The village was burning.

We departed early dawn with ten soldiers on horseback, without telling Günter we were leaving the castle. I was riding with Wolfram but it was hard to deal with his wild horse-handling over such a long distance on the first day. Nonetheless I was becoming an experienced pa.s.senger and managed to endure the rough ride somehow.

The soldiers with us were terribly beautiful. Then again, they were Wolfram"s private troops. In short, does that mean they all have an honorable lineage as pure-bred Mazoku?

When I feel someone"s eyes on me I look up, and seeing one flying bone person (or should I say animal?) a little behind us. Why did I say I could feel its eyes when the holes in its skull are empty?

"My older brother should have arrived there by now, so everything might already be under control. It isn"t that dangerous, but since you"re a wimp don"t go where I can"t see you."

"Don"t call me a wimp."

But it was already pa.s.sed noon by the time we arrived, and the village was ablaze. Houses and fields. It was a considerably hot fire; even the clouds were dyed red. The soldiers ran around to prevent the shower of flames from reaching the forest, and the villagers were all lumps together away from the fence.

Women, and children, and the elderly. Everyone is dumbfounded, standing completely still. Just one elderly woman is crying and screaming.

"It"s already settling down, like you said awhile ago."

"Strangely so."

"But we can already see it. Ah, what should we do? So much is burned down! I wonder if those people are ok."

Then we turned towards the village that was dozens of meters away, to try and head out of the forest quickly.

"Ignorant in the ways of the world as usual, third son."

From behind us, where only Wolfram"s subordinates should have been, came an interestingly familiar voice.

"...American football guy?!"

He"s the man I met the first day when he just had three men on horses with him, Denver Broncos. Let"s see, if I remember right his name was...

"Adelbert was it?"

"Oh, you have a good memory! And I thought you were an idiot."

"Well sorry for looking like an idiot."

When I was the only one talking to them I turned my head to look back, and all the beautiful soldiers on horseback seemed to be frozen in place. In fact, riding in front of me, Wolfram was stiff, not even twitching.

Adelbert approached us slowly, speaking as he looked at Wolfram"s profile.

"You"re too much. Is it ok for the king to be protected by just ten men? Moreover, they"re all pure-blooded mazoku, so they"re all stuck in a simple human magic barrier. You should always have at least one soldier who can dispel magic at a time like this."

So does that mean, right now, that all of my allies but me are trapped in a barrier that keeps them from moving?! I can"t believe, the place we"re headed to is right in front of our eyes. Is this like a car running out of gas even though you can see a gas station?

"Yo, we meet again new Maoh."

"Hi."

It isn"t clear if he"s an enemy so I greeted him vaguely. Even though he seems to be enemies with the mazoku, if anything he was nice to me. When we first met he arbitrated between the villagers and me, and taught me the language.

Besides, his full name is Adelbert von Grats. Doesn"t that sound like a mazoku name?

"...They can"t move. Is that your doing?"

"Yeah, you could say that. It"s a human magic barrier that I remembered studying a bit. Why are you riding behind this guy? How did you win over the youngest son, who only wags his tail for his mother and older brother?"

I don"t think I"ve won him over. Besides that, this man was acquainted with Conrad, and from what he just said he seems to know Wolfram and Gwendal well, too. So why is he being hostile? I addressed this question.

"Are you really a mazoku?"

Adelbert c.o.c.ked an eyebrow, his forehead wrinkling as he answered shortly.

"A long time ago."

"Then why are you on bad terms with Conrad? Why did you come here to interfere with us?"

"Because I hate them."

Hate?

"I hate them to death. Their ways disgust me. So I came to save you from their filthy hands. How pitiful, a sacrifice from another world, you should hurry and leave this place."

"Save... me...?"

"You were suddenly brought to another world, and coerced into being the new Maoh, right? The Maoh is the enemy of humans. This world has become corrupted and fallen into ruin because of his heinous existence. You look like a young human with good intentions to be made out to be such a monster. Well, isn"t that too much? Don"t you think that"s cruel?"

When I first came to this world I was positive I was a human. I"m just an ordinary high school student. Not someone who possessed the soul of the Maoh, like Günter and Conrad and Lady Cheri expected. But no matter how many times I told them no one believed me.

"They need a sacrifice. They have to set up a king on the throne. A pure boy who doesn"t know anything can"t pose any resistance, which is good for them. All men hostile towards mazoku will be made to hate their leaders. That"s the only reason for your existence."

"...I..."

Albert"s words echoed in my ears as he stood right by me, making me speechless.

"You"re a good human. That"s why the magic barrier doesn"t effect you. Right?"

"...Ah, I am a human... I"m not a mazoku... Or the Maoh...?"

"Don"t listen to him!"

Wolfram"s voice sounded hoa.r.s.e as he shouted. The uneasiness made my shoulders tremble.

"Ah, huh, you could talk?!"

"Don"t listen to that guy! He"s..."

It wasn"t just my shoulders, but my arms were wrapped around his waist and his entire body was trembling. As he turned his head to face forward I could see beads of perspiration forming at the nape of his neck.

"That man, he betrayed us... He"ll try, to bring you, into his group, too."

