Chapter 1 (1/2)
'If Winter co be far behind?'
Such expression see halfway through March In japan, the war around this period
Inside a vehicle which heating does not function well, England is cold even in March The clouds overhead are thin, but the sky looks as pale as a sick person
We are currently riding in a vehicle Crossing the Dover Strait and now treading on the land of England; what I obtain fro more than exhaustion
I shi+ft lance towards the sidefollowed
There, htly pallid coilance for pursuers must have taken its toll on my body
I take a look at the driver beside me, Kuroi Kozuki The word 'bored' seems to be plastered on her countenance as she drives Unlike ht
Kozuki has been together with htly-colored irises, and above all, her hair is a natural blonde Although her name is japanese, anyone can tell from her outward appearance that she is half Caucasian
I think she is around three years younger than e can be sensed only from her childish face Her abundant breasts and thin waist can be perceived even with her clothes on Furthermore, her Gothic Lolita attire makes her look similar to a french doll
If she walks around the town, everyone would be captivated by her appearance However, like a cute frog has its poison, the darkness of her past and disposition willher acquaintance
Noticing aze, Kozuki opens her mouth and asks
”What is it, Minami?”
”It's nothing”
She is referring to me; my name is Azuma Minami
”Then, would youa conversation with me?”
”I don't feel like it right now”
Kozuki's eyebroitches She does that whenever she is annoyed
”I'd believed that you would agree as a co at my face”
I avert azine from the dashboard
”I'ht now”
”Huuh?!”
Kozuki snatches thelike a cluht in the blink of an eye
”You are the one who feels tired? Haven't you been daydreaer's seat all the way here fro all this ti the entire ti beside me!”
She expresses her anger along with various gestures as she drives Her driving ability is the real deal However, if I go along with her now, she will only tire me out
This is soether Contrary to her refined manner of speech, Kozuki has a short te her actions erratic—as if one of her screws just leaped off
”But, the reason we're able to take this vehicle through Belgium was all thanks to me”
Without my 'merit', it would have been impossible to cross borders It is probable that ould not reach England, either Kozuki is aware of this, no doubt
I have ed to make her s her words However, she betrays ain her standing
”Certainly, that was thanks to you However, it was only a speck when compared to the entirety”
”The entirety?”
”All contributions, everything during our life as runaways”
The talk has turned troublesoh, I'm tired
”Do you understand now? One instance describes thousands Know that I will turn furious every tiht of me”
”I' a proper conversation right now? What are you dissatisfied with?”
It see, she suddenly swerves the steer to the left with all her ht This is one of her antics when her screw leaps off
The vehicle protrudes to the opposite lane, while the skidding tires produce hysterical noises The car behind us makes a sudden brake in a panic, and the one even behind makes a swerve to avoid it Mayhem spreads in the blink of an eye, at which Kozuki makes a broad smile
”Serve you right”
Not heeding the angers released by co face looks innocent, if not lovely Teether with this person who has—speaking frankly—a social deficit disorder
The police may have marked us for this incident In the face of my repeated concern about potential pursuers, Kozuki talks with a bored tone in her voice
”Aren't you being a little too nervous? Be more relaxed”
”You're asking the impossible”
”Sheesh, you'll die from stress one of these days”
”You're the source of that stress”
”Oh, you~”
”We're not here to play around”
During our chat, our means of transport enters a residential area The houses are lined up in roith uniform brown roofs
”We've arrived in London”
We arrived a bit too quickly—it was a bit of a letdown Anyway, the roads become more complex and the scenery transfor, while the towering buildings surrounding the city are like walls in a radually revealed
”Ah, look We can see River Thames now”
Over the river, supported by the bridge piers are bridge towers, also known as the Tower Bridge
And to the opposite of the bridge, I can see a stronghold-like structure That must be the London Tower
My interest in history co near the fortress that carries various anecdotes excites me a bit
Crossing the bridge hides London Tower fro Kozuki ere not here to play around just earlier
I cough lightly and ask her a question
”Which part of London are we going to?”
”The East End It is near White Chapel”
White Chapel, the one in the nineteenth century serial killer, 'Jack the Ripper'! I remember now, the East End, the area with the worst public order in London
”This location is perfect for anyone on the run”
It is as Kozuki said, the more we advance, the worse the ath it is still noon, I can see s
The vehicle soon reaches a place with a row of tall structures
”We have reached our destination block~”
”Block?”
”Apartment complex, I mean Aparth”
The aparter compared to those in japan The place is wider, too But, I feel cooped up; time see us cautiously—they are probably the residents here
”Are we hiding here this time?”
