Chapter 3 - Witch of SardiniaPart 1"So you only met that boy by chance, and have no relation to him. Thatstone tablet also came into your possession by chance, and youspecifically came here to return it to its original owner..."Sitting on the same bench was Erica, listing these facts out with a melodicvoice.By the way, G.o.dou was sitting on the left side while Erica sat on the right,separated by a fairly large distance."You really think I will believe such lies? Be a little more realistic if you"regoing to lie.""I am not lying and everything is the truth. Everything happened by chance.I don"t care if you believe it or not!"Faced with this girl who has been mocking him all this time, G.o.douresponded with a very annoyed expression.Travelling with a woman like this, you"ve got to be kidding! No matter what,he must find a way to get rid of her."By the way, what are you, both a mage and a knight? Either one of thesealone is already very unusual. For you to have both t.i.tles at the same time,it"s idiotic! Even online games don"t offer such ridiculous settings likeyours."Occasionally dabbling in chess and go, G.o.dou did not actually play onlinegames. Even so, he knew a little about the content of online role-playinggames.Which is why he naturally recalled strange terms like mage, knight, G.o.d,etc..."To compare me, a descendant of the Templar Knights, with thosefabricated games? I can see that you not only fail as a gentleman, youdon"t even have basic manners. How pitiful!""I don"t even want those kinds of manners!"As he talked shop with Erica, G.o.dou unhappily looked upwards at thetimetable written in Italian.— The two of them were in the waiting room of the Cagliari train station.G.o.dou"s destination Oliena was located in the province of Nuoro on theeastern part of the island, and was about two or three hours away by rail orby car, so G.o.dou picked the train.But they have been waiting for close to an hour in that waiting room withno signs of the train.Italian trains will definitely be late, it was exactly as rumored."Look! Did I not warn you, trains do not operate according to schedule? Doas I say, going there by car will be a lot easier.""You"re so annoying! If you don"t like being with me, then hurry up and gohome!"Since G.o.dou and Erica were the only two people in the waiting room, theycould argue and make a scene as much as they wanted.As a side note, the Cagliari train station was small yet well-equipped, andwas very similar to j.a.panese stations. This made G.o.dou naturally feel asense of deja vu."Actually... As you suggested, we could take a long distance bus."Even though they weren"t getting along, but if the other person was beinglogical, G.o.dou didn"t mind going along with her suggestion.Perhaps because G.o.dou was too honest and straightforward, Erica easilydeclined his act of concession."What are you talking about?! How can I possibly take public buses ortrains?""What do you mean?"Erica proudly puffed her chest at G.o.dou and said:"Listen well! I, Erica Blandelli, have never taken a train or a bus since theday I was born. Isn"t that excessively troublesome? And you need to waithere specifically.""Uh...""I have my own car and driver. Ignoring planes for now, as far as landtravel goes, there is completely no reason to do something as troublesomeas what we are doing now.""Uh...""Ah... However I do enjoy horse riding a lot, especially that feeling of thebreeze, you can"t experience that from other places. If only you were ascute as a horse.""Shut up. Anyway, I understand now."G.o.dou looked as if he had been enlightened by some truth."My greatness? If that"s the case, you are too slow, your observation skillsneed work.""You"re very annoying, that"s not what I meant! You are truly a shelteredlittle high cla.s.s lady through and through, completely beyond myimagination. And it looks like we have an unbridgeable gap between us!"This woman existed in a completely different culture. Calling herself amage, a high cla.s.s lady who was impossible to placate.Even without a language barrier, it was likely impossible to understandeach other."Ah, I didn"t grow up that sheltered, though I did receive a n.o.blewoman"seducation, but the results were less than satisfactory, at most average.""An ordinary commoner would have nothing to do with the word"n.o.blewoman"!"G.o.dou remarked without consideration."Then you understand now? There is a serious cultural divide between youand me, and we cannot travel together. Realizing that before we get on thetrain is really too fortunate — then goodbye to you, though we didn"t spendmuch time together.""You lack comprehension skills. Traveling with you is completely mydecision. No matter what you say, I will not give up."Erica declared in a very straightforward manner."Besides, as a knight, one must endure all odds to complete the mission,overcoming trials and tribulations. This has been the way since ancienttimes. You don"t have to worry about this principle.""I care about myself, your hardship has nothing to do with me..."G.o.dou resisted Erica"s company from the bottom of his heart.It was this morning when they met again.After G.o.dou explained his destination, Erica had made a declaration."Then I shall accompany you to Lucretia Zola. I am interested to knowwhat you intend to do after meeting the famed Witch of Sardinia, as well asthe power dormant in this stone tablet. Furthermore, that boy could verywell contact you, so this is the best course of action."A very clear expression on her face.Though G.o.dou vehemently refused, she immediately responded:"Ah, but if I used my sword, I could instantly rob you of this stone tablet,eh? I didn"t do that because I am very gentle and chivalrous. You dounderstand that, no?"Thinly veiled threats. G.o.dou couldn"t help but acquiesce to Erica taggingalong.And so the two continued to argue as they reached the Cagliari trainstation."You, why do you have to chase that guy? Yes he was quite strange, butnot a bad person. Didn"t he rescue the people at the harbor yesterday?"This morning, when G.o.dou conversed with her —Erica had finished investigating the incident that happened yesterday.After shaking her off their trail, at the place G.o.dou and the youth went, thegroup of young men surrounded by fire and debris in the alley of despairwere saved by the youth who appeared somehow.After