1 - Is Imprisonment Fun?

Akuto Sai was having a terrible time with the practical section of his elementary magic class.

The class had paired off in the yard, and they were practicing playing catch with balls of mana; the fundamental element of all magic. His problem had nothing to do with the subject matter of the class itself.

His problem, as he stood there in the yard, was that nobody would come near him.

—I guess bad reputations never fade, huh?

Akuto wasn’t sure what the right reaction was for a situation like this. He finally settled on a scowl.

He was a handsome boy, with a face like a beautifully carved marble statue. However, he’d been born with a nasty glare which gave him the look of a dangerous villain. He didn’t realize it, but that unintentional glare of his was just as much a factor as his own bad reputation.

—It’s been like this ever since the prophecy said I’d become the Demon King. I just can’t catch a break...

His run of bad luck had started when an artificial spirit that prided itself on its 100% accuracy rating predicted that he would, in the future, become the Demon King. And now, the whole student body had it out for him. Everything he did was misunderstood, and the government had even sent an observer to watch him. Of course, he couldn’t have a normal school life that way.

But Akuto did have a friend: Hiroshi Miwa. This tiny classmate of his had the look of a mischievous little boy, and even though they were the same age, he looked up to Akuto as an older brother. But even Hiroshi had abandoned him for the day, saying, “There’s no way I could partner up with you, boss...”

—What the heck is that supposed to mean anyway?

But it was probably a sign that he couldn’t just depend on Hiroshi’s kindness forever, and that it was time to find some new friends.

Akuto decided to be optimistic, and take a look around him. All of the students in the yard turned away. But then he saw two people talking out of the corner of his eye.

It was Junko Hattori, the class representative, talking to their teacher, Mitsuko Torii. Both of them were boisterous people, and they were speaking loud enough that he could hear them from here.

“It’s crucial that Akuto Sai learns to control his magic. Do you think you can help him out?” Miss Mitsuko said. She was tall, with oval glasses and messy hair, and she looked like an easy-going person.

“I refuse.” Junko was a beautiful girl with a cool, composed air about her, but her slightly narrowed eyes spoke to the stubbornness of her personality.

“But you’re the only one I can ask. You’re the class representative. And, you know, you’re so strong.” Miss Mitsuko tried to insist, but Junko didn’t give in.

“Yes, but there’s limits to what I’m willing to do. Who would voluntarily practice magic with him?”

“But he’s never done it before. After all, it’s something you have to experience, right? Don’t you like the idea of being his first time?” Miss Mitsuko grinned mischievously, and Junko’s face went beet-red.

“Sh-Show some dignity, ma’am! That’s completely inappropriate!”

“Oh jeez, I was talking about the class. What were you thinking about?”

“I know it was about the class. Either way, please stop joking around...” Junko suddenly trailed off, glancing at Akuto. He raised his hand a little in answer. And suddenly Junko became enraged.

“It’s wrong to eavesdrop, Akuto Sai!”

—How could I not, when you’re that loud...?

At least, that’s what he thought, but he knew better than to say it. He lowered his hand.

Junko marched over to him with broad strides, and Akuto was sure she was about to complain more. But instead she pointed a finger in his face and said in a loud voice,

“If you were listening, then why aren’t you getting ready? What do you think you’re doing, just standing there?!”

“Huh?”

“I said get ready!” Junko’s gaze was wandering around the yard as she spoke, but Akuto finally understood what she meant.

“Th-Thank you.” Akuto was so grateful that he wrapped both of his hands around hers.

It was only the pathetic sight of a boy with no friends being amazed by the slightest bit of gentleness coming from a girl, but as Akuto towered over Junko, it made him look like he was trying to seduce her.

The other students, who were watching him, even though they tried to pretend they weren’t, started to murmur.

“He really is the Demon King...”

“He’s made the class rep into his slave...”

Junko must have heard them, because she blushed and she slapped his hands away.

“Get away from me, and get ready!”

“Okay, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.” Akuto had heard the whispers too, so he tried to step away and get ready for his practice.

“No, wait,” Junko said.

“What’s wrong?”

“I wanted to make sure you understand something. Listen, this class is about learning to delicately control mana by tossing the mana balls back and forth. It’s the simplest, most fundamental exercise. Everyone finished it in middle school. But if you play around, or lose your concentration, it can become dangerous. And not just dangerous for you, but dangerous for the person you’re practicing with as well. Make sure you don’t forget that,” Junko asserted.

Akuto nodded.

“I’ve got it. Of course, I would never hurt you,” Akuto said earnestly.

Junko’s face went red again.

“I told you to stop doing that!”

—I’m serious, though...

Akuto grumbled inwardly as he walked away. He turned around to face Junko when the two of them were around a dozen meters apart.

“Here I go!” Junko said. She raised her right hand. A ball of light appeared in her hand, about the size of a soccer ball.

Magic was the process of controlling the mana that filled the air. The energy that flowed from the generators in the Imperial City and the capital flowed into the Earth itself, and the mana was made to resonate with that energy. For all intents and purposes, the mana was the energy. Mana also built up inside the bodies of living things, and energy could be drawn from that reserve as well.

The amount of mana an individual could store varies, and the greater the mana inside one’s body, the more influence they could have over the mana in the atmosphere. Human thoughts turn to electrical signals in the brain, and that electricity can control the mana in the body, which then resonates with the mana outside. In other words, what was important in magic was the mana reserve you were born with, and your powers of concentration. The goal of this class was to train that skill.

“Catch it!” Junko flicked her right wrist. The mana flew towards Akuto in a slow arc.

