1 - Empresses, Gather!
1 - Empresses, Gather!
The old knight’s wrinkled brow furrowed with an even deeper exhaustion.
His name was Joji Yuki.
He was the oldest member of the Royal Guard, and in this world of long lifespans, he was among the very oldest. And even in his long life, he had never seen anything like the person in front of him. And what was worse, was that this person was the Empress.
“If we’re all part of the royal family, then we should all be friends. If we all eat a meal together, we’ll be instant friends. That’s right, we can all line up in a row, and eat with our chopsticks at the exact same pace. One, two, one, two. Like that. If you just focus on eating white rice, you can forget anything bad that’s bothering you!”
The person sharing this unique theory of conflict resolution was Keena Soga, the current Empress.
“Your highness,” Joji began. His voice was calm and level. “What is it?”
“Are you suggesting we hold a banquet?”
“Nope. Just eat white rice. Those banquets always have big, complicated courses, right? You can’t get to be friends like that.” Keena’s eyes were shining, and she was totally lost in her own world.
Joji coughed slightly.
“You want the other candidates for Empress to eat nothing but white rice? White rice?”
“Yup! Won’t it be wonderful?”
“I’m afraid, your highness...” Joji’s expression was that of a man undergoing horrible torture. “...I don’t think that’s going to work. If anything, it will only spark conflict.”
“Oh, okay...” Keena sounded disappointed, but then she slapped her hands together as if she’d suddenly had a wonderful idea.
“I know! If we all have a sleep-over...”
“Your highness...”
“What is it?”
“I’m terribly sorry, but are you following what I’m saying?”
“Yup. I’ve got it. Now that the seal on the jeweled branch has been broken, everybody who has the royal bloodline will gather in one place, right? And the Jeweled Branch is actually the key to unlock the seal on some incredible power, so I need to be careful...”
Keena’s explanation was simple, but not very detailed. That said, even Joji didn’t know much about the branch.
“This is what the legend says. The Jeweled Branch will choose the true emperor. And the true emperor will revive the ‘Faceless Power’ and lead the people...”
The legend he was referring to was an imperial one. Legends were usually things found in civilizations that hadn’t advanced very far. But in the Empire’s case, that wasn’t true. The Empire had been a single nation for over a thousand years, even before the dawning of magical civilization. So the legend wasn’t just a story, it was based on information that, for some reason, had been hidden in the past, which had partially leaked and become rumors that had formed the legend’s base.
“What’s the Faceless Power?”
“A power without a face, presumably. It’s believed to simply be a power for which no particular use has been prescribed,” Joji explained.
“But it doesn’t really matter what that is, right? I heard that the first problem was that a lot of people were going to show up had the imperial bloodline...” Keena said.
Joji nodded and displayed a map on his mana screen. The map showed in red the island that formed the empire’s center, as well as the vast territory that stretched towards the continent. As he pointed to the southern edge of the territory, Joji began to explain in a serious voice.
“Except for your highness, most of those who carry the imperial bloodline are those who have lost some past power struggle. It’s common for them to be seeking some form of revenge. For example, this region. We believe that someone from the bloodline is here, but there is a terrible reason why this land is sealed...”
Before he could continue, a young member of the Royal Guard rushed into the room.
“Something’s happening at Constant Magical Academy...!”
“You’re in the presence of the Empress. Control yourself,” Joji said, and the knight quickly straightened his posture.
“I beg your pardon. As I was saying, something is going on at Constant Magical Academy. The academy...” The young knight trailed off, still standing at attention.
“What is it? It’s rude to simply stop talking in mid-sentence. Even if the current Empress is a kind girl, you still lack discipline.” Joji began to lecture the knight, but he shook his head.
“I’m sorry, commander, but...”
“What is it? Now you’re cutting me off again...!”
“No, um...” The young knight fearfully pointed behind him. “The Empress has fled again.”
“What?” Joji turned around to see Keena’s clothes on the floor. Of course, her underwear as well.
“I’ve served the imperial family for well over a century... and I’ve never seen a royal who was this much of a handful...” Joji began to break down and cry, and the young knight simply sighed and decided to continue.
“Constant Magical Academy has suddenly been covered in huge plants. We believe it to be some kind of Affu magic, but an enchantment of that scale requires several casters to control it, which means it’s likely a large scale attack...” Joji gasped and looked upwards.
“It must be someone from the place I was just talking about!” Joji turned towards where Keena had been a moment ago, but quickly realized how stupid he looked and turned back to the knight.
“No, um... I see. Contact the academy immediately. It must be a Marlai invasion!”
○
The students had been driven out into the yard of the academy... no, even further than that. Both students and teachers were standing helplessly on the hill that had once served as the Imperial camp during the Demon King War.
“Since we know it’s magic affiliated with the god Affu, it’s not much of a mystery...” Mitsuko Torii whispered.
“Yes, that’s the only sort of magic that could make plants grow like that...”
Next to her was Yoshie Kita, who had converted (without permission) the school’s basement into her own personal lab. She lifted up the analyzer goggles she’d been wearing and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands.
“But I don’t even want to imagine how much energy it would take to accomplish something like that...”
Both of them were looking at the school building, which was now covered in green. No, that was far too mild a way to put it. The school had turned into a jungle. The building itself was covered by a canopy of tall trees, and vines and branches were poking out all the windows. It looked like the building had been abandoned for hundreds of years. Affu was a god who granted blessings for agriculture and fishing to his followers.
Whoever it was had used one of his spells, which was used to make plants grow faster and thus speed up the rate at which crops could be harvested. Specialized plants which could absorb mana were able to absorb water and nutrients from the soil, and grow at an incredible rate. But the faster the rate of growth, and the more plants you tried to control, the more difficult it became to control the mana.
And the magic used this time went even beyond that. It wasn’t “difficult” so much as “impossible,” at least for most of humanity.
