Chapter 9The branches of the Great Tree shook slightly from the wind that was blowing wildly.
The storm raging outside didn"t show any signs of calming down. Even so, the reason why the Bull monster didn"t attack yet, was thanks to the existence of the absolute power holder who protected this Great Tree.
Homura walked along the hidden pa.s.sageways in the waterway that was under the Aquatic City.
He was told that If he advanced straight ahead in this cave, he would reach the other side of the great waterfall that flowed out from the precipitous cliff. And after opening the door beside it, he would arrive at the audience room.
After walking down the drawn out road for about ten minutes, Homura finally arrived at that place. However, even though he heard that it was inside the Great Tree, it was just cheating how it was under the roots..
".........I"m three minutes late, huh? The setting sun has already started to turn red."
He touched the door while giving a quick remark. But this was still a better outcome. Even though there was no time, Porol and others prepared him well enough. There was no way he could blame it on their skills.
"Do not disobey her if you want to return alive.", although Porol had said so, if he couldn"t return to his former world, coming here would be all for naught. For the time being, meeting her took top priority.
Homura pushed the luxurious door. The moment that door which glowed conspicuously within the dimness opened, his view was wrapped within a light similar to that of the sun.
".........Huh."
Homura doubted his eyes as he was bathed in the dazzling light. That was by no means a metaphor. Because that cave door, was connected to a place quite different from "Underwood".
Exposed to the brilliant sunlight, he looked up at the sky.
At that point, he came to a realization that this place was within a castle covered by a thin canopy.
The place he was brought to, was the courtyard of a castle with white walls, with the canopy opened widely on it.
On all sides were neatly divided flower beds consisting of flowers of all seasons. The marble paving leading to the centre, was refined so beautifully that it made one consider that it was too good to step down on it.
Ignoring some irrational things there, one would be honestly intoxicated by such beautiful modeling.
However, Saigou Homura was a little different. It"s not as if his youthful spirit was lost or anything, but in this camouflaged garden, his sense of caution came out superior.
To speak figuratively, this whole garden itself was like a giant mousetrap.
Or it might be better to call it a Golden Devil"s den. If he strayed from the path just by a step out of sheer curiosity, he would momentarily be preyed upon by the monsters.........He was overcome with such a fear.
"─────"
Stepping carefully, he set his foot on the marble paving. Thereupon, the colors of flower petals underwent a complete change.
Perhaps this was arranged in order to surprise the visitors of the garden, however it instead cleared Homura"s head.
If they had planned to set a trap here, then something would"ve probably activated and appeared with the very first step. However, the only thing changing were the colors of the petals, or perhaps the seasons simply shifted by one block.
It was indeed beautiful, but nothing more.
That"s why, the owner of this courtyard certainly had no intention to harm the trespa.s.ser.
Homura guessed that it was simply set up in order to surprise the trespa.s.sers and nothing more.
However, while that may be true, making a mistake of straying from the path was still a no go. As he walked straight ahead on the paving, he arrived at the center of the courtyard that was covered with a veil.
Seasons rotating one by one by each step was indeed beautiful, but there was no danger. Were it not the current circ.u.mstances, he would have obediently enjoyed it as a wonderful scenery without a doubt.
As he touched the silk veil of a fine quality, Homura vigorously pushed it aside.
As he did so, the door opened.
Ahead of the delicate wooden door, was a warm fireplace, a bed for a bedroom, and a circular table with a tea set for inviting guests.
It was probably because of a raging storm approaching that the window was giving off creaking sounds. In other words, this room was one of the rooms somewhere in "Underwood".
As he got surprised and turned around───the place that was once the entrance had now become a simple wall.
"Kh........."
Finally after coming here, he got gooseb.u.mps all over. Then he realized something he hadn"t known.
Homura was inspecting "where" the trap was.
However, "this place" was already a trap. As their statuses were far too different, Homura realized that he misjudged her way of thinking by as many as six dimensions.
The Queen who controls the world boundaries, "Queen Halloween".