Akuto raised his own right hand. Junko must’ve been used to controlling mana, because he didn’t even need to move his hand. The ball settled softly in his palm and came to a stop.

“The point is to imagine throwing the ball slowly. Now pass it back. Remember, slowly.” Junko held out her hand like she was playing catch.

“I just have to do it like you did it, right?” Akuto asked. Junko nodded.

“Alright...” Akuto raised his right hand.

—Just flick my wrist. Nice and soft.

As you read above, the greater the mana reserve a person has, the greater their influence will be on the mana in the atmosphere.

In other words...

BOOM!

There was a terrible roar as the mana ball ripped through the air. It was like a bullet fired from a rifle, and it was heading straight at Junko.

“Hyah!” Junko gave a brief scream, but she was still possibly the strongest magic-user in the school. She reached both hands in front of her body to block the mana ball. But the ball’s energy was enough that it might not just knock her down — it was strong enough to break her arms.

—Oh no!

Akuto realized that he needed to do something before it hit her.

And that thought was instantly transmitted to the mana ball.

BANG!

The mana ball exploded, flinging Junko’s arms backwards.

The flash of light spread out and enveloped Junko, forming a perfect mushroom cloud that rose up in the middle of the schoolyard.

The other classmates started to mutter.

When the smoke had cleared, there was a small crater in the yard.

And at the center of it lay an exhausted Junko.

“Wha—... Wha—...” Her eyes were wide with surprise and anger, but she was miraculously unscathed. Akuto’s desire not to hurt her must have stopped the mana ball.

“This is why I didn’t want to do this! You have no idea how to control...” Junko stood up and began to point her finger and yell at Akuto.

But then she froze.

She saw her own body, and all her skin flushed bright red.

The uniform she’d been wearing had been torn apart and lay in tatters on the ground.

“Hy-Hyaaaah!” The now-naked Junko wrapped her arms around herself.

“Ooh!” “Look at that!” the other boys said.

“That’s really mean!” “You boys are terrible,” the girls said.

“I-I’m sorry...” Akuto ran to Junko’s side.

“You idiot! Idiot! Stay away from me!” Junko shook her head violently.

“But I can’t just leave you like that...” Akuto took off his jacket and put it on her back. It was a big jacket, and covered her completely.

Junko looked up at him in surprise.

“Th-Thank you...” she said, timidly. But then she quickly crossed her arms in front of the jacket, stood up, and glared at Akuto.

“...No, wait. Why on Earth would I thank you?”

“You’re right. It’s my fault.” Akuto hung his head meekly in apology. He wasn’t sure if Junko was upset or embarrassed, but her teeth were chattering behind her tightly pursed lips, and her face got even redder.

“Why are you apologizing?!” She couldn’t punch him, because that would mean taking her hand off of the jacket. Instead, she gave him a kick.

“Because I feel bad. And I can’t control the mana properly...” Akuto kept his head bowed and obediently accepted Junko’s kicks.

After about six kicks, his lack of resistance seemed to upset her further, because she only became more angry.

“Why are you letting me kick you?!”

“Because like I said, it’s my fault, and...” Akuto pointed at Junko’s body. Her kicks had rolled up the hem of the jacket, exposing her shapely legs.

“If I dodge, everybody will see your legs,” Akuto said gently. For a few seconds Junko was taken off guard. Then, her cheeks still flushed with embarrassment, she kicked Akuto even more.

“Shut up! How much humiliation are you going to force me to endure?”

“I’m telling you, you really should be staying still...” The rest of the classroom was watching this from a distance. They couldn’t hear what the two of them were saying, so they began to speculate.

“Wow... that’s the Demon King for you. Talk about cruelty. He used the pretense of basic magic training to make her let down her guard, and then blew off her clothes.”

“And then after stripping her nude, he offered her his jacket... He’s just toying with her, isn’t he?”

“And now he’s making her resist, and watching it with a mocking laugh on his face! He must be trying to make the class rep realize how powerless she is. What a terrible fetish...”

“Well, he is the Demon King...”

The male students gulped, while the female students blushed. And afterward, both groups looked at Akuto with hate in their eyes.

“Uhh... Look, they’re saying some weird stuff about us. Hattori, tell them they’re wrong, okay?” Akuto subtly pointed towards the others, and finally Junko seemed to realize that her classmates were talking about her.

“D-Don’t tell me... you’re trying to humiliate me as part of some terrible plot...” Junko’s expression turned to fear. She crossed her arms in front of her and took a step back.

Akuto quickly denied this.

“No, of course not. I’ve told you this before, but I really care about you, and I want to protect you from rumors like that...” Before he could finish, Junko’s face twisted and tears formed in her eyes.

“You idiot! Idiot! It’s the way you act that’s the problem! Make it clear whether you’re a good guy or a bad guy! And if you really care about me, then...” Junko seemed to want to say something else, but she quickly turned away and ran off at incredible speed. There wasn’t time for Akuto to stop her.

“J-Jeez...” Akuto stood there for a moment, not sure what to do. Then he was approached by Hiroshi, the boy who’d refused to practice with him before. He stood by Akuto’s side, nodding as if he was impressed.

“Wow, boss. I’m impressed.”

“Impressed with what?”

“You’re a real mean guy, teasing your woman like that. And you even used a beginner-level class like this to show off your power to the rest of the class. I figured you might do that, which is why I turned down the chance to be your training partner.” Hiroshi didn’t seem to be flattering him. He really was impressed. There was a pure, shining light in his eyes.

