Tatakau Shisho

Chapter 2

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A BOMB, A PRINCESS, AND VARIOUS PEOPLE – PART 1

January 23, 2016Tgurneu

Colio and Relia returned to the inn.

It seemed that no-one connected them with the explosion that happened on the outskirts of town yet.

There were no visitors or people observing them there.

Colio and Relia sat down on their beds quietly.

“It seems Hamyuts Meseta is at the Library. Colio, what are we going to do?”

Colio answered without hesitating.

“We were told to kill Hamyuts Meseta here. So we will kill her here.”

“…Right.”

Saying this, Relia slipped into his bed.

“I’ll go to sleep.”

Colio didn’t reply.

He wondered if Relia was really sleeping or just lying on his bed. Either way, it didn’t matter to him.

“…Hmm?”

Sitting on his bed, Colio suddenly noticed there was something in his pants pocket.

Turning around, he noticed a piece of a transparent stone was peeking from his back pocket. It was a Book. Where did he get such a thing? With a start, Colio realized.

“…Oh, right.”

That illegal Book seller probably put it in his pocket without permission.

He was probably planning on charging him money for that. Colio took the Book out, thinking about throwing it away.

Colio didn’t know that the stored memories will flow into whoever touches a Book. These stored memories would be replicated inside the recipient’s mind.

That was the state known as “reading a Book”.

If a Book is touched without any gloves on, it will be “read” on the spot.

The scenery in front of Colio’s eyes completely changed.

That surprising moment couldn’t be described with words.

He was seeing a landscape that should not have existed and the feel of his dingy bed was replaced by the caress of the wind.

Colio had lost his body inside the “Book”. Only his eyes, ears and skin still remained.

He could view the landscape from every angle, and hear every sound from up close.

Colio thought this was like having a dream.

It was dusk time inside the Book.

Beyond the gentle hills that continued on and on, Colio could see the sinking sun with his eyes that did not exist.

“Why?”

It was a man’s coa.r.s.e voice.

“I don’t have a reason.”

It was a slender woman’s voice.

“Everything has to end.”

“Why?”

“You, who during fifty whole years offered yourself to fighting and continuously got stronger without a moment’s rest, will lose to me, one with arms as thin as this violet’s stem. But no matter how unreasonable this is, I don’t have any reason.”

“…W-why…”

“Shlam.u.f.fen. The Ever-Laughing Magic Blade.”

There was the sound of a sword thin as a wire being swung down. Then the sound of air leaking resounded from the man’s lungs.

At dusk, a lone man had fallen down, and a lone woman stared at him sadly. The man’s hand was firmly clenching an iron spear.

The figures of those two at dusk became redder and redder – looking as if they were going to become burning ashes.

The woman spoke while looking down at the man’s corpse.

“These are all poor people.”

As she said this, she swung the thin sword once. The blood that stuck to the blade scattered around. A little spurt hit her white gloves.

Her silk gloves that extended to her elbows and the long skirt of her regal dress were white as a cloud floating in a crystal-clear sky. And just like a cloud, she was dyed by the light of sunset.

Even the wide brimmed hat she put on her head was white. The hat was decorated with genuine white lily flowers that were encased in wax.

The woman’s face was hidden by the hat and only her nose and below it could be seen.

Colio remembered the Book seller said it was a Book from three hundred years ago.

During that time there were no machines or guns, and so it was an era when horses, swords, and magic held the leading roles of the world.

Rather than establishments like the people’s congress or republic governments, it was an era when kings, n.o.bles and knights had ruled the world.

During that era, much more magic had been developed.

In modern times, the power of machinery was much more convenient, so magic was becoming obsolete. For people living normally, there was almost no chance to meet any Magician. Magicians could only be found among people such as special engineers or the Armed Librarians.

But, during that era there were numerous powerful Magicians.

Colio thought that perhaps this woman was a Magician.

“Here, have a look.”

The woman said. Colio realized her voice was surprisingly young. It was the voice of someone who could be called a girl, around his age or a little above it.

The girl held up the sword in her right hand in front of her.

It was a strange sword.

Its handle was shaped like a spider. It even had delicate eight legs resting on the girl’s hand. The jointed spider legs tore into the girl’s silk gloves and dyed her fingers with blood.

The blade protruded from the spider’s rear. It was modeled after a spider’s thread, and was similarly as thin.

The girl started talking.

“This sword is the Ever-Laughing Magic Blade – Shlam.u.f.fen. It is one of the seven remaining Memorial Weapons in this world. Among the remaining seven, it is said to be the most inconsiderate and bloodthirsty.

These Memorial Weapons were the weapons used by the G.o.ds during the long past Paradise Era. This Shlam.u.f.fen was used as a weapon by the punishment enforcers among the Librarian Angels.”

There was no one to reply to the girl’s words. Still, she kept speaking.

“This Memorial Weapon is cursed to be eternal due to having the G.o.ds’ powers. I cannot break it, and neither can anyone of this world.

Even if I were to throw the sword away, it would surely find a new owner to replace me. Please forgive my powerlessness.”

The blade of the sword – Ever-Laughing Magic Blade Shlam.u.f.fen – had smoothly withdrawn into its handle.