───He did certainly hear something like that.
However, hearing it and actually experiencing it were two completely different things. Suzuka"s Apport & Asport seemed like a child"s play in comparison. This person, however, controlled the world boundaries as easily as turning a page of a picture book. If she had this much power, she might as well be thinking of the whole world as her garden.
Before him were two doors. It appeared that the audience room was still up ahead.
(The blue and red doors......Which of them is correct.........!!?)
His heartbeat had become faster before he noticed. It also was apparent that his breathing was becoming rougher. He was a.s.saulted by the misapprehension that he would possibly be made to go on a search for an exit after appearing in a strange land every time he opened the door from now on.
It appears she got quite angry because of him being late. However, even if that were the case, forcing a game on him without giving any hints was quite unreasonable.
Wondering whether there was a hint for solving it, he looked around in the fireplace room, and turned his gaze towards the antique clock nearby.
It goes without saying, but the agreed time was already pa.s.sed by far. It might also be her way of declaring that she had no intention to meet with a rude fellow who couldn"t afford showing up on time for the audience.
(.........? No, wait. This antique clock looks strange.)
He approached the antique clock while holding down his rapidly beating heart with his right hand. Just as he thought, the clock wasn"t counting time. Moreover, the time hand was just three minutes past twelve o"clock.
It was exactly as long as Homura was late.
(───......Kh, Namo Amitabha.........!)
Saigou Homura trusted his intuitive insight, and turned back the time of the antique clock little by little.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes back───
As he did so, it gave a clicking sound.
"───Welcome, Saigou Homura."
An indication of a person suddenly appeared on the table behind. As Homura pinned down his heart that was about to jump out, he trembled even more than before and vigorously turned around.
The one sitting there───was undoubtedly an incarnation of the sun.
Dazzling golden hair that reminded one of the sun. Although they were simply flowing down, they were spread out so tenderly that it looked like the grain heads that swayed to the bright golden wind. Her eyes, shining just like jewels made from a mix of pure water blue and forest green colors, were looking directly at Homura.
Despite being an outsider, Homura unconsciously understood it.
──────This young lady before his eyes was not a Divine Spirit.
She was definitely not a Divine Spirit born from the faith of mankind.
Homura heard that she was the one deified at the Sun Festival of the Celtic Pantheon, but that was no more than the form humans gave her so that they could perceive her in a material world.
Part of the Little Garden"s third strongest kind, governing the noon and night, life and death, the four seasons, stars and their boundaries.
Celestial Spirit of the Sun "Queen Halloween".
That Golden Queen, silently gazed at Saigou Homura.
＊
Homura, stiffened and not moving an inch, silently glared at Queen. The saying "A frog under a snake"s glare" would fit this situation.. Before this young, yet beautiful Queen, even War G.o.ds would be overpowered.
Homura stood still without being able to do anything.
As if she couldn"t bear to watch that────The Golden Queen gently waved her golden hair, and touched Homura"s cheek.
"......... I"m not going to harm you."
"!?"
She wrapped Homura"s cheeks with both hands. Homura tensed up from her sudden actions.
Lovely eyes looked into Homura from below.
Then, She───The girl referred to as the Queen, slightly bend her head and told him.
"It"s alright now. Now take a slow and deep breath, and fix your breathing.”
".........Haa."
"Your heartbeat. It has calmed down a bit, right?"
The golden girl turned around and stepped away from him in a rondo.
Homura grasped his right hand that was on his chest. He felt his heartbeat was still somewhat fast, but it slowly returned to the normal rate.
His respiration that was on the verge of overbreathing wasn"t so rough now either.
As he asked what was going on with his eyes, Queen explained a bit sullenly.
"I indicated to you that "I am harmless". From time to time, people who just have to trouble others like this also come by. If you had candies on you, I would"ve just ended it with a "Trick or Treat!!" agreement."
".........So that"s how it was. Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty."
"Stop it with such formal speech. I wish you at least called me just Queen."
