3 - Surprises in the Dark Woods?

“If you can feel someone watching you, that’s a sign that your mana detection ability has increased,” Korone said.

It was just as Akuto had suspected.

“You mean I can sense the mana in their bodies?”

“Correct. It seems that humans are capable of detecting and remembering the subtle changes in mana patterns that occur within the body. That’s how ‘intuition’ lets you sense the presence of someone concealed.”

“Then that feeling that somebody’s watching me...”

“My sensor has detected it as well. You’re not imagining it.”

Korone showed him the sensor in her hand. It looked like a pocket watch, but instead of a watch face there was a gleaming radar screen.

“This is my mana detection radar. However, a powerful mage can hide their mana signal, and someone without much mana is impossible to detect, so in most cases, it’s useless. In this case, however, it seems to be effective.”

The radar screen showed a map of the area, with a shining dot on top of it. The dot was very close.

“So we just follow this thing?”

Akuto started to walk towards it. He’d have to make his way through some dense foliage to get there, though it wasn’t enough that he couldn’t move. But since it was dark in the woods at night, he borrowed a light from Korone. When he turned it on, the foliage began to stir. Someone was in front of him.

“Over there?”

Akuto started to run, and whoever was in the bushes began to flee. They were surprisingly fast. Akuto had trouble keeping his footing, and he didn’t know the area. He ran as fast as he could, but he still lost sight of them.

“Let me see the radar.”

He reached out a hand towards Korone as he panted for breath. Korone turned the screen towards him and spoke.

“Something’s wrong. I can’t detect them.”

“What?”

He looked at the screen, and could see that it wasn’t working. He couldn’t see the dot of light, and he couldn’t see the map, either.

“Is it broken?” Akuto asked. Korone shook her head.

“There is a mana disturbance in this area. It appears to be affecting any devices which use mana.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’ve switched to a mode where I don’t circulate mana outside my body.”

“Good... But I guess we lost them, then.”

“So it would seem. Our current location is unknown as well.”

“So we’re lost?”

“No. I’ve memorized all the scenery I saw on the way here. As long as you’re with me, you’ll be fine.”

“Then let’s go home.”

Akuto gave up on following the stranger. But then he felt a cold chill run down the back of his neck.

He spun around instantly, but there was nothing there.

Korone seemed to have sensed it too. She put her hand up to her ear as if she were trying to hear something.

“What was that?”

“I heard the sound of someone running. Let’s follow it a while more. I can see in the dark, so I should be able to pursue them visually to a degree.”

Korone suddenly began to run.

“Huh? Wait...”

Akuto hurried after her, but Korone was moving fast.

The woods were dark, and Akuto only had a single light. He fell behind Korone, and soon had no idea where he was. When he realized this, he stopped running.

“Well, this isn’t good... I guess if I wait here, Korone will come back for me soon...”

Akuto found a nearby tree and sat down with his back up against it.

This was the first time that Korone had run off and left him behind. She’d seemed to be behaving normally that night, but evidently not.

—You know, it feels like I’m really helpless without Korone. She’s become someone I can’t live without, huh?

As he sat there in thought, Akuto heard another rustling in the bushes.

○

Just shortly before Akuto had set off to chase his mysterious stalker, Fujiko was in the basement, locked in a deadly duel with Peterhausen... or not.

“That’s right! Akuto will be the ruler, and I’ll be his wife! If anybody tries to rebel, I’ll throw them in a pool filled with poisonous snakes, and then Akuto and I will drink wine made from blood and enjoy dinner while we watch! That’s my dream!”

Fujiko was talking excitedly, and Peterhausen was listening, very satisfied.

“At night, I gather beautiful women from around the country and strip them naked, then make them try and seduce Akuto! But of course, he ignores them! He only shares his bed with me! And I make them watch us while they scream with jealousy! Their jealousy, envy, and sense of defeat only make me more beautiful!”

She began to shake with emotion.

“You have a lot of potential to be an evil queen. Work hard and make that potential reality,” said Peterhausen as he nodded strongly.

“Of course! That’s why I have to serve Akuto, and do everything I can to bring the black mages together!”