“...There’s a lot of things I want to say, but I’m not even sure where to begin,” Akuto sighed. Then, Miss Mitsuko approached them. She had her hand on her hip, and seemed to be chuckling as if she found the whole situation funny.

“You need to learn how to control your mana, okay? You’re packing a ton of firepower to begin with.” Miss Mitsuko adjusted the position of her glasses on her nose, and looked in the direction Junko had run off to.

“She probably won’t be coming to class for a while. She’s a very pure-hearted girl, after all.”

“I’m sorry,” Akuto said, lowering his head apologetically.

“There’s no point in apologizing to me. Instead, train your mind so that this doesn’t happen again.”

“But how? This is the basic class for training your mind, right?” Akuto asked. Miss Mitsuko looked up thoughtfully, as if she wasn’t sure what to say.

“That’s right... Oh, but wait! There is another way. It’s a little dangerous, but it’s worth trying.” Miss Mitsuko patted Akuto on the shoulder, as if pleased at her own idea.

“Why are you so happy?” Akuto asked with confusion as he looked at her shining eyes.

“Nobody at this school has done this type of mental training in years! Supposedly something terrible happened to a bunch of people who tried it, so they had to stop it, I heard!”

“Can I ask a question?”

“Don’t worry. It doesn’t put your body in danger. Something terrible happened, but it wasn’t that big of a deal.”

“That’s not what I was going to ask. Why do you look so happy?”

Miss Mitsuko suddenly gasped and put her hands over her mouth.

“N-No, it’s nothing. Definitely nobody died over it or anything.”

“I hope not...” Akuto looked at her coldly. He was suspicious that his teacher might be looking for a legal way to kill him. She didn’t fear him like the other students did, and she showed a certain degree of understanding about his personality. But she was interested in his Demon King powers and seemed intent on using necromancy on him after his death so that she could experiment on him.

“So what exactly is this training?” Akuto asked. Miss Mitsuko nodded.

“It’s called the Mental Monastery. I think you could say it’s similar to the Zen meditation that believers of Suhara use.”

Hiroshi looked overly surprised when he heard this.

“What?! The famous Constant Magical Academy Mental Monastery?!”

“Is there something dangerous about it?” Akuto asked, and Hiroshi’s face lit up with excitement as if he were about to tell a ghost story.

“There is. They say years ago, a student who went there died-mgwwh!” Hiroshi’s words stopped as Miss Mitsuko put her hand over his mouth.

“Ufufufu, don’t worry. It’s just fine. It’s just fine!” Miss Mitsuko was smiling, but even Akuto wasn’t that dense.

“I think I’ll pass...” But before he could finish, Miss Mitsuko cut him off.

“Oh, you know, remember how I said it was like Suhara Zen meditation? If Hattori finds out that you completed the training, she might forgive you.” Even though she didn’t sound like she really believed that, it was enough to get Akuto to think about changing his mind.

—Yeah, maybe it would...

“If you say so...”

○

School ended and Akuto came back to his room. He frowned when he saw a girl lying on his bed.

Soft green hair. A perfectly pretty face, like a doll. She was a beautiful young girl, like a sculpture an artist had made of his ideal woman.

However, she was lying on the bed reading a manga magazine, and chowing down on ningyo-yaki cookies from a bag next to her. Despite her pretty looks, she acted like a middle-aged housewife, or perhaps an unemployed kid.

She was an artificial human called a Liradan. Her name was Korone. While you’d never guess it from looking at her, she was an observer sent by the government. She was living with him in his dorm to observe him, after the prophecy had announced he’d become the Demon King.

“You’re back? It seems nothing out of the ordinary happened, huh?” Korone said without looking at his face.

Even Akuto couldn’t help but feel exasperated. Before, she’d been at his side 24/7, but lately there were times when he couldn’t find her. As for what she was doing during those times, it was usually this: slacking off. It was a strange thing to do for an artificial human that never got tired.

“Are you sure you were observing me? I’m pretty sure something out of the ordinary happened during class...”

“It’s alright. No one was hurt,” Korone said confidently.

“You were watching?” Akuto was suspicious, but Korone sounded sure of herself.

“Yes. I can now monitor you from remote locations. And no matter where you are, I can get there instantly,” Korone said as she popped another ningyo-yaki into her mouth. For some reason, the cookies caught Akuto’s eye.

“Those are ningyo-yaki, right? From Asakusa, in the imperial city.”

“Correct. Would you like one?”

“No, I’m fine. I was just wondering if artificial humans eat things.”

“We can. A chemical reaction occurs within our body that transforms them into energy. It’s an extremely small amount, though.”

“So basically, you don’t need to eat, right? So why do you?”

“Because they’re delicious.”

“That’s all?”

“Yes. And I don’t get fat, no matter how many I eat.”

“Well, you’re an artificial human. But are you worried about getting fat?”

“I’m not worried, so I don’t get fat. That’s how it works.”

“Huh? What?”

Whenever he talked with Korone, he always got confused. She would always say things to tease people, while keeping her expression completely blank. Akuto just decided to ignore her and started gathering some things for his mental training.

“What are you doing?” Korone asked. He decided he had no choice but to tell her about Miss Mitsuko’s Mental Monastery idea. When he did, surprisingly, Korone put her ningyo-yaki down.

“I will accompany you.”

“Huh?”

“I’m saying I will go with you, as an observer.”

“Why?”

“Because it sounds interesting.”

“...Even though you usually just slack off?”

“Is that a problem?”

“...No, never mind.”

Akuto got his things together. Of course, these “things“ were just a metal water bottle and a single waterproof bag. Miss Mitsuko had told him to make sure he brought them.