"Wolfram, if it hurts then don"t talk."

"Well done, third son!"

The man he just called a traitor drew a long, slender sword, and pointed the tip of the sword at the mazoku prince"s throat.

"Even if you don"t overwork yourself by speaking, you"re at a disadvantage because you have quite a bit of magic that you aren"t completely in control of. If you let your senses go more easily then you would feel happier like your subordinates."

When I turned my head to look behind us, the mazoku soldiers who were following us looked like a drunk old man staggering around and their eyes stared into s.p.a.ce.

Because of Wolfram"s high pride it looked like he would burst a blood vessel.

Adelbert added insult to injury.

"Look, the humans you hate so much are setting mazoku land on fire. Wolfram, you always said it yourself. What can humans do? They"re like worms, it would be a mistake if they opposed mazoku."

"Humans?!"

I leaned forward on the horse.

We leave the forest with another kick. I can see the scenes of despair and hatred from between the crevices of the trees. From the other side of the flames, silhouettes of what appear to be arrows fly through the air. There"s no close combat with swords; someone is attacking someone else.

A mother is lying on the ground, covering her child. A soldier rushes up while he"s crouching, firing back with his bow.

It"s war.

I couldn"t believe what was happening right in front of me, so I kept muttering to myself over and over.

"This is war, war, it really is, it"s real."

Perhaps on this sort of scale it could be disputed what it should be called. But, for the first time in my life I"m seeing the "real thing" and I can"t think of anything but "battlefield".

"...Where and where, no, who and who? Mazoku and humans?"

An elderly person running towards the forest to take refuge, with a hunched over back, suddenly flies up. They stumble forward to fall. An arrow pierced their back. They aren"t dead, but even though it"s far away it catches my eye.

"Why are they shooting them, even though they"re not soldiers... No matter how you look at them they can"t be a soldier. That person was a villager. Shouldn"t the villagers be refugees?"

The humans were setting mazoku land on fire.

But, only human children and women and elderly lived on that land.

At the beginning my voice trembled faintly. With the emotions of shock and dismay.

"Aren"t they fighting their fellow men? Aren"t those human soldiers attacking a village where the children who have run away live quietly?"

Wolfram spat out at Adelbert in disgust.

"You did this somehow."

"I just gave a little advice."

When I lose my balance and wobble the chestnut horse stirs lightly. The reddish brown tail swings largely left and right. The man called a traitor spoke as I watched the terrible spectacle.

"They"re not disobeying the teaching of the G.o.d they believe in. Don"t you know? Last year there was a record setting crop and those guys increased taxes. They collected this year using the same calculations and so there was nothing left to eat. There were only two choices; starve or get more supplies. They asked for my advice. So I told them. Their neighboring village was here in the land of the mazoku that they should hate. Their G.o.d will not be angry if they steal from people who cultivate on mazoku land, and live on mazoku soil. They won"t be charged with the serious crime of stealing from their neighbors."

"But then, if they"re humans, then aren"t they both humans?!"

"No, they aren"t the same. This village has humans who side with the mazoku. People who side with the mazoku aren"t considered their fellow humans anymore."

I grip both hands until my thumbs ache, and impatiently hit my thigh.

"I don"t get it!!"

"It"s fine if you don"t understand. At any rate, come here and I"ll take you back. You"re not a mazoku, you"re a human, right? You"re a victim taken from another world, just because you had black hair and eyes, so that they can dress you up like the Maoh and use you as a scapegoat. Once you take sides with the mazoku, we won"t be comrades again."

Adelbert lends me his hand to help me jump off the left-hand side of the horse. Between him and the horse, there wasn"t much s.p.a.ce between us. Without looking this way, Wolfram whispers lowly.

"Go."

"Eh?"

"From the looks of it, they"re not planning on killing you. It"ll be troublesome if you get hurt trying to resist. Go with Adelbert for now."

"But, you and everyone..."

"Don"t worry about us."

I take in his words. If I leave them behind, what will happen to them?

Wolfram whispers briefly again.

"Hurry and go, Yuuri!"

I slowly turned towards Adelbert on the other side; he was holding out a hand towards me.

"That"s right, Wolfram. The moment you lose this guy you"ll have to summon some new kid. Even if you"re safe your elder brothers would blame you for losing the candidate for Maoh from right under your nose. It"s always a wise choice to protect him rather than struggle and lose his life."

Wolfram only bit his lip; he whispered something quickly when I separated my arm. I"m not sure whether I heard him or not. I caught some of it.

"...I"ll come for you. Definitely."

In the blink of one second I quickly accepted many feelings and information, and drew from them what action to take. No matter what the result would be, I gave my best answer for the situation.

Which would I not regret picking?

"Don"t think I"ll ride with you because you helped me."

I forcefully get off onto the ground and I was about to say that my lower body ached from riding a horse for a long time and I was going to stretch out. I"ll look for a good rider among Adelbert"s subordinates and try to ride behind him.

"I hate big macho builds like yours. They give me an inferiority complex. Even my face would lose."

"Then who will you ride with? Or can you ride by yourself?"

"By myself? No way!"

