Chapter 1 - Seeking the Mysterious Devil King, theCampionePart 1This story took place before Kusanagi G.o.dou had gone to Nikkou andconfronted the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, just as the middle ofSeptember was drawing near.That night, everyone at the Kusanagi house was having a family-onlydinner. Three people were present: G.o.dou and his little sister Shizuka, aswell as their grandfather Ichirou. The mother of the siblings, KusanagiMayo, was not there.Be that as it may, she was rarely at home anyway, so it was business asusual.The blond devil from Italy wasn"t around either. The silver-haired knightwho unexpectedly caused so much trouble was not there either. It reallywas family only.In this calm atmosphere, G.o.dou put his chopsticks to work on the grilledmackerel."But I feel like I"m forgetting something...""You look strange, Onii-chan. What is it, do you want seconds?" Shizukaasked while getting herself another serving from the rice cooker."One more bowl, then. ... but I feel like I"m forgetting something event-like.It"s irritating that I just can"t remember." G.o.dou said while holding out hisrice bowl.A large serving of rice was heaped onto his bowl before it was returned tohim. As it happens, Shizuka had given herself the same amount.Despite being of small build and pet.i.te stature, she was a hearty eater of alittle sister.Not getting fat no matter how much she ate. Not getting smashed nomatter how much she drank.These were the special features that the Kusanagis" mother possessed.Like mother, like daughter; you could sometimes catch glimpses of this inShizuka as well. If possible G.o.dou didn"t want her to inherit her mother"smental peculiarities like [Femme Fatale] or [Vocation: Queen], but..."You must be forgetting about Sakura-chan, right?""It"s been about half a year since she entered college. She had to promisethat she wouldn"t visit us here for at least half a year, remember?""...ahh, right, there was that..."Koudzuki Sakura was the Kusanagi siblings" second cousin.Because of the upheaval accompanying the shift from the Meiji era^ to theShowa era^, their grandfather was the only direct descendant of theKusanagi (although there were tales of others in Brazil and the NewGuinean archipelago).But there were a decent number of people left from the branch families.Plus, the connections that the Kusanagis maintained with their relatives inthe countryside were strong. They"d been close to Sakura for a long time,even though she was only distantly related."Sakura-chan, huh... she should"ve visited us more since she finally movedto the city. I wonder why Uncle Koudzuki forbade her to visit for half ayear...""If he hadn"t, she"d have started freeloading here before the end of herthird day in the capital," their grandfather responded while sipping his tea.He might be right; G.o.dou remembered his cousin"s personality.She did her best but at heart, she was shy and often lonely. Whentroubled, she often clung in tears to those she was close to. G.o.dou andShizuka had often been the ones taking care of her. Considering theirrespective ages, their roles should obviously have been reversed.At this point, the doorbell rang. Shizuka got up, calling out "I"m coming!",and headed for the front door."Sakura-chan! It"s been ages! Come in, come in. What happened? Youlook so down...""Y-yeah. You see, Shizuka-chan, there"s something I"d like some adviceon..."Hearing the voices from the entryway, G.o.dou glanced at the oldest personin the room."Didn"t I tell you back in the spring? As soon as her six months were up inSeptember, she"d come here right away. Talk about spot-on."He was the very image of an earnestly muttering old man who"d seeneverything in life."You see, there"s something I"d really like to ask of G.o.doh-kun." Sakurasaid as she entered the living room.Lined up on the table were grilled mackerel and sudachi^, grated radish, asalad of bitter melon and tomatoes, miso soup made with namekomushrooms, and other dishes, but since they had all known each other forso long, n.o.body minded when she intruded on dinner.She"d recently turned nineteen and become a freshman at a famousmetropolitan college.But because of her cute, yet childish face, it wasn"t unusual for people tomistake her for a middle school girl."Can"t I help you out, Sakura-chan?""W-well, I think it"d be better if I asked a man about this..."Sakura dispiritedly answered Shizuka"s question.At times like these her face resembled a frightened little puppy"s."If it"s something I can help you with, just ask me any time... are you sureyou don"t want grandpa to help you?"He didn"t know what this was all about, but besides manual labor, he hadno confidence in being more capable than his grandfather.Kusanagi Ichirou was famous for his extensive knowledge and was amaster of dealing with people. He would often be consulted for his sageadvice. People even called him "Sensei"^ or "Master."That wise grandfather smiled gently at Sakura."Sakura-chan, who do you want to help you out?""Uhm, if you can help me I don"t really mind who it is, but if I had to picksomeone, then I"d really prefer, that is..."Sakura was truly cute as she peered at G.o.dou with upturned eyes.If she learned to make use of that look, she could probably become afemme fatale."So it"s decided. Onii-chan will listen to Sakura-chan"s worries and I"ll takecare of