearlessly,


    ¡°Therefore, ladies and gentlemen, there are only two more.¡±

 Volume 17 - CH 3

    You always only know how important something is when you lose it.


    My watch, for example, and my hair as well, of course.


    That digital/analog G-SHIOCK that I had gotten so used to wearing on my wrist, where on earth had I put it? That¡¯s a Matsuzaka Daisuke l[1]imited edition version, I probably put it somewhere after taking it off and just forgot where. I would take it off every time I took a bath a home, so if it isn¡¯t on the desk at home, then it¡¯s in my bedroom at Blood Pledge Castle.


    Nail clippers, for example.


    A pitcher once said that rather than cutting the nails on your dominant hand short, it¡¯s better to file it down using a nail file. However, I¡¯m one of those who don¡¯t care if I have to cut them short. Still, I have a certain standard for the sharpness of my nail cutters, so I like using nail clippers that feel good when you¡¯re clipping your nails. At first I left them in front of the TV in my living room, but I lost them after that time I cut my nails while sunbathing on the porch, which is really troubling.


    A calendar, for example.


    My room has a calendar of my favorite baseball team, the living room has a calendar of Mom¡¯s most admired actors, and the kitchen has a calendar of Mom¡¯s personal favorite cite cartoon characters. The genkan has a calendar my old man brought back of the businesses he works with.


    Murata¡¯s room would have a calendar too, I bet. Although I don¡¯t know who of, it should be a calendar of international football players. As for His Excellency Lord von Voltaire Gwendal¡¯s room¡­ Well, that may actually be a calendar of puppies and kittens.


    As a side note, the king¡¯s room at Blood Pledge Castle¡­ my office, in other words, has a calendar filled with all the events of Shin Makoku. Although it¡¯s His Majesty the Maou¡¯s room, it¡¯s not that different from a regular company president¡¯s or a school principal¡¯s room.


    But there aren¡¯t any calendars on the prison walls.


    Even without a clock, I can sort of figure out what time it is using the angle of the sun¡¯s rays and the brightness of the sky. If I¡¯m living a life controlled twenty-four hours like now, I can also tell the meal times and light-off times very clearly.


    But it¡¯s not the same with dates. What month or what day it is, how many days has it been since I was taken into this building¡ªif I didn¡¯t record it myself, I would have absolutely no clue.


    Although this is a paradise-like prison, the meal times are all uncertain every day. It¡¯s like living in a submarine¡ª¡®Curry Wednesdays¡¯ would at least still tell you a week has passed.


    ¡°Uh--¡­ One, two, and then one, two¡­¡±


    I say it aloud as I count the ¡®Õý¡¯ words I drew onto the prison floor. Every night before sleeping, I would draw one line. One line for one day, five days would mean five lines. Moving forward three steps and back two¡­ I can¡¯t be like that. As long as I remember to draw one every day, five days would complete one ¡®Õý¡¯ for ¡®justice¡¯, t[2]hat¡¯s a recording style special to the Japanese. In a locked room without a calendar, I wouldn¡¯t know the day count if I didn¡¯t do this.


    ¡°Goodness, it¡¯s been fourteen days! We¡¯ve been in this prison for two weeks already!¡±


    ¡°According to the information I got, as of evening today, our trial seems to be set at number 2003.


    My roommate Murata replies, hanging from the upper bunk bed. He says this is a way to train your body while in prison. But if you can get muscles just from swinging back and forth like that without any upward pulls, then all the lazy bums in the world would have gorilla-like muscles by now.


    ¡°You said number 2003? Ah¡ª! How long would we still have to wait, just hearing that number makes me dizzy¡ª!¡±


    ¡°But don¡¯t you think the trials are going really quickly. If it¡¯s going at ten trials a day, at this rate we would just need to wait another two hundred days¡­¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you carefree, Murata!? Two hundred days is more than half a whole year! If you¡¯re not careful, the championship can drag on for quite long.¡±


    ¡°But Shibuya¡ª¡±


    ¡°¡­That¡¯s right, I was the one who said it.¡±


    That¡¯s right, I¡¯m very aware of it myself. The reason we¡¯re stuck in this prison like this, is all because of my troublesome stubbornness.


    Having been falsely accused at Darco¡¯s port, far, far away from Shin Makoku, Gwendal, Murata and I were sent to prison. If back then I hadn¡¯t stuck to my own opinions, and escaped using Gwendal¡¯s combat abilities, we wouldn¡¯t be trapped in this kind of place.


    We are indeed innocent, and this is an unreasonable apprehension, so we should protest. But there¡¯s still the matter of timing and circumstances. Even if I couldn¡¯t think it through, rather than let things worsen, it would have been more appropriate to obediently escape.


    ¡°But I¡¯m really worried that there are a bunch of black-haired people here.¡±


    ¡°Mn, there is indeed the possibility of mazoku being here in this prison. Because we just met Mr Chevallier here.¡±


    Both in town and in this prison, we saw some black-haired people, a rarity in this world. It seems that the teachings of this strange new cult founded in Darco have something to do with hair color.


    But why would they use a color that is thought to be ominous on human land? Could it be that there is someone who likes black here in this ¡®Who Is It Summoning Hell 1-Chome, Ah, Errand-Running 3-Chome Prison¡¯? If that person is mazoku, and if they¡¯re also in here after being falsely accused, we have to figure out how to get that person out.


    Thinking thus, we had just gotten into the prison for a few hours before we actually met a mazoku.


    ¡°This is what it means to ¡®meet Buddha in hell, m[3]eet a nudist in paradise¡¯¡ª¡±


    We don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a rebound reaction from his earlier years living as skinny as a chicken, but after relinquishing his duties as Maou, Her Majesty the Queen¡¯s servant, Chevallier became someone who likes stripping down for others to see. Forgetting that for now, he¡¯s now still awaiting a trial far in the future after being arrested for encroaching into Darco¡¯s naval territory. Although the owner of the luxury cruise was Fanfan, and the main guest was the previous Maou, Her Majesty Lady von Spitzberg C?cilie, but the person at the wheel had been Chevallier, so he was the one to come in and enjoy the prison food.


    Faring in the fair sea, seafaring, only to see fair regretting. I[4]f Lord Weller heard that, even this degree of a cold joke would get him laughing out loud.


    Other than that Chevallier also revealed several magnitude six truths, one of them being a problem Lord von Voltaire should be able to solve. Although the remaining ones all have something to do with Murata and me, we don¡¯t have the spare time to discuss that now.


    ¡°Well, we can¡¯t just arbitrarily decide that there aren¡¯t any other innocent comrades just because we haven¡¯t met a single mazoku after finding that first one within a few hours¡ª¡±


    ¡°You think so too, right? But it¡¯s almost two weeks now, and we didn¡¯t meet any mazokus at all since then.¡±


    Still swaying back and forth, Murata nods,


    ¡°It¡¯s just like striking the jackpot the first time you try the lottery.¡±


    ¡°And then no matter how many times you try after that, all you get is tissue.¡±


    I sit on the floor, my fingernails tracing the¡¯Õý¡¯ word I had just written on the floor one more time. If I waste the butter-colored walls as a calendar, it feels a bit too pretty instead.


    ¡°But aren¡¯t we meeting a person we think is suspicious today?¡±


    ¡°Mn, uh-huh, that¡¯s right.¡±


    Yeah, we¡¯ve finally agreed to meet before dinnertime today.


    On the first day coming to this prison, we saw a black-haired person running by in a hurry.


    I highly suspected he was a mazoku, so I gave quick chase. But according to our senior Chevallier who had entered prison ten days earlier, it¡¯s not a rare hair color here on the port city on the water, Darco.


    Even if it¡¯s black, it¡¯s not natural like us Japanese, but purposely dyed. It¡¯s obvious as soon as you look at the roots of their hair, you can obviously see traces of gold or brown. According to the news I received, it¡¯s a religious action. The new cult that developed in Darco, ¡®The Sect of Until That Day Comes¡¯, encourages their believers to dye their hair, so became known as ¡®black-haired¡¯.


    No wonder no one came to ask us when Murata and I walked on the street. Perhaps the Darco people are used to seeing black? But judging from how we were taken to be thieves, the public opinion of ¡®black-haired¡¯ isn¡¯t very good.


    They¡¯re a group who believe this world is headed towards the apocalypse, and so are biding their time until that day comes. To put it nicely, they¡¯re pessimistic and world-weary, to put it not so nicely they¡¯re a bunch of lazy bums. To those hardworking fishermen and their families, these people are nothing more than jerks who look for an excuse to laze around.


    Maybe it¡¯s because they don¡¯t work properly and resort to stealing instead, that¡¯s why there are more ¡®black-haired¡¯ criminals every day.


    Upon hearing this revelation, even I can¡¯t help but feel, ¡®No way¡ª¡¯ Logically speaking, these people are obsessed with a religion that requires changing their external appearance, so there¡¯s no way they would repeatedly commit crimes. It¡¯s just a coincidence that there are shady people among their followers, so properly pious people would never keep running into prison.


    But that theory shatters as soon as I followed the black-haired male prisoner down the building¡¯s stairs.


    I chase the figure through the long building, and see a view completely different from the regular rooms at the end of the staircase next to the building. If the prison cell area is like a newly-build kindergarten, this would be the bottom of an old stone bridge. Although the space is large enough to hold a pageant, but not only is the paint on the walls peeling, there are even weeds growing sparsely around.


    The unlighted surroundings are extremely dim, and the heavy air can¡¯t be considered clean, but there is the smell of water. That¡¯s the only thing completely out of place with this rather dirty place, the fresh and clean smell of water.


    I figure this smell must come from somewhere, before noticing a canal flowing through the main hall. It looks like this long and thin building stands over a waterway, and the smell isn¡¯t salty, so it shouldn¡¯t be seawater. In other words, the water isn¡¯t flowing in from the sea, but flowing out from here. It could even be from somewhere deeper in ¨C a waterway connecting the centre of the port city to the sea.


    ¡°...Is it underground water flowing towards the sea?¡±


    As expected, Murata could smell it too, but he has no way of proving it. Because we don¡¯t take that last step ¨C there¡¯s a crowd of more people than we can count crouching between where we stand and the waterway cutting through the centre of the area.


    If our eyes hadn¡¯t adjusted to the darkness of the area and we¡¯d taken one more step ahead, we probably would have sent someone flying. There seems to be some light near the arch of the ceiling, but it¡¯s extremely dark at our feet. But that¡¯s not the only reason we can¡¯t see the gathered people properly. It¡¯s also because their appearance blends in with the surroundings.


    ¡°You two, at least wait for my candle...¡±


    Behind us, Chevallier raises a candelabra with three candles above his head. It¡¯s overly extravagant as travel candles go, but it does provide three times the light, so it¡¯s a great help.


    The next second, we¡¯re shocked speechless by the view that meets our eyes.


    ¡°...It¡¯s really just like the rumours said.¡±


    There are many people with hair dyed black here in Darco, including in the prisons. To think it¡¯s exactly as they said.


    Everyone gathered in this hall has black hair.


    Just then, everyone turns around to look at us four newcomers. From what we can see thanks to the light of the three candles, their eyes aren¡¯t black. The ones closest to us are blue, yellowish-brown and light coffee-colored. But within the range illuminated by the candles, everyone has black hair. It could be deep brown or dark grey, but at the very least I don¡¯t see the otherwise common golden, red, or chestnut hair.


    ¡°You said ¡®What if there are mazoku here¡¯, right?¡±


    ¡°Yup.¡±


    His lenses reflecting the wavering candle flame, Murata says with a sigh,


    ¡°Now what do we do?¡±


    What can we do? The group called the ¡®black-haired¡¯ all turn around to face us, but not one of them speaks. Perhaps they really, truly believe that the apocalypse is coming, and plan on living dispiritedly until that day. They don¡¯t work or speak, just crouch there beside the waterway.


    ¡°Wait a sec, speaking of which, why did these people dye their hair black?¡±


    ¡°Could it be because of the religious doctrine?¡±


    ¡°Even if it¡¯s the doctrine, there should be a reason. Something like the blood of the hero who saved the world is black, or the god they believe in has black eyes. Once we figure out the reason, we might be able to understand what relation this has to the mazokus. Sorry, um¡ªWhy did you all dye your hair black? Is it because it¡¯s trendy? Or to cover your white hairs?¡±


    I put one knee on the stone ground, asking the man closest to me. Although he speaks in a rather unfamiliar accent, generally the common language still works in Darco too. That part really helps me a lot.


    ¡°Or is it that the leader of your religion wanted you to dye your hair black?¡±


    ¡°...Either way, this country is gonna sink...¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    But the man¡¯s answer is glum and passive,


    ¡°...Until that day comes, we¡¯re just passing our days unmovingly...¡±


    There it is, there¡¯s the key phrase, ¡®until that day comes¡¯. Rather than how they kill their time, I¡¯m more interested in the whys of their religion.


    ¡°Do you want to ask everyone?¡±


    Gwendal, who had been quiet before, speaks up from behind me. Soldiers like him would really dislike this kind of people, huh? Because his tone doesn¡¯t sound particularly happy.


    ¡°But with so many of them, it¡¯ll never end if you wanna ask them one by one.¡±


    ¡°And for all you know, all of them will answer the same¡ª¡±


    ¡°Then just meet the representative, but we don¡¯t know where he is.¡±


    Rather than talking to so many dispirited people, it¡¯d be faster to find a representative. Lord von Voltaire is probably trying to tell me that, and he¡¯s not wrong.


    ¡°Is he here? Sorry¡ªI just have a question to ask--!¡±


    I take a deep breath, putting my hands to my mouth as I yell,


    ¡°Is there a doctor in the... No, wait, is there a representative of ¡®Until That Day Comes Cult¡¯ here--!? Ah!¡±


    But before I can finish what I¡¯m saying, I accidentally lose my balance and stagger a bit. Thankfully Gwendal with his good reflexes caught me from behind in time. Shocked, I look down and see a young devotee nearby hugging my legs. Of course his hair is black, but his tear-filled eyes are aqua blue.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t be so loud.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Ah, sorry. But if your representative is in the room, they might not hear me unless I¡¯m loud enough.¡±


    ¡°That person isn¡¯t here, not by the waterside now.¡±


    ¡°Waterside...¡±


    Looks like this hall isn¡¯t called a church or prayer place, but the waterside. I see, since they treat the waterway as a river, then it¡¯s not strange to call this the waterside.


    ¡°So please don¡¯t be so loud, that person usually isn¡¯t by the waterside.¡±


    ¡°Then where do I have to go to find them?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know either, because we never looked before. Either way, this country is gonna sink, we¡¯re just giving our entire selves to the flow of time, living a life of passivity, so we wouldn¡¯t do something like searching out that person. Perhaps they went back to some place. It¡¯s just...¡± The young man lazily points towards the inside, in other words the wall on the right of the stairs. There¡¯s a hole as tall as a person there. The waterway flows from inside there, crossing the hall and then disappearing into a hole in the opposite wall. Come to think of it, that makes this the center of the river.


    ¡°When that person comes, they appear through that hole over there.¡±


    At least he doesn¡¯t fall down from the sky, or form from the gushing waters. But this means he¡¯s not the pope or a representative, but the god himself. I can¡¯t communicate with gods.


    ¡°So we can just conclude that he¡¯s from the inner workings of this ¡®Who Is It Summoning Hell 1-Chome, Ah, Errand-Running 3-Chome Prison¡¯?¡±


    ¡°...Sigh...¡±


    ¡°I say, Mr. Devotee, what¡¯s wrong with you...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m so tired...¡±


    He looks all out of breath. He just spoke a few words, but pants as though he just ran three rounds around a 400m field. It might not be too nice for me to say this, but the way he is, there¡¯s no way he¡¯d be able to escape if he goes into a shop to steal, right?


    Even if the criminals steal because they have no will to work, it seems that the reason the number of ¡®black-haired¡¯ in the prison keeps increasing may also have something to do with their inability to run. But I¡¯m not like those devotees of the ¡®Until That Day Comes Cult¡¯, I have plenty of confidence in my stamina. There¡¯s no way I¡¯d collapse out of exhaustion just from talking.


    ¡°Where does that hole lead to? We might as well go in there and see.¡±


    ¡°Eh, no way? Please don¡¯t do that.¡±


    ¡°No, I won¡¯t do anything that would make you all tired.¡±


    I break free from the young devotee¡¯s grip, and prepare to wade my way through the crowd. However, I don¡¯t get to take a few steps before some more people hug my thighs tightly,


    ¡°Please don¡¯t do that. Don¡¯t¡ªdo¡ªthat¡ª¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t¡ªdo¡ªthat¡ª¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t¡ªdo¡ªthat¡ª¡±


    ¡°Yama¡ªda¡ª¡±


    [5]¡°Ah, there¡¯s Iwaki he[6]re, Shibuya.¡±


    ¡°Murata, now¡¯s not the time to mention rival baseball players.¡±


    Standing half a step in front of us, Gwendal looks confused. Faced with such a weak resistance, it¡¯s not like we can throw them aside roughly. But if we ask them to leave politely one by one, we¡¯ll never reach our destination. This is almost like crossing a sea of waist-deep arms.


    ¡°Mn¡ªBut these voices and arms, remind me irresistibly of ship ghosts.¡±


    Only Chevallier looks really pleased. If it were the ship ghosts on Earth, I could take them down with just a broken ladle, but here I really don¡¯t know what to do.


    ¡°Ah¡ªIt¡¯s only at times like these that I wish I was an electric eel or something.¡± Just then someone stands up from the weak crowd. Both our side and the ship ghosts instantly stop moving.


    ¡°It was all my fault!¡±


    Rather than saying it requires courage to stand up at a time like this, it¡¯d be more accurate to say he¡¯s the man with the most energy and stamina in this lot.


    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have brought those lively people here to the waterside!¡±


    And his voice is very spirited too, great!


    ¡°Those lively people should come to the waterside. It¡¯s all my fault for letting them follow behind me, I shouldn¡¯t have let them follow us. Back then if I hadn¡¯t run down the prison corridors, things wouldn¡¯t end up like this. They wouldn¡¯t have found this place either.¡±


    ¡°About that, although you mentioned following and discovering this place, there¡¯s no secret door or passageway here, y¡¯know...?¡± Speaking of which, the entrance is just beside the building, and the door is wide open. But the man who stood up isn¡¯t listening to me at all, he just keeps berating himself non-stop,


    ¡°It¡¯s all my fault, I hadn¡¯t been able to let go of a cheerful life. Before I knew it, I was running down the corridors, that¡¯s why I attracted these lively people here. Ah¡ªI¡¯m too childish, I couldn¡¯t maintain my resolve to face that day when it comes.¡±


    When we raise the candelabra and shine it in his direction, we realize that the person who stood up is a young man in his twenties. His hair is naturally black, but his eyes are blue. His face looks more flushed and healthy than the other devotees, which might mean he¡¯s a novice who just entered the cult. Perhaps it¡¯s because of the horizontal stripes on the prison clothes, but his body looks a bit wide.


    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ve decided to take up responsibility!¡±


    That flushed face turns all red in a moment, and he puts his tightly-gripped fist on his thigh, his actions so passionate it¡¯s unlike a devotee of ¡®Until That Day Comes¡¯,


    ¡°I want to find that person and talk to them, I want to plead them to meet with these lively people. The next time that person appears, I will appeal to them directly, so please, lively people, wait patiently!¡±


    ¡°If you can help us make an appointment, we¡¯ll be counting on you...¡±


    ¡°Please wait patiently!¡±


    The others, waving their arms like ship ghosts, all agree with him,


    ¡°Please wait patiently¡ª¡±


    ¡°Please wait patiently¡ª¡±


    ¡°Itte¡ªtsu[7]¡ª¡±


    ¡°Ah, Hyuma¡¯s dad is here too, Shibuya.¡±


    I say, Murata, this isn¡¯t the time to discuss the Central Alliance.


    ¡°Waiting is my speciality.¡±


    Chevallier, on the other hand, nods and agrees spiritedly.

 Volume 17 - CH 4

    I count the lines underneath my feet, calculating how many days have passed since then.


    After that day, although we went back to that underground room with the waterway a few more times, the entire ¡®Until That Day Comes¡¯ cult activates their ship ghost mission at once, and won¡¯t let us get off the stairs no matter what. We¡¯d been prepared to give up after ten days, but on yesterday night ¨C on our thirteenth day in this prison, just before lights out, we finally received Mr. Apple Face¡¯s message.


    To convicts, breakfast and dinner are the two important events of a day. That¡¯s why, after eating dinner while the sun is still up, there¡¯s nothing left for us to do. No one here takes advantage of the three hours before lights out to prepare for a license test after they¡¯re released, and neither does anyone repent for their sins by praying to their country¡¯s god. There¡¯s not a single admirable person like that in here.


    Everyone is just living their lives lazily, resting after they¡¯ve eaten. There are even people who brought the desserts from the dining hall to the cells, and then lie on their beds as they slowly enjoy the food. Soon the guards on duty will ring the bell to indicate rest time, and everyone will just sleep with their full stomachs.


    I see, if they continue living such self-indulgent lives, they wouldn¡¯t be able to work seriously even if they did get out of prison.


    Even so, Murata and I may be too young, so we can¡¯t be as lazy as the other prisoners. Whenever we¡¯re free, we do everything we can to maintain our stamina and prevent early-onset Alzheimer¡¯s. I do push-ups and horizontal bars, while Murata fights against his unsolved algorithms.