”There are a lot of people and various ethnic groups, and the police don't approach the place much I tell you, there is no better location”
Fro various ethnic groups ree to her declaration
”Oh, when hiding in this place, there are several rules to follow”
”Rules? You actually know so called 'rules'?”
”May I have a little of your attention here?”
Pouted the displeased Kozuki When in Roive her some respect and listen to what the native has to say here
”First, you ”
”That rule applies anywhere, doesn't it? Why limit it to this place?”
Kozuki ignores me as she continues her speech
”Second, do not cause problems This includes noise, water leaks and the like Live your days peacefully as a model resident would”
”Like I said, we've been sticking to those rules before we even got here”
”Third, do not poke your head into troubles No nore it”
”You can actually shorten those rules to these three words, 'Don't stick out,' can't you?”
”Mina idiot, after all I can't help but to worry”
I have thought of a retort, but I will refrain fro it out It will be pointless, and it will only tirelot, numbered with '9' as marked on the wall She then parks somewhere appropriately
When I alight from the vehicle, I smell a horrible stench The s to find the source, but there does not see nearby
”What's this smell?”
”It smells pretty much the same anywhere around this area If I s to people who desire to live”
”What does that mean?”
Kozuki ignores my question and walks to leave the area And so, I follow her in silence
2
Our hiding place is on the highest floor Speaking in detail, it is room number 1215 of East End's apartment number 9, which is located on its twelfth floor
The front door is double-layered with a cage-like criate The door itself is colored with an eye-hurtingly frivolous pink
”Welco would be tedious, otherwise”
The place is ht There are two doors abreast in the living room She says that one leads to the bedrooe rooavesland Froeway, there seems to be a closet and a bathroo room
The living room is full with some kind of medieval-style furniture—which lets ing froe liquid crystal TV
”Albeit small, we also have a balcony”
Boasts Kozuki Although, I anore her statement
”Where do I sleep? There is only one bedroom Should I sleep on that sofa?”
”Would you mind if you don't? This sofa is much more expensive than what you think”
”So, on the floor?”
”Of course not The bed is king-sized, two people can sleep in it with space to spare”
She opens the bedrooiant bed It is equipped with a canopy like those usually seen in a palace
”We're sleeping in one bed?”
During our life on the run, there were tiether in the cold However, we have deliberately chosen a place to stay I cannot understand e have to sleep in the same room And actually, I cannot feel at ease when I sleep with someone else
”Is there any problem?”
”Not really”
Still, this is her ho else
Is she feeling happy, finally back ho time? Kozuki looks festive I had had a place to call hoo I would say that I was home when I opened the door, and 'he' would be inside, preparing dinner That scene has beco but an illusion
”Well, shall we bring in the luggage?”
We enter the roo the same size of the bedroom, it containstattered books, di doll fro, looking full of resents heredumped into this room
I pick up a cane-like thing that is soainst the wall I brush off the dust that is already looking like cotton, revealing what is actually a scepter decorated with eraved with a crowned double-headed eagle! I almost dropped it from surprise This is the coat of arms of Russia, of Ivan the Terrible!
”Hey, this did you?”
”Yes, these are all stolen goods Each of them took some efforts for me to snatch, you know”
Said Kozuki with a puff of her bosom Now that I think about it, she is fro to the person herself, stories of her faends in London
”Oh, really? Why do you leave them like this then?”
”Stealing thes that I don't actually need On the other hand, I do not want to discard the fruits of ”
Safekeeping? Did she lect'? At the very least, this scepter does not deserve being covered with so much dust This is a national treasure!
”By the way, the furniture in the living roooods, too”
She declared such a dreadful fact without any hesitation Now that she said it, each and every piece of the furniture see, until a certain someone stole them After I take a closer look at the balcony curtain, it is actually seith very detailed embroidery It is possible that she stole this from a palace somewhere
”It is essential to organize these for a bit”
Kozuki forcefully pushes the scattered articles towards the wall I dare say there are other renowned historical relics in there Hearing the clattering sounds produced fro in a way
”Mina me out a little?”
