Gekka no Utahime to Magi no Ou

Chapter 4  – Legacy of the Last Hexe

Once, a boy was asked by his master.

The boy then answered that he wanted to become someone like his master.

"Lyle...... well, I don"t know what kind of person you think I am, but I don"t

disciples to surpa.s.s them?"

"......People can"t always be chasing after someone. Someday, they have to

must find the path that you, and only you, can tread. Be it left or right, be it

when the time comes.

The boy thought about it.

question to him.

had surfaced in his mind earlier.

"I see. If that"s what you want, Lyle, then you will have to become more

alright. After all, you"re my one and only......" 

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stroked his hair ever so gently. 

192

Lyle, who had taken refuge in his laboratory, took out some high-purity

Exciting the amber, he focused magical power into Lunaria, who was lying on

slowly closed up, as she took in the light.

Leaking out a sigh, Lyle shifted the curtains and looked outside.

Coupled with their sleepwalk-like movements, it was like a scene from a

"Master Lyle, do you think it would be difficult to force our way through, with

In a humble tone, Milla suggested a drastic measure.

"We also need to take control of the situation, and not just force our way. I

"Is that what you should be doing, Master Lyle?"

That is an unspoken rule for magi. As the , I cannot

Lyle declared while spinning the amber about in his hands, and then he took

"......I will head for this place. Milla, I"d like you to watch over the academy."

"It"d be dangerous for the people being manipulated to leave the academy.

"Well yeah... I did do my fair share of locking up bad kids in the shed at my

Milla looked a bit nostalgic.

"Don"t worry about it. Expecting that something will probably happen, that in

Lyle then took something that had been hidden, out from the bottom of the

"Don"t you think that that dandy n.o.ble needs a few more opponents to go up

"Well... this gun is just a regular one, though."

bullets that he had crafted himself. Over his formal suit, he put on the

"......If you insist on doing so, would you at least take some of my equipment

Asked the worried Milla.

"......In that case, please give me a sword."

"Please give me a sword... as I will be going with him."

heading off right away is simply too much......" 

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Said Lunaria, with a frantic look on her face.

Lyle nodded.

if they went together.

"I do."

"It has been rather dangerous as of late."

Lyle.

you please with it."

Taking the key, Lyle continued his preparations.

standing up.

of the two of them."

Lunaria remained silent, and suddenly nodded.

Dashing out of the living quarters, the three of them ran through an opening

Page 2

Her rendezvous with Lyle had been disrupted, the dress she had picked out

of all, the rope that tied her to the chair felt horrible.

Maria glared at Vilhelm, who had remarked in a carefree manner.

"If I do that, won"t I just get slapped again?"

"Then just stay like that and don"t move."

Maria had been brought to a rather dull place.

looked like those of a pipe organ, lined up on the wall which had been

the ground, on which an input device which looked like a keyboard could be

But the smell of oil and steel that permeated the area was not something a

would be that of machines, cold and robotic, with an emphasis on efficiency

"......Hah."

thinking, "this is so pointless", it makes me feel sick." 

197

Vilhelm looked surprised.

power, but you gave up on your chance to make the most out of it. Your

of handling him."

"I was not. I merely spoke the truth."

emotions concealed beneath.

you have that kind of worth, I will guarantee your safety and well-treatment.

"Oh right... let me ask you something. Why do you bear such goodwill

me."

hands more than anything else. If she at least had one hand free—

Sticking out her tongue and going, "beh", she scoffed at Vilhelm.

Saying just that, Vilhelm fell into silence.

(......You couldn"t understand it the last time anyway.) 

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later, when she would have to go all out.

Part 3

was located a distance away from the multi-purpose plaza. The water

seemed to be the reason the authorities had abandoned the site. So, what

Lyle soon saw the answer to his questions.

entrance. The cave was reinforced with concrete, and there was even a

It was obvious that the water drainage would be bad. This was because there

bas.e.m.e.nt at that. Most likely, that was the reason for the poor water

Giving his thanks to the horses that had pulled their horse carriage here, Lyle

The staircase was lighted at various intervals by lamps, and the steps had

collected a fair amount of dust due to what was likely long years of abandon.

people had most likely been here recently.

before him.