    Last night, I stayed in the twin-sharing room doing sit-ups, while Murata was training his left brain. That Mr. Apple Face rushes into the room just as I counted to forty-eight,


    ¡°You can meet!¡±


    ¡°Hi¡ªMr. Apple Face... Did you get a bit thinner? Are you on a diet?¡±


    ¡°No¡ªno, no, there¡¯s nothing interesting about my waist size. Instead that person, that person agreed to meet with you lively people.¡±


    That¡¯s really great news!


    The time is tomorrow afternoon, before dinner. At that time, he will send a devotee over, and we can approach the ¡®waterside¡¯ without anyone noticing.


    But he would only accept the two ¡®black-haired¡¯ at the waterside. If we brought the others, the devotees will stop us as usual.


    ¡°The ¡®black-haired¡¯... means us, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s obvious, isn¡¯t it¡ª? After all, no matter how you look at it, Lord von Voltaire and Mr. Chevallier don¡¯t have black hair. Looks like the other party has temporarily considered us their allies.¡±


    And so we spent the night with feelings of unease and excitement, welcoming the morning of the meeting.


    Thinking about it carefully, ever since coming to this world, I¡¯ve met quite a few people in high positions. If I had a phone, my contacts list would be quite impressive. There¡¯d be people like a king, a rich merchant, royal descendants, a masked female lord, a boy king, an extremely drippy beauty, a pretty boy, a maidmer princess, a treasure hunter, mummies, zombies, and skeletons.


    But I think this is the first time in my sixteen years of life meeting the leader of a newfangled religion. No, wait, what about the skeletons? That should have something to do with religion, right? I¡¯ve played in the cemetery with the kotsuchizoku, wouldn¡¯t that look like a religious rendering of suffering in hell from afar? It might even be an illustration in the ¡®Poison Lady Anissina¡¯ series.


    ¡°Don¡¯t have too high hopes.¡±


    Gwendal says not too happily. He put a chair outside our cell, killing time... No, he¡¯s focusing on his knitting. Since he¡¯s knitting dolls in the corridor, doesn¡¯t that mean he¡¯s no longer hiding his hobby? That¡¯s a confession that requires some guts too.


    ¡°Even if it¡¯s a religious group that advocates dying their hair black, the leader may not necessarily be mazoku. If they were mazoku, they would more likely respect the color black, so there¡¯s no way they would simply dye it onto themselves.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s very possible¡ªAnd it¡¯s very hard for me to imagine that someone calling themselves Shinou would start a religion overseas.¡±


    ¡°You are all making a lot of sense, thanks to your arguments, I¡¯m all out of steam...¡±


    Faced with my high-achieving friend¡¯s calm observations, I bury my face between my knees.


    The truth is, I don¡¯t know if the cult represents the mazoku either.


    But at the same time, I can¡¯t but help but feel that maybe they have some connection with Shin Makoku, or maybe there¡¯s someone related to the mazoku in the cult. The reality, however, should be just like what they said. The possibility is very low.


    ¡°We just don¡¯t want to see your dejected look afterwards. So we¡¯re reminding you not to have such high expectations.¡±


    Mr. Chevallier, who¡¯s also stepping up and down a pedal on the corridor, flashes us a healthy smile with shiny white teeth as he says,


    ¡°No no no, it doesn¡¯t matter if they¡¯re mazoku or not, new encounters will always make one¡¯s heartbeat speed up.¡±


    Since his figure was achieved with a complete physical makeover, it seems he puts a lot of effort into his daily maintenance and management. Just finding out that his interest is stepping up and down gives me a good impression of him.


    This prison distributes cells according to height, so their cell is really far away from here, in the giant section. But in order to protect Murata and me, they would stay outside our cells every day like personal attendants.


    Since this prison is so peaceful, we tell them we are capable of protecting ourselves, but one line, ¡®You two don¡¯t understand the true terror of an enclosed space¡¯, easily pushes back our protests.


    On the other hand, Murata seems very welcoming to them. He says, ¡°No matter what, it¡¯s better for the four of us to be together.¡± As compared to the second and third sons, he seems to get along with the oldest son, Lord von Voltaire. Although it¡¯s surprising, that might be because Murata¡¯s the only son, so he is attracted to someone with an older brother personality.


    He¡¯s not a young pretty native girl, but the native older brother, Gwendal keeps his gaze on the yarn as he knits,


    ¡°I¡¯ve established contact with Anissina and G¨¹nter, and the arrangements for a diplomatic envoy have been made. Geographically speaking, it might take them about a month, so we hope you two will stay here in this prison obediently until then.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by contact? We don¡¯t have any pigeons to send letters.¡±


    ¡°We have methods even without pigeons.¡±


    He says as he knits a round white thing. Could that be a white pigeon?


    ¡°Hey, newbie.¡±


    The guard that jogged over here stands next to Gwendal and calls out to goodness knows who.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    All four of us answer, ¡®What¡¯s up?¡¯, ¡®Ah.¡¯, ¡®Eh?¡¯ and ¡®Hm?¡¯ at once. Judging by the number of days we¡¯ve been in here, all four of us should be considered newbies.


    At this point the guard who came here to call someone is the one who gets confused instead. Maybe his personality is naturally more cowardly, because he holds up the paper slip in his hands, shirkingly comparing it to us one by one. Just then Gwendal grabs that young man with one hand, and says in a low, threatening voice,


    ¡°The way I see it, you¡¯re the newbie here, aren¡¯t you? It¡¯s my first time seeing your face after ten days here.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that, Lord von Voltaire, there will be rookies in every job.¡±


    Even Murata chimes in with a smile. I really can¡¯t tell who the convict here is anymore.


    ¡°S-someone¡¯s looking for a newbie... Who¡¯s Lizard group, no. 297?¡±


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s me.¡±


    Chevallier raises his hand, coming down from his step. Thinking back on it carefully, only he would have a visitor out of our little group.


    No one in Shin Makoku should know that the three of us are in a Darco prison, so there wouldn¡¯t be anyone coming over to meet us.


    ¡°But I never thought the visiting room would be such a wide open space.¡±


    My impression of prison visiting rooms would be a place where the convict sits opposite their family member, and each of them holds up a receiver to talk to each other.


    There should be thick glass between them, and the wife sobs as she claws the glass, while the husband presses his hand to the glass. There¡¯d be a feeling like ¡®Ah¡ªthe couple that were forced apart, how will their fate play out!?¡¯.


    But in reality, this is a brightly-lit open space, and there are no glass dividers at all.


    There isn¡¯t a torn-apart couple, and there isn¡¯t Mom¡¯s old favorite Wink c[1]lapping their hands as they sing ¡®Lonely Tropical Fish¡¯.


    There¡¯s only what looks like a scene from a springtime picnic.


    There are many large tables arranged in the huge meeting area, and the family members sitting there are happily taking out their bentos and drinks.


    Young parents are chatting as they watch over small children running about.


    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that the father is wearing the red-and-white-striped uniform, no one would think this was a prison.


    Interesting, very interesting.


    ¡°Your expression is saying this went beyond your expectations again¡ª¡±


    ¡°Because from what I understood, this should be an image of a fleeting meeting between family members enduring the trials of suffering.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s exactly because this is a fleeting meeting¡ª¡±


    Chevallier looks around him, saying cheerfully,


    ¡°¡ªwouldn¡¯t you want to meet with a happy expression? Oh, found them!¡±


    There is a man and a woman directly in front of us. They seem to be looking for their target as well, weaving between the tables.


    Sparkling golden hair, full breasts, blindingly white skin¡ªthe visitor is the previous Queen, currently Her retired Majesty, Lady von Spitzberg C?cilie.


    The man, on the other hand, is Lady Cherie¡¯s current boyfriend ¨C the unsinking Fanfan, also known as Stefan Fanberlain.


    But if I call him her boyfriend, that would leave poor Chevallier out in the rain, so I¡¯ll say he¡¯s one of her boyfriends. Fanfan is a Shimaron man born and bred, which makes him one of the rare ones to have a close relationship with the mazokus.


    Maybe that¡¯s due to Lady Cherie¡¯s outstanding charm.


    Since he can¡¯t seem to say anything but Lady Cherie¡¯s praises, even Dacascos, whose marriage was in danger, followed suggestions and took quite a few pages of notes in order to desperately compliment his wife.


    The ¡®spring of compliments¡¯, Lady Cherie, notices us and waves in our direction.


    The people around us train all their gazes onto her.


    If such a glowing person passes by them, forget the men, even the wives¡¯ gazes will end up fixed on her.


    ¡°Chevallier! Eh? Your... I mean, young man. Goodness¡ªwhy are the two of you in this sort of place... Eh... Ehhhh?¡±


    Lady Cherie exclaims in surprise, in a voice that doesn¡¯t sound like her,


    ¡°Why is Gwendal here too!¡±


    The figure taken aback by surprise is wearing a shiny, deep green ball gown. Both the back and the chest have boldly plunging V-lines, and the shoulder straps are tied ribbons. The eye-catchingly fair skin really matches the color of her eyes, so she looks amazing in it. But out of a hundred people, I bet twenty would never think that she¡¯s the mother of this tall man.


    But there¡¯s a problem with Lady Cherie.


    ¡°...Mother...¡±


    Gwendal holds his forehead with his large hand,


    ¡°You¡¯re too bold.¡±


    ¡°Oh my, even though your mother dressed up so nicely to meet you, I can¡¯t believe my son isn¡¯t happy in the slightest!¡±


    The truth is we¡¯re in a prison, but Lady Cherie¡¯s attitude is as though she¡¯s attending Classroom Observation Day, saying something like, ¡®Don¡¯t you feel proud that Mommy dressed young and pretty?¡¯ To outsiders, however, they really don¡¯t look like mother and son at all.


    ¡°Speaking of which, my mom dressed in a pink suit for Classroom Observation too... It almost made people think she¡¯s part of those nostalgic ¡®Koizumi Scouts¡¯[2].¡±


    ¡°In my family, my father would suddenly run over to school to participate in Classroom Observation, seems like my mom was too busy to attend. But there are only a few dads in the class each time, so I bet he felt really awkward among all those ladies.¡±


    ¡°It feels like they can¡¯t cut their ties with the Parents-Teachers Association, how pitiful.¡±


    Looking at the smiling mother and the moping son, Murata and I can¡¯t help but start discussing among ourselves. It seems like every son is thoroughly troubled by their mother.


    Watching the two of them, Stefan Fanberlain surprisingly smiles with satisfaction,


    ¡°Sometimes she¡¯s a young girl, sometimes she¡¯s a mother, sometimes she¡¯s a little devil, that¡¯s precisely her charm. Friends, don¡¯t you think that each component is compulsory to make that lady?¡±


    What do you mean by little devil, she was always a mazoku.


    ¡°Mr. Fanfan¡¯s lines are as poetic as ever.¡±


    ¡°Oh dear, is that so? Poetic? I¡¯m just directly describing the reality I see.¡±


    Since we followed Chevallier to this meeting, we end up being a family of six, gathering next to a table by the wall. This way we can discuss things with abandon, and besides, everyone around us seems to be focused on their family, so there probably won¡¯t be any convicts listening in to our conversation.


    ¡°It seems the two of you were on the way to Shin Makoku, but unfortunately came to this sort of place instead... Why would destiny be so cruel? I thought you were accompanying my son on a trip to observe prisons in other countries, sire.¡±


    The sexy previous monarch creases her elegant eyebrows, and sighs adorably, looking as though she sympathises with me from the bottom of her heart.


    ¡°You poor thing, but if you explained your identity, you would be released in an instant, wouldn¡¯t you? If you don¡¯t dare to say it, shall I aid you?¡±


    ¡°No no no, Lady Cherie, if you went and told them my identity, that would be even worse, you mustn¡¯t say it. If I reveal my identity before I can prove my innocence, not only will they misunderstand that ¡®even the king will commit a crime?¡¯ and so lower the humans¡¯ confidence in mazoku, they might even use that as our weakness and ask for something in exchange. Now, that would be troublesome.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    Her Majesty the previous Queen looks perplexed,


    ¡°But rather than staying in such a place of such suffering, wouldn¡¯t it be better to show your identity and hurry home? If it was me, I¡¯d surely do that, you two can surely tolerate a lot. But it¡¯s okay now.¡±


    The fair, slender fingers grasp my hand. There are even decorative shell pieces on those long nails.


    ¡°Fanfan has many connections, he¡¯ll get you two the best lawyer. I¡¯ll send an express pigeon mail back to Shin Makoku as well, asking them to send an envoy out for you two as soon as possible, so please rest assured.¡±


    ¡°Th-thanks.¡±


    So this is the methods of communication that Gwendal was counting on? But having my hand held makes my face red and my heart beat faster for some reason. Calm down, you bastard, don¡¯t forget the time and place here.


    But the reason the sexy queen is holding the hand of a high school boy who has no luck with the ladies isn¡¯t just to encourage me.


    ¡°How are the facilities here, is there anything inconvenient? Are you eating properly?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no problem.¡±


    ¡°Then there¡¯s no better news. On the other hand, I don¡¯t know either if all that is useful when it comes to breaking out of prison...¡±


    ¡°Ah? Eh, what? Um... I¡¯m not considering breaking out right now.¡±


    The dazzling mature woman raises her eyebrows, her mouth turning into a surprised O,


    ¡°Oh my¡ªYour Majesty, you were framed, that¡¯s why you¡¯re in prison, right? In that case, you simply must play this to the end, and plan a dangerous escape plan behind the warden¡¯s back. The dashing young escapee gets hurt in the middle of his escape, and then falls in love with the girl who carefully takes care of him, that¡¯s the end-all be-all for young girl romance stories. So, please take this.¡±


    At first I thought Shin Makoku¡¯s Poison Lady series had gotten too popular, to think Lady Cherie reads more romance novels instead.


    In any case, she discretely lowers her body, and quietly takes something small and golden out of her cleavage, before putting it into my hands.


    Although it¡¯s made of metal, it feel warm... Could this be the body warmth of that mind-breakingly seductive queen!? This is the temperature of a cleavage!? Once my thoughts went there, my heart rate increases again. It¡¯s no surprise, since I never got to feel the temperature of a woman¡¯s breasts since I stopped breastfeeding.


    Since it¡¯s so warm, I bet it¡¯s really beautiful between her twin peaks too.


    ¡°Although I really wish I could give you some tool or weapon that¡¯s far more useful, the workers here wouldn¡¯t let me bring them in.¡±


    ¡°Precisely. Since I¡¯m fairly confident in my socialising skills, I suggested bringing some items of convenience into the prison, but not only did the prison authorities disagree, they flat-out rejected me. As a businessman, I am extremely ashamed that I¡¯m unable to bring the necessities to you all.¡±


    When I open up my hand tremblingly, I finally realize that what I¡¯m holding is a golden nail clipper.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to react to this item that Lady Cherie gave me. I mean, I¡¯m the stainless-steel clipper type.¡±


    A golden nail clipper like this makes me feel that every clip damages the blade.


    ¡°And technically speaking, this should be for Mr. Chevallier, right? There¡¯s truly no reason for me to accept it...¡±


    When I look towards Chevallier, he¡¯s shaking his head with an expression that says, ¡®Please don¡¯t say that¡¯. His right hand is making some sort of concert-like gesture, as though saying ¡®Please accept it¡¯. Why? If it¡¯s a present from his beloved Lady Cherie, wouldn¡¯t he really want it?


    Gwendal says in a low voice,


    ¡°Just accept it. Don¡¯t keep rejecting it back and forth in a place like this.¡±


    ¡°No, but didn¡¯t you plan on bringing something useful for Mr. Chevallier? It¡¯s okay if you bring something for me earliest tomorrow too, otherwise I really wouldn¡¯t know how to face Mr. Chevallier.¡±


    Fanfan shakes his formidable mustache softly,


    ¡°Technically speaking, the responsibility should fall onto the shoulders of me, the ship¡¯s captain, but the Darco soldiers took you away without listening to a word we said.¡±


    ¡°Exactly, Chevallier, you were really unlucky to be arrested while steering the ship. But just think, if I had been the one steering then... Goodness, it¡¯s too scary to imagine!¡±


    Next to her, her son immediately mumbles, ¡°Even so, you would probably beat them away with your leather whip.¡±


    What¡¯s troubling is that Chevallier says almost nothing whatsoever. The thing is, he¡¯s really passionate when he¡¯s with us, telling us about his love for Lady Cherie over the past dozens of years. These past two weeks, he was continuously telling Murata and me about his life after meeting Lady Cherie, most of it involving a one-sided, almost stalker-ish crush.


    But once he reunited with his most beloved Lady Cherie, he seems a lot quieter instead. What¡¯s the matter here?


    ¡°You must still be thinking about that matter, huh, Mr. Chevallier.¡±


    I try to change the topic, hoping to encourage him.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you always saying, ¡®Thank goodness the one steering wasn¡¯t Lady Cherie, and ¡®Thank goodness the one who got caught was me¡¯, Mr. Chevallier?¡±


    ¡°Y-yyy-yes.¡±


    Hearing that uncharacteristic voice, the three of us feel our jaws drop. To think that man could be like this.


    ¡°Uh¡ªAs long as you could protect Lady Cherie, it doesn¡¯t matter what happens to you. We never thought Mr. Chevallier could be so manly... Isn¡¯t that right, Mr. Chevallier!?¡±


    ¡°Wha, ah, yes, no, not¡ª¡±


    Not only is his face red, even his entire neck is completely crimson as Chevallier keeps his head lowered. Could it be that this man is the most cowardly man in all of Shin Makoku!?


    Could he be one of those romance cowards that can only say lots of grand things, but can¡¯t get a single word out when faced with the person herself? If that is the case, then I can understand how he ended up on a hundred-year-long stalker journey.


    Completely defeated by him, I turn away my gaze, only to see one of the children running about everywhere brush past us.


    It¡¯s a little boy with soft, ear-length golden hair, who looks about four years old.


    I was wondering why he so desperately kept his gaze down, until I realised he was chasing a yellow ball. The ball is just a bit bigger than the boy¡¯s hand, does he throw or kick it?


    Even though this image merely flashed past my eyes, I still try to imagine what kind of ball games Darco would have. Since this is a city on the water, maybe water ball? But if you pitch a ball on the sea, there¡¯s a high chance the ball will never come back. In that case, it should be handball or volleyball played on land. That size shouldn¡¯t be baseball.


    ¡°What else do you want, bastard¡ª!¡±


    Just as the slender limbs brush past me, there¡¯s an angry, Kitano Takeshi-isque sho[3]uting from a table about ten feet away. I can¡¯t help but turn around to look, and see three men standing there. Just as all the gazes in the room fall onto them, one of the men pulls another¡¯s shirt, and presses him down onto the hard table faster than lightning.


    The last man tries to stop them, but the people from the next table start pouncing on them, giving me no time to figure out why.


    The boy chasing his ball wholeheartedly doesn¡¯t notice the dangerous battle ahead of him. Taking his small steps, he runs straight ahead.


    Before I can figure out what to do, I¡¯ve already gotten up and am rushing forward. I hear the screech of a chair falling to the ground behind me, and Murata¡¯s loud ¡°Wait a second!¡± There¡¯s no way I can wait now.


    From world news and shows that highlight the horrors of global conflicts, I¡¯ve seen footage of prison riots quite a few times. Of course I mean large scale stuff like arson or flooding, as well as destroying the fence and threats with shots fired, all of which are completely different from the small scale thing unfolding before my eyes.


    But maybe the trigger for those large scale riots is something small like this. The best proof is how the meeting room, that was initially full of harmony, is now a scene of chaos and swearing.


    As I chase the child, the number of people involved in the violence has risen to about ten. Not only do they use their fists, there are some viciously kicking the stomachs of those who have fallen. Suddenly I remember how just a few seconds ago, I was troubling over something as trivial as whether that ball was thrown or kicked.


    My fingers touch his clothes, and I desperately try to pull him back towards my direction. At first I touch dry clothes, and then the warm body underneath those clothes, and finally the whole person is in my arms. In order to avoid him falling out, I turn immediately while still holding the child, successfully rolling onto the ground back-first.


    And then I stretch my knees, repeating that action. Even if it¡¯s just a centimeter, I want to get away from that place as soon as possible. And just a few seconds ago, the brawling adults were stepping where the boy and I are now at.


    At first I had planned to just crawl away, but the boy had realised what the situation was by now, and was so scared he wouldn¡¯t let go of me, so I couldn¡¯t make any sudden movements. I keep on consoling him with, ¡°It¡¯ll be alright.¡± But I don¡¯t know if those words were directed towards myself, or towards the boy. Either way, my right hand and waist where I hit the ground really hurt.


    In the beginning I had just heard terrifying yells, but now I hear a woman¡¯s screams as well. Distracted, I suddenly feel the impact as though my left leg was hit by a metal ball.


    Because my vision is obstructed, even though I know there¡¯s someone standing in front of me, I had no chance to see that person¡¯s face. Hugging the boy, I turn my back to that scene of chaos.


    This time I don¡¯t feel any impact.


    Instead, the table leg in front of me shakes violently with loud creaks. Just as I hear the deep sound of something soft crashing into furniture, something red drips in front of my bangs.


    Blood.


    ¡°Gwen!¡±


    I look up, and see Lord von Voltaire standing not far behind me. As for that creaking table, there¡¯s a man who looks like a roast pig lying on it.


    ¡°Gwendal, blood...¡±


    His expression instantly says he doesn¡¯t know what I¡¯m talking about, but he eventually realises I¡¯m talking about him, so he slowly puts his hand to his forehead.


