Side Story — Contradictions

The Disastrous Armor of Destruction, Pandora. Because of its very particular character and features, it’s considered the most vile of the Eight Sacred Treasures. What is it that makes it so problematic? The armor can only be used by an individual who wants to die. That is, an individual with a death wish.

Still, the armor itself and effects on its wearer aren’t inherently problematic, but what it does to those around it is particularly nasty. The function of the Disastrous Armor of Destruction is to drag in everyone, including its wearer, and indiscriminately kill everyone around it.

Because the possibility of the wearer dying exists, it’s not something that can be casually used. However, because the armor can only be worn by someone who wants nothing more than to die, it ends up being used more frequently than you might think.

Whatever weapon or soldier it might be, it’s not much use if it won’t attack the enemy the owner wants defeated. No matter how powerful, it’s not something you can keep on hand if it’ll go on a rampage on its own. For someone in power to make use of Pandora, they have to find a person who has the extremely odd combination of a death wish and absolute loyalty.

That alone makes it a problematic artifact, but there’s another difficult condition that must be fulfilled: the wearer needs to be physically suited to being a wearer of Pandora. Someone with the physical characteristic of being completely unaffected by Pandora’s powers. In other words, a human being who’s in no danger when wearing Pandora. Someone with a death wish but who can’t end up one-sidedly massacring their opponents.

That is the man known as Shun Ukiyo. The man that God provided to House Disaea, the perfect candidate to wear Pandora.

It is late at night. As the waves gently lap at the wharves of a fishing port, a suspicious group is lurking in the shadows. Having confirmed that there’s no passersby around, they’re huddled together inside a crowded boat and have turned their gaze outward.

“As you are aware, the Arcana Kingdom is currently focused on its negotiations with the new Domino regime.”

The man who appears to be leading this group addresses them just loudly enough for them to hear.

“Meaning that Disaea, at the opposite end of the kingdom, is thinly guarded.”

There’s no need to explain who they are. They’re spies, and they don’t work for either the Arcana Kingdom or the Domino Republic.

There are numerous kinds of people employed as spies, but these rank in the upper echelons in terms of skill. It’s clear that they’re well trained operatives from how they carry themselves.

“No doubt you’re well aware, but important people from all over the region pay visits to Disaea. Among them are those who are here for neither sightseeing or normal commerce, but to conduct secret negotiations.”

Shadowy dealings between those that serve different countries, or those are here to play with fire by acting out disloyalty, or to indulge in perversions at shops that cater to tastes that can’t be spoken about in public. Because Disaea is a den of iniquity, it’s also overflowing with information that’s as valuable as gold. Knowing damning facts about VIPs from various countries is an extremely potent weapon. These spies are now trying to sneak into the country for the benefit of their own country.

“Our assignment is to bring home that information.”

To put it baldly, they’re here to dig through people’s dirty laundry and use that to blackmail them. There’s not a single person in the boat that objects to this assignment. If their dirty work can make even one person back home happy, they’re happy to blacken their hands. They take pride in their mission.

“Don’t hesitate to abandon your colleagues if necessary. And if someone is on to you, make sure to end your own life. Don’t leave any trace of your existence.”

All of them nod in silence. With that, they slowly disembark. In a sharp contrast to their difficult mission, outside the boat, it’s a peaceful night at the port. There’s not a soul there; no one is unloading cargo or fixing their own boats. Of course, the group is here because they knew that ahead of time...

“Huuuuurk!”

“Oh, dear, are you sure you’re okay?”

There are two silhouettes lit by the starlight.

“Huuuuuuurrrrrk...”

“See? I told you you were drinking too much.”

The pair clearly consists of a man who’s had far too much to drink, and a lady of the night taking care of him. It’s far too obvious that they came to get some fresh air from the nearby bar district.

“You’re such an idiot sometimes...”

“Hurrk... Urgh...”

Had it just been the man, who’s barely conscious, they might have let him go. But the woman is clearly aware of her surroundings. Perhaps she’s not drunk enough, but she’s clearly got her wits about her.

