7-A: Outstretched Hand
There were three pieces of information that Kurimu had compiled regarding the Magic Tools of the Lust Deity: The [Empire], The [New Religion], and The [Eerie Town].
Karuta and company’s opinions differed, but after discussion they decided where to start investigating.
➔【We should crush the empire before something is done to our allies】
The answer given by the trio about their future course of action was to confirm whether the empire possessed the Magic Tool of the Lust God, and to infiltrate the upcoming meeting for that purpose.
“Although I’m worried about the missing Hato-san, the people of our allied countries may be in danger…”
“Although I’d like to think that it’s unlikely, if an ally were to be manipulated and taken over, I think this Whispered Kingdom would be in danger. Even if we saved Hato-san, it’d be problematic if this country wasn’t safe.”
“Karuta-san, just your concern about Hato saves me. Thank you very much.”
“N-No, no, not at all!”
“Say, Kurimu-nee. If we decided to interfere with this meeting, is it really okay to borrow the name of the Whispered Kingdom?”
“I do not mind, I have even gotten permission from His Majesty the King. Instead, if you fail at the infiltration stage-“
“It’s our own responsibility, right?”
“…my apologies, but that is how it will be.”
“We’re quick to run away, so it’ll be fine! Besides, we’re the ones who said we wanted to collect the Magic Tools of the Lust Deity, after all.”
“Don’t worry, Kurimu-nee, it’s fine as long as we don’t get found out. Now then, there’s only 2 days left until the conference, so shall we depart?”
“Let’s do that. Then, Kurimu-san, we’re heading off.”
“We’re shipping out!”
“Please be careful.”
It was already dark and night was about to fall, but it was also convenient for Aria who didn’t want to stand out too much in the capital. Karuta and the others decided to head to their allied country, Maruanne.
…………
………
……
…
＜No-War Country Maruanne＞
“Even if you say that the country respects peace, I’m worried since things managed to go so smoothly for us.”
“Yup, yup, I got a little worried too. We slipped by the guards so easily, after all.”
“Once this matter is over, it may be better to have some instructors dispatched from the kingdom.”
According to the materials received from Kurimu, the trio arrived at the building near the guest house where the conference was scheduled to take place.
At the moment, Karuta and the others were still adventurers, just trying to check in on the meeting without permission. As such, the trio slipped under the surveillance, sometimes temporarily putting the sentries to sleep as they moved to the roof.
Although they couldn’t see the state of affairs inside with the naked eye, they spotted the room where the meeting would be held in the distance. Perhaps because they wanted to show that they were a peaceful country where nothing would happen, the large windows made the interior completely visible–they truly were lacking in wariness.
To Maruanne’s credit, the security for this meeting was sufficiently tight. Although the number of soldiers in this country was small, they were quite good at defensive manoeuvres, making it impossible for ordinary adventurers to infiltrate.
However, they had a poor matchup. Aria could easily infiltrate by erasing her presence almost perfectly with the technique she inherited directly from Kurimu. And with Karuta’s natural physical ability, along with Salis’s outstanding ability to respond to the situation using various magic, they were able to match well with Aria. Rather, with the trio cooperating, it’d be even harder for them to be discovered than if Aria were to infiltrate alone.
To make matters worse, Karuta and company tended to have a low evaluation of themselves. Therefore, from their point of view, Maruanne has become a country where [it’s concerning since even people like us could easily infiltrate them].
“Anyways, let’s get started. Aria, if you’d please.”
“Leave it to me.”
They originally wanted to send a familiar to inquire into the conference’s state of affairs, just like they had for the request they had received before. However, since there was a high possibility that the security detail would notice, it was instead time for Aria’s trump card.
【 o-parts-RAVINAN 】
【Thou shalt answer my call, and display thy power sought】
【I shall become the hunter who pierces Gods from the Earth.】
When Aria recited the magic-like chant, the magic gun in her hand glowed faintly, changing from a form suitable for carrying with one hand to an elongated shape. There was also a small telescope-like object installed on the top segment, which was not originally there.
“No matter how many times I look at it, I still have no idea what logical principle it works under. If you’d allow it, then I’d like to investigate it all day long.”
“I don’t know what will happen to it if I give it to Sally, so please spare me from that… In the first place, the knowledge of how to use this artifact is simply passed down from generation to generation, so it’s not like I properly understand how it works either.”