Queen sharpened her lovely lips. As she did that, she looked just like a normal girl in her teens. It appeared that along with her indication, she also eased her power.
Breathing a long sigh, Homura raised his face and introduced himself.
"Once again, nice to meet you. I"m Saigou Homura. I"m sorry for being late, Queen."
"Indeed. Including you, there are just three people who have broken the agreed time with me and are still living. I"d like you to be careful next time. ───Now, go ahead. I permit you to sit with me."
She said something surprisingly horrifying. To her, this was probably quite a considerate way of speaking, however to Homura who met her for the first time, it sounded as nothing but an act of showing force.
Homura still hadn"t let down his guard, however he was offered a seat so he settled down for now. Even though he wanted to start the conversation, the earlier experience was still stuck to his body and wouldn"t go away.
Both of them sat and silently stared at each other for a short while. He wondered whether time would pa.s.s like this, however surprisingly, it was the Queen"s side who unexpectedly started talking.
".........Would it be better if I talked perhaps?"
"Yes, well. To say it frankly, I don"t understand what in the world is happening right now. I would like if you explained everything from the start, if possible."
"I see. Then let us make it a question format. I don"t know how much you want to know after all. ───Also, honorifics aren"t necessary. I hate formality."
"......Understood. Then I"ll do just that."
While he replied, Homura felt a bit confused.
He could certainly feel the lack of leniency.
The words from before weren"t a threat either, but simply the words of advice. She was a monster who would cut down a person who came for an audience just because she couldn"t stomach something.
By all rights, Homura"s life was also in danger. Although it wasn"t much, it was unexpected that he would get away with just that level of retribution.
As if choosing his words carefully, Homura started with the most important question.
"Then, I"ll do as you ask, so the first question───it"s about the current Gift Game. If we clear the Game, would we be able to return to our former world?"
That question appeared to be unexpected.
Queen"s beautiful and lovely eyes became round, being surprised with the question.
"That"s obvious. Just like vampires from last time, you have a special partic.i.p.ation limit. It would be possible to return once the Game is finished.........No, it would be troubling if you didn"t return when the Game was over.”
"I-Is that so.........!"
From the unexpected reply, Homura stroked his chest out of relief.
Just now, rather than "You would be returned" the Queen said "It would be troubling if you weren"t returned". In other words, by whatever means, she meant she was going to cooperate to return him to his former world.
With just this single fact clarified, Homura’s mental pressure changed in one go.
Homura drank the water that was on top of the table in one go, and started to sort the questions he had so far in one go.
"Okay.........Then, next question. About the War G.o.ds of this world of Little Garden, it would be fine to think of them to be the same as the G.o.ds from our world, right?"
"Yes. You have already met a few of them, haven"t you? While they aren"t exactly the same, it would be fine if you just think of them to be almost the same beings."
"Then, are there interchanging relations of some sort between this Little Garden and our world?"
Homura had a question about this since the beginning.
Although this Little Garden was another world with strange laws of physics, only the mythological system spread the same things as in Homura"s world across it.
"Moon Rabbit" from Buddhist Tales.
"Shirayuki-hime" from "Yasha-Ga-Ike".
"Halloween" which was the festival of Celtic Mythology.
Homura thought that the reason why the mythological systems of different civilizations could coexist in the same world, could be because the mythology from Homura"s world was used as the original and was reproduced like a ma.n.u.script.
Even Queen avoided a quick answer to this and pondered for a while.
".........Let"s see. There is indeed a deep connection. Might I hear your thoughts about it beforehand?"
Nodding, he retrieved the written invitation from the phone"s email box.
『 ─ The Second Sun Authority War Invitation ─
Dear Saigō Homura-sama.
You have qualifications to partic.i.p.ate in the "Second Sun Authority War" being held in the world of Little Garden. For gaining the qualifications to enter the final selection, please enslave at least one Celestial Beast belonging to the "Twelve Ecliptic Constellations" or "Twelve Chén of the Equator" first.