As I said the "way!" at the end I clapped the foot of my dazed ally with all my strength. Though the soldier didn"t wake up, his spur struck the horse"s stomach, and with a neigh the gray horse broke into a run. Lured by the first horse, the others begin running, too. Flinching, they were frozen in place and with my kick dashed off.

At once the sound of hooves filled the air all around as several horse-riders, both ally and enemy, ran off into the woods in disorder. As Wolfram"s chestnut horse was swallowed up in the forest, only Adelbert and I were left.

"...Why did you do that?"

"Wolfram chose one last person. That person was me; only you didn"t notice."

Ah, it"s too bad that no weapons had been given to me to defend myself, the last person left.

"Yuuri, I said that I would take you away from the mazoku for your sake. So why would you do something especially to screw with us, eh?"

"I decided at the last minute to stay with you. This attraction is like a bad dream. But, just because I"m staying with you doesn"t mean I"m on your side. I don"t need you on my team."

Because he"s not in my plan I announce that he isn"t part of my future plans.

"Hey, hey, don"t do that!"

Adelbert stepped towards me with his gigantic sword hanging from both hands.

"I told you not to be afraid, I went through great pains worrying about you. I should have broken one of your arms or threatened you to kidnap you from the beginning."

"Pl, please spare my right arm because I"m right-handed."

"It doesn"t really matter if it"s your left arm. But, the quickest way..."

Apparently the person I chose wasn"t right for this man.

"I"ll just have to get rid of the Maoh."

"Eeek!"

That was a pathetic scream, even for me. But he"s wielding such a huge, long sword, and I don"t even have any fencing experience. Moreover, his weapon probably isn"t used for practice. It"s for actual combat.

"Were, weren"t you trying to get me away from all the mazoku?! It"s not too late for that now! You don"t have to suddenly change your mind and kill me, I can leave the country even if I have to walk!"

"You"ve decided to support the mazoku. That makes you the enemy. If the mazoku have the power of the Maoh, your existence will become more and more troublesome!"

"But didn"t you say it before?! I"m a normal human, they set me up as the Maoh because my hair and eyes happen to be black. You said I was a scapegoat summoned from another world, even though I"m a normal human!"

The sounds of the blade swing around is awfully large and heavy and resounding.

"Would s.h.i.+nou play a joke like that?"

"Th, th, th, then it"s all a lie?! You were just talking gibberish when you said I was a normal human?!"

"I kept telling you that figuring I could get you on our side, but..."

Adelbert set his sights on me, I needed to pad the time.

"So that"s what you"re really like. That"s too bad."

My back hits a parched trunk. There"s nowhere to run behind me. Even if I dodged him once or twice, I"d be helpless after that. This wasn"t like the duel with Wolfram. He had a lot of killing ability; there was also a great difference in their level of mastery.

The shadow of the sword he"s brandis.h.i.+ng over his head falls on my forehead. I gave up and closed my eyes.

When air vibrated as if a fastball had flown by a dead branch broke with a dry crack.

Splinters fell all over my legs and arms as I crouched down. Something dry and ball-shaped fell onto my lap and I gently opened one eye.

"Bo..."

One of the bone tribe that had been following me for a long time was "broken" with Adelbert"s huge sword. Did it directly hit the spinal chord? It was almost completely destroyed and scattered about. The skull was sitting on my lap, and the light brown wings were going into convulsions.

He protected me?

"Kohhi, why did you..."

"That"s the first time I"ve seen one of the bone tribe act like that. Risking it"s life to protect its master? Che, strange, I beheaded it."

"What do you mean by "strange"?!"

As I apologized to Kohhi in my mind, I stood up tightly grasping part of him (maybe his thigh). Of course, I didn"t think bone could stave off a sword. But, if I simply closed my eyes and waited to die his death would have been in vain.

"What do you know about Kohhi?!"

Well, I don"t know much about him, either.

Making no effort to hide his true nature now, Adelbert, who appears to be the villain, smiles.

"You feel sympathy for this race that has no will. This Maoh is an common person."

"Shut up! My commonness is my selling point, and I promise to reduce the sales tax!"

As I poise the bone... My weapon, with about a 3% chance of it being effective, some rea.s.suring horses draw near. It wasn"t a prince on a white horse, but Sir Weller and Lord von Bielefeld"s troops.

Unfortunately for him, he couldn"t do anything about being outnumbered, and in addition without a horse he couldn"t do anything about it even if his hostage ran away. Adelbert dispersed and disappeared before the reinforcements came. Conrad ordered several of his subordinates to chase after him, and instructed them to locate him. Never approach him more than necessary, and don"t try anything even if you think you have a chance. Because their lives were in danger here.

"They probably scattered."

Other than that, we exchange an embrace that would put the foreign actors to shame, and sand was thrown at Wolfram somehow.

"I"m relieved, Yuuri. I thought it would be too late."

"I"m relieved, too. I can finally understand what it feels like when men hug each other firmly in the movies."

They were just like this. While we pat each other on the back, Conrad"s voice stiffened.

"By the way, what is that hard thing hitting my back?"

"Oh, this? A bone."

"A bone. Oh, I see, it is a bone. And what was your Majesty planning on doing with it?"

"Umm, I was using it as a club."