that, the youth disappeared without a trace like the wind.In order to prevent G.o.dou from wasting time on the group of young men,Erica told him everything she knew. This morning when she wasinvestigating at the harbor, she had made inquiries with the group of youngmen about the youth before finally coming over to G.o.dou.To avoid further delays, Erica hastened G.o.dou to start making his way tohis destination."You saw the divine beasts yesterday, right? That boy is the prime suspectfor summoning them. If it really is the case, then he was simply cleaning uphis own messes, and there is nothing to be praised.""Whether divine beasts or G.o.ds or whatever, no matter how matter-of-factyou mention them, I cannot..."He witnessed everything with his own eyes, but G.o.dou still could notaccept them as reality."The one appearing at Cagliari was the [Boar], and over the past threedays there were three others appearing on the island of Sardinia. The[Camel] at Bosa, the [Ram] at Orgosolo, and the [Bull] at Barumini.""...Then with the one yesterday it adds up to four.""Yes. Luckily whenever the divine beasts appeared, a [Wind] deityimmediately appears to defeat them, so serious damage was avoided.Great fortune amidst misfortune."Thinking back to the commotion yesterday, G.o.dou couldn"t help but breakout in cold sweat.To have monsters causing destruction everywhere and summing it up as"serious damage was avoided," what a terrifying topic of conversation."At all these scenes and next to the divine beasts, the boy was sighted onall occasions. Even if he is not the one responsible, he is definitely animportant witness. Say, do you still have any objections?"Watching the self-a.s.sured Erica, G.o.dou could only surrender.There was far too little evidence to defend the youth. With great reluctance,G.o.dou could only agree."Let"s change the subject, what are G.o.ds? I still cannot imagine."Let"s put the youth aside and switch to another topic."Well... To be frank, whether or not these are [G.o.ds] in the religious sense,we still cannot say for sure."Erica watched the sky and G.o.dou also looked up.Sardinia"s sky was blue, deep, and very clear.On the other end of the sky, was there really a heaven where the G.o.dsresided?"Due to the [Myths] humans have pa.s.sed along from ancient times, theywere born. The essence of the earth, sky and stars, natural elements likethe system of earth, air, water and fire^or the system of metal, wood,water, fire and earth"- 2 !, these are what comprise the supernatural core of[Myths], thus lending form to these existence, the [G.o.ds]. That is thehypothesis that we magi have established."G.o.dou could only understand about half of what Erica said, but feltcompelled to nod and agree with the mention of the word "supernatural."Without a doubt, these existences transcended laws of nature."However, for [G.o.ds] that make an appearance, a portion of them rebelagainst the [Myths] that form their core. We have named them [HereticG.o.ds], G.o.ds who resist the myths. They appear in places unrelated to theirmyths and bring great disaster. Simply by being present, a G.o.d"s power willcause great detriment to the human world around it.""...G.o.ds of disaster. I really agree after seeing that black boar.""Who knows, that could actually be the incarnation of a gentle G.o.d. Whenoriginally benevolent G.o.ds become [Heretic G.o.ds], they also become thesource of chaos.""Then what about the tornado? Was that a G.o.d too?""Probably, there are many G.o.ds possessing the divine qualities of wind, soits ident.i.ty still hasn"t been discerned, probably a G.o.d that opposes the[Boar]. But no matter what their attributes, humans are the ultimatevictims.""That"s depressing. When G.o.ds appear, what can humans do?""First of all, option one is to treat it as a natural disaster like storms orearthquakes, and endure it. Do not cause any commotions, but pray for theG.o.ds" mercy or willful departure.""Offering sacrifices, praying to the heavens, that"s entirely reliant on theG.o.ds.""Compared to meaningless struggle, it"s far more effective. See, the peopleof Cagliari have not been in uproar over yesterday"s incident? That is thecurrent way.""Yes, I see. So everyone knows about G.o.ds appearing?"G.o.dou thought about this morning"s newspaper as well as the reactions atthe inn.Everyone was acting apologetic and seemed very unnatural. So that"s thereason."Of course, humans who explicitly know about G.o.ds are not numerous, butthe ancient streets of Europe are pretty much the secluded residences ofmagi, so people have been taught how to handle these situations. Also,there is tradition, ways of dealing with minor divine appearances havebeen pa.s.sed down the ages from ancestors.""I get it now. Then back to what you were saying, if that"s the first option,what"s the second?""Yes, option two is the simplest. Defeat the G.o.d."G.o.dou got quite a shock from Erica"s unexpected answer."Can such a thing be done?""Of course not!"Still recovering from the shock, and then to receive such an unreasonableanswer. What is this! Playing me for a fool?"Impossible for ordinary people, and even the best high ranked magi. Buton extremely, extremely rare occasions — if one were to receive the graceand good fortune of something like three or four miracles, then it"spossible. However, this is not an option worth considering.""In other words, a lucky coincidence.""That"s not enough, it"s completely impossible without a miracle on thelevel of a carpenter"s son born in a manger, and finally becoming the saviorof the world. Hence, option three is the most practical. If it"s acomparatively weaker deity, just seal it."Sealing a G.o.d, this reminded G.o.dou of his grandfather"s words.Offering the stone tablet at the village where divine retribution wasoccurring, was how the incident of strange deaths was resolved."That is probably a grimoire from mythical times, though it"s unknown whatpower lies dormant within it."Erica glanced at G.o.dou"s backpack which contained the stone tablet."You called it a grimoire, but it"s clearly not a book?""As an ancient product of a time without paper — the age of myths, that wasthe time when G.o.ds could freely walk the earth. During those days, thegrimoires created by G.o.ds to preserve their wisdom and power all take thisform."Suddenly, an ongoing noise of clackety-clack