“By the way, would you like to hear my story?”

As the girl said this, she took off her hat and threw it away. Her hair was spread and casually fluttered down to her back like a b.u.t.terfly.

It was a strange hair. Its color was hard to describe.

The entirety of it was chestnut-colored. However, some parts of it were white and some black, forming a striped pattern. It was like the color of a calico cat’s fur.

The girl’s hair danced in the gentle wind.

She turned her vivacious and gentle face towards the red light and closed her eyes.

Her expression was sad yet beautiful.

“It has been 18 years since I’ve obtained this power. Compared to the number of people I’ve saved, the number of people I’ve hurt is much larger.

Even though there was really no need for anyone to be hurt.”

Who was this girl talking to? Colio thought.

“While hurting, regretting, and blaming myself for taking people’s lives, I haven’t found any meaning.

I haven’t offered my hand to suffering people and suffered from my sins inside a dark room.

While hurting others, I was even more afraid of hurting myself.

Pursuing wealth, succ.u.mbing to greed.

Selfishness. Avarice. Cowardice. Sloth.

Those were all my sins.

I wonder if you pity me.

Or are you looking down at me?

I don’t mind either way.

I just want to be with you.

Even if we’re far apart, as long as my fragments are by your side, it’s enough for me. Yes, it’s enough.”

The girl began walking.

“When my words reach you…

Please go to the place where a precious person lost someone precious to them. What you were seeking for a long time will weigh on your back.

For a brief moment, the wind will stop.

Please run without hesitating then.

Yes, me too. I also… yes, thank you. I really do. It makes me happy.”

She said this with small intervals between sentences.

“I have been called by many names, both now and in the future. The Nation’s Saint. The Ever-Laughing Witch. Even something such as “Tortoisesh.e.l.l”. But as expected, I want to be called by my real name.”

The girl appeared to be smiling for a moment. That slight smile was probably out of embarra.s.sment.

Dusk was soon replaced by a curtain of indigo.

A crescent moon had already been floating in the sky since a while ago.

As if the world itself had been cut off, Colio was pulled back to reality.

He was inside a room, on top of a bed.

He wondered how much time had pa.s.sed.

Colio was still in the position of having tried to take the Book fragment out of his back pocket. It was already dark outside, and the lady managing the inn was taking the laundry inside.

Colio stretched the sleeve of his shirt and held the Book like that. This time nothing happened.

Colio was staring intently at the Book. His heart was throbbing.

That girl’s sad smile left a deep impression on him.

Colio looked around. He was restless and couldn’t calm down.

He rose up pacing around the room, feeling as if something significant had happened and that he had to do something about it right away.

“Why is that…?”

Colio muttered, intently staring at the Book placed on his bed.

It was a strange Book. He couldn’t understand what he has seen – such as whom the girl was talking to. It was really too strange to be just a monologue.

Thinking about it, he had no idea what her name was. She said she wanted to be called by her real name, but he didn’t know it. However, he did mention some of her nicknames. The Nation’s Saint. The Ever-Laughing Witch. Tortoisesh.e.l.l. Each of them gave a different feel. Tortoisesh.e.l.l was especially awful.

What should I call her?

Colio pondered.

Tortoisesh.e.l.l-colored-hair Princess. It was too long, and didn’t sound good.

Tortoisesh.e.l.l-haired Princess. Still too long.

The Calico-haired Princess. Calico Princess. Yes, that was good.

“Calico Princess.”

He tried saying it out loud.

Just by naming her, he suddenly felt as if they grew closer.

Colio put the Book inside the very bottom of his bag.

Relia was sleeping. It seemed like he hadn’t noticed anything.

Some time had pa.s.sed. Relia didn’t wake up yet.

Colio decided having dinner by himself. He went to the dining room on the first floor of the inn. Right now, only Colio’s group was at this cheap inn.

Inside a narrow room at the front of the inn, there was a wooden desk. This seemed to be the dining room. Colio sat there in silence.

The innkeeper was gossiping with some neighbors. When Colio came, the women immediately looked at him and started speaking.

“Boy, do you know anything?”

“…About what?”

Colio asked back. Looking at their faces, it was apparent something had happened. Since he wasn’t sure if this was about Hyoue, he became anxious.

If they were found out here, it would be hard for them to kill Hamyuts Meseta.

But what the old lady talked about wasn’t related to Hyoue.

“It seemed there was some commotion this afternoon. An Armed Librarian was apparently killed.”

“Hamyuts Meseta?”

Hearing about an Armed Librarian, Colio immediately responded without thinking. Hamyuts Meseta was the only Armed Librarian he knew.

“Of course not. It was one of her subordinates, umm, what was he called… ah, Luimon. It was Luimon.”

Luimon. He heard that name for the first time. One of Hamyuts Meseta’s subordinates. Colio thought that it might have been the big man he saw earlier.

“How did it happen?”

“I don’t know, but they say it was a bomb.”

Colio’s heart jumped for a moment. Fortunately he didn’t show it on his face.

The women didn’t intend to gossip with him. They just wanted to share their speculations among themselves.

He was given a dish of grilled meat with bread and soup, and began eating alone.