I energetically separate our bodies. I furrow my brows.

"I can"t believe it, you were planning on fighting Adelbert..."

"But I couldn"t let myself be killed."

"Ah, your Majesty, did you think it was like the time with Wolfram?! He and Wolf aren"t even in the same league."

"Well excuse me for not being in the same league!"

The third son dismounted from his chestnut horse, and kicked the underbrush sourly. Though the effects of the demon seal had worn off, I couldn"t compliment him on his complexion.

"Are you ok, Wolfram?"

"Hnn, there"s no reason for you to worry about me."

"If that"s the case I"m not worried, but-"

"He"s paying for his mistakes. He did as he liked and brought your Majesty here."

Even if the youngest brother was scolded, he doesn"t seem to have a speck of shyness. I quickly changed the subject from what I had asked about. "Besides that, how did you get here so quickly?"

"I was too slow. I was fighting near the border across the village, but the bone tribe that followed our troops sensed its companion"s predicament. As I told you, they have a peculiar ability to communicate their thoughts. They can have conversations with only their spirits if they"re not far away. So, I left that place to Gwen and met Wolfram and them while galloping here..."

"That"s right! What should we do about Kohhi!"

I sc.r.a.ped up the remains scattered around the tree roots, and placed the skull gently in the center.

"Poor Kohhi... You gave your life for me... I"m really sorry, you might have had a wife and kids."

Although its s.e.x is still uncertain. I can at least make a simple grave, and leave flowers on the anniversary of his death and equinoctial week. I know it"s bad but I begin to dig through the gra.s.s with his own thighbone.

"Ah, just a minute, your Majesty, you shouldn"t bury him."

"What are you saying? We can"t leave Kohhi out here to get weather-beaten!"

"Because we have a responsibility to collect him. If he"s buried how will he fly again?"

"Huh?"

"So, if we put him back together properly he"ll be able to fly again."

"He, he"s not dead?"

"There are a lot of mysteries about how they live."

"Really? You can really put him together like a plastic model? Then you won"t make into into a strange new living thing by putting weird bones in?"

"It"s fine, we have expert engineers."

A professional modeler? But I"m glad. Above all I want him to live.

When we finally came back out of the forest to return to the village, Conrad earnestly gave detailed instructions as he was dealing with the enemy soldiers who failed to escape.

"Although we"re approaching the end, there"s still remnants of resistance. Don"t stray off where I can"t see, all right? Because people hit by stray arrows lose their lives."

"S, stray arrows?"

That reminds me, what happened to that elderly person who was struck by something like a stray arrow earlier? While being careful not to leave Conrad"s field of vision, I headed for the corner where injured people were gathered.

The cloth raised up to ward off sparks reminded me of the aid tents at sports festivals. But it wasn"t a peaceful atmosphere under the roof; there were more than twenty injured people, lying down on top of the gra.s.s. While I stand there dumbfounded, people are carried in one by one.

They aren"t mazoku nor man nor villager. They shout, and groan and cry.

A pale-skinned girl restlessly moves around by herself. Günter had called them a clan with healing hands. Is she, in a word, a medic? It seems in this country both men and women go to the battlefield. They"re oddly progressive on that point.

"If there"s something I can do to help..."

The girl raises her face and is amazed when she sees me. She looks around Wolfram"s age but she must be older than me.

"No, your Majesty! Not at all, I can do this by myself."

"But more and more are coming."

"Umm, umm, excuse me for being so unsightly in front of your Majesty. Please, your Majesty, go and give directions to the soldiers."

I shook my head; it looks like I set foot on her territory.

"You"re not unsightly at all... Everyone is hurt and suffering, and I"m not the type to give orders to troops."

As a new person is carried in the medic"s mood seems to change. She handed me a box that seemed to be a first-aid kit, and pointed at the man near the entrance.

"This is inexcusable but could you please use this disinfectant on the patients with minor injuries over there? You will need to wear gloves. The cloth and scissors are here. Umm, your Majesty, do you have any experience giving aid to injured soldiers..."

"None but, maybe, I don"t think I"ll faint."

Because I"ve seen wounds like a pitcher hitting a batter with the ball, or from sliding or from cleats. The female soldier"s expression seemed relieved, and she went to examine the patients with serious wounds. I boldly sprinkled antiseptic solution on a man who had cut his thigh. It wasn"t like a cut from cleats; the flesh was open and pink.

"That"s rough luck, you got hit without any armor. But don"t worry, the wound is shallow. The proof is that I can"t see any bone or muscle."

My hand trembled.

"That, your Majesty, that"s too good for you..."

"Too good? The medicine must sting. Hey, just a sec, how about this salve?"

The young lady bowed her head towards me. There was a yellow gel inside the kit smeared on a large gauze bandage. I don"t know whether I learned it in health cla.s.s or the boy scouts, but wide bandages are wrapped around the thighs. The man continued repeating that it was "too good". Next, giving it all I"ve got, I examine the lacerations and burns.

I"m only a relatively active person but I"ve gotten plenty of scratches and bruises during extracurricular activities, but even so this was a "field hospital". After I treated some patients with minor injuries, a man lying face down was next.