Fujiko sipped her tea as she clenched her fist. Several hours with Peterhausen were enough for her to get over her fear. When she was at her best, Fujiko was a master at using words to lie and deceive people. It didn’t take long for her to open up to Peterhausen. Of course, it wasn’t just her conversational skill. Peterhausen seemed to have taken a liking to her rather nasty personality as well.

“I hope you do. My master’s lack of ambition is a serious problem,” Peter sighed, like an old prime minister struggling to raise a young general.

“I think it’s less a lack of ambition, and more that he’s just a good guy,” a different voice answered.

Both Peterhausen and Fujiko turned towards it simultaneously.

A short girl had walked into the underground palace. She was wearing a wide-brimmed hat with a face on it, and she wore a mischievous grin.

It was Lily Shiraishi, the student council president.

“Oh, it’s that brat.” Peterhausen snorted.

Blue veins appeared on Lily’s head, and her expression became stern for a moment, but she seemed to keep herself under control. She made no efforts to hide her displeasure as she walked up to Peterhausen with her arms crossed.

“Don’t call me a brat. I’m a proper maiden, you know. And I’ve got good news for you.”

“Then speak.”

“Man, you really are arrogant. Well, whatever. The Student Council, actually, the whole school, has decided how we’re going to deal with you.”

Peterhausen seemed uninterested, but Fujiko tensed up. She knew that Peterhausen’s presence was, in a sense, a problem for the school.

“Which side did the school pick?”

So far the school had been giving Akuto his freedom, on the theory that he wasn’t currently the Demon King. But it would make sense if Peterhausen’s presence had caused them to change their mind and side with the extremists.

“Essentially, nothing’s changed. Akuto Sai remains a student here, and we’ll continue to protect him. Peterhausen’s existence doesn’t break any laws either. Specifically, there aren’t any laws we can apply to him.”

Fujiko felt relieved. Lily was, after all, the student council president, so she was already working for the government. So Fujiko was very grateful that there wasn’t going to be a fight here.

“Excellent. That is good news, yes.”

“That’s not all. I don’t believe that simply maintaining the status quo is ‘good news.’ Just know that I’ve gotten tired of the pacifists... that is, the majority faction that I belong to.”

Lily grinned. She had a face like a young boy, but when she smiled it sent shivers down Fujiko’s spine.

“Tired of them...?”

“Those old geezers are using a Liradan to try and seduce Akuto Sai.”

Fujiko was shocked.

“Um... seduce him?”

“I don’t think that’s okay. Liradans can’t disobey orders. And on top of that, they’re telling her that if she fails she’ll be removed from the mission. I know that boy’s dense, but still, no man’s ever been able to refuse a Liradan when she seriously tried to seduce him. A lot of politicians used to be caught up in scandals like that.”

“That... that’s unforgivable!”

“I agree. Someday, I gotta become an adult who’s okay with that stuff. But once I start hating something, I can’t stop. And that’s the good news. I’m going to start getting involved in this matter personally.”

“What do you mean...?” Fujiko asked. It certainly didn’t seem like she was planning to help Akuto.

“I’m not going to be working with the pacifists, is what I’m saying. But I’m not going to be ignoring the hardliners like Akuto Sai does, either. I’ve found information on the leaders behind this attempt to start a war. And no matter what Akuto says, I’m going to kill them!”

Lily smacked her fists together in front of her chest.

“The leaders behind the attempt to start a war?”

“CIMO-8.”

“Is that their name?”

“The Cabinet Information Magic Office. They have eight agents. I’ve also got information that they’ve already begun to act. They’re experts in information gathering and anti-magical combat.”

“That... is good news, yes.”

Lily had come to share information with them, and she was also going to crush their current enemy. Maybe for all her talk, she really did care about Akuto, Fujiko thought.

But...

“But that means I’ll be your enemy.” Lily said.

“Huh?”

“If he ends up being a tool of the black mages, or doing anything to destabilize society, no matter what the pacifist faction says, I’ll crush him. You, in particular, should keep this in mind, Fujiko Eto...”