    ¡°Ahh.¡±


    Although the blood flowing down from his temples to his ears dyes his finger red, he looks completely unconcerned, and doesn¡¯t even try to wipe it. Looking at that red line moving downwards, I hurriedly stretch out my right hand,


    ¡°Come here, quickly...¡±


    Before I can finish the last word, Gwendal starts swaying on his feet, and ends up falling forward onto his knees. It probably really hurts this time, because I see him closing one eye and reaching his hand for the back of his head.


    ¡°Gwen!¡±


    Just as I yell out, a bunch of guards appear from nowhere. Even by my rough count of the legs I see, every prisoner is surrounded and subjugated by four to five guards.


    Dammit, if they were going to come, why didn¡¯t they come sooner? If they were just taken down while it was only three people making a fuss, things wouldn¡¯t end up like this!


    The warmth in my arms suddenly vanishes, someone had pulled the crying boy away from me. All that¡¯s left is the feeling of dry, warm cloth on my fingertips. I see a worried-looking woman waiting for him ahead of the soldiers escorting him.


    Thank goodness, she should be the boy¡¯s mother, right? Then it¡¯s all right now.


    I resist the pain in my left leg and try to stand, while a kind guard tries to help me. No, it¡¯s not just one, but two, three people. And they¡¯re not here to help me out of the goodness of their hearts. They grab me from both sides, demobilising my arms, and prepare to take me away.


    This situation is just like a criminal being surrounded by the police.


    ¡°Hey hey hey, hold on a sec! I didn¡¯t do any...¡±


    ¡°Cut the crap, just come with us!¡±


    ¡°How can that do? I didn¡¯t do anything, you guys misunderstood!¡±


    ¡°Be quiet!¡±


    I¡¯ve been completely misunderstood. Even Gwendal, holding the back of his head, is being taken away by five guards. He and I were obviously caught in the crossfires, but now we¡¯re being treated as accomplices. Even if I want to protest, I¡¯m completely outnumbered. In the end, I¡¯m practically being carted away.


    ¡°I told you, this is all a misunderstanding! Where are you taking me, I didn¡¯t join that mass riot!¡±


    Just then I spot Murata from the corners of my eyes, who¡¯s being held by the shoulders by Chevallier.


    No wonder he would called my name directly. He¡¯s taking one step forward, getting ready to rush to my side.


    ¡°Don¡¯t come here!¡±


    ¡°But Shibuya...¡±


    ¡°Relax, I¡¯ll be fine. Today, eve...¡±


    There¡¯s a really important appointment during evening today, an appointment we fought hard to get. If neither Murata nor I show up, we¡¯ll have wasted all that effort.


    Since I can¡¯t make the meeting, at the very least, Murata must go.


    ¡°I¡¯m counting on you!¡±

 Volume 17 - CH 5

    If the living quarters aboveground is paradise, then this is hell.


    ¡°...No, probably not... it¡¯s nowhere near as scary as hell.¡±


    This place is very dimly-lit, and it¡¯s damp and cold, but there aren¡¯t skeletons in the corners of the room, and it doesn¡¯t smell like blood.


    However, if I walk three steps straight ahead I would either bump into a metal door or walls, and if I stretch my arms to my sides, my fingertips will touch the walls too. For someone with claustrophobia it might be a harsh environment. Although for me, I''d say the darkness is worse than the cramped space.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I can still see.¡±


    Although I¡¯m surrounded with naked, paintless stone walls, there isn¡¯t an echo when I speak due to the uneven surfaces. I take in a deep breath of slightly mouldy air, and say again to myself,


    ¡°I can see.¡±


    Something white vaguely floats into my dim vision¡ªit¡¯s my own palm. No problem, my eyes can still see.


    Although there is light, it¡¯s just the vestiges shining in from a small window in the metal door. That small window should be meant for watching convicts, and it¡¯s only about the size of a CD box, plus it¡¯s locked from the outside. Using that little bit of light from the corridors leaking through the slits, I reconfirm my palm.


    Even if my eyes have gotten used to the darkness, I still can¡¯t observe my surroundings.


    In this square stone room, forget a double-decker bed, there isn¡¯t even a toilet or a sink. After taking a few steps and stretching out my fingertips, I realize there¡¯s a ditch fifteen centimetres wide along the wall opposite the door.


    Don¡¯t tell me that¡¯s the toilet!?


    Once more: ¡°Even so¡ª¡± This place isn¡¯t hell.


    When I visited world heritage sites or cities before, I did see that the prisons in Middle Age Europe are all like this. Isn¡¯t this just like political prisoners being held in such tiny rooms, or there being dungeons holding prisoners in the castle basements?


    In other words, right now I¡¯m just in a proper prison, and not hell.


    As for the place I¡¯ve been unluckily pulled into coming, this is the solitary confinement for rioting prisoners. It¡¯s meant to punish convicts, and so forbids any contact with other people in the cells.


    And so I stand in this dark and cramp room for about two hours.


    Even though this situation makes me rather uneasy, I can still retain my sanity amidst this uneasiness.


    Back then, I nearly lost my mind.


    It was pitch dark, I was lonely, and dying of thirst. Furthermore, I had just lost an important companion. As compared to that, right now my uneasiness level is only at level 1, at the most the degree of being trapped in the broom cupboard at elementary school.


    Perhaps it¡¯s because I was remembering that even more terrifying time, but my body is shaking slightly. Or perhaps it¡¯s not that my memory is resurfacing, but that I just simply feel cold.


    My left thigh hurts a little, all I feel when I touch it is heat, but there isn¡¯t a sticky feeling. Maybe I was kicked in the confusion, but it shouldn¡¯t be bleeding and I don¡¯t think the bones are broken. After a day of serious swelling, it will probably turn into a bruise.


    Other than that, there aren¡¯t any serious injuries. At the most, my right arm got abrased when I was protecting that child.


    On the other hand, I wonder how Gwendal is? When my arms were grabbed and I was taken away, he just stood there, dazed, and didn¡¯t protest. It¡¯s rare for a warrior like him to react like that. When I was about to be taken away, I saw him pressing the back of his head, maybe he hit it.


    After that my eyes were blindfolded, so I don¡¯t know what happened to him next. I¡¯m really worried about his bleeding forehead, I just hope he¡¯s fine.


    As I stand there staring at the metal door before me, suddenly I notice the light coming in through the slits. Although I can¡¯t determine what it¡¯s like in the room, and I have no idea what¡¯s happening outside, since there¡¯s light outside, it¡¯s still clearer than the space I¡¯m in.


    The small window closed from outside can¡¯t be opened from inside. I try to push it with all my strength, but I can only widen the slit by five centimeters. My head keeps rubbing the metal door, until it feels like my hair is getting charred, and I finally manage to look out with one eye.


    My blurred vision sees a grey stone floor, and I can¡¯t decipher anything more than that.


    The slit of five centimeters can¡¯t tell me how wide the corridor is, or whether there are similar jail cells opposite me.


    ¡°Gwendal?¡±


    As soon as I say that name, I¡¯m overcome by a desire to hear his voice. No matter what, I want to make sure he¡¯s safe. Although I don¡¯t dare to hope for a reply, I still put my face to the slit and call his name,


    ¡°Gwendal, are you nearby? Gwendal!¡±


    But the response isn¡¯t his deep melodious voice, but a higher, hoarse male voice,


    ¡°You¡¯re annoying.¡±


    Taken aback, I quickly jump away from the metal door. The cold sensation instantly leaves my stomach and chest.


    ¡°Wh-who are you!? Where is that voice coming from!?¡±


    ¡°I was just gonna ask who you are.¡±


    The man¡¯s voice is not coming from the slit in the small window, but the opposite direction completely. From what I remember, there should only be a stone wall there, and the ditch dug out along the wall.


    ¡°You over the opposite there, that ditch is connected. And like you imagined, it¡¯s the toilet, though I use it. Either way we get let out twice a day, and it¡¯s better to use the toilet outside. That¡¯s why I always do that.¡±


    Perhaps he hasn¡¯t spoken for too long. Not only is his voice hoarse, he even coughs drily a couple times.


    ¡°It¡¯s perfectly suitable to be used to speak to your neighbours.¡±


    ¡°I see, are you in solitary confinement too?¡±


    ¡°What do you think? Don¡¯t yell me you think this is a special prison cell, the one and only one, built out of rock? Your voice sounds pretty young, what on earth are you thinking? When you were suddenly brought to the basement where I was the only one staying, I was wondering why you kept quiet for so long, but now you¡¯re yelling a woman¡¯s name. Judging from a name like Gwendal, that person you¡¯re looking for should be a woman, right? Is she your girlfriend?¡±


    Thinking I don¡¯t have the time to discuss gossipy matters right now, I return to the door and continue,


    ¡°It¡¯s none of your business, stay out! Gwendal, hey--! If you hear me, give me a reply, Lord von Voltaire!¡±


    But as soon as that person hears Gwendal¡¯s full name, his tone changes drastically. Not only is he surprised, there¡¯s also confusion and fear in that voice,


    ¡°Are you Lord von Voltaire¡¯s close subordinate!?¡±


    ¡°Close subordinate... not really.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re just a foot soldier? Is His Excellency Gwendal here!? But I don¡¯t get it, why would someone as great as him end up in a nest for criminals like this?¡±


    He automatically decided that I¡¯m one of Gwendal¡¯s soldiers. But it would be really weird to correct him with ¡°No no no, I¡¯m his boss¡±, and it wouldn¡¯t make too much of a difference to just let the misunderstanding stand, so I don¡¯t explain any further. Besides, even if I say I¡¯m Gwendal¡¯s boss, no one would believe me, would they?


    Speaking of which, who is this man? I would never imagine that having been suddenly taken to solitary confinement underground would lead me to meeting someone who knows Gwendal. And that person changed his careless tone as soon as he heard Gwendal¡¯s name.


    Could it be that even in a land this far away, I could still meet one of Lord von Voltaire¡¯s worshippers?


    ¡°Please tell me, why would His Excellency be here? Could it be that he was tricked by those Darco people?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡ªUh¡ªAbout that¡ª¡±


    How troublesome. This person seems to be a diehard fan who would change his tone as soon as he even hears Gwendal¡¯s name. Faced with the man possibly sitting politely behind that wall, there¡¯s no way I can say we were arrested for stealing a stone the size of a sour plum.


    The warrior general he worshipped actually did such a thing as petty theft! He would surely be devastated beyond belief.


    And thinking about it carefully, the person making a fuss about it until now isn¡¯t Gwendal, but me.


    ¡°...Ah¡ªuh¡ªWhen we were sailing near Darco, it seems we accidentally encroached on their naval borders and were arrested...¡±


    ¡°You say His Excellency encroached on the borders?¡±


    ¡°Not Lord von Voltaire, but Gwen''s... His Excellency¡¯s companion, the ship steerer. Although it¡¯s ¡®faring in the fair sea, seafaring, only to see fair regretting¡¯... I¡¯m not telling a cold joke.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s such a shame.¡±


    It seems I managed to persuade the man. Although I feel a bit bad, the thing is I didn¡¯t lie. The fact that Gwendal¡¯s companion was arrested for encroaching on foreign seas is true¡ªMr Chevalier is indeed our companion.


    ¡°Speaking of which, who are you? Since you know Gwendal... Since you know His Excellency¡¯s name, does that mean you are a mazoku? Were you his subordinate?¡±


    There isn¡¯t any response from the other side of the stone wall, and I don¡¯t get a reply for almost twenty seconds. I want to put my mouth to the connected ditch and yell ¡°Hey~~¡± at him, but hold on a sec, even if it hasn¡¯t been used in a while, it¡¯s still a flowing water-type of toilet.


    Just as I¡¯m thinking, ¡®Even if I swing my fists at the wall, I¡¯ll only making a whacking sound¡¯, my neighbour finally speaks,


    ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t his subordinate. I am an enemy of the mazoku.¡±


    ¡°You are an enemy? But as an enemy, you¡¯re still Gwen¡ªHis Excellency Gwendal, Lord von Voltaire¡¯s fan? I know, although you say you¡¯re an enemy, you¡¯re a highly logical person. In that case, that¡¯s really impressive.¡±


    According to the information I¡¯ve obtained these past two weeks, this ¡®Who Is It Summoning Hell 1-Chome, Ah, Errand-Running 3-Chome Prison¡¯ is the port city on the water, Darco¡¯s ¡®convict melting pot¡¯ for collecting prisoners from all over the world. This man who I know nothing of other than his voice, surely he must have been sent here from some faraway human country as well?


    ¡°Is that so? Then are you from Shimaron or some other country? The war is already over now, even if you were our enemy in the past, you still truly respect Gwen... His Excellency Gwendal, right? In that case, for his sake, please tell me, did you witness the moment I was thrown in here? Did you see Gwen sent to another room? Or was I the only one brought in here!? Speaking of which, what is this place? In terms of the entire prison, which side is this!?¡±


    ¡°Hey, wait a sec, Hold on a moment, I haven¡¯t talked to another person in a long time.¡±


    I hear my neighbour coughing across the ditch, as though his throat isn¡¯t feeling all that good after being forced to work suddenly.


    ¡°Firstly, these are the detention cells for ¡®Who Is It Summoning Hell 1-Chome, Ah, Errand-Running 3-Chome Prison¡¯. It¡¯s a single-person room for inmates like you who caused trouble, or those who can¡¯t adapt to prison life. It¡¯s in the second basement floor, and if you¡¯re asking me relative to the entire building, I¡¯d say it¡¯s on the west wing.¡±


    I see, second basement of the west wing.


    ¡°There were practically no noises at all when you were brought in. Because your room is just as inconvenient as mine, I could only see your feet as you walked through the small slit in the window. I also heard the sound of the metal gate closing, and then the words the guards said on their way back to their stations. Apparently they said you were brought in here temporarily for trying to use violence on the visitors¡¯ children.¡±


    ¡°Violence against children!?¡±


    That¡¯s a bit too exaggerated, isn¡¯t it? I just wanted to get that child away from the scene, my actions were nothing like using violence. Even if they wanted to frame me, they should have found a more logical excuse.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything like that!¡±


    ¡°I figured, more or less. Either way, they¡¯re purposely looking for trouble. Because no matter what the reason, guards just want to bully inmates. But just a while before that, I did hear the sound of something being dragged, and a door being closed not far in the distance. Someone might have been brought in here before you.¡±


    ¡°That person could have been Lord von Voltaire!¡±


    ¡°Since I only heard the sounds, I can¡¯t be a hundred percent sure. Plus, the rooms in here are in a row, and there¡¯s nothing opposite the corridor except walls. If His Excellency is being confined here, he should be next door...¡±


    I don¡¯t finish listening to his sentence, running instead for the wall opposite. Of course, there isn¡¯t any space for me to sprint, I just took a couple of steps towards that side.


    ¡°Gwendal! Are you there? Hey~~ Are you there!? Gwen!¡±


    I hammer my fists on the prison walls, but all I hear is the sound of fists meeting stone. Even so, I keep on hammering, keep on yelling Gwendal¡¯s name.


    ¡°Calm down, it¡¯s not that side! I meant my side, my neighbour!¡±


    I only stop when I hear Mr Neighbour¡¯s anxious voice coming through the ditch.


    ¡°Then help me yell, please help me call him.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Why are you so desperate to find him? Your voice sounds very young, and I know you¡¯re panicked because you¡¯re in a bind, but how can you fight in the war like this?¡±


    ¡°What do you think? Because unlike you, I never fought in a war!¡±


    The moment the words left my mouth, I realized with a jolt that I had misspoken.


    No one likes fighting in wars. Even the man living next to me had no choice but to go to war on someone else¡¯s orders. Even if he volunteered, he probably still had to fight for the sake of protecting those important people. Right? But by saying that, it sounds like I¡¯m attacking him personally, and worse, it sounds like I¡¯m being conceited for living happily in a peaceful time, so I put the blame on him.


    As expected, the other side of the wall falls silent.


    After the voice vanishes, I feel even more scared. Add that to the similar experience I encountered before, and the fear escalates. Right now I can see the light through the small window, so I don¡¯t have to worry about vision problems. But when I¡¯m alone in a cold and dark place, I can¡¯t help but wonder how long my sanity can hold out.


    ¡°Sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have said that.¡±


    ¡°...It¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because I was too worried about His Excellency Gwendal, so I didn¡¯t think through what I said, I¡¯m really very sorry.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s really okay. What you said is true, I¡¯m only here because I fought in the war. It¡¯s okay, don¡¯t think too much about it. That¡¯s why, it¡¯s meaningless even if you desperately yell out His Excellency¡¯s name now. Since you were so loud about it just now, if he was conscious and in the same row of jail cells, he would have heard you a long time ago. Even then, he hasn¡¯t reacted until now...¡±


    Gwendal¡¯s image from right before I was blindfolded appears in my mind.


    His temple was bleeding. Not only that, he was feeling dazed after being hit on the back of his head by someone. Back then he pressed the back of his head, and extremely uncharacteristically gave up without a fight. That¡¯s not like the regular him at all.


    Could it be...


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    If he was unable to respond due to a grievous injury...


    If he lost consciousness due to his injury, and just fainted in a cramp, dark, and damp place like this¡ª


    ¡°What should I do?¡±


    I swore, that I would never put anyone else in the same situation.


    My fist leans on the cold and rough stone walls, unable to move.. My knees feel weak, and it¡¯s a challenge to even stay standing. My vision is swaying, even though I can barely see anything as it is. Am I dizzy? Or is the world spinning?


    I hear a voice from the distance, but it¡¯s not a physical distance. It¡¯s coming from inside me, from the deepest depths of my brain, a voice I don¡¯t need to listen.


    What is it saying?


    If you¡¯re worried about the tragedies of war, take the soushu and...


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    I hear the sound of clanging metal. Someone¡¯s voice is disturbing me. Even if I raise my head now, all I see in front of me is stone walls. There isn¡¯t anyone I can talk to in this room. If that voice isn¡¯t a hallucination, where on earth is it coming from?


    The only thing keeping me sane now isn¡¯t the sound coming from deep within my brain. But I do hear the sound of metal clanging.


    ¡°Hey, buck up! Young man!¡±


    The same metallic sound is coming from next door. It sounds like someone kicking the door. That loud sound repeats itself twice, thrice. It¡¯s building up my courage, to know there¡¯s someone alive near me.


    ¡°If you lose your mind in a place like this, you¡¯re done for! Although you might get release like that, you should buck up if you still want to go outside!¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯m fine.¡±


    Since I changed the angle of my neck so suddenly, it kind of hurts.


    ¡°I was just feeling uneasy, and worrying about what to do if Gwen¡¯s injuries were really bad. Don¡¯t worry, I should be fine.¡±


    ¡°Although I can¡¯t tell if His Excellency is really grievously injured, what I do know is that if you haven¡¯t gotten a response yet, it doesn¡¯t matter how much you yell, right? For all you know, he¡¯s not next door.¡±


    ¡°...Or he might even be asleep.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    I lean on the wall and slide down until I¡¯m sitting on the ground, then I close my eyes lightly and heave a heavy sigh. Although the sigh can¡¯t possibly reach the other side of the stone wall, the man still says as though he can hear me,


    ¡°In life, it¡¯s best not to overthink everything.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried about His Excellency¡¯s safety?¡±


    Although I¡¯m not happy about how that man seems to have read my mind, he is right about that.


    Because I was thinking, ¡®What if the same thing happens again? Just like how I nearly lost Josak that time, what if another important companion is lost because of me? What should I do then?¡¯ The questions instantly threw me in a loop.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to experience that again, I hate the feeling of losing comrades.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying strange things.¡±


    Although my back is leaning against the wall, his voice isn¡¯t being transmitted through the stones, coming instead from the hole in the ditch. Even so, his voice seems to pierce through the walls and into my body.


    ¡°Why are you talking about losing comrades, when you¡¯ve never been to war? Why do you talk like a soldier?¡±


    ¡°Even if it¡¯s not during a war, stuff like nearly losing someone still happens.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±


    My neighbours chuckles once softly, and then asks as though it just occurred to him, ¡°How old are you?¡±


    ¡°Me? I¡¯m sixteen.¡±


    ¡°Sixteen?¡±


    It seems I¡¯ve shocked him. That¡¯s troubling, but there¡¯s no way I¡¯d lie just because of that.


    ¡°A sixteen-year-old mazoku is just a child, right? But even so, you can stay by His Excellency Gwendal¡¯s side? That must mean you¡¯re quite talented. When my brother was sixteen, he wasn¡¯t even strong enough to draw a bow.¡±


    ¡°You know quite a bit about that.¡±


    This man just said he isn¡¯t a mazoku, but his brother¡¯s condition sounds just like a mazoku¡¯s. It¡¯s really rare to see a sixteen-year-old human that can¡¯t draw a bow. After all, most Japanese high school students these days join activities like judo or kendo, and even the archery club is getting very popular.


    ¡°Your brother is a mazoku, but you¡¯re a human? Is something like that possible?¡±


    Silence falls again behind the wall. I plaster my palm to the stone wall,


    ¡°Hey, if you¡¯re a mazoku, just tell me honestly! If you really are mazoku, I have to take you back!¡±


    ¡°...Take me back? Back where?¡±


    ¡°Your hometown, Shin Makoku. Although I don¡¯t know how you ended up in an underground prison like this, but you want to go home too, right? Anyone would.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    There¡¯s no way I can see him shaking his head, and I can¡¯t hear it either. There¡¯s no way I can see this man, and what sort of expression he¡¯s wearing as he rejects my suggestion.