“Were there multiple casters, then? But I didn’t see anything to indicate that somebody infiltrated the grounds.” Mitsuko crossed her arms.
“If it was one person, they’d have to be on the level of the Demon King,” Yoshie said, and then looked over to Akuto Sai, who was standing nearby. Akuto shrugged when he noticed her.
“Well, drat. I’m going to have to get violent with someone, aren’t I?”
All the other students were staring at him. It was natural that they would. Akuto was now the biggest troublemaker at school. And this was an especially weird case. The whole school had turned into a jungle overnight.
Akuto didn’t know what was going on either, but he was pretty sure it had something to do with him. No, at this point, he was almost resigned to it. He was even starting to think that instead of trying to insist that it wasn’t his fault, and dealing with the inevitable consequences, he’d do better to just deal with it himself.
“I’ll take a look. It’s almost certainly dangerous in there.”
Any normal person would hesitate, but Akuto headed over towards the building like he was taking a walk.
“It’s so amazing to see he doesn’t feel like he’s in the slightest danger at all...” Fujiko Eto whispered to herself in awe as she watched him go. This was going a little far, even for somebody as in love with Akuto as her.
Junko Hattori, who was standing nearby, interrupted her.
“It feels more like he’s just in a little bit of a different world... Normally you wouldn’t be able to walk into a bizarre world like that so calmly...”
But Fujiko just snorted.
“Hmph. If you think so, then you should just leave Akuto alone. If you can’t handle this, then you never should’ve said you liked him.”
“What...?”
At the inn “Sasahara,” Junko had inadvertently confessed her love to Akuto, and received a straight (almost too straight) answer. Just remembering it made her want to scream and run away.
“B-But that was... He said he loved everybody, and he didn’t really mean anything by it...”
As Junko stammered, Fujiko’s face took on a victorious grin.
“Hmph! I expect better from you. Every one of us has to give our utmost to support him, as his mistresses.”
“M-Mistresses?”
“You don’t understand the responsibilities that come with your position. Somebody like you, who’s only good for straight-up fighting, should be right by Akuto’s side.”
Junko’s face began to twist with doubt.
“Ugh... Y-You’re right, maybe I should’ve gone with him. But it feels like I’d just slow him down... No, that’s not okay. I need to get stronger...”
Mitsuko, her teacher, interrupted her with a clap.
“Come on now. Don’t be silly. Akuto’s the only one who needs to go. Unlike everything else that’s happened so far, this is actually a problem involving the school. So you need to do what your teacher tells you. It’s dangerous, so he goes alone. Everyone else can hear what he has to say and give him advice.”
Mitsuko looked towards Yoshie as she spoke.
“Well, you heard the lady. Can you hear me, Akuto?” Yoshie glanced over at Mitsuko and then sent a telepathic message to Akuto.
(I can hear you just fine. It doesn’t feel like there’s any kind of jamming) Akuto replied. He was already pretty far away.
“Hey, that’s not fair! I wanted to be the first to contact him!” Fujiko jumped on Yoshie’s back and pushed her face into the goggles so that she could join the conversation. Yoshie staggered forward, just barely managing to avoid falling over.
“Hey! If you want to talk to him, use your own student handbook,” Yoshie complained. “And anyway, Akuto can hear multiple telepathic calls at once without needing any kind of device...”
“Oh, that’s right. Akuto! Can you hear me?” Fujiko leapt off and began her own call, but this time, somebody jumped on her to interrupt.
“Mugyah!” Fujiko moaned. It was Korone who was pressing up against her with all her weight.
“We just got word from the palace. What happened now seems to be related, they say.” Korone sent her own telepathic message.
“H-Hey, get off me...”
“The name of the tribe is the Marlai,” Korone said calmly, ignoring Fujiko.
“The Marlai have a strange history. They live in the depths of the jungle, on an island far to the south. The land technically belongs to the Empire, but its existence is kept secret. The reason for this, supposedly, is that the first tribe leader carries the blood of the royal family.”
“What? I had no idea...” Yoshie said, and then looked over to Akuto Sai, who was standing nearby.
“That’s crazy...” Even Fujiko, who was still struggling with Korone’s weight, let out a surprised and confused gasp.
“Surprisingly, it all got its start with a theme park...”
○
(Surprisingly, it all got its start with a theme park...)
Akuto heard Korone’s voice echo in his head as he approached the school building. He was already forced to step over low bushes and high grass to get any closer.
He recognized the area as once being the yard outside the cafeteria, but now it looked like the entrance to a jungle.
“A theme park?” Akuto asked, and Korone continued her explanation.
(That’s right. During the dawn of the Empire, there was a plan to turn an entire tropical island into a theme park. But the plan failed. The reason is unknown, but since the reason was kept hidden, some great secret must be involved.)
(Kept hidden? The data isn’t around anymore?)
(That’s right. What I’m telling you is information I learned from one of the oldest of the royal guards. Which means that the secret is that a member of the royal family was involved in this theme park.)
(The royal family, getting involved in a theme park?)
(It was more than just a theme park, you see. There are rumors which indicate the following: “A relative of the imperial family is having so much fun at the jungle-themed park that they refuse to return home. He has called himself the ruler of the Marlay, and begun to live the life of a primitive.”)
“That sounds like somebody’s idea of a joke...”
Akuto looked around. After hearing this, the jungle around him seemed to take on an aura of madness.
“It’s only later that they realized it was no ordinary theme park, probably. Anyway, be careful. We don’t know what’s lurking there.)
“I understand that, but you know...” Akuto sighed.
—Who could honestly take a theme park seriously?
That was what bothered him. From what was going on, these Marlay were probably behind this, but that was only if you believed the rumors were true.
—But why would anybody want to do this, anyway?
