Souen no Historia
Chapter 14
Having boarded the pirate ship by force, Mayuki and Sheila were the target of various gazes from around them. Among them, Eula whose hand was grabbed by Mayuki and forced to accept them gaze with an especially unpleased expression. “Well? What are you going to do?”“About that… … if you ask that, it is just as I said earlier, but….” Mayuki had already returned to her senses, and her face stiffened by what she had done. Sheila clung beside to Mayuki while, “Eueu,” she lamented.Mayuki feel it was her fault that Sheila was forced into this situation, and because it had turned to this she decided to tell Eula the purpose of their travel. Eula’s party was certainly the pirates who attacked the ship, but about Eula, Mayuki thought she wasn’t a violent person. She didn’t know if the reason was because their age was similar, or it was just her intuition…. “I see, you’re going to east continent huh.”“Th-That is right….”“Then, you’re going to make us, pirate, to be your transportation, something like that?”“... … i-if possible….” Then, Eula, DANh, kicked the floor and, “Don’t joke around! Why I should comply with such thing! In the first place we are pirates! Something wrong with your head for asking us to board this ship!”“That’s… … ahaha”“Don’t laugh! Rather, how can you laugh in this situation?!” When Eula held her head with her hands, “Kuhaha, captain, isn’t it okay? Our destination is around there after all.”“R-Really!” The man that fought the swordsman from a while ago gave her a timely help. “Wa-, oy Reiss, don’t say unnecessary things!”“Kuhaha! Because flowers bloom inside this group of men, these guys are happy to do it, you know?”“What!” Eula confirmed her surroundings, and the men were certainly happily smiling. “Oy guys! I am a genuine woman!” Then, the men looked at each other and sighed at the same time. “But, even if head is a woman, rather than a flower you are… … a beast?”“Isn’t that because of my race!” Bash, Eula poked the henchman that said unnecessary thing with her fist. This world certainly had a species called beast race, and Eula carried that characteristic. She had a long cat-like and slender tail and lovely animal ears that might be hidden under the bandana on her head. Eula had a human-like form because she carried excellent blood even among the beast race. “Agh, if I dress a little like these fellows even I….” Though she muttered something, Reiss only laughed as if finding it amusing. Reiss then approached them. “Little misses, you want to go to east continent, right?”“Ah, yes.”“Then, it will be okay to send you along our way.”“I-is it really okay!”“Ah, oy Reiss! Why the h.e.l.l you are deciding the ship’s course! I am the captain!”“It is no problem after all, captain. There’s the saying to help fellow travelers while traveling, right? Furthermore, even though pirates are sea bandits, we are carrying the wills of righteous bandits, right?”“U… … that’s… … … … aah honestly, do whatever you want!” PUIh, Eula looked away and turned her gaze towards the sea. Because she felt she did something bad, Mayuki had an apologetic expression. “Well, don’t mind her, miss. Even though head said that, she won’t treat someone who aboard her ship coldly.”“Th-Thank you very much.”“Kuhaha, we are pirates after all. There are times we are going to be attacked, so be prepared for that, kay?”“Ahaha, p-please be easy….”“Please tell that to our enemy. Well, the sea around here is comparatively calmer, so it should be okay. Though I don’t know about those that entered from the Red Sea.”“That, are the enemies something like other pirates?”“Ah? Well, something like that. The others are the guard ships of other countries.” Apparently it’s become an exciting voyage. If by some chance this pirate ship was sunk by the guard ships, it wouldn’t be odd for Mayuki and Sheila to be treated as pirates too. Naturally if Mayuki and Sheila’s ident.i.ties were to be investigated, they would be quietly returned to Rashtia. That’s why Mayuki and Sheila could do nothing but pray that this ship wouldn’t be found by anyone and arrive at the east continent safely. “S-Sorry, Sheila. For me to act selfishly….” There were lots of things to apologize for to her best friend. She had acted selfishly and involved Sheila. However, Sheila smiled beautifully and said, “It’s okay. I-Isn’t the result all right?” It was certainly a good thing that they would arrive at the east continent after all, but she couldn’t help but apologize for involving Sheila in such a dangerous journey. “Well, there’s no way this ship sinking. We are strong after all.”“That’s right, even that mechanical doll (automata) was beaten out of its life by the head.” The one that said so was the man who was fighting the mage, and his name was said to be Gazi-something. Though Reiss had a slender and macho body, Gazi could only be said as plump. “Mechanical doll (automata)… … umm, can I ask something?”“Ah? What is it?” Mayuki asked Reiss because there’s something she wanted to know. “What is a mechanical doll (automata)?”“You don’t know?”“Yes.”“I see. A mechanical doll is a moving doll that imitates a human. There are various types, and that one that exploded is called weapon type (Killing Type). Well, just think of it as a weapon.”“W-Weapon?”“Aa, didn’t miss also see it? That explosion. That last weapon was prepared to kill its target; self-explosion. In the first place, lots of money and time are needed to create the weapon type (Killing Type), so the manufacturing had been discontinued, but there is a certain country that’s capable of an easier manufacturing method. Thus an underground auction was created, where a lot of transactions happened.”“A certain country?”