The sheer size of it made the hall in the academy where the ball had been

However, what surprised Lyle the most was the huge structure enshrined in

"This is......" 

200

meant to bring up the airframe measured over two hundred metres in

tall as a three-storey building. On various places of the airframe, there were

"An immense airship... no, a "flying warship", huh......"

for the remnants of the military shipyard.

since the dawn of the airship, they were frequently proposed to be put into

The reason was simple. There was a problem in the payload capacity.

protected the warship, the high output steam engine, the armaments and

The most troublesome of all, were the personnel needed to man the warship.

humans in the vessel. Outfitting the airship with complex weapon systems for

"That"s the ......?"

hatch in the rear of the flying warship was wide open.

The interior was already lit up by lamps. And those lamps indicated the path

It looked like the steam engine was already running, as a light tremor could

There were pipes overhead in the narrow pa.s.sageway; the conditions were

thing purely dedicated for use in war.

drastically different from the pa.s.sageway leading up to it. As for how it

entrance, namely, near the front of the vessel, a gigantic pipe organ-like

"—Welcome."

the ground.

."

While glaring at Vilhelm, Lyle observed the device resembling a ma.s.sive pipe

The parts which looked like pipes, were cylinders that lined up wheels, which

attached to the enormous gears and cranks. And at the "keydesk" of the pipe

Vilhelm was standing before that keyboard, and right next to him, was Maria,

seemingly ill-humoured self, Lyle heaved a sigh of relief.

is? It is something that you had once proposed, a mechanism that had

Vilhelm asked, as though he were testing Lyle.
Lyle had understood immediately. Once, he had imagined its entire diagram.

1

used is "King of Giants". 

202

a steam engine. Although it was something that calculated the certainty of

was capable of were comparatively simple in nature, and hence it was faster

However, the calculator was merely the simple first stage. If a semiautomatic

would surely be—

[Ingenious Engine]."

had thought of the theory behind it, but he did not think that the current

That was what laid before his eyes.

of a "flying warship". As it was a complete failure, it had been abandoned.

now.

once collaborated with the military before, and thus, it is likely she was able

device strong enough to power the Ingenious Engine, which needed a

However, can you understand what kind of "power" can be born from the

"......"

If the flying warship was outfitted with the Ingenious Engine, then most of

eliminated. If a "program" was installed into the Ingenious Engine beforehand, 

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soldiers manning the cannons, the personnel adjusting the outputs—the

would be resolved in one fell swoop.

form of weaponry. If properly maintained, they would be machines that

the ideal weapon."

toy.

would easily number in the hundreds, no, thousands—he understood that

"When I first came across this, I had been excited to no end—but this

machine."

about the size of a person"s palm, and was round in shape—it would be just

"The conversion key for the machine to interprete the order that had been

Saying that, Vilhelm took out the pocket watch he had taken from Lyle—the

the watch gla.s.s, he took out the "interior" of the pocket watch.

watch was protruding out, like a key. The lines that ran around the surface

"It is likely that this would activate . And for what comes after, you are

Turning towards Lyle, Vilhelm extended his arm, overflowing with vigour. 

204

after her—no, you would know the Ingenious Engine even better than the

with the , we will let the entire world know of your talent."

Lyle looked intently at the outstretched hand, and the Ingenious Engine

He had been rather moved by the notion. That the mechanisms he had

way someone who studied science would not be moved.

that Lyle had.

After a short pause of several seconds, Lyle expectedly refused.

expectations.

it was not for this sort of purpose."

and your own worth?"

a weapon right from its "birth"."

you do not use. And the fastest way to increase its worth—is to wield power

Vilhelm shook his head as if he were clearing away a headache, and

"Although I"d have liked to have him cooperate with me out of his own will, I

Vilhelm drew the sword at his waist.

The faint crimson magic sword was pointed towards Maria.

"—What a foul man you are."

"......If that"s how you want it, then I"ll be taking a hostage as well."

Vilhelm was at a loss for words.