completely overcame Erica"svoice.With the ear splitting sound of the brakes, the train slowly entered thestation.G.o.dou stood up, having sat in the seat for dozens of minutes, and said:"Yes, anyway this is a topic an ordinary person like me cannotunderstand... By the way, my name is Kusanagi G.o.dou.""Eh, what?""My name. You don"t care about my name at all? You haven"t even askedonce, so I will tell you, I"m not going to repeat myself."Even though he disliked her, if they were to travel together they shouldknow each other"s names.Hence G.o.dou decided to name himself coldly, but Erica"s reaction waseven more impolite than he expected."Hoho, you"re called G.o.dot, a name that sounds like someone who fails toshow up as agreed, what a strange name."Samuel Beckett"s play "Waiting for G.o.dot."A story about two vagabonds waiting for a character named G.o.dot whonever showed up. Since G.o.dou did not know the content of this play, hehad no idea why Erica spoke as she did.However, he was certain it was nothing good.Part 2The outside view seen from the train, was essentially a boundless plain ofgra.s.sland.As well as the endless wilderness, flocks of sheep could often be seen onthe vast lands along with shepherds. Raising sheep was one of Sardinia"smain industries.Amidst this scenery, one could spot the ancient walled cities — nuraghes.These were the remains of cities built by locals before the arrival of thePhoenicians, and have now become important tourist attractions.On the way, they made a switch to the train to Nuoro city.This was the provincial capital of Nuoro, and Oliena was a little townnearby.They had set off from Cagliari shortly after noon, and arrived at Nuoro citythree hours later. After a rough and b.u.mpy bus ride for another few tens ofminutes, they finally reached Oliena.At around six in the evening, it was already dusk.G.o.dou decided to visit Lucretia Zola"s home the next day, because it mightnot be possible to find her house immediately, and he wanted to find ahotel before it became dark."...Hopefully there will be a hotel with vacancies."Surveying the surroundings, G.o.dou muttered to himself.Without any outstanding tourist attractions, it was a very ordinary town inthe countryside.Due to the proximity of hills and mountains, it was full of natural scenery,but there was nothing remarkable about the town. Judging from thescenery witnessed along the train ride, this was a typical little Sardiniantown."It"s probably more convenient to get around this island by car. Anyway, I"mso hungry..."G.o.dou only ate some bread for lunch, so he was now especially hungry.Hearing G.o.dou utter such words of defeat, Erica couldn"t help but laughbeside him."What a useless person. Look at me, the first time traveling by rail, and thefirst time suffering the motion of a bus. Yet I am just as resolute as always?This is the difference in experience between us."Watching the braggart before him, G.o.dou had nothing to say.True, the very slender looking Erica had great fort.i.tude. Her beauty andglamor were unaffected, but the cause of this difference had otherreasons."Of course you"re not hungry. While I was tired of the scenery, andenduring boredom and hunger. You went ahead by yourself to chat withothers and didn"t share any food with me."G.o.dou recalled the arduous long distance journey today.While he sat in the box seats, Erica very naturally walked amongst theothers.Originally G.o.dou thought that it would be annoying to carry out a face toface conversation with her, so he didn"t pay much attention....Watching the window scenery was only interesting for the first hour. Ashe looked around with nothing to do, he found Erica happily chatting andlaughing with a woman in a very nearby seat.Since it was all in Italian, G.o.dou didn"t understand a single word of it.However, Erica was using a friendly tone of voice completely opposite tohow she treated G.o.dou. Even though the content was unknown, one couldguess roughly what she was talking about through her fluent tones.And then soon after, the woman whom Erica was conversing with, openeda basket near her hand, and took out all sorts of food as if bymagic — sandwiches, olives, as well as cheese and fruit... Of course, sheshared all of them with Erica.Feeling a little hungry, G.o.dou felt slightly jealous.All that food, and Erica kept them all to herself."As a knight, I have the obligation to maintain my body at its peakcondition. The intake of nutrients from food cannot be overlooked. Anyway,it"s not my duty to share food with you."Erica"s words were as self-centered as always.G.o.dou decided to retort in kind, after all, grudges over food can be veryhorrific."Although that"s true, despite a knight-like high cla.s.s lady"s pride, you aresurprisingly stingy. Yes, you are also very good at currying favor andflattery. To act all friendly just for the sake of food, how should I put it,conniving? I am impressed.""You... Calling me stingy and conniving? How insulting!"The malicious retort made Erica"s face filled with anger.Seeing her furious, G.o.dou silently thought to himself, since this works atriling up her anger, perhaps it could come in handy, let me take note of it.This was a habit G.o.dou developed during his time in baseball.As the catcher and the fourth hitter, in order to defeat the opponent"s trumpcards, he needed to a.n.a.lyze the personality and preferences in advance toprepare for matches.For someone without outstanding natural talent, this sort of effort wasnecessary."Listen well, I will greet the vast majority of people with a smile. Who wantsto create enemies unnecessarily? Perhaps one day you might require theira.s.sistance!""What a calculating fellow you are. I guess you don"t really have any closefriends you can be open with.""Please call it elegant diplomacy. It is required to build amicable relations.If you can"t even understand that, it means you"re just a child.""I have no wish to understand that kind of thing.""Hmph, that is why I say you are just a child, unable to understand thesethings. To dare call me stingy and conniving, unforgivable!"Erica declared furiously.She was staring straight at G.o.dou, pointing her finger at him."Fine! In order to prove that I, Erica Blandelli, am not a stingy person, eventhough I have no obligation to share a meal with you, but tonight this ladywill grace your dinner