Outside of the window, people were hurriedly moving through the town at dusk. In this dust-filled town, the dusk was just dusty.

The sun, sinking behind the mountains in the west, didn’t dye the grey dusk with even a single drop of red.

This town was dim.

The smoke coming from the mines covered the entire town.

Colio recalled the dusk he had seen inside the Book and felt as if he had realized how dim the town was only now.

As he scooped up soup with his spoon, Colio watched the sunset dumbfounded.

Colio daydreamed about the color of the sun in the other side of the grey-colored sky. He didn’t understand why he felt this way.

A little while before that…

It was a bit after the death of Hyoue Janfus and the bread selling young man.

The Armed Librarian called Luimon Mahaton was walking through the town during midday.

Luimon was a large man. His muscles were like armor. His thighs were as thick as logs. His bursting flesh was wrapped by a grey business suit and a well-ironed shirt.

With just the clothes, he looked like a salary man you could find anywhere. However, his body and the huge gun hanging from his waist clearly distinguished him from a normal person. And on that gun’s handle was carved a crest that every person in the world knew belonged to the Armed Librarians.

Luimon shook his gun as he walked from the path back from the mine. He just handed over the illegal Book seller to this town’s sheriff. He was probably being reprimanded right now.

Luimon believed that the trafficking of Books should be handled more aggressively. Books could not be replicated after all. If they weren’t placed under the Library’s care, they would just become lost.

That being said, the trafficking of Books was unrelated to his current job. I must concentrate on my present job, Luimon thought.

Luimon entered the tavern that also served as a restaurant, deciding to have his lunch.

He took out a silver watch from his breast pocket to check the time. It was exactly 12 o’clock. A good time for a meal.

Luimon sat at the counter and put a ten kirue bill on top of it.

“Give me a chicken steak and some corn salad.”

“What should I add to that?”

“Fried… no, mashed potatoes. A large amount.”

Luimon’s large body moved to a small table next to the counter.

“Is this enough?”

“No, even more than that.”

Looking at Luimon’s body, the host spoke in an amazed voice while cooking.

“You sure are large, mister, but I wonder just how much.”

Luimon immediately replied.

“Sixteen lyra and half a laary. Twenty one and a third tohora.”

“Uh, can you say that in metric?”

“Umm…”

Luimon calculated inside his head. One laary was about two centimeters, and every lyra was six laarys, so multiplying that by twelve is 193. One machi is fifteen grams, times seven for one matan, and seven of that times seven to get a tohora…

“About 193 centimeters and 110 kilograms.”

“Ah, so much.”

Looking at him, the man was surprised.

Recently, the metric system that was devised by the scientific community became mainstream over the old traditional lyra units. But it wasn’t like Luimon had a problem understanding the decimal multiplication of the metric system over multiplying by six or seven with the lyra system.

The lyra system was simply more convenient for those who use magic, but that probably didn’t matter for normal people.

“Here you go.”

As he was thinking about this matter, his meal had arrived. Just as he saw it, his stomach rumbled.

“Thanks for the food.”

Luimon thrust his fork at the pile of mashed potatoes.

Suddenly, he felt some killer intent.

Luimon’s body became tense, and prepared for combat.

“…”

However, Luimon hadn’t moved. He didn’t want to give the enemies behind him a chance.

While loading his mouth with mashed potatoes, he was gloating inside his mind.

That was because the enemies had eliminated the need to search for them. His job was in a long stalemate, but it seemed that there would be some progress now.

“Mmm, delicious.”

The enemies he could feel behind him were amateurs. They were probably two or three people. They were about to attack.

Soon, Luimon thought while cutting the steak.

They came at him.

And then…

Luimon’s hand separated itself from the knife, and as if it was an independent living creature, grabbed the gun at his waist.

Luimon opened the rifle’s shortened barrel with his right hand.

The bayonet attached to the tip of the gun glistened with oil. By that time, he was able to grasp the situation.

With the experience ingrained in his body, Luimon was able to accurately move the way he needed to.

“Hah…”

The bayonet emitted a high-pitched metallic sound and his right elbow made a thud. A knife fell from a man’s hand, and a woman’s body collapsed.

Switching the hand holding the gun by turning his wrist, he struck the solar plexus of the guy as he tried to pick up his knife with the gun’s handle.

All of this was done as a single action. He didn’t hesitate or stop for a second.

The woman lost her consciousness with a single blow, and the man collapsed with vomit flying from his mouth.

“A-aah…”

By the time the owner was screaming, the work was already over. Luimon fastened the gun to his waist. And just as he was thinking how to explain the situation…

Luimon’s life had ended.

Behind the woman, a child’s figure broke the vacuum tube in his chest and ended his life without Luimon even seeing him. Without any time to even feel pain, his brain had ceased all activity.

The blast coming from behind Luimon crushed his large body. His dead body was further blown to smithereens by the resulting explosions of the bombs in the other two.

The three bombs held enough destructive power to destroy the entire place as well as half of a nearby house. Both the witnesses and Luimon’s targets inside the tavern were completely obliterated.

As if lagging behind, a roar resounded outside.

