“Wait a sec, Yels.h.i.+! You seem to have misunderstood something!”

Yels.h.i.+ orders Josak to walk here from the frontlines in Seisakoku language, and he glances at me once before twisting my arms behind my back, then grabbing my neck and pus.h.i.+ng me towards the Box. The stone shards and sand on the cover keep on sc.r.a.ping my cheek.

Standing beside his mother, Yels.h.i.+ just c.o.c.ks his head with a smile, pretending not to understand me. Only then do I realize I can’t hear his inner voice. c.r.a.p, I can’t let him calm down! In order to know his true intentions, I have to figure out a way to agitate him.

To make someone angry, you must diss their family. If someone insulted my mother, I’d fly off the handle too. Although it’s really tough to insult someone else’s mother, now isn’t the time to worry about little things like that.

“Yo—Your momma is a mummy!”

That doesn’t seem right, but if you’re asking me to insult someone from the bottom of my heart, I really can’t think of what to say immediately.

“Yels.h.i.+, I don’t know if that stick-thin corpse that’s nothing more than bones wrapped in skin is your mother or not! But that Box isn’t the convenient treasure chest you think it is! Forget bestowing life, it might even bring big problems… No, no! Even if you open it, it’s empty inside! That hurts, that really hurts!”

“Stop, Josak!”

In that second, it feels like the force lessened, making me think he may have heard my voice, but it immediately returns to full force, so it seems like that was just me. And my body is even turned around so I’m lying on the Box, my whole body pressed between the Box’s corner and Josak’s arm, while my neck is being wrung.

How ironic, this is the way I meet him face to face for the first time. I stare at his eyes, but there’s no familiar twinkle in his eyes, just darkness, emptiness, slightly reflecting the light of the torch.

“Josak… You’re wrong… You’re not this kind of guy’s… subordinate.”

I’m starting to gasp for air.

(But he’s obviously a Key.)

Yels.h.i.+’s thoughts suddenly reach my brain again. But right now I can barely breathe, and I can’t tell anymore if the pain I’m feeling comes from my little finger. Although, even if I don’t make him angry, it seems that his uneasiness from the confusion and impatience is enough to let the ring work.

(I heard that a special member of the mazoku is the Key to the Box, and it’s apparently the double-black Maou. Although that double-black just now wasn’t it, this one must be the right one. Technically there shouldn’t be anyone more special than him!)

“Don’t tell me you… to Murata, too!?”

Murata was treated this cruelly as well!?

In the span of the next three heartbeats, something changes inside my body, it feels like all the skin on my body opens up, and some power trembling in wait inside is about to explode from the surface. It’s obviously my throat, my eyes, and my mouth, but it feels like I’m sharing them with another, that anxious feeling making me tremble from the tips of my fingers.

“What they call the inferno…”

Even the words I speak aren’t of my own volition.

“Shouldn’t exist in this world, a power that even I don’t have.”

My hand moves on its own, knocking into the inner side of Josak’s arm. At the same time, I make a sweep with my leg, taking him off balance and then kicking him hard in the stomach, then swinging my left fist at his jaw, using the momentum to stand up and then bending over, attacking his eyes with my right hand unhesitatingly. Before he can manage to avoid that, I kick his head when he’s off-guard.

Just like that, Josak collapses to the ground.

“O fire, o wind, o earth, vanish as you wis.h.!.+ Those who obey others have no choice but to die! Only I have the right to exist in this world, and only my power can destroy the world!”

I step on the orange-haired man’s hand to seal his movements, and look at the young man who seems to be a king, standing still—That is a child with fair skin, something like a tomb next to him, and his hands are gripping a corpse tightly. It looks like an unfamiliar religious ritual.

“Are you the one trying to release the Inferno on the Tundra?”

His slender arms don’t look like they held a sword before. Such a weak creature wants to release the soushu of fire? With every step I take forward, the sand underneath my feet slides along as well, and it feels very uncomfortable.

“Remember, if you want to destroy this world, if you want to end it, you do not need to rely on flames. Only the tranquility of the bottom of the water can put all life to eternal sleep.”

The young man’s golden eyes go wide, so it looks like it’s his first time meeting someone with a Key.