He put the water bottle in his bag, and headed for the spot that Miss Mitsuko had told him about. Korone tagged along behind him.

“This place doesn’t get a lot of use, huh?” Korone was right. The location was on the other side of a lake near the school. It was probably supposed to be a place for students to relax, but the bushes around it were too thick, and the humidity from the lake too strong. It was almost entirely unvisited, and it looked like a poorly maintained garden of an isolated country mansion.

“Yeah, looks like it’s deserted,” Akuto said as he pushed through the bushes and tall grass, arriving at a square building with walls made of plaster. It was just big enough for a person to stand inside and stretch their arms out. There was a small door you’d have to crouch to enter, and once you were inside, you couldn’t do much but sit.

“I see. Mental training’s about everything this could be used for,” Akuto said, impressed. He crouched and put his hand on the door.

The knob began to flash, and an electronic voice spoke.

《Once you pass through this door, it will be locked, and you will be unable to open it for twelve hours. Please secure a method of communication in case of emergencies, and enter at your own risk.》

“So that’s how it works, huh?” Korone said.

“Seems so. Okay, see you in twelve hours. Also, if I send a mana message to your student notebook, it’ll be an emergency. I’m depending on you,” Akuto said, then nodded to Korone and opened the door.

There was a tatami mat on the floor beneath the plaster walls. He went inside, and the air was cold and musty. He closed the door.

“Depending on me for what?”

“Call for help, or open it up, or something,” Akuto said, and then he realized something was wrong. Korone was inside as well, and the door was completely shut.

“What the hell did you come inside for?!”

“I told you, I’m coming with you as an observer.” Korone seemed unconcerned.

Akuto sighed. This was too small a room for two people. He couldn’t get any meditation done like this.

—I was looking forward to having some time to myself, too.

There was no light from outside, just a thin layer of illuminated mana on the ceiling lighting up the dim room. He looked around and saw that the wall across from the door was covered with tiny letters. He looked closer and saw that it was a long document. It was so dark it was difficult to read, but by concentrating his mana along his fingertips, he could make them bright enough to read by. As he went along, he found that he was looking at part of the Imperial Constitution.

—The whole wall’s covered with the prelude to the constitution, huh?

To read in this darkness, you’d have to control the light of the mana as you read. Was that how you were supposed to train your mind?

“I didn’t really believe it to begin with, but there’s no way you could die from this. You’ll get awfully tired, though.” Akuto relaxed and sat down on the tatami mat.

“That’s right. I do remember some strange rumors, but I’m sure they were all baseless. The Suharans don’t practice their mental concentration in such an old-fashioned way these days. At some point this building stopped being used, and it became a legend, most likely,” Korone agreed as she sat down herself.

It was a narrow space, so of course, Akuto’s knees bumped into Korone’s. Korone adjusted her position, but no matter what she did she would still be pressed up against Akuto.

“Listen...”

“Yes?”

“It’s really cramped.”

“It is, yes.”

“...That was me complaining, actually.”

“There’s no point in complaining. I can’t become smaller.”

“..........”

“Please do not fall silent. Anyway, you’re here to train, right? Go on, read the constitution on the wall. I’m sure it’s boring, but that’s how you have to train,” Korone urged him on with a mocking tone in her voice. Of course, she was still completely expressionless.

Akuto reluctantly turned his eyes to the wall, and tried to concentrate on controlling the mana light. But then he realized that Korone was squeezing up against him.

“Listen...”

“Yes?”

“Can you get off me?”

“I’m helping you with your training. Even in this situation, you must continue to train.” Korone pushed herself up against him more firmly. She was an artificial human, but the softness of her skin was the same as a real person’s.

This, Akuto didn’t know how to handle. He looked at Korone, but she simply stared back at him. It was incredibly awkward. Then he looked down and saw that after all the moving she’d done in this tight space, her skirt had flipped up and revealed a flash of her underwear. At this point he was completely baffled.

“You don’t need to help me!” Akuto tried to get away from her by crawling on his knees along the tatami. It was a small room, but he was able to make some space between them. However, when he ran he still found himself feeling the touch of a girl’s body.

“How did you get behind me?” Akuto asked as he turned around. But there was nobody there.

“Huh?” He turned back, confused. Korone was right where she was a second ago.

“I didn’t move behind you.”

“What?” Akuto nervously stretched his hand out into empty space. He touched something soft yet firm, like a leather bag filled with water.

“Kyan?!” A scream echoed through the emptiness.

—Ah, I should have known.

Akuto glared into empty space, now sure of what was going on.

“Keena, what the hell were you thinking, coming in here too?”

After a pause, a voice spoke back.

“I heard you’d be going into a room all by yourself and not coming out for a long time! I thought you’d need something to eat.”

Akuto looked up a little, and saw something floating in the air. It was a wrapped lunchbox.

“But did you really have to come in here?” Akuto sighed.

Speaking to him from empty space was Keena Soga. She was a terrible student who had no luck with magic, so she’d always skip magic class. But for some reason, she was very good at flight and invisibility magic, spells that would take the average person incredible concentration. And so she’d use her invisibility magic to go wandering around.

“The door shut on its own!” Keena complained as she ended her invisibility spell.

Usually, the first thing you noticed about her was her burning red hair. You’d also see several tufts of hair sticking out from the top of her head like antennae. She had a face that you’d call gentle if you wanted to be nice, or spacey if you wanted to be mean. Just looking at her made you feel like you needed to take a nap.