    ¡°I want to stay here. Someone like me, is very suited to this Darco.¡±


    But I know, he made that decision out a long period of despair. He only decided that after spending a long time with his own troubles in a place like this, didn¡¯t he?


    ¡°I have no right to call myself a mazoku.¡±


    ¡°Why!? Ah~~ Could it be that? Like how Adalbert gave up his identity as a mazoku out of hatred?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a reason like that.¡±


    ¡°Then why! Listen carefully, you, the truth is I, we didn¡¯t escape because we wanted to clear our names... because running away like that would cause the people of the world to think that we mazoku are that sort. Although we carry the name of criminals, we came into this prison innocent of any crime. But that¡¯s not our only motive, we came in here because we thought there was a chance that there are other mazoku like us, who ended up here because they were framed. After hearing about the ¡®black-haired¡¯, I thought that the only people who would consider black hair not unlucky would be mazoku, so I figured that there might be some mazoku in the cult. If there was, we¡¯d save him for sure. If you are mazoku...¡±


    ¡°I have no intention of leaving Darco!¡±


    Once again, after so many times I lost count, I ask him, ¡°Why?¡±


    He¡¯s a man whose name I don¡¯t even know, who I just met a few hours ago. No, not just that, we haven¡¯t even met face-to-face, so I have no idea how to guess his thought process. Is there truly someone who would want to stay in an underground prison where the sun doesn¡¯t shine? If so, then why? Because he committed a crime?


    The man just painfully states his conclusion, and not his reason.


    ¡°I¡¯m only suited to staying here. Only Darco, where are the sinners gather, is a place suitable for me. Just like that Box, I have nowhere else to go.¡±


    ¡°Then why! Why do you think that you¡¯re like that Box, and can only stay in a place like this? For what reason... Box?¡±


    Attracted by one of the words he just said, I grip the sleeves on my uniform tightly. All I can see in my mind is the old wooden box I had glimpsed a few times in the past. But when I shake my head lightly, that image disappears immediately. It can¡¯t be, right?


    ¡°That woman said it before, and the truth is just as she said. Darco is a gathering place for those unlucky things with uncountable sins. Only this city on the water, isolated from the rest of the world, is suitable for villains like us.¡±


    How could one of the four Boxes be here, in this unrelated, faraway land? At the same time, I don¡¯t want to bother thinking about it, how many unlucky boxes could there be in this world?


    ¡°You said, a ¡®Box¡¯?¡±


    That¡¯s right, I can¡¯t guess what the other person is thinking. Although it¡¯s a topic I don¡¯t like, and one I don¡¯t want to bring up, I have no choice but to go ahead with it,


    ¡°What is that unlucky box? What does the box have to do with you?¡±


    ¡°It has nothing to do with me, I just heard it randomly appeared here one day.¡±


    ¡°If possible... could you please tell me the reason why you want to stay here, and why do you thinking you¡¯re a lot like that box?¡±


    ¡°Other than that woman, I never thought there would be anyone else who wanted to hear about that sort of thing.¡±


    Who on earth is that woman?


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying at all. Please tell me, could you? But are you willing to tell me about that box, about you and that woman? Or are you only willing to tell your secret to some as worthy of respect as Lord von Voltaire?¡±


    Just then I finally hear something other than our voices and him kicking the door. It¡¯s the sound of sturdy heels beating rhythmically against the stone floor, as though someone is approaching this way.


    ¡°Time¡¯s up, young man. Let¡¯s continue this conversation, face-to-face, outside.¡±


    I thought the topic of conversation would stop right there, but the neighbour doesn¡¯t do that. He chose to continue the topic face-to-face, and not through a stone wall, through a ditch meant for peeing.


    ¡°I did say we would get let out twice a day, the schedule is fixed. We have to undergo treatment so we can turn over a new life as soon as possible and leave solitary confinement, and you have no choice but to accept it. Take my advice, and just go with it.¡±


    ¡°I never accepted anything like that.¡±


    ¡°But you can get all sorts of information, and it¡¯s been a long time since I showed my face too.¡±


    Just then the footsteps stop outside the door, and the small window that was closed from the outside opens upwards. A uniformed guard says in a monotonous voice,


    ¡°Sweet Prawn Group Number 4780, do you wan to come out?¡±


    I meaninglessly pat off the dust on my clothes. Of course I do.

 Volume 17 - CH 6

    I only realise there are more than three single rooms on this floor when I walk onto the corridor.


    Directly in front of the stairs is an exit with a metal gate, and a one-way, straight as an arrow corridor branches out from it. Along the corridor, there are about ten metal doors, lined up in a row. It¡¯s only wide enough for two people to pass while brushing shoulders, so that¡¯s why there aren¡¯t any doors on the opposite side.


    The place I¡¯m staying in is the third detention room if you start counting from the entrance, and that neighbour of mine is in the second room. There¡¯s the sound of a door closing from the first room, but no one shows up. The guard who came to lead us out peeks inside, and closes the window after about two seconds. The other guard just says jokingly, ¡°He¡¯s sleeping.¡±


    That means he¡¯s not Lord von Voltaire, because he would never miss an opportunity to go out. Even if he was unconscious, normally he would wake up instantly if there was the slightest sound. Because everyone says an excellent warrior must have a constant sense of vigilance.


    There are two guards in front of Mister Neighbour, and one more behind me. That¡¯s why I had to give up on my plan to escape, find a way to mix in with the other criminals and find Gwendal, and finally return to Murata and the others.


    Although we¡¯re not completely outnumbered, my own attack power is only enough to take down one person. And that¡¯s in the rare case I can hit a weak point like kicking their shins. Looks like I¡¯m rather lacking in offensive techniques concerning my fists. No matter what, even if I ran towards the backline with the looser security, I would still meet a dead end within thirty meters.


    Rather than gambling on such a rash plan, it¡¯s better to use this time for listening to my neighbour and gathering intel.


    But when I look again at the solitary detention room with a ray of light shining into it, I suddenly find it slightly scary. The space inside is exactly the same as when there was no light, but once it becomes brighter inside, it looks completely different inside.


    There is grafitti on the floor, the walls, even on the inside of the metal door, but what materials were used to draw those? And how? There are even dots and lines on the ceiling. Some places even have sketches of human faces, and those eyes stare wide open.


    I hadn¡¯t noticed when I first came in because my eyes were blindfolded. If I had seen how that wall looked like from the start, perhaps I would have desperately jammed the door open with my foot, and refused to come in no matter what.


    Probably it¡¯s because I was locked into this small stone room...


    ¡°They probably didn¡¯t have anything better to do.¡±


    The neighbour, walking in front of me, chuckles at my stiff attitude.


    Speaking of that man, even though we met after we came out of our rooms, I still can¡¯t tell what kind of a person he is. That hair looks brown, with traces of white. There are deep wrinkles on his forehead, around his mouth, and on his cheeks. On Earth, he would probably a forty-year-old who looks on the older side, but staying here for a long period of time should have an effect on one¡¯s appearance. For all I know, his actual age is somewhat younger than what he looks.


    From the color of his hair and eyes, as well as his slightly hunched stance, it¡¯s true that I can¡¯t tell if he¡¯s a mazoku or human. Although I wanted to guess from his reaction to a double black, when he sees my black hair, all he says in surprise is, ¡°Oh my, you even purposely went to join the Black-Haired Cult?¡±


    Looks like he doesn¡¯t think my hair colour is natural.


    Bur that man¡¯s gaze is not like a normal person¡¯s. It has nothing to do with being a mazoku or a human, but more like he said it, that¡¯s the gaze of a soldier who survived the war. It¡¯s different from the baker doing a stable business, a farmer harvesting vegetables¡ªeyes with a sharp glint. If that sort of gaze is trained on you, your emotions will be in turbulence.


    ¡°Why do I feel like...¡±


    Logically speaking, there¡¯s no way we met before. After all, this is my first time in Darco, and that man did say that he¡¯s been in this prison since before I was born. But I can¡¯t help but feel he¡¯s a lot like someone... No, I feel as though I¡¯ve had a similar gaze trained on me.


    The guards take us to the upper floors. From the blueprint in my head, this should be basement one. The air here is warmer than basement two, and it¡¯s brighter too.


    We walk past a metal grate, and into a spacious room with a table in the dead centre. No, if it was just a table, that would still be okay, but there are about ten men sitting around us. When we arrive, the last of the pack, everyone turns around to look our way at once. It¡¯s a scene that makes you want to turn right and exit.


    The table and chairs there look a lot like the ones in the meeting room from four hours ago, but the difference here is that all the furniture is nailed to the floor.


    Maybe they¡¯re trying to prevent the convicts from picking them up and tossing them around, but would anyone really be able to lift such~~ a big table... With that in mind, I take a look around the people present, and realize that a few of them really do look like the type who would throw around furniture if they got agitated.


    The people here don¡¯t look like the cheerful, calm, chess-playing ones from the prison paradise... from the prison that is so cheery I really feel it¡¯s a paradise. Using an animal simile, they¡¯re like great white sharks, grizzly bears, crocodiles, snapping turtles¡ªall of Earth¡¯s most brutal animals.


    And all of them have are expressionless, or look totally put-out from being betrayed by their trusted followers. The atmosphere here is already at tipping point.


    ¡°Wh-where did they come from?¡±


    ¡°They are those who committed serious crimes, or ones who couldn¡¯t adapt to community life. Either they killed without reason, or they would still riot and harm other prisoners or attack guards if they were put in normal cells.¡±


    The number of guards in this room seem to prove what my neighbour is saying. There are twice as many armed soldiers, holding batons or swords, as there are the ten or so convicts in here.


    The even more animal-like convicts don¡¯t seem to think anything of the row of soldiers by the wall. They don¡¯t even look intimidated at all despite being under constant surveillance. Putting their legs on the table boldly, they cross their log-like arms in front of their chests, and occasionally make sounds like middle-aged uncles do when they clean their teeth after a meal.


    No matter how you look at it, I¡¯m completely out of place here.


    ¡°Should I spit?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to run away. As long as the guards are here, they won¡¯t try anything funny.¡±


    Speaking of not fitting in, my neighbour is just a bit out of place too. Although he was detained in solitary confinement, his aura isn¡¯t the same as these guys. Even if he was holding a sword, you wouldn¡¯t think he was dangerous. After I told him that, I saw him smile for the first time.


    ¡°To be honest, even if you gave me a sword, it wouldn¡¯t be that useful.¡±


    As soon as he narrows his eyes, his sharp gaze instantly becomes very gentle.


    When we sit on the empty places, a few convicts impatiently look away. There are about five enemies left, but my spine still feels rather chilly. When I came across the same situation in the past, at least I still had Murata with me, and Lady Flynn, who was a leader of strong men. Right now, all I have is the neighbour I just met, and whom I know nothing about. I¡¯d be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t scared.


    ¡°The doctor isn¡¯t here yet, Red Croc?¡±


    My neighbour looks at one of the convicts and calls his name directly. I worry for him, but the other guy doesn¡¯t seem upset.


    ¡°Apparently not.¡±


    ¡°How are you feeling today, White Shark?¡±


    ¡°Not very good, a moth is flying circles around my head, it¡¯s damn annoying.¡±


    Of course, there isn¡¯t really an insect flying around his head. But even if he looks like he¡¯s in a bad mood, he¡¯ll still greet others. Maybe he¡¯s actually very friendly? Or could this be the art of getting closer to your neighbours?


    ¡°Speaking of which, Turtle, you really hate the ¡®Black-Haired¡¯, don¡¯t you?¡±


    Next, my neighbour addresses the scariest-looking man, the one who has his legs on the table.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I detest them.¡±


    The man called Turtle glances at me. This is bad, his first impression of me is already terrible. But Turtle sounds like the nickname of a criminal. Then again, he is actually a criminal.


    ¡°In that case, you should know a lot about ¡®Black-Haired¡¯, right? Could you tell us a bit?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t wanna, why don¡¯t you ask that brat next to you? On that note, where¡¯d that brat come from? Why¡¯d you bring him here? Didya just want to show him off to me, hah?¡±


    My neighbour pats my back hard, almost knocking me out of my chair.


    ¡°Of course not. Don¡¯t let his appearance deceive you, this little guy is a pretty mean character. He was taken here for fighting up there, and apparently he wanted to take a kid who had come visiting hostage, so he could escape.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t like that¡ª¡±


    The way he said it makes the crime of ¡®being violent towards children¡¯ that had been slapped onto me from earlier even more serious. From the beginning to the end, all I did was get caught in the crosshairs, I didn¡¯t do anything bad at all.


    But Turtle¡¯s expression changes as soon as he hears of my exploits, and he even grins at me. No, not just Turtle, even White Shark and Red Croc seem very interested in this topic of conversation.


    ¡°Holding a kid hostage!? That is pretty serious.¡±


    ¡°Although serious, it¡¯s a good idea too.¡±


    ¡°But he didn¡¯t hurt the kid, did he?¡±


    Usually big baddies wouldn¡¯t have concerns like that. My neighbour turns to him too and says solemnly,


    ¡°Of course, White Shark. Although he took a kid hostage, he never harmed the kid. We might be scum, but someone who hurts children is even worse, right?¡±


    The five men all nod in relative agreement. It seems they¡¯re a band of criminals who take morals seriously.


    ¡°This skinny brother here wanted to carry the kid and escape, but he was unfortunately caught in a group fight, and in the end he even protected the kid.¡±


    ¡°Did you witness it at the time, Hawkeye?¡±


    This time, my neighbour nods forcefully,


    ¡°Ahh, I saw it. You guys know how good my eyesight is in bright places. I did see it when I was in the middle of my morning exercises.¡±


    ¡°Since Hawkeye says so, then it should be true.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, since he said so.¡±


    What an exaggerated lie. How could the neighbour, detained in solitary confinement, have witnessed what happened to Gwendal and me? But even if it¡¯s such a blatant lie, it still seems to have an effect on the convicts. Just the words ¡®Hawkeye saw it¡¯ seems to be a guarantee of truth. Exactly what kind of a man is he?


    Speaking of which, this is my first time hearing this man¡¯s name.


    Hawkeye¡ªIt probably isn¡¯t his real name, but it¡¯s still better than not knowing what to call him. I see, no wonder the look in his eyes can really look like a beast sometimes.


    ¡°The reason this young man wanted to grab a hostage and escape also seems to be related to that religion. It seems he was only sent in here for being a ¡®Black-Haired¡¯. So, Turtle, could you tell him a bit about those guys?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your name, brat?¡±


    Turtle bares his canines at me as he asks, looking remarkably like a snapping turtle. Although that terrifying appearance makes me worry if he¡¯s bite my fingers off, that¡¯s still no reason to miss out on a golden opportunity to collect intel.


    ¡°Ah, my name is Robinson.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? You listen closely, Robinson. Those ¡®Black-Haired¡¯ fellas are devotees of the ¡®Until That Day Comes Cult¡¯. In fact, not all of them have black hair. Some don¡¯t even have any hair at all.¡±


    That second part is new news to me. I write a memo on my left brain, saying, ¡°Some are also ¡®Black-Balds¡¯.¡±


    ¡°If you ask why those guys want to dye their hair black, it¡¯s because they firmly believe that black hair possesses power.¡±


    ¡°Black hair has power?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. You listen closely, Robinson. One day, a mysterious box suddenly fell down from god knows where, and there were a few strands of black hair on it, so those guys dye their hair black. Just for that mysterious box with unknown origins? Unbelievable, huh?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, really unbelievable...¡±


    Even if the ferocious-looking man keeps on pressing towards me, I can¡¯t stop thinking about what I don¡¯t want to see happen. What mysterious box that fell down suddenly? That¡¯s a topic I don¡¯t want to hear about for now.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because it¡¯s too unbelievable that it becomes impressive instead. That¡¯s why those guys emulate the black hair on the box, and dye their hair black. Plus, Hawkeye said something even more shocking.¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡±


    With his eyes facing forward, Hawkeye smiles, as though looking in the distance, unimpeded by walls,


    ¡°Ahh, I said that black only appears on someone like a king or equivalent status. It¡¯s the color of immense power.¡±


    His gaze looks into the sky, as though seeing a faraway homeland.


    ¡°It seems so. You listen carefully, Robinson. Thats why a lot of criminal groups became ¡®Black-Haired¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Mn, my cellmate is also a ¡®Black-Haired¡¯. He wanted to dye my hair black too, so I beat him up, and I even cracked the wall.¡±


    Red Croc says, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He even cracked the wall, what kind of crazy power is that! And thank goodness he resisted desperately now, that¡¯s why even his bears is still red to this day.


    ¡°Under the Warden¡¯s suggestions, all of them, young or old, male or female, dyed their hair black. What do you think? Understand now, Robinson? That¡¯s why I hate ¡®Black-Haired¡¯. They only even obediently follow what that woman says, making themselves into people whose li-li-li...¡±


    Bruce Lee[1]?


    ¡°Life way has been turned on its head and yet, they don¡¯t have a sense of self at all. That¡¯s why I hate ¡®Black-Haired¡¯.¡±


    I want to confirm what ¡®life way¡¯ is short for in this world. But more importantly, I had gotten even more crucial information in that moment.


    One, that a mysterious box descended into this prison.


    Two, Hawkeye knows that mazoku worship the color black.


    After more detailed questions, I discovered: Three, the representative of the ¡®Until That Day Comes Cult¡¯ is the warden, Ranatan.

 Volume 17 - CH 7

    Even they¡¯ve openly shown their distaste for ¡®Black-Haired¡¯, the convicts still keep on talking to me non-stop.


    Just like what my detention neighbour Hawkeye said, they seem to think I¡¯m a man who originally meant to escape from prison, but ended up bravely protecting a little boy. On the other hand, I¡¯m really curious as to how he managed to earn these convicts¡¯ trust.


    As the other convicts are hotly debating a topic about guards getting married, I quietly ask Hawkeye just that. I ask him, ¡®how did he get these men to believe him?¡¯ As a result, he narrows his sharp eyes and smiles, the crow¡¯s feet around his eyes deepening.


    ¡°There is only one trick to it.¡±


    ¡°A trick to make them believe you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, and that is to believe it yourself.¡±


    But the one you¡¯re trying to convince is the other guy, not yourself, right?


    ¡°No, before you convince the other guy, you must first convince yourself. If you yourself are feeling lost, you will definitely fail. That¡¯s why you must believe that you will get hit a bullseye.¡±


    ¡°Bullseye?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s an archery term, I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t think of a better metaphor. But this isn¡¯t my theory, it¡¯s His Excellency Gwendal¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Gwen...¡±


    Before, he was still adamantly refusing to call himself a mazoku, but it seems he has now given up on hiding his identity. According to what I just said, doesn¡¯t that mean he doesn¡¯t believe himself, and that¡¯s why he can¡¯t pull the wool over my eyes either?


    No matter what, I can be sure that the neighbour I just met is a mazoku, and also a soldier who worked under Lord von Voltaire for quite some time in the past.


    ¡°His Excellency never changes, and he would never act without confidence in front of his subordinates. That¡¯s exactly why everyone believes him, and obeys him. It¡¯s the same with my bow and arrow. I believe I will hit a bullseye, without any suspicion. Because suspicion leads to confusion. Just as a wavering general would cause unease among his men. If I feel uneasy, the arrow I release will also be uncertain in its path. That¡¯s why...¡±


    Hawkeye rubs his palms on his skinny knees,


    ¡°You must believe, you must make yourself believe.¡±


    ¡°In other words, I must do more than talk about it, and act?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, after all, a battle isn¡¯t a gamble.¡±


    So he¡¯s saying I can¡¯t just try my luck, huh?


    In any case, those men acknowledge me as a villain with a heart of gold, so we start chatting without any reservations. Although someone suggested discussing what kind of lives we wanted after leaving prison, I pretended not to hear that. If I heard about the lives of these serious criminals, I¡¯d probably be too scared to even sit at a table with them.


    And besides, what I really want to know about isn¡¯t their histories of crime, but the representative of the ¡®Until That Day Comes Cult¡¯ that would even dye their hair black for the sake of a Box that randomly appeared ¨C I want to know about the warden, Ranatan.


    If what Turtle says is true, then the cult leader who likes to put on a show by hiding their identity, is actually the warden who we see every day.


    Since Warden Ranatan is always pacing up and down the prison on the grounds of patrolling, there¡¯s no way to avoid meeting her as long as you¡¯re on any corridor. And as soon as she sees you, she will immediately ask you how your three meals were, whether your blankets and sheets were warm enough, whether there were any conflicts among the convicts, etcetera.


    ¡°What, wouldn¡¯t I have recognised her immediately then, if I met her?¡±


    ¡°Not for sure.¡±


    When White Shark smiles, his thin teeth are more like a whale¡¯s than a shark¡¯s,


    ¡°She is very careful about disguising herself, covering her face, changing her voice, and even modifying that annoying way she talks. That¡¯s why it¡¯s hard to imagine that she¡¯s actually the warden.¡±


    ¡°Eh¡ªBut what about those people who are worshipping a disguised warden as a god, what are they praying for? World peace, or the happiness of humanity?¡±


    Turtle looks at me with an expression of surprise, looking more like a snapper turtle than a human.