“I forbid you from obeying others.”

My finger reaches for his jaw, even moving down his cheek, stiff with terror. He’s shaking.

(Who!?)

Yels.h.i.+ is shaking, the voice transmitted directly into my brain turning sharp and short from the extreme fear. Is he afraid of me? Afraid of me, who was just pressed down and unable to move, like a frog waiting to be dissected?

I can’t help but shrink my hand back, what, what on earth did I do!?

This is different from the situation after I use majutsu, instead of saying it’s really easy for me to recall what happened in those dozens of seconds, it’s better to say I don’t have to recall anything at all, because my memory never stopped from the beginning. That feeling is like someone borrowed my body, and it’s as smooth as a pilot and co-pilot taking turns steering the plane.

But even if I remember what my body did, I can’t remember what I said very well. I think I mentioned water or fire, or something.

What does “do not need to rely on flames” mean?

It’s completely opposite to what I said, because the situation has changed with the help of fire. I just saw something red fly by my eyes when a gust of hot wind blows past me, and the resurrection group nearby starts burning. Only then do I know that someone is setting them on fire.

It’s not flaming arrows, more like shuriken or low-flying sparrows. The flying flames coming non-stop send Yels.h.i.+’s army into disarray. No, to be exact the live soldiers are a mess, the resurrection group don’t care either way even if they’re made into target practice.

Judging from this situation, I can only decide for sure that they have no emotions, and that it’s going to take a lot to try and escape even in this commotion.

The good thing about having a healthy hostage is that they can escape on their own. Not only can I use my legs to run away, I can also volunteer as bait.

I roll and use the momentum to knock aside a nearby soldier (a precious living person), and then I grab his knees tightly, trying to pull him off the horse.

Some members of the resurrection group reach out to catch me, even waving their swords to try and prevent my actions. Come on, please give me more flames, just mess these guys up a little bit…

Everyone is shocked by the flames soaring through the sky from behind them, and hurriedly turn back to look.

“Who just did…”

Only then do they see two torches advancing slowly in the pitch-black world, and that’s the direction where the flames are coming from too, the previously weak blue flames shooting off after an increase in temperature and change in color. The flames fly into the ranks of the resurrection group, and immediately start burning.

“Stop! What are you doing!? Don’t use fire!”

The shooters approach them slowly, until finally they can see what the strangers look like. At first they were wondering why these people were so carefree, until they realize that the shooters aren’t riding horses.

“Why is it donkeys again?”

Venera can’t help but mutter as the girls holding torches ride up to them on a couple of mules, and has to wonder exactly how long they took to reach here, but those two brave and combative girls aren’t the reason the equestrian people are making a ruckus.

The two donkeys are dragging something wrapped in a thick wool carpet between them, although it’s a little worn on the surface, that is indeed—

The up-and-coming star of the desert, the mermaid.

The mermaid has come to the battlefield! That is enough to fire up the equestrian people, when in fact the person inside is Nigel Weiss Maxine—the man who shaved off his beard.

Completely uninterested in mermaids, Conrad gets onto horseback without paying him any attention, and scouts the enemy base from above, desperately looking for that hostage who’s moving about everywhere.

“Jason, Freddy!”

Keeping exceptionally calm, Wolfram tries to stop the shooters trying to rush at Yels.h.i.+.

“Eh, you guys…”

While he tries to search the memories of his current life, the twins are still advancing on their brave donkey steeds.

“Wait a sec, just hold on, you two! Don’t use fire, you can’t attack them with fire! There’s a dangerous weapon there, if the fire causes a huge impact it’ll open the Box… Hm—explode? It might explode too, so it’s too dangerous to attack with fire!”

“Box?”

“Box.”

The twins repeat the word in unison, and c.o.c.k their hands confusedly on donkey-back,

“But Yuuri’s soul is there.”

“We, see soul.”

“Rescue him?”

“Rescue him from there.”

With that the two of them exchange a glance, and nod.

The carpet in between the two donkeys also makes a ‘patter-patter’ sound, which probably means the mermaid agrees with them as well.

“I don’t have the time to explain now, in any case you can’t use fire to attack.”

