El. Psy. Congroo.
Volume 1 Chapter 4 Part 3
Chapter 4: Thy Name is ‘Invader’
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You can grab the PDF here.
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My eyes turn towards the view outside the windows.
At a slight distance away, there are campfires giving off light and pushing back the night’s darkness.
The figures of soldiers wearing helmets and armor are visible from the fires erected a set distance off. Without even looking at the crest on their flags, it is obvious that they are from the Eldant Empire’s army.
The school grounds have already been surrounded by them.
However, they are merely monitoring the situation from afar, and have shown no actions beyond that. Well, with the Empress a hostage, they most likely can’t take any aggressive measures.
As for us——for now, things have relatively calmed down.
For a while after they began barricading themselves up, the terrorists reacted to every single sound with threats, but with the passage of time after the situation fell into a stalemate, their vigilance appears to have started to flag. The amount of time they spend glaring at us has deceased, and some of them have even put their swords back into their sheaths.
Humans are apparently not very good at maintaining a high degree of tension for an extended period of time. This is how our bodies are naturally—I seem to remember having read in a book that this is due to some sort of secretion inside our brains.
“I wonder how much longer they’re going to continue doing this.”
I am the one who voiced that naive question out loud.
I wasn’t aiming to get an answer from anyone in particular, but Petrarca gives an answer to my muttered words.
“The custom is that the side who had someone taken hostage will, together with the coming of dawn, dispatch a emissary, but……as a display of their resolve, it is also common for the side who took the hostages to execute one of the hostages in front of the emissary.”
“Uwah……”
In other words, we have to do something about this before dawn breaks.
It is not yet halfway through the night, but that’s not reason for us to take our time.
“Um……excuse me……!”
The person who timidly called out to our guard was Miusel.
“What?”
“May……May I go……to the washroom please……?”
Miusel’s cheeks are all red and she is looking downwards in a very embarrassed manner.
To be honest, ever since the start of the siege, no one has been to the toilet. It is only natural that she’s reached her limit. The other students are also now giving the guards expectant looks.
“No.”
The guard immediately denied her request.
“You may soil yourself here. It would suit you, being the half-elf that you are.”
“.………..That’s…………! I beg of you! Please……”
“Shut up! Like I care!”
The man indifferently threw that line while turning his back to Miusel as an indication of his intention to ignore her.
“In that case……what about me?”
All eyes in the room gather on me.
The guard turns toward me and spits out his reply.
“Did you not hear me? Soil yourself here.”
“Didn’t you say ‘It would suit you, being the half-elf that you are’?”
I repeated his own words.
“I’m human, though.”
“Don’t you screw with me. Even if you are a human it doesn’t——”
“Then I am confused. The half-elf would be one thing——”
Petrarca now butts into the conversation.
“——you are treating Shinichi, who is a human, the same way. The ‘traditional feudalistic society’ that you people advocate is starting to sound like random ideas made up on the spot, you know?”
“.………..!”
The man’s face is growing redder and redder by the moment as his words visibly get stuck in his throat.
“Regardless of our positions, the logic of you guys’ arguments would eventually arrive at the conclusion that ‘humans’ are existences most worthy of esteem and respect, am I not correct? Then telling a human to soil himself in public, like a mere livestock……you understand what I’m getting at? In the end, when you conveniently twist your beliefs on the spot without any hesitation, it turns you into a superficial person.”
As expected of this loli Imperial Majesty.
When it comes to verbally belittling people, there is no one superior to her. Her childish appearance only adds to the sting of her words. There are probably masochistic people in the world who would enjoy being on the receiving end of her berating, but these terrorists do not belong in that category. I think.
“Kuh……”
The guard’s face distorts with vexation.
“——Take him.”
The voice had come from the other side of the entrance to the room.
It was Alesshio. He glares loathsomely at us while continuing to speak.
“It’ll be problematic if they start making a fuss, and it’d also be depressing to have shit in the room.”
Alesshio indicates with his chin. The guard, looking extremely reluctant, wades through the crowd of hostages, grabs my arm, and roughly drags me upright.
“Come. Do anything stupid, and I’ll kill you.”
I stumble along while being pulled like a piece of luggage.
When the man brings me away from the wallside and towards the door of the classroom—I stop my legs.
“What do you think you’re doing! Hurry up and……”
Showing great irritation, the man turns around to yell at me——it is at that moment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~!!