with her presence, think of it as compensation for nottreating you for lunch!"And so G.o.dou and Erica entered the doors of a ristorante.In Italy, there existed common eateries like trattoria^ as well as high cla.s.sristorantes.G.o.dou knew the distinction, at least.The one that Erica selected, was without a doubt, in the latter category.The internal decor was very cla.s.sic and elegant. With dim lighting andsuch a high cla.s.s atmosphere, G.o.dou felt that it would be troubling theristorante for two minors to enter.The two were taken to their table, and Erica began to order.Of course G.o.dou didn"t understand a word of Italian and had no idea whatthey were saying."Wait a minute, you"re ordering wine!"Seeing the bottle brought over, G.o.dou was speechless.Smelling the aroma of the alcohol, it was clearly an appetizer wine — thesparkling kind."Isn"t that obvious? Eh? Or perhaps you don"t know how to drink?""How could this be possible?! The restaurant accepted your order."G.o.dou responded to Erica"s provocative smile."By the way, the drinking age in Italy and Spain is sixteen.""Yes, right, I will be sixteen next month, of course there"s no problem...Really, getting frantic over such trivial things, you have surprisingly littletolerance.""Wait a minute, if you"re born in April, then you"re only fifteen, the same asme. That"s illegal!""It"s fine as long as you"re not discovered. Do you really think I"ll getcaught?"As the two argued, the food was brought to the table.For appetizers, there was prosciutto ham as well as a wide selection offresh seasonal vegetables. With fried lamb brains(!) which G.o.dou had forthe first time, handmade sausage, and baked Sardinian flatbread, thechoice of food was quite rich and sumptuous.There were two meat entrees, a local specialty of roasted suckling pigserved in slices, as well as horse ribs that still retained some blood.Everything tasted delicious. Having endured such a long journey, it waswell worth it.However, the problem was the bottle of red wine Erica had ordered.Due to the dim lighting, the red liquid seemed as if it was giving off aseductive light. When he saw the champagne before the meal, as well asthe meat entrees, G.o.dou should have expected it."Don"t force yourself if you can"t drink. For such a trifle bit of wine, I canfinish it alone."Erica"s nonchalant tone made G.o.dou feel like he was being mocked asstupid.If he didn"t resist, then he would be an idiot. Understanding that, G.o.douraised his wine gla.s.s. Despite everything, his nature was quite compet.i.tive.He slowly kept the wine in his palate, savoring its flavor.A complicated taste unique to high quality red wine, with a mixture ofbitterness, sweetness as well as a hint of sourness. The fragrance of grapeand fruitiness a.s.sailed the sense of smell."Very good, though I don"t particularly like western wine, but this is reallygood.""Ah, I didn"t think you"d know a little about wine, then you cannot complain.Drink obediently."Hearing Erica"s remark, G.o.dou smiled fearlessly in return.Despite appearances, I"ve often been forced to spend nights drinking withmy grandfather. At the age of fifteen I already have substantial knowledgeabout alcohol... No, the one who taught his middle school grandson thedifference between cheap wine and exceptionally good wine, what onearth could he be thinking?Mother as well, asking her son to mix c.o.c.ktails for her, sometimespreparing mixtures like whiskey and water, and even making her son tastethem.In order to cater to her own tastes and forcing it upon her son, in someways, G.o.dou had been receiving an elite education every day of his life."Actually, even when drinking with adults, I have never lost in alcoholcapacity. How regrettable.""Ah, what a coincidence, me too. Till now, I have never lost against anyonein drinking."And then the two of them began to eat and drink heartily.Whenever anyone"s wine gla.s.s emptied, the waiter immediately filled thegla.s.s quietly.The one who drank the last gla.s.s was G.o.dou.Since he was not accustomed to red wine, G.o.dou felt relieved after onebottle. He won"t have to worry about getting drunk now.However, watching this take place. Erica frowned."G.o.dou... To think you drank one gla.s.s more than me, like a sneaky thief.""You even bothered to count? That"s so stingy, please don"t do thatanymore.""You... You have insulted me again. Please do not misunderstand. I shallrepeat myself once more. I am not stingy at all. The problem is currentlythe fact that you have imbibed more alcohol than me."By the way, it"s you yourself who wanted to compete.Though not stingy, but surprisingly childish, Erica"s next words shockedG.o.dou:"Apparently, a second round of compet.i.tion is necessary. A victor needs tobe decided."— Inhale, exhale.There were birds chirping outside the room.Waking up on the bed, G.o.dou vaguely recalled the events yesterday.After dinner at the ristorante, without any reservations, they were fortunateenough to find a room at a bed and breakfast (B&B) on the roadside.And then he went with Erica as they bought a large amount of alcohol andsnacks to go along.It would be too unsightly for two youngsters to drink at a bar, so that"s whatthey decided.Battling on the verge of collapse, spurred by their sense ofcompet.i.tiveness, the two of them downed gla.s.s after gla.s.s in order toprove their superiority to the other.And then what happened?That part of his memory was completely blank. Oh well, best not to thinkabout it.And then, amidst a feeling of something not being right, G.o.dou could alsofeel a slight sense of warmth and softness, what could it be? With a veryappropriate suppleness, a warm object very comfortable to the touch waslying beside him.As G.o.dou battled his urge to sleep, he struggled to open his eyes and laidthem beside him....In that instant, his mind went blank.Erica Blandelli was sound asleep beside him.Why on earth was this fellow here?Could he have committed the same mistake that all men are liable tomake?No, impossible. I think not, probably not. Let"s hope for the best from myrationality and Erica"s caution, but if something did happen...As he struggled to calm his panicking heart, G.o.dou took a serious look atErica at the same time.Peerless beauty that still caused his heart to race, she now had a calmlysleeping face. Currently she was a beautiful girl who looked just like anangel. Wearing only lingerie, the color was blue, and a two-piece set with ahigh cla.s.s design. Other than that, she was wearing nothing else.Truly a great figure, no, that kind of description was not enough.As a European female, though she was slender and not very tall, but whatwas with that extreme voluptuousness? Long slender limbs, tiny face, afigure with proportions like a model, but in spite of all that, a bountifulbosom that looked as if it would overflow from the bra.s.siere, just likeripened fruit such as apples or peaches.The curve from the waist to the b.u.t.tocks was also very perfect.Such artistic beauty, if viewed directly, would seem especially erotic.Even in swimsuit photo collections, one was hard pressed to find a girl withsuch a great figure. Right now she was sleeping holding onto G.o.dou"sside, and unwittingly resting her spectacular bust against his body.