There was a cut diagonally across his back but thanks to his clothes there wasn"t too much bleeding.

He looked like a merchant who was attacked to test out a new sword. His light brown hair hung down to his dirty collar. A silver coin on a leather strip was moved behind his neck. Is it a good luck necklace or money from a country somewhere? Without much thought I tried to grab the glittering one yen coin.

"Don"t touch me."

"Eh, ah, excuse me! I wasn"t going to take anything, it"s just kind of pretty so..."

"Don"t touch me! Are you going to kill me?! Because mazoku won"t let humans live."

"I... I won"t kill you..."

The man grimaced as he tried to raise his body and groaned in pain. I don"t understand all of the curses he repeats at me. He didn"t look this way.

"Are you human?"

"Naturally, d.a.m.n it, and you"re with those mazoku! d.a.m.n, if you"re going to kill me hurry and do it."

"I"m not going to kill you. What, are you scared of putting disinfectant on wounds as a grown man?"

"Disinfectant? Don"t lie to the good people now, a mazoku saving humans?! You mazoku kill humans, so we kill mazoku back."

Neverminding that I put the fluid on his wound.

"I"m not going to kill you, be quiet already! Proof of that is that humans live in that village, don"t they? If mazoku kill humans, then why are people living there?! It"s you people who went there to destroy their quiet lives."

That"s right, humans attacked the village, with swords turned against humans. The arrows were shot.

Even though they were both human.

The man turned his head to look at me, and I looked down on him from where I was standing.

"It"s ok to destroy that place! That village sold their souls to the mazoku, it doesn"t matter if we steal from them, naturally we"d burn a village like that! Our G.o.d forgives us; he lent us power to punish the mazoku!"

Because of the pain and bleeding, his laughter became slightly hysteric.

"G.o.d has chosen humans!"

"...What kind of G.o.d is that?"

The soldier with a bandage wrapped around his head got up next to us in a swaying motion.

"...What are you... saying to his Majesty..."

There wasn"t a pause. He grips his sword, aiming his sword at the neck of the shouting human.

"Da..."

"Stop!"

The sword sharply cut through the air, and dug into the soft ground. The man"s head was still attached to his torso. Fortunately, the weapon had broken. The medic girl lifted the man"s chin and quickly applied a wet cloth to his nose. The injured man lost his strength, and his face pressed on the gra.s.s dead tired.

"When the wounded are excited, I"m afraid we have to put them to sleep."

As if this sort of trouble happens often, she smiles without losing her cool.

"Excuse me if I offended you, but, they"re always unbelievers. You there, and you, watch what you do. All patients carried into my workplace are treated equally. I won"t allow you to hurt one another! Ah, your Majesty."

She looked at me as I watched, overwhelmed, and saw the gem cradled at my neck.

"Is that an offering from his Excellency Conrart?"

"Eh, yeah."

"I see."

I don"t know what she remembered when she nodded her head slightly and moved on to the next wounded person.

"It suits you, very well."

I staggered back to where Conrad was before, who had been giving orders to the soldiers. Soldiers came with clothes scorched here and there, reporting of a well.

"I see, don"t get too close. Dig as wide as you can into the soil to entirely enclose it."

The subordinate bowed briefly and ran off.

With his arms folded, Wolfram didn"t look particularly serious.

"When big brother comes back he should have the ground swallow this village. That way the fire will be put out and it won"t spread to the forest."

"And what of the villager"s homes and land? And the fields they worked so hard to clear?"

"Hnn, the fires were set by humans like them, so they should resign themselves to their fate."

Humans like them.

For no reason I"m drained of strength, and I weakly squat down there.

"Your Majesty."

Conrad kneels down, gently placing a hand on my back.

"Why did they do this... They say it"s because they wanted food. To me is seems like they attacked this village because mazoku that despised humans, like Wolfram and Gwendal, hated them."

Wolfram snorted as if to say he resented that.

"Why should we do something so useless? This land has been mazoku land since long ago. If it burns naturally it"s a loss. Besides, if the fire reaches the forest it"s not something we can restore in one or two years."

The houses blazing up with dark smoke finally crumble down miserably. The farmland that was green and gold only a few days ago was licked by flames now. Several of the domestic animals had taken refuge in the forest.

"Why would humans do this to each other..."

Conrad was interrupted by a falling spark and pulled my shoulder back.

"I can sort of understand why you mazoku are hostile towards humans. Basically, umm, I can"t explain it well but, it"s sort of like how killer whales and dolphins are on bad terms... But that discord is because you"re born different, I think I can understand it somehow. But why would humans be opposed to each other?"

That man"s hysterical laughter from earlier ran around in my head.

"Isn"t it like dolphins biting one another?! What kind of G.o.d wouldn"t be angry at such meaningless, cruel things?!"

Falling between mazoku and human, I can"t read his feelings in his low mutter.

"Well then."

Soldiers" voices of fatigue and despair rise up, as the ashes of burned wheat fly away.

It falls and piles up on the gra.s.s, dancing around again when it"s scattered by hooves.

Over and over again. Until it returns to the ground again.

"Then on the world your Majesty is from, humans don"t fight each other?"

"...That"s..."