Fujiko tensed up, but she knew that there was no way she could defeat the Student Council President. She started thinking of a way she could get Peterhausen to handle this for her. But Lily quickly broke into a grin.

“You’re not the meal I’m looking for. Pass him a message, okay? Tell him I haven’t shown him everything.”

“...Alright.” Fujiko nodded, and Lily left.

Fujiko slumped backwards, and Peterhausen laughed.

“She’s a good kid, huh?”

“I’d rather fight with my mind,” Fujiko said.

“If you take stubbornness to that degree, it actually turns to your advantage. Anyway, if you’re really so clever, shouldn’t you be passing some information to our master?”

Fujiko gasped, and took out her student handbook. It had a communicator function. She tried to contact Akuto, but for some reason he didn’t pick up.

“Mana interference...?”

Fujiko turned to Peterhausen for an explanation.

“I wonder about this anti-magical expert. Mana jamming is a basic skill someone like that would know.”

“But if the whole class at the retreat is under its effects, the teachers should have noticed. Maybe it’s only Akuto that’s in danger...”

Fujiko decided to send a message to Keena instead. She picked up after a few rings.

《Oh, hey there. How’s it going?》

“Don’t ‘how’s it going’ me! You tricked me and stuck with Peterhausen! Wait... we can talk about that later! Where’s Akuto?”

《Huh? Ackie? I don’t think he’s around, actually.》

“Are you listening? Because this is important...”

○

Akuto heard a noise in the bushes and tensed up as he moved away from the tree. He readied himself for whatever might pop out of the bushes.

But...

“Ackie! I finally found you!”

It was Keena.

“Keena...”

“I got a message from Fujiko, so I followed you so I could tell you.”

Keena sat down right in front of him.

“Sorry. I think somebody was watching me... I followed them with Korone, but she ran off...”

“Oh. When I went to your room I saw you running into the bushes, so I just followed your light,” Keena said, laughing. Akuto felt silly for getting so tense.

“So what did she want?”

Keena tilted her head.

“Huh? Um... there were a lot of things.”

Keena looked like she was trying to remember. Akuto felt a little worried. She wasn’t usually this slow.

“Are you okay?”

He peered into her face. Keena’s face was red, and she was out of breath.

“I’m okay... I just ran and flew for a little, so I’m out of breath. Oh, I remember! One of the things was that a bad guy named Simon-5 is coming after you!”

Keena clapped her hands together.

“That sounds like the name of some kind of five-member folk band...”

“No, I think I might’ve messed the name up. But somebody bad is after you. And they’re good at killing mages. Scary, huh?”

Keena didn’t look scared at all, so Akuto wasn’t sure how to respond. But thinking rationally, this was bad news.

—So that’s what caused the problem with the mana device?

There was no point in telling this to Keena, so he just nodded to himself.

“What else?”

“Um... It was the student council president who told her, she said. What else was there?”

Keena was just too dumb sometimes. That, and her face was really red.

“It’s so hot, isn’t it? But don’t worry. I brought this so we could drink it together.”

Keena took a canteen off of her belt. She took the cap off and poured out a thick white liquid into it.

“What’s that?”

“Heheheh... It’s a new drink I came up with! I got thirsty and had some on the way here, so I can guarantee it’s delicious!”

Keena held the canteen cap up high.

“Okay, so it’s delicious, but... what is it?”

“It’s rice juice!” said Keena as she puffed her chest out proudly. And then she swallowed it down. “It’s so good!”

“...Uh... good? No way...” Akuto said uneasily.

“You can have some too, okay? I always wondered how you could make rice juice, and I finally figured out a way! So I brought it with me on the trip...”

Keena filled up the cap again from the canteen, and offered it to Akuto.

“...You make rice and then you crush it and mix it up with water, and then this is what’s important, you add yeast and yogurt and put it in a bottle! Then you let it sit for two days and the stuff on the top tastes really good! And then I found out something even more amazing! If you skim the stuff off the top and put it in the fridge, it gets carbonated like cider!” Keena happily explained.

—Oh... that’s... Yep. I knew it.