Celestial Beasts required to subjugate: "Taurus"
Winning Condition: ① Subjugation of Avatar of "Taurus".
Winning Condition: ② Erase the lightning, and return the star to its original form.
※ Rule Summary/Duration Period
Due to this being a preliminary game, the duration period would be seven years. After seven years, you would automatically be disqualified from game. No matter who subjugates the beast, it will be counted to Saigō Homura, so please, feel free to cooperate.
※ Important Points ※
This frame of partic.i.p.ation is a special frame that was prepared so that Saigō Homura could partic.i.p.ate in the Second Sun Authority War. If you abstain/abandon/ignore the partic.i.p.ation or are eliminated in the preliminary round, the special partic.i.p.ation frame as well as the inherent Gift "Proto Idea" that Saigō Homura-sama possesses would be collected, so please forgive us.
Furthermore, during the game period, you cannot leave the Little Garden so please be careful. Prolonging the game can be considered but please try to complete the requirements within the given time.
Yours Sincerely,
Second Sun Authority War Facilitators "Laplace Demons".』
"When I read this invitation, there was one thing that bothered me the most since the beginning. And it was about why I was chosen as a special partic.i.p.ant. At first I thought I was chosen because of the latest Nanomachine device that I made, however that seems to be a bit lacking of a reason to be invited to the so called greatest Gift Game."
"I see. Continue."
"At that point, I pondered a bit. The current Typhoon #24 damage exceeded two million homes, and the damage to the agriculture is likewise large. The most dangerous infection was the infection spreading in the crops rather than the one spread through human contact. Naturally when that happens, it"s likely that a lot of dead people from the infection would appear due to the damage and famine caused by the disease. Wheat, flour and corn prices started to skyrocket already. If things go bad, there"s also a possibility of war breaking out."
"That"s right. Humans are indeed beings that can"t survive with sweets alone. ───And so?"
Queen urged him to continue in a monotonous voice. Those eyes of hers appeared as if they saw through everything and were a bit frightening. But Homura couldn"t falter here. He stared back into her eyes and held a deep breath.
"Then, if, for argument"s sake, the rule "continuing for seven years" also applied to the blight and famine......then wouldn"t the person who made a cure for them gain achievement equal to saving the world?"
"Yes. That"s how it would be. But don"t misunderstand. This isn"t a genuine legend. The legend was simply modernized. It reproduces the things of the past with the Spiritual Status of the present. The root of the problem doesn"t lay there."
Homura became puzzled from Queen"s words.
As expected, he didn"t understand her current words in any way.
"The modernization of a legend? What does that mean?"
"......... Before I explain that, it seems another guest had arrived."
Suddenly, the Queen traced a horizontal line with her finger in the sky. The moment she did so, Homura"s phone started to ring.
Homura took out the phone that gave out a simple PIPIPI tone. The caller’s name wasn"t displayed. To even be able to connect the electromagnetic waves that weren"t supposed to connect, more and more, Homura couldn"t allow himself to be careless around her.
Despite his apparent suspicious frown, he still faithfully answered the phone.
As he did so, an unexpected person’s voice was heard.
『.........Yo. It"s been a while, Homura.』
＊
───Katsushika, Shibamata Taishakuten - Main Temple.
Izayoi and the two quickly and soundlessly sneaked into its grounds.
There were quite a bit of guards, but with their skill, they safely reached the courtyard. Mikado Tokuteru who snuck inside the main temple, touched the divine seal that was hidden in the floorboard. The moment he did that, the inside of the temple was covered in a pale light.
Mikado Tokuteru, as if catching his breath, breathed a deep sigh.
"I didn"t open a gate like "Touriten", however this much should be fine for holding a simple conversation. I"ll get in touch with Queen"s close a.s.sociate, so wait a bit."
"Gotcha."
Izayoi sat cross-legged inside of the temple.
It was his first time entering the main temple of Shibamata Taishakuten. He tried checking the surroundings in hopes of finding something novel. On a whim, Izayoi mentally compared the real Indra who was there with the Buddhist statue of his.