He pushed through the branches and found the entrance to the school, then went inside. His thought had been to first go to the highest place in the school. If somebody was behind this, they’d probably made their base at the center of this, or its highest point. That was just how humans worked.
The floor of the school was broken here and there by roots. The trees must have been very powerful. He looked around the area as he climbed up the stairs. As he got to the top floor, he saw no signs that anybody had touched the plants. Which meant that nobody had been there since those trees had grown.
“So I guess I’ve looked everywhere, then...”
He was in the top floor lounge, where the ceiling was made of glass. With the jungle around him, it felt like he was in a greenhouse. The air was warm, and the scent around him was calming. The afternoon sun was shining slanted through the ceiling, forming a gentle curtain of light as it passed through the leaves. If the situation hadn’t been so serious, he would’ve felt like taking a walk with a cold drink. But the voice he heard the second he stepped into the lounge wiped the smile off his face.
“Are you strong?” It sounded like the high-pitched voice of a child.
“Who’s there?” Akuto shouted into the center of the lounge. He had no idea where the voice had come from.
“I’m the one asking the questions. ...No, I shouldn’t even have bothered asking. You’re strong, aren’t you?”
The voice was echoing throughout the room. It was impossible to tell where it was coming from.
—How is it possible that I can’t detect her mana?
Akuto focused on his surroundings. They were emanating a specific type of mana wave that acted like static on a phone line. The trees seemed to have a unique mana frequency that was very similar to that of the voice’s owner.
—So whoever it is, they’re literally one with the trees, huh?
That was probably the reason they’d filled this place with trees. Akuto readied himself for battle just as the voice spoke again.
“I’ve come in answer to the Jeweled Branch’s call! You’re not the Empress, are you? Nonimora is here for the Empress! Bring her the Empress!”
Nonimora seemed to be the name of the person he was talking to. And from what she was saying, she was just who Akuto had expected her to be. He had a terrible feeling that just like he’d heard, she really believed the theme park was real.
“The Empress isn’t here. If you want to negotiate with her, you’ll need to go through the proper channels,” he said, just to see how she’d react. The answer he got wasn’t what he expected.
“You’re the one who doesn’t understand the proper channels! The Jeweled Branch picks the true ruler! The candidates must compete to see who is superior!”
—So she knows what she’s doing here?
That was surprising, on some level, but at least he could talk to her.
“By compete, you mean fight?”
“That’s the problem with you people from the main island! Abandon your cruelty! We compete to understand each other. We can whack-whack, or we can rub-rub!”
“W-Whack-whack?” Akuto wasn’t sure what that meant.
The voice answered immediately.
“You don’t know what whack-whack is?” it said.
“N-No...”
“Or Rub-Rub?”
“No...”
“How is that possible? Fine! Thwick-thwick, then!”
“I don’t know that one, either... Actually, wait. It’s not my job to decide how you compete, anyway.”
“That’s true. So bring me the Empress.”
“The people of this country didn’t even know the Jeweled Branch existed. So I don’t know what I’m supposed to tell you. It would help a lot if you went to the palace first and talked to them.” Akuto decided to tell her the truth.
She seemed, to some degree, trustworthy. At least, from the way she was talking, she seemed to be the type who wouldn’t bother with any complex plots. But he’d underestimated just how simple she liked things to be.
“That’s too much work! You’re with the Empress, right? I can feel strong mana from you. More than a normal person.”
“I guess I am, yeah...”
“Are you, or are you not?! Nobody but the Empress could be so strong! Let me ask you then, is the Empress stronger than you?”
“Well...” Akuto thought of Keena’s face.
“...I wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“That’s amazing!” Nonimora’s voice was happy and cheerful.
“Then let’s Thwick-thwick!”
“What, exactly, is thwick-thwick?”
“Hmmm... Well, Thwick-thwick is thwick-thwick. But here’s how it works. You run around, and then whoever touches the other person’s body with both hands first wins!”
The pitch of Nonimora’s voice leapt upwards at the end. She’d probably jumped up. Akuto sensed a presence behind him and jumped forward. A broken branch fell right where he’d been standing.
—Hmm?
He felt a sort of premonition, and then jumped to the right. A wind blew by him on the left. Somebody had raced right by him.
“Oooh! You dodged it!” The voice sounded happy. He looked in the direction he heard it from, but there was already no one there.
“She’s fast...”
Akuto tried to find her, but he kept sensing the same thing no matter which direction he looked. Whenever he saw movement and turned towards it, it was only the rustling of the trees.
—!
He felt a gust of wind, and jumped aside instinctively. A tan-colored shadow passed through the corner of his eye.
“You dodged it again!” The voice sounded happy once more.
—Um... What am I doing here, exactly?
Akuto wasn’t sure. He tried to contact someone telepathically, but even though there was no jammer, the waves given off by the trees were creating too much interference.
—Maybe I’m just supposed to catch her?
He spoke again, just to see how she’d respond.
“Can I use magic?”
“Sure, go ahead!” Nonimora answered.
“Alright then...”
He ignored his opponent for a moment and waved his hand in a languid motion. A torrential hurricane of mana sprung up in the room.
“Uwooooahh?” Nonimora gasped in surprise.
The mana hurricane began to spread out, centered around him. The trees began to bend and snap. They seemed to be the type with flexible trunks, but once the wind pushed them to their limits they snapped in two and were blown over. By the time the wind stopped, the floor was covered in shattered branches and trees spreading out in a spiral, like the site of some giant’s folkdance.
“Aryaryah?” A small child was standing there in shock. Even from a distance it was clear that she had dark skin and big bright eyes. There was something about her appearance that gave a favorable impression, regardless of your gender.
She looked like a child, and it was hard to see if she was a boy or girl. Her clothing was like what you’d see worn by a jungle tribe, but the leather was exquisitely decorated, and there were large jewels studded here and there. It was a simple outfit, but gave her a noble aura.