Akuto took the cap and sniffed it. It did smell good, but it didn’t seem like something minors should be drinking.

“Keena, this has alcohol in it...” Akuto said, but she was already too far gone. She was bright red and swaying from side to side.

“Hehehe... I see lots of Ackies!”

—She drank a whole bunch of it after running, so...

“Okay, no more drinking that. Come here and rest.”

Akuto leaned Keena up against the tree he’d been resting against. When he put a hand on her shoulder to keep her from falling over, Keena suddenly yanked him forward.

“Uwah!”

“Hehehe... Ackie, this feels good.”

She rubbed her cheek up against him. He’d been crouching down to keep her from falling over, but since that was uncomfortable, he just sat next to her. Keena kept her arms wrapped around him as she leaned onto him with her whole weight.

“Onyonyonyonyo...”

She started to make weird noises as she nibbled at his ear.

“H-Hey! That tickles!”

“Aww, isn’t it nice? It feels kind of like the old days...”

—The old days? Wait, didn’t I think that I’d met Keena somewhere, a long time ago?

Akuto thought back to his past. Just when he’d been leaving the orphanage, there was a girl who had just arrived. She was crying so much that he’d spent all the money he had to buy her a hairpiece like a grownup would wear. It looked just like the one Keena was wearing now, but Keena didn’t seem to remember this.

“Maybe we really did meet a long time ago.”

“Maybe, huh! Maybe I was destined to meet you. Hehehe...”

Keena laughed for a while. It wasn’t the serious answer that Akuto had hoped for.

—There’s no reason to worry about it though, I guess. But wait... why does this bother me so much?

He remembered what Junko had said to him earlier that day.

“Y-You call Keena by her first name, don’t you? We’re friends too. So why don’t you call me by my first name?”

He’d thought it was because Junko was always so formal, but thinking back, that didn’t seem to be it. Maybe it was just because he found it easy to relax around Keena?

—If that’s the case... Maybe I fell in love with Keena a long time ago?

Once he started to think about that, he couldn’t stop.

Thanks to her “rice juice,” Keena smelled a little like baked sweets. Her soft, defenseless body was like a fresh rice cake...

—Rice cake? Maybe Keena’s influencing me more than I thought.

Akuto shook his head and tried to calm down. He looked at Keena’s face. She’d gotten so quiet he thought she’d fallen asleep, but she was looking at him with wide-open eyes.

—Uwah...!

He almost gasped. Somehow he managed to avoid looking away. It felt like if he did, it would be rude.

Keena smiled gently, and he felt like he could forget all the things that had happened today. Her eyes seemed to be drawing him in.

“Ackie’s trying to kiss me. Naughty!” Keena said suddenly.

He felt like she’d seen into his heart, and started to panic.

“D-Don’t be stupid.”

“Hmm... Yeah, that’s right. You’re not allowed to be naughty. But you can kiss me on the cheek,” Keena said, and offered him her bright red cheek.

—That’s right. That wouldn’t go against my religion... Wait, yes it would. But...

For Akuto, it was less a feeling of lust and more a feeling of deep contentment in his heart. Something like the family he’d always wanted. It was something he’d sought, but always rejected when it was offered to him. But Keena was the one person he felt he could get it from.

—If it’s just out of friendship, maybe it’s okay...

He brought his face closer to her.

“Yay!” Keena yelled happily, and wrapped her arm around his neck.

His lips moved closer to her cheek...

“Hiya!”

POW!

A violence thwack knocked him away. He fell headfirst into the ground.

“Hey...”

He got up and turned around, and saw Korone standing next to Keena.

“Y-You didn’t need to hit me,” he complained, but Korone responded with her usual expressionless tone.

“I was taking evasive action when you happened to be in my way.”

“I heard you say ‘hiya!’”

Korone ignored him.

“As I said, I was taking evasive action. There’s no time for arguing.”

“What are you talking about...”

He took a step forward, trying to understand what she meant. And suddenly he felt something like a sharp headache.

He staggered for an instant, and then...

BANG!

At the same time, Korone began to slowly collapse.

“Korone!”

