"Aren"t you guys taking our s.h.i.+p?"

Lady Cheriee"s dejected look really makes anyone feel for her.

I can understand her feelings. After all, her son was ambushed from behind right in front of her eyes, and she couldn"t do a thing. Although it"s something that just happened, as a mother, it must hurt her a lot.

"I wanted to use maryoku and blast that guy away, but I just couldn"t manage it."

Sounding uncharacteristically down, she says,

"It"s because there aren"t any particles here that obey the mazoku at all. Strange, even if they"re neutral and utterly new particles, someone with true power would still be able to control them. After all, houryoku can"t fill all the s.p.a.ce here. How mystifying, what are Darco"s particles allianced with?"

But she still resisted as hard as she can. Since she firmly believed in getting her son and Chevallier out of prison first, she (although it was actually Fanfan) spent the next few days running about everywhere, finally finding a competent lawyer... At the same time we, the ones involved, received a notice of release from prison.

And we also made it clear that we wouldn"t ride on her and her current boyfriend"s luxury cruiser, "Never Changing". Strange, wasn"t it "Love Slave"? The truth is, what I was really thinking is, "I"m already so tired, so I don"t want to ride on a boat with you guys being all lovey-dovey all day long." But there"s no way I could"ve said it out loud.

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"But what about Chevallier? Why isn"t he riding on the same s.h.i.+p as us?"

"I have something important I need to ask of him... So, sorry, if you need two helmsmen, I hope you"ll hire another."

"That"s fine..."

There"s actually another reason. That is, I must never put that Box next to someone who yearns for it, and I can"t transport it without supervision from someone in the know. Although tearing apart the love between Chevallier and Lady Cherie (albeit a mostly one-sided love) makes me uneasy, there"s no way I could leave it next to someone whose priorities go against ours now that I know the whole story.

Of course, Stefan Fanberlain isn"t immediately our enemy, but as long as Fanfan continues looking for the Box, he"ll eventually end up opposing the mazoku. What I don"t know is, will that be a long time later? Or will it happen tomorrow? When that happens, if information about the whereabouts and power of Mirror of the Deep Waters is leaked, things will get really troublesome.

Lady Cherie doesn"t know about all this drama, so she wouldn"t have leaked any information, but Chevallier knows too much. More importantly, he"s s.h.i.+n Makoku"s 26th Maou. If he and the former Maou are both travelling with the human businessman, that would be something unbearable to the pride of the mazoku.

"How should I put it, I think he needs to undergo some education as a former king. We need to make him into a previous Maou that wouldn"t embarra.s.s us even in front of a crowd."

Although he didn"t say that to the person"s face, Murata"s determination is set. I bet Chevallier never thought he would have to undergo kingly training even after abdicating as Maou, huh?

"But he"s already retired, so he"s living as a commoner, y"know? Why don"t we just set him free?"

"There"s no such logic. To be honest, it"s a pain. Since he"s already involved in this, he has to take up responsibility."

It sure is uncharacteristic for Murata to be so adamant about this, could Chevallier be an important combat a.s.set in the future? a.s.set? What am I talking about, is Hawkeye"s poison getting to me?

Although I"m the most concerned for the safety of Hawkeye, Turtle and co, everything ended with me worrying for nothing. After I wove through the insides of the flooded building and made my way underground, all I see are puddles everywhere. The bas.e.m.e.nt is perfectly intact.

Gwendal followed behind me but didn"t ask a thing, so I ask him to stand a little further away. If I show up with someone who looks like an elite soldier next to me, the convicts probably won"t tell me what happened next.

"I destroyed the fire prevention system."

Although that excuse is a bit out there, I can"t think of any better reason. And the mysterious Box that everyone knows about is actually sealing the soushu"s power, as long as I control it a little, I can easily sink one or two Darcos. Even if I told them this truth, they may not believe me. At the same time, I also hope to keep the number of people who know about the Box as small as possible, so I had to lie like that.