The blaze illuminates the figures of the riders approaching. Subdued by only three riders, the man was dragged along in a large lump of cloth, thrown out in front of us and looked at a group of villagers.

"This..."

The person in the old rags came into sight. An arrow pierced through the right shoulder of the soldier"s uniform, his eyes were red from blood from his forehead. With a pale face and low voice, a peasant man muttered it was more baggage. Though I can"t see any injuries, both his arms and legs seem to be twisted strangely.

Bones.

Imaging the pain, I barely manage to gulp down the vomit that"s welling up.

"Clean up over there right away. Although nearly all escaped from across the border."

Even in such a serious situation, Gwendal"s expression didn"t change much. As always he was sullen and handsome, and with the exception of blood spatter from other people on his clothes he didn"t have any traces of combat.

After he raised his eyebrows slightly at the youngest brother who had come, he began to talk to his younger brother about the situation as a soldier.

"Adelbert fed this man lies to provoke him. It"s no wonder he"s trained. The misshapen soldier is considerably involved. It seems there was a fire magician among them. That"s why the fire is so powerful."

"There"s no sign of it weakening at all. We sent a message with one of the bone tribe at noon, but a magic user hasn"t arrived yet so what can we do besides hold out until then? We"ll do whatever we can to protect just the forest."

"Well, without their a.s.sistance we can merely watch. Or..."

Realizing I"m a spectator myself, I bite my lip and hung my head in shame. Gracefully dismounting, Gwendal ordered a subordinate to take his over-excited horse away from the flames, and standing up straight he looked here.

"Are you going to suppress the flames roaring over this village with that commendable water magic like that one time?"

"What do you..."

Water magic like that one time? Anxiety smolders in my chest. Günter also said something about water. Something about forming an avatar with an element and pact.

Do I take responsibility for something that happened that I can"t remember?

"Big brother, it seems this guy can"t remember what happened."

Wolfram said it bluntly, as if it had no significance.

"You can"t call that miracle anything but luck, he was only able to do it unconsciously. In other words, the Yuuri we have now not only can"t handle swords or magic, he"s also an amateur at riding horses."

"A miracle, that I? What kind of incredible miracle did I cause?"

Conrad is glancing at me apologetically. That glance brings to mind the eyes of the homeroom teacher in the student guidance room. You don"t need to make that sort of face, because I got kicked off the team for hitting the coach. Because I did it myself, and don"t regret it in the slightest. They called my mom and after she apologized to coach and the teacher in charge of that grade for the fact he got punched, and she laughed and asked. So coach, what did he do? There was a bit of a bad incident where this kid got p.i.s.sed off and punched me. Yuu-chan"s been like that a long time, as a child he had a strange policy type of thing, and when anything happens to contradict it it"s like he blows his top. Well, when he forgets himself like that he just wants to protect those seven letters, "justice".

Among the teachers, they seemed to conclude like mother like son.

If you believe what my mom said, I"m enforcing a small-town sense of justice.

But now, even if I try to recreate it I can"t remember it offhand...

"Anyhow, if he can"t be useful he can at least stay out of the way."

It seems like the eldest son didn"t seriously expect that.

One elderly woman is drawn out from the villagers who are gathered shoulder to shoulder. Unkempt blond hair and a stream of tears cling to her cheeks, frightened in front of the extremely beautiful n.o.bles, particularly mazoku. A soldier gives the woman his sword, and leads her to the cowering enemy nearby. Gwendal said:

"These people burned your villages. Kill him, humiliate him, do as you like."

"What the h.e.l.l?!"

He glares with an expression that says, "You again?". But I can"t let things be. As always, it"s me.

I"ve thrown out the conduct I"ve learned according to a different world.

But, that"s me.

I clench my fist, and stand between the woman and injured soldier. The lone challenger of the influential mazoku.

"You can"t. Isn"t this guy, in short, a prisoner of war?! There are rules for how you treat a prisoner of war. It says the wounded will have the equal treatment to the girl a bit ago."

"Conrart, do something about this troublemaker."

"I can"t do anything about it."

As if Gwendal was a little irritated he put a hand to his forehead.

"That would be the story if he was an average soldier, these are ringleaders."

"It"s the same thing, you can"t deal out capital punishment as you please even if he"s a ringleader! He needs a proper lawyer, and his guilt will be decided in trial..."

I desperately try to persuade the woman who hasn"t lifted the weapon. "Ma"am, don"t be coaxed by such a thoughtless group. No matter how famous they are, there"s still bad and good. I learned enough in compulsory education to know you can"t kill prisoners as you please. Whether it"s junior high history or citizen"s or whatever, it"s banned because it becomes capital punishment."

"I... that..."

"That woman hasn"t received an education. It"s troublesome if they defy the n.o.bles, so we don"t like to give the human citizens unnecessary intelligence. Compulsory education is absurd."

"There"s no compulsory education~?!"

In a world of swords and magic, what"s going on with people"s rights?

Although it may not be an effective argument but it seems that I"ve avoided capital punishment for the time being as the woman stands there hesitantly. I can"t be relieved as I look around the area. For example, the fireman holding a symbol bearer,[1] or going back to a basic bucket brigade. But I don"t see water anywhere. Everyone is digging up soil and pouring it on.