He tried to run towards her, but as she fell to her knees she held out a hand to stop him.

“Stay away. I’ll be fine. I was simply shot.”

—Shot? Wait, I know that sound... It’s the sound of an Incantation Gun.

“Is it the guy we were following?” Akuto asked. She nodded. Korone’s body was tough, and her exterior seemed unchanged, but he couldn’t tell how much internal damage she’d taken.

Akuto knelt down, holding his breath as he tried to sense anyone around him. But he couldn’t sense anyone.

“I believe I know who the enemy is,” Korone said.

“Who is it?” Akuto asked, but she shook her head.

“I can’t say.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t say that, either. But there’s something I have to ask you now.”

“What?”

Korone looked at him sternly.

“How do you feel about Keena?”

Through the shock of hearing such a question so suddenly, he noticed that her eyes were different than usual. There was emotion in them.

“Wh-Why are you asking me this now?”

“It’s important. It concerns whether I can fight the enemy for you now.”

“Wh-What are you talking about...?”

“There is no need for further explanation,” Korone said.

—Is this...

Even someone as dim as Akuto was starting to realize what was going on here. Or perhaps his interaction with the drunk Keena had finally made him start thinking about “love.”

—Is Korone in love with me, and trying to disobey the government to help me? Is that why she’s trying to find out what I feel about her? Wait, if that’s right, then what do I do? I need Korone with me, but there’s no way I could be in that kind of relationship with her.

“L-Listen... Are you mad that I was with Keena?” Akuto asked.

“I am not mad. But it causes problems for me,” she responded.

—Come to think of it, Korone has started to use the words “me” and “I” more often lately. I thought Liradans didn’t really talk in those terms... I guess when they get their own identity, they start to do that. Which means that...

“No, I’m sorry. But I don’t think things are going to go in the direction you’re hoping for... ever,” Akuto said. He was hesitant, but he felt that he needed to make this clear. “But that doesn’t mean that I don’t like you, or that I don’t need you. I need you, and that’s not going to change. But I don’t think I can give you what you’re hoping for.”

For a moment, Korone didn’t answer.

“That is, for me, a very sad thing.”

Korone looked down, but he could see the sorrow on her face. Akuto felt something wrenching at his heart. It was something he’d never felt before. Her next words were a whisper that she seemed to be forcing out of her lungs.

“I judge that the mission is a failure. I may no longer be able to stay here.”

“W-Wait, what does that mean...”

“I cannot say. But this may be the last time I see your face. If that’s correct, I must say goodbye.”

“Wait a second!”

With a feeling of dread, Akuto reached out a hand towards Korone.

But she just shook her head.

“I will do my best. But you shouldn’t expect much. Thank you for everything. And goodbye...”

Korone took something that looked like a doorknob from her bag and held it over her head. A hole opened in space, like a door appearing out of nowhere. Korone slipped inside it. It must have been some kind of personal teleporter.

“Wait. Why are you leaving without any explanation? I need you...”

Korone was already halfway through the teleporter. She turned back and waved her hand sadly.

“Goodbye.”

And then she disappeared.

The teleporter door vanished, and he was once again surrounded by dark woods. The only things left, it seemed, were the tears that Korone had shed.

But there was no time to think about it. He heard the sound of someone moving in the bushes up ahead.

—Is it the guy that shot Korone?

He looked towards the bushes. They were moving as if someone was trying to flee. They must’ve tried and failed to escape without being noticed.

—Maybe I can at least keep them from getting away...!

Akuto was a consistent failure when it came to magic, but at this point he didn’t have a choice. He concentrated on trying to freeze all the bushes. But with the mana jamming, and the headache he’d felt just before Korone was shot, something went wrong. At this point he could’ve guessed that someone nearby was keeping him from using magic, but right now, he wasn’t thinking clearly.

—Damn it!

The power in his hands was already going out of control. But it was too late. An explosion struck the bushes, violently shaking the surrounding area. A blast of light illuminated the darkness. It must’ve been visible from a long way away.

“Kyaah!”

He heard a scream from the bushes, and was surprised at how young it sounded.

“Huh...?”