Turtle and the others widen their eyes as usual, and laugh as they say, "With your itty-bitty bit of power? How could you do that? Stop lying!" They"re sure looking down on me by saying my power is weak, looks like they don"t know I"m a student athlete. They don"t know that I"m unstoppable as long as I have a bat in hand either. Of course, they also don"t know I can"t land a hit on the ball.

"That"s why the water flowed out like that, are you all fine?"

"We were never in trouble. Listen to me, Robinson, the truth is the fire went out long before the water reached us."

"Eh, what did you say!?"

"Although we knew we couldn"t escape from here, I heard there was some tweaking done around the kitchen to prevent fires from spreading. Although the kitchen is burnt black, the fire doesn"t seem to have spread outwards. I heard it"s a carefully-constructed arson."

You"re saying that place was designed so that any fires would be automatically extinguished!? Then why did I break my back and do all that for? What about the blood from my ears? From my nose? From my head!? Feeling anemic again, I look around me, and notice that Hawkeye isn"t here.

Without being forced to return to his cell, he went back to the solitary confinement alone. The door is naturally unlocked, but the metal door is closed.

"Hawkeye."

I pull the window up from the corridor, and that man is in the deepest edge of the room where the light cannot reach, seemingly standing against the wall.

"It"s me."

He doesn"t reply.

"I heard from White Shark, the prison authorities didn"t order you back into detention, but you ran back here as soon as something happened upstairs?"

I pour out everything I thought about before, and everything I didn"t think about, while the black shadow reacts with his actions.

"I say, Hawkeye, you should leave this dark place, and return to the easy group life aboveground. More importantly, you should forget the pains of war and leave the prison. Although it"ll be really hard to forget, you need to find a compromise. Even if you were brought here as a prisoner of war, or even if you were locked into prison for murder, your term would have long ended, right? I asked the others, you"re staying in this underground solitary confinement voluntarily."

Behind me, Gwendal gestures, "Do you need me to talk to him?" I shake my head and raise my right hand to reject him.

"Hawkeye, even a prison like a dream is still not a place to stay in for long. If possible, I"ll arrange for my contacts to get you a lawyer, we should be able to get you out of here on the basis that your term is up. If you"re willing, let"s go back to s.h.i.+n Makoku together. I knew you"re a mazoku a long time ago."

"I can"t do it..."

His voice sounds very strained. When we talk face-to-face, his voice seems deeper.

"Why? Don"t you still have family back home? Then let"s do this, at the very least let your family know where you are, I bet they really miss you."

"Who knows? Because I"m not a good son, or a good brother."

"No brother in this world doesn"t want to meet his family. Just tell them you"re here, and they"ll definitely come find you. For all you know, they"ve been looking for you all this time. Alright, Hawkeye?"

My tone turns slightly disappointed,

"Otherwise, if Lord von Voltaire is the one advising you, would you be willing to leave this place?"

"No, it"ll be the same. But your words are just as, no, even more convincing than his."

Hearing him say that, Gwendal takes a step back, knowing that his interference wouldn"t change a thing. But to me, I don"t know what to say anymore, so unconsciously I fall silent.

"Yuuri... milord."

The other person calls out the name that I just told him earlier, and takes a step closer to the door. The light finally illuminates his face.

"The meeting room, what"s it like?"

"Ahh... Ahh, it"s big and bright, it"s a very beautiful place! Everyone"s playing happily there like in a park, you"ll love it for sure! Do you want me to call your family over? Speaking of which, why are you suddenly acting so polite?"

Hawkeye smiles unnaturally, and slowly turns his head to a side.

"Even in this sort of place, I still hear gossip about faraway countries. I am really honored that you would reach your hand out to a mazoku waiting to die underground like me, sire, and I"m really grateful too. But could you please... give me a bit more time?"

Those words aren"t excuses meant to avoid what I said. They sound like they came straight from his heart. He seems to be telling me honestly, that he thinks he just needs enough time to heal the wounds on his heart.