But the real first thing you’d notice if you looked at her right now was that she wasn’t wearing any clothes. Keena’s small breasts were floating right in front of Akuto, completely exposed.

“W-Wait a second...!” Akuto began to panic, and Keena realized what was happening.

“Kyaaah!” She folded up her arms and legs to cover herself.

Keena could only make her body invisible. She would get naked and then turn invisible, but sometimes when she came back she’d forget that she was still naked.

“It’s dark in here, so I can’t see clearly,” Akuto said, and looked around. There was nothing he could give to Keena to wear. With nothing else to do, he took off his shirt and pressed it into her hands.

“One of these days I’m going to run out of clothes to give...” Akuto sighed.

“My own uniform is too small,” Korone said, and then looked at Akuto and Keena in turn. “It really is cramped in here, isn’t it?”

“Don’t act so calm. This is a real problem. We’re stuck in here for twelve hours.” Akuto put his head in his hands. There’d been three of them in here ever since he first came in, but only now was it really starting to feel cramped.

Even so, Korone was still calm.

“It’s not a problem for me.”

“Sure, not for you.” Akuto was starting to sound more and more frustrated.

“Now now,” Keena said, trying to calm him down. “Don’t get mad, Ackie. You know you get mad when you’re hungry.” Keena, who was now wearing his shirt, offered him the lunch box.

“This time, I don’t think hunger has anything to do with it,” Akuto said, but Keena wasn’t listening at all.

“Don’t worry about a thing. Once you’re full, you’ll forget all about it.” Keena smiled.

Akuto fell silent, but it wasn’t because Keena had persuaded him. He realized he could see Keena’s body, bare except for a single shirt, standing out against the darkness. He didn’t know what to say.

“No, um... I’ll eat later.” Akuto looked away.

“You’re here to train. To work on your concentration.” Korone waited for this moment to interrupt him.

“Shut up!” Akuto said angrily. But then he calmed down and changed his mind.

—Well, maybe this is a good chance to practice focusing my mind. Time to start training...

As long as he was thinking about the two bodies around him, he certainly couldn’t do anything. So Akuto decided to focus on the small characters of the constitution in front of him. He summoned a mana light in his fingers, and went to move his face near the wall.

—Alright, time to settle in and start reading. Maybe it’s a good thing that reading is my only escape...

Akuto was able to concentrate on the characters for several minutes. But after those few minutes of concentration, someone began to poke him on the side.

“Oh come on... what is it?”

Of course, it was Keena who was poking him.

“Hey, are you sure you aren’t hungry?”

“I’m sure.”

“...You’re not hungry?”

“I said I’m not hungry.”

“......You’re not hungry?” Keena tilted her head at him as she spoke.

“Fine. You want me to eat, don’t you?” Akuto sighed and moved his face away from the wall.

For some reason, he had a soft spot for Keena. He wasn’t sure if he was this way with other girls, but he certainly couldn’t resist anything Keena did. No matter what it was, he would quickly forgive her. Akuto thought that maybe this was because he’d met Keena when they were both at the orphanage, and he’d felt a connection with her since then. He didn’t remember much about it, but there was something about Keena that Akuto just couldn’t argue with.

Keena opened the lunchbox. There were several rice balls made from white rice inside.

“What’s this?” Akuto asked as he pointed to one on the end.

“It’s a rice ball!” Keena said cheerfully.

“No, I mean what kind of rice ball is it?”

“I’m so glad you asked! This is a famous brand of rice with more than a millennium of tradition behind it: Akitakomachi!” Keena said fervently.

“I wasn’t asking about the brand of rice. What’s the filling?”

“It’s Akitakomachi.”

“Huh?”

“Akitakomachi rice is the filling. Koshihikari is the rice ball.”

“Hmm... okay.” Akuto lost the will to resist, and took a bite of the rice ball. If you thought of as just a salty ball of rice, it wasn’t that bad.

“The blend of the rice is the most important part! If you change the ratios of rice you can end up with a something that’s a whole different dish! For example...”

He didn’t follow a word she said, but Keena began to tell him about the wonders of white rice. This was nothing new coming from her, so Akuto ignored her and went back to the constitution. Strangely, Keena’s chattering was like background music that made it easier to concentrate.

—That makes sense. So magical concentration is the same kind of concentration I needed for those part-time jobs I took when I was poor. I’d been overthinking it because it’s “magic”, but maybe I don’t need to think that hard at all...

And then he realized a grain of rice had flown over and stuck on the word he was trying to read. He turned around and saw that Keena had figured out he wasn’t listening, and was yelling as she ate her rice ball.

“If it’s that important to you, then take better care of your rice,” Akuto said as he pinched the grain of rice off the wall with his fingers. The sticky rice was clinging tightly to the wall. It shouldn’t have been that difficult to get it off, but then he realized something was wrong. When he pulled at the rice grain, it felt like part of the wall was coming off with it.

“Huh?” He took another look at that part of the wall. It looked like there was a paper stuck on the wall, and the lines of the constitution had been written on the paper to make it blend in with the rest of the wall.

He tore off the paper, and it turned out that it was parchment. This was unusual, as normal paper was readily available these days.

There were words and a map on the parchment, burned into it by magic. It was faster to write it by hand, so the only reason you’d do it this way was to ensure that it would last for years. That meant somebody had put this up here hoping it would last for a long time.

“That’s a lot of work for a prank,” Akuto said. Keena peeked over his shoulder at the parchment, her eyes shining.

“Hey, this is a treasure map, Ackie!” Keena said excitedly.