A BOMB, A PRINCESS, AND VARIOUS PEOPLE – PART 2

January 25, 2016Tgurneu

It was that day’s night.

Relia opened his eyes and noticed that Colio wasn’t in the room.

He heard some sort of rustling sound before, but he didn’t know anything apart from that.

He raised his body and rubbed his puffy eyes. It seemed this town’s dusty air wasn’t good for them.

Inside his bed, Relia recalled long past events – the things he talked about with Hyoue and the rest, as well as various other things.

Relia had some of his memories left. Since Colio and Hyoue barely knew anything, he was probably the exception.

But even he couldn’t remember very much.

He couldn’t remember his childhood.

Memories of his mother and father, memories of his family, memories of him being breastfed or walking for the first time…

He didn’t have any of those.

His first memory was a stone room.

He remembered feeling cold when his knees and head touched the floor. His first memory was him crouching on that stone floor.

There were people around – twelve or thirteen of them. The next time he counted, they were twenty seven. All of them were sitting down on the stone floor.

Relia and the rest had been imprisoned inside this stone room.

Both children and adults, men and women, were lumped together in the room. At that time Relia knew how to stand up and walk, look around him, and speak.

He was probably around ten years old then.

Where was he before entering his room and why was he here? He had no memories to answer that. Were his memories lost or erased? He didn’t know whether he was always there or just brought inside from another place. Although he asked the people around, none of them knew or even tried to understand their situation.

It was a strange room. None of the people had any work to do, and they just lazily lay around. Their only meals were breadcrumbs thrown on the ground. Some of them just sat silently on the floor, some banged their heads against the walls while murmuring to themselves, and some were playing around with imaginary dices while gambling imaginary money.

He had no sense of the date, time of the week, or hour.

They were clothed livestock.

This was the only thing apparent to Relia and the rest.

Relia didn’t know about Colio and Hyoue, but he imagined they had the same circ.u.mstances of staying inside such a room filled with clothed livestock.

A long time had pa.s.sed without anything happening.

Relia was almost mentally broken countless times. He also considered suicide.

But, for some reason, he was able to preserve his sanity.

Probably ten years have pa.s.sed. A lone man came for Relia and took him out of the room.

And he led Relia to another room.

While they were moving, he could see the ocean from a window in the corridor.

Inside the room he was brought to, there were several white-wearing men. Whether they were doctors or Magicians, Relia couldn’t tell the difference.

“What are you?”

One of them said.

“…A human.”

Relia answered.

“You’re wrong. You aren’t a human.”

“Why?”

“Do you even know what humans are?”

Relia didn’t answer.

“I’ll teach you.”

The white robed man took a rope, tied it around Relia and rolled him on the floor.

“…We just need to pa.s.s it to Crukessa?”

“Yes. We won’t be able to use it later.”

“I see. What will happen if it’ll break?”

“We’ll just use it as bait.”

The men were talking about such things while looking down at Relia.

“Hey, who exactly are you?”

“Hehe, if you’d like to know, we’ll tell you…”

“We’re from the Indulging G.o.d Cult.”

“What is that?”

Relia asked, and a man answered.

“I can’t answer that simply. We need to talk about it somewhere.”

“…I’ve wanted to talk since the start.”

“So, this is related to the story of the G.o.ds.”

Saying this, the man began telling the story of the Overseer of the Beginning and the End, the story of the world’s creation, the story of the world’s Overseers, and the story of Bantorra and the Armed Librarians.

From there on, Relia’s memories were fuzzy.

When he opened his eyes, there was a bomb inside his chest.

What were they talking about?

He couldn’t recall.

Thinking about it, he wondered what Colio was doing. Maybe he was eating dinner? But it was late for that.

“Now might be my only opportunity.”

Relia muttered aloud.

After finishing dinner, Colio went out for a walk.

It’s not like he had something to do outside, but he didn’t feel like talking with Relia.

The ones who killed Luimon Mahaton were probably Colio and the rest’s allies. Colio thought of this while walking. It might have been someone he met before.

Just like Colio, they were probably people told that they weren’t human.

“…Human.”

Inside the town where lamps were being lit up here and there, Colio muttered.

That Luimon Mahaton person was definitely not a human as well.

If he was a human, he wouldn’t have been hurt. Hurting humans was unforgivable. Humans lived to be happy, to love, to be loved.

Therefore, a person who was hurt, who was unhappy, was not a human.

He may have had the shape of a human, but on a more fundamental level he was a different, trifling existence.

Thus Colio thought.

Children were running on the road.

Seeing this didn’t give him any reminiscence or warm feelings. It also did not make him involuntarily smile. He was just staring emotionlessly at the children. Colio didn’t know what “having fun” was like.

Colio thought it was the proof he wasn’t human.

Hamyuts Meseta also wasn’t a human. If she were a human, she wouldn’t have to be killed.

He had no idea about the children in front of him. They might be humans, and they might not be.

The children were running around looking for some lost cat through the holes in walls and trees.

Colio thought…

Was that Calico Princess a human?

Thinking for a moment, Colio was sure that she was.

When he recalled her beautiful and n.o.ble figure, he couldn’t think of her as not being a human.