I timidly approach a cardboard on the floor When I pick it up, I can hear the sounds of s inside They are co from their appearance, they are quite old and made of precious materials like tortoiseshell and coral Underneath them are coins from the era of the Roman Emperor Hadrian and oval coins of Tensho Oban I do not want to see any more of this
That said, I end up 'discovering'I have carried everything carefully to avoid scratches on the ites on top of them without any reservation My efforts are in vain
”We have cleared up a lot of space Splendidly done”
Kozuki s in the head somewhere She is a person who places a Spartan shi+eld above the mechanical doll made by the expert craftsman, Tamaya Shobei! An art practitioner would faint froht
”I believe this will be sufficient Then, I shall bring the things in”
Kozuki holds her hand out towards an empty space The air starts to inflate like a balloon, and a suitcase appears out of nowhere I aine if she will place more ite neatly in a row as Kozuki continues transferring the rest of the luggage without delay
This is Kozuki'stransferred one piece after another comes froe; she can retrieve anything she has touched once and she can send thes away, but she cannot retrieve thes move around', or so she once said
And here comes the last one It is not a suitcase like the ones before Rather, a sie room
I check the wooden crate thoroughly for any dauard its content
The ”Ark” and the ”Tablet” The origins of the 'shi+ning fish'; an entity that holds the power to give 'merits', to transform people into 'ESP users' I see no abnormalities with the crate
”That should be everything”
I can finally feel relieved
”I have anticipated this earlier, but this storage room has become so cramped”
”Of course Unless you organize it more frequently”
”I know! We don't really use this wooden crate all the time, do we?”
Kozuki is pointing at what contains the Ark
”What are you saying?”
”Yup, we don't”
In the next instant, Kozuki touches the crate and uses her power to send it away Unable to understand what just occurred, oes blank for a second
There is Kozuki with her bea smile The wooden crate disappeared with the Ark in it The piles of historical relics are stacked to the wall The crate disappeared And Kozuki is definitely s
”What are you doing?!”
I myself am surprised by how loud I shouted
”Eh?”
”What are you spacing around for?! Bring it back here now!!”
I seize her collar and violently swing her back and forth
”H-hey, stop it! You're stretching my clothes!”
”Bring it back here or I'll keep doing this until they tear!”
”If that really happens, I'll beat you until your bile comes out!”
”Just get the Ark back here, now!!”
Kozuki's eyebroitches and she grabs my collar back
”Listen here, London is ht not do”
”I don't care! Justbringthe Arkbackhere!!”
”I sent it to a safe place It is even safer and reeable than here”
”You don't have to! I'm the one who decides what to do, and you just need to obey me!”
”Huuh?! Of course I refuse!”
”Do it even if you don't want to!”
”I' it because I don't want to!”
I have lostat rin at the edge of ] me away
I see the world aroundsucked into the air as a new scenery immediately spreads before my eyes
My vision is filled with red When I realize that it is actually the frame color of a double-decker bus, its distance to me is already too close that I can see the expression of the bus driver vividly With haste, I teleport to the rooftop of a nearby building
There are sounds of an e below
Coincidence or not, Kozuki has sentdouble-decker bus
No, itnboard, a plaza with the statue of Eros pivoted in the center of the rotary, a crowd of people, and cars in traffic
I am at Piccadilly Circus, a tourist spot in London Lots of buses and taxis are traversing back and forth here So, if soht into the middle of the road, even an idiot knoill happen
To think that she would [Transfer] er as I sense Kozuki's malice Anyway, I need to return and make her spill the whereabouts of the Ark
It will not take long for me to return with my 'merit' Like Kozuki, I also bear the power of [ESP] My ability is teleportation—allowing reat distance in the blink of an eye Those that I touch can be taken along regardless of its structure Also, I can carry quite a large aht without any particular restrictions
However, I realize a grave matter before I can continue
”Which way is to White Chapel?”