"Why aren"t they pouring water on it to extinguish it?"

I calmly ask Conrad.

"Because the well isn"t close. Besides, the blaze was started by a magic user, a little bit of water won"t put it out at all. A normal fire would spread too slowly because they were ordered to burn up the target; unless we have a lot of water we can"t compete just using water. Gwendal is a skilled earth magic user, so he thought to pile up the dirt to isolate it but the influence it has below ground might be too large, and the forest may need to be sacrificed... All we can do is wait for a magic user who can manipulate water."

Manipulate water. Isn"t that what I did? I don"t remember it, that time is a blank slate.

Wolfram was standing with a hand on his hip, and asked his elder brother in a trembling voice.

"Is this attack on our land a reason for a proclamation of war?"

"...Well, it"s a good enough reason."

A proclamation of war?

Those words were rarely heard in the daily life of an average fifteen year old; I kept repeating those four words over and over in my head. A proclamation of war, a proclamation of war, a proclamation of war.

A proclamation of war?

""A proclamation of war"?! You"re going to wage war because of this?! This isn"t a joke by some chance?"

I was ignored.

"...Think about it from different sides, Wolfram. Not a single regular soldier joined them. If we make this attack the main reason for declaring war, they can escape by discarding just one village. We need something certain."

"Then they can do what they want to remote regions of the country while we sit back and watch quietly?"

"You guys, listen!!"

They only glance at me, without looking as if they"re going to give me a serious response.

The blood is rus.h.i.+ng to my brain at a reckless speed. If my blood vessel was cut right now I"d lose it all. While I try to choose my words calmly, my mouth is stiff, and the tip of my voice trembles.

"Do you know any defense-only policies?! Anyhow, that means just protecting yourselves! That means never fighting yourself! That modern day j.a.pan abandoned war for pacifism, and it"s even written clearly into the const.i.tution?! Being a j.a.panese person born and raised in j.a.pan, of course I oppose war, too, not just "oppose" but "strongly oppose"!"

I point at Conrad, my tone raises at the end of the word as I speak.

"Humans also fight each other on Earth, didn"t you tell me that a little while ago?! Ah, they do, it"s not untrue at all. But at those times there"s always someone trying their hardest to stop it! The majority of the world"s population want peace!"

I shout out halfway out of frustration. I don"t understand Wolfram"s or whoever"s hot tempers.

"Is that the content of your conversations?! Purposely waiting silently until you have something more certain you can start a war with?!"

"...Don"t shout."

Gwendal frowned like he was suppressing a headache. But my nickname is the Turkish March.

"Discuss it, discuss it! The farmland of the citizens of your country was burned. What are you going to do about it; how can it be secured? I want to absolutely avoid fighting, can"t it be neatly dealt with domestically so that we don"t need to from now on? That is, solve it by discussing it."

"Don"t shout, foreigner from a different world!"

"No, I"ll shout, I"m allowed to shout! I"ll be j.a.panese until I"m twenty, even if I have the soul of the Maoh, I"ll be j.a.panese until I come of age. I think j.a.pan is more peaceful that this country, so even if you tell me to stop I"ll continue talking! I oppose war, completely oppose, I"ll oppose it my whole life, even if in death I"ll oppose it!"

"So you"ve died once?!"

"Not b.l.o.o.d.y likely!"

I did it, I thought. Calmly, Gwendal, who didn"t try to treat me like anything more that a cupid-statue peeing into a fountain in a garden, was caught up in an argument with me. Now that it"s come to this I won"t back down.

No matter how threatening looking like the Maoh is.

"You have no interest in becoming the king, so you don"t have a say about our country! I have a duty to defend s.h.i.+n Makoku, and an obligation to consider our national interest. The exaggerated ethics and lukewarm methods might be fine for place you call "j.a.pan" that you grew up in. But this is us; mazoku have mazoku methods!"

"Then I"ll change that! I"ll change the Mazola ways from scratch!"

This sky isn"t dirty, this land isn"t poisoned, this forest isn"t in disorder, this world is beautiful. But there"s something strange about this world.

"You guys are beautiful and cool, but the problem is you have bad personalities! Such as discriminating against humans, dangerous customs, privileged cla.s.ses and liking war. So much so that when the other party mentions pacifism it"s outrageous! They"re both humans, but because they live on mazoku land it"s ok to attack them! Doesn"t that sound stupid?! "G.o.d lends you power to fight" , what sort of disturbing faith is that?!"

"Your Majesty."

Of the three brothers, only Conrad calls me "Your Majesty". His topaz eyes seem to pierce me by surprise.

"They"re absolutely mistaken, but even so it"s useless to get us roped in. Even if we"re in the right, war is a mistake."

Sorry, Conrad, the March can"t stop during the climax. I feel dizzy from a lack of oxygen to my head. Who are we? What group am I joining? Wasn"t I a human?

"If the King says we can"t go to war, would the citizens obey that?"

"Your Majesty."

I spoke deeper and deeper, and shouted the next part.

"...I will become the Maoh..."

"Yuuri?!"

"I"ll become s.h.i.+n Makoku"s king."