“I think anything’s fine as long as you can use it. And so, A-chan, we’ll leave the sniping to you. Leave the lookout to us!”
“Indeed, if I see something strange, I’ll shoot straight away.”
Aria reconfirmed the faces of Maruanne’s King and the Emperor, as well as the other related persons in the materials, while lying prone and taking a sniper’s stance.
Aria used a magic gun that had been transformed into a sniper rifle to directly examine the state of the meeting and, if something comes to pass, will shoot. Karuta and Salis will monitor the surrounding area for any suspicious activity while supporting the sniper so that she isn’t hindered.
……
…
“Karuta here, nothing to report.”
“It’s Salis, nothing strange noted.”
“This is Aria, no abnormalities here either.”
The trio finished their 14th regular report. When their plan was decided the other day, the trio, along with Kurimu, thought about countermeasures against the Magic Tools of the Lust Deity. This regular report was one of those.
Although the number of magic tools they encountered weren’t many, they expected that they would be put into a daze—the so-called suggestive state—since they confirmed so upon seeing the usage of the tools other than the Book of Manipulation that Himuro had used.
For that reason,the three of them were currently monitoring different places, and were making fixed-form communications at regular intervals of several minutes. Also-
“In the southwest, a lone man who went out has departed–he only has a bag with him.”
“In the northeast there are two men, and their only belongings are also bags as well.”
If there is a change, no matter how trivial, they try to communicate it in detail. After all, once one has been manipulated, it’s almost impossible to notice that one has been controlled. In which case, it was decided that they would describe matters in detail during surveillance so that the other two would notice if there was anything unusual.
…
And so, around the time of the 22nd regular report ended, there was a change in the guesthouse that Aria was monitoring.
“Hm…? Phew, they’ve finally arrived. The representatives of both countries, and persons that appear to be their followers have arrived, one for each representative. Also, there are three guards entering with them.”
“So it’s started.”
“A-chan, we’ll leave it to you to give us a play-by-play!”
As reported by Aria, two men who looked very similar to the photo attached to the document…the current Emperor of the Empire, Arataki Ekon, and the current King of Maruanne, Kogawa Hapina…entered the room.
At first, it seemed like they were just chatting with each other, but it didn’t last long and Emperor Ekon took out a piece of paper.
“Emperor-sama handed over a piece of paper to the King of Maruanne. Um…it looks like like a pledge. The Empire must have come to get this signed.”
“Can you tell what’s written on it?”
“Of course, just wait a minute.”
For the first time since the meeting began, the name of something came out of Aria’s mouth. Naturally, Karuta and Salis increased their vigilance, thinking that the pledge might be a Magic Tool of the Lust Deity. Aria, similarly cautious, confirmed the content before opening her mouth.
“I’ll read the contents out now.
[Written Pledge of Heaven and Earth]
[Commander: Arataki Ekon]
[Pledger: Kogawa Hapina]
[Commissioned: All citizens and immigrants of of the No-War Country Maruanne]
[Written Pledge Details]
[1: Maruanne accepts without question any immigrants from Valandre.]
[2: The commissioned will enter the Brainwashing Box sequentially under the direction of Valandre soldiers]
[3: The commissioned persons will hold no doubts towards the words and deeds of the Empire’s people.]
…that’s all, the commander section has already been stamped with a seal. But even so, there are only exceedingly normal things written there. There was talk about them preparing weapons, but I wonder if they just came here to negotiate normally this time.”
Aria, who was watching the meeting through her magic gun, had yet to notice the kind of faces that Karuta and Salis were making.
“K-Karuta. Right now, about the contents of that pledge that Aria read out just now, um-“
“! Sa-chan is ok, right!? You can tell that what was discussed just now was strange, right!”
“…eh? W-Wait a sec. Just what in the world is strange about it?”
“I feel like everything about what was written was strange, but the decisive part was the section about [entering the Brainwashing Box]. No matter how you look at it, this can’t be anything else but another Magic Tool of the Lust Deity.”
“…let’s see. Aria, what would you think if you were told that Imperial soldiers are entering your kingdom, and you had to follow their instructions and enter a Brainwashing Box?”
“No matter how I think about it, that’s ridiculous. Isn’t that almost like me saying you guys are my servants so obey me?”