With enough force to smash the silence inside the room, melody and singing blares vigorously from a pocket on my clothes. My smartphone is currently playing Rental☆Madoka’s opening theme song at maximum volume.
“——?!”
All of the men, including Alesshio, are startled.
When our guard’s attention was somewhere else, Miusel had set a timer on my phone. Even modern people used to the conveniences of civilization would be startled when a phone starts ringing in a place as quiet as a library. The surprise of the patriotic order, who have no idea what a phone is, can be easily guessed.
“What is that!!”
“Some strange music suddenly came from this guy’s body?!”
As if suddenly realizing that what he had been holding is actually a poisonous snake, the guard releases my hand in a panic. They’re frightened, they’re frightened. This is good.
“Don’t move.”
With those words, I try my damn hardest to adopt an impudent expression.
This is a critical moment. I’m not very good at acting and the like, though.
“The magical chant has already been completed. I can tear you guys apart anytime I like now.”
“——?!”
The singer’s voice that had accompanied the melody.
Not knowing rock nor pop, and not even knowing Japanese nor English, these guys have no basis to deny my claim that ‘it was a magical chant.’ On top of which, I’m from a parallel world——they already know that I’ve been bringing in unique items that do not previously exist in this world.
“No, that’s a bluff!”
Alesshio confirms with the crystal hanging from his waist before calling me out.
“There’s no magical power being activated!”
“I’m from a different world, don’t forget.”
I do my best at sounding like I’m scoffing.
“Did you expect my magic to get picked up by this world’s magical detectors? Furthermore, did you even check all the various things that I’d brought over?”
“.………..!”
Unease runs through the terrorists.
For now, all is going according to plan, but——
“K——Kill him! The Imperial Majesty is here! His spell should not be an AoE attack!”
So shouted Alesshio.
This is bad. This guy has an unexpectedly quick mind.
As I witness the men unsheathing their swords, I feel cold sweating spurting from every pore on my skin.
Uwah?! Nononononono, don’t look this way!
And then——the very next moment.
“——Fu!”
With a brief exhalation, Minori-san moves.
The rope that she had undone earlier—to be more exact, that she had made notches in—comes off with only a little bit of strength. Shooting upwards, she reaches out and grabs the arm of our guard, who happens to be standing the closest to her.
“——?!”
The guard freezes with shock. The next instant, his face is smashed in and his knees have already given way.
The hand-to-hand combat style of the JSDF is fundamentally different from any other kind of martial arts——or at least, that’s what I remember having read before. Completely unrelated to mental cultivation, their style focuses purely on practicality. Forgoing the deliberate movements of taking a stance, stepping in, and punching, their style finishes everything with a single move.
In the same movement of pulling the guard towards herself, Minori-san plants her elbow in his face. On top of breaking his posture with the pulling, her attack was only a single move, which made it almost impossible to defend against, and she even used her elbow, which deals double the damage. Not to mention that she had struck the area between the nose and lip, which I remember being a vital point called the ‘philtrum.’
Whatever the details, she had incapacitated the guard in a split second.
Unable to catch up with the development, the patriotic order members are frozen in place. In that interval, Minori-san has taken the sword from the man’s waist, and circled around his body while holding it up with her left hand as a shield.
“Kuh——Kill that woman!”
Being the first to return to his senses, Alesshio turns and raves at his subordinates.
However, there is still hesitation in his men. Exactly. It is due to my existence. If they carelessly show their back to me, they would get hit in the back by magic—is what they are thinking.
That’s a complete misunderstanding.
I cannot use magic at all, of course.
The one that they should be wary of is actually someone else.
“Alesshio!”
One of Alesshio’s subordinates points at his waist.
It seems that he has noticed that the magic detection crystal around Alesshio’s waist is shining.
“Who, who is using magic——?!”
They have no idea when I’d release my magic.
Minori-san has a sword in hand and has taken a fighting stance.
Due to these things, they were late in noticing the crystal’s glow.
“That girl!”
One person points at Miusel.
Correct. While continuing to look downwards and giving off a dejected appearance, she had begun chanting quietly. My role at the start is to draw everybody’s attention, then Minori-san will move to back me up, with her own actions also acting to draw attention away from Miusel’s chanting——such was our two-step preparation.
The men turn again towards Miusel——but it is too late.