From the breast pocket of his overcoat, Lyle had taken out a cylinder-shaped

attached to the wooden handle, was a...

The stick grenade, was one of the most cutting-edge weapons, along with the

fuse, the increased amount of safety was one of its selling points.

"Getting to know the compounding method of explosives and how to

Lyle placed his finger on the cord at the end of the handle. 

206

away."

His composure up till this point in time utterly disrupted, Vilhelm"s expression

"It is just the most rational one with the highest probability of success."

"Put too high of a value on me, didn"t you, Lord Zest? Now, what will you

"...At this range, I will take but a second and a half to close the distance. It

"In that case—would you care to give it a go?"

"Lyle!"

Before Maria shouted out, Vilhelm had broken into a run.

and knocked the hand grenade from his hands.

Although the hand grenade exploded, what a.s.sailed them was no shock

"Wait, this is a— !"

Lyle who had covered his face beforehand, ran past Vilhelm, who had his

"That was just an example of chemiluminescence!"

Although Maria was blinded by the intense light as well, sensing Lyle"s

"Lylee~"

Lyle started to untie the ropes that were restraining Maria.

Turning about abruptly, Lyle found that Vilhelm was heading right back for

extended his hands out towards Lyle.

A flash of silver that came from above.

"It"s you..."

her hands.

Seeing that his fighting prowess had not gone down at all despite his

vision, she grabbed both Lyle and Maria, and "fogslided" away, putting some

"......You sure pulled a fast one on me, Lyle."

"—What on earth was that earlier?"

some aluminium and combustion agents."

Lyle turned around and faced Vilhelm.

"I fell for your trap, didn"t I. Good grief...... you"re full of surprises."

smiled, looking excited.

Spinning around, Vilhelm ran towards the base of the Ingenious Engine.

The core of the pocket watch from the «Witch» was inserted into the

With a small click, the countless numbers of wheels started to turn all at

"—Ascend."

In that moment, the sound of running steam engines grew louder, and with a

Part 4

outskirts of the royal capital had ended, and the performers were drinking

a generous amount of beer and spirits. Those who knew that said n.o.ble was

site numbered none.

little things.

And then, those who were less drunk had pointed it out.

Practically all of them had ignored it and continued their merry-making.

One part of the wall of the central deck in the flying warship retracted

projected the scenery outside. It conferred on them a feeling of being distant

By simply operating the keyboard, the ma.s.sive flying warship was controlled.

something that would change the way wars would be waged. Although it

downsized version were to be available, its worth would be unmeasurable.

"......"

He had invented it, but it was being used in the worst conceivable way. He

"......What should we do, Lyle?"

released from her bindings.

any openings."

the Ingenious Engine."

complex machine had many weaknesses that could be exploited. For

heart—

intentions, and tapped the keyboard with his fingers.

central deck, and it was shut with a steel door.

"......"

Maria clapped the now silent Lyle on the shoulders.

Turning around, Lyle saw that Maria was wearing a rather dangerous smile.

"...I know that." 

211

It was somewhat deplorable for him, but before he made an all-in gamble, it

"......Lunaria, pa.s.s me the pack."

the weapons inside one after another.

Taking her favourite rifle and a belt filled with bullets that was pa.s.sed to her,

equipped with a bayonet.

"Alright... what about you, Lunaria?"

The girl who was staring at Vilhelm replied softly to Lyle.

need you to buy some time for us."

Lunaria tightened her grip on the sword in her hands.

"Roger that."

Vilhelm who had turned and faced them, was approaching, magic sword in

Taking the initiative, Lunaria dashed out at him.

the «Nosferatu» who was clad in [Fog], her Eyes of Amber glowing with the

He deflected the outstretched [Fog] with the magic blade, which shared the

"—Ugh!"

jumped back. The next instant, a stake of [Fog] followed up with another

"A combination attack using both your [Fog] and a sword. It is more

Using her "fogsliding" movement which confused the sense of distance of

guarded the attack with ease. The tendril of [Fog] that followed up went for

apart.

your sword, but it is not enough to overcome me. And neither is your [Fog]."