everything else," Shizuka said without a moment"s delay. Theyounger sister who played the role of an older one had always been softon Sakura.Shizuka was pretty critical towards the band of girls thronging aroundG.o.dou, but was rather tame during her interactions with Mariya Yuri. Thatsense of vulnerability given off by a sheltered cla.s.sy young lady probablystimulated Shizuka"s desire to protect her."Alright, just talk it over in G.o.dou"s room. I"ll bring you some tea later," theirgrandfather casually added.G.o.dou noticed that he totally dodged the issue.Their grandfather was often asked for advice, but he wasn"t someonewho"d start meddling on his own.He conversed with people in an aloof and indifferent way. Incidentally, inhis bachelor days, Kusanagi Ichirou had been popular as h.e.l.l with theladies, but he had mostly kept it away from home.His male friends, on the other hand, made themselves comfortable in hisroom without his permission.By allowing Erica or Liliana to come and go as they pleased, his grandsonwas completely different.Well, whatever. G.o.dou shrugged.He was glad to help his cousin with her problems. Plus, he was obviously alot closer in age to Sakura."Got it. I don"t think there"s much I can do but I"ll try anyway.""It"s been so long since I"ve been in your room, G.o.doh-kun, but it hasn"treally changed.""The last time was half a year ago, right? I didn"t rearrange anything sothat"s to be expected."G.o.dou and Sakura faced each other across his six tatami sized room^lG.o.dou"s room was fairly empty. There was a bookshelf and a chest ofdrawers, a fold-up table instead of a writing desk, and also a DVD playerand a TV.He didn"t put much emphasis on material possessions.In his free time he went fishing or played outdoor sports. He also would dosome part-time jobs from time to time. He didn"t have much use for games.At most, he"d socialize by playing a round of Shougi or Go. He"d rather rentthan buy DVDs and CDs.He"d read some books every now and then, but he didn"t keep a collectionof his own.The Kusanagi house used to be an antiquarian bookstore and much of theinventory had never been disposed of. So whenever he felt like readingsomething, there were more than enough books lying around to satisfy hisneeds."So, Sakura-san, what"s the matter?""U-uhm, you see, that is, I think you could stop with that now.""With what?""1-1 mean, calling me "Sakura-san". You can just call me "Sakura". Or "dear",if you like."Long ago he had called her "Onee-chan", but at some point that hadchanged.G.o.dou couldn"t remember when that transition had occurred, and casuallyreplied: "It"s fine like this, changing it is a pain... but that"s not what youwanted to ask of me, right?""l-it wasn"t! I just happened to think of that!"Sakura responded while turning completely red. But then she seemed tocome to a standstill. Uhm, well... she kept mumbling to herself, andcouldn"t get to the point. She had never been very articulate.It couldn"t be helped. G.o.dou changed the topic, trying to help her relax withsome small talk."How is life in Tokyo treating you? Have you gotten used to it yet?""...only a little bit. I"m quite uncomfortable in crowded places..."Sakura sounded dejected.The Koudzuki family"s home was in Miyagi 1 J . When Sakura said shewanted to go to a college in Tokyo, her father had made her obey a singlerule. He had forbidden her to rely on her relatives for half a year.Sakura had been horrified. She had planned on freeloading at theKusanagi"s."Well you see, I understand father"s order that I should try to live properlywithout relying on anyone, I"m finally living on my own after all... but beingall on my own in such a large city made me feel really forlorn...""Ann... well, if you ever get lonely, just come and visit."G.o.dou felt awkward because he knew the real reason Sakura"s father hadlaid down the law.In the beginning of spring, he"d spoken with Uncle Koudzuki over thephone:"In short, I"m making her a gold digger."Upon hearing this unexpected expression, G.o.dou had asked forclarification."As I said, a gold digger. A young girl lives alone in the big city for the firsttime... to fill the gaps in her heart as quickly as possible, a man is best,right? Our Sakura has a nice face and personality, but she"s too much of alate-bloomer. It"s about time for her to get used to men and get ready formarriage.""Aren"t fathers usually against their daughters finding lovers?""Well, yeah, but this is a father"s love, too. Sakura"s not like your mother.She can"t make a lot of money on her own. But a girl can always go afterher husband"s income. I want her to be happy, you know.""Uhm, I don"t think happiness is decided by money alone...""Sure, but that"s the most important factor, y"know."This irresponsible uncle of G.o.dou"s was actually a tough police officer.On the side, he served as a distinguished judo pract.i.tioner in northernj.a.pan and was an active role model for the younger generation.Given all this, most people wouldn"t guess what a renegade he actuallywas. It might not be G.o.dou"s place to say this as the main family"ssuccessor, but his uncle had obviously inherited the Kusanagi blood."What are you going to do if some lowlife tricks her?""Then we"ll make it like it never happened... your mother and grandpa andeveryone else."When G.o.dou had asked whether he was joking, just to be on the safe side,all