(-!)G.o.dou felt extremely unsettled.The first experience of pleasures of a lifetime lay before him in closeproximity, this was bad, totally bad, absolutely bad.A sense of fullness that made the brain go numb, was rapidly increasingthe feeling of criminal immorality.He had to escape fast! As he made his decision, Erica suddenly woke up."...Who is it? Arianna? Come on, how did I get the bed wrong...""...Ummm, actually... it"s me."The two of them stared at each other, speechless.Erica"s eyes were originally unfocused but quickly restored the brightnessof rationality.Rubbing her eyes, she got up from the bed, grabbed a shirt and coveredher underwear-clad body. Extending her hand, the sword from two daysago appeared in her hand once more.Without hesitation, Erica"s sword pointed straight at G.o.dou"s head."To dare taint my purity, surely you must die right here!""Wah, wait! I haven"t done anything strange! Probably..."As the sword was thrust forward, G.o.dou panicked.Simply facing her, he felt his spirit suppressed. A sense of despairingoppression came from her body, and her eyes were filled with icy coolness.Was this what they called murderous intent...?"Right, you probably didn"t do anything shameful to me, because you arejust as harmless as a castrated dog. Wonderful.""Yes, that"s exactly right. Haha, it really was just a misunderstanding...""Yes, to you. If you really had the nerve to do anything funny, evencompletely asleep, I would have decapitated you. It"s your lucky day.""...Yes that"s right."Erica"s cold response, was likely not a lie, and G.o.dou felt relieved in hisheart."But you have engraved upon your mind the image of my, Erica Blandelli"s,body — one that no one is allowed to see. And to have even touched myskin — you still deserve death."Deserving death for that! Though G.o.dou felt that he should be loudlyprotesting, but he was so afraid that he couldn"t even make a single soundof protest.Intimate contact with her skin was undeniable, there was no way to refutethat."Anyway, why don"t you calm down first? We can discuss this once youcalm down.""Ah, your sense of recognition is too superficial. I am currently calmlyconsidering whether I should first gouge your eyes out, or decapitate youand parade it on the streets first? Can you not treat me like a fool?""How can you call that calm?! Anyway, we should both settle down anddiscuss peacefully."After a short ten minutes.G.o.dou was taxed to his wits persuading Erica to pause her actions, whileErica with her merciless glare, her body wrapped by a single piece ofclothing, the two of them stared face to face once again."First of all, let us confirm how this situation arose and where responsibilitylies. No matter what, it is our fault that we drank too much last night. Forthat we have to reflect."Not only was the stomach feeling unpleasant, the throat was also veryparched.These were common symptoms the next day after heavy drinking, andG.o.dou was now feeling uncomfortable.Even so, he felt impressed that he wasn"t hungover. Like his grandfatherand mother, perhaps this was the Kusanagi pedigree, a bunch of peoplewith extremely strong liver functions, all grand drinkers.Looking closely, Erica was not hungover either.It made sense, if either of them couldn"t hold their liquor, then they wouldn"thave binged so much.Compared to drinking alone, or a large group gathered together for abanquet, drinking only goes completely out of hand when it was twopeople. G.o.dou understood the nuances of that.If another activity required him to drink like a bull again, G.o.dou would notwant to repeat this experience again."To think that someone of the same generation could match me in alcoholintake. If it was Lily, she"d get drunk in a short while, and then I"d havesome good fun with her..."Probably extremely confident in her alcohol capacity, Erica murmured toherself softly."Anyway, drinking too much is both our fault, not sending you off earlier ismy fault, but spare me the eye-gouging and decapitation. Is there a morepeaceful way to appease your anger?"G.o.dou apologized in a j.a.panese way, bowing his head in penance.An option existed before it became late at night, to send Erica away sincethis room was rented by G.o.dou. Which is why he was reflecting, why hedidn"t do that?"Do you think such an apology can let you off for my humiliation?"Erica stared with icy cold eyes.There was a merciless murderous intent, making G.o.dou break out in coldsweat. However, some words still had to be said. Taking a deep breath, hetried to argue:"Say, can you just treat this as having slept with a pet? Do you have to beso concerned?""Of course! To have shared a bed with a male other than a marriagepartner, this is an embarra.s.sment that can never be wiped away!"A completely different upbringing compared to his own, G.o.dou was deeplyreminded once again.Towards Erica"s complaints, G.o.dou thought once more.However, he couldn"t think of anything — no solution. At this time, there wasnothing to be done but push the problem aside for now."OK, I get it. Bickering here over this incident won"t get anywhere, so whydon"t we leave first, since we must find Lucretia-san"s house. That is ourgoal, right?"G.o.dou didn"t dare say any more as he waited for Erica"s response.Though extremely furious, she had quick wits and should instantly recallthe original goal — that was what G.o.dou hoped in his heart."