“It’s the Holy Kingdom Lavahha. The birthplace of doll users and molding artists.” It was a name of a country in the south continent. “Why was something like that being transported as a present for the Emperor? Moreover, that’s a weapon, right? I feel it was still incomplete when I saw it….” Eula was the one reacting to Mayuki’s words. “Hee, your powers of observation is quite something huh.”“Eh, th-thank you very much.”“... … you guys, your names?” The two obediently said their names. If it was only a name, they judged that the pirate wouldn’t be able to guess that they were called heroes in this world. “Mayuki Amagawa and Sheila Hoshimori… … what unusual names. From the nuance, they are similar to Hi no Kuni’s; are you from there?”“Th-That’s….” They couldn’t say they were summoned here as heroes, so they hesitated in answering her. “Well, it doesn’t matter where you come from.” Is that really okay? was the reb.u.t.tal from the surroundings. She seemed to have a considerably simple character. Mayuki was helped by that. “I’ll answer your question in deference to your power of observation.”“Ah, yes! Please, sensei!”“Please teach!” Not only Mayuki, Sheila also wanted to hear the answer. However, Sheila bit her tongue. “S-Sensei… … ah, that can’t be helped, I will lecture you if you want to hear it that much!”“Head looks so happy.”“Shut up, Reiss! Get back to your work quickly! You guys too!” The men laughed happily and scattered when they saw Eula’s flushed face. “Ohon! Umm… … about the answer of that question-” Coughing to smooth things over, Eula gave a well-ordered explanation. First, that mechanical doll (automata) wasn’t created by the Holy Kingdom Lavahha. As for the reason, if that thing came from Holy Kingdom Lavahha, then there’s no need for it to be moved from the west continent like Mayuki and Sheila.After all, it would only need to go straight from the south continent to the middle continent where the Emperor resides. Her other reason was that the doll was too imperfect. Frankly, it was just as Mayuki had said, that mechanical doll was incomplete. The real things seemed to be no different compared to humans.That’s where the doubts came from. Just who created that? Also, why was such crude, unfinished good sent to the Emperor? “I honestly don’t know about who made that thing. But, I understand their aim.”“Aim?”“Aa, that’s….” The two quietly pay attention to the words that came from Eula’s mouth. “... … to a.s.sa.s.sinate the Emperor.” From her words, using it as a battle weapon, the mechanical doll would suddenly go rampaging and kill the Emperor when the Emperor sees it. That kind of plot.However, Mayuki asked that if something else approached it just like in Eula’s case, wouldn’t it become a failure? “Aa, at least its main objective was to a.s.sa.s.sinate the Emperor. The ones who created that doll should be in fact aiming at the Emperor’s life… … should be.” Even if the a.s.sa.s.sination ended with failure, for Emperor’s present to be a weapon type (Killing Type) mechanical doll that rampages inside the Palace, it was natural to guess it was targeting the Emperor. “Why such a thing?”“Who knows, this is only a guess of mine in the end. But, about it being too incomplete, it looks like they never thought it’d be a success. Isn’t it normal to think that their objective is to give the Emperor the sense of crisis? Or maybe they will also be in trouble if the Emperor really died?”“Haa… … ah, that’s why the Eula and the others attacked that ship as righteous bandits!” When Mayuki’s eyes sparkled because she thought Eula and the others were brave people who did such act for Emperor’s sake, “Ha? That’s absolutely wrong, you know? Rather, we don’t care if the Emperor dies or not.”“... … … ...heh? Not only Mayuki, Sheila was also astonished. “We attacked that ship because I thought it carried the thing I am looking for. But, it was something different….”“... … th-that’s, what are you looking for?” Then, Eula glared with eyes filled with killing intent unlike a little while ago which made Mayuki catch her breath. “... … a mechanical doll (automata).”“Eh? … … mechanical doll (automata)?”“It is so, but it is different from that inferior good. Also it is a doll that’s completely the same as a human. I am here, here to find the one who created that.”“... ... did something happen… … with that doll?”“... … nothing, just a simple revenge.” Her eyes were cold. They’d make girls turn aghast. Surely she attacked that ship because she thought it carried that doll. However, it carried something different. “Let me ask this. Do you know someone with silver hair with an eye on his forehead?”“Eh? Uun, I don’t know.”“I see… … then that’s good.” Just what kind of past did she have, and, though Mayuki was curious about it, she realized it was a subject she mustn’t thoughtlessly ask, so she didn’t question her any further. After that, Eula returned to her own room, and because they felt bad boarding the ship for free, Mayuki and Sheila were helping the pirates in cooking and cleaning. Do they say all 3 words of “mechanical doll (automata)?” One person says that but then someone else replies with something like “A-automata?” Why put it in parenthesis if all 3 words are spoken? Normally parenthesis here is used for people’s thoughts to themselves. If that is so, then how could someone reply to someone’s thoughts? It isn’t consistent.↩The author really made these women meek. The ship they were on was destroyed by pirates, so when they forcefully board the pirates’ ship, they felt bad and started cooking and cleaning?! If they were so strong that Rashtia sent them to destroy the demon army lord, it would follow that they would be stronger than any normal human. They should have just taken over the ship and commanded them to that continent while being served by them! Hijinks can ensue! They can then let them go for their “generous” service.↩