he received was a villainous laugh.He pa.s.sed on letting Sakura in on her father"s plans. She handled suchmatters poorly, and would definitely spill the beans even if he told her tokeep it a secret. His allowance might be frozen as a penalty, so the riskwas too high."Did you make friends? Or maybe find a boyfriend?" G.o.dou askedtentatively. Sakura instantly flushed red."1-1 don"t have a boyfriend, really! But I made a friend... ah, it"s a girl ofcourse, G.o.doh-kun. Don"t misunderstand!""I"ve got it, really. So you made a friend? Good girl."He unintentionally spoke as if praising a little kid.In response, Sakura laughed happily. Her childishness was definitelyunbefitting given her age."So you see, my new friend taught me a lot, so I got a bit moreknowledgeable.""Hen, what did you learn about?"His older cousin was delighted. Her expression was terribly adorable.She was so cute that G.o.dou was at a loss for words after hearing heranswer."Ahhh, that"s actually related to what I wanted some advice on...G.o.doh-kun, if I said I learned to do magic, would you believe me?"c.r.a.p. G.o.dou felt great regret.It is said that the lonely are easy prey for cults or occult sects. He shouldhave remembered that. It had been wrong to leave her isolated..."Don"t be stupid, Sakura-san. Let"s calm down and be realistic."For the time being, G.o.dou kept his appeal calm and sincere."There are things people can do and things they can"t. And without adoubt, magic falls in the latter category. Dropping a lump of fire from theskies, recovering from deadly wounds in half a day or calling forth hugemonsters, that"s just not something a human can do!" G.o.dou declaredwhile having his heart thrown into disarray by countless memories ofhaving done just that.Yep, he wasn"t saying anything wrong. However, Sakura pinched her lipslike a child."It is possible! I really learned how to use magic!""Well, even if you say so... if I don"t see it with my own eyes I can"t believeyou.""Sheesh, G.o.doh-kun you blockhead! Fine, right now I can"t do anythingbecause I don"t have my tools, so come visit me tomorrow. I"ll show youthat I can do magic!"G.o.dou was startled. Could she actually use magic?G.o.dou ruthlessly crushed his anxiety that the Kusanagi family, whichshould have no connection to magic or G.o.ds, had suddenly awoken to theoccult.Part 2After school the next day, G.o.dou headed to Nishinippori.The apartment building where his cousin lived was a ten minute walk fromthe subway station.It was a nice three-story building with an auto-lock system. It had probablybeen built within the last decade.As soon as he arrived, he got a call from Liliana."Yes, h.e.l.lo?""I am sorry this is so sudden. After school you were gone suddenly so Iwas a little worried. Just so you don"t misunderstand, I definitely didn"t wantto hear your voice or see your face before you went home. I had no suchulterior motives!"Liliana"s tone was somewhat awkward.This was Liliana, after all, so maybe she had wanted to accompany G.o.douas his bodyguard."Sorry for leaving without a word. I"d promised to meet an acquaintance.""An acquaintance... it cannot be a woman, can it?""Well, it is, but there"s nothing going on between us, okay?"The silver-haired knight from Milan firmly believed Kusanagi G.o.dou was awomanizer without equal.As a result, she answered in a stern voice:"If you say so, I will believe you. However please be careful. You must paymeticulous attention so that your womanizing won"t lead to future...""I said that"s not it. I"m hanging up."Ending the call, G.o.dou entered the apartment building."Ann, welcome-. I"ll prepare some sweets and tea right away, okay?""It"s fine, don"t bother. It"s not like I"m royalty or anything."Sakura"s apartment, number 201 , was in a corner of the building.The interior of the studio apartment was attentively cleaned and neatly putin order."So, G.o.doh-kun. About yesterday..."Sakura was unusually agitated.A few suspicious-looking items were placed on the round table in the verymiddle of the room.A thick, leather-bound Western book. A staff about thirty centimeters long.A crystal sphere that looked like a mail-order special. Tarot cards... all ofthe items looked cheap and fake.But with his sixth sense as a campione G.o.dou picked up minusculeamounts of magical power.Although incredibly weak, those items were the real deal."I"m going to use magic now, so look closely. Uhm..."Sakura started flipping through the book. The sentences were written insome kind of alphabet, but not in English. It wasn"t Italian or any otherLatinate language, either."What language is that?""If I remember correctly, it"s High German from the Middle Ages... I think?""And you can read that!?"G.o.dou was surprised. He hadn"t realized that his cousin"s foreign languageskills were so advanced."No, I can"t read it. But my friend translated most of the text...""You mean the friend from your college?""Yep. We are in the same cla.s.s and we sat next to each other on our firstday."Sakura was enrolled in the Faculty of Humanities at the renownedAkinomizu Women"s College.So there were magi like Erica and Liliana attending that school for ladies?Or was it one of the dozens of j.a.panese hime-miko?"There it is. I"m starting, so pay attention, okay?"After finding the right page, Sakura put a matchstick on the table.And while looking at the opened book, without reciting an incantation shejust said:"G.o.d of magic, please make my wish come true. Thank youKShe even clapped her hands."W-wait a moment, Sakura-san, what are you doing!""What? It"s magic! Uhm, what"s really important isn"t the incantation orwhatever, but the spirit you put into it, and clearly understanding what kindof magic you want to use."So one doesn"t need to worry about form. Ahem.While looking at the proud Sakura, G.o.dou remembered. When Erica andthe others used magic, their incantations (the girls called them mantra orspell words) were quite suitable.That being said, would this really work? Just as G.o.dou started gettinganxious, it happened.Crack. With a dry sound, the matchstick broke."See! Did you see that, G.o.doh-kun? The magic worked, isn"t thatamazing!""