As though the battle on the viewing platform had been but a mere warm-up,

"Kgh—"

Though she had also guarded with the [Fog], the magic blade had went

neck, and blood began to flow.

"Do not resist. This is but an act of mercy, as you will be reunited with your

"...What do you know about us?"

"From who exactly did you receive that magic blade from...?"

Gently caressing the blade of the magic sword, Vilhelm said.

agreements with the Phantasm. This includes those who proposed changes,

Revolution>—those who were of the Fog had rejected the new ways, and

The young Margrave, looked right back at Lunaria, his eyes filled with pity.

Hidden in darkness, the Phantasms pa.s.sed those dark days. Unable to realise

ideology rejected change—no different from those n.o.bles who had

worthless, with not a single bit of productivity. It is no surprise they were

"Silence!"

[Fog] as though it were child"s play.

"My father... my mother... my sisters... How dare you insult their name!"

it, no matter what you do." 

214

"I"m sure that even you yourself understand that there"s no meaning in your

At his gentle voice, Lunaria"s face was contorted, as though she was about to

"S-Silence...!"

should be doing here. Which is—to run away, isn"t it?"

"Yes, you left those of the Fog behind and fled. You failed to die."

With Vilhelm"s every whisper, Lunaria"s movement seemed to become visibly

Vilhelm was a formidable warrior, but he was no novice in the art of

He had said that the most important thing to have as a n.o.ble, was to possess

weaknesses of the «Nosferatu» girl.

grieve—not for you, who had thrown away even the worth of anger and fled,

"A... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

to her anger, and swung her sword.

from the magic blade. 

215

A high-pitched sound was produced as Lunaria"s sword was cleaved in two.

merciless blow from that tempered, well-trained body sent Lunaria flying

"...A-Argh...... U-Urgh....."

Even so, she struggled to stand, her sword falling from her hands and onto

The sword was broken. A blade that had been rendered useless. It was—just

The moment she laid her eyes on that blade that had almost been broken off

will.

worthless."

were an executioner.

Noticing that something was wrong, Vilhelm turned around.

Part 5

Removing the maintainence hatch of the control deck with help from Maria,

"Yup, this is Master"s work. I thought she"d definitely have prepared

Although it was not something like the keyboard in front of the Ingenious

was a backup, in case the keyboard to enter the commands with broke down.

"I"ll do something about it."

overcome with emotion. It was unlike his usual self.

It existed in reality. There existed no scientist who would not be happy to see

That feeling could not be so easily erased—Lyle smiled at the irony of it.

"It"s funny..... how happy I am. I shirk away from this invention that could

feel thrilled to see it right before my very eyes."

"......I"m sorry, Maria."

"I"m just scared. I"m afraid that I might change someone, or their way of life—

It was because he did not do anything, that he had come here. That was how

However, he had wavered in his path many times. And each time, the words

track. If he were to respond to her words—if he were to wield his power as

"...I"m sorry Maria. If I do it your way—"

Hearing Maria say that rather indifferently, Lyle looked up from the terminal

Maria nodded, a satisfied smile on her face.

hopes for you, I won"t force you to do anything. Well, I"ve made a few

"But still, I..."

things you can do with them... However, they are also things that only you

You"re you, after all. There"s nothing to be worried about."

—Yeah, I see it now.

Lyle had always wondered if all Maria cared about was his knowledge and

like Erllua did. 

218

hurting others. That was why he had always held his talent back. His

have anything to do with an unmotivated person like him.

"—Feeling distressed, Lyle? I wonder what you"re trying to do now?"

"Lyle, I leave things to you!"

Vilhelm dodged that as though he had seen it coming. As if he had predicted

Without giving Maria any time to load another bullet, Vilhelm slashed at her.

"Ugh!"

Pulling back the bayonet, she sidestepped her foe"s attack, and drove the

The iron plate-reinforced gunstock taking a bit of the skin from his brow,

"...I see how it is," said Vilhelm as he touched the blood on his brow with his

technique is— [Bayonet Fechten]

, isn"t it?"
"Bingo."