As the sun already sank, lamps were lit up throughout the town. Winged small insects were drawn to the dim light of these gas lamps. The light reached all the way to the back alleys, making the town a bit brighter rather than dark grey.

Colio was walking in the opposite direction of the crowd of people returning from the mines. His legs led him to the alley he went to earlier that day. He didn’t understand why. Maybe it was because this was the only road he knew here.

The town that had been sleeping in the morning was now awake.

From a small lit tavern, the miners’ laughter, singing and sometimes yelling could be heard.

The smells of dust and oil covering the town were now mixed with the smell of hard liquor.

Colio, who was walking aimlessly among the herd of people, suddenly looked at a lone girl. The girl was sitting in the dark at the end of the road, as if trying to escape the gas lamps.

The girl was motionless. She was looking at her legs or doing something – Colio couldn’t tell.

He stopped to stare at the girl’s figure. The other people walked by without paying her any attention. Their shoulders b.u.mped into Colio and nearly made him stumble.

“…It’s already impossible.”

The girl said suddenly.

“Everything came out.”

Saying this, she stood up and rubbed her eyes. Colio saw her face.

Her eyes were red as if covered by blood. Around them were dark marks from having wiped them over and over again.

“So people can actually run out of tears. Haha, I had no idea.”

The girl laughed. It was laughter without any emotion in it, apparent only by her voice and expression.

“Are you from around here?”

The girl said.

“…”

Colio didn’t say anything.

“Hey, are you from around here?”

“…”

“…Listen, I’m talking to you.”

Colio then understood she was talking to him.

He couldn’t understand why she would do that. Colio just stood there without answering.

“You’re weird.”

The girl stared at Colio’s face. So inevitably, Colio also looked at her face. Those two faced each other under the dim lights.

She had a normal face. It couldn’t be called beautiful or ugly. She was wearing a white cotton cape on top of her white cheap dress. It was probably worn not because it was fashionable, but due it being cold. She was a plain, completely normal girl.

Her appearance didn’t move Colio’s emotions either. The only thing he thought about was how red her eyes and the tips of her nose were.

She also seemed to be unmoved by his appearance. He was simply a short boy.

“I have a question for you.”

“…What?”

“Oh, you finally said something.”

The girl smiled a little.

“Do you know what to do when the person you love dies?”

“Who knows?”

“…I guess, huh…”

Saying this, the girl crouched again. Then, she began sobbing in front of Colio.

After a while, she stopped crying.

“…Thank you. That was good for me. I feel better after having talked with someone, no matter who it is.”

She said while sobbing. Colio wasn’t by her side out of kindness, but simply because he had no place to go to. Colio didn’t understand how he made her feel better.

“…What are you doing?”

The girl stood up while saying this.

“…”

Colio determined there was no reason to tell this girl about killing Hamyuts Meseta. But after thinking about what he wanted to do, he almost couldn’t think of anything else to answer.

“I’m thinking about humans.”

“How sophisticated.”

Colio didn’t really understand what she meant by this.

He then asked.

“Was that person who died a human?”

“Of course. Is there a person who’s not human? A Magical Angel? A Librarian Angel? Or some ancient G.o.d? You’ve read too much fairytales.”

He didn’t really understand what she was saying. So Colio tried to inquire further.

“Humans are supposed to live while being loved.”

“Right. I loved him. I really loved him.”

“…I see.”

The conversation wasn’t really flowing, Colio thought.

“What’s your name?”

The girl asked. Colio decided he didn’t mind answering.

“Colio Tonies.”

“Such a normal name. I also have a normal name. Ia Mira.”

Ia Mira said while wiping her eyes.

“He also had a normal name.

Cartohelo Mashea. His job was selling bread on the roads.”

“…Eh?”

Colio responded.

“Do you know Cartohelo?”

“…No, I don’t.”

Colio then understood that the person this girl – Ia Mira – was mourning was the bread-selling young man killed by Hyoue’s explosion.

He tried recalling that guy’s face.

But, he could only remember it vaguely.

“You were thinking about humans, right?”

Ia Mira said. Colio nodded.

“Why are you thinking about humans? Aren’t you a human? Are you thinking about yourself?”

“…I’m not a human.”

Saying this, Colio was suddenly grabbed by his wrist. He was surprised to the extent that his heart skipped a beat.

Applying her fingers to Colio’s wrist, Ia Mira then spoke in an anticlimactic manner.

“Huh, you do have a pulse. I’m surprised; I actually thought you weren’t a human.”

Ia said while releasing his hand.

“You are a human. Good.”

Ia seemed to be speaking lively. However, Colio understood she was only doing this to conceal her emotions.

“I’m not a human. Humans are…”

At that moment, the figure of Calico Princess vividly rose inside his mind. He recalled the impact and deep impression he felt during that moment, as well as the beauty of the sunset.

“…Simply too different.”

“…Hmph.”

While Ia seemed to be talking normally, when her words became stuck, she would show a momentary glimpse of a sad expression. Seeing that, Colio wondered if Cartohelo was human. Did he live while loving, being loved and happy – meaning he was a human?

“Tell me about Cartohelo.”

Colio said. Ia looked Surprised.

“Why?”

“…Just because.”