...is this perhaps a spell to break matchsticks without using your hands?"It"s not just matchsticks. I can also use it on toothpicks and small pieces ofbamboo!"It seemed like it"s Sakura"s specialty so G.o.dou kept his reply verymoderate. Which would be more practical anyway, a supernatural powerlike spoon bending or Sakura"s magic...?Anyway, Sakura had just displayed a hidden talent that looked like magic.When she disappeared into the kitchen, saying she"d make some tea,G.o.dou picked up the Western book. The proof of the pudding is in theeating, after all, and so he mentally ordered the remaining matchsticks tobreak.However, nothing happened at first. Right after he inclined his head,wondering if he had failed...CRACKCRACK. There was a loud noise. Outside the window, a treetoppled by the roadside. One side of Sakura"s room faced the street andfrom the window G.o.dou could see that one of the trees had broken off byits roots.G.o.dou looked over at Sakura in the kitchen. She was peacefully preparingthe tea.She hadn"t noticed anything, so he nonchalantly placed the grimoire backon the table as if nothing had happened."That was that, G.o.doh-kun. Now that you believe me about magic, there"ssomething I want to ask of you."Sakura came back carrying two teacups on a tablet."Right, that"s what this was about."Trying to break matchsticks and destroying nature instead... The strengthof his magical power coupled with his lack of sensitivity was a cursedcombination. G.o.dou reaffirmed that it was best for him not to learn magic."I only learned about it recently, but... apparently there"s a fearsome greatdevil king in Tokyo.""A great devil king?"Somehow, that phrase seemed familiar to G.o.dou.Pushing his anxiety aside, G.o.dou sipped his tea. Calm down. Sakuracouldn"t possibly know about campione. As the person in question, G.o.douwas certain."Remember all those scary incidents that happened since the spring: ahighway here in Tokyo collapsed and the Tokyo Tower caught fire, amongother things... all of these were the fault of that great devil king!"What was it about those incidents that gave G.o.dou a familiar feeling?Calm down. Right now I need to be composed. I must possess anunmovable, frozen heart."G.o.doh-kun, search for that great devil king with me! I want to ask him tostop doing these horrible things! Will you help me?"G.o.dou"s attempt to play it cool ended in utter failure.About halfway through his tea, he started choking. Search for the fearsomegreat devil king?One of the seven devil kings himself? Could the world please stop f.u.c.kingaround with him!?Afterwards, they took the subway to Omotesandou. It was about six in theevening.The autumn sun bathed the stylish scenery of the Aoyama Doori^ inorange."So, Sakura, why do you want to meet that, what was it, fearsome greatdevil king?" G.o.dou asked as he walked next to his cousin.Apparently there was a [Magic Shop] in Omotesandou that she and herfriend frequented. The shopkeeper was very knowledgable, so they wereon the way there to ask her for help."Ehm, that great devil king person seems to be reeeeally perverted andconstantly l.u.s.ts after girls.""NO WAY! Don"t believe all those strange rumors!"G.o.dou accidentally shouted. Sakura shrieked in surprise with a fearful lookon her face."W-what is it, G.o.doh-kun? Why are you shouting so scarily?""Ah, sorry. I thought you were talking about me, so I just reactedinstinctively...""Hehehe, you"d never be so perverted, G.o.doh-kun, you"re too earnest forthat. I understand-."Sakura smiled gently in spite of his lame excuse. She trusted those shewas close to implicitly. Doubt was unthinkable."Y-yeah, right, sorry for saying something so odd."G.o.dou was a.s.sailed by pangs of guilt from deceiving his pure-heartedcousin."So you see, my close friend, she is from an ooooold family of magicpracticioners that long ago served His Majesty the Emperor"G.o.dou thought he had recently heard of another family just like that...He remembered the background of Seishuuin Ena, who he had gotten toknow a little while ago."Apparently there are other families with the same duty. And a little whileago, the great devil king fell at first sight for a girl from one of those familiesand made her his lover. He even forced her against her will!""Don"t spout nonsense! She did that on her own!"He shouted without thinking once again.G.o.dou apologized to Sakura, who was close to tears."Again, sorry. I just suddenly felt the urge to shout. Ignore it.""O-okay. So you see, my friend is worried. He might also force her tobecome his lover. That"s why I want to tell him to stop