“〈Teif Mrotz〉……!!”
Along with the final words indicating the completion of the chant, intense power bursts towards the men.
Some invisible power, a whole clump of power, has materialized out of thin air and crashes into the terrorists. I have no idea what magic it is that Miusel has just used, but it was most likely a shockwave-type that slams into the opponent (T/N: Fus ro dah!). Two of the men are easily blown away, slamming against the wall——after being held up against the wall for an instant, they slowly slide down the wall before eventually falling to the ground.
The whites of their eyes are visible. Seeing as they are still twitching, they are probably not dead.
“Shit?!”
“Don’t move, if you move, this guy will……!”
One of the men, being in a confused state, reaches a hand towards the nearest noble child.
But before a single fingertip touches the noble child——that hand of his is halfway cut off by the sword being wielded by Minori-san.
“Gyah!?”
As copious amounts of blood spout from his arm, the man throws his head back and screams.
Minori-san’s elbow to his face was the clincher——he readily fainted.
With that, four of the men, which means a third of the terrorists, have become incapacitated.
(T/N: I re-checked the last part, and the author really did say that there were only 9 terrorists. No idea when the number became 12.)
However——
“Thou art that which burns, thou art that which scorches, thou art that which destroys with fire……!”
There is a single person standing next to the wall, with his hands gathered to his stomach in the pose of someone holding a ball, who is chanting furiously. With that, a certain something floats up from both of his outheld palms while giving off a red light, floating in mid-air as if in denial of all laws of physics.
Even a complete novice to magic such as myself can tell. The very sight is shouting ‘fire-type attack magic.’
This is bad. Most likely, the chant is already over——at that very moment, when my presence of mind has completely left me——
“Such foolishness.”
So said Petrarca.
Of all things, she calmly stands up, and walks toward the man who is even now still trying to release that magic. The man is surprised, but it’s too late to cancel his spell, and with his back against the wall, he also cannot back up anymore.
“〈Imarufu Mürup〉!”
With desperation more than halfway tainting his tone, the man chants and releases his magic.
It flies straight towards Petrarca——but.
“Gyah!?”
The next instant, just like a thrown hand grenade returning back to himself, the magic retraces its trajectory.
As I had thought, it was a fire-type magic after all, as proven by how the man, as well as one more terrorist standing next to him, both immediately go up in flames. While screaming, the men roll around on the ground, trying to put out the flames currently coiling around them head to toe. After a few seconds, the flames do go out, but both of them are no longer in any condition to fight.
“An amulet?!”
Alesshio groans.
“Being a member of the royal family is a position with a lot of enemies, after all.”
Petrarca responded in a murmur.
“Ranging from enemy countries to political enemies……assassinations and the like have already been taken into consideration.. As such, it is only normal that various preparations have been made for my personal protection.”
“But you weren’t in possession of any magical tools——”
“Of course, if I was flaunting a magical tool around, it would have been taken away. That’s why I have one that never leaves my skin——no, to be exact, I have one that is my skin.”
“.………..!”
Alesshio is shocked.
More like, I’m shocked too. Petrarca’s actions are not in the plan that we had discussed.
But still, ‘I have one that is my skin’——that’s just……
“That magic detection of yours is, in the end, something that reacts to magical power actively leaving a person’s body, is it not? Otherwise, it will respond to every single bit of magical energy within every person’s body and become completely useless.”
In all probability……Petrarca’s body has been tattooed with some sort of charm or crest. A simple ruffian wielding a sword can be somehow taken care of by the knights, but magic—especially mid- to long-ranged surprise attacks—is something that they cannot do anything against. Therefore, her body is constantly clad in a spell that reflects offensive magic.
“.…..Well then.”
Petrarca shoots a glance towards Minori-san’s direction.
Minori-san has already incapacitated two more terrorists.
“You are the last one.”
So speaking, Petrarca now turns towards Alesshio.
However——
“St——Stop right there!”
Alesshio’s voice sounds like that of someone who’s bragging about a victory.
At the same time, a dull sound like that of metal pieces meshing together rings out.
“〈Imarufue Bisurupeguse〉……!”
Alesshio is standing right next to the fire-type magical weapon. In his hand is something akin to a metallic card, which is inserted into a place that looks like a slot.
That is apparently the ‘key’ for the detonation.