Jason and Freddy’s surprise attack isn’t the only danger the Box is facing, the small elite tracking team of the equestrian tribe also makes a strange sound before launching an attack on Yels.h.i.+’s army, yelling, “Mermaid, breathe fire! Mermaid, breathe fire!” To them, the mermaid lying in between the donkeys, Maxine, is worth more than the gallant donkey-riding twins.

“All of you stop, be careful! The hostage… Yuuri is still there, you know!?”

He doesn’t have the physical power or any ability in combat, so Murata can only stand and stare helplessly as he mutters,

“d.a.m.n! This is why random forces like this are uncontrollable!”

“Your Eminence!”

Looks like it’s not just the equestrian people, even Conrad is ready to move out.

“I really can’t just sit here and watch, since it’s dangerous for Wolfram to approach, then I’ll…”

“Of course not! Lord Weller, you are the only person here who’s confirmed to be a Key! Even if you’re the Key for ‘Wind’s End’, you might still open other Boxes, so how could I let you go?”

“But if this goes on…”

“Even if your arm has lost its strength since it’s a replacement, what if something goes wrong this time as well? That’s why I only sent Grantz.” “How about after Yuuri leaves the Box!?”

“You should call him His Majesty, right, Lord Weller? Once Yuuri has gotten away, you can go pick him up—But before that, you go over to the back and cut off their escape route, don’t give them a chance to get away.”

Conrad turns his horse away reluctantly, and Murata feels suddenly uneasy, thinking to himself, “Will he listen to my orders?”

“Which direction did Sizemore head off to?”

Wolfram replies immediately,

“North-east.”

“Then let’s head there too.”

“And abandon Yuuri!?”

“Of course we’re taking him along, but we can’t let the enemy escape for that, it’ll be even more troublesome if they don’t try to chase us. The two girls and the mermaid come along too. What else can you do other than flames? Do you know Ki? Y’know, the thing where you compress the air and blow your enemy away. I hope you can circle over to the east side, and pressure them from the side. As for us, we’ll lure them into advancing towards the north-east, and hope they will give chase, all the way to the north of the continent.”

“Okay.”

The fair twins don’t hesitate at all, nodding in reply instantly.

“Go with that suspicious big brother over there.”

So the brave donkeys carrying two people (and a mermaid) follow behind Lord Weller.

“And then… Oh, yeah, we still need a bait to lead the way, that’s a very dangerous job.”

“Then I’ll go.”

“Mn, since you represent the slave cla.s.s, I’ll have to ask you to go straight for the target destination. And then there’s Lord von Bielefeld.”

Murata raises his head and narrows his eyes. Although his vision isn’t very clear, he can still see that person’s beautiful appearance. Not bad, he’s a very good candidate for marriage.

“There should be good news on s.h.i.+buya’s side soon, and your value is on the rise as well.”

“Got it, then I’ll be the bait.”

“Great, I’m counting on you. There should be half of the enemies going after you straight away, but foot soldiers won’t go too fast. Do you know where to lead them to?”

“The north end of the continent.”

“That’s right.”　

After that it’s probably going to be Yuuri’s strategy coming into play, he can only hope it goes smoothly.

The most important thing in this world is timing, s.h.i.+buya.

As he watches his comrades prepare to move out, Murata murmurs,

“The most important thing is timing, s.h.i.+buya. Whether we’re lucky or not is all in the timing.”

I fall on my b.u.t.t in order to avoid an attack, and to make things worse, a zombie soldier is right in front of me, even raising his rusted iron sword up high. Thinking “I’m a goner!”, I raise my arm in front of me, and squeeze my eyes shut instinctively .

However, what I feel in the next second isn’t pain from my arm, but a surprising breeze. And then the sword, a notch cut out of its blade, falls to the ground with a deep clang.

(Don’t kill him!)

“Yels.h.i.+—”

The Seisakoku Emperor appears eight feet away from me, back on horseback. What is this, I ran with all my might, and only got eight feet away?

There’s a cart tied to horses behind him, and everything looks ready to go. The Forbidden Box and his precious mother are of course properly seated on the cart. Letting his aged mother ride a cart, isn’t that a bit too stingy? Looking at his nonchalant expression, I can’t help the urge to scold someone.