Akuto shook his head at her, a bit confused.
“Ready to give up?”
But Nonimora flailed her arms around in frustration.
“I’m not giving up! I’m gonna punish anybody who doesn’t treat nature with respect!”
Akuto furrowed his brow.
“Nature...? You grew all these trees yourself, instantly. How is that natural?”
“Uwooah! Now I’m mad! You people from the main island always make fun of our love for nature!”
She threw an exaggerated tantrum. It was cute, he thought, but he couldn’t bring himself to agree with what she said.
“You used mana on those plants to change them, and controlled the way they grew. That’s not what I’d call natural...”
“Why do you always make fun of us like that? You people from the mainland are such jerks! How much do you even know about us Marlai, anyway?”
“I heard you believed a theme park jungle was real and moved into it.”
“That’s fine. But we don’t think it’s real! Our trees are the same as the things you call buildings! We know that!”
“Huh? Then why...” Akuto didn’t expect this response. The Empire had turned magic, which was just a social system, into a religion. Only the priests and a few members of the intellectual class treated it as something transient. The rest treated it as dogma, even though the truth was public knowledge. Were the Marlay doing the same thing?”
“...Don’t tell me that only the rulers like you know the truth, and you’re tricking the rest of them.”
“Grr! Don’t make fun of me! Everybody knows! Even the kids learn about it in school!”
“Well... what do you mean?”
“Science and daily life are incompatible. Life is best the more like an animal you live. You can make plenty of food to eat. You don’t get sick and your life is easy. But people of the empire don’t think of themselves as happy, do they? It’s because you’re not having any fun in life. That’s why the Marlay got rid of the rules. The theme park was just a source of inspiration.”
“I see...”
Akuto fell silent. He was utterly shocked. Probably because the Empire was so huge that it seemed like the whole world to him, and this was the first time he’d felt a glimpse of the world beyond it. That, and Nonimora was surprisingly intelligent. Her way of thinking was similar to his, and in the Empire, he was considered a heretic.
“You understand?” Nonimora puffed out her chest, stretching her body backward as she did so.
Akuto smiled and nodded.
“Looks like I misunderstood. I apologize. And after hearing that, I want to know more about you and your kingdom.” Nonimora’s big eyes opened even wider.
“Oooh! You understand? Then let’s play more thwick-thwick!”
“Sure, but you won’t get anything even if you beat me,” Akuto said, but Nonimora just nodded happily.
“That’s fine! I just want to play it because it’s fun!”
Before the game could resume, though, a voice called out from above.
“Ackie!” He couldn’t see her, but Keena was up above their heads. He looked up just in time for someone to grab the jacket he was wearing from behind. Keena put the jacket on, and then revealed herself.
“If you know you’re going to be naked, then just keep your clothes on...” Akuto sighed, but Keena just pouted.
“I can’t get out of the palace wearing clothes.”
“The palace!” Nonimora shouted, “If you live in the palace, are you the Empress?”
Nonimora must have had surprisingly sharp intuition, because she’d deduced that the Empress was Keena. Most people wouldn’t assume that from looking at her.
“Yes, why?” Keena asked, a little surprised.
Akuto considered trying to deceive her for a while, but with these two, that was probably impossible.
“I was just talking with her. This is Nonimora, of the Marlay. She’s a candidate for Empress.”
“Oooh,” Keena looked over at Nonimora. Nonimora looked up at Keena with wide eyes. She was the first to speak.
“Wow! That’s just what I’d expect of the Empress! Complete and total nudity!”
—Was THAT what she focused on?
Akuto sighed, but Nonimora continued on, oblivious.
“If you walk around naked, it must mean you’re telling the people to return to nature, right? That’s amazing!”
—Well, at least they’ll probably be able to work this out peacefully... Akuto felt a little exhausted, but also relieved. But even as Nonimora smiled, she started running towards Keena at full speed.
“Okay, back to our game of Thwick-thwick! This time it’s the Empress’s turn!”
The first person to touch the other won, and you were allowed to use magic. That’s what Nonimora had said. In a place with nowhere to hide like this, the sport wasn’t that much different from magical combat. Just like he’d expected, Nonimora began to fire mana at Keena from all directions as soon as she started to run. Her plan was probably to tackle Keena while she dealt with the attacks.
“Kyah!” Keena screamed. Akuto instantly moved in front of her, knocked the balls away, and then blocked Nonimora with a mana shield.
“Uwoooah?” Nonimora tried and failed to push through the shield, before giving up and falling back to regroup.
—I was acting on instinct, so I wasn’t holding back. Did I go a little too far...? Akuto asked himself, but Nonimora grinned.
“Uwooah! This is great! Wow! You’re a lot stronger than you were before!”
“Glad to hear it. But listen. The empress isn’t cut out for this sport. I am, but she’s not.”
Nonimura looked disappointed, but dropped her combat stance.
“Aww. That’s no fun. Nonimura likes to exercise.”
“The Empress doesn’t even know what’s going on here. Can you explain? I’d like to hear it, too.”
Akuto told Keena what he’d just heard.
Nonimora added some things here and there, but in the end, they didn’t get much information about the selection of a new emperor or empress.
“So whoever the Jeweled Branch reacts to needs to be the Empress, right?” Keena said.
“That’s right. And it’s said that the Jeweled Branch decides this, but in the end, it’s just a tool, so whoever uses it is the Emperor or Empress. But first, that person has to be chosen,” Nonimora nodded.
“Well, I don’t really care about being Empress...” Keena said, disinterestedly.
“Huh?” Nonimora looked at her in surprise.
“I said I don’t really care about being Empress.”
“No, no. You can’t quit the job that easily. Well, of course, if you want rid of it I’ll gladly take it from you,” Nonimora said, before crossing her arms awkwardly.