That"s why Gwendal and I can only trust in what he says.

On the other hand, there was something Conrad needed to do while Yuuri and Gwendal headed for the bas.e.m.e.nt.

He runs to a few likely places, until he finds his target at the fourth location. The man he"s looking for is chatting with the other inmates without a care in the world, and even goes up to the guards to ask, "What are we going to do about our meals now?" Looks like he hadn"t been discovered.

Just then Conrad quietly walks up to the man"s back, and twists his arm upwards. Although there"s some blood on Conrad"s clothes, it"s still a guard"s uniform. Even if he grabbed an inmate, no one would find it strange.

"You should understand why I"m doing this, right, Kinan? You went too far."

The man narrows his eyes, which are wandering upwards a little, as he smiles sarcastically,

"I don"t feel I went too far, though. I"ve always been like this, Your Excellency."

"You would deliberately commit arson to achieve your goal, and still you say you haven"t gone too far?"

"But no one died, right?"

"You should know who to thank for that."

Conrad takes him away from the crowd without anyone noticing, and walks him outside. Anyone else looking their way would just see a guard taking an inmate who broke the rules to the warden"s office. But in truth, both his arms can"t move, and there"s even a knife held against his waist, so there"s no way he could escape.

"This has nothing to do with anyone, I never planned to let the fire leave the kitchen to start with. I even asked the people on clean-up duty to switch with me, and it took me five days of hard work."

"Where was the absolute safety you guaranteed? Didn"t test it first before carrying it out?"

"But the fire"s out now, right?"

Kinan shrugs, while Conrad grabs his hand mercilessly,

"It wasn"t because of your planning, but because someone helped you put it out. It may be because of that person"s help that you didn"t become a ma.s.s murderer. Besides, committing arson just to bring something out of the bas.e.m.e.nt is far too dangerous and risky a plan."

"But Your Excellency, I was always like that."

"In that case you should be even more careful. Looks like allowing you back to s.h.i.+n Makoku will just cause a disturbance."

"What else do you intend to do, then?"

The man asks curiously. By now the two are turning around the corners to completely leave the area of the riot, climbing up the stairs with slow steps.

"Didn"t I tell you? If you go back, you"ll either be hung or decapitated. It"s still too early for you to surrender. That"s why you have to stay right here, and calmly repent for your crimes."

"Here?"

"That"s right, in order to minimise your contact with others, the solitary confinement underground would fit you just nicely, wouldn"t it? After all, in s.h.i.+n Makoku, anyone who aims an arrow at the king or his closest subordinates and attempts to murder them is an enemy of the state. And then you set fire to Darco"s prison, which means you"re a felon who endangered the lives of the inmates and the guards. I"ll have someone keep a close eye on you, so you won"t be able to leave the bas.e.m.e.nt for now."

"You plan on keeping me here in this Darco forever?"

"That"s right, I can even lock up an inmate under surveliance legitimately. To you, a life like this would be a lot luckier than returning home and being charged, right?"

"How is that lucky!"

He tsks, but immediately recovers his tone, looking at Conrad as he says,

"But you didn"t forget, right, Your Excellency Conrad. I have a duty to report my findings in Darco to my employer. Do you think I"ll stay quietly in prison?"

"I don"t care about Fanberlain, you"re not leaving here anytime soon no matter what. But you should be able to invite him here for a meeting."

As soon as he hears the businessman"s name, Kinan jerks back a little in shock. He twists his body around to look at Conrad, but Conrad purposely lets his toy-like dagger glint in the light,

"Don"t look at me. It"d be bad if His Majesty saw us."

Although they"re still very far away, Conrad knows Yuuri and Gwendal are headed towards the warden"s office. He would never mistake that voice.

"That person would surely trouble himself over whether or not to pardon your crime. And it"d make him hurt over the guilt he feels towards Wolfram too, I do not wish to cause His Majesty any worries."

"Why would His Majesty Yuuri be in a foreign country like this..."