...Correct. As a knight, the current priority is to finish my mission first."Erica spoke softly.Appearing calm once more, she nodded, expressionless like a j.a.panesemask, though this actually looked even more horrifying than her loudtantrum. Her current state of resolve was actually more terrifying."So, let"s hurry to the Witch of Sardinia — after that, I will make you trulyregret your crimes. I will find a suitably harsh punishment for a s.e.x maniaclike you."To be called a s.e.x maniac! G.o.dou wanted to sigh at the heavens.And so the turbulent journey of the two, continued on its second day.Part 3Beneath the cloudless sky, Oliena was a beautiful and scenic little town.Nearby were refreshing green woods as well as beautiful springs. For atown with less than ten thousand in population, its facilities were very wellequipped."If it"s such a small town, then Lucretia-san"s home shouldn"t be that toughto find... It"s only the fact that I haven"t contacted her beforehand, thatworries me — "G.o.dou spread out the map of the small town, and began searching nearthe home his grandfather had described.They were currently at a cafe near the place they spent the night.G.o.dou muttered to himself as he ate breakfast. Though Erica was besidehim, they haven"t exchanged a single word after the incident that morning.Having finished breakfast, it was finally the time to search for theirdestination.G.o.dou asked for directions from pa.s.sersby.Using clumsy English to tell them where he was going, and then taking outthe map to inquire how to get there.Due to the language barrier, there was no way to convey small details.Even so, the approximate direction could be gleaned, and then they set off.If they got lost, the same method was repeated with other pa.s.sersby.Having repeated it four times, it was now the fifth —"Ah, come on, this is exasperating! Give me the map, I"ll show you theway."Silent until now, Erica finally erupted."What, took you long enough. It"s not like I have to accept your help."G.o.dou replied coldly.Yes, it was partially his fault for making Erica angrily silent from thismorning till now, but was it really necessary to be so offended!"I am not helping you, I just want to meet Lucretia Zola faster! What onearth are you doing, the pa.s.sersby already explained in so much detail, yetyou are still clueless!""I can"t help it! I don"t know any Italian!"The people who G.o.dou asked had explained in particular detail.However, G.o.dou completely didn"t understand Italian. Even when hewanted to communicate seriously in English, his verbal ability was ratherlacking, so he was unable to understand the details. This was why theywere progressing in such an inefficient manner.Erica grabbed the map and first led them forward.Apparently, she remembered all the routes explained so far, and was ableto walk towards their destination with no hesitation at all. Despite his greatanger, G.o.dou had no choice but to follow her.From then on, everything went smoothly and they arrived at theirdestination twenty minutes later.Lucretia Zola"s home was located near a forest on the edges of town.A stone house in the middle of the garden gave off a very ancientatmosphere. From the overall feeling of the house, combined with theabsence of nearby houses, it felt very solitary.The witch"s residence. Though it was a small house, its appearancematched this name particularly well.Glancing over the garden, it was full of weeds everywhere. The ownereither had no interest in gardening, or was too lazy to care.Anyway, the whole point of coming all the way to Sardinia was to reach thisplace.G.o.dou stepped in front of Erica, walking over to the entrance and pressedthe b.u.t.ton to the doorbell.— After waiting for a while, there was still no response."Not here... If that"s the case, let"s wait until she returns — hmm?"G.o.dou suddenly stared with his eyes wide open.With a scratching heavy sound, the door opened automatically.Carefully scrutinizing the surroundings, there was no one before or behindthe door, and the old wooden door did not seem like it was automated.What happened?"Probably this means please enter. You"ve already arrived at a witch"shome, don"t be taken aback from this kind of simple trick.""d.a.m.n it, this is magic too. What a suspicious house..."Lectured by Erica from behind, G.o.dou muttered to himself.Stepping into the house with apprehension, G.o.dou found a black catwaiting for him at the entrance.Meow — It was calling out with indifferent tones.For such a slender and elegant body with soft sleek fur, the cat didn"t lookcute at all.The black cat suddenly walked into the depths of the house. On the way itstopped and waved its paw, going "meow" as if calling someone, thencontinued on its way."It"s really telling us to follow?""Of course, this is a cat familiar — even for you, something so cla.s.sic canbe understood, right?"Of course G.o.dou realized it already, but he just didn"t want to accept it.G.o.dou shook his head, casting the cultural shock aside. To falter at thispoint would be a waste of time, so it"s best to catch up to the cat.They were taken to what appeared to be a bedroom.It was medicine — no, full of the aroma of herbs. The room was verydisorganized, and reclining on the bed was a woman who only half sat up.The cat just now was huddled in a corner, yawning in a bored manner."Welcome to my home, my old friend"s relative. Whose relative are you? Ican see from one glance, you must be Kusanagi Ichirou"s grandson. I amLucretia Zola."Suddenly, the woman on the bed was speaking in perfect j.a.panese.G.o.dou was so surprised he jumped backwards.Before his eyes was a beautiful woman in her underwear, greeting herguests while reclined on her bed. Her glazed over eyes gave off anincredible sense of charm, while her flaxen colored hair was also extremelybeautiful.A beautiful woman at her prime, her apparent age was in the latter half ofthe twenties.Even if she dressed young on purpose, she was thirty at most, whichcompletely didn"t fit calculations. If so much happened between her andgrandfather, she should now be an old lady, advanced in age."Ah young man, have you been entranced by me? Is there a problem?Hohoho, perhaps this appearance might be too stimulating for the youngones. Something troublesome happened lately, so I"ve been unable to getup from bed... Besides, you must be very happy inside? Men are alwayslike that.""Sorry to interrupt. You are Lucretia Zola-san?"She nodded to confirm G.o.dou"s question."Ah, yes. You are Kusanagi G.o.dou, right? Ichirou already sent me a letterexplaining everything and letting his grandson to come in his place, so I"vebeen waiting for you."