“Did you come here because you wanted the title of Empress?” Akuto asked, confused. Nonimora didn’t seem like much of an invader to him.
“The Marlay aren’t greedy like that. The question is what the Empress does with her title. And Nonimora, no, the Marlay, have a duty we have to fulfill.”
“A duty?”
Nonimora hesitated for a second, before nodding and opening her mouth to speak.
“That’s right. The Marlay have protected the Faceless Power for generations.”
“Oh, I remember the old guy in the royal guard talking about that. He doesn’t know what it is but it’s really strong, he says.”
Nonimora shook her head.
“That’s not what our traditions say. The people can leap into the faceless power using a ship that travels to the stars with the aid of the Jeweled Branch. The Faceless Power can only do good things with guidance of a good heart. Otherwise, it will destroy their entire race.
“Is that... a legend?” Akuto asked. Nonimora shook her head again.
“It’s the words of our first elder. So it’s not a legend. The ship that goes to the stars exists, too.”
“But how can it go to the stars when...”
“That’s right. All projects to go past the moon, or past the planets that circle the sun, were stopped. Nobody thinks about space anymore. There’s probably something like a wall out there in space, far away. And if you go out there you can touch it. That’s what they think.”
Nonimora’s words matched the impressions Akuto had. Boichiro Yamato had once talked about an invasion from the outer universe... Maybe there was something out there beyond that wall.
“I’m not sure what counts as a ‘good heart,’ but maybe we can work together,” Akuto said, looking over to Keena. But Keena seemed unsure. She put her finger up to her cheek.
“But then, couldn’t we make her empress anyway?”
“Nonimora doesn’t like people who don’t fulfill their great duty. You have the three sacred treasures, don’t you? Those are the symbols of the Empress.”
“That’s true, but... I didn’t want to be one in the first place.”
“Oh...” Nonimora stood in front of Keena and put a hand on her hip.
“...Then I’ll take them. I’ll get a nice bonus, too.”
“A bonus?” Keena tilted her head, confused.
“Him.” Nonimora pointed at Akuto. “I could tell when he protected you. You’re restraining his power with the three treasures, right?”
“Oh!” Keena gasped. She knew what Nonimora meant. Giving up the treasures meant giving up her relationship with Akuto.
“I refuse. I’ve changed my mind.” Keena shook her head.
Nonimora looked disappointed.
“Hmm... I see. And Nonimora liked him, too! I’d love to have him by my side. But the Marlay know that people aren’t things. So how about this? I don’t need to be empress, but I want your help protecting the Faceless Power. And he has the right to decide, too. You and Nonimora can both do Hem-Hem with him, and he’ll decide who he likes better.” Nonimora slapped her hands together as if she’d just come up with a great idea.
“Hem-hem?” Keena and Akuto asked.
Nonimora’s mouth hung open a little in shock.
“You don’t know Hem-Hem? It’s human instinct! You came here naked so I was sure you’d know it.”
“Huh? But I don’t. You use different words.” Keena said. Nonimora sighed and held up a finger.
“Hem-Hem is when you put a boy’s ryun-ryun in a girl’s pakku-pakku and make babies.”
“Huh?!”
“Huh...?”
Akuto gasped and Keena went bright red. Nonimora seemed confused by their reactions.
“Why are you acting so weird? It’s natural. It’s the best way for girls to compete over a boy they like. If he likes us both, then all three of us can be together.”
Maybe it was natural, Akuto thought, But...
“Hang on. Nonimora, you’re sure you’re a girl?” He’d thought she’d sounded feminine, but it was hard to tell.
“That’s right. How rude. Now, it’s Hem-Hem time. Let’s do this!” Nonimora spun her arms in a circle like a pitcher warming up.
“No, wait. Hang on a minute!” Akuto frantically waved his hands.
“What’s wrong? Why not give it a shot? It’s not like the old days when you could get sick. And there’s magic to stop you from having kids, too,” Nonimura said, unperturbed.
“T-That’s not the issue.” Akuto shook his head.
Keena was grabbing on to Akuto’s arm and glaring at her.
“Ackie doesn’t do stuff like that!” she yelled, but Nonimura was unmoved.
“It’s not right to try and keep a man all to yourself! You can have a favorite, but you should still lend him out at least once a week!”
—Our values are so different we can’t even communicate...
Thankfully, help arrived.
“You! Kid! AKUTO IS MINE!”
Normally it was a bother when Fujiko said things like that, but this time, he was glad to have her. Fujiko came into the lounge, with Yoshie behind her. They must have been monitoring the situation.
“Oh, there’s a lot of people here now! So your name is Akuto, huh? You’re really popular. If you and I can Hem-Hem at least once... no, maybe twice a month, I’m sure you’ll like me too, though.”
Fujiko looked angry for a moment, before reconsidering. She began to nod her head.
“Hmm... Yes, you’re right! Akuto is kind, so of course he’ll start with a rotation. But gradually he’ll start to choose his favorite! That’s a great idea! I think for four... no... five days out of the week, he goes to me. Then he gets one day to spend with the others, out of pity, or perhaps duty. And then he gets a day off.”
“Ooh! That won’t happen as long as Nonimora is around! Nonimura is much better at Hem-Hem than you!”
“With your tiny body, you couldn’t use any techniques! But with my ample proportions, I can do all kinds of things to him...” Fujiko ran her hands across her body to emphasize her point.
“I’m really good at Suppo-Suppo, too! I can knock out a demon beast!”
“Come on, that’s enough of that guys...” Akuto tried to get them to stop, but then another voice shouted over him.
“If you choose me, you’ll be able to perform all kinds of terrible acts that no human body could endure.”
It was, of course, Korone.
“Please stop making this worse,” Akuto turned to her.
“What Nonimura said is worthy of serious consideration. The decision you made earlier is likely to be respected, Akuto, but the government has decided that it’s going to handle this matter.”
