Vol 1 Chapter 2 (2/2)

Blonde hair, blue eyes, tall and handsome. A bright expression on his

proper face, and extremely friendly. The appearance of an elegant

gentleman, but in reality, the strongest warrior possessing a body of

steel—

G.o.dou recalled the image of the one who called himself his 'good friend.'

”Hey Salvatore Doni, we don't really count as friends you know, and I don't

remember ever telling you my phone numbers.”

'Hmph, you're the fellow who didn't even want to exchange phone numbers

or mailing addresses. Thanks to you, I had to order my subordinates to

investigate. And from now on, please do not use ”don't really count” to

describe our relations.h.i.+p. Didn't I say already, that we are great friends?'

”If that's what you think, please look up the dictionary definition for the

word 'friend' one thousand times before you call again.”

Salvatore Doni.

The twenty-four-year-old Italian, as well as the Sixth Campione.

He possessed ma.s.sive influence centered around southern Europe, and

had defeated four G.o.ds. In terms of age and experience, he would count

as G.o.dou's senior.

However, G.o.dou had no intention of using honorifics with this guy.

G.o.dou himself found it unbelievable, since he would usually interact with

elders with the appropriate att.i.tude and word choice.

However, it was entirely different when facing this man. From the depths of

his heart, a certain subtle feeling of opposition prevented it.

'Hey hey, the one who doesn't understand friends.h.i.+p is you. That is totally

shameful for a j.a.panese.'

”What does nationality have to do with it?”

'Of course it does. I remember that ”write letters to enemies, and predict

the thoughts of friends” is a j.a.panese saying. It was written clearly in some

j.a.panese literature I read before.”

”Uh... is that really so?”

G.o.dou felt that there must be some mistake in Doni's words. In reality,

G.o.dou did recall something similar lost in the depths of his memories. If it

was really true, could this guy actually be correct?

'It's possible, after all our relations.h.i.+p is not the type which improves after a

fight to the death. —At that time, how many times did our fists pummel

each other, and how many rounds did our blades clash together violently?'

”What blade clas.h.i.+ng? I only got stabbed by you... No, I just got sliced by

you.”

To Doni's enthusiastic words, G.o.dou simply responded coldly.

This man is full of exaggerated delusions and a total medieval chivalry

romantic, better stay away from him.

'You were truly great that time. Overcoming unavoidable death and fighting

me with fierce burning battle spirit—I responded with all my strength.'

”Going all out on a lower level opponent like me, you really lack the

magnanimity of an adult.”

'We both felt it during that battle right? Ufu, that this man before me will be

a worthy rival for eternity. —As fated opponents to battle to the death

repeatedly. How could you not have felt that?'

”Didn't feel a thing! Not even for an instant!”

'—And thus, my eternal rival. With love and respect please call me

Salvatore. How about it, you can even call me by my pet name [Toto].'

Though it was extremely tiring to talk to this guy who was impossible to

argue against, G.o.dou still forced himself to respond in the negative.

”I'd rather die than use your pet name!”

'Hoho, you're still such a shy boy. You know you want me, but still treating

me so coldly... I know, this must be what they call tsundere in j.a.pan.'

”You have seriously misunderstood j.a.panese culture! If that's all you're

going to talk about, I'll be hanging up now?”

G.o.dou totally felt that he had already wasted too many words with this

idiot, and was about to hang up.

'Please wait, my friend. Today I just wanted to give you a warning. Do you

know of the one named ”Sasha Dejanstahl”?'

”Just in name only. Isn't it the strange old Devil King who lives near you?”

'Well, it's actually the Italian peninsula and the Balkans respectively. If you

look at the map, I guess you could say it's close by. That old gramps really

doesn't have a personality that one could easily live with, but recently it

seems like he's no longer there.'

”I don't even know if it's a castle or a dungeon located in some place!”

G.o.dou casually imagined the great elder Devil King and how he would

speak, but somehow it didn't fit.

'Oh, that's called cla.s.sical style. I don't think that kind of life is bad actually,

but old Mr. Voban doesn't agree, that person has very few desires other

than gluttony, and doesn't care much about things like land or architecture.'

Another unexpected character commentary.

...Come to think of it, whether Kusanagi G.o.dou or Salvatore Doni, both

were [Devil Kings] and fearful existences to others. However, both had

idiosyncrasies that were rather unbecoming for a [Devil King], so perhaps it

wasn't too surprising after all.

'Before he became king he lived as a vagabond, and led a tough life

always short on food for almost two decades. His life was turned around

when he defeated either the monstrous wolf Fenrir or Garm.'