(He’s an important Key, we must take him away.)

“I told you, I’m not a Key!”

“Then who is?”

Yels.h.i.+ looks calm and composed on the surface, only talking to me in simple common language, but it’s a completely different matter inside. The sudden fire attacks and the equestrian people’s charge has sent the rear into disarray, and after things got this bad, to get the Key wrong as well makes him feel agitated and confused.

“I can’t say.”

(Don’t tell me it’s those two who just left!? I see, I get it now…)

The thoughts hat reach my brain next aren’t words or voices, but a feeling like turning circles in a was.h.i.+ng machine, it’s probably the intense unease he feels. It makes me feel dizzy too. Even if it’s a big impact on him, can my brain put up with such a feeling as well?

(So that’s why the first double-black let you come here? Because they’re Keys, because one of them is the Key to open the Box of Life!)

I don’t want to correct him anymore, that’s not the Box of Life.

When the continuous stream of thoughts is suddenly interrupted, Yels.h.i.+ raises his head in surprise, looking to the left. After murmuring a bunch of things the ring can’t receive, he suddenly yells out,

(It’s that man!)

My features contort in pain, and I raise my hands to cover my ears. The truth is his thoughts don’t reach me through my hearing, so it’s pointless even if I cover my ears. His gaze goes past several rows of the resurrection group on the left, staring at that golden hair glowing a fiery red in the torchlight. But those emerald eyes, its color looking even more complex with red mixed in, are s.h.i.+ning with a light even brighter than his hair.

Wolfram turns back deliberately, even smiling a challenge, then he slowly kicks the stomach of his horse, purposely taking off at a speed we can catch up with.

Seeing this act of his, Yels.h.i.+ naturally takes the bait. From the cavalry to the foot soldiers, from the few living soldiers to the near two hundred zombies, his entire army starts chasing Wolfram.

That’s only natural, because this group moves completely based on him, on Yels.h.i.+’s will.

In order to keep up with the pursuers speed, I look around hurriedly and grab on to the cart that’s das.h.i.+ng ahead. I sure don’t want to stay behind and keep the zombie foot soldiers company.

Next to me are the Box that’s behind all this commotion, and Alazon’s… dried-up corpse. I try my best not to get close to her, my body leaning on the st.u.r.dy Box. Relax, I’m not the Key to this Box. That’s right, I’m not the Key to the Box.

Now isn’t the time to think about these things. Although I’m on a cart, but the horses are still running really fast in the desert, and the cart carrying the Box, Alazon and I also sways vigorously. The previous monarch of Seisakoku only sat still and properly at the very start, but as we advanced further, the vibrations knock her out of place too, and she even almost rolls onto the ground because we’re going too fast.

I don’t know what to do either, but an elderly is facing difficulties in a vehicle, and as a fellow pa.s.senger, of course I can’t just ignore that. And she… Although she is a mummy, she was still the leader of a country, if she were to get injured… No, if she were to get damaged, it feels like I’d be cursed.

So I try to pull Alazon’s waist back, while trying my best not to touch her directly.

“Aaaah!”

It snapped.

Her waist broke in half with a loud snap, and now her upper body is sprawled forward. Prostrating mummy, I’m really very sorry. But it’s still better than smas.h.i.+ng into smithereens on the ground. On the swaying cart, I use all my strength to pull her back, and lean her back into her original chair.

Just then, the book with the yellow leather cover slides off from Alazon’s knee. When I pick it up with my right hand, then reach out to try and return it to its owner, the horses dragging the cart suddenly screech to a stop.

What to do? Although it’s a mummy, but my face is buried in the chest of a married woman… No, no way, although she is a married woman, the biggest problem should be that my face is buried in the chest of a mummy, right? Thank goodness we have a thick layer of clothes between us.

But Yels.h.i.+, only this is undeniable.

I mutter at the ring. This gadget is a communication device that relays Yels.h.i.+’s thoughts one-way, so no one can hear my monologue, but I have to say it.

Alazon’s heart isn’t beating.

As I thought, this person has already returned to the Lord.