    ¡°Robinson, you idiot! Why would those guys pray for the happiness of humanity? Those guys are that, I mean, aaahh...¡±


    ¡°Lethargy?¡±


    Hawkeye, who had always been smiling from just now, suddenly interrupts. I don¡¯t know how he can stay so relaxed among the serious criminal offenders, but he seems to be very happy to join this gathering.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, lethargy! Those guys firmly believe that Darco is going to sink into the ocean soon, but they don¡¯t do a thing to stop it. But umm... I don¡¯t know what to do either. It¡¯s just that, I feel, um! ¡°Darco can¡¯t just sink like that! It¡¯s been on this sea like this for a few centuries! I¡¯ve even been here for over fourteen years, it can¡¯t suddenly sink, right!? Right, Hawkeye, how many years have you been here, and has it ever sunk in that time?¡±


    He touches his bristly chin, saying,


    ¡°I¡¯ve been here over twenty years, and it hasn¡¯t sunk even once.¡±


    ¡°Exactly, right?¡±


    ¡°Twenty years?¡±


    I can¡¯t help but make a noise of defeat. The soldiers here do keep a sharp eye on the convicts, but this is such a nice man, what kind of dastardly crime could he have committed to have him sent to this prison? And it isn¡¯t the paradise-like place either, why on earth would he be sent to those detention rooms where the conditions are so harsh and you end up so alone that you want to draw on the walls even while in total darkness?


    ¡°What was your crime?¡±


    Perhaps the suddenness of the question took him by surprise. My neighbour, at a loss for a reaction, remains silent for five seconds. I repeat the same question, and he finally realises I¡¯m asking him.


    ¡°Murder. Otherwise I wouldn¡¯t end up in this sort of place.¡±


    ¡°Murder? Really? Who did you kill? Sorry, I don¡¯t think you¡¯re the sort of person who would do that kind of thing.¡±


    ¡°A child.¡±


    Now it¡¯s my turn to be rendered speechless, because no matter how I look at it, I don¡¯t think he would have killed a child. Since he said it¡¯s been over twenty years since then, maybe it was some accident during the war.


    Hawkeye looks at me, still wordless, and murmurs with surprise,


    ¡°Oh my, it¡¯s not just your hair, even your eyes are black...¡±


    But he doesn¡¯t complete the sentence, and it seems like he¡¯s holding his breath.


    The other convicts don¡¯t notice what¡¯s happening over on our side, and start discussing the sinking of Darco instead.


    ¡°It¡¯s true that the sea level has risen some. The guards even said that the roads are flooded, what a pain.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I heard from the wheat seller last year too. Apparently his home floods once every three days.¡±


    ¡°The sea level has risen, does that mean that this city really will sink?¡±


    ¡°Mgh! How could it possibly sink!¡±


    ¡°Otherwise, why would the sea level rise?¡±


    ¡°Who knows! It¡¯s been slowly rising for more than ten years now, but Darco won¡¯t sink, and it will never sink!¡±


    There are many reasons for the sea level rising. Something like global warming melting the polar ice caps, or a seismic movement of volcanoes or tectonic plates that lead to a swelling of the seabed. Since those are natural phenomena, anything could happen.


    If this was Earth.


    ¡°Why are all these unbelievable things happening?¡±


    Grizzly, who had been quiet this whole time, looks up as he speaks. His voice is high and gentle, completely contrasting his appearance of a man-eating bear. It¡¯s the kind of voice you would continue to listen to if you picked up the phone at home, only to find that it¡¯s a telemarketer trying to sell you things.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you guys think so? That Box suddenly showed up in a room with a roof and a floor. That was an underground room with nothing but a seawater tunnel, it was a room where they beat the wheat with running water.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, aye.¡±


    ¡°It was only after that old wooden box showed up in that waterway all of a sudden, that the city centre started to flood, and people started yapping about sea levels slowly rising.¡±


    ¡°Eh, no way? In that case, that Box... has something to do with the dangers of Darco sinking? But why would they be related? Don¡¯t tell me it has an automatic dowsing ability, and can dig up underground hot springs?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s leaking.¡±


    Grizzly (named by me) yawns as he replies.


    ¡°What¡¯s up with the construction of that Box? It actually leaks water.¡±


    ¡°Leaking water? Not spraying water?¡±


    All four of them shake their head at my question. Perhaps all of them have seen it before.


    ¡°It flows gentler than that¡ª¡±


    ¡°...flows gently,¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, it flows as gently as an old man taking a piss. But it should be that kind of thing, right, something like a water filter. You put muddy water in it to make drinking water, right? Like a wooden bucket that¡¯s convenient to use in a swamp¡ªcould it be, it¡¯s something like that?¡±


    ¡°I know, you¡¯re talking about a wooden bucket filled with sand and small stones, right? What¡¯s the matter, isn¡¯t such a mysterious box a box of convenience?¡±


    ¡°Well, since it just randomly showed up, how could it not be at least somewhat convenient¡ª¡±


    I try to imagine a filter installed on the waterway I¡¯d seen earlier. I even use my internal brain hologram as though creating CG, trying to change the water filters I¡¯d seen before into a Forbidden Box.


    Suddenly, an ominous image appears in my head.


    Even if it was a mysterious object that showed up randomly, there¡¯s no guarantee that it is a Forbidden Box. There should be other, even more mysterious series of objects in this world. For all I know, Darco could have an inventor like Anissina, who secretly installs her precious inventions in the middle of the night.


    That¡¯s right, just like using ma-power to purify the water.


    In that case, there should be a poor soul somewhere being used to provide maryoku. Wait a sec, Darco is human land, so it¡¯s not maryoku, but houryoku.


    I forget that I¡¯m surrounded by group of felons, putting my arms on the table and leaning my chin on the backs of my hands as I muse.


    A mysterious box, Warden Ranatan disguised as a cult leader, rising water levels, the sinking risks, the strange smell...


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    The last item on that list appears in my head, pulling me back from my reverie.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think, there¡¯s some strange smell?¡±


    ¡°Smell?¡±


    I desperately twitch my nose, trying to make the most of my sense of smell, and detect a very evident odor. It smells like something charred, or something being burned.


    ¡°It¡¯s the smell of something getting charred... Ah!¡±


    My sense of smell is perfectly normal, because there¡¯s smoke getting in from the corners of the room. As the many guards here panic, the large room starts to fill up with smoke. The people who managed to stay calm quickly get down onto the floor, breathing in the clean air near the ground.


    ¡°The source, where¡¯s the source of the fire!?¡±


    ¡°It should probably be the kitchen, diagonally up from here.¡±


    ¡°Be careful not to breathe in the thick smoke! Take your shirt or your trousers, whatever, just remember to close your nose and mouth and keep your body low. In any case, we need to get out of here quick, or we¡¯ll be knocked out by the carbon monoxide.¡±


    And so all of us sprawl and crawl on the ground, finally making it to the metal grille at the entrance. Then, we plead with the guards standing there to quickly let us free.


    But the guards remain standing at their stations outside the grille, ignoring us altogether. They even insist that this is an emergency situation, so there¡¯s no way they can let us leave.


    ¡°What are you talking about? You should let us out precisely because it¡¯s an emergency situation! Otherwise how else can we get out from here!? What do you mean, you won¡¯t let us out! If we keep staying here, all of us will be steamed to death!?¡±


    Like steamed turtle, steamed shark, and steamed crocodile. I kick the metal grate furiously.


    ¡°Even the prisons during the Edo period would temporarily release the prisoners during fires! They¡¯d promise to come back of their own accord after the fire is put out, that would be the most humane way of dealing with it, right?¡±


    ¡°Without the warden¡¯s permission, we can¡¯t let you out.¡±


    ¡°Then go and get the warden¡¯s permission now! If this continues on, we¡¯ll all die, y¡¯know!? You guys will face the same fate! If you continue dragging your feet here, be it the guards or the prisoners, we¡¯ll all burn to death!?¡±


    The guards react really quickly to my words. But instead, they abandon their duties and run away. Faced with an enemy as dangerous as a fire, they ended up leaving their companions for dead, and ran from their stations, leaving behind a locked metal grate and about ten felons. Perhaps, to them, the convicts were never companions of any kind.


    ¡°Crap, this is bad... Although this room has all stone walls, and the fire might not reach this place, the thick smoke here means that it¡¯s connected to the corridor, right?¡±


    In that case, poisonous gases will reach here from the tunnels.


    ¡°Everyone, no matter what you do, don¡¯t breathe in the thick smoke! Use your clothes or rags or whatever works, quick, cover your nose and mouth with cloth! Somebody, quick¡ªsome¡ªbo¡ªdy! There¡¯s a fire! There¡¯s a fire, open this metal gate for us!¡±


    I grab the gate without guards with both hands and shake it desperately. The metal is still cold.


    ¡°Damn it!¡±


    A convict who prides himself on his strength yells at me to stand aside.


    I sense someone patting my shoulder from behind me, it seems I¡¯ve been considered as one of the main members here. Right now, these felons are my companions. Forget three people, if I could just gather these twelve, we should be able to come up with a decent attack plan, right? Even if I don¡¯t count myself or Hawkeye, the other convicts here seem to have come up with some bright ideas.


    ¡°Hey, listen up, Robinson. In a while, we¡¯ll all work together to bend that metal gate there.¡±


    ¡°Wow, you guys are amazing!¡±


    ¡°Amazing, right? Then you go ahead and escape from any opening that¡¯s wide enough.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great... Eh?¡±


    I almost ask, ¡°Why would you do something like that for me?¡± But Turtle bares his teeth, and says with his eyes staring wide at me,


    ¡°Look at the width of that gate, no matter how hard we pull it, there¡¯s no way we can get through! Only you or Hawkeye, who¡¯s pretty skinny, can get past it. That¡¯s why we decided to let you and Hawkeye get out of here before we all faint from the smoke!¡±


    ¡°But if we¡¯re the only ones escaping...¡±


    ¡°Hey hey hey, don¡¯t get too optimistic there. How could we just let you off like that? Of course you¡¯ll have to, um, catch the warden and nick the key from her, or put out the fire in the kitchen, and save all of us!¡±


    ¡°Ahh, I see.¡±


    The others use all their strength trying to peel open the metal gate. Thanks to them using all the power in their thick arms and entire bodies, they finally pulled the gate at the entrance open by a bit.


    ¡°Mn, I see. You guys are right, I understand now. I¡¯ll find the warden, take the key from her, and then put out the fire. I got it, leave it to me!¡±


    I don¡¯t think I can find Warden Ranatan that easily in this large ¡®Who Is It Summoning Hell 1-Chome, Ah, Errand-Running 3-Chome Prison¡¯. I also don¡¯t think that with my power alone, I can put out a fire so big that the smoke is reaching underground. But I have to try.


    In any case, there¡¯s already someone putting out the fire in the kitchen. As for where Warden Ranatan is, I already have some clue in my head. Although I don¡¯t think I can complete the mission, I don¡¯t think I can¡¯t do it, either.


    Just as Turtle said, the only people who can force their ways through the pulled-apart gate are me and Hawkeye. We keep our bodies low as we avoid the smoke, running down the corridor without guards.


    I don¡¯t see a single soul anywhere, there¡¯s probably only those few felons left in the underground basement, together with the guards on duty. As for the convicts who can move freely in this paradise prison, they¡¯re all above here.


    We finally make it to the first floor, to the first floor of this place that would be considered paradise as compared to the basement that it¡¯s connected to. Just then, my companion stops.


    ¡°Hawkeye.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going up.¡±


    I had taken three steps up, and thinking that I¡¯d misheard him, I start to turn around. But he immediately pushes my waist with his left hand,


    ¡°You go. Alone.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? Now isn¡¯t the time to joke around!¡±


    Hawkeye shakes his head lightly, his expression between that of a smile and a sob,


    ¡°I¡¯m being serious, I can¡¯t continue walking upwards.¡±


    ¡°Why!? Didn¡¯t you promise everyone that you¡¯d go outside, bring the keys back, and put out the fire in the kitchen!?¡±


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t leave this place.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m asking you, why!?¡±


    ¡°...Because I¡¯m a man of unforgivable sins.¡±


    I almost yell out, ¡°It¡¯s not just you, all convicts have unforgivable sins!¡± Although those words never left my mouth, he seems to read my thoughts anyway, continuing with his excuses,


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not like those people who were accused of stealing bread or fish, I¡¯m a man of unforgivable sins. To a sinner like that, this is the only place to be.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about!? That was a war, of course you would kill a lot of soldiers in the war, right!? Even children would get caught in the crossfire. Although that shadow may haunt you for the rest of your life, and it may never be redeemed, and I... I can¡¯t simply say I understand how you feel, but...¡±


    Because a lot of the people around me have gotten hurt before too. Since I was always living a stable life in a peaceful world, I just can¡¯t say something like ¡®I feel the same way¡¯.


    ¡°But there are a lot of people out there with the same thoughts, and they still manage to live on outside. You¡¯re the only one who can¡¯t step outside, isn¡¯t that too strange?¡±


    ¡°They just think that the children were unfortunate to get involved, or died accidentally. It¡¯s not the same in my case.¡±


    He takes one step back.


    ¡°Not the same.¡±


    Keeping his head low, he steps back towards the stairs leading to the basement slightly,


    ¡°...I don¡¯t look at the target¡¯s face when I shoot my arrows, otherwise I¡¯d realise they¡¯re living people too. Because if I look too closely, even if they¡¯re an enemy, I wouldn¡¯t be able to shoot. So when I¡¯m sniping enemies on the battlefield, I just look at the places I can pierce through, pretending as though they¡¯re the bullseye. When you¡¯re shooting from a distance, you would aim for the stomach or the chest, and hit them straight-on. Likewise, I don¡¯t look at the enemy¡¯s faces. As soon as I see the chest of a Shimaron uniform, I¡¯ll just start shooting like a puppet. If the enemy was a puppet, I too would be nothing more than a puppet with a bow and arrow.¡±


    ¡°I said, it¡¯s the war, even if you took a life, that¡¯s still...¡±


    ¡°Listen to me! Back then, in order to stop the rapidly advancing Shimaron armies, we were shooting non-stop from the fort. We had no time for emotions. We¡¯d put an arrow on the bow and let it loose, then put on another arrow, repeating the movement continuously. When I raised my head suddenly, I saw an enemy sniper on the tree in front of me, so I shot my arrow unhesitatingly. Just as before, I aimed for the chest of the Shimaron uniform, and just as before, I shot through that chest. But...¡±


    He raises his thin right hand, covering his face with the well-defined joints. There are fading callouses between his fingers. The positions of those callouses are different from those of Conrad¡¯s, Gwen¡¯s, and Wolfram¡¯s.


    ¡°He was a child. About your age... or younger than you. The second when he fell from the tree, our eyes met. He was obviously not a soldier, but someone brought there from a village, probably a hunter with good archery skills or something. But he was a child, according to human years, probably a child of about twelve years old.¡±


    ¡°A child...¡±


    ¡°He fell from the tree, and I don¡¯t know what happened to him after that, but I shot him. I have no doubts about my own skills, I only release an arrow when I¡¯m sure of hitting bullseye. If he wasn¡¯t wearing those clothes, if that child wasn¡¯t wearing the Shimaron uniform, there¡¯s no way I would have killed him! If he wasn¡¯t wearing an adult¡¯s army uniform, if he wasn¡¯t aiming an arrow at us, I wouldn¡¯t have shot him either! But the reality remains, and it can¡¯t be changed... I did kill a child who wasn¡¯t a soldier!¡±


    Those words hurt me deeply inside my heart, a pain as though I was burnt in an instant. Because I had an experience like that, in which I nearly lost someone important to me just because he was wearing someone else¡¯s clothes.


    ¡°Go.¡±


    The neighbour I just met says to me weakly,


    ¡°Go now, forget about those people you just met underground. You have to get out of here and save yourself.¡±


    ¡°What the heck are you talking about! Not only do I want to get the key, I¡¯m going to put the fire out too! Otherwise everyone will burn to death.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯re all irredeemable sinners. Those who live underground are scum who gather together, they do not deserve to be rescued, and they all knew that a long time ago. The truth is, they don¡¯t want you to endanger yourself just to save them.¡±


    ¡°How could it be...¡±


    ¡°And this fire might be put out anyway.¡±


    Hawkeye chuckles.


    ¡°The metal gate was cool, so there should be some other way.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that!¡±


    I can¡¯t help but reach out my right hand to grab his arm,


    ¡°Don¡¯t force yourself, don¡¯t tell me to go ahead by myself!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Robinson. Forget about us, just go!¡±


    Hawkeye pulls my hand away gently, and I shake my head with despair,


    ¡°No.¡±


    I haven¡¯t told this person my name.


    ¡°My name is Yuuri, Hawkeye.¡±


    ¡°Yuuri...?¡±


    My neighbour murmurs, ¡°You have the same name as the king.¡± And in that moment, his gaze looks into the distance.


    He must be searching for his faraway homeland.

 Volume 17 - CH 8

    ¡°Murata Ken¡¯s diary without Shibuya by his side, the fifth hour¡±


    How troublesome.


    Although we set up an appointment with the cult that got their devotees to dye their hair black ¨C the ¡®Until That Day Comes¡¯ cult, the person-in-charge, Shibuya, got locked away.


    And with the stupid excuse that he was using violence on a child.


    What a joke, how could he possibly do something like that! If I were to use an example from my English textbook to describe it, I¡¯d say, ¡®He¡¯s the last person on Earth who would abuse a kid¡¯.


    Although back then I wanted to rush in and save him, Mr. Chevalier grabbed both my arms from behind to stop me.


    At first I wanted to come up with a plan, and carry out my Rescue Shibuya Yuuri & Lord von Voltaire Plan even if we¡¯re low on combat power. But according to Shibuya¡¯s own wishes, I have no choice but to delay that plan. The moment Shibuya was taken away, his request to me was to meet the representative of the ¡®Until That Day Comes¡¯ cult in his place.


    ...Are you serious!?


    ¡°If you hadn¡¯t stopped me back there, my friend wouldn¡¯t have been taken away, and we¡¯d still be together now.¡±


    Murata¡¯s words made Chevalier lower his head guiltily, until even his originally sparkly golden hair looks really dull.


    ¡°I¡¯m truly very sorry... It was all my fault.¡±


    ¡°Sheesh, of course I¡¯m kidding. If I had rushed over to stop them, there¡¯s no way I could have gotten Shibuya back. After all, I¡¯m not good at anything that needs physical stamina, and I don¡¯t have wrist strength or maryoku either.¡±


    ¡°Even if you did have maryoku, you wouldn¡¯t be able to use it in this country.¡±


    ¡°Mn, is that so? Not at all? But from what I saw, houryoku users seem a bit at a loss here too. Could there be some disrupting factor? Or is it just too far away?¡±


    Chevalier frowns, saying with a perplexed expression,


    ¡°I don¡¯t really know either, but maryoku and houryoku don¡¯t seem to obey the particles filling this area very much.¡±


    ¡°Then this place is neutral, huh? Shouldn¡¯t we make even more use of it then?¡±


    ¡°Maybe...¡±


    He has no command of the situation now either? Looks like he¡¯s not very good at taking charge of things.


    But thinking that ¡®Since I don¡¯t know how to use maryoku either, there¡¯s no need to investigate the reason¡¯, Murata immediately gives up asking.


    Because the most important thing now is Yuuri and Gwendal.


    According to the convicts he¡¯s been all up and around asking, criminals who are apprehended for causing trouble tend to end up in solitary confinement. It¡¯s just that there are a lot of detention areas around the prison, so they can¡¯t tell which area they were sent to.


    Murata and Chevalier are extremely worried that Yuuri would face the inhumane kind of treatment that ends up with ¡®no one coming back alive¡¯ or ¡®those who return only know how to talk to and play with the walls¡¯, but the convict they asked just snorted, ¡°All I know is that those who come back improved their drawing skills.¡±


    Why would being locked up in solitary confinement improve their drawing skills? There¡¯s another mystery that doesn¡¯t need to be solved.


    Finally they decide that ¡®there¡¯s nothing we can do, let¡¯s give Yuuri some time for his drawing retreat¡¯. Now the person they have to worry about is Gwendal.


    Although interrupting a prisoners¡¯ isn¡¯t much, the thing is he was attacked from behind when he tried to protect Yuuri. According to the witness at the time, Her Royal Highness the Former Queen Lady von Spitzberg C?cilie (who¡¯s also Gwendal¡¯s mother) ¨C ¡°Whatever, he¡¯s a man, that sort of attack is nothing, he¡¯s fine.¡± Her answer was full of confidence.


    Are you sure? But he looks a bit dazed, and there was blood flowing from his temple. Could he have a concussion? Murata can¡¯t help but feel frustrated.


    After some more investigations, they found out that casualties are all sent to the infirmary. In that case, Yuuri is in detention, and Gwendal should be kept in the infirmary.


    Although he wants to save both of them... Murata pushes the glasses that don¡¯t fit his prescription up his nose.


    ¡°Technically, it seems that both of them should be in relative safety now. If there¡¯s anything we can do with just the two of us, Mr. Chevalier, it would be to follow Shibuya¡¯s wishes, and meet the representative of that ¡®Until That Day Comes¡¯ cult.¡±


    ¡°Sigh, I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m so weak.¡±


    ¡°Since you have the courage to openly admit your weakness, why don¡¯t you express your love in front of the beautiful Lady Cherie¡ª¡±


    ¡°Whoaph!¡±


    Chevalier makes a strange sound, his ears turning red to the roots. What¡¯s the matter here? He can praise the person he loves to high heavens when she¡¯s not around, until everyone else around him is sick of listening to him. But as soon as the person herself is standing in front of him, he becomes a servant of few words.


    I can¡¯t help but understand why he ended up becoming a stalker.


    Now, they¡¯re headed towards the underground room where the cult holds its activities, walking down the stairs that had gotten familiar over the past few days.


    Mr. Appleface, the messenger, said that ¡®only the two black-haired ones can come¡¯, but since Yuuri is locked up now, they have no choice but to ask the devotees to let the blonde one join too, as a substitute.