“Now, this thing is only a single word away from exploding. You have no time to use any techniques, and I can just activate it if you get close. If you don’t want everything to be blown away, everyone do as I say!”
The reason why he didn’t fight at all so far is probably to get his hands on that.
As can be expected, since he is using a bomb as a shield, no one can make any move. Even Petrarca’s magic probably can’t neutralize a magical weapon of this size.
“Ha……Haha……!”
Laughing in the manner unique to someone driven into a corner, Alesshio smiles madly and looks around the room.
Abruptly——his expression freezes in the very next instant.
“Oi, where did that parallel world brat go?”
So, he’s finally noticed it.
The fact that I’m no longer there.
Well I mean, I’m actually in the hallway, separated from him by a single thin wall.
“Well, no matter. As long as I have the Empress, the negotiations can continue on.”
“Sorry, that’s not gonna happen.”
Having set eyes on what I was looking for, I grab it and return to the room while speaking.
“You bast——?!”
Startled, Alesshio opens his eyes wide.
I mean, anyone would doubt the sanity of a hostage who manages to escape but nonchalantly comes back.
Naturally, I am no hero, nor am I the protagonist of a manga. I definitely do not have any powers that would allow me to flip the heavens and the earth, and my motor nerves are completely rusted.
However——
“Oi……”
Alesshio stares at me.
“What is that thing that you are holding in your hands.”
“Oh, this?”
I lift the item that I’d been dragging along with one hand up to around waist high.
It is a cylinder-like mass of metal that has been painted red, and also has a black plastic lever mounted on top. From there, there is a tube that extends like a snake before ending in a trumpet-like nozzle. In other words, it is——
“This thing is called a fire extinguisher.”
As I had mentioned earlier, the JSDF had installed disaster prevention supplies here and there throughout the hallways. A part which was supposed to be present, the safety pin, has already be removed.
“Hah……?”
I aim the nozzle towards Alesshio’s slack-jawed face——then I powerfully grip the lever. The next instant, the pressurized-type extinguisher that boasts a maximum discharge distance of 7 meters spits out extinguishing agent in a cloud of white smoke tinged with red.
Those who have used one of these even once before would know this……rather than relying on chemical agents to put out the fire, this kind of extinguisher uses high-speed expulsion to blow away the the origin of the fire together with the flames. Naturally, even though he is standing a distance away, he is still within the discharge range, so eating the blast in the face is going to hurt.
Falling into consternation, Alesshio lets out a short scream, then covers his face with both hands as if he’s been hit with poison, leaving the side of the fire-type magical weapon in the process.
“‘Expl-……’ geho!?”
Of course——there is no way he can continue chanting in that state.
The entire room is clouded with the color white due to the extinguishing agent, which is also clogging up everyone’s throats with every breath. Including Alesshio, everyone is coughing violently.
When used in an airtight room like this, the extinguishing agent has nowhere to go and thus chokes people, so this is actually a very dangerous thing to do——but well, desperate times calls for desperate measures, so this is no time to be worrying about that.
Having been hit in the face straight on, Alesshio is very visibly suffering, as he is holding his throat and painfully trying to take deep breaths. Anyways, with this, he won’t be able to continue the activation chant for quite a while. Keeping a cool exterior, I quickly pull out the key, and breathe a sigh of relief——then I too begin coughing violently.
Uwah, that’s so lame.
By the way, the reason why I went to the trouble of bringing a fire extinguisher is as countermeasure against the〈Imarufue Bisurupeguse〉.
I don’t know how effective the extinguishing agent would be against these ‘fire sprites,’ but if the actual effect turns out to be the ‘combustion’ phenomenon, then I thought that there is a good chance that the extinguishing agent would be able to suppress it. In actuality, the situation ended before the activation though.
“Everyone——this way!”
Minori-san promptly goes towards the window and opens it.
This room is on the first floor, so it is possible to escape through the window. Minori-san has yet to retrieve her magical ring, so there’s no way her words are being understood, but——in this situation, there is probably no one who did not understand the meaning of her words. The hostages manage to get out one after the other.
There is indeed the way of thinking that ‘because all of the terrorists have been taken down, everything is now alright,’ but because not all of them were killed, there is no knowing when any of them might get back up. It is much safer to have all the hostages escape outside as soon as possible.
Fresh air comes in from the opened window, and our vision gradually returns.