“You’re so strange. That’s the first time you said something like that.”

“Anything will be fine. Just tell me something.”

Ia still looked a bit confused regarding Colio, but started speaking.

“I was the first to fall in love with him. It was love at first sight. Hey, do you believe in love at first sight?”

“No.”

He didn’t care. Ia continued.

“Love at first sight exists.

But, people who don’t believe in love at first sight don’t notice it. They realize only later that they have fallen in love.

I was also like that. When I was looking for Cartohelo in places he couldn’t be in and thought about what I was doing, I realized it. I’ve fallen in love at first sight.”

“…I see.”

He was not deliberately ignoring her, but he wasn’t seriously listening to her either. Colio made an ambiguous reply.

“Cartohelo had no father and was living alone with his mother. But his mother also died at the time, and since he was working so hard for her, he lost all of his motivation. That’s when I met him by chance.”

She then continued talking about her memories of Cartohelo. They didn’t know each other for too long. Ia was one year younger than him, and they were dating for about two years and a half.

While Carth.e.l.lo was the one to begin speaking with her, it was Ia who confessed to him.

The two were not married yet, but they planned on getting married when their lives became a bit more stable. Ia said that if they were to work hard until the next year’s summer, they would be able to gather enough money to open a shop together. The both of them knew they were not very smart. They also didn’t go to school. But Ia was happy to have Cartohelo more than someone who was just smart and had some money.

To sum up, Ia Mira and Cartohelo Mashea were two extremely average people who met and fell in love in an average manner. Even the drama born between them and the happiness and hard times they obtained were extremely average.

Colio listened to Ia Mira’s story while just staring at her.

There were countless things to tell of. But time was limited.

Unlike Colio who had nothing to do, Ia presumably had a job and a lot of things she had to do.

Ia, who had been talking while crouched down, stood up and said,

“…Well, I’m going to work. Even if Cartohelo’s gone I have to work, and I have to earn money to live.”

“Right.”

“Goodbye.”

Saying this, the two easily parted ways.

The time was midnight. He could roughly guess what sort of job would start at this sort of time in the entertainment district. Even the ignorant Colio could understand that. However, he didn’t really care about such things.

“Was she a human…?”

He couldn’t reach a conclusion. It was too vague for him, so he left the question hanging inside his mind.

A weak wind was blowing.

A BOMB, A PRINCESS, AND VARIOUS PEOPLE – PART 3

January 26, 2016Tgurneu

Far away from Toatt Mining Town, close to the sea on the other side of the world, there was an island.

It wasn’t a large island. Its shape was a perfect circle like inside a compa.s.s. It was an island without any forests or caves, just numerous gentle hills.

On the hill at the center of the island was a huge castle surrounded by high walls.

It was an old-fashioned castle made by white bricks. Just how long has it been since it was built? Tangled ivy reached all the way to the huge castle’s spires. The sunlight dyeing the castle was soft. Both the sky and the wind seemed to lively applaud their creator. This castle stood on the hill, looking like it came out of an incredible oil painting.

That castle’s name was Bantorra Library. It was the world’s first library, built long ago by the Overseers of the world to accommodate the pasts of all people.

The castle and building on the surface were built by humans for the use of Armed Librarians and visitors. The real Library was a vast labyrinth spread beneath the castle. However, details of the labyrinth will have to wait for another opportunity.

In the center of the castle’s top floor, there was a wide room of about 30 square meters.

A vintage painting was hanging on the wall. It was a large portrait depicting the old days of the Creator deity and the Overseer of the Past. The emblem of a lock had been woven into the center of a high-quality yet weathered white carpet.

A woman was at the center of the room.

“Aah…”

The woman tapped her shoulders while saying this.

“I want to kill them already.”

The woman said to herself.

“What are Luimon and the rest doing? If they won’t we’ll have to kill randomly.”

The woman said such horrible things calmly. Her tone didn’t indicate any sort of joke.

She was a strange woman. It was unclear if she was or wasn’t in her thirties.

She wore a washed-out shirt and men’s pants. She was a terribly plain woman dressed in rustic clothes. Apart from a black ribbon tying her dark hair and the figure of a rabbit clumsily sewn to her shirt’s right breast, she had no accessories. She also wore no makeup.

She was a plain woman you would expect to see in some rural town’s garden. She was one you would definitely overlook in a crowd of people even if you were searching for her.

But, because she was so simple and commonplace, it looked extremely strange for her to be inside this gorgeous room.

The woman was writing something while facing the small desk at the center of the room.

On the desk were several papers, several Books, and next to them a gla.s.s of milk and a pen stand. Another strange thing was the bundle of five stones lying on top of the desk. The crest of the Armed Librarian was engraved on each one.

This woman was known as Hamyuts Meseta.

Hamyuts Meseta, the Acting Director of Bantorra Library.

“You may enter.”

Hamyuts suddenly opened her mouth.

She spoke with a scruffy tone, extending the ending of her words in a weird way.

There was no-one inside the room.

But soon, she heard a voice from the other side of the door.

“Third-Grade Armed Librarian Mirepoc Finedell, entering.”