    It¡¯ll be evening soon. In the building, the convicts in charge of the food are scurrying around busily with dinner preparations. It¡¯s just that most of the convicts are still either playing games or chatting, spending their empty time without a care in the world.


    But they¡¯re here.


    After walking down the stairs, Murata stands in the dim underground hall, feeling a bit chilly.


    In front of him, there are countless people with their hair dyed black crouching on the ground.


    They¡¯re not talking, singing or dancing. Just crouching there.


    What are they praying for? Under whose order are they continuously sitting there? Or have they really given up on everything, and are holding their breath, waiting for Darco to sink? No matter what the answer is, they just sit there quietly.


    We can¡¯t see it because of everyone¡¯s backs, but there should be a waterway cutting through the center of the hall, and we walk towards it.


    ¡°Mr. Appleface.¡±


    Maybe he heard his name being called or just sensed us, but someone stands up from the crowd. He then walks up to the front and gets us to follow him, it seems like he¡¯s the one in charge of leading Shibuya and co. He looks like a newbie, because his cheeks are rosy, and his stomach sticks out a bit. If he was an experienced devotee from three years ago, his body and face should be very thin.


    ¡°Oh, yeah, Mr. Appleface, actually, something happened so Robinson can¡¯t make it, but even if it¡¯s just me, I still hope I can meet with the higher-ups in your group.¡±


    Mr. Appleface says nervously,


    ¡°You guys can meet them. That person knows everything, like how you¡¯re missing one ¡®Black-haired¡¯, and that the tall guy was hurt, that person knows all of it.¡±


    ¡°That person sure is omniscient.¡±


    ¡°They know everything. Come, this way.¡±


    Hey hey hey, is it really okay to let a newbie like this simply approach the representative or something of the cult leader? But Murata puts that question aside for now, and follows Mr. Appleface into the deepening cave.


    But as soon as they get past the cave and enter a small room with a low ceiling, I realise that the moist air that existed in my nose has changed somewhat.


    ¡°It¡¯s the smell of water...¡±


    It could be because the change is too minute, but Chevalier doesn¡¯t purposely breathe in the air here deeply.


    ¡°Yes, because it¡¯s a city on the sea. The entire Darco city area is full of the smell of seawater.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant. This isn¡¯t seawater, it¡¯s freshwater, it¡¯s the smell of freshwater without any salt in it. Looks like the water flowing through the central canal isn¡¯t from the ocean.¡±


    ¡°Could it be a river that leads to the sea?¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡ª¡±


    Just then, the guide stands in front of something that looks like a curtain in the small room, and turns back to look at us.


    He doesn¡¯t say anything, which makes it feel all the more suspicious. I lose my patience, asking,


    ¡°I know this church only worships black-haired people, but my friend couldn¡¯t make it at the last moment. That¡¯s why I¡¯m sorry, but I hope you will allow my blonde companion here to come along.¡±


    ¡°Is he a mazoku?¡±


    A woman¡¯s voice comes from behind the curtain. No, rather than calling it a woman¡¯s voice, it¡¯s more like a voice that has been strangely altered using some tool or another. It sounds like a wicked old crone, or a toad that can speak.


    This is our first conversation with the representative of the ¡®Until That Day Comes¡¯ cult.


    ¡°Is that person a mazoku as well?¡±


    ¡°Me? Yes, that¡¯s right, I¡¯m a mazoku.¡±


    Looks like the cult leader is rather concerned about whether Chevalier is a mazoku or not.


    ¡°In that case, come along. Walk this way, come to my side.¡±


    When the guide pulls the curtain up, the person we¡¯re looking for is standing right there. The guide stands in front of us menacingly, as though trying to intimidate Chevalier and me.


    So what if he¡¯s mazoku? Do we add or deduct marks?


    Murata observes the long-awaited cult leader as he thinks.


    Geographically, this is a country extremely far away from Shin Makoku, mazokus should be rare here. Other than in places they have strong ties with, it¡¯s hard to identify mazoku from appearance alone.


    I remember I announced my race when I entered the prison, but it wouldn¡¯t be unusual for Chevalier to have kept his origins a secret.


    As compared to our origins, what about hers?


    Since the other person pulled her hat down low, even ignoring how dim the lighting in the room is, it¡¯s nearly impossible to see her face. The most they could see is her mouth. And she¡¯s wearing a long robe, so it¡¯s hard to tell her figure too.


    But it should be a woman.


    Although her voice was altered with some device, judging from her height and posture, it could be deduced that she¡¯s a woman.


    In order to confirm it, Murata peeks at Chevalier¡¯s face. As though sensing Murata¡¯s gaze, he smiles as well. It¡¯s a smile that completely has no use here.


    ¡°I heard you wanted to see me. Is it...¡±


    She quickly moves to the side.


    ¡°Because of the Box?¡±


    Hearing that unexpected question, I make a strange moaning noise from my throat.


    In front of Murata¡¯s and Chevalier¡¯s gaze, behind the female cult leader, there¡¯s a familiar, big wooden box.


    I say it¡¯s familiar, but in the sixteen years since I was born, it wasn¡¯t common for me to see the exact same thing. Although I have come into contact with extremely similar boxes in my lifetime, it was never the exact same thing.


    In my past lives, however, I have gotten involved with this unlucky Box more than once. Sometimes looking for it, sometimes avoiding it, sometimes operating together with it. To be precise, those weren¡¯t Murata Ken¡¯s own actions. But the shape of the Box, its weight, even the places it was damaged, all those details are buried deep in his memories, in the folds of his soul.


    ¡°Why is that thing here...¡±


    My voice turns unexpectedly hoarse.


    It¡¯s the Box that sealed the soushu of water and its threats¡ª¡®Mirror of the Deep Waters¡¯.

 Volume 17 - CH 9

    The space aboveground has turned into something that¡¯s not paradise.


    There¡¯s smoke everywhere, and people darting about trying to escape with their lives. Although the convicts and the guards got mingled up, the convicts with fast reflexes follow behind the guards, trying to leave from the guards-only exit.


    In other words, the main door hasn¡¯t been opened. Perhaps the prison authorities are confident they can put out the fire, it¡¯s just that no one even tries to direct the flow of the emergency exit.


    Since the convicts can move about freely, as long as they can follow behind someone with good luck and a stranger sixth sense, they should be able to escape the clutches of these all-engulfing flames.


    But the people underground aren¡¯t as lucky.


    If no one sends them the key, they¡¯ll have no way of escaping their cage.


    That¡¯s precisely why I cannot let myself choke on the smoke here, no way!


    Since I don¡¯t have a towel or handkerchief by my side, I have no choice but to pull up my collar to cover my mouth, and then I press my body low as I run forward. I advance while keeping close to the wall, where the smoke isn¡¯t so thick that I can¡¯t see where I¡¯m going.


    I even see a bunch of people gathered near the kitchen. Looks like they¡¯re trying to put out the fire.


    ¡°Is this the source of the fire!?¡±


    I yell at a man nearby.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right! Seems like it happened when they were cooking.¡±


    ¡°Has the fire been extinguished?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s burning as brightly as the kitchen stove, it shouldn¡¯t be that easy to put out. There¡¯s no way just splashing water on it will work, so it¡¯s best to just run. We¡¯re planning to withdraw too.¡±


    What did you say?


    Since simply pouring water won¡¯t work, why don¡¯t you bring down a large amount of water, like in a sprinkler system? Like rainfall, no, like a waterfall.


    Although this building looks impressive, it probably doesn¡¯t have proper fire prevention systems. If this country doesn¡¯t have someone like Miss Anissina, it shouldn¡¯t be possible for them to have an indoor sprinkler system.


    But I have had previous experience, I once brought rain down on a village that was burning up. In that case, as long as I use the exact same power as I had then, I should be able to put out the fire, right?


    So I walk to a spot with no one around, plaster my palms to the wall, and slowly breathe out. I start imagining the moment when my power fires up, trying to bring out the maryoku inside me. I close my eyes tightly, clench my teeth hard, hoping to grab that power hiding within my soul.


    It doesn¡¯t work.


    The gentle voice that I tend to hear when I use majutsu, or the Maou¡¯s tone that shows up when I go on a rampage, neither of them appears. I pound my face with my right hand. The palm still plastered to the cool stone wall is icy cold, as though taunting me, ¡®So you¡¯re this useless, after all¡¯.


    In that case, I¡¯ll have to find Warden Ranatan first, and grab her key to save those animals, as well as Hawkeye.


    No matter what I say, he simply couldn¡¯t take that step forward. I had no choice but to come up alone, but I couldn¡¯t just leave him crouching there.


    Be it Mr. Neighbour or the felons, I only spent a few hours with them. Although Hawkeye says he¡¯s an unforgivable sinner, who has no right to live on this world, it was their unique sense of justice that helped me escape. So I definitely won¡¯t let those saviours die.


    I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s fortunate or unfortunate, but I do more or less know where the great Warden Ranatan is. Since she really is the representative for the ¡®Until That Day Comes¡¯ cult, that means she should be in the underground hall with the canal right now. Because we agreed to meet there before dinner today.


    Since I now know that there¡¯s no way to put out the fire, I¡¯ll have to find her and take the keys for the underground jail... Even if I have to take them by force, I¡¯ll do it, and then I can get back to that place.


    Following my memories of the place, I make my way to the front of the residential area and discover a flight of stairs heading underground. This is the place, alright. If only I could remember the secret to using majutsu this quickly as well.


    But once I rush down the long staircase, I once more fall speechless at the exaggerated scene I see before me in the next instant. Those black-haired people are all crouching in the dim underground hall.


    Not only didn¡¯t they try to escape, they¡¯re still hugging their knees calmly, staring at the canal and at the air.


    ¡°You guys...¡±


    Don¡¯t tell me they¡¯re meditating? Why else would they not be moving at all.


    ¡°What the heck are you guys doing!?¡±


    I grab the hair of the guy closest to me, yelling into his ear,


    ¡°Fire--! Your home is on fire!¡±


    But the man doesn¡¯t react at all, letting me shake him as I like. I try the same thing on the others, and not one of them reacts in any way.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t the time to stay underground... You¡¯ll die of smoke inhalation. Even if the fire won¡¯t reach this place, you¡¯ll still die if you breathe in those poisonous gases...¡±


    But they don¡¯t make a sound, having given up even thinking.


    ¡°Ah¡ªReally!¡±


    I can¡¯t wait any longer, and there¡¯s no time for any politeness when talking to them either.


    I pull apart the ¡®Black-Haired¡¯ crouching on the ground, and advance towards the cave I¡¯d seen earlier. If what Turtle said is true, then that mysterious box that suddenly appeared should be in this prison. In that case, it should be kept at the cult leader, Warden Ranatan¡¯s cult headquarters.


    It¡¯s just deeper into that cave, as long as I can get past that...


    Looking back on it later, I can¡¯t explain why I had those thoughts at the time. My brain kept insisting on using that Box. Rather than saying I was guided by some power, it¡¯s more like I was being controlled.


    Since it¡¯s neither a water cleaner nor a filter, and is instead a mysterious box that constantly leaks freshwater, then I just need to use it to bring rain down on the prison, and I can put out the fire, right? Without having a fixed target, I could only hold on to that train of thought, and I put all my faith into it. Making my way through the lifeless crowd, I move towards the head of the canal.


    I walk past stone walls, and enter the small room behind. Although it¡¯s dim here, there¡¯s an object in the room that¡¯s emitting a faint, aqua-blue light.


    Once my gaze meets that light, I can¡¯t pull it away.


    That light is the blue of lakewater, a clear endless blue, a blue even deeper than the sky.


    Just slightly above my heart, there¡¯s a spot that start heating up, as though pressed against a sun-baked stone. The maseki grows hotter, though I can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s warning me, or reacting to the Box. That warmth flows past my chest and into my throat, but I only hold it for a moment before letting go immediately.


    Stretching out my hand, my fingers splayed and moving towards that aqua-blue light.


    Extending my hand further.


    In that instance, I hear a voice that reaches me not though my ears, but through my mind.


    The sound of the rain I tried so hard and yet failed to hear just now, comes to me so easily once I move my fingers towards the source of that light. I even feel a tremor that resonates through my bones.


    Stretching my hand forward, that thing belongs to me.


    This time I hear it very clearly. It¡¯s not that gentleman¡¯s voice that warns me when I¡¯m using maryoku, and neither is it that theatrical voice that acts pompous and sounds old-fashioned when I lose control. This is a deeper man¡¯s voice, hiding fury.


    Who is it? Rather than saying ¡®I heard this voice before¡¯, it¡¯s more like that voice has always existed with me. And it¡¯s not just the voice, I even understand everything about this man. His physical body, his emotions, and his entire life, I¡¯ve experienced it before, and I remember it clearly.


    Even though I believed this was so, when I think back on it now, I can¡¯t remember anything. I know this person, but now I can¡¯t recall him.


    I obey that man¡¯s voice, without a single ounce of resistance. Because I know him, I know this person. So I stretch my hand towards that square, blue light.


    I still can¡¯t reach it. It¡¯s five arm-lengths away from me, so far.


    So I naturally start walking forward.


    ¡°That¡¯s a part of me...¡±


    And at the same time, I¡¯m a part of it.


    ¡°No, Shibuya!¡±


    Just then, I notice for the first time that there are people other than me in this room.


    When I slant my gaze to the side, I see the Lord Sage looking especially young, Voltaire, an unknown woman wrapped tightly from head to toe, and a half-naked blonde who looks very stupid. I thought that the small shadow in the corner of the room was a terrified chimp, but it turns out to be a human. He¡¯s in a daze from too much terror, so I ignore him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch that thing, no matter what you do!¡±


    He with his race¡¯s distinctive black hair and eyes is yelling at me. In this dim room, his face looks extremely pale under the illumination of the light.


    Since he¡¯s telling me not to touch it, why isn¡¯t he stopping me even at this stage? He just looks at me motionlessly, opposing me with words alone.


    ¡°You can¡¯t, Shibuya! You can¡¯t touch that thing! It¡¯s dangerous!¡±


    ¡°Dangerous, you say?¡±


    ¡°You will be destroyed.¡±


    Although I understand Murata¡¯s concerns very well, on the other hand I find him very foolish. What are you afraid of, Lord Sage? I raise my chin slightly, waiting for him to continue.


    ¡°If you really are the true Key to that Box, you will be destroyed. I never thought... I never thought that ¡®Mirror of the Deep Waters¡¯ would be in this world. I always thought it had been sunk into the depths of the Pacific Ocean...¡±


    That¡¯s right, that¡¯s ¡®Mirror of the Deep Waters¡¯, the last of the four Boxes. It¡¯s the Box I personally fought for, bled for, and covered up, the Box that sealed the threat of the soushu of water. I feel the corners of my mouth rising.


    On the other hand, Murata¡¯s brow is tightly furrowed, his lip trembling as though about to cry,


    ¡°To think it¡¯s actually here, how did this happen? Who could it be...¡±


    ¡°It seems to be His Majesty Shinou.¡±


    I know the shock took his breath away, while a distance away, Voltaire looks up in surprise as well. What¡¯s the matter here? There¡¯s a cold sweat on Voltaire¡¯s brow, and his hands are pressed against his head. It¡¯s a very rare reaction for a healthy man, he looks as though he accidentally lost to an enemy.


    ¡°But this man... No, no matter what, I want to use the threat of the water.¡±


    ¡°No, if you really are the Key, even more no!¡±


    ¡°So what if I am?¡±


    Standing behind a strange transparent board, his gaze looks uneasy. He seems flustered, as though he doesn¡¯t recognise me, probably because he hasn¡¯t remembered me yet.


    ¡°Do you suspect? Who else could it be other than me? Other than me, who else can control ¡®Mirror of the Deep Waters¡¯? There shouldn¡¯t be anything to suspect here, right, Lord Sage?¡±


    The intense light in front of me instantly increases the degree of its summons for me, and releases a sweet temptation, like a flower tempting a butterfly. How I wish to obtain it as soon as possible.


    ¡°The Key to ¡®Mirror of the Deep Waters¡¯, is me.¡±


    ¡°Yuuri...¡±


    Eyes wide, he murmurs someone¡¯s name, and once more pleads, ¡°Don¡¯t touch it, no matter what.¡± What on earth are you worried about? There¡¯s nothing here to be uneasy about.


    ¡°Relax, I can do it, no problem.¡±


    How far apart are we? But I truly have the confidence that I can do it. This feeling is as though I haven¡¯t ridden a horse in ages, but if it¡¯s a beloved horse with a strong connection to me, so I have the confidence to ride it freely.


    ¡°Because this is a part of me.¡±


    And at the same time, I am a part of it.


    But there¡¯s still an obstruction between us, a woman whose face I can¡¯t even see clearly. However, a mere human cannot keep us apart. As I slowly advance, the female¡¯s body subconsciously leaves the Box, forced by some power. Because the Box is removing all the obstacles.


    ¡°Finally back.¡±


    Feeling almost happy, I stretch my hand for the Box, still shining with a blue light.


    Before I was prepared to touch it or not, I feel a pain as though pricked by a needle, shooting up from the very tips of my fingers. Is it power surging into me? Or trying to escape from me? Or perhaps both? No matter what, the connection is once more open. I see minuscule veins the same color as the light.


    Suddenly, there¡¯s an impact as though I was hit by lightning, and I¡¯m assaulted by the agony of the blood vessels connected to my heart being ripped apart.


    Of course, I never experienced that before, but that¡¯s the only way I can describe it. Because my heartbeat accelerated suddenly, but at the same time it was forcefully held back so my pulse stopped beating, and could only writhe in agony between someone¡¯s stiff fingers.


    I couldn¡¯t stand it, and finally collapsed onto the Box.


    Although there¡¯s a layer of my clothes in between, my chest still came into direct contact with the wood carvings. The next second, something icy cold flows into my body from the point of contact. From my stomach, chest, shoulders, and arms, it moves to my right cheek, the corners of my eyes, my right ear, the corners of my mouth.


    The pain also weakens as it flows into my body, turning into a gentle, soothing warmth. Even if I close my eyes, the blue light lingers in my vision. Only the maseki stuck in the middle remains plastered against my chest, continuously emitting heat.


    Not long later, even the parts of me that aren¡¯t touching the Box¡ªsuch as my thighs and soles, start to feel the flow. I know the water is already flooding to my feet, and it instantly submerges my calves, reaching up to just before my knees.


    The water flowing in this canal isn¡¯t seawater, because the temperature isn¡¯t the same. It feels as cold as melted ice in a spring pond.


    Just then I hear a piercing scream from the distance, it¡¯s probably passersby making a fuss.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, Shibuya! Get away, get away from there now!¡±


    Even Lord Sage is squawking like that, I already told you it¡¯s fine.


    I open my eyes gently, and see my face reflected on the thin layer of water on the Box. It¡¯s a young, short-haired male...


    ¡°Who?¡±


    Just as I¡¯m about to ask, a force from beside me knocks into me and pulls me away from the top of the Box, and I even fly into the stone wall. Although I knock my shoulder, the other person¡¯s body between me and the stone wall absorbed most of the impact.


    The man who knocked into me yells,


    ¡°What are you doing!¡±


    ¡°Con...¡±


    My voice is too hoarse to make any sound.


    ¡°What the heck are you doing!¡±


    Conrad is lying between me and the floor, grabbing my back like a fielder who failed to pounce on the ball.


    ¡°Why are you in this sort of place? Why are you here?¡±


    I know this arm very well. No, I should say, only I know this arm.


    ¡°Conrad?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you go back to Shin Makoku?¡±


    He reaches out his hand to grab my clothes, until the skin on my back hurts a little.


    ¡°But why are you in this sort of place? And you even want to open a Box?¡±


    ¡°In that case, I want to ask you too, why are you here?¡±


    Conrad props himself to a half-sitting position with his arm, his eyebrows drooping slightly. Once he sees that I can get up by myself, he sighs like my old man.


    ¡°And you¡¯re wearing an outfit I hate again, are you trying to make me hate you?¡±


    He¡¯s wearing the same uniform as the guards, at complete and utter odds with those of us in those red-and-white one-piece working clothes.


    ¡°I was hired here, or rather, I was just recently hired. It was that lady warden over there who¡¯s spacing out now that hired me. I came to Darco to investigate something, and in order to infiltrate this ¡®Who Is It Summoning Hell 1-Chome, Ah, Errand-Running 3-Chome Prison¡¯, I became a guard here seven days ago.¡±


    Conrad stops explaining halfway, and reaches out for my cheek as though he suddenly realised something.


    ¡°...When I was happily welcoming my sixth day as a rookie guard, I noticed a pair of familiar black eyes running past me.¡±


    ¡°Was it me?¡±


    He smiles in confusion,


    ¡°So naturally, I had to follow behind.¡±


    My cheek is cold, as though it was drenched with water. The warmth of his palm gently touching my cheek makes my skin feel slightly numb.


    ¡°I even joined the interview process.¡±


    Do you wanna switch jobs that badly? Is Dai Shimaron treating you that badly? In that case, why don¡¯t you just return to Shin Makoku instead? Those words that nearly left my mouth are instantly swallowed down again.


    Because his palm and my cheek are wet, that feeling is warmer than water, and rather slippery. Even though I can¡¯t see it closely, and I can¡¯t tell what colour it is in this dim space, this feeling and the rusty smell tells me this is most likely blood.