"There"s no need for you to know. On the other hand, think carefully, Kinan. If you tell your employer what happened here, the Box may end up being stolen away and landing in human hands. In that case, mazokus will face an unprecedented danger."

He and his older brother were both on the battlefield. Although Kinan himself returned home safely, his brother, who was also an archer, disappeared without a trace, and Kinan has been looking for him since. Someone like this would not be unaware of the cruelty of war.

"Even then, do you still want to tell him?"

Kinan stops trying to look around, and falls silent.

Maybe it"s because she just came back from the infirmary, Warden Ranatan is standing in front of the warden"s office and preparing to open the door. The female warden looks at Conrad, holding a knife against an inmate"s back, and the convict that just entered the prison, with surprise.

That pet.i.te body seems very nervous, and her voice is a bit unclear. But unlike previously when she was controlled, her voice and words are the same as usual,

"How do you plan to deal with this man, "kay?"

"I wish to lock him in here for a different crime. Hmm~~ If he could temporarily stay in the detention rooms underground, this man should feel very happy."

Warden Ranatan"s expression turns to one of surprise when she hears how staying in the bas.e.m.e.nt would make someone happy. She nods hard in agreement, maybe because she immediately gave up trying to figure out why Conrad would say that. She probably thinks it doesn"t matter what the mazoku are thinking, there"s no way she can understand it.

"I know, but how long do you need to keep him here?"

"Hmm..."

Conrad looks at his feet, looking at somewhere even deeper than the brightly-colored floorboards.

"Until the rift between brothers is healed, I suppose."

I climb up the stairs to reach the second floor corridor, and walk straight up to the warden"s office. In front of the door, I see Conrad talking to Warden Ranatan. They call over three guards, who then bring a thin man whose back is facing me inside.

What"s going on here? And it has something to do with Lord Weller?

But now isn"t the time to think too much about trivial prison matters.

Warden Ranatan has already taken off her robes. We walk up to her - she"s regained her senses—and bring up the conclusion we came up with after a long and deep discussion.

We hope she can give us the Box that suddenly appeared underground - Mirror of the Deep Waters.

"No way, that"s an object bearing many sins, y"know!"

She says with determination and surprise, and then continues rejecting us purposefully,

"I knew it, "kay, that"s an object with many sins. The only place to keep it is Darco-- no, only Darco, the gathering place of all sinful people, matters, and objects, is suited for this job. Because it"s an ominous and terrifying thing, "kay."

The fist she"s gripping trembles,

"I can"t hand it to anyone, "kay. That Box is only fit to stay in Darco, I"ll accept it and help it change itself, "kay."

What are you talking about, idiot. I mean, Ranatan. Did you forget how badly you were tricked by that Box?

The mysterious reason for the water level around Darco rising is still unclear. But after referring to past records, it can be determined that the unusual weather and the changes in the fish patterns began from the year the Box appeared. Although we can"t be sure that it was caused by Mirror of the Deep Waters, we can"t say for sure that it wasn"t either.

In any case, Darco started changing when that thing showed up. It was even controlled by the religion that looks lifeless at first glance, whereas the mastermind is the robed warden herself.

Her mind was slowly corrupted, and the sense of responsibility she had towards anything sinful lost out to her own desire for the Box.

In the end, she even considered merging with the Box into a single ent.i.ty. If she"d gone on like that, it really would have led to mutual destruction.

"But Warden, this is a burden we mazoku should shoulder."

Logically speaking, a job like persuading people should best be left to Lord von Voltaire. If it"s Gwendal, who"s exceptional in diplomacy, politics and negotiations, he would surely be able to easily convince the other party. Besides, he also has the stern aura of a leader.

If it was charming Lord Weller, he would first figure out what the other party thinks, and then say what they want to hear. Even if the process ends up taking a long detour, he would still come up with the conclusion that our side wants. He seems to be very good at that sort of thing.