!?G.o.dou suddenly let out a horrific scream.G.o.ds, magi, the occurrences these three days have brought G.o.dou"scommon sense to the brink of collapse. Struck with the final blow, his mindfinally halted."You"ve already gotten this far, what is there to be surprised about?Maintaining a youthful body is a privilege unique to witches whose magichas reached the highest levels. Compared to that, I consider [HereticG.o.ds] far more shocking.""Oh, to have met the G.o.ds appearing on this island, what an unfortunateyouth. By the way, girl, who are you? You don"t look j.a.panese.""Erica Blandelli. Great Knight of the Copper Black Cross. Due to variousreasons, I am currently travelling with him.""Sir Paolo"s niece eh, I"ve heard rumors. So it looks like you"ve come to thiscountryside because of that [Heretic G.o.d], what strong initiative."By the time he noticed, Erica and Lucretia had begun a conversationbetween women.Finally calm, G.o.dou took out the stone tablet from his bag."Anyway, this thing... was originally what my grandfather intended to bringover — the object that Lucretia-san left in j.a.pan. Please accept it."The stone tablet depicting the childishly drawn chained man.Giving it a glance, Lucretia said:"...[Secret Tome of Prometheus], as expected. A long time ago, I found it inthe depths of the Caucasus mountains, how nostalgic.""Signora, may I ask a few questions?"In Italian, "Signora" was equivalent to addressing someone as "Madam."Lucretia smiled at Erica who was trying to explain her intentions in acautious manner."It"s fine even if you call me by name. As you can see, it won"t beappropriate to treat a young beauty like me as an old lady. So, Sir Erica,why are you following this youth from j.a.pan?"The two witches gazed at each other.Beside them, G.o.dou felt uncomfortable as an ordinary person."Then Lucretia, you can just call me Erica. Actually someone related to the[Heretic G.o.d] appearing this time has been in contact with G.o.dou.Furthermore, he was even carrying a grimoire from the mythical age, so hemight be involved in this incident. I was suspicious whether he had illintentions in coming to see you."Erica threw G.o.dou a glance as if she had seen something insignificant."After spending some time with him, he was clearly a guy who knewnothing, lacked manners, failed in comprehension, and is very shameless.""Is that so, I can"t really see that, from appearance he just looks like aharmless youth."Lucretia gave her own opinion which ran contrary to Erica"s maliciouscommentary.G.o.dou objected by saying "Do not make such baseless judgments!" fromthe side, but Erica ignored him completely, continuing:"So it"s true that he is the grandson of your friend — which means thatG.o.dou really came to Sardinia by chance, and came to possess thegrimoire by chance as well?""Basically, his grandfather is a scholar, an ordinary person completelyremoved from the world of magic and G.o.ds."Hearing Lucretia"s words, Erica"s shoulders sank in disappointment."How could this be, to have wasted so much precious time on aninsignificant commoner, how embarra.s.sing. For me to have done such athing!""...Let me clarify beforehand, I did not tell you a single lie!"Before he gets blamed, G.o.dou wanted to emphasize the fact to Erica.And then, Lucretia smiled as she spoke."You don"t have to be that dispirited, Miss Erica, if you wanted informationabout the [Heretic G.o.d], then coming here was the right place. As a rewardfor your efforts getting here, I will tell you."" — Lucretia, could it be that you know which G.o.d it is this time?""To be precise, I am not sure. My information has only confirmed that it issome war G.o.d. Originally I thought it was a deity like Melqart, but then itturns out to be a little more than that."Lucretia smiled faintly on the bed.Melqart. Hearing the name of that G.o.d for the first time, G.o.dou"s mind wasfull of questions."Oh, you don"t know, young man? It can"t be helped, though a deity withhistorical significance, he is no longer famous in modern times. No, to beprecise, that should be the true name."Lucretia continued her explanation smoothly:"The divine king worshiped by Semitic tribes such as the Canaanites andPhoenicians... Baal. Originally the G.o.d of storms, lightning and the sky, hispower continued to grow until he finally possessed many authorities.Amongst the Indo-European languages, Zeus and Odin are the mostsimilar. You"ve heard of those two, right?""Yes, that I know."The Greek chief deity Zeus, as well as the Norse chief deity Odin whooften appeared in operas.Even for j.a.panese people like G.o.dou, there were few who haven"t heardof their names."These kinds of sky G.o.ds, basically all possess many differentcharacteristics. Top G.o.d, king, G.o.d of wisdom, G.o.d of life, G.o.d of war, G.o.dof the underworld, etc. Baal is also one of these archetypes. With manyfaces comes aliases. This is very natural, right? ...Melqart was the t.i.tlehonored by the people when he protected the city of Tyre."It sounded like a name he had heard before.G.o.dou prided himself on studying history seriously. Lucretia smiled faintly."Tyre was the city built by the Phoenicians. Its defenses were so great thatit took Alexander the Great a year to conquer it. It was also the navalheadquarters of the Phoenicians, masters of the ancient seas. ReachingSardinia, they became the rulers of this island."Thus, Melqart was a G.o.d with deep ties to the island of Sardinia.Having said that, Lucretia made further additions."Around Greece, Melqart was depicted as a giant man wielding clubs — afew days ago, I witnessed the G.o.d Melqart appearing as such a figure.""But Lucretia, didn"t you begin by saying this was unrelated to Melqart?"The elderly witch responded to Erica"s interruption, unaffected."Yes, aren"t there column-like stone formations in Sicily? Five days ago,my spirit vision indicated an anomalous gathering of divine power there. Toobserve the situation, I personally went there."Spirit vision — was it something like clairvoyance?Hearing these words, G.o.dou could no longer deny she was a witch."Over