He ran towards the scream with his light. Reflected in the light he saw a young girl, who must’ve been around ten years old.

“A-Are you okay?”

Akuto kneeled by her. Fortunately, she was unhurt, and still breathing. She was just unconscious. The moment he’d realized he’d failed, he’d reduced the power of his magic. Evidently that had paid off. That, and the fact that he hadn’t hit her directly. But a loud explosion that close was more than enough to knock a young girl out.

He lifted her up and looked at her face.

—Oh...

Something was familiar about her. She looked just like Hiroshi. Hiroshi looked like a little kid to begin with, so there was no way he could be mistaken.

—But there’s no way a little kid like her would shoot an Incantation Gun...

Akuto tensed up, but there was no one else around. The headache was gone too.

“Keena, are you okay?”

Akuto turned around.

“Yeah. But Ackie...”

Keena sounded a little worried as she stood up.

“Korone’s gone, isn’t she?”

“You were listening?”

“I fell asleep, so I just heard the end. Oh, and I’m sorry. I remembered the other thing Fujiko told me,” Keena said, finally snapping out of her stupor.

“What did you remember?”

“Korone... she was ordered to seduce you. And if she failed, they were going to fire her from her observer position...”

—What!?

Akuto couldn’t speak.

He was disgusted by the idea that someone might try to control him by seduction, and angry at her superiors for making her do something like that, and regretful that if he’d known, he might’ve been able to do something. But all those emotions quickly disappeared, and all that was left was guilt. Could he have done something more for her?

But he didn’t have time to find a way to lighten his heavy heart. Someone had heard the explosion and was coming closer.

“Is anyone there?”

“Yukiko! Yukiko!”

The girl in his arms woke up when she heard the voices. He waited for her to wake up and set her down.

“Are you okay? Sorry for scaring you. It looks like somebody’s here to get you.”

Yukiko looked up at him in surprise.

“Are you the Demon King?”

He was annoyed, but he couldn’t be a jerk to a little kid.

“No... I’m not. Just... some people call me that.”

Yukiko looked up at him with surprise. And then the voices of the approaching villagers turned fearful.

“Yukiko! Watch out!”

“Get away from him!”

But they didn’t approach. The villagers kept their distance, their faces tight with fear.

That wouldn’t have been a problem on its own, but before Yukiko could move away, they began to pick up rocks and throw them at him.

“Uwah...”

Akuto started to dodge, but when he saw that the stones would hit Yukiko, he knocked them out of the air with his hand instead. He swatted away rocks the size of a fist. He’d used mana to enhance his body, so it was simple for him, but that simplicity meant that he forgot how it would look to someone who didn’t know magic.

“H-He’s a monster!”

“Run, Yukiko!”

—Ah crap...

The stones began to come faster. He had to cover Yukiko with his body to keep them from hitting her, but that only made things worse.

“H-He’s going to kidnap her!”

—That’s not what’s happening at all...

Akuto said to himself, but there was no way the villagers would understand. He decided to persuade Yukiko instead.

“If you don’t go back, those men will keep throwing rocks,” Akuto said, but Yukiko looked like she still wanted to say something. “...What’s wrong?”

“Are you my brother’s friend?”

Since he knew she was Hiroshi’s little sister, he was able to answer her question.

“You’re Hiroshi Miwa’s sister? Then yes, I am.”

“Then...” she said, gripping his hand tightly. “Tell me the truth! Is my brother the hero?”

Akuto didn’t understand the question, or what was causing the desperation in her voice.

“No. I don’t think someone like him would want to be anyway.”

Yukiko suddenly kicked him in the shin.

“Huh...?”

There was no pain, but he gasped in surprise. When he did, Yukiko slipped out of his grasp and ran. She was crying.

“Yukiko got away!”

“This way! Hurry! We’re getting out of here!”

He could hear the voices in the distance.

“Oh jeez...”

At this point, he’d just have to leave. He took Keena, who was hiding behind a tree, and quickly ran.

“Ackie, are you okay?”

“I’m okay, but... There’s a lot about this that’s bothering me. That thing with Korone, too... I don’t know what to do...”