As for Murata, he would list out all the data and statistics, and convince the other side with logic. Rather than saying his strength is in making deals, it"s more towards collecting information.

Wolfram... Mn—I don"t know. For all I know, he would use his angelic, adorable looks. If it was a woman who has low resistance towards pretty boys, she would probably be conquered in an instant. No, if he also has a proud and pa.s.sionate side, anyone would be convinced by him, and agree with him.

But I have no such weapons. And yet, this is still my job.

"That is an object that we created, fought against, and are still using. And its aim is to seal away catastrophes. Just as Warden Ranatan says that sinful things can only be left in Darco, I too believe that only mazokus have the right to handle this Box."

I truly think so from the bottom of my heart. Even if I don"t, I can"t show any hint of weakness. So I keep my back straight, and look at her slightly lower eyes,

"Returning things to whence they came, isn"t that a natural law of the world?"

After two long weeks, we can finally breathe the fresh air outside of prison.

We take deep breaths like the heroes in a prison movie, and stretch out our arms as though preparing to do gymnastics.

There"s nothing more exciting than the sea breeze at a port.

"Ah-- Ah! It"s over, we finally ended our prison life!"

"Big bro, it"s been hard for you on the inside—"

Murata seems to be highly amused by my joke. His previous gla.s.ses have been sent for repairs, and his new lenses are now fogged up.

"Idiot, there"s no way the big bro could have been locked up. The one that usually ends up in jail is the little brother, right?"

"Then we"re the lil" bros? Although you"re the leader of a country, you still became a scapegoat for a lackey?"

The reason why we could joke around like this is because the charges of theft were dropped, and our innocence restored. Not only were we not convicted, we were instantly released as not guilty. More importantly, if you really look at it, this was all a scheme by Warden Ranatan, so for all I know she could be charged next.

"But when and why did Mirror of the Deep Waters end up in this world? I... no, Henri Régent sank it to the bottom of the sea, to the depths of Earth"s Pacific Ocean. It was in the year 1944, though Régent died alongside it."

"What do you mean?"

"He died during the Second World War. Although he was riding on a civilian pa.s.senger s.h.i.+p, it was unfortunately shot down by friendly fire. So technically speaking, that thing shouldn"t be here."

"For all you know, it was discovered and experimented on in these past sixty years, which sent it to this side."

"But the problem is no one even knows where it was sunk, y"know? Even Régent doesn"t know, he can only say it"s somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Oh yeah, I heard it"s somewhere near San Francisco."

"San Francisco, huh—Speaking of which, the Seals[1] once came to j.a.pan—But the futon flew[2]... No, I mean, what kind of huge impact could have blasted the Box so far away? It even sent the Box all the way here."

If it was during wartime, then it should be a bomb, right? But if the source was not man-made, after the war...

"Could it be an earthquake?"

"But after the war, if you"re saying there was some sort of large scale earthquake or tectonic plate s.h.i.+fting in that part of the ocean..."

"Was there anything?"

Murata shakes his head helplessly,

"No, there are no such records. And there was nothing earlier, no records of any quakes in the mountains leading to power outbursts either."

"But there are earthquakes happening all over the world every day, right? Could it have moved due to a small quake that couldn"t make the news?"

"...A small quake that couldn"t make the news, huh?"

"More importantly—"

I stretch as I turn around to look at a baffled Murata,

"—Quick, help me think of how we"re going to explain this to Wolfram. That guy would surely say, "If you didn"t go back to Earth, what did you do?" and scold me. He"d even ask, "What did you and Murata do? Who"s Darco? Is it a man!?" and questions like that. I don"t have the confidence to deal with him. Ahh, this time we can finally go back to s.h.i.+n Makoku! We can go back, right?"

"Don"t let your guard down, s.h.i.+buya. There"s still a journey to go before reaching home safely, so before we arrive in s.h.i.+n Makoku, you have to be extra careful. The way home is very long, y"know—"

It"s going to be hard to ask me to travel carefully. After all, this time I have the most reliable guardian next to me.