”Isn't Garm the h.e.l.lhound in Norse mythology?”

'You are correct. In some places he is also known as Garmr.'

—These were definitely things that fellow Erica would know.

G.o.dou gathered his thoughts as he listened and answered briefly, but if he

went over to ask that girl, it would only turn into a situation where she

would force unnecessary knowledge into him.

Apparently before Doni became a Campione, he was an unsuccessful

Templar Knight. Completely opposite to Erica's genius talent in both magic

and swords, Doni's only a.s.set was his unsurpa.s.sed skill with the sword,

but his talent in magic was zero. To a Templar Knight who required skill in

both swords and magic, it was equivalent to a mark of failure.

'Well, this probability is higher. Though the G.o.d he defeated first is

unknown, it is known that the Marquis Voban's first authority could

summon several hundred wolves to do his bidding with the power of the

[Legion of Hungry Wolves]. Due to this, he must have killed some kind of

wolf G.o.d.'

”Several hundred of them, that number is really...”

'Subsequent authorities included transforming people into salt with a stare,

calling forth storms to blow away towns and roads, and turning the people

he killed into something like zombies or ghosts to be used as obedient

slaves.'

Truly Campiones are the worst. G.o.dou sighed.

Both Doni and himself were the same—people who possessed

unreasonable special abilities.

”Anyway, so what does this troublesome old gramps have to do with me?”

'Aya, sorry, I almost forgot. Since this old gramps should now be in Tokyo,

there was something about shopping, and also something about staying

out of his territory...'

”Who would do something like that! So why did he come to j.a.pan!?”

G.o.dou yelled loudly, and really felt like scratching his head.

...Heading towards troublesome developments again. Give me a break.

'Hohoho, I can tell you, but there's a condition—if you beg for a.s.sistance

from me who is your friend, older brother, as well as the hero Salvatore,

then I will immediately...'

”I definitely refuse! I don't need you to tell me!”

After refusing, G.o.dou tried some other questions.

”That old gramps has defeated quite a few G.o.ds, right? Also, you've killed

Irish and Norse G.o.ds before, right? How many are there in total?”

'If you add up both our kills, probably over ten. Is there a problem?'

”No, for each G.o.d you've defeated, it means one less for me to fight.”

Who knows how many G.o.ds there were all over the world. The fewer left to

fight the better. G.o.dou spoke as he worried about his own situation.

'Haha, what are you talking about? Even if the other Campiones and I

defeat all the other G.o.ds, battle will come when it comes. This kind of

calculation is pointless.'

”Why? If you guys kill them all, then they can't fight any more, right?”

'—Even if we kill G.o.ds, they are not erased entirely. As long as mankind

exists, and myths perpetuate, killed G.o.ds can resurrect. Never forget that.'

Doni was speaking in a rare serious tone.

Dark battle spirit and joyful feelings were quietly stored in his heart.

Though he looked outgoing and frivolous in appearance, he was a man

with a warrior spirit, living for the sword and dying for battle.

'After all, only part of a G.o.d appears on earth for us to fight. Their true

nature are myths. Even if their bodies are destroyed, as long as myths

continued to exist, they will be able to rematerialize and resurrect countless

times. Furthermore, it is impossible to make myths disappear unless all of

mankind is eliminated.'

”As long as myths exist, no matter how many times they will...”

'That's the way it is. So perhaps there may come a day for you to battle

Verethragna again. That G.o.d is rather famous in western Asia, and it won't

be surprising for him to resurrect somewhere.'

This was all there was to the conversation with Salvatore.

Disconnecting the call on his cellphone, G.o.dou felt troubled. —Let's hope it

won't turn into a battle against the oldest Campione...

Part 5

Yuri woke up to find herself at Nanao Shrine.

Yuri had been sleeping on some blankets in a traditional j.a.panese-style

room of the shamusho.[2]

She felt very dry in her mouth.

Adjusting her kimono and hair, Yuri walked out of the room.

The kitchen was also located in the same building and had a well-stocked

fridge. Wanting to get a drink, Yuri walked towards the kitchen.

”Ah, Yuri-san, that's great, you finally regained consciousness. ...Is your

body feeling ok?”

Amakasu Touma was in the kitchen.

He was in the middle of browsing through dozens of doc.u.ments laid out on

the table.

”Did anything strange happen—what happened to me afterwards?”

”You were looking at that grimoire with your spirit vision as usual, and

suddenly lost consciousness, so I hastily brought you back to the shrine.

Aya, and the shrine leaders scolded me, sorry for bringing you trouble.”

Bowing his head, Amakasu seemed to continue with great interest