1

Holding the rifle like a spear, Maria smiled fearlessly.

there were those who had adopted the new weapon as a form of martial art,

born along the way, polished and continued, as the newest form of close

While checking the condition of his sword, Vilhelm scowled at Maria, who

"......The maid had some skill, and so does the mistress, it seems. Do let me

With a smile like that of a beast which had found its prey, Vilhelm charged at

Her dress billowing, Maria took the blow from the magic blade, a desperate

"Lyle! Do it quick!"

Vilhelm, who had caught Maria"s bullet with the flat of his blade, widened his

The scenery outside the window—the light from the stars was slowly moving.

"You can"t be—"

took..."

Maria took advantage of his surprise, stabbing out with the bayonet, and

"Ridiculous! A back-up is but a back-up! Not to mention, with just a terminal

"It"s just as you said, Margrave Zest. Master was the one who created the

fundamental layout."

"It might be the Ingenious Engine, but it"s based on calculations. Even if you

interpreted through a numerical algorithm. If you understand how that

"Absurd! Even if that were possible—When did you crack the algorithm of

"The basis for the calculations is a binary number system involving just 1s and

program—once I saw the nature of the computation process from that, I

The speed at which Lyle"s fingers moved increased, by two, even three times

The pipe organ"s—the Ingenious Engine"s calculation wheels creaked noisily

executed the program, the doors which sealed the pa.s.sageway leading to the

"Go! Lyle!"

At Maria"s urging, Lyle started to run. However, seeing the figure of the fallen

"—Lunaria!" 

221

recklessness and desperation in her att.i.tude. The girl, whose name had been

same empty emotionless one she had in their first meeting.

something I can decide!"

her guilt.

mean that you accept Lord Zest"s insults! Are you fine with that, deciding just

Saying just that, Lyle turned around.

However, he wanted to lighten Lunaria"s guilt, if only a little, just like how

(—Doing that would probably make her keep on fighting... it"s hypocrisy.)

hurried towards the engine core of . 

222

"There he goes......"

stance with her rifle.

In contrast, Vilhelm was staring blankly at the exit of the deck that Lyle had

be over if she just aimed and shot him, Maria controlled that temptation,

"......Hu... huhu...Ahahahahaha!"

"Ha, haha, heheh......he input the calculations directly? I searched for the

rotations of the wheels? He cracked the program from looking at all those

mental calculation be to do that? My worries as to whether he was a true

knowledge and his exceptional ability to do mental calculations, he"s a

what."

There was nothing resembling malice in Vilhelm"s voice. It felt like that of a

However, the meaning behind those words, revealed nothing but a disregard

Vilhelm returned to the base of the Ingenious Engine and tapped the

"I"ve opened up the voice pipe in the warship. Anything that happens in this

No one knew that such a thing existed, until he had said it.

explosives, but... get back here at once!"

"I hope you will think this through quickly! I do not wish to make the ladies

ending anyway!"

was drawing closer, aimed towards Maria.

herself against the fierce a.s.sault from the magic blade.

for her to push her concentration to the utmost limit.

"Bayonet Fechten is a highly offensive combat style which lacks in defence.

He was explaining it to Lyle, and at the same time, provoking Maria directly.

enemy in a single strike. It was unavoidable that there would be an opening

"Don"t worry. I will not treat you coldly. I did say that I will grant you your

"I have no idea what you"re going on about!"

Instead of defending with the sword, he went on the attack with words.

from you."

"I"ll engrave the ways of pleasuring a man right onto your heart. Don"t you

"You disgusting beast!"

feelings for Lyle.

sword, widened her eyes when she saw that Vilhelm had let go of the hilt. In

shape of a "c".

Maria, who was enduring the pain.

However, the blade of the magic sword pa.s.sed through the air before her

Not quite understanding what had happened, Maria realised that she had

placed down next to Lunaria, who was unsteadily rising to her feet.

Lunaria sighingly said.

intention of changing that fact... I understand that, yet you...... !"

The one she seemed to be angry at was not Vilhelm, but Lyle, it seemed. Her

it, but the shadow of pessimism seemed to have been chased away.