(.........No resemblance at all.)
Mikado Tokuteru was in his middle 30"s, however he was still young nevertheless. Just by judging his appearance, he appeared to be no more than in his twenties. Compared to other Buddhist Deities, even to the statue of Buddha, Indra was made to look quite young. Perhaps that was the cause of it.
In the first place, he───The "War G.o.d" Indra, was a high ranking Divine Spirit, incomparable to other Divine Spirits around. There were many G.o.ds of military arts around, however if you had to speak of the strongest and the most famous of them all, out of a thousand people, all thousand of them would probably call out the name of Indra.
Thunder G.o.d, War G.o.d, Heroic G.o.d, The King of the G.o.ds. His t.i.tles knew no end.
It is said that in "Rig Veda", the oldest scriptures of India, three-tenths of the text was full with his glorification. Afterwards, there were many who knew him as one of the deities under Buddhism, however he was one of the strongest of the G.o.ds, his Spiritual Status rivaling the likes of the chief G.o.d of Greece or monotheist G.o.ds.
And because such a Great G.o.d, who needed three "Supers" as a prefix, was now holding a phone in one hand and talking in the Human World, the world was truly at its end.
"Hey, Izayoi."
"Hm? What"s up?"
“I connected to Queen, but it seems Homura"s with her too. It"ll be troubling if I get found out so you take it."
Hah? Izayoi raised a wild voice.
Tokuteru threw the phone without giving him any time. Nonetheless, he didn"t consider that he would be talking with Homura at this time. Because he thought it would be better to say a light good bye to him after this matter was settled.
(.........Well, it"s not something to get so worked up on.)
Izayoi put the phone to his ear and greeted him the usual way.
"Yo. It"s been a while, Homura."
Bi-doop.
Beep, beep, beep.
With that sound, the call ended.
".................................Hou?"
Izayoi glared at the phone for thirty seconds. Izayoi, being good with smartphones, quickly redialed.
As he did so, a voice quite difficult to describe with words came from the other side.
『.........It"s been a while, Iza-nii.』
"It hasn"t been so long to exactly call it a while, though."
『Now listen here, don"t ignore that I purposely avoided retorting on it.』
"So noisy. I"m not obliged to give such kindness to a s.h.i.tty brat who hangs up the phone one-sidedly. Weren"t you a bit more obedient in the old days?"
『Yeah, yeah, I also remember that fact. From my nine-year-old self"s memories, the only things I remember would be like playing with Canaria Sensei or chasing your back along with Suzuka.』
"Good grief. You had a boring atmosphere around you back in those days, but looking at you growing up into such a sourpuss, I feel like I miss that obedient self of yours from then."
Izayoi told him in teasing manner.
Homura, on the other hand, as if his strings of everyday tension were cut after talking with Izayoi, gripped the phone to the point of creaking.
『Hah!.........You dare say that, huh. Unlike you, I didn"t become rebellious because I wanted to be one. Besides, it was because that old man Ushimatsu died so suddenly. Thanks to that, my life was bought by the Ojousama of Everything Company, and a good-for-nothing guy called Mikado Tokuteru hid from the debt collectors whenever he failed the job, and I had to pay his debts. So it was one misfortune after another, you know!』
".........Hohou?"
Izayoi only raised an eyebrow and looked at Mikado Tokuteru. Seeming to have heard the conversation, he quickly averted his eyes and gazed afar.
However, despite spitting out that much, Homura still didn"t stop talking and gushed it out like a broken dam.
『I was wondering where you were wandering during these five years, Hah! I didn"t think that you actually went to discover another world, but rather than being surprised, I accepted it since it was too much like your style. Still, what is this? Accompanied by a loli with usamimi and a huge-breasted white snake-sama, you devoted yourself to the development of an Aquatic City, I hear? I"m not in the least displeased about the fact that you abandoned us and left, but to be playing around in this amusing and strange world all by yourself without concern, I"m not jealous at all you hear, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d.........!!!』
"……………"
『───And, what else? What else did you do during these five years?』
"Things like going on a journey with a Gryphon and Demon Lord extermination."