    ¡°Conrad.¡±


    And then, judging from the pain on this person¡¯s expression, it¡¯s my blood.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter...¡±


    I hope my voice doesn¡¯t sound very uncomfortable, after all, I don¡¯t feel any pain anymore. The true unbearable pain really only last a couple of minutes. After that, when I felt the water flowing in from the place I¡¯m connected to the Box, all that pain disappeared without a trace. All that¡¯s left is the feeling of water entering my nose in the swimming pool.


    ¡°Conrad, it¡¯s gotten onto your hair.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of which, why did you do that sort of thing?¡±


    I grab my clothes to wipe my three fingers, and the moist feeling disappears as well.


    ¡°Where is this blood coming from? My head? I might have knocked my head. Could it be that? My head feels all dizzy and heavy.¡±


    ¡°Not your head, but your ears.¡±


    ¡°Ears!?¡±


    ¡°And your nose and...¡±


    He stops talking halfway, maybe it¡¯s somewhere I¡¯m better off not knowing.


    Could it be my eyes? Something like the feeling when I miss a highball so it hits my face without a catcher¡¯s mask on, breaking capillaries and turning my right eye all bloodshot.


    Or could it be like the gentle Saint Maria statue¡ªSo I touch the corners of my eyes, trying to find out whether my eyes were bleeding. As expected, it¡¯s a little wet.


    ¡°Relax, it¡¯ll be fine after a while. Wipe it for me.¡±


    Conrad takes off his short and dips it in the water, then pulls me to a softer place so he can wipe my face.


    Although the bleeding will heal by itself, but what about Murata, Gwendal, and Mr Chevalier? When they entered the room, they couldn¡¯t move, and Gwendal couldn¡¯t even make a sound. Even though his pose says he was going to stop me with everything he had even if he had to endure a beating, so what¡¯s up here?


    ¡°Mura...¡±


    I haven¡¯t even finished saying his name before he says to me instead,


    ¡°Ahh, you bastard! Why did I let you do as you please!¡±


    Mixed with the word ¡®bastard¡¯ that he doesn¡¯t usually use, my friend starts blaming himself.


    ¡°I should have stopped you, I knew I should have stopped you.¡±


    ¡°Forget about me for now, why couldn¡¯t you move?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine now. But¡ªah, it¡¯s best if you don¡¯t touch me for now.¡±


    I think to myself, ¡°Why?¡± And then I notice that Murata¡¯s, Gwen¡¯s, and Chevalier¡¯s hair are all sticking up unnaturally.


    ¡°It¡¯s some minor electrocution.¡±


    ¡°Electrocution? Are you okay!?¡±


    ¡°Although the electric shock made me temporarily unable to move, I¡¯m fine. Lord von Voltaire was almost taken as a Key, so his injuries are more serious than mine. I don¡¯t know about Mr. Chevalier yet, he¡¯s completed spaced out. Water and electricity are truly dangerous.¡±


    ¡°What on earth happened?¡±


    According to Murata¡¯s explanation, as well as Gwendal¡¯s nods and reactions as he presses his throat, it seems that when Murata and Chevalier came to this room as per our appointment, the Box and the cult leader were already behind curtain.


    ¡°Speaking of which, Shibuya, what¡¯s surprising is, the leader of the ¡®Until That Day Comes¡¯ cult is actually Warden Ranatan!¡±


    ¡°Ohh¡ªis that so? That¡¯s really amazing!¡±


    I¡¯m sorry, but I just can¡¯t say that I knew from the start. So I put on an exaggeratedly surprised expression, and as a result, I¡¯m instantly seen through.


    ¡°If you knew already, just say it honestly. And then Warden Ranatan asked me, ¡®Since you¡¯re mazokus, do you know the reason for this Box¡¯s existence?¡±


    I see, so she even investigated stuff to do with mazokus.


    That¡¯s when we found out that the reason we were framed and brought here two weeks ago, is actually because Ranatan used that agile kid to plant that item on us when she heard that three people who looked like mazoku had docked. In other words, that incident in which I was accused of stealing a sour plum, was a trap from the start.


    To think that the warden, who was supposed to help convicts turn over a new leaf, is actually a big baddie who frames innocent people.


    I look at the cult leader slumped in a corner of the small room, looking utterly dejected. Since her hooded robe was pulled aside, I can see half of her pale face.


    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t she meet us immediately, and chose instead to wait for two weeks?¡±


    ¡°Because she¡¯s a part-time cult leader, and her main job is still more important, right¡ªBesides, I suspect she was observing us to see whether we¡¯re really mazoku.¡±


    Just then Gwendal coughs hard, but he¡¯s still holding his throat, and then he falls to his knees on the flooded floor. Looks like he can finally make a sound.


    ¡°...Ah!¡±


    ¡°Gwendal!¡±


    As his younger brother, Conrad runs over in a hurry too. On the other hand, I help Murata stand, while voicing out the guilt in my heart,


    ¡°Sorry, Gwen, it¡¯s my fault you got hurt again. Is the place you got hit okay?¡±


    ¡°That was, nothing, the prison administration patched me up properly. Your Majesty, however... your body can¡¯t be... fine, right?¡±


    He looks at me with my face full of blood from my nose, and with my ears bleeding too, it seems that he can tell my condition without having to ask.


    ¡°He brawled with five people before he could finally bring me out of a place that looked like an infirmary. One of them was a believer of democratic majority, and he made use of the five versus one advantage to do something guards shouldn¡¯t do, which was to use violence against the prisoners. Sorry, Lord von Voltaire, I caused you trouble. If I hadn¡¯t been taken hostage, it would have been easy for you to take out five soldiers.¡± After that, Gwendal suddenly fell onto the Box of Water.


    ¡°Because the bottoms of our feet are wet, so all of us got electrocuted. Could it be angry?¡±


    ¡°¡®Angry¡¯, you say? Does it have a conscience? That¡¯s a box, it¡¯s just a wooden box!¡±


    ¡°No, when I say angry, I don¡¯t mean emotionally. Perhaps I should say it¡¯s a ¡®rejection reflex¡¯? Because ¡®he does not fit¡¯. But I¡¯m not a hundred percent sure either.¡±


    Murata finally gets to his feet, his expression stern as he stares at me through his glasses,


    ¡°Because the Key of Water is you.¡±


    That¡¯s right, I said that myself too. Speaking to myself, moving by myself, even using the Box¡¯s power. Or rather, I almost did.


    But I didn¡¯t even open the Box, and the darkness inside the Box didn¡¯t have a chance to appear.


    ¡°But it flooded, as though the water reached the floor.¡±


    ¡°That was you.¡±


    My friend shrugs like a foreigner, and says with narrowed eyes,


    ¡°It was really shocking, too. I thought the water would flood the entire room, but it ended up piercing through that cave like a living thing.¡±


    ¡°Was it me!? It can¡¯t be me, right? I tried quite a few times to use majutsu, but forget rainwater, I couldn¡¯t even move a pebble, y¡¯know? In order to help those people underground put out the fire, I wanted to turn myself into a human sprinkler... but... I did do it, right?¡±


    But why can¡¯t I remember anything? Back then I seemed to be staring at the stage through a thin curtain. I vaguely remember what I did, and even the words I said seem to linger all over my brain.


    ¡°How could it... Is the last Key me...¡±


    When did I retreat to backstage? I can¡¯t find that boundary line. It feels like the curtain was raised when I didn¡¯t notice. When I wanted it to rain in the kitchen, and put my palm on the wall trying so hard to gather power, it was really only me.


    That¡¯s right, my initial motive was to put out the fire that might spread throughout the whole prison.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right, Hawkeye! And those people in the basement!¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    I quickly explain the story until now to Conrad. Like meeting those people in the basement, and especially how that man called Hawkeye may have been a former subordinate of Gwen¡¯s, etc.


    ¡°So I have to put the fire out no matter what... Did I succeed? Is the fire under control? It¡¯s rather far from here to the kitchen, even if the water sprays up like a living thing, did it reach that place?¡±


    ¡°It should have.¡±


    Murata pulls the wet hair plastered onto his forehead aside, and says with surprise,


    ¡°And at an alarming speed too. If we left it as-is, the power of the Box... or rather, the power of the water that you controlled could have easily sunk Darco.¡±


    ¡°Sunk the whole city? You¡¯re exaggerating, right?¡±


    ¡°No, that power always was that dangerous. Even if we couldn¡¯t move, we should have hugged your legs to try and stop you. Thank goodness Conrad recklessly gave you a sliding tackle on our behalf.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you could call that reckless...¡±


    Murata looks at a silent Conrad, saying sternly,


    ¡°Just thinking of the possibility that your left arm could have been taken as a Key, although I really can¡¯t understand it, I still can¡¯t do that sort of rough and reckless sliding tackle.¡±


    Back then I¡¯d ignored everyone¡¯s advice and done as I wanted, so this time it¡¯s also my job to console my displeased friend.


    ¡°C-calm down, in any case, both Darco and I are perfectly safe. But really, why did you let me do as I wish?¡±


    ¡°Because I trusted you.¡±


    Murata suddenly sags his shoulders, looking so dejected I can¡¯t help but feel sorry for him.


    ¡°Because you sounded rather self-confident, so I couldn¡¯t help but believe that you might have a way to perfectly control the Box¡¯s power. So I trusted you.¡±


    ¡°But I did it, right? So I didn¡¯t lie.¡±


    ¡°You only did half of it, what are you talking about, Shibuya! If you really could control it perfectly, you should say something like, ¡®Did I do that?¡¯ afterwards. Ah¡ªAh, why did I trust you? That was way too dangerous!¡±


    All this makes me want to say something like ¡°Ahh~~ About that, Murata.¡± And explain to him. But he knew all my reasons a long time ago.


    Because I believe that I can control that Box¡¯s power. I can control that Box and the threat it poses. At the very least, right then I believe that, beyond a shred of doubt.


    Just as Hawkeye said.


    ¡°I have a question.¡±


    Chevalier raises his right hand like an elementary school student asking a question. Looks like he¡¯s back from his daze.


    ¡°Please wait a moment, I didn¡¯t understand that at all.¡±


    Although he got electrocuted next to Murata, his spirits look perfectly fine.


    ¡°In other words this Box, uh¡ªis that one? So one of the Boxes that Lord Fanfan had always been searching for is actually here!?¡±


    ¡°Fanfan was always looking for it--?¡±


    Putting aside those people who had collapsed onto the ground with him, the others ask in unison.


    After all, for everyone here, that¡¯s unheard news.


    Her Royal Highness the Former Queen C?cilie¡¯s current boyfriend, the seafaring tycoon Stefan Fanberlain had helped me bring the Box out of the shrine in Dai Shimaron during the ¡®World¡¯s Best¡¯. But now he¡¯s looking for the remaining Boxes on his own? So I ask half-disbelievingly,


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true. Of course everyone... even Lady Cheri doesn¡¯t know this, but the truth is he hired someone to look for it. When he was discussing this matter, I just happened to walk past the room, so I accidentally heard it. Ah, I definitely wasn¡¯t eavesdropping on purpose.¡±


    ¡°But you still eavesdropped.¡±


    ¡°No no no, how could you say I eavesdropped. It¡¯s just because the person Lord Fanfan hired looked rather familiar to me, so without thinking I...¡±


    ¡°So without thinking you eavesdropped?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I apologise for eavesdropping.¡±


    There¡¯s no need to apologise to me, but unlike me, who wants to know what they were talking about, Conrad and Gwendal seem to be more interested in the person Fanfan is hiring.


    ¡°Who¡¯s that person? Is it someone I know?¡±


    ¡°I think it is. It¡¯s that one next to Lord von Christ¡ªwhat¡¯s his name? A sparkling man.¡±


    ¡°Dacascos!?¡±


    What a shock, that¡¯s Dacascos¡¯ other job!? Chevalier continues,


    ¡°Yup yup, Dacascos. The man Lord Fanfan hired, I saw him with that Dacascos and Miss Gisela, that why I remembered him.¡±


    Who is it? I have no clue, but Conrad and Gwendal seem to figure out who it is immediately. Could it be someone both brothers know? They even tsk lightly.


    ¡°That man...¡±


    When I ask, Conrad simply refuses to tell me his name. What on earth are they hiding?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s someone you don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not enough just to tell me I don¡¯t know him, right? Since it¡¯s Lady Cheri¡¯s boyfriend, Mr. Fanfan is a businessman and a human. Since he¡¯s looking for the Boxes, we shouldn¡¯t let him know too much. If the person hired for recon is a mazoku, we must find him, and warn him not to say too much.¡±


    Conrad seems to be avoiding my determination to find out the truth, wiping the corner of my mouth with his thumb. I was about to ask what the heck¡¯s he doing, until I realise there seems to be blood there too.


    ¡°Relax, this problem will be solved immediately.¡±


    ¡°Hold on a second!¡±


    Lord von Voltaire finally manages to recover his past majesty, even if half of his hair is standing on end thanks to the electricity, and he interrupts from the side,


    ¡°Could you please wait a moment? That problem belongs to us, Shin Makoku, and the ambassador from Dai Shimaron has no right to interfere.¡±


    ¡°Lord von Voltaire...¡±


    ¡°You are obeying Dai Shimaron now, so you do not belong to Shin Makoku. Am I wrong, Lord Weller?¡±


    If these words came from me or Wolfram, they might still not mean much, but since Gwendal¡¯s a truly important minister of the country, his stiff attitude would surely leave Conrad speechless.


    ¡°...You are right.¡±


    ¡°Since you understand that, could I implore you to not interfere in a mazoku investigation?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not right, is it, Gwen?¡±


    Since the words have left my mouth, it¡¯s too late to regret them. I unconsciously wanted to argue, but I hadn¡¯t thought of what to say. No matter how childish, clumsy or meaningless my argument is, even if he turns his nose up at my words, I can¡¯t take them back now.


    I apply force onto my feet, already numb from soaking too long in the water, and feel the hard surface of the stone floor as I grip the corners of my clothes tightly,


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it too much to say he¡¯s not mazoku just because he¡¯s working in another country? How is he not a true citizen of Shin Makoku? According to your logic, does that mean I¡¯m not mazoku when I¡¯m on Earth as well?¡±


    ¡°Yuuri.¡±


    Conrad looks at my direction. It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m just saying what I should.


    ¡°Even if he¡¯s working in Dai Shimaron, that doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯s loyal to Dai Shimaron, right? For all you know it could be for himself, or it could be for us too, right?¡±


    ¡°Are you saying he¡¯s working as a spy, sire?¡±


    His respectful language can be meaningful sometimes, such as right now.


    ¡°Although he¡¯s not a spy, Conrad did say, ¡®My actions are in order to keep a friendly relationship between Shin Makoku and Shimaron.¡¯ I personally heard him say that about a month ago.¡±


    ¡°But I didn¡¯t hear it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because you didn¡¯t ask, and you didn¡¯t have the chance to ask. So from now on, have a good chat on the voyage back. You guys are brothers, after all, and you¡¯re both mazokus too.¡±


    As soon as I said ¡®the voyage back¡¯ without thinking, my body suddenly became really heavy, like a puppet with drooping limbs.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, mn, the voyage back. Let¡¯s go back, let¡¯s all go back together.¡±


    I¡¯m filled a weariness that comes with having your feelings finally lose their tension, my whole body turning weak, as though I¡¯m sinking into mud.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been away too long, I¡¯m tired.¡±


    ¡°But we can¡¯t let someone from an evidently different stance come with us...¡±


    As I¡¯m thinking ¡®this again?¡¯ in surprise, I can¡¯t help but understand that Gwendal¡¯s concerns are true. After all, Conrad abandoned his duty to his home country, and accepted work from another. Judging from Gwendal¡¯s position, of course he would have to object.


    It¡¯s truly very reliable to have such determined minister on my side, as a king, I really am very fortunate.


    Only now, I hope he can follow this foolish king¡¯s stubborn request.


    ¡°How about this, I allow him to come along.¡±


    I sigh an almost audible breath as I say that.


    ¡°Come back, Conrad.¡±


    My expression must be really stupid, because my smile is extremely weak.


    ¡°But I...¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing else you have to handle, right? Ahh, but you can¡¯t just ignore that either. How about after you get home, you can go out a few more times to get things settled? Come back, you¡¯re a member of my team.¡±


    As for who the boss slash coach slash team captain slash ace is, just put your hand on your chest and think back carefully.


    ¡°This decision works, right, Gwen? Voltaire.¡±


    Voltaire... That¡¯s strange? Shouldn¡¯t I call him Lord von Voltaire? Why would I call him Voltaire?


    But Gwendal doesn¡¯t seem to notice particularly. Although I never experienced have an entire face of displeasure, I bet that¡¯s the sort of expression, right? Only, that¡¯s not Gwendal¡¯s real feelings. As true emotions go, that face is too exaggerated.


    ¡°But you can punch him once, Gwen. No, three times. For Wolfram and me too.¡±


    ¡°You can punch me all you want.¡±


    Conrad, who was silent previously, suddenly says emotionally,


    ¡°Even if I¡¯m punched or hacked, it¡¯s okay even if I¡¯m killed, as long as I can go back right now.¡±


    ¡°Idiot! Do you think I can actually kill the person who just saved the king in front of my eyes!?¡±


    Gwendal says with gritted teeth. I probably will never hear a more painful voice than that.


    ¡°...Since His Majesty pardoned you, then you can do whatever you want. After all, you were never a direct soldier of Shin Makoku, you only ever belonged to His Majesty Yuuri alone!¡±


    Conrad¡¯s gaze is torn between a smile and a sob, as he murmurs to me,


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Bastard, you¡¯re thanking the wrong person.

 Volume 17 - CH 10

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you guys taking our ship?¡±


    Lady Cheriee¡¯s dejected look really makes anyone feel for her.


    I can understand her feelings. After all, her son was ambushed from behind right in front of her eyes, and she couldn¡¯t do a thing. Although it¡¯s something that just happened, as a mother, it must hurt her a lot.


    ¡°I wanted to use maryoku and blast that guy away, but I just couldn¡¯t manage it.¡±


    Sounding uncharacteristically down, she says,


    ¡°It¡¯s because there aren¡¯t any particles here that obey the mazoku at all. Strange, even if they¡¯re neutral and utterly new particles, someone with true power would still be able to control them. After all, houryoku can¡¯t fill all the space here. How mystifying, what are Darco¡¯s particles allianced with?¡±


    But she still resisted as hard as she can. Since she firmly believed in getting her son and Chevallier out of prison first, she (although it was actually Fanfan) spent the next few days running about everywhere, finally finding a competent lawyer... At the same time we, the ones involved, received a notice of release from prison.


    And we also made it clear that we wouldn¡¯t ride on her and her current boyfriend¡¯s luxury cruiser, ¡®Never Changing¡¯. Strange, wasn¡¯t it ¡®Love Slave¡¯? The truth is, what I was really thinking is, ¡®I¡¯m already so tired, so I don¡¯t want to ride on a boat with you guys being all lovey-dovey all day long.¡¯ But there¡¯s no way I could¡¯ve said it out loud.


    ¡°Yeah, sorry about that.¡±


    ¡°But what about Chevallier? Why isn¡¯t he riding on the same ship as us?¡±


    ¡°I have something important I need to ask of him... So, sorry, if you need two helmsmen, I hope you¡¯ll hire another.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine...¡±


    There¡¯s actually another reason. That is, I must never put that Box next to someone who yearns for it, and I can¡¯t transport it without supervision from someone in the know. Although tearing apart the love between Chevallier and Lady Cherie (albeit a mostly one-sided love) makes me uneasy, there¡¯s no way I could leave it next to someone whose priorities go against ours now that I know the whole story.


    Of course, Stefan Fanberlain isn¡¯t immediately our enemy, but as long as Fanfan continues looking for the Box, he¡¯ll eventually end up opposing the mazoku. What I don¡¯t know is, will that be a long time later? Or will it happen tomorrow? When that happens, if information about the whereabouts and power of Mirror of the Deep Waters is leaked, things will get really troublesome.


    Lady Cherie doesn¡¯t know about all this drama, so she wouldn¡¯t have leaked any information, but Chevallier knows too much. More importantly, he¡¯s Shin Makoku¡¯s 26th Maou. If he and the former Maou are both travelling with the human businessman, that would be something unbearable to the pride of the mazoku.


    ¡°How should I put it, I think he needs to undergo some education as a former king. We need to make him into a previous Maou that wouldn¡¯t embarrass us even in front of a crowd.¡±


    Although he didn¡¯t say that to the person¡¯s face, Murata¡¯s determination is set. I bet Chevallier never thought he would have to undergo kingly training even after abdicating as Maou, huh?


    ¡°But he¡¯s already retired, so he¡¯s living as a commoner, y¡¯know? Why don¡¯t we just set him free?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no such logic. To be honest, it¡¯s a pain. Since he¡¯s already involved in this, he has to take up responsibility.¡±


    It sure is uncharacteristic for Murata to be so adamant about this, could Chevallier be an important combat asset in the future? Asset? What am I talking about, is Hawkeye¡¯s poison getting to me?


    Although I¡¯m the most concerned for the safety of Hawkeye, Turtle and co, everything ended with me worrying for nothing. After I wove through the insides of the flooded building and made my way underground, all I see are puddles everywhere. The basement is perfectly intact.


    Gwendal followed behind me but didn¡¯t ask a thing, so I ask him to stand a little further away. If I show up with someone who looks like an elite soldier next to me, the convicts probably won¡¯t tell me what happened next.