Considering the possibilities, they need to be disposed of. Fortunately, this is a port city. There’s plenty of traffic in and out of the city, and it’s not unusual for a drunk and a lady of the night to end up murdered. They’ll kill the two of them and toss them in the sea.

The group attack the pair without a shred of hesitation. Of course, they don’t run up and pounce on them like a group of amateurs. No, they silently pad toward their prey, like serpents hunting their quarry.

“Huh?”

They can only be described as unlucky. Sure, the man’s at fault for getting so drunk, but it’s an extreme stroke of misfortune to end up wandering into a group of spies as they’re trying to get fresh air near the sea. It was a tragic story. One where the participants appeared to have basically drawn their misfortune to themselves.

“What is...”

The next morning, the port is abuzz. By the wharves is a man who’s slashed his own throat, and near him are the drowned corpses of countless men and women. And none of the people who frequent the port city can recognize any of the bodies.

“Well, thank goodness the dead are all outsiders.”

“Yeah, definitely.”

“Wow, a group suicide.”

“And not just a few.”

“Dammit, we can’t ship out with them in the way... What a bother.”

“This is unlucky. Can’t go out fishing today.”

The fishermen and their families making their living in the fishing port are, of course, innocents who are completely unconnected to the evils that take place around it. The pile of dead have nothing to do with them, and those gathered near the wharves are simply there to indulge in disaster tourism.

But the guards sent from the bar district are surprised at what they find on the bodies. After checking the clothes and belongings on the corpses, they’re armed with weapons and various bottles of chemicals that no honest person would carry. Further, they’re hidden in inconspicuous parts of their clothing, making it clear they were here to sneak around. A cursory check of their bodies also show signs of toning. They’ve clearly been trained in one way or another.

“Could these be...”

“There’s no ‘could’ about it, captain. This has gotta be the work of...the Thinking Man...”

“Don’t say that name out loud!”

None of the bodies, of course, have anything to identify them. But that’s what identifies the corpses as foreign spies. Yet, all of them killed themselves. There’s no sign of battle, or any sign of having been restrained. Despite that, they’ve killed themselves. It can only be described as extremely unnatural.

“Okay, all of you, don’t mention a word of this to anyone. We’ll send our investigation results up the ladder, and do as they instruct. You make sure you forget you saw any of this. Understood?”

If these had been innocent citizens, there might have been those among the guards or the fishermen driven by a sense of justice or loyalty to get to the bottom of it. But this was just a group of dead foreign spies, which means there’s no need to look into the darkness. Whatever happened here last night was done for the sake of the nation.

“Saw what, captain?”

“Good.”

Here in Disaea is an open secret known to everyone. Something so dangerous that everyone needs to stay as far away from it as possible.

“If you don’t want to lose everything, stay the hell away from him...”

The bar district near the fishing port... In one of the luxury inns in that district, a man groans. It’s Shun Ukiyo, the man considered House Disaea’s ace. Having had far too much to drink the night before, he’s suffering from a massive hangover in his bed.

“Urgh... Ugh...”

Even the perfectly matched wearer of Pandora can’t avoid getting hungover.

“Urrgh, this is awful... Someone just put me out of my misery...”

“Stop being an idiot.”

The one muttering a criticism of the pajama-clad man is his colleague and fellow transportee, Byoubu Kakejiku. Dressed in a perfectly tailored suit, she holds back as a sigh as she checks in on Shun.

“It seems there was a mass suicide at the fishing port last night. Are you behind it?”

“Ask Pandora!”

“I already asked Pandora! That useless artifact told me to ask you!”

“...I don’t really remember.”

“At least try to remember that! Considering how creepily and thoroughly you usually kill them, to forget at times like this... Sigh.”

The Eight Sacred Treasures have special traits in addition to their functions. For example, with Eckesachs, in addition to being able to amplify magic, she can reject an individual who grabs her. That’s a trait that no other Sacred Treasure is equipped with. In Pandora’s case, in addition to her function of indiscriminate killing, her trait is that she draws in disaster.

Now, while she draws in disaster, she doesn’t cause it. In this case, it’s probably more accurate to say that they just happened upon a disaster in the making. It can be described as the exact opposite of the trait held by the Divine Chalice of Fate, Elixir.