there, what I saw was the sight of two G.o.ds fighting. One wasMelqart, the other took the form of a warrior, wielding a golden sword. Theresult of the fierce battle between two G.o.ds was mutual injury and defeat."Lucretia sighed.As if very tired, G.o.dou worried about her condition and came closer to herbed."Don"t worry, young man. The conversation is about to end — Melqart withhis club and the other G.o.d with the golden sword, they struck each otheron the final blow, causing heavy injuries to both sides. Melqart transformedinto lightning and flew away, while the G.o.d of the golden sword wasshattered.""Shattered? So he lost form?""No, the body of the sword G.o.d was divided into pieces, and each piecetook on a new form. One was a boar, the other a hawk, as well ascreatures such as a horse or a goat. These avatars immediately flewacross the ocean or into the sky."In other words, the ma.s.sive beasts appearing all over the island, were bornfrom the fragments of the G.o.d with the golden sword.G.o.dou felt things were getting more and more ridiculous."Then the [Wind] G.o.d that defeated the wild beast, was that Melqart"sincarnation?""Who knows, whether Melqart or the sword G.o.d, neither could haverecovered in such short time. If they recovered, my spirit vision shouldhave received premonitions, but so far there has been none. It is alsopossible that they have left Sardinia."Towards Erica"s question, Lucretia only answered "who knows?" andshrugged.Though G.o.dou didn"t know anything, he could tell that the situation wasvery unusual."Does that mean you were caught in the battle between G.o.ds, andexhausted your magical power?""Yes. In order to protect myself on that battlefield, it was necessary to usemagic that exceeded my limits. Thanks to that, my magic has beencompletely exhausted, and would probably take three months to recover.No major spells for the meantime, or even moving my body. Howtroublesome."Though she clearly said troublesome, her tone of voice was ratherleisurely.G.o.dou suddenly thought of the stone tablet held in his hand all this time."Then once again, I hand this over to you. Please accept it. Didn"tLucretia-san use this to suppress a G.o.d before? Perhaps it might be usefulthis time.""...Wait a minute, G.o.dou. How could you have withheld such an importantdetail from me?""This is something belonging to Lucretia-san, what reason do I have toreveal everything to you?"Ignoring the frowning Erica, G.o.dou extended the stone tablet forward."Hmm..." Deep in thought, Lucretia looked at the young man and woman.What was she thinking?"Young man, what I did with the [Secret Tome of Prometheus], you havealready heard from Ichirou?""Yes, though... I still don"t quite believe it.""Miss Erica, did you come here for the purpose of sealing the [HereticG.o.d]?""That"s right, I have to overcome this challenge, in order to prove that I canbecome the foremost talent of the Copper Black Cross. For that, I haveaccepted this difficult mission.""Which is why you are interested in the whereabouts of G.o.ds, howtroublesome!"Lucretia was complaining in a frivolous tone of voice, furthermore —"I know. Young man, I entrust this to you, use it carefully."She spoke to G.o.dou."Ah!" G.o.dou was greatly shocked, and Erica likewise."Lucretia Zola! What are you thinking! To give a precious grimoire from themythical age to this clueless idiot, there must be limits to stupid decisions!""Having that said, it is actually quite troublesome for this thing to bebrought here now — or rather, it is useless in my current state. You can seehow my body is now. Who could have expected it to return to my side atsuch a time, sometimes the will of fate is rather ironic.""Then you should give the grimoire to me instead! That"s called using theright person for the right job!""But that"s too reasonable, totally uninteresting. I prefer the fun choice.""Please don"t joke around in such depressing tones!"Though this unexpected development shocked G.o.dou, he decided tointerrupt.Taking a casual glance at the bed she was lying on — he noticed, besidethe pillow was an old video game console with a game cartridge insertedon top.Quest? Was it that RPG? Must have been a very old fantasy RPG?"Wait a minute, you want to refuse? Let me first state that I am notinfluenced by that game I"ve been playing, to have made that proposal.Still, for a Level One young man to set off for adventure to complete themission, it really is a staple of the adventure genre. Doesn"t that make yourblood hot and boiling?""Not hot blooded at all, I am completely unmotivated!"Ignoring G.o.dou"s objection, Lucretia continued:"By the way, of course as a Great Knight of the Copper BlackCross — Paolo Blandelli"s niece and apprentice, you won"t attempt to robthis ordinary youth of this grimoire by force, right?""How could I do such a thing?! Don"t look down on me!""Good. Miss Erica, only those who overcome great hardship can be calledknights. If you want others to witness your magnanimity, do not complainabout this level of hindrance — as for you, young man!""Yes?""Just as you heard, I look forward to your performance. How this grimoireshould be used, everything will be left to your hands. Help the girl, runaway, use it in a way I cannot imagine. Show me some fun."Lucretia finished, and added one more sentence."Also, I entrust you with this girl, please take good care of her.""Take care of me? What a joke! For someone like that to take care of me,please don"t treat me like a fool!"Angrily finishing these words, Erica made her way to the entrance withelegant yet crude footsteps.Looking extremely furious, she walked out directly.What should he do?As G.o.dou puzzled, Lucretia waved her hand as if ushering him out.Looks like the meeting was over. Troubled, G.o.dou shook his head andwalked outside to catch up with the blonde beauty.References1 . t Four Elements: (earth, air, water and fire) the cla.s.sical elementsproposed by Greek philosophers. Aristotle later added a fifth element:aether.2. t Five Elements: (metal, wood, water, fire and earth) the fiveelemental substances used as a conceptual device in many fields ofearly Chinese thought such as Feng Shui, astrology, Chinesemedicine, music, military strategy and martial arts.3. t trattoria: an Italian-style eating establishment, less formal than aristorante, but more formal than an osteria.