The door was opened following this clear female voice. A girl wearing what looked like a military uniform entered. She stood in front of Hamyuts’ desk stretching her slender back and aligning the heels of her shoes.

Her lemon-like blonde hair was cut short, and her face divided by the bridge of her nose was as stiff as that of a well-trained hound. Her uniform was fully b.u.t.toned up to the top, and there was not even one wrinkle on it. She looked like a superb soldier. A pendant engraved with the crest of the Armed Librarians was shining on her chest. Incidentally, because there were no regulations about the location of the mark, each Armed Librarian could decide for themselves where to put it.

“Since you went out of your way to come here, I a.s.sume you have some bad news.”

Hamyuts said. Mirepoc Finder nodded in silence. She puckered her lips, staring with strong and determined eyes at Hamyuts who was still in the midst of writing.

“Indeed. It is the worst news.”

“What could have happened?”

“Luimon-san is dead.”

Even hearing this, Hamyuts didn’t change her expression. She wasn’t angry or smiling, just meek and expressionless. It was a calm expression with no emotions behind it, like one had while reading a novel that wasn’t really interesting.

While hearing about the death of her subordinate, not even her eyebrows twitched.

Mirepoc continued the report.

“It happened during noon at Toatt Mining Town… at a tavern in the town. He was killed by bombs… which are presumably human bombs.

Since during that afternoon another bombing incident occurred, I believe the possibility of enemy forces being in Toatt Mining Town is high and I suggest that we immediately send some troops there.”

“…”

Hamyuts didn’t raise her face. Even though she appeared to be thinking, she also looked like she was absorbed in her writing.

It was hard for Mirepoc to talk to her. She didn’t know any other person whose emotions were so hard to read, so she couldn’t tell if Hamyuts was thinking about something or not thinking at all. Mirepoc resumed her report.

“Right now, including me there are four Third-Grade Armed Librarians ready for a sortie. If you’ll give the instructions, Acting Director, we’ll be able to depart within the hour.”

“Stop that.”

Hamyuts said calmly.

“…Huh?”

Mirepoc responded without thinking. Hamyuts grabbed the cup of delicious milk besides her and took a sip.

“Kids should stay inside and study. You’ll have a fun fieldtrip another time.”

“Director!”

Mirepoc hit the desk without thinking.

A little milk was spilled on the desk, and Hamyuts wiped it with her sleeve.

“What are you planning to do? We need to avenge Luimon-san!”

“Avenge?”

“Because Luimon-san…”

Hamyuts raised her eyes for the first time, looking at Mirepoc’s face. Her eyes looked like she was laughing, but her expression didn’t. Those terrifying eyes didn’t allow reading what she was thinking at all.

“I’m pretty sure I’ve taught you to separate killing from personal feelings. So you didn’t listen to me, huh Mirepo?”

“No, that’s…”

Mirepoc took her words back. She had neither the authority nor the intention to defy Hamyuts.

“…So, what are we going to do?”

Hamyuts suddenly stood up.

With her sandals shaking, she headed towards the door close to Mirepoc. While walking, she said,

“I have a question for you, Mirepo. Among our troops that can be mobilized immediately…”

Hamyuts stopped and turned around.

“Who’s the best one at ‘ma.s.sacring’?”

Mirepoc answered.

“Acting Director Hamyuts Meseta.”

Hamyuts who was turned towards Mirepoc grinned.

“That’s right.”

It was then that Mirepoc understood why Hamyuts was so calm.

Contrary to her plain appearance and words, Hamyuts Meseta was said to be the most aggressive G.o.d’s representative in history.

She always preferred going alone for a pre-emptive attack. She didn’t allow the enemy any demands or deals, and a battle resulting in her not having ma.s.sacred the enemies was extremely rare. Because of her belligerent personality combined with overwhelming combat power, her inauguration as the Acting Director was once cancelled before.

Mirepoc decided the enemies should be decimated as revenge for Luimon. But for Hamyuts, this was the normal state of affairs.

The enemies will be killed. Even though Luimon died, her choice wasn’t any different.

“Call Mattalast. After that, send Bonbo and Matgowe an order to return just in case.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Saying this, Hamyuts went out.

And, she said while turning back,

“Mirepo, what are you doing?”

“Huh?”

“You’re coming too.”

“Y-yes ma’am.”

Mirepoc ran behind Hamyuts in a hurry.

The two who left the room went down a long spiral staircase. Hamyuts, who was walking at the front, opened her mouth.

“So Luimon died, huh?”

“Yes.”

“Well, it can’t be helped. It’s because he was weak.”

Hamyuts said in a hard-to-read tone as usual. Mirepoc recalled her distaste hearing those kinds of words.

Hamyuts calmly continued saying things that desecrated their allies and the dead.

“I told him he couldn’t continue this if he’s that weak. It’s just as I thought, it was obvious he would die.”

“…”

Mirepoc withstood the anger trembling inside her chest.

I know she’s a terribly ruthless person. But does she really need to speak like that?

“But, you know.”

Hamyuts continued.

“He was a good guy.”

Mirepoc couldn’t find any words to reply.

“It was quite a pity to give this job to such a person, right?”

After that, Hamyuts went silent.