“What was written in the pledge that you just read aloud is almost the same thing as what I just said. That’s what’s going to happen to Maruanne.”
“No way…?”
Sweat welled up from Aria’s entire body. The cold chill didn’t seem as though it would ever stop.
That chill wasn’t from the fact that she, herself, might be being manipulated. It was because she remembered the time when Karuta and Salis were manipulated previously, and how at the time she was placed in a position where it seemed as though her thinking had been abnormally skewed.
Is it Karuta and Sally who are currently normal, or is it myself this time? Aria was too scared to make that decision that she couldn’t help but tremble.
However, Aria later told Karuta and Sally about as much as she remembered what happened in the capital after everything happened. Therefore, the two were able to notice her conflict.
“Aria, it’s likely that the pledge and brainwashing box written within are Magic Tools of the Lust Deity, and you were planted with an abnormal perception upon seeing the pledge. The King of Maruanne must be in the same condition as you, so I’m sure he’s just calmly reading the oath, right?”
“Certainly, it’s exactly as Sally said. Even amongst the accompanying attendants, there’s nobody who is acting as upset as you two.”
“When we were in the capital, both Sa-chan and I were easily manipulated, and as a result we dragged A-chan down. However, this time, it’s our turn to help.
Please, trust us…!”
“………understood, I’ll believe in you two. If perhaps this choice is a mistake, then I’ll turn into a ghost and haunt you, ok?”
“A-chan!”
“Alright, then let’s hurry, Aria. If it’s in the form of a pledge, then it’ll probably be bad if Maruanne’s camp stamps it or something. It’s likely that both Karuta and myself will end up in your current state.”
“Even though it was such a good atmosphere up until now, geez. Understood, I’ll shoot right through it, now…”
After Salis’s intelligent persuasion and Karuta’s sincere appeal, Aria believed the duo and decided to intervene in the meeting. She set her sights on the pledge and pulled the trigger in order to destroy the Magic Tool of the Lust Deity and top the Empire’s conspiracy.
Or so is what should have happened.
“Aria?”
No bullets were fired from Aria’s magic gun. Upon looking closely, one could see her breathing heavily and her body was trembling.
“A-chan, what’s wrong!?”
“……I-I can’t shoot. As soon as I focused on trying to blast it to pieces, my body refused to pull the trigger, guh…”
While clacking her teeth, Aria desperately tried to resist, but the stronger she struggled the more her whole body trembled and she couldn’t aim.
“Don’t tell me, are you even prevented from bringing harm upon the tool!?”
“I’m…sorry. Even though, we won’t make it if we don’t hurry…!”
Aria peered into the room where the meeting was being held, and the King of Maruanne, Kogawa, was preparing to place his seal upon the document. It looked like a blood seal.
“In that case…Sa-chan! Can you suppress the trembling of A-chan’s body?”
“Her trembling? Then how about this?”
Salis unleashed magic around Aria, giving her an attributeless mass that gently enveloped her body and suppressed her trembling. It was almost like a friendly slime.
“S-Somehow this kinda feels bad.”
“No complaints, please. So, what should we do from here? Karuta?”
“A-chan, with this can you properly aim at the pledge now?”
“Eh? Yes, somehow I can thanks to Sally.”
“I see… Sorry, A-chan, you can get mad at me as much as you want later!”
Upon quickly approaching Aria’s hand, Karuta pushed Aria’s finger over Salis’s magic.
Aria’s body was affected by the power of the Magic Tool, and as such couldn’t pull the trigger herself.
In which case, Karuta just had to pull the trigger in her stead.
Faster than her body could realise, and even quicker than her hand could refuse the action.
Just as Karuta intended, a bullet was fired from the magic gun towards the pledge. After a short delay, Aria’s body convulsed violently as she understood her situation. Salis, who understood Karuta’s intention, strengthened her magical power almost at the same time as Aria’s convulsions, suppressing Aria’s body.
The bullet pierced the window and pierced the Emperor’s blood stamped on the pledge. After a short silence, faint voices that seemed to be in a tizzy could be heard coming from the conference room.
“iih, HAAH, haah……thanks, Sally, I think I’m ok now.”
“Is that so? That’s a relief, since if you were to rampage any further I would’ve had no choice but to suppress you with enough strength to harm you.”
“Well then, A-chan also knows that the pledge is strange now, right!”