『Shiiiiit! I"m jealous, G.o.dd.a.m.nit!!!』
UGAAH!!! Homura was in a fit of rampage.
On the contrary───Izayoi was slightly impressed.
Just like Sakamaki Izayoi said just now, Saigou Homura used to be a reserved youth who did nothing but stick to Izayoi"s back all the time. It was truly surprising to think that a boy like that grew up into someone who became a pillar of support for the orphanage and covered for a good-for-nothing useless G.o.d.
Even though they say "A man changes with the times", he seems to have grown into quite a great youth in this five year"s time.
As he was absorbed into thinking about such things, Queen"s voice was heard from the other side.
『Homura. Izayoi. I"m going to get to the topic, so make sure that everyone"s voices can be heard.
『Hm? Ah, got it.』
Homura nodded and switched the phone to speaker.
Queen appeared to be slightly doubtful and addressed Izayoi.
『.........Izayoi. Can you hear?』
"Yeah I can hear you Queen. It"s been three days. Even though this is another world, the reception"s decent."
『I see. That"s good. I will talk about the beginning of this matter, so listen well.』
She indifferently announced so in monotonous voice devoid of any special emotions.
Then, for the first time, she changed her posture and crossed her legs.
『First, I"ll clear up your misunderstanding. From the start, the current matter wasn"t related to Little Garden.』
"What do you mean?"
As the two asked at the same time, Queen, for the first time, sharpened her red lips sullenly and revealed a slight annoyance. It appeared that Queen disliked people who were bad at guessing.
『Exactly as I said. From start to end, this matter at hand was never related to Little Garden. Everything that has happened; the Typhoon that crossed the Equator, the disease damage, famine, everything was expected because they were bound to happen within history.』
"............Huh."
"Huuh!!?"
Izayoi became dumbfounded, while Homura raised a disarrayed voice without understanding the meaning.
Queen strongly glared at him as she twitched her eyebrows, seemingly from his loud voice.
『.........Be quiet. Even your surprise lacks refinement.』
"But look, that"s not possible! No well, even though I"m reluctant to do so, disease damage and famine could still be ignored. But Typhoon #24 crossed the Equator, you know? That"s absolutely impossible to occur in the natural world!"
『That"s true. But you already have an answer for that, don"t you? Few days ago, what was it you talked about with Mikado Tokuteru?』
".........With Tokuteru?"
Queen looked at Homura as if seeing though everything.
For a moment, he didn"t get what was she talking about, however Homura accepted Queen"s words and explained his conversation from few days back.
───『In simple terms, there exists a natural rotation power or the so called Coriolis force – the force that moves the vortex. That works on Northern and Southern Hemispheres on a complete opposite directions, things like sea generated typhoon always have a fixed rotation direction. As a result, the typhoon does not occur on the Equator where there is no Coriolis force in the first place, and for a typhoon to pa.s.s through it is completely impossible.』
『..........Hou? So in other words, the power source is something other than Nature, huh?』
『Even though it sounds unimaginable, it"s not impossible... to begin with, ever since the breakout, this typhoon"s been full of mysteries. Typhoons of Southern Hemisphere always have right rotation direction. But the breakout we are facing, Typhoon number 24 "Taurus" is rotating on the left. It"s suspected that its origin is truly a power completely different from nature.』
『......The development of climate weapons are internationally banned. Did anyone break it?』
『It"s possible. On the internet, people are saying a certain country was experimenting with climate weapons.... Personally, I thought the idea was good. The extent of its durability and the damage it caused, also the power that exceeds laws of natural world somehow feels like it has a will of its own. It looks man-made, or maybe.... some kind of supernatural existence is involved.』───
"─────. Queen, what are you talking about?"
『Exactly as I said. At the very least, the Avatar of Taurus was the only being that went to the outer world from Little Garden. To begin with, the day it was summoned doesn"t add up. Shouldn"t you know that the best, Sakamaki Izayoi?』
Queen directed a slightly condemning voice towards him.