“Come on, don’t talk like a little kid... huh?” Akuto looked at the words in surprise. Apparently it really was a treasure map. The map was clearly legible, and the words below it read thus:

(A message to the courageous one who reads this map. The sealed treasure will reveal itself when three keys, hidden in the three locations on this map, are gathered together. But do not forget, they who know about the treasure are constantly seeking it. Only seek the treasure if you are selfless, and if you are willing to risk death. Only death awaits those without the right to claim it. This is not a threat, but my dying wish.

K)

“K” was probably the author’s name. The writer of the message certainly didn’t seem like they were joking around, but they didn’t write any other information regarding the quest.

“What exactly is this about?” Akuto said, cocking his head with confusion.

“Oh!” Keena exclaimed. “This is a map of the school!”

“Huh? It is?” Akuto looked at the map again. He wasn’t used to this place yet, so he couldn’t be immediately sure, but when he took a closer look he saw markings that looked like the school.

“The school grounds are so big that it’s hard to tell, but look, if you figure this is the school building, then this is the forest behind it, and this is the mountain you can see from the roof.” Keena pointed at different spots on the map. But Akuto had never fully explored the school grounds, so he still couldn’t be sure.

And then Korone, who’d been silent until then, chimed in.

“The dimensions of this map aren’t very carefully made, but it’s forty kilometers from one end of the grounds to the other. An experienced user of flight magic could travel that distance in two hours. If you walked, it would be about a half day.”

“I see. How old is this parchment?” Akuto asked.

“If you’re asking how long ago the parchment was made, it’s rather old. About fifty years. As for when the map was drawn, the magic makes it impossible to tell.” Korone’s analysis was instant.

“So it was at least within the last fifty years, but that’s all we know.”

“It could’ve been made yesterday, or fifty years ago. I couldn’t tell you,” Korone said.

“Hmm, then it’s interesting, but it’s got nothing to do with me. Nobody’s used this place in a long time, so maybe it was put up a long time ago, or maybe it’s a prank somebody put here since they knew I was coming today. It could be one of those two,” Akuto said coolly, and moved to put the map back where it was. But Keena grabbed it.

“It’s a treasure map, Ackie!” Her eyes were a million miles away.

“I know that,” Akuto said curtly.

“Treasures are so dreamy... Just imagine! It must be where an ancient pirate hid all the treasures he gathered in his life!” Keena had her hands folded in front of her chest and was staring off into space.

“This area has been dry land for over 4,000 years,” Akuto said, but Keena was ignoring him.

“Oh, if only I were a boy! I’d go face the danger, no matter how great! I’d fight the guardians of the keys, and defeat them one after another! No, I wouldn’t kill them! If you kill them, you lose your right to get the treasure! That’s what made all the other adventurers fail, as they were strong but not kind!”

Akuto had forgotten that once Keena started fantasizing, she didn’t stop. If you played along, she’d go on forever. In fact, the first time they’d met, he’d believed one of her fantasies and it ended up in a terrible mess.

“I hope you’re right,” he said, and tried to go back to his training. But her response was unexpected.

“Ackie...” Keena suddenly quieted down and started to fidget. Akuto turned around, wondering what was bothering her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. Keena started quivering and, in a voice that sounded like she was about to explode, announced:

“I have to pee!”

“You what?!” Akuto had no idea what to do. He looked around, and only saw the waterproof bag and water bottle he’d been told to bring.

“Don’t tell me... was that why?” The water bottle was for water. Twelve hours without water was dangerous. And if you were locked in here for twelve hours, of course...

“H-Here...” Akuto handed her the bag.

“What? No! That’s embarrassing!” Keena resisted.

“It’s better than wetting yourself, right? I’ll turn the other way!”

“No!”

“I’m just as embarrassed as you are! There’s a good chance I’m gonna have to go too!”

“I don’t want that either! I don’t want to see you peeing!”

Akuto and Keena argued for a moment before Korone suddenly opened her mouth.

“If you need to dispose of your waste, would you prefer that I drink it?”

That was enough to make both Akuto and Keena freeze.

“What?”

“W-Wait a second...”

But Korone was unperturbed.

“Don’t worry. A chemical reaction occurs within our body that transforms it into energy. It’s an extremely small amount, though.”

“That’s not the problem!”

“Uwaaaaan! I don’t wanna! Let me out of here!” Keena started to cry.

Korone saw this, and expressionlessly shrugged her shoulders.

“That was a joke. For one thing, it doesn’t taste good.”

“Either way, that’s not a solution! And how do you know how it tastes...”

Akuto didn’t remember what happened after that. He later told himself that they must have worked something out with magic.

○

The next day, he woke up and took the map he’d found from Korone, who was sleeping inside a cabinet above his closet. He’d decided to give it to Korone, since otherwise Keena would have run off with it. Of course, he wasn’t going to use it. He didn’t want to deal with it, so his plan was just to talk to the student council president about it today.

Before classes started, he tried going to the student council room, since the student council always held a meeting before classes began. The student council president welcomed him.

Akuto was, at least in theory, the head of the disciplinary committee, which meant that he needed to work with the student council often.

“What is it, Sai?” the student council president said cheerfully. She was known for the stylish, pointed hat that she always wore. She was short, and had a youthful face. She looked like a young boy, in fact, but she was a third-year student. And strangely, despite her young looks, she was oddly intimidating. The fact that she was the student council president at a place like this, with its emphasis on strength in battle, meant that even though he’d never heard anyone mention her power, he could assume she was fairly strong.