doing horrible things.If I plead with all my might, I"m sure he"ll listen, won"t he?"G.o.dou thought about how some of his acquaintances might respond.Dejanstahl Voban would ignore her without blinking.That idiot Salvatore Doni probably wouldn"t even understand what Sakurawanted from him.However, Kusanagi G.o.dou was proud of his common sense. You couldsay Sakura"s goal had already been achieved. So he wanted to quicklyreturn home, but...Ignorant of his wishes, his cousin entered a small alley."See, here we are. Is anybody in?"The shop seemed to be a remodeled single-family house. Sakura openedits door and announced herself.The shop seemed to overflow with handmade goods-variousmiscellaneous imported articles. [Kogetsudou] was written in small letterson the doorplate.G.o.dou followed Sakura into the store. The interior was a mess.Various goods with Chinese, Southeast Asian, Mongolian, Tibetan, andPolynesian labels were lined up next to each other. Accessories,chinaware, clothes, furniture, different precious metals, fabric, folk craftsand so forth were all mixed together.Some of them held feeble magical power.They seemed unexpectedly cheap for real magic items. From lows of ahundred yen through a thousand yen, the price tags went up to twenty orthirty thousand yen. Even more expensive articles could be found in theshowcases and behind the register.G.o.dou noticed a woman who looked like the shopkeeper. She was quiteyoung. For some reason she was wearing traditional j.a.panese clothingand gla.s.ses."Oh my, dear customer, welcome-. How can I help you today?"The shopkeeper talked to Sakura like she would to a regular customer."Ah, I"m not here to buy anything today. I had something to ask you.""I see, how unfortunate. But, because of the business we"ve done recently,I can share some gossip with you for just a smile. Call it customer service."So this woman really was knowledgeable.Erica and Liliana or Hime-miko like Yuri and Ena were surrounded by anatmosphere that only the elite, those on the cutting edge of their field,possessed.But the shopkeeper of this general store did not.Instead she was more like a gra.s.s waving in the wind, gentle because shewas not part of the elite."T-today I wanted to ask about the great devil king who is said to be herein Tokyo.""Great devil king, you say? Ahh, you mean the Campione-""The campi-what?""Campione. It"s Italian. In English it means champion. Because the firstperson to write about them was Italian, they"ve been called campione eversince."G.o.dou nodded in silent agreement."Well, if that"s all you want to know, I guess I can tell you for free ascustomer service. There are only seven of those people in the entire world.First of all, in America there is John Pluto Smith. He is a masked herofighting against evil secret societies. He even transforms!""Masked!? Transforms!?""In nearby China, there is Cult Leader Luo Hao, the Ruler of the MartialRealm. Somewhere in Arabia or Egypt is the Queen of Caves, the EternalBeauty Madame Aisha. In Eastern Europe there is the master of storms,Marquis Voban. England has their Prince of Black Lightning, Black PrinceAlec. And Lord Salvatore reigns in Italy, he who slices through allexistence."That made for a total of six people. At this rate, she would start talkingabout the seventh person.Unaware of G.o.dou"s concerns, the shopkeeper kept going."And in our own country is the last one. ...until lately he was shrouded inmystery, but various bits of information about him have finally appeared.""If I"m not mistaken, he"s a totally perverted person, isn"t he?""It certainly seems so. Apparently he hasn"t laid his hands on just blackand brown-haired j.a.panese girls, but also on blond and silver-hairedbeauties. He"s a huge lecher.""Even foreign girls?""Furthermore, he seems unexpectedly young. There"s a rumor that he"s notyet twenty...""Doesn"t that make him a minor? Uhh, I didn"t think someone so youngcould be so horrible..."The two women were getting excited. d.a.m.n them for spouting whateverthey felt like.While scowling, G.o.dou observed the latest development. If thisshopkeeper happened to know his name..."Could you possibly tell me the name of that perverted Devil King? I haveto meet him and ask him for a favor...""His name... lately his personal information has been fiercely protected..."Ge. The shopkeeper"s reply unsettled G.o.dou.Didn"t it sound like she knew his name, but couldn"t carelessly disclose it?"His name is not well known, you see... a certain organization is restrictingthat information. But they have made an exception for me...""If you know, please tell me. I"m begging you."Sakura bowed her head in front of the smug shopkeeper.d.a.m.n. The shopkeeper was secretly enjoying this. He had to seal her lipssomehow! G.o.dou thought of a certain object. Since he met with Sakuraright after school, he was still in his uniform. He also still had his bag.And luckily, inside the bag, he carried that...He took out his student ID card and walked behind Sakura. He brandishedhis ID card behind her back so that only the shopkeeper could see hisname and photo.She shut up at once. She had a look on her face as if she"d just run into abrown bear.G.o.dou put his index finger to his mouth, indicating "Please keep thisconfidential". When he did so, the other person nodded vigorously."U-uhm... did something happen?""No, it"s nothing at