My teleportation is not a convenient pohere I can reach any destination just by popping it up in eneral position and direction beforehand White Chapel, Piccadilly Circus; even if I remember the na which part of London they are in, or how the locations relate to each other
There are no buildings near the apartment that can be used as a land building whenever I lose my way, but this time there is none
”Oh well, I better go down and find a map”
Then I discover another problem—about my current state
I a any footwear It is a matter of course, since I had removed my shoes in Kozuki's house before she transferredbarefooted at such a place will definitely make me stand out
The fact that I can realize such things means that I have calmed down to sos that I have seen while I search for White Chapel
We passed through Tower Bridge e crossed the river, and right, We passed by London Tower In other words, if I can locate the London Tower, I will make it back somehow
I remember its shape It should be easy to spot a structure enclosed by ras, I do not see anything like it
”Okay”
I put my consciousness into the sky above and unleash ht now, Iinto mist
Light fillsthe next instant, I have dashed to London's airspace—one thousand and five hundred round It takes onehead first
Belowthe city into north and south Also, observing froh-altitude like this e in the heart of the city
”It's near the Thames River, I think”
I run e soaring like a tower—the Tower Bridge So, London Tower should be right nearby
Found it, one building that is surrounded by ra above London Tower, I dash
I land at the peak of the tower and look at s There, I notice a cluster of aparts
I will return to the rooo from here and present her with a dropkick as soon as I reach the rooers, I dash
Dash is the expression I decide for when I usesomewhere in a hurry, I think it is perfect to describe the trait of my 'merit'
Exiting a vortex of light, I return to Kozuki's roo away for around five minutes But, there is no one in there Only one note is left on the table
Dear Ms Short-Tempered Idiot,
I a
Ihome soon
Although, there is a chance that I won't
Please kill some time as you see fit
Kozuki
She even attached a sinature In silence, I crumple the paper into a ball and throw it away Never mind then, I will
In the meantime, I will find a store to buy a map within the apartht be at
Though, after walking for around thirtythe map I have wandered all the way to the center of the coroceries, all other stores were closed
What should I do now? Visit the city area for the map? But, if the sun sets when I obtain my map, will I be able to catch Kozuki then? This is her hoe, it is impossible for me to catch up to her
Hate to ad in her room patiently is the wisest conclusion at this point
It is good that I could return to Kozuki's roo my ability toothe layout of this neighborhood, I decide to walk to the other side of the complex and back
The back side of the aparte du fishy smell makes me feel queasy
Ainto the dump Afterwards, five people—the very definition of delinquents—appear in pursuit and rush into the du
I can i on The boy who ran in first looked really scared And the delinquents see their prey
They ht now There are thick sounds of flesh getting beaten, along with the owner's groans
It would be bad if I get involved But, when I decide to scra their victi
The one getting bullied looks very young, maybe around ten years old Coer in size, about fourteen to fifteen years old The boy is getting beaten without mercy
I know the garbage duht that anyone would do such things where people coo This is not even a back alley
Well, what do I do now? I can just ignore and forget about hio back to where I walked froive up my prior route because of some children?
I a of my next action Meanwhile, the boy has become battered from the kicks and punches His nosebleed is splattered all over the floor
One of the bullies that is wearing a red cap leaves the place, perhaps to look for so to be used as a weapon And so, the path has becoh They are currently entranced with their bullying, so they should not notice if I walk pass them now
Still getting hit, the boy cowers like a turtle, waiting for the violence to end But, that is the wrong choice Tre You will only be wrenched open with even greater strength What awaits is even ruesome violence
”Bodishi+”
My feet stop involuntarily The word see
”Bodishi+ Bodishi+”
He ain as if in delirium
Bodishi+—it means 'I am sorry' in Efrasian This boy, he is from————I see the boy's back overlap with 'him' for an instant
There was a tiot beaten up like this, too He started a braith so histhat transient daydrearows hot
At the saup, I see the boy that went to search for a weapon looking down at
I brush the dirt off
The red cap's co and surroundsome abusive words I look at the boy, and he looks htened expression in his eyes
”Your name?”
I asked the boy in Efrasian Surprised and bewildered, he answers me with a soft voice, ”Levan”
I avertdelinquent
He holds his throat as he collapses, and I trample on him That is when I see the faces of the delinquents for the first time They look like Kozuki when she is annoyed And about the rules that she
”We're breaking through”
I swing ht
3
Good day, irl born in the thief faland for five hundred years, the [Black Fist] Yes, I am the Kuroi Kozuki
At the present, I a London is bri one thing after another has filled me with much satisfaction
The day has become quite late because of my numerous side trips The sun has set completely by the time I arrive at the apartment The temperature has dropped quite a bit, andcold weatheras I hasten my pace
I wonder if Minae, so I suppose she is super angry even now Will she gruain when I ah
When I exit the elevator, I am overcome with a malaise that I cannot seem to put into words There are times when thieves are able to employ their intuitions And so, we are able to sense if an undesirable occurrence has arisen
There is no particular change in the passageway I do not sense anyone nearby, and I see nothing that can serve as traps, either I observe s covertly as I head towardshappens
Is it possible that I a a false alarm does not really please me I open the door towith a pair of tattered sneakers
”Minami, are you in?”
After I called her fro roo a piece of absorbent cotton The sharp smell of antiseptic solution enters my nose
”I' your first aid kit”
Said Minami with the sa under that visage
”I don't mind, but did you hurt yourself?”
”No, not me”
”Hold on a second What do you mean?”
”Well, nothing big”
My thief's intuition is blaring I push Mina boy whoes
”W-who are you?!”
I fling s and ask a question spontaneously
”Ah, um I-I, I”