At a slight distance away from me——there Alesshio is.
“.………..”
He is completely dazed.
Well, it’s not like I don’t understand.
From his point of view, he must have made quite a lot of preparation and resolved himself before taking action, so it must have been completely beyond his expectations for everything to come undone so easily. And not by the Empire’s soldiers, but by the hostages themselves.
Eventually——on his face, from which the extinguishing agent has been wiped off with his sleeve, despair sets in.
Almost all of the hostages have gotten away, and there are only a few people left in the room.
Even at this very moment, the most important hostage, Petrarca, is being pulled by Minori-san, who had gone out first, and is trying to climb over the window frame. Everything should be fine now. I heaved a sigh of relief.
However……reality is different from manga and anime.
Real life terrorists are far more vicious than those within stories.
“Kuh——”
Alesshio picks up a sword that had fallen to the ground, and bellows in a voice that had gone hoarse.
“Like this——like hell I’ll let things end like this!”
Holding the sword aloft, he throws it. With his muscle strength bolstered to the limit by desperation and insanity, the 50cm long steel weapon flies with the force of an arrow.
Straight towards Petrarca’s back.
The amulet prepared on her body is something only effective against magic. If she is slashed with a blade, she will get hurt. Originally, there were supposed to be Royal Guards around to take care of all the physical attacks.
In other words——
“.…..!!”
The wet sound of a blade burying into flesh resounds loudly throughout the room.
I am frozen in the position of having one hand stretched out. My position is not at a distance from where I could have done something about it on the spur of the moment. The sword has pierced through fabric, piercing deep into her body.
The body of Miusel, that is.
“.….?!”
Petrarca whips back in astonishment.
Despite not having witnessed the moment the sword pierced through, seeing Miusel standing right behind herself with both hands stretched out is enough for her to understand what had happened.
“U…………”
With her well-featured face distorting from intense pain, Miusel collapses in place as both of her knees give out.
“Miusel!!”
Between Petrarca and myself, I wonder which of us was faster in calling out.
The next instant, a thunderous roar is accompanied by Alesshio’s body jerking backwards. When did she even retrieve it——from the other side of the window, it was Minori-san who had shot him with her 9mm handgun.
“Miusel!”
I draw beside her.
Miusel is on the floor, breathing erratically.
On her other side——with a dazed look on her face, Petrarca is looking down upon this half-elf who is gasping with pain.
I kneel down beside Miusel. The lethal weapon has pierced straight through her abdomen. The maid uniform, which was supposed to be white in color, has soaked up some of the blood and is now stained red. Even though the sword didn’t hit her right in the middle, there is no proof that it has missed her organs. The tiny amount of knowledge that I had gleaned from manga and novels whirls furiously inside my mind. Any damage to internal organs would be very bad. This is definitely not on the level of stopping superficial bleeding. Abdominal surgery will definitely be needed.
All I want to do is pull out the sword, but if I remember correctly, pulling it out badly would only cause even more bleeding…………Aaaaahhhh, I’m too flustered to think straight!
“Why, did you……”
Sinking to the ground, Petrarca murmurs in blank amazement.
“.…..I……to you……”
Her hoarse voice is almost too soft to pick up.
However, I mostly understand what she wants to say. Right before the start of the incident, Petrarca had sentenced her to an abrupt and unreasonable dismissal, even going as far as to say that she should be a prostitute.
Having being persecuted so, there is no reason for Miusel to cover for Her Imperial Majesty.
“Y-……You-……”
Seeing Petrarca so desperate for an answer, Miusel moves her lips, which are slowly losing color.
“.…..Did I not look cool…………”
“——What?”
“In Danna-sama’s manga……it was there……so I……wanted to act it……out…………”
Ahh. Speaking of which, in the very first manga that I had read aloud to those two, there was that kind of scene. Miusel must have remembered it. Most likely, so did Petrarca.
“You——Are you crazy?!”
Petrarca is yelling.
“What do you mean ‘wanted to act it out’?! What do you mean ‘look cool’?!”
Petrarca reaches out both hands towards Miusel’s body, and grasps her clothes while paying no mind to her own hands being dirtied by blood.
In a gesture akin to a spoiled kid trying to wake her sister up, Petrarca shakes Miusel’s arms repeatedly.
“Such a reason, such a——AHHH, AHHHHHHHH!!!”