“If nothing dangerous is involved, we’ll just have to obey, then,” Akuto said, but he couldn’t shake the bad feeling he had.
○
Several days after Nonimora came, the government announced that they were forming an expeditionary unit comprised of the Empress, Akuto, and the royal guard.
Akuto had thought that, while he’d be extremely busy, the rest of the students at the academy would be doing nothing. But in fact, Student Council President Lily Shiraishi was forcing them to participate in a certain job.
“Lots of off-the-books money is being used, so somewhere someone is doing something big with magic. Why can’t you understand something so simple?”
Lily had gathered Fujiko, Yoshie, Junko, and Hiroshi in the student council room. The others were seated but she’d forced Hiroshi to stand in front of his desk while she lectured him. Hiroshi looked apologetic, but he was pouting slightly as he defended himself.
“I’m the only person here who’s not from a priest family...”
For some reason, his household had been given the Brave Suits, but unlike the others they weren’t high-ranking priests. Lily had told them to investigate what C-MID8 was doing, but he knew nothing about the various churches.
”But you’re the only one who can do anything really illegal. We can’t send you telepathic messages during the operation, so you’ll just have to use your own judgement.”
Lily was speaking to him like she was his instructor. Hiroshi felt like he was just being bullied for no reason.
“But even if we know they’re using the money, we don’t know where. I mean, we do know that C-MID8 is getting more active lately. We know that USD, the guy we met one time before, is planning something too. But I don’t know what to investigate...”
“I already explained that. All the diet members connected to the churches have secret meetings with corrupt priests. Infiltrate the meeting areas and gather information.”
“But I don’t know who these corrupt priests and diet members who are doing something dangerous are.”
“I just gave you a list.”
“But there’s too many people on it!”
“You’re just gonna have to figure out when the people on the list are going to do something. It’s gonna depend on that information.”
“But I don’t know what that information is!”
“That’s true, I guess.” Lily sighed and crossed her arms. “But still...”
Yoshie, who’d been silent up until now, interrupted.
“...I don’t think that Miwa’s going to be able to find out too much. That USD guy seems to have learned the secrets of the Brave suit from Boichiro Yamato himself.”
“But he hasn’t done anything to stop Hiroshi yet. If we’re lucky, he might come to see him again. And then we can get information from him directly.”
There was a thin grin on Lily’s face. Hiroshi could tell that she was trying to make herself cross a very dangerous bridge.
“But USD is staying in the shadows. The guy’s got a ton of money on his own, anyway. So why would he be using government money if he wanted to keep things a secret?”
“I get that, but now that that little Marlay girl showed up, it makes sense that C-MID8 would be using government funds on her,” Fujiko said.
“Yeah. But it’s too much money to just be investigating the Marlay. And we know they aren’t actually doing that, either. Thanks to Keena, we’ve got access to all the information the royal guard has.”
Yoshie’s explanation was, Fujiko felt, convincing.
“That’s right. But there’s a lot of money being used here... Which means maybe it’s not USD’s plot at all.”
“In these days, the only things that need money are teleporations that eat up large-scale energy, and magical experiments based off of them. The exception being guys like Akuto Sai, who can just consume the energy on their own. Which means I don’t know what they’re up to...” Lily folded her hands above the desk.
“What if C-MID8 is split into different factions?” Junko mused aloud. Everyone turned to look at her.
Junko flailed her hands a bit, surprised that her comment had attracted so much attention.
“Well, um... the Suhara Church wasn’t exactly all on the same team, you know. So I thought that a group like C-MID8 might be the same way. Especially after Boichiro Yamato died.”
“That’s quite possible. Which means that we’ve been thinking about this the wrong way all along. We should be looking at the other members besides USD...” Lily said, and then turned to Hiroshi.
Hiroshi stood up straight and stiff, like a student who’d been napping just before being called on by the teacher.
“Well... I kind of knew you were going to say that.”
“Don’t be like that. I’ll give you a starting point, at least. Here’s a list of people to check.”
Lily pulled up a name list on her mana screen and slid it towards Hiroshi. Hiroshi took it, his shoulders twitching a little when he saw the names. There was a huge number of them.
“This is a little too many...”
“Of course it’s a big list. It’s a list of everybody who goes in and out of C-MID8’s building, even those who don’t work there. It’s all the subcontractors, too. Subcontracting is a perfect camouflage in this business.”
“But when am I going to have time to go on a date?”
“You horny little boy. Don’t say that with her big sister right there.” Lily tilted her head in the direction behind Hiroshi. Hiroshi had just totally forgotten. The idol he was dating, Yuri Hoshino, was actually Yuko Hattori, Junko’s little sister.
“If you start having a bad effect on Yuko’s work, I’ll kill you instantly...” Hiroshi heard a blade being drawn behind him.
Without looking behind him, he awkwardly stepped forward.
“O-Okay, I’m getting off to work.”
“Thanks.” Lily waved a hand and watched him go.
○
Hiroshi wasn’t slow to act, but things were moving fast. Now, a dog and a seductively charming boy were watching a single ship. It was a large, flying ship, and one made with every imaginable bell and whistle.
“The Imperial Airship, huh? I’ve always wanted to ride it,” the seductively charming boy, C-MID8 Code name “Esper” (AKA Kei) said.
“Dogs enjoy different things than humans do, so I don’t agree,” the hairy dog said. This was codename “The One”.
The imperial airship was moored to the palace courtyard. The two of them were watching it from atop a building in the city’s center. The courtyard was covered with trees and impossible to see into, but the ship itself was too high for them to hide. The hull was white and curved, its surface reflecting the light of the sun. On the other side of the mirror finish were detailed and intricate patterns that changed color and even shape depending on the angle you viewed them from. It was a ship of fantastic beauty.