Akuto showed her the map. When he explained how he’d found it, her eyes widened a little in surprise. But then she looked back and forth from Akuto to the map, slightly annoyed.

“Don’t you think it’s just some kid’s idea of a joke?”

“I do. But if it starts getting spread around, some idiot might decide to go looking for it.”

The president laughed at Akuto’s words.

“You’ve got that right. Okay, I’ll take this. Keep it a secret, please,” she said, and then turned her gaze towards the other three members of the student council. They all gathered around her desk.

“Alright, I have to get back to work. Mornings are always so busy,” she said as she waved him out.

Akuto lowered his head in a bow and left the student council room. As he left, he could hear the voices of the other three members.

“Ma’am, isn’t this a map of the school-gyah?”

“Gugah.”

“These marks indicate areas that were abandoned during the great war, right?”

From the way they spoke, he could tell that they had... unique... personalities, but the voices quickly faded away. They seemed to be using some kind of magic to keep their voices from being heard, but Akuto didn’t even give it a second thought.

○

Junko hadn’t come to class. And as usual, Keena wasn’t there either.

—Keena’s one thing, but what should I do about Hattori?

Akuto was still stewing with worry by the time first period ended, but he snapped out of it as he realized that there was something going on in the hallway. Since it was rare for any kind of commotion not to involve him, he found himself going outside to see what the fuss was about. There was a crowd gathered around the wall outside the classroom.

—What’s all this about? ...Wait a second!

Akuto approached the wall, and the students parted to let him through like a receding tide. But there was no time to be upset about the fact that they were scared of him. There was a copy of the treasure map on the wall.

—KEENA!

It was the only possibility he could think of. As he stood in shock, Hiroshi quickly walked up to him.

“Boss, what’s the deal with this map? Keena’s been putting them up everywhere. This isn’t some kind of prank you’re playing, is it?” Hiroshi asked.

His suspicion had been confirmed. Keena could turn invisible. It would have been easy for her to steal the map, copy it, and put it back.

“It is not a prank!” Akuto said, loudly enough for the others to hear him. And then for some reason, Hiroshi raised his voice too.

“It’s not a prank! Then this is a game you’ve set up, isn’t it boss! Let me guess: you hid some treasure and set up maps all over the school! And whoever wins the game will be your servant!” Hiroshi’s words made the students around them start to panic, Akuto included. He didn’t want any weird rumors going around.

“I haven’t done anything of the sort!” he yelled. And then Hiroshi’s voice got louder in response.

“Then that means it’s a real treasure map that you found, doesn’t it?”

“No, I don’t know if it’s real,” Akuto said, but since he didn’t know anything, there wasn’t much he could say.

“What a mess,” he whispered to himself. Now that the rumor had been released, it was too late to stop it. The murmurings of his classmates continued even after class started. It gave him a bad feeling, but he was helpless to stop them.

—Well, I hope it’s just a prank...

But then things got weird.

Lunchtime came, and he’d gone with Hiroshi to the cafeteria to get some food. He was heading back to the classroom to eat it when a stretcher carrying a student flew right by him. It was a floating stretcher, the ones the nurse’s office used to transport injured students. A lot of people got hurt at this school, so it was only used for people who were too badly injured to move themselves.

It was a male student. He was awake, but his face was deathly pale, and he was whispering, “A monster got me...”

“Don’t tell me...” Akuto said, but Hiroshi told him anyway.

“Do you suppose he went to go look for the treasure?” Hiroshi ran off and found one of the student’s friends, who’d been following the stretcher, and asked him what had happened. He was really quick about these things.

“It looks like a student who was really good at flying magic went out to look for the treasure, and came back badly hurt! It must be real...!” Hiroshi said excitedly.

—No, something’s not right here.

Akuto crossed his arms in thought, deciding to think instead of speak. He must’ve had a serious look on his face, because the students around him fled in terror, and Hiroshi looked satisfied that he’d come to some sort of decision. But Akuto himself noticed none of this.

○

There was one other person besides Akuto who was troubled by the treasure maps.

It was Fujiko Eto.

In public, she was the most beautiful girl in the school, with the best grades, and also the head of the dorm. She was revered by boys and girls alike. But in private, she was a black mage with a thirst for power and control. Not long ago she’d planned to bring Akuto under her control, but her plans had been foiled in a very strange way.

Fujiko had gone down into the basement, making sure nobody knew where she was. She’d turned one of the rooms of this underground labyrinth, which was used during the great war, into a black magic laboratory. Normally she used it when she wanted to be alone, but her goal today was different.

A living, disembodied head, sealed in glass jar, was always waiting for her in the room. It was her brother, who she’d reanimated using the forbidden magics of necromancy. Normally, her brother was just someone she talked to when she wanted company, but today she was here to demand answers.

In the dim, velvet-lined room, she showed her brother’s head a copy of the treasure map.

“You wrote this, didn’t you?”

“No, I’ve never seen it before,” he answered immediately.

“That’s impossible.” Fujiko said, but then she cut herself off. She knew how this worked. Necromancy didn’t truly revive the dead. It simply replayed the stored memories of the past, and used them to create the answer that the dead person would have given. In other words, a dead man couldn’t lie.

“But this is your handwriting...” There was no way she could mistake the handwriting of someone so close to her. But it was impossible for the dead to lie.

In this country, almost everyone underwent some form of religious baptism. And that baptism meant that a god now controlled you. “God is watching you,” wasn’t just a simple metaphor. Every action a human took was recorded by the gods via mana.

“So you have no memories of the location on map then, brother?” Fujiko asked a different question.

Her brother said he didn’t, of course.