Petrarca stops shaking Miusel and starts screaming.
“THE BLOOD, THE BLOOD IS, AHHHHH, SOMEONE, ANYONE! COME TO ME!”
I don’t think they were waiting for her summons, but it just happens that with perfect timing, a few pairs of footsteps and clanging armor can be heard quickly drawing near. The next instant, several knights and soldiers rush into the room with cries of “Your Majesty!”
“Your Majesty, what a relief that you are unharmed——”
“Hurry up and have a doctor examine this girl! Wait, no, drag that doctor here! Right now!!”
Petrarca’s shout drowns out the knights’ words.
“Your Majesty? This girl is……”
“Go! Now! This is a direct order from Your Majesty!”
In response to her agitated voice, several soldiers jump as if shot and dash out at full speed.
After that——
“Don’t die…………”
Turning around, Petrarca’s voice almost drops to a whisper.
However, there is no more response from Miusel.
“I will not forgive you if you die——don’t die, it’s an order, Miusel!!”
Witnessing the figure of their Majesty sobbing like a baby, the remaining knights and soldiers could only stand around with bewilderment.
Facing the Miusel who is no longer moving, Petrarca continues to, in haughty words uttered in a begging tone, repeat the order “don’t die” again and again.
♥♦♣♠
Footsteps echo loudly in this stone hallway.
The chirping of a bird someplace far away can also be heard.
It is a refreshing morning. Or at least, such is the appearance of things.
“.………..”
I am walking through the Eldant palace.
Minori-san is also walking together with me, but staying a few steps away. After all that had happened, she is now also holding a duralumin suitcase in addition to her standard issue 9mm handgun. At first glance, the suitcase looks like a normal bag, but inside it is a 9mm machine gun—in other words, a small machine gun—and the suitcase itself can also be effectively used as a shield. This equipment, normally used for escorting VIPs, was ordered in a hurry.
Several days have passed since the patriotic order incident.
However, just because all of the criminals have been caught, it’s not like everything has gone back to normal. There are still all sorts of aftereffects here and there. With my surroundings as an example, Miusel not being here anymore means that the mansion’s housework is in a state of neglect. For the moment, Minori-san is working hard to cover the meals—I think the distribution of rice in an emergency as part of disaster relief is one of the JSDF’s fortes—and laundry, but the very absence of her presence seems to have halved the cheerfulness of the entire mansion.
“.………..”
Having reached my intended destination, I stop walking.
In front of me is a massive, heavy-looking door. To its left and right are two knights bearing the sigil of the Royal Guard, both of whom are giving off an amazing sense of pressure. This, too, is an aftereffect of that incident. Normally, the emphasis is on formality, but right now they are both in full armor, as if on a battlefield. In all probability, there is also a mage hiding somewhere nearby The very fact that the Imperial Majesty was taken hostage, albeit only for a short while, has caused several top brass of the Royal Guards to lose their necks, or so I think I heard……
Suppressing my hesitation——I tighten my expression and knock on the door with the back of my fist.
“Petrarca……I meant, Your Majesty, it’s me. May I——come in?”
The reply comes only after a slight pause.
“.………..Come in.”
With the Imperial Majesty having given express permission, I slowly push open the door.
This is——a very magnificent room. The ceiling draws an elegant arch, and there is complicated and detailed woodwork all over. It is connected to a terrace large enough to enjoy sunbathing, from which sunlight is currently pouring through to illuminate the room’s thickly carpeted floor.
The huge bed placed in the center of the room is, of course, a canopy bed. Several layers of heavy-looking high quality red cloth are hanging down in an overlapping pattern.
And then——
“You’re late, Shinichi.”
Petrarca is sitting in a chair placed in front of the fireplace.
The sunlight being reflected from her silver hair makes her hair itself look like an extravagant accessory.
She is as cute as ever, but how do I put this, after that incident, her expression seems to have matured a little. Instead of doing so only rarely, she has her natural face on more often, I think. Before, she was forcing it a bit too much.
“When I call you, you should come immediately. Now the tea’s gone all cold.”
“Sorry.”
Smiling wryly while apologizing, I take the empty chair next to her.
“However, Your Majesty……Shinichi-sama’s mansion is a bit of a distance away.”
The girl who covered for me is wearing white sleep-wear and sitting up in the bed.
“Is it fine for you to be up?”
“Yes.”