all. Also, I"m very sorry but the name of the Campionehere in Tokyo... I"m sorry but I don"t actually know it. I am really sorry butplease don"t ask about it anymore."The shopkeeper babbled at the worried Sakura.He had not intended to threaten her... G.o.dou felt deeply apologetic."Ehhh. Didn"t you say just now that you knew his name?"Sakura was insistent, as if she were unwilling to consent to this suddenshift.Just then, another customer entered the store.G.o.dou was surprised. He recognized that face. It was a man in his latetwenties, wearing a worn-out business suit.His name was Amakasu Touma. He was an enigmatic agent of the HistoryCompilation Committee."Oh, did I interrupt? ...now now, what do we have here."While calling out to the shopkeeper, Amakasu looked at G.o.dou andsmiled. However he did not speak to him. He probably wanted to avoidcareless remarks until he understood the situation."Ah! Amakasu-san, you came at just the right moment."The face of the shopkeeper showed relief."Dear customer, you should ask this person about your problem.Amakasu-san here is a specialist on that topic. He is way more informedthan I am!""Eh, is that true? Amazing!""And what might "that topic" be, now?"The shopkeeper was suddenly wildly gesticulating, Sakura was infectedwith excitement, Amakasu couldn"t keep up but played it cool. And G.o.dousighed.Part 3"So, the young lady here wants to talk with the great devil king... am Igetting that right?"G.o.dou, Sakura and Amakasu had relocated to a nearby coffee shop.They had nabbed some window seats and Sakura had just finished tellingher story.Amakasu"s pitying stare expressed "You"ve also got it tough, don"t you,Kusanagi-san." Sakura had introduced him as a "relative and escort.""Yes. My friend is worried that that person might take her by force. Latelyshe"s been really anxious...""You said you are enrolled at Akinomizu? So it"s about the young lady ofthe Renjou"s..."With nothing more than Sakura"s self-introduction and a few briefcomments, Amakasu had identified the leak.He was probably spot on. Sakura"s eyes turned round.Still, a civilian learning the name of a Campione... wasn"t the HistoryCompilation Committee"s information blackout surprisingly poor?G.o.dou stared at the agent with biting sarcasm, but it only earned him acomplacent smile."Well, I understand her concern. That great devil king is a rare womanizerand playboy. Putting it bluntly, you can even call him an enemy ofwomankind..."Amakasu was smiling broadly. His joy was obvious for all to see."Well, I wonder about those rumors... I"m sure that person must be troubledby the half-truths everybody spreads about him."G.o.dou tried to defend himself. At this point, Amakasu"s face turned evil."Oh, so you know him in person?""Ah, I haven"t met him, but that"s my gut reaction. I"m familiar with that kindof situation. He probably just wants to live in peace, yet people call himl.u.s.tful and generally bother him. You should stop with this gossip.""Did something happen, G.o.doh-kun? You"ve been acting strange for awhile now...?"When G.o.dou suddenly started speaking so insistently, Sakura staredworriedly at him.G.o.dou boldly ignored her stare."Sakura, you should also stop this. Amakasu-san here will certainly informhim of your concerns. You don"t have to act like a detective and-""I will inform him? I feel very uneasy about that..."Amakasu said he felt uneasy, but he sounded totally carefree."Please do something. You"re the only one we can rely on.""I"m far from brave enough to admonish a great devil king. And there"s somuch other work that"s piled up...""You just need to meet him and talk a little. That"ll be enough to make himunderstand.""Wouldn"t that be impossible? He"s a ladies man like no other, I tell you -he"d never listen.""That"s a baseless rumor. Don"t pay it any heed.""Hahaha, going by the rumors and his reputation, the man himself isunaware of the truth."G.o.dou"s request was simply rejected.Dammit. G.o.dou had underestimated Amakasu"s fondness for playingaround. While smacking his lips, G.o.dou steeled himself to give even moreground."By the way, do you know that person over there? She"s been staring atus."Upon hearing Amakasu"s comment, G.o.dou turned his eyes toward thecorner of the room.As he and Sakura looked in that direction, G.o.dou was surprised. There sata European girl with her glowing silver mane bound in a ponytail.The bizarre sungla.s.ses and mask she was wearing might have been anattempt at disguise."...What are you doing, Liliana?"When he called out to her, the silver-haired knight twitched in surprise."Y-you must be mistaking me for someone else. I d-do not know you at all."She tried to turn away. G.o.dou stopped probing and wordlessly pulled offher mask."If you have any excuses, say them now.""Excusing myself is unthinkable. Th-That is right, I was just thinking youmight be in danger on your own. I am here to protect you. I definitely hadno wretched feelings like wanting to see the face of the woman you ran offto see. Please don"t misunderstand!"Liliana took off her sungla.s.ses while mumbling to herself.She was obviously fl.u.s.tered. Well, whatever. G.o.dou scratched his head.She always acted like that."Got it. Anyway, come over here for now."The tables could accommodate four people, so there was an empty seatfor Liliana. Now that G.o.dou had noticed her, he couldn"t leave her