“It’s going to the Marlay village along with two ships of royal guards, right?”
“That’s right. And Morlock is already aboard,” The One said, his doggy mouth opening and closing as he spoke.
“I’m jealous. I’m sure it’s one hell of a ride.” Kei crossed his arms behind his head. There wasn’t much enthusiasm in his voice.
“He’s not a normal person either, so he probably has different ideas about what makes for an enjoyable ride, too,” The One said, and then looked up at Kei. Since The One had the face of a dog, it was impossible to read his expression. But his voice was low, as if he was sharing a secret.
“By the way, that scared the hell out of me. Publicly talking about betrayal, even if it was a joke. You’re not going to tell me you can’t betray USD, are you?”
“It was a joke. And a good one. And USD already knows, so who cares?” Kei said, his voice low as well. But his tone was perfectly clear, and there was a seductively charming smile on his face that didn’t seem to befit a young boy at all.
“...But even if he’s noticed your betrayal, he probably doesn’t think I’ll betray him. Well, I guess betrayal is just another form of love. Isn’t that what they say?” Kei grinned, and The One shivered.
“Since I’m an alien, I became very good at figuring out what it is that humans are thinking... but I have no idea how to tell what’s going through your mind. I thought you agreed to have your body modified for USD’s sake. The project to strengthen you was his idea.”
“Hey, from your perspective, does it look like Kento loves me?” Kei asked, suddenly serious. The One nodded.
“It seems that way to me. At least, I hope he does. I need him to believe that you’d never betray him.”
“Heheh... I see. That makes me feel a little better.” He stretched out his arms and his expression quickly changed. Now he looked like he was really having fun.
“Okay, I’ll go meet Kento now. We have a meeting. He’s thinking that in addition to the Marlay, there’s another candidate for the royal title who’ll be coming.”
“A meeting, huh? Between two men.”
“Even aliens are prejudiced, huh? Well, whatever. I’m doing this because I have things I want to do.” And then he waved his hand and said goodbye to The One.
Once he was gone, the look on The One’s face became cruel, so cruel that you could tell what it meant even though he was a dog.
“I don’t understand human psychology, huh? But there’s nothing so logical as psychology. Humans either obey their desires, or submit to threats...” No human being was watching his expression as he spoke.
○
“Ackie! Look! They’re giving us free food! Free food!”
“I don’t think Empresses are supposed to talk like that.”
Keena and Akuto were aboard the Empress’s personal ship. Keena was just having a great time, but Akuto was searching the place for intruders. Since Keena had released the restraints on some of his power, he was able to detect even the slightest mana disturbance. And even the Royal Guards had their lifelogs constantly read by the Gods. He was able to see what they’d be doing, as well as all their most personal secrets.
—So there’s no sign of anybody sneaking onboard, huh? I hate to do this to the knights, but I had to be sure. Akuto apologized to them, at least in his mind. He knew he had to do it, but he still felt guilty.
“Nothing seems out of the ordinary,” Korone said. She’d just now walked up beside him.
“Then it should be a fun trip,” Keena said, hanging off of Akuto’s arm with a bright smile. On the other side was Nonimora, who was pulling on his sleeve.
“Don’t forget about me! There’s no point in going without me, after all!”
The four of them were all onboard the ship, heading for the Marlay village. The Royal Knights were bringing two ships with them. There were barely any guards aboard the royal craft, at Keena’s insistence. The knights had been surprisingly willing to accomodate this, their reasoning being that it was easier for Akuto to respond to danger if there were no knights around.
“I’ll explain our flight plan. We’ll leave the capital and head south. This location on the map here is the island.” Korone displayed a map on her mana screen.
“At the center of the island is the Marlay village. It’s far larger than you’d expect a village to be. It’s approximately the same size as the capital city’s downtown area.”
“So it was a pretty big theme park, huh?” Akuto said.
The inside of the ship was luxurious, with carpet on the floors, and rooms the size of luxury condos, with all of the amenities you’d expect from one. Akuto was sitting on a circular sofa in the center of the cabin, listening to Korone’s explanation while trying to bat away Keena and Nonimora, who were leaping all over him like playful dogs.
“That’s right. But the island itself is very large, and the majority of it is covered in jungle. The jungle’s trees are the type that absorb mana, which is why it took the imperial mainland so long to find it. Of course, they were planted artificially.” Korone’s explanation continued.
“But Nonimora said that people from the village had come to the mainland, and they’ve built themselves a magical civilization, so they were still under the influence of the Empire, right?” Akuto asked. It was Nonimora, not Korone, who answered.
“Yes, that’s right. The Marlay are followers of Ahf. But we get the blessings of the god without having to give it our logs, and we can control what it sees, too. That’s because we can use part of the Faceless Power.” Nonimora smiled as she spoke, but this information was shocking to Akuto.
“So that means that the black mages’ utopia actually existed all along?”
“So it would seem. But it’s only possible because of the Faceless Power.” Korone had heard the same thing from Nonimora before Akuto. She explained this to Akuto, and added something else.
“But we don’t know exactly what the Faceless Power is, or what effects it may have. However, we have seen a similar power.” She glanced over at Keena.
Akuto didn’t want to say it in front of Nonimora, but he knew exactly what she was talking about. He remembered the moment when Keena had altered everyone’s memories.
“Hmm, it feels like stuff’s starting to come together.” Akuto looked over at Keena.
She paused and looked up at him, before turning away with a pout.
“Anyway, we’re going to maintain altitude over the jungle and come down in the village. Nonimora Kananoni, as a relative of the Empress, has invited her for a visit. That’s our official pretext. Of course, our real reason is, as Nonimora suggested, to study the power of the Jeweled Branch. We’ve brought an investigation team along with the knights, so keep that in mind.” Korone finished her explanation. Akuto had heard the same thing from Joji, the old knight, several times.