Miusel smiles.
“This is all thanks to Her Majesty.”
The smile that Miusel is showing us is beautiful enough to make flowers bloom.
Well, that’s, in short——Miusel did not die.
Due to Petrarca’s peremptory command, she was carried into the royal private medical treatment center located inside the palace. Magic is a given, but expensive medicines and other things were also used liberally, and renowned doctors were called to give her treatment. This royal private medical treatment center is supposed to be reserved for only the royal family and nobles of great authority, and is a place that a commoner such as Miusel would never have even heard of. However, this was forcefully pushed through due to Petrarca’s special authority as the Imperial Majesty.
All thanks to that, Miusel managed to hold onto her life.
After that, she is now spending her days recuperating in the royal private treatment center.
This extravagantly made room, too, is actually a sickroom. As it is for the exclusive use of nobles, it ended up like that. I don’t think hygiene was a factor in the deliberation——it’s more that the high class personages wouldn’t be able to rest comfortably if it was any less fancy.
“Your Majesty was quite amazing, seriously.”
I am grinning wryly while speaking.
“Saying ‘The one who lets her die shall be sentenced with treason and executed summarily!’ and all that——all of the doctors went so pale in the face.”
“Th-, that was——!”
Petrarca is looking very flustered.
Her face is all red. So cute.
“That bunch are used to treating mostly aged royalty and nobles, so, that’s, with a young girl as a patient, not to forget themselves, or cut corners, and——that’s, I, er, I was giving them a slap on the back to remind them to fulfill their duties properly!”
“Un. Of course you were.”
I nod while smirking widely.
Petrarca’s face grows redder and redder——
“I-, in the first place, having the Eldant Empress’s life be saved in exchange for the likes of a mere maid would, um, set a very bad example to the retainers!!”
“Un. Of course it would.”
“~~~~~~!”
Seeing me laugh, Petrarca is consequently writhing around with embarrassment. I get the feeling that if she stands up now, she’ll definitely be stamping her feet. What is up with this classical display of tsundere-ness.
“But to be honest, Petrarca, I want Miusel returned to the mansion as soon as possible, you know~”
Well, my true feelings are that I want Miusel to slowly take her time and fully heal up. But there’s a reason why I had to say that, see. Since we’re in a bit of a pinch, see.
“Without Miusel around, the laundry somehow just keeps piling up.”
“I’m terribly sorry, Danna-sama. I will return as soon as I can……”
Miusel looks very ashamed——but at that moment.
“.…..Eh?”
She must have realized it after saying that much.
Puzzlement causes her face to freeze up.
Ahh, as I’d thought. That topic has still yet to come up between the two of them. Well, Petrarca’s personality being the way it is, it must be hard to take back something that she’s already said——it would be quite impossible, unless someone gives a good enough nudge.
“Did I not say that I would arrange for a replacement?”
Petrarca’s face puckers up into a scowl.
“The one who declined was you. In the first place, her stomach was pierced all the way through. There’s no way she can return to normal within a few days! You are someone who lacks common sense, Shinichi!”
“I understand that much. But it’s just that if a different person settles in, then it’ll become really hard for Miusel to come back.”
“Even without all your worrying, Miusel will return as soon as she heals.”
“I am truly thankful for your concern, Your Majesty.”
“Fun. Deprecating yourself only when it suits you.”
Petrarca snorts at me. Okay, that’s bad manners. More like, what does it say about an Imperial Majesty that she snorts at people?——is what I’m thinking, but let’s not say any of that out loud.
“Umm……in other words……”
On the other hand——it appears that even Miusel’s finally caught on.
Petrarca and I had been talking under the premise that Miusel would return to the mansion as a maid——in other words, her ‘notice of dismissal’ has been shoved so far under the carpet that it has pretty much been revoked.
It’s just that due to Petrarca’s standing as the Imperial Majesty, as well as her own personality, she couldn’t say outright “sorry, I take that back,” no matter how much she might be regretting it. With the intent of clearing away Miusel’s anxiety, I am indirectly telling her that “that talk is over now.”
“Your Majesty——”
“.………..”
Being stared at by Miusel, Petrarca reflexively turns her head towards the side, as if she is pouting.
You are just so easy to read, you know?
“Th-……Thank you so very much……”
Miusel is moved to tears.