"—Lyle is just that kind of guy."

were both proud and amazed.

him, right? But, he won"t tell that person to cherish their life. He"d probably

them from suicide. No matter how many times, he would save them... and he

"......I think I kind of understand."

the same opinion.

feel a sense of familiarity from her. Their hearts were being thrown into

"camaraderie".

you like?"

Maria raised her eyebrows, but quickly nodded after remembering their

"Yeah, that"s fine by me. Well then, let"s get started, shall we, Lunaria?"

The copper and pale silver hair, as though being repelled from each other,

sword came slashing down.

Vilhelm went after Maria, who was on his right. Maria fired a shot, to

thrust his sword right at Maria,

The high-density [Fog] had guarded Maria from the magic blade.

protected by the [Fog].

the [Fog], with both his magic and verbal sword.

brethren behind, and failed to die—"

Lunaria looked back at Vilhelm resolutely, wielding the [Fog].

naught but flee from even your own cowardice, what will come of fighting

"Nothing will come of it. My feelings still have not changed, that I am

coward who ran away..... However, those of the Fog—I cannot forgive any

"......Tch."

Lunaria"s nihilistic ways were a result of her inability to save her brethren.

thought herself a "corpse that ought to disappear", "someone who found no

Her sense of powerlessness was now reversed, due to her love for her family.

Vilhelm spun about, the momentum adding into the heavy blow he

Vilhelm"s slash.

"What can you possibly do with that broken blade!"

clearly repelled away.

"That"s..."

hand. The [Fog] coiled around the broken sword, as though taking the place

frosted gla.s.s.

1

With a swaying dance, Lunaria threw out a horizontal slash with the blade of

The magic blade parried. The convergence rate of the [Fog]"s density was

far. And so, Vilhelm put in even more strength into his blows.

1

The was severed in the middle, but the blade of [Fog]

"What!?"

cheek.

. No matter how many times it was destroyed, it would

its namesake, it slipped through defences and attacked, like fog.

consumption rate of power was in a different league from when Lunaria was

itself, her face grew paler.

It threw away all thoughts of defence, and risked the user"s life—Vilhelm,

ground near his feet, from the impact of a projectile.

Maria called out, loading a round into the rifle.

defence, and Maria, who was skilled with the gun, offered suppressive fire

"......Still, these are merely parlour tricks, little ladies."

the two of them. 

229 

230

Lyle was sprinting through the interior of . The battle situation in the

he believed in Maria and Lunaria, and quickened his pace.

map of the warship briefly flashed across his mind. The steady increase in the

the fact that he was on the right track.

He finally arrived at a conspicuous ma.s.sive steel door. Rotating valves

An object formed of thirty-two pentagons and hexagons, interlaced together.

steel, and there a special alloy called "mithril" was deposited, which served to

The diameter of the Amber Reactor, which was half-buried in pipes and its

built. If he were to open the hexagonal grate which replenished the amber,

something that deliberate.

Lyle took out the weapon he had secretly prepared beforehand.

but it was not powerful enough to destroy the steel Amber Reactor—

The trick was in the bullet.

light was loaded. 

231

gun with both hands, and pointed it at the Amber Reactor.

Was it fine to just destroy —the Ingenious Engine?

that was actually in operation, just like this?

His determination to not pull the trigger, would change.

his fingertips.

The finger on the trigger began to tremble.

"—Enough!"

Part 8

one moment, and unfavourable the next, for both parties. It was a precarious

with the sword was beneath Vilhelm"s. No matter how fast her attacks, they

None of Maria"s shots had hit thus far; the moment she pulled the trigger, he

from her bayonet struck home either.

at bay Vilhelm, who was displaying his superhuman skill with the sword. They

getting worn out.

Maria lamented, as she tried to regulate her breathing.

sweat even though both his opponents possessed uncommon fighting

"It"s about time you ran out of bullets, isn"t it? The «Nosferatu» lady over

"......"

was materialised with her magical power. And to the

with Vilhelm"s magic sword, a portion of her life was literally shaved away.

conflict."

"I could even give