“I’m aware. Let’s get to work, then,” Akuto said.
Korone headed for the control room. She was steering the ship all by herself. When Korone was gone, Nonimora started to perk up even more.
“Alright, let’s start with some Hem-Hem!”
“No, you promised not to do that onboard the ship... Actually, I’m not going to do it at all...” Akuto pried her off of him, and then, since she still looked upset, offered to make her something to drink.
“Look, there’s a bar. I can make you something. Of course, there’s no alcohol, but I can make something you like...”
But as he stood up, someone grabbed him and pulled him back. It was Keena, not Nonimora.
“What is it?” Akuto asked. Keena just fidgeted as she pulled on his sleeve.
“Come on, what is it?” He asked again. Keena spoke in a small voice.
“Um... should I... do it too, you think?”
“Huh?” Akuto leaned closer, unsure of what she was saying.
Keena blushed as she continued. “Ackie, if you want... we can do it.”
“Do what?”
“Um... Hem-Hem.” Keena was staring into his eyes.
She didn’t look like she was joking.
“Um... isn’t that... kind of wrong?” Akuto said seriously, as he backed away from her.
“Ackie!” Keena pulled on his sleeve again, but he shook her off and headed for the bar.
“Haha... Um, what do you want, Keena?”
Nonimora was overjoyed to see this, and began to bounce around on the sofa
“Oh? Ooh? Ooh? So did you fall for Nonimora’s charms? Did you?”
“No, I didn’t...” Akuto said, frowning. As he made something for them to drink, he changed the subject.
“So, does the Jeweled Branch itself have any kind of power?”
The box with the Jeweled Branch was on the table. It was the thing that Nozomi Sasahara’s family had protected for generations. Nonimora’s face took on a serious expression.
“The first member of magical civilization was said to be the Emperor. My ancestor, you see. The Jeweled Branch tells those whose royal blood is especially strong that the choosing of the next heir has begun. That’s what it was made for, I think.”
“And if it was kept hidden in the Sasahara household...”
“That means that the imperial family in the capital wanted the line of succession to be hereditary.”
“I see. So that’s why... There’s a lot of history around it, huh?” Akuto went back to the sofa and put the drinks on the table. Suddenly he felt something soft on his left arm. Keena had grabbed on to his arm again.
“What’s wrong?” Akuto asked, but Keena didn’t answer. She just rubbed her body against him.
“Rub rub...” She murmured as she rubbed her cheek against his bicep, and pressed her chest against his forearm.
“Listen, you’ve gotta stop that...” Akuto disentangled himself again. Keena pouted unhappily. It was unclear if she was upset, or just not certain what to do.
“You’re acting really weird today,” Akuto said, but all Keena did was fidget. She didn’t say anything.
“Oooh! You guys are having fun! I guess I’ll rub up against you while I continue talking about important things!” Nonimora said, as she grabbed his right hand and started to do what Keena was doing. But when she opened her mouth, strangely, she was in fact talking about important things.
“It’s said that there are several candidates for the throne, that is, descendants of the first Emperor, scattered around the globe. The line which eventually came to rule the Empire continually betrayed them.” While she was talking, Keena had grabbed tightly onto Akuto’s arm again. Now he couldn’t brush both of them away.
“And they say that the Jeweled Branch is also the key that will activate a ship that travels to the stars,” Akuto added, and Nonimora nodded.
“That’s right. The Ship that Goes to the Stars flew through space once, and it brought back part of the Faceless Power. That’s why I can use part of it. That’s what that Liradan was saying.”
“Then that power is...” Akuto began, but then Korone walked into the room. Some time had passed since they’d left port. Akuto thought that they might’ve arrived already, but he was wrong.
“I’m sorry to interrupt. I have a report.”
“What is it?”
“This ship is going to crash.”
“Huh?”
“It’s descending. It is no longer responding to my commands.” She was saying this so calmly that it didn’t sound like anything important, but it was a serious situation.
“W-Wait. How? Are we under attack?”
“No, if anything, we were the attackers. The cause is unknown, but control of the ship was taken over from inside. And then the ship used its self-defense weapons to shoot down the two royal guard ships near us.”
“Taken over from inside? That’s impossible. There’s nobody in here but us...”
“Hence the mystery. But we have to accept reality for what it is. That is: this very luxurious ship is about to crash. We should prepare to evacuate.”
“...G-Got it.” Akuto stood up and ran to get his travel bag. Fortunately, he’d put all the things that he and Keena would need in a large bag that he hadn’t opened yet.
“Huh? We’re crashing? Really? It’s been so quiet.” Keena turned a confused look toward Korone.
Korone nodded.
“I’m afraid it’s true. In order to make the voyage as pleasant as possible, the soundproofing and position stabilizing are top-notch.”
Korone forced open the cabin door. Suddenly the wind came blowing in. When they walked over to the opening, they could see a green carpet of jungle spreading out below. It seemed oddly close, and they could tell that they were descending while staying perfectly level.
“We’ve already reached the island. We’ll just fall into the jungle,” Korone said.
Akuto turned back towards Keena and Nonimora. The two of them didn’t seem bothered. Nonimora seemed to be having a great time. Well, Keena could fly, and there wasn’t much to worry about in Nonimora’s case.
“But be careful. The jungle is full of mana-absorbing plants. The mana within is unstable.”
By the time Korone finished, though, the others were already outside the ship. “Oh... Right.”
“Huh? Then I can’t fly? ...Wait, I can’t fly! Gyaaah!”
“Hahaha! Don’t worry! Just look for a tall tree in the jungle and try to bounce from one leaf to another on it. You’ll be fine!” Nonimora said and laughed.
—It’s crazy, but I guess it’s our only hope.
Akuto grabbed Keena as he fell. When he looked up, he saw Korone, slowly descending in her parachute.