Even though what started all this in the first place was Petrarca’s unreasonable and false accusations, it is still an extremely uncommon thing for the Imperial Majesty to concede to a commoner, and a single individual at that. Miusel looks very touched, and although Petrarca still can’t be honest, there’s definitely been some progress.
It seems that the problem here has been resolved.
After that, the two of them continued talking with each other in high spirits——they’re sort of ignoring me and even starting to generate a faint lily atmosphere, which is giving me very complicated feelings. But with this, one more source of altercation has been put out, which I am really glad about.
(T/N: The word yuri means ‘lily.’ Don’t know what yuri is? Oh, you summer child.)
“Well then……I’ll come visit again.”
After leaving get-well wishes and greetings once more, Minori-san and I leave the room.
♥♦♣♠
Within the depths of the long hallway is a face that I know.
Matoba Jinzaburou——the Bureau Chief of the Far East Cultural Exchange Promotion Bureau.
“.…..It seems that Her Majesty is in high spirits.”
When he saw me, that’s what he said.
Both his slightly graying seven-three hair and the suit of the color of dried leaves are the same as usual. That dime-a-dozen look that seems to embody the phrase ‘harmless to man and beast.’
“Well, pretty much.”
I responded brusquely in what was almost a mutter.
For a split second, Matoba-san looks at me with a puzzled expression, but he immediately changes back to his usual ambiguous government official smile and continues to speak.
“About those terrorists from before. Apparently, the Empire side’s anti-Imperial faction were the ones backing them. And it was also the same guys who arranged the procurement of the magical weapon in secret.”
“.………..”
“Oh? You don’t seem surprised.”
Matoba-san tilts his head.
As for me——
“Matoba-san.”
Ever since that incident——there’s been something that’s been on my mind.
“I…… Am I an invader?”
“.………..”
At the corner of my eye, I see Minori-san’s expression stiffen.
“.………..”
Matoba-san smiles ambiguously.
In exchange for not replying in the affirmative, he is also not replying in the negative. He doesn’t even look surprised at the question. Rather, he is totally giving off a ‘within expectations’ vibe.
It is as I had thought.
Cultural exchange is just merely a front. For a variety of reasons, the Japanese government is unable to bring their military might to bear, so a different strategy was needed. And this, this method of cultural invasion is the policy that they have decided upon.
A military invasion would cost a large amount of money, and the loss of both men and equipment would be considerable. If the aim is to simply destroy the other side, then nuclear weapons or carpet bombing should easily do the job. However, public opinion would be vehemently against such methods, and above all——dead wasteland is of no use to anyone.
In contrast, there are many benefits to a cultural invasion.
For starters, this method will enable the invader to control not only the country’s territory, but also her citizens. If done well, the entire country can be hijacked from the inside. I’ve heard that this was one of the reasons motivating the spread of Christianity during the Middle Ages. Now, whether the Christian evangelists themselves had such intentions or not would be an entirely different question altogether……
However, for better or for worse, there is no such ‘highly addictive’ religion in Japan in modern Japan.
Even if there is, the large majority of them are emergent religions with strong cult-like tendencies, making them very hard to handle.
If such is the case, then——let’s go with otaku works.
All it means is that there was at least one person in the Japanese government who followed this train of thought.
For the sake of buying doujinshis, there are young people who would gladly throw away one to two hundred thousand in a single day. For the sake of buying a game, there are those who would start a riot. The addictiveness of these otaku products do indeed bear resemblance to a religion. By taming the inhabitants of this parallel world with such products, it induces them to become dependent on Japan, the place of origin for all anime and manga.
I now understand the reluctant looks on Minori-san’s face that shows up every now and then.
She is a fujoshi. Though slightly biased, she, too, is an otaku. Seeing something that she loves being used as a tool for conquest is not amusing at all. However, her being a JSDF member means that she is not allowed to oppose policies decided by the Japanese government.
“Kanou Shinichi-kun.”
Matoba-san is smiling while speaking.
“Our jobs are to further Japan’s national interest.”
Mere sophistry.
However——
“The definition of things often change drastically depending on the way it is looked at. If you yourself think that you are an invader, then that is what you are. If not, then you are not. I recommend that you not torment yourself too much over it.”
These words that Matoba-san is uttering in a gentle tone.
“All you have to do is take it easy and focus only on how to popularize otaku culture in this country.”
To my ears——they sound exactly like a threat.