on herown."Is it alright?""Of course. Well, as long as you want to.""O-of course I have no objection."She was so energetic that if she were a puppy, she"d be enthusiasticallywagging her tail. Liliana stood up. Her face was still overly serious, but itlooked awfully happy.When she came to G.o.dou"s table, she asked."But still, why would you be here, Amakasu Touma?""By coincidence, completely by coincidence."While scowling at Amakasu"s reply, the silver-haired knight sat down.G.o.dou regretted that he hadn"t told her beforehand. He believed shewouldn"t be careless because of Sakura, but..."Are you acquainted with this person from abroad? And is she alsoacquainted with G.o.doh-kun?""Ann, who would believe the coincidence, my friend was one ofKusanagi-san"s acquaintances, too.""Really? That"s quite a surprise."Amakasu"s reply was inconsistent with Liliana"s earlier statement.However, Sakura didn"t notice the contradiction. In spite of this ridiculousbargain sale of [coincidence], she was nodding. Her purity was dazzling."So what is her relation with G.o.doh-kun? l-is she his girlfriend?""Liliana my girlfriend? Why would you think so? We"re just friends."Sakura"s question made G.o.dou smile bitterly. "Right?", he said as heturned to Liliana.Unlike her rival Erica, she wouldn"t try to make the situation any worse."That is so. I am Liliana Kranjcar. I live my life with Kusanagi G.o.dou, hisknight so to speak. If you will, think of me as his lifelong companion."□liana"s self- introduction was stern....the person in question probably didn"t intend to, but her choice of wordswas ripe with potential for misunderstanding.Should he respond by saying "She"s bad at j.a.panese. Sometimes shesays weird stuff. Just ignore it."? Unfortunately, her p.r.o.nunciation wasflawless and that excuse was holier than Swiss cheese, too, but..."AAHH, I see. So you"re super-close friends with G.o.doh-kun?"Sakura was smiling gently."If you"re friends for life, that"s how it is, right. It"s nice meeting you... but I"mrelieved that you"re not his girlfriend. Yepyep, G.o.doh-kun couldn"t have agirlfriend, right?"Her smiling face was pure, free of the slightest hint of malice.G.o.dou was thankful for his cousin"s extreme purity and trust. It got her intoall kinds of trouble, but her radiant heart was a wonderful virtue.Maybe she was overpowered by that angelic smile, but for once Lilianacould only reply "Haaa"."...Kusanagi G.o.dou, what is your relation with this woman? Is she anotherlover, or maybe a secret wife?""Using "another" here is strange. Why didn"t you ask about "friends" or"family"? Sakura is my second cousin and more like an older sister."G.o.dou"s answer to the stealthy Liliana was bitter."Oh no, G.o.doh-kun, didn"t you say I wasn"t your sister long ago?""Eh, what are you talking about?"When Sakura cut in, G.o.dou inclined his head."Remember when you were in elementary school? You suddenly stoppedcalling me "Oneechan". When I asked why, you said you"d marry me oncewe"d grown up so I couldn"t be your sister. Don"t you remember?""...oh, right, now that you mention it..."G.o.dou considered that memory from his early childhood to be a youthfulindiscretion.He felt like they really had had such a conversation long ago. G.o.dou hadstopped calling Sakura "Oneechan" ever since. Thinking back on it, thatepisode gave him a nostalgic feeling of "we sure were young". Though, hewas still pretty young..."So you see, like I told you yesterday, G.o.doh-kun, don"t you feel like callingme just "Sakura" now? I think it"s about time for us to start doing that.""But there"s no reason to, is there? I said changing it is a pain, it"s fine likethis.""Sheesh, G.o.doh-kun. You"re always like that."He suddenly noticed Amakasu and Liliana staring at them in wonder."I see. Most intriguing.""So genius does display itself even in childhood... so that"s how it was..."Both of them were nodding in agreement.Just as G.o.dou was about to ask what they meant, Amakasu"s cellphonerang."Looks like a message from my boss. I must get back to work soon," theagent from the History Compilation Committee said."It is unfortunate, but I will have to excuse myself here. Could I have aword before that, Miss?"Amakasu addressed Sakura as he stood up."About our earlier conversation... I"m afraid I cannot grant your wish tomeet with the Great Devil King, the Campione. Please forgive me.""B-but I have to see-""Right now your level as a magic user is too low. You see, in every singleRPG, you cannot encounter the great devil king at level two. At a minimum,you"d have to be level twenty or thirty."Amakasu put her off with a bogus argument.However, Sakura quickly nodded with an enlightened expression.Should he praise her for understanding this level of gaming slang or beafraid for her for being tricked by such shoddy reasoning? Weighing oneside against the other, G.o.dou became uneasy.Given the path the conversation was taking, G.o.dou knew what Sakurawould say next."Th-then, how do I become a powerful enough magic-user to meet thegreat devil king?"As expected. His prediction had already come true. Amakasu grinnedbroadly.It was the smile of a tolerant elder. And completely fake.The aura he was giving off was like that of a fortune teller palming off thejar of bliss or a salesperson quickly calculating the interest rate for a loanfor an expensive lithograph."Please relax. Through fortuitous [coincidence], a splendid coach hasalready appeared. Liliana-san here is one of the most outstanding witchesI know. With her a.s.sistance you will definitely achieve a dramatic level-up.Good luck!"