The Lord of House Disaea had already suspected that other countries would try to send in spies to take advantage of the current confusion. That is why Shun had been assigned to locations where the spies would be relatively easy to land.

“It’s true that you’re off today. But that doesn’t mean you should drink yourself stupid!”

“Urrrgh...”

Shun’s drunken stupor is, of course, self-inflicted. It’s not like he was ordered to do it, and it’s not as though he likes drinking that much. Nor is it a condition for wearing Pandora.

“But I think I was doing pretty well this time...”

“Nope, not at all.”

“I figured if I got plastered someone would attack me...would kill me...!”

“That’s no reason to get wasted!”

If he’s wasted and lying on the sidewalk, someone might kill him. For that stupid reason, Shun regularly gets completely wasted. It’s an obvious bit of self-destructive behavior, and perhaps it’s right for Pandora’s wearer to do so.

“Shun, let me use this opportunity to ask. Why do you want to die so much?”

The aces of the Four Great Houses almost all work directly for the Lord of the House, and as a result, they are well compensated, whether from a desire to avoid being betrayed, genuine affection, or just that they outright have that sort of value. There’s many differing reasons for it, but Shun, too, is treated very well by the Lord of House Disaea. And it seems like Shun is happy with that. At least, that’s what Byoubu thought.

“Was there something that happened in Japan?”

No doubt there are countless people in the world who want to die, but it’s hard to maintain that death wish when you’re generously paid and rewarded by a Great House, and receiving nothing but fear and respect from those around you.

“Byoubu, you’re a talented individual.”

“Wha? That’s not what I’m talking about.”

“You were only hired recently, but everyone thinks well of you.”

With the hangover, Shun’s more negative than usual. His words are overflowing with a sense of inferiority.

“No doubt you were probably treated well in Japan, even before you got your cheat abilities.”

“W-Well, sure! Given my looks, I had a lot of girls cheering me on and chasing me.”

“Well, I’m different. I may have the cheat ability of being the perfect wearer for Pandora, but that’s all I have.”

While he means every word he says, it goes against reality.

“I don’t have a hard past. I’m just an ordinary man who finds living a drag and wants to die.”

She didn’t understand what he was saying. Most people would feel a desire to live after having their desire for admiration fulfilled and richly rewarded. But instead she gets the odd answer that he’s a normal human being and wants to die more than anything.

“U-Uh, I still don’t understand what you’re saying. Sure, for a normal human being, there’ll be times where they want to die. But there’s usually a reason behind that, like they don’t feel like they’re truly living, or because they hate their job.”

True, Shun’s job is killing, and it’s not exactly a fun one, but she’s heard it’s a job that Shun’s taken on of his own volition. It’s not something he’s forced to do. It’s Shun’s way of serving Lord Disaea.

“It’s not like you hate your job. Nor do you have any problem with his lordship. So why?”

“Talented people can’t understand what it’s like to be average.”

This weirdo keeps claiming he’s just an average guy. Despite being in a situation that average people would kill for, he still won’t let go of his death wish.

“I’m weak.”

Suffering from his hangover, he curses his weakness for reasons unconnected to his hangover.

“Living is suffering. Talented people are those who don’t let that suffering get to them. I’m so ordinary that I can’t deal with that suffering.”

He tries to find release in drink, in death, and he curses himself for wanting to escape to end the suffering.

“Since I can’t even want to make myself stronger, I can’t change myself. All I have is to take on jobs that draw the hatred of others, and hope I get my just reward, while being useful to people doing their best to live.”

Because he thinks he’s inferior, because he can’t dedicate himself to anything, he admires people who can dedicate themselves to living. Shun will never mock those who are doing their best to face down suffering. He sincerely believes that the beauty in humanity rests in a virtue that he himself lacks.

“I’m living for the Old Man’s sake. But even then... Living is so hard that I keep hoping for an accident.”

The Disastrous Armor of Destruction, Pandora, that has nothing but traits that are troublesome for those in power to wield... The one perfectly suited to wearing it is a man riven with contradictions, which is why...

“Shun, I think I understand why God gave you your ability.”

Byoubu, having accepted everything, gives up on ever understanding him.