If I don"t give the signal the game won"t start for a long time.

The fire spread to the back fence. That sound of something like a small explosion is covered by a woman"s scream.

"What..."

Trying to turn around, my body is bent and I have a coughing fit. A blow to my right ribs chokes the air in my lungs.

"Don"t move!"

I"m in a full nelson with my chin being held unreasonably hard. A heavy metal touches my throat and chest and someone"s breath is right next to my ear.

The cowering ringleader s.n.a.t.c.hed the weapon from her hands. His eyes glittered, reddened with blood, and he took rough breaths with excitement and pain. Arrows were stuck in his shoulder and legs.

"n.o.body move, if you move I"ll cut this guy"s throat."

I tried to turn my eye just barely to the side to see the man"s face.

"It"s useless for you to resist, either!"

"I understand..."

Extremely timid.

"I wonder if the Great Maoh will keep his lips shut. Like us underlings."

Someone clicks their tongue. Who is it?

I"m dragging along while he"s moving, and the man speaks in a voice that"s partially holding in laughter.

"If you"re really the Maoh, is it really this simple? For a common soldiers like myself."

"...Ch..."

"Even though I"m not going to try and take you anywhere. If you guys even try to say a fragment of a spell, I"ll probably die but he"ll definitely lose his life, too! Don"t get any ideas about going anywhere, I"m a soldier of twenty years too."

A pain like heat runs through my neck. Maybe there"s a shallow cut in the skin.

The man carefully distanced himself from the mazoku, and demands a horse, water and food rations.

"You"re acting like you"re dying but aren"t you the brat who said you"re the Maoh right in front of us? But you"re no good with swords or magic, I wonder if you"re really the Maoh?"

"...I... can"t... help... it..."

The tip of the sword touching my throat hurts but my ribs that were punched in hurt more. Each time I breathe my eyes tear up.

"Well, either way, there aren"t two people born in this world with black hair and eyes. Even if you"re not the King, I need to take you along to earn a ton of money. Didn"t you know? They say you can gain eternal life if you get a person with black hair and eyes, I have colleagues who"ll pay a load of money for that."

I heard it. Three or six days ago. Even though I can"t control my own life and death, I can become a miracle cure for others; is there such an absurd life?! I shut my eyes tightly.

I"m sorry for shouting awhile ago; I"m sorry, so please save me. With all my might I raise my eyes, but not one ally makes a move, they watch with their breath caught at a distance.

The horse is pulled over, and a small quant.i.ty of water is put in the saddle bags.

Perhaps this moment is the beginning of my last chance? It"s not possible for two people to get on simultaneously, even less so a hostage with a blade pointed at him. So, is the only chance right now?

"Get on."

The man turned the sword to my back. Seems he"s planning to go through from behind. Unable to tell him honestly that I can"t ride alone, I timidly put my foot in the stirrup.

It was the instant I crossed my right leg over the saddle.

A small black shadow quickly approached, and the arrow in the man"s leg is pulled out.

The man screams like a frog. The sword cuts the tawny brown hide, and the timid grey horse neighs in a high pitch. It lifts its front legs, throws off its "baggage", and runs in fear.

"Darnit..."

When I thought my body was floating through the air, it crashed on a different hard surface; the ground. My ribs from before ache again, and I can"t breathe in oxygen without it hurting.

"...Egh..."

My fingers grasp my chest and happen to fall onto something warm.

It"s blood.

I can"t see anything but the shadow of Conrad"s back backlit. There was a shadowy ma.s.s at his feet.

The man had doubled over and collapsed. He shed fresh, red blood.

"...Is he dead?"

"Who knows."

There"s a voice under my body, and in a rush I move my hips onto the gra.s.s.

Gwendal wiped off the mud and ash on his clothes. Why is this man under me? There"s no time to ask the question.

Perhaps when I was thrown off the grey horse, because I catch sight of the small pitiable person who saved me.

The flames are already approaching there. Lying upside-down, the boy doesn"t move despite the heat.

"...Hey..."

Fair-headed children with good physiques stood nearby.

"Brandon"

"Yuuri, it"s dangerous, let me."

Staggering, I shake off Conrad"s arm and get near the flames.

This child, because of humans setting fires, because of this malicious flame that someone started, because of this cowardly flame that can"t be put out...

"Brandon!"

From the side a large fire flies, and somehow Conrad mowed it down.

"Brandon?!"

The boy turns up his face and I lift him onto my knee. His eyes were barely open, and he moved his lips. He"s alive!

"...Your Majesty..."

"You don"t have to call me "Your Majesty"."

"...But, you"re... going to... become the king..."

"Brandon."

I"ll protect this village, I"ll protect you, I promise that; I promise.

Something dripped onto the boy"s cheek.

"I promise."

"Will you... t... teach me, how... to pitch?"

"I promise!"

Thunder suddenly pierces my ears, seeming in synchronization with my cry.

It whispers sweet, gentle and joyful things into my ear ca.n.a.ls.

The rain begins to beat the ground...

Until every last one of us is dripping.

It seems it was a rare downpour.

(Translated by Emeryl, originally posted on Onadoru Euphoria. Re-posted with permission.)