“Naturally, my head is already fine. We have to do something quickly about the Brainwashing Box that was written in that pledge as soon as possible. Judging from the letter, the Empire’s soldiers should have brought it somewhere.”
“In which case, let’s visit the guest house as well to settle the situation. Karuta and I will have the Emperor confess about the Brainwashing Box, so I’ll ask Aria to explain the situation to the others. Unlike me, you’re good at that, right?”
“Somehow, that’s an offensive way of putting it, but since it’s Sally that’s nothing unusual…you can leave that to me, so let’s go!”
Salis floated with magic, while Karuta and Aria used the surrounding buildings as stepping stones as they headed for the room.
➔【 Ria・Mulgen 】
Salis forcefully removed the window with physical magic so as to not flashily smash it, as the trio entered the occupied room.
“I-I was just following the Emperor, I don’t even know the detaiils!!”
“That’s why I’m asking you to explain what this pledge is about…wha-, who are you guys!?”
“You are the King of Maruanne, Kogawa Hapina-sama, correct? As written in this paper, we are the ones who have received secret orders from the King of the Whispered Kingdom, Tsukishiro Arata. First of all, I apologise for all of the rudeness, including the earlier sniping.”
“From Whispered? ………I see, it certainly looks like an official document, as that handwriting closely matches his. Or rather, the thing that suddenly flew in was something you did, yes? That saved us. We didn’t have any suspicions regarding the nonsensical content of that pledge until you shot at it, after all.
May I assume that you have come to explain to me what this piece of paper is all about?”
“Yes, we would like to share what information we have grasped. Firstly…”
Handing over the paper signed by Tsukishiro Arata that she had received in advance, Aria tried to somehow settle the situation. In the meantime, Karuta and Salis obtained permission from the guards and decided to interview the frightened man who appeared to be the Emperor’s subordinate.
“I have two questions. First, where did your Emperor go?”
“W-What ridiculousness is this? Because of you guys, that personage has turned into a piece of paper!”
There was no Emperor-like face around, and a piece of paper was placed on the chair that he was supposedly sitting on.
“This…this photo on the piece of paper looks exactly like the one on Kurimu-san’s document. It’s the Emperor-san’s face.”
Karuta picked up the paper that was on the chair. Most of what was written on it was unreadable, but one could tell that the name Arataki Ekon was written under the photo of the man that was stuck there.
“T-That’s right! Ekon-sama must have been trapped in that paper because the pledge from earlier was damaged!”
“So he lost his right of ownership from the pledge being damaged, and because of that he was turned into paper, huh…? It’s kind of disgusting when I think that this used to be a person.”
“D-Don’t say such mean things, Sa-chan.”
“M-My apologies, Karuta. Phew, one more thing. Where is the Brainwashing Box that was written in that pledge? Judging from the text, it should have been brought in to be used in this country.”
“Oh, if it’s that thing, then the soldiers waiting outside the front gate should have it. S-Say, I properly answered your two questions. That’s why, please let me go!”
“Say, Sa-chan. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone so loose-lipped.”
“I agree. The men of the Emperor, who was rumoured to be incompetent, also appear to be incompetent.”
“S-Say whatever you like! Anyways, I’m not at fault, so just spare my life-“
“We’ll leave the rest to the guards, let’s go Karuta.”
“Yup, let’s hurry!”
“D-Don’t screw with me! Even though you’re just mere sows who should be squealing atop my lap!”
……
…
Compared to when dealing with the pledge, things were settled so easily that it felt disappointing.
After Salis used her cane to hit the Emperor’s subordinate who was shouting and screaming, they left the men to the guards and headed for the main gate where they immediately confirmed what appeared to be the Imperial Soldiers.
“That’s why……mperor……brainwashing……run……”
The soldiers seemed to be panicking for some reason, not appearing to have noticed Karuta and Salis’s approach.
“I’ve heard the rumours, but it seems that the Empire’s soldiers are really poorly trained.”
“I feel a little bad for them, but let’s knock them all out before they do something weird!”
“Yeah, first I guess I’ll steal their vision.”
➔【 Ria・Greentail 】
In the location where the Imperial Soldiers were stationed, Salis emitted a light so intense that it could have blinded them. In time with this, Karuta rushed into the enemy camp alone, eyes closed as she relied on the signs of their presence.