...He pa.s.sed the buck. Just like the buck had been pa.s.sed to him earlier.Unable to grasp the situation, Liliana pointed at herself, "Eh, me?" Sakuralooked at her with adoration, "Wahhh, you"re amazing!".During that gap in the conversation, Amakasu put his coffee cup on thetable.In the next moment, the business suit-clad agent was by the exit. Likeinstant movement.After displaying that mysterious feat, he saluted.Liliana and G.o.dou were left behind to calm Sakura, who was eagerlybegging to be taught magic.That night at the Kusanagi house. G.o.dou was in his room when hiscellphone rang.The display showed an unknown number. G.o.dou still pressed the b.u.t.tonwith conviction."Yo, Thanks for today. How did it turn out in the end?"It really was Amakasu"s voice. G.o.dou answered while nodding."We somehow settled it but..."G.o.dou had repeatedly told the overexcited Sakura to calm down.He"d told her that he"d do something about the situation so she should gohome for now. That had ended matters for the time being. Still, the problemhad only been postponed, not resolved."So isn"t it settled? Tricking her with tons of lies must"ve been a piece ofcake. Ah, I already instructed her friend. There"s no chance of her givingaway your name. Please relax.""...instructed?""Yes. While devious, I allowed myself to use a quiet yet effective method."That left many possibilities. Should he probe deeper?G.o.dou was troubled, but Amakasu continued lightheartedly."But how about just coming out with who you are, honestly telling everyonethat you"re that rumored devil king? It"d be much less of a ha.s.sle that way!""As if I could do that. And anyway, I don"t know why the heck people aresaying that about me! Plus, everyone"s acting like I"m some terrible lech..."Amakasu rudely laughed off G.o.dou"s grumblings."Sorry for that. But you know, you get what you deserve, or something.Hey, Kusanagi-san, why did you call Liliana-san over in the coffee shop?You knew she"d be in the way, so why didn"t you chase her away?""I couldn"t do that either. Having fun with everyone but her? What can Isay, I just didn"t like the idea of doing so.""Then what about your relative? I know she"s pure and lovely, whichstimulates your desire to protect her, but frankly, wasn"t taking care of herfor ten-odd years a pain? If it were me, I"d have made a plausible excuseand abandoned her.""Hmm, it certainly was a pain, but..."G.o.dou scratched his head.Amakasu"s comments had been quite cutting, but nevertheless correct."But abandoning her would be even worse. Actually I quite like her. Whenshe wants to rely on me when she"s at her wit"s end, I want to do what Ican.""And by spoiling them like that you arrived where you are today. So that"show you raise your flags."G.o.dou couldn"t understand Amakasu"s comments."Should you ever need our a.s.sistance, please say so. We will do ourutmost to help.""At that time, please don"t mess around like you did earlier today. You"rereally going to help me, aren"t you?""... Of course I am. Please have faith in me!"The short pause between question and reply made the latter completelyunconvincing."But, well, this level of trouble is nothing to worry about. Deception stillworks.""Deception?""Correct. Among the hime-miko, there are some who can alter people"smemories. Even without such a power, you can tamper with memoriesthrough hypnotism magic. The devious move I talked about earlier is a onetype of such magic"Ethically, what Amakasu was talking about definitely fell in a grey area.His proposal was absurd. G.o.dou was amazed.But while he was amazed, he was grateful that such a method existed.Giving it some thought, he hadn"t pulverized some highway in the capital orthe San Pietro Cathedral in this case: Using such magic was certainly avalid way to conceal the events.—Take the evil with the good.Because many of his friends and family were of dubious character, G.o.douhad naturally adopted that stance.There were some problems you just couldn"t solve with justice and soundarguments. You had to face such crises with appropriate responses.G.o.dou was relieved to end the call from Amakasu on a peaceful note.Without realizing that his mindset was not peaceful or common in the least,G.o.dou got ready for bed.References1 . t Meiji era: represents the first half of the Empire of j.a.pan duringwhich j.a.panese society moved from being an isolated feudalism to itsmodern form. t Showa era: the period of j.a.panese history corresponding to thereign of the Showa Emperor, Hirohito, from December 25, 1926,through January 7,1989. kipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Dwa_period3. t Sudachi: small, round, green citrus fruit which belongs to thepapeda subgroup of citrus plants. t Sensei: In j.a.pan, Sensei is not only used to refer to teachers, butalso to artists, doctors and other educated people and figures ofauthority as well. It can be used to show respect to someone who hasachieved a certain level of mastery in an art form or skill.5. t Tatami: type of mat used as a flooring material in traditionalj.a.panese-style rooms.6. t Miyagi: wikipedia.org/wiki/Miyagi_Prefecture7. t Aoyama Doori: Main street in Aoyama, Tokyo.