    ¡°I destroyed the fire prevention system.¡±


    Although that excuse is a bit out there, I can¡¯t think of any better reason. And the mysterious Box that everyone knows about is actually sealing the soushu¡¯s power, as long as I control it a little, I can easily sink one or two Darcos. Even if I told them this truth, they may not believe me. At the same time, I also hope to keep the number of people who know about the Box as small as possible, so I had to lie like that.


    Turtle and the others widen their eyes as usual, and laugh as they say, ¡°With your itty-bitty bit of power? How could you do that? Stop lying!¡± They¡¯re sure looking down on me by saying my power is weak, looks like they don¡¯t know I¡¯m a student athlete. They don¡¯t know that I¡¯m unstoppable as long as I have a bat in hand either. Of course, they also don¡¯t know I can¡¯t land a hit on the ball.


    ¡°That¡¯s why the water flowed out like that, are you all fine?¡±


    ¡°We were never in trouble. Listen to me, Robinson, the truth is the fire went out long before the water reached us."


    ¡°Eh, what did you say!?¡±


    ¡°Although we knew we couldn¡¯t escape from here, I heard there was some tweaking done around the kitchen to prevent fires from spreading. Although the kitchen is burnt black, the fire doesn¡¯t seem to have spread outwards. I heard it¡¯s a carefully-constructed arson.¡±


    You¡¯re saying that place was designed so that any fires would be automatically extinguished!? Then why did I break my back and do all that for? What about the blood from my ears? From my nose? From my head!? Feeling anemic again, I look around me, and notice that Hawkeye isn¡¯t here.


    Without being forced to return to his cell, he went back to the solitary confinement alone. The door is naturally unlocked, but the metal door is closed.


    ¡°Hawkeye.¡±


    I pull the window up from the corridor, and that man is in the deepest edge of the room where the light cannot reach, seemingly standing against the wall.


    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡±


    He doesn¡¯t reply.


    ¡°I heard from White Shark, the prison authorities didn¡¯t order you back into detention, but you ran back here as soon as something happened upstairs?¡±


    I pour out everything I thought about before, and everything I didn¡¯t think about, while the black shadow reacts with his actions.


    ¡°I say, Hawkeye, you should leave this dark place, and return to the easy group life aboveground. More importantly, you should forget the pains of war and leave the prison. Although it¡¯ll be really hard to forget, you need to find a compromise. Even if you were brought here as a prisoner of war, or even if you were locked into prison for murder, your term would have long ended, right? I asked the others, you¡¯re staying in this underground solitary confinement voluntarily.¡±


    Behind me, Gwendal gestures, ¡®Do you need me to talk to him?¡¯ I shake my head and raise my right hand to reject him.


    ¡°Hawkeye, even a prison like a dream is still not a place to stay in for long. If possible, I¡¯ll arrange for my contacts to get you a lawyer, we should be able to get you out of here on the basis that your term is up. If you¡¯re willing, let¡¯s go back to Shin Makoku together. I knew you¡¯re a mazoku a long time ago.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t do it...¡±


    His voice sounds very strained. When we talk face-to-face, his voice seems deeper.


    ¡°Why? Don¡¯t you still have family back home? Then let¡¯s do this, at the very least let your family know where you are, I bet they really miss you.¡±


    ¡°Who knows? Because I¡¯m not a good son, or a good brother.¡±


    ¡°No brother in this world doesn¡¯t want to meet his family. Just tell them you¡¯re here, and they¡¯ll definitely come find you. For all you know, they¡¯ve been looking for you all this time. Alright, Hawkeye?¡±


    My tone turns slightly disappointed,


    ¡°Otherwise, if Lord von Voltaire is the one advising you, would you be willing to leave this place?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯ll be the same. But your words are just as, no, even more convincing than his.¡±


    Hearing him say that, Gwendal takes a step back, knowing that his interference wouldn¡¯t change a thing. But to me, I don¡¯t know what to say anymore, so unconsciously I fall silent.


    ¡°Yuuri... milord.¡±


    The other person calls out the name that I just told him earlier, and takes a step closer to the door. The light finally illuminates his face.


    ¡°The meeting room, what¡¯s it like?¡±


    ¡°Ahh... Ahh, it¡¯s big and bright, it¡¯s a very beautiful place! Everyone¡¯s playing happily there like in a park, you¡¯ll love it for sure! Do you want me to call your family over? Speaking of which, why are you suddenly acting so polite?¡±


    Hawkeye smiles unnaturally, and slowly turns his head to a side.


    ¡°Even in this sort of place, I still hear gossip about faraway countries. I am really honored that you would reach your hand out to a mazoku waiting to die underground like me, sire, and I¡¯m really grateful too. But could you please... give me a bit more time?¡±


    Those words aren¡¯t excuses meant to avoid what I said. They sound like they came straight from his heart. He seems to be telling me honestly, that he thinks he just needs enough time to heal the wounds on his heart.


    That¡¯s why Gwendal and I can only trust in what he says.


    On the other hand, there was something Conrad needed to do while Yuuri and Gwendal headed for the basement.


    He runs to a few likely places, until he finds his target at the fourth location. The man he¡¯s looking for is chatting with the other inmates without a care in the world, and even goes up to the guards to ask, ¡°What are we going to do about our meals now?¡± Looks like he hadn¡¯t been discovered.


    Just then Conrad quietly walks up to the man¡¯s back, and twists his arm upwards. Although there¡¯s some blood on Conrad¡¯s clothes, it¡¯s still a guard¡¯s uniform. Even if he grabbed an inmate, no one would find it strange.


    ¡°You should understand why I¡¯m doing this, right, Kinan? You went too far.¡±


    The man narrows his eyes, which are wandering upwards a little, as he smiles sarcastically,


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel I went too far, though. I¡¯ve always been like this, Your Excellency.¡±


    ¡°You would deliberately commit arson to achieve your goal, and still you say you haven¡¯t gone too far?¡±


    ¡°But no one died, right?¡±


    ¡°You should know who to thank for that.¡±


    Conrad takes him away from the crowd without anyone noticing, and walks him outside. Anyone else looking their way would just see a guard taking an inmate who broke the rules to the warden¡¯s office. But in truth, both his arms can¡¯t move, and there¡¯s even a knife held against his waist, so there¡¯s no way he could escape.


    ¡°This has nothing to do with anyone, I never planned to let the fire leave the kitchen to start with. I even asked the people on clean-up duty to switch with me, and it took me five days of hard work.¡±


    ¡°Where was the absolute safety you guaranteed? Didn¡¯t test it first before carrying it out?¡±


    ¡°But the fire¡¯s out now, right?¡±


    Kinan shrugs, while Conrad grabs his hand mercilessly,


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t because of your planning, but because someone helped you put it out. It may be because of that person¡¯s help that you didn¡¯t become a mass murderer. Besides, committing arson just to bring something out of the basement is far too dangerous and risky a plan.¡±


    ¡°But Your Excellency, I was always like that.¡±


    ¡°In that case you should be even more careful. Looks like allowing you back to Shin Makoku will just cause a disturbance.¡±


    ¡°What else do you intend to do, then?¡±


    The man asks curiously. By now the two are turning around the corners to completely leave the area of the riot, climbing up the stairs with slow steps.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you? If you go back, you¡¯ll either be hung or decapitated. It¡¯s still too early for you to surrender. That¡¯s why you have to stay right here, and calmly repent for your crimes.¡±


    ¡°Here?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, in order to minimise your contact with others, the solitary confinement underground would fit you just nicely, wouldn¡¯t it? After all, in Shin Makoku, anyone who aims an arrow at the king or his closest subordinates and attempts to murder them is an enemy of the state. And then you set fire to Darco¡¯s prison, which means you¡¯re a felon who endangered the lives of the inmates and the guards. I¡¯ll have someone keep a close eye on you, so you won¡¯t be able to leave the basement for now.¡±


    ¡°You plan on keeping me here in this Darco forever?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I can even lock up an inmate under surveliance legitimately. To you, a life like this would be a lot luckier than returning home and being charged, right?¡±


    ¡°How is that lucky!¡±


    He tsks, but immediately recovers his tone, looking at Conrad as he says,


    ¡°But you didn¡¯t forget, right, Your Excellency Conrad. I have a duty to report my findings in Darco to my employer. Do you think I¡¯ll stay quietly in prison?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about Fanberlain, you¡¯re not leaving here anytime soon no matter what. But you should be able to invite him here for a meeting.¡±


    As soon as he hears the businessman¡¯s name, Kinan jerks back a little in shock. He twists his body around to look at Conrad, but Conrad purposely lets his toy-like dagger glint in the light,


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me. It¡¯d be bad if His Majesty saw us.¡±


    Although they¡¯re still very far away, Conrad knows Yuuri and Gwendal are headed towards the warden¡¯s office. He would never mistake that voice.


    ¡°That person would surely trouble himself over whether or not to pardon your crime. And it¡¯d make him hurt over the guilt he feels towards Wolfram too, I do not wish to cause His Majesty any worries.¡±


    ¡°Why would His Majesty Yuuri be in a foreign country like this...¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to know. On the other hand, think carefully, Kinan. If you tell your employer what happened here, the Box may end up being stolen away and landing in human hands. In that case, mazokus will face an unprecedented danger.¡±


    He and his older brother were both on the battlefield. Although Kinan himself returned home safely, his brother, who was also an archer, disappeared without a trace, and Kinan has been looking for him since. Someone like this would not be unaware of the cruelty of war.


    ¡°Even then, do you still want to tell him?¡±


    Kinan stops trying to look around, and falls silent.


    Maybe it¡¯s because she just came back from the infirmary, Warden Ranatan is standing in front of the warden¡¯s office and preparing to open the door. The female warden looks at Conrad, holding a knife against an inmate¡¯s back, and the convict that just entered the prison, with surprise.


    That petite body seems very nervous, and her voice is a bit unclear. But unlike previously when she was controlled, her voice and words are the same as usual,


    ¡°How do you plan to deal with this man, ¡®kay?¡±


    ¡°I wish to lock him in here for a different crime. Hmm~~ If he could temporarily stay in the detention rooms underground, this man should feel very happy.¡±


    Warden Ranatan¡¯s expression turns to one of surprise when she hears how staying in the basement would make someone happy. She nods hard in agreement, maybe because she immediately gave up trying to figure out why Conrad would say that. She probably thinks it doesn¡¯t matter what the mazoku are thinking, there¡¯s no way she can understand it.


    ¡°I know, but how long do you need to keep him here?¡±


    ¡°Hmm...¡±


    Conrad looks at his feet, looking at somewhere even deeper than the brightly-colored floorboards.


    ¡°Until the rift between brothers is healed, I suppose.¡±


    I climb up the stairs to reach the second floor corridor, and walk straight up to the warden¡¯s office. In front of the door, I see Conrad talking to Warden Ranatan. They call over three guards, who then bring a thin man whose back is facing me inside.


    What¡¯s going on here? And it has something to do with Lord Weller?


    But now isn¡¯t the time to think too much about trivial prison matters.


    Warden Ranatan has already taken off her robes. We walk up to her ¨C she¡¯s regained her senses¡ªand bring up the conclusion we came up with after a long and deep discussion.


    We hope she can give us the Box that suddenly appeared underground ¨C Mirror of the Deep Waters.


    ¡°No way, that¡¯s an object bearing many sins, y¡¯know!¡±


    She says with determination and surprise, and then continues rejecting us purposefully,


    ¡°I knew it, ¡®kay, that¡¯s an object with many sins. The only place to keep it is Darco-- no, only Darco, the gathering place of all sinful people, matters, and objects, is suited for this job. Because it¡¯s an ominous and terrifying thing, ¡®kay.¡±


    The fist she¡¯s gripping trembles,


    ¡°I can¡¯t hand it to anyone, ¡®kay. That Box is only fit to stay in Darco, I¡¯ll accept it and help it change itself, ¡®kay.¡±


    What are you talking about, idiot. I mean, Ranatan. Did you forget how badly you were tricked by that Box?


    The mysterious reason for the water level around Darco rising is still unclear. But after referring to past records, it can be determined that the unusual weather and the changes in the fish patterns began from the year the Box appeared. Although we can¡¯t be sure that it was caused by Mirror of the Deep Waters, we can¡¯t say for sure that it wasn¡¯t either.


    In any case, Darco started changing when that thing showed up. It was even controlled by the religion that looks lifeless at first glance, whereas the mastermind is the robed warden herself.


    Her mind was slowly corrupted, and the sense of responsibility she had towards anything sinful lost out to her own desire for the Box.


    In the end, she even considered merging with the Box into a single entity. If she¡¯d gone on like that, it really would have led to mutual destruction.


    ¡°But Warden, this is a burden we mazoku should shoulder.¡±


    Logically speaking, a job like persuading people should best be left to Lord von Voltaire. If it¡¯s Gwendal, who¡¯s exceptional in diplomacy, politics and negotiations, he would surely be able to easily convince the other party. Besides, he also has the stern aura of a leader.


    If it was charming Lord Weller, he would first figure out what the other party thinks, and then say what they want to hear. Even if the process ends up taking a long detour, he would still come up with the conclusion that our side wants. He seems to be very good at that sort of thing.


    As for Murata, he would list out all the data and statistics, and convince the other side with logic. Rather than saying his strength is in making deals, it¡¯s more towards collecting information.


    Wolfram... Mn¡ªI don¡¯t know. For all I know, he would use his angelic, adorable looks. If it was a woman who has low resistance towards pretty boys, she would probably be conquered in an instant. No, if he also has a proud and passionate side, anyone would be convinced by him, and agree with him.


    But I have no such weapons. And yet, this is still my job.


    ¡°That is an object that we created, fought against, and are still using. And its aim is to seal away catastrophes. Just as Warden Ranatan says that sinful things can only be left in Darco, I too believe that only mazokus have the right to handle this Box.¡±


    I truly think so from the bottom of my heart. Even if I don¡¯t, I can¡¯t show any hint of weakness. So I keep my back straight, and look at her slightly lower eyes,


    ¡°Returning things to whence they came, isn¡¯t that a natural law of the world?¡±


    After two long weeks, we can finally breathe the fresh air outside of prison.


    We take deep breaths like the heroes in a prison movie, and stretch out our arms as though preparing to do gymnastics.


    There¡¯s nothing more exciting than the sea breeze at a port.


    ¡°Ah-- Ah! It¡¯s over, we finally ended our prison life!¡±


    ¡°Big bro, it¡¯s been hard for you on the inside¡ª¡±


    Murata seems to be highly amused by my joke. His previous glasses have been sent for repairs, and his new lenses are now fogged up.


    ¡°Idiot, there¡¯s no way the big bro could have been locked up. The one that usually ends up in jail is the little brother, right?¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯re the lil¡¯ bros? Although you¡¯re the leader of a country, you still became a scapegoat for a lackey?¡±


    The reason why we could joke around like this is because the charges of theft were dropped, and our innocence restored. Not only were we not convicted, we were instantly released as not guilty. More importantly, if you really look at it, this was all a scheme by Warden Ranatan, so for all I know she could be charged next.


    ¡°But when and why did Mirror of the Deep Waters end up in this world? I... no, Henri R¨¦gent sank it to the bottom of the sea, to the depths of Earth¡¯s Pacific Ocean. It was in the year 1944, though R¨¦gent died alongside it.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°He died during the Second World War. Although he was riding on a civilian passenger ship, it was unfortunately shot down by friendly fire. So technically speaking, that thing shouldn¡¯t be here.¡±


    ¡°For all you know, it was discovered and experimented on in these past sixty years, which sent it to this side.¡±


    ¡°But the problem is no one even knows where it was sunk, y¡¯know? Even R¨¦gent doesn¡¯t know, he can only say it¡¯s somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Oh yeah, I heard it¡¯s somewhere near San Francisco.¡±


    ¡°San Francisco, huh¡ªSpeaking of which, the Seals[1] once came to Japan¡ªBut the futon flew[2]... No, I mean, what kind of huge impact could have blasted the Box so far away? It even sent the Box all the way here.¡±


    If it was during wartime, then it should be a bomb, right? But if the source was not man-made, after the war...


    ¡°Could it be an earthquake?¡±


    ¡°But after the war, if you¡¯re saying there was some sort of large scale earthquake or tectonic plate shifting in that part of the ocean...¡±


    ¡°Was there anything?¡±


    Murata shakes his head helplessly,


    ¡°No, there are no such records. And there was nothing earlier, no records of any quakes in the mountains leading to power outbursts either.¡±


    ¡°But there are earthquakes happening all over the world every day, right? Could it have moved due to a small quake that couldn¡¯t make the news?¡±


    ¡°...A small quake that couldn¡¯t make the news, huh?¡±


    ¡°More importantly¡ª¡±


    I stretch as I turn around to look at a baffled Murata,


    ¡°¡ªQuick, help me think of how we¡¯re going to explain this to Wolfram. That guy would surely say, ¡®If you didn¡¯t go back to Earth, what did you do?¡¯ and scold me. He¡¯d even ask, ¡®What did you and Murata do? Who¡¯s Darco? Is it a man!?¡¯ and questions like that. I don¡¯t have the confidence to deal with him. Ahh, this time we can finally go back to Shin Makoku! We can go back, right?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t let your guard down, Shibuya. There¡¯s still a journey to go before reaching home safely, so before we arrive in Shin Makoku, you have to be extra careful. The way home is very long, y¡¯know¡ª¡±


    It¡¯s going to be hard to ask me to travel carefully. After all, this time I have the most reliable guardian next to me.

 Volume 17 - CH 11

    Stepping on the stone floor that¡¯s completely dried out from a few days of sunny weather, Lord von Bielefeld Wolfram stares at the sky.


    To be precise, he¡¯s not staring at the sky, but the tightly-shut doors in front of him. That is the entry to Shinou¡¯s Shrine, built in the mountains. Since he¡¯s looking upwards, his body is tilted slightly backwards, and his arms are crossed in front of his chest. He is alone.


    ¡°You¡¯re here again, Wolfram?¡±


    The voice that he¡¯s been hearing for the past few days comes from behind him.


    Turning around, he sees a man so bright it¡¯s blinding. His golden hair is neatly combed and sparkling in the sun, and he¡¯s actually dressed too. More importantly, he has solidly materialised from head to toe.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Anissina lent me her Poison Lady certified maryoku bottle and maryoku enhancer. The only weakness is that I have to keep this water bottle clipped to my waist. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m a child venturing outdoors.¡±


    He shakes the little bottle at his thigh lightly, like a child checking what¡¯s inside.


    ¡°The Poison Lady¡¯s inventions tend to be dangerous, so please be careful not to trip, ¡®Your Majesty¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Who would trip me? Tell me, Wolfram.¡±


    The man approaches him and puts a hand on Wolfram¡¯s shoulder warmly. Or perhaps it¡¯s more like a friend hanging over his shoulder, his entire body leaning onto Wolfram¡¯s,


    ¡°Not you, right?¡±


    And then he lifts his chin slightly, pointing at the large doors of the Shinou Shrine,


    ¡°Although it¡¯s a little sad that you can¡¯t be face to face with ¡®that thing¡¯ you¡¯re so attached to, the general principle is that no men except me can enter the Shinou Shrine.¡±


    ¡°How could I possibly be attached to it.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Then that¡¯s great. You have to consider your own safety, this distance is just right. Not too near and not too far, a place just right so you don¡¯t hurt each other. Actually, I think that sometimes, Wolfram. Should people not get too close to each other? Just like between a person and a Box, or a person and a person.¡±


    Wolfram doesn¡¯t reply, just staring at the fair arm hanging in front of his chest. There isn¡¯t a single mark on it. That alone is enough to prove that this beautiful body isn¡¯t this man¡¯s original physical body.


    It¡¯s a body that was purposely created. The question is, what about the spirit?


    No one knows if the man is aware of Wolfram¡¯s suspicions. He pats Wolfram¡¯s shoulder with his supple fingers,


    ¡°Crap, I nearly forgot. I¡¯m here to ask if you want to welcome them together, you can almost see the ship now, y¡¯know. That¡¯s the ship your beloved His Majesty Yuuri is on... Isn¡¯t that right, Lord von Bielefeld?¡±


    His fingers grab a lock of Wolfram¡¯s hair, sliding it down Wolfram¡¯s jaw,


    ¡°You''re not foolish enough to speak of this matter. Isn''t that right? You know what will happen to His Majesty Yuuri if you reveal it.¡±


    Wolfram frowns slightly, light wrinkles appearing on his brow. Recently, people keep saying he looks like his oldest brother.


    ¡°If it''s for your family or that most important person, you''ll do anything. You''ve always been like that.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to talk to me about that.¡±


    Wolfram pulls the fingers on his left cheek away, maintaining the minimum level of politeness so as to not be considered impudent,


    ¡°I still understand reason.¡±


    The Box wasn¡¯t thrown away, but kept in the Shinou Shrine instead. But he won¡¯t tell Yuuri that, and he can¡¯t.


    ¡°Is that so? Oh, yeah, G¨¹nter is looking everywhere for you, asking if you want to go welcome His Majesty Yuuri home. But ignore him, come with me to the port, let¡¯s not go with that noisy man.¡±


    ¡°I apologise, Your Majesty Shinou. I plan on riding my horse to the port myself. If Your Majesty has any needs, I can immediately arrange for a carriage. Although that¡¯s not my job.¡±


    Shinou harrumphs twice happily, raising the corners of his beautiful lips into a slight smile. Wolfram turns away without waiting for a reply, walking away without looking at his expression.


    I need to go receive Yuuri. And I need to get rid of this emotion before I can comfort his weariness from the trip back.


    At the very least, I can¡¯t let it show on the surface.


    What a nice and carefree thing it is,


    To be able to live without any secrets.