Izayoi was lost for words, while Homura widened his eyes.
『.........Iza-nii? What"s the matter?』
"It"s too much to even say. I was summoned just three days ago. I was sure there was a gap in time with Little Garden......... but it wasn"t exactly so, was it?"
『That"s right. Regarding the speed of time flow, it has been synchronized since two years ago. Influenced by "Twelve Guardian Devas", it is in the dependent state with a certain world time.』
"Is that so. This confirms it."
Izayoi breathed a long sigh.
It felt too heavy considering it was Izayoi, and had somewhat painful emotions loaded into it.
".........So that"s it. So the "Bull of Heaven" was also a legend of a Middle East country, huh. I completely forgot about that."
『Huh?』
"It"s nothing. anyway, I understood the roots to its origin, Homura. The study you are doing together with Everything Company......Isn"t it related to the third perpetual motion?"
Homura reflexively thought whether his heart popped out from his chest. Because that information wasn"t something which Izayoi, who went to another world known as Little Garden should have known.
Despite knowing it was meaningless, Homura reflexively lowered his voice.
『.........Wait. Where did you hear about that. What I"m researching should only be known publicly as the Nanomachine technology called Third Type Star Particle Body. I haven"t told anyone about the perpetual motion or energy revolution that used the Maxwell Drive.』
"Right, it was Maxwell who was the source of that. In this Little Garden, I have fought with "Maxwell"s Demon" who became the subject for that."
『.........Wha-』
"I"ll leave out the details, but that guy was a demon who manipulated the boundaries of "Heat" and "Cold". If the Star Particle Body has the same power as "Maxwell"s Demon", there might be ways to control the atmospheric temperature changes and manipulate atmospheric pressure."
Aside from Saigou Homura───There shouldn"t exist anyone who researched Star Particle Bodies. The reason is that it was the fruit of the research Homura"s father left behind. The result of it were the true Star Particle Bodies - nicknamed "Origin", only three samples of which existed. There wouldn"t be any research possible if they didn"t exist.
In the first place, after finally disa.s.sembling that super technology by using his Gift, he had no idea how to create them from scratch. There"s no way to reproduce such monstrosity that could cause a medical revolution just by reproducing 10% of it, as long as there"s not even a blueprint of it───
『.........Thesis.』
"Thesis? Whose?"
『Father"s thesis. If that was available, then even if there were no Star Particle Bodies, the research could still progress.........But,』
Saigou Homura"s father was dead. That was definite.
And his thesis is supposed to have been lost at that time.
Since no one from scientific society has announced anything about it until now, it was presumed to be simply lost───But if there were people who have been researching it secretly for years...
『That"s right, Saigou Homura. Someone who got hold of your father"s thesis has reproduced the "Bull of Heaven" on earth. That someone is the main culprit of this Gift Game that dragged the outer world in it......Now then. I wonder what that means?』
＊
Beep───
At that moment, Saigou Homura hung the call. He himself was surprised from that reflexive action. As he gazed at the phone while unable to understand the reason for those actions───Queen drew close enough that her fragrance wafted into his nose and looked at his face.
".........!?"
From that defenseless action of hers, Homura instinctively bent back.
He understood it well that this girl was similar to a monster, however it didn"t change the fact that she was a beauty. It was only natural that his heart skipped a bit.
".........Queen."
"What is it~?"
Here for the first time───the Queen of the Sun, revealed a true smile of enjoyment that came from the bottom of her heart.
Her rose-like red lips opened beautifully as if a flower was split, and her eyes like jewels, were simultaneously looking at both of them who were worlds apart. Surely enough, she was now estimating how these two boys would act.
The storm outside of the window grew even stronger, and the flame of the fireplace shrunk as if it was about to freeze. It shook so much that it seems like the place would be blown off if the wind blew any stronger.