—I know for a fact that brother graduated from this school.

Which meant that it was impossible for him to have no memories of it at all...

Was it possible that someone erased those memories? The gods treated everyone equally. And so it was possible for anyone to accept their blessing (that is, use magic). But what was impossible was for anyone to alter the gods themselves. The gods were designed to prevent that from happening, or at least they were supposed to be.

“Listen, brother, my head hurts, so I’ll be going.”

Fujiko felt something bothering her, and so she headed back to the surface once more via her secret route. She wasn’t lying about the headache, either. The contradiction she’d felt before was welling up from the bottom of her heart, and it was eating away at her.

Once she made it back to the surface, Fujiko’s demeanor changed to that of the perfect little young lady. The students in the midst of their lunchtime chats turned to her with eyes of admiration. Fujiko lowered her head in greeting, and they all responded with cheerful voices.

This greeting was practically a ritual at this point, but then Fujiko froze when she saw a certain girl. As head of the girl’s dorm, she knew the faces of all the female students. Even if she couldn’t remember their names, she would at least know their faces. This student, however, was unknown to her.

The girl had long hair tied in a ponytail. Her uniform didn’t quite seem to fit, and it made her look a bit disheveled. Her features were clearly defined, and while you might call her beautiful, there was something unsettling about her. After greeting the student, Fujiko realized that it came from the fact that her eyes and face aggressively showed her thoughts and feelings.

“A fine afternoon to you.” Fujiko bowed, and the girl looked at her with wide eyes, as if fascinated by her.

“A fine afternoon? Wow, you’re hilarious!”

“Oh, am I?” Fujiko’s answer was cheerful, but in her heart she felt her guard raising up. There was something about this girl that put her on edge, beyond simple rudeness.

The girl laughed loudly.

“That’s right! I mean, you’re not the type, are you? I can tell by looking what a nasty girl you are. I can tell you this: people like you are beyond help.”

“Y-You’re being very rude!” Fujiko just barely managed to keep her external composure, but the girl now had the upper hand.

“Hahaha! If you want to lie, you need to tell a lie that won’t make you panic when it’s found out! Otherwise it’s not fun, Fujiko Eto!”

The girl’s voice was cheerful and innocent, and she spread out her hands in glee and spun around right where she stood.

“You’re not a student here, are you?!” Fujiko said, now with certainty, as she prepared to fire a mana ball from her right hand. But before she could, the girl had jumped behind her.

“I’m not a student, but I do have permission to enter the school! Listen, Fujiko Eto, if you keep avoiding the truth, you’re going to make enemies, okay? Like me, for example!”

At this point it was hard for even Fujiko to keep up her act. She stopped herself from launching an attack, and watched the girl leave with a smile. She was running away at a very fast pace.

“Who was that, Fujiko?”

The other students saw the commotion and ran up to her, worried. Fujiko kept her good rich girl act up as she put her hand on her cheek, picking her words so that she’d sound like a victim.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure what’s going on. It seems that someone strange has entered the school. I’ll make sure to tell the teachers.”

It took Fujiko a lot of effort to maintain her composure.

○

At that same moment, Junko was hiding in her dorm room alone after having her clothes blown off by Akuto. Of course, she was embarrassed about losing her clothes in front of everyone, but a full night had already passed, and last night at dinner her friends had come to comfort her. She was calm now, at least about that. But whenever she was alone, she was ruled by feelings that she didn’t understand, and there was nothing she could do about it.

“That idiot! Dumbass! Fool!”

Junko had spent the whole night in her futon, but each time she saw Akuto’s jacket on top of it, she would start to flail around and throw a tantrum. The obvious solution would be to put it somewhere she couldn’t see it, but Junko told herself that it was the only place she had room for it.

—And I have to think about what I’ll say when I give it back, too.

She needed to thank him for it, but if she didn’t chose her words right she’d sound like an idiot. And then he wouldn’t take her seriously. How was she supposed to give it back to him anyway? Was she supposed to wash it first? But if it wasn’t dirty, it probably didn’t need that...

Junko picked up the jacket and looked for stains on the inside. It had been touching her skin, so if there was some kind of stain on it, that would be mortifying.

—No, wouldn’t be problem be the smell?

Suddenly she got worried and pressed her face into the jacket.

—So this is his...

When she realized what she was doing, Junko’s face reddened as if it were about to explode, and she moved her face away from the jacket. She spent a moment catching her breath and then got up from the futon.

Junko started to run from one corner of the room to the other, flailing her arms around and smacking everything she could see.

“Soga! Keena Soga! You’re not here, right?! You’re not spying on me, are you?!”

She’d remembered the time the invisible Keena had been spying on her in her room. After spending ten minutes or so giving her room a thorough search, Junko finally calmed down. Then, after making sure that her doors were locked, she sat down on her knees on the futon.

Then she raised Akuto’s jacket with trembling hands, closed her eyes, and held it close to her body, rubbing her face against the inside.

—This feeling...

Suddenly, the buzzer on her student handbook rang.

“Hyaaah!” Junko screamed and jumped a full meter straight up. She quickly looked around to see if anyone had seen her, but of course she was completely alone. She looked down at the handbook and saw that a message had come from her family. She let out her breath in a puff and calmly looked at it.

Junko’s mind cleared instantly. On the surface, the message looked unremarkable. But in a secret code only those of the Hattori clan knew, this is what it said:

《Someone from the Teruya Clan is on the move. We will meet at the designated point.》

—Them?

Junko’s eyes narrowed. It was the name of a clan that had been their rivals for many years.