Mirepoc who was walking behind could not see Hamyuts’s expression.

Was she holding back tears? Was she suppressing the anger in her body?

Or maybe, she was just keeping up her meek expressionless face?

Mirepoc couldn’t tell.

Exiting Bantorra Library, behind the castle were an airplane hangar and a runway.

The iron door of the hangar opened. Inside it, the propeller airplane was already warming up its engine.

Built in a rare cooperation of the Magic Agency and the Science Agency who were usually on bad terms, it was a propeller plane with a Magic Engine. Originally it had been Hamyuts’ personal possession, but was already used by all Armed Librarians.

After fueling the airplane and leaving a technician to inspect the c.o.c.kpit, a lone man was standing next to the propeller plane.

It was a tall man wearing black hat low and dressed in a starched black frock coat. A little of his flaxen hair spilled out of his hat.

His name was Mattalast Ballory. His mark as an Armed Librarian was in the form of shiny b.u.t.tons on his coat’s sleeves.

“Wow. That was fast.”

Hamyuts called out to him.

“So Luimon got offed, huh?”

Mattalast asked.

“Yeah.”

Hamyuts answered.

That was all they talked about Luimon. Just how much meaning did their conversation hold? Did they just want to affirm the facts? Compared to those two who have seen death countless of times, the inexperienced Mirepoc couldn’t understand.

“Can we leave?”

“If the Director wishes to, but…”

“But what, did something happen?”

Said Hamyuts.

“Earlier, the Forecast Committee of the Magic Agency contacted us.”

“By the Forecast Committee you mean those weather report guys?”

Hamyuts asked.

The Forecast Committee was at the Magician’s Head Temple belonging to the Magic Agency, run by the federation of Oracular Magicians.

It was an eclectic of various Oracular Magicians gathered together, but most of their work nowadays was weather forecast.

“Yes. It seems a typhoon is heading towards Toatt mine.”

“…”

Hamyuts’ expression became slightly gloomy. Searching far and wide, there were only few things that could cause her such a reaction. Everybody knew that a typhoon was one of those few.

For Hamyuts, a strong wind was a weakness that she definitely couldn’t overcome.

“Mattalast-san. Is there a place in Toatt mine that the typhoon wouldn’t affect?”

Mirepoc said from behind.

“Mirepo’s on to something. Since Toatt Mine’s ground has a very strong elemental alignment, normally a typhoon shouldn’t pa.s.s through.”

“So what about what the weather forecast people said?”

“It’s just heading north for today.”

“So there’s no problem.”

Said Mirepoc.

“That’s right, but… It’s good that I heard about it. Just in case.”

Hamyuts thought for a while.

“If the only weapons they have are human bombs, I should be fine even if there’s a typhoon.”

“Probably. Since it’s you, Director, you’ll probably also be able to win bare-handed.”

Mattalast said with a straight face.

“Well, even if it comes, I’ll just run away until it pa.s.ses. I’ll manage, so there’s no problem here.”

Saying this, Hamyuts jumped up and lightly landed inside the c.o.c.kpit.

“Let’s go, everyone.”

Mirepoc and Mattalast got inside the c.o.c.kpit.

The propeller started rotating noisily.

Colio returned to his room at a late hour.

The room’s lamp was not lit. Colio fumbled with the flint and ignited it.

Colio sat on the bed in the dimly lit room.

“…?”

And then he noticed. Relia who should have been sleeping was gone.

Colio wondered if he went out for a walk like he did himself. But he soon noticed – only two bags were left.

He might have thrown away Hyoue’s belongings that were no longer needed. But Colio had the bad feeling it was more than that.

He went down the stairs and headed for the inn’s owner.

“What is it?”

The innkeeper looked at him annoyingly. She was probably ready to go to sleep.

“Where did Relia go?”

“Relia? Oh, that guy. He went out not a long ago.”

“Went out…”

“It’s fine. He already paid.”

“…Did he check out?”

Colio said while suppressing his agitation.

“Indeed.”

“…”

Colio was stunned for a while.

He ran away. Relia ran away.

“Oh right, he also said the other one checked out. And what about you, boy?”

“I…”

Colio said while turning his back to the innkeeper.

“I’ll remain here.”

Saying only this, Colio returned to his room.

The innkeeper seemed to be wary because two out of the three were suddenly gone. Furthermore, one of them left his luggage behind. She didn’t say anything, but he immediately understood she was suspecting them.

I might get kicked out of the inn, Colio thought. He then worried about where he would go to if he did get kicked out. Should he search for another inn, and where? Did he even have enough money? Since he was the only one remaining, he had to think by himself.

But it’ll be fine. Colio thought that he would just kill Hamyuts Meseta before getting kicked out, and his thought process stopped there.

I should go to sleep already, he thought.

He wrote inside the diary under the lamp’s light.

“Today I haven’t killed Hamyuts Meseta.”

Usually he would finish writing the entry like this. But, for the first time, Colio was continuing beyond that.

“Hyoue died. Relia ran away. And”

Colio’s pen stopped. He wasn’t sure if he should write about Calico Princess or not.

After thinking for a while, Colio crossed off the “and”.

This was the first time he was troubled over writing in the diary.

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