➔【 Self-Taught style Head Hunting 】
Without the ability to respond to sudden situations, the Imperial Soldiers fell one after another after being hit by the back of Karuta’s sword.
“Karuta! Can you leave one alone?”
“Yup! Got it!”
One of the Imperial Soldiers was spared as requested by Salis. After being blinded, he finally regained his sight and, upon looking around, he saw all of his other companions lying on the ground. In a matter of seconds, the dozen Imperial Soldiers had been pretty much wiped out.
“H-Hiiiih!? W-What the hell is going on!?”
“We’ve stopped the Emperor-san’s conspiracy, so please don’t resist.”
“Wha-, y-you’ve got to be kidding me…shit, that incompetent fat ass! What kind of Empire is this, that useless shit! In the first place-“
“Shut up, we didn’t come here to hear your complaints. Do you know about the Brainwashing Box?”
“Ah? Yeah, I don’t quite understand it, but you’re talking about that ridiculous box, right?”
“Well then, shall we have you tell us where it is? If you tell me honestly, I won’t even take your life.”
“G-Got it…I mean, understood. If I’m not mistaken, two of my superiors should have it in bags. There, it’s the guys with the important-looking hats.”
Following the words of the Imperial Soldier who changed his attitude completely to one of reverence, they were able to collect two small boxes that could fit in the palm of a hand from each, for a total of four.
“It’s quite small, isn’t it? The oath said something like ‘go inside this box!’, but how does one enter inside it?”
“Those things have something like a button on them, right? I don’t know how it works, but when you press it, it transforms into a box.”
“Hmm, I see. Will the people who enter the box be brainwashed as the name suggests? Will they listen to anything they’re told?”
“Indeed, anything at all! No matter what kind of nice woman, you can make them do whatever you like and……..ah…”
“I see, I see. I vaguely felt that way, but I’m glad to know that you’re also the type of person that I don’t need to hold back against.”
“W-w-w-w-wait plea-obeeh!?”
Salis’s single blow to the head, which was much more powerful than before, caused the loose-lipped Imperial Soldier to faint.
“…haah. Even just imagining being toyed with by these kinds of ruffians makes me sick.”
“We have to do our best to save people who are suffering somewhere right now so that the number of people who face such a fate will not increase anymore.”
“Yes, that’s right, Karuta. For now, let’s tie these guys up and get back to Aria as soon as possible. It should be fine to leave their punishment to the people of this country.”
“Yup, I’ll help!”
By the time the duo returned to Aria, the general explanation had been completed, and the guards seemed to be in a hurry to settle the situation. After telling the guards that they had captured Imperial Soldiers at the main gate earlier, the duo finally rejoined Aria.
“Karuta, Sally! Welcome back, I’m glad you’re safe…”
“We’re back! Look, look, we were able to recover these safely. If you press this part here, it’ll transform into a box.”
“The soldiers over there were also really stupid. To the point where I feel it was a mistake to be so cautious.”
“Their miserable state was just as rumoured, I see. I also felt that it was a mistake to be so worried. Well then, let’s leave the rest to the King-sama and return to the capital. People should be coming from the Kingdom soon, after all. Now then, hurry, hurry!”
“Eh, wait, A-chan, don’t push!”
(Aria, what are you in such a hurry for?)
(The King of this place seems to have found out my identity! I don’t remember, but I think I have met him a long time ago…)
(I see.)
(Oh, that’s right. I somehow managed to negotiate and retrieve the pledge that the Emperor was turned into, so please hold onto it for me Sally.)
“Kyah! …d-don’t give such a disgusting thing to me so suddenly!”
“Eh, what what? Something happen, Sa-chan?”
“Wah, we’ll stand out in a bad way so please don’t make too much noise!”
The three heroes, who prevented the threat of the Empire that was approaching the No-War nation Maruanne and its ally Whispered, left in such a hurry that they couldn’t even feel the slightest hint of their achievements.
The Empire which lost its Emperor who, despite being incompetent, was at the country’s head, ended up being absorbed into the Whispered Kingdom. Although the history of the Valandre Empire has come to an end, it is said that the desolate public order gradually improved under the rule of the kingdom.
Author Note:
This time, the Emperor was the target, but I also like situations where the mind is sealed in a paper or picture.
(I was barely unable to keep my goal of getting it done in 1 week…in exchange, I think I’ve had time to summarise the flow of the future story.)
Dominant Programmer 