And yet, Homura"s eyes lit up a flame filled with various emotions, and carried such heat in them that it seemed as if they would flare up any moment now. At this moment, he, for the first time in his life, had both his soul and body burning with hostility.
"There are some things I want to confirm."
"Alright. If it"s now, I"d answer anything you want."
She directed a beautiful smile similar to the sun towards Homura.
Homura asked her while suppressing his emotions.
".........Was it a human from Little Garden that summoned the Celestial Beast to the outer world?"
"Yes. Although I can"t comment whether they were human or not."
"───Did that person from Little Garden study the Star Particle Bodies?"
"No. The former and latter seem the same but are different. However, they are cooperating."
"───......In that case, in what aspect are they cooperating?"
"Of course, that"s your father"s.........fufu, that would also be a secret. With the way you are asking me, I won"t answer."
Separating from Homura, Queen put her elbow on the tableside, and tickled Homura"s heart with a sugary voice. By any means, she wanted to hear that one word from his mouth. She wanted to make him realize that.
For the orphanage, for family, for friends───If he, who devoted his life to others, were to start to fight for his own emotions...
That would surely be the start of an enjoyable revenge tragedy, fierce and pa.s.sionate like burning flames.
"─────"
While Homura was aware of Queen"s playful mood,
And while he guessed the answer,
He spun her words just like a dance.
＊
───Sakamaki threw down the phone that didn"t connect no matter how many times he called back.
".........She"s gone and done it now, that rotten, s.h.i.tty Queen."
The phone that was thrown with all his fury, was cruelly smashed to pieces.
He didn"t exactly start raging out loud, but it"s been three years since he exploded with this much anger. It was fortunate that the target of his outburst of rage was the phone and not the temple.
Mikado Tokuteru who listened carefully, looked up at the sky while feeling relief that his domain wasn"t destroyed and suppressed the anger for his smashed up phone.
"She got us.........that Queen fellow, she completely shut the boundary. Since it has come to this, It"s impossible for us in j.a.pan to connect to Little Garden. With this, the way to return Izayoi to Little Garden has been lost. .........This has turned into a troublesome situation. Do you have any ideas, Prith?"
"It"s impossible for me. I"m not acquaintances with anyone who controls the boundaries."
"I guess. That being the case, we can"t return until the Sun Authority War starts. What will you do, Izayoi?"
Tokuteru asked in a half-joking, half-serious manner.
However, unexpectedly, Izayoi gave an immediate reply.
"I have a single idea. We might be able to connect to Little Garden from there."
"Hou? Is it within this country?"
"No, it"s overseas. My partner is waiting there for me. He was pestering me by saying he wanted to see the temple once, so I left him there. .........So, what will you guys do?"
Izayoi asked the two Divine Spirits while looking back. They were out of options themselves. Since they had nowhere else to go, it wouldn"t be bad to keep Izayoi company.
"Sounds good. But we’ll use cars and planes when traveling to human habitations."
"I know, I know. I don"t have a plan to destroy my home world, after all."
The three of them confirmed each other"s intentions, and headed towards the airport.
As Prith opened her phone to request preparing a fake pa.s.sport for Izayoi, she suddenly asked as if remembering something.
"That reminds me, Sakamaki Izayoi. Are you really unrelated to the current matter? From the feeling I got from that earlier conversation, it appeared that you are acquaintances with Queen."
"I"m unrelated to the matter itself. .........But, you are right. I do know about Minotaur. It was summoned to the outer world when I challenged it in the Game of the Labyrinth."
As Izayoi informed them, the two exchanged glances as if surprised.
".........Oi. I didn"t hear about that."
"Because I didn"t think it was necessary to tell you. .........However, since it has become such a serious matter, talking with you about it seems better. I"ll explain while we travel."
Izayoi who got into Tokuteru"s beloved car, talked about the start of this matter with them.
Everything started one week ago───Following the Gift Game from Greek Mythological legend.
"Minotaur the Throne in Labyrinth".
Izayoi started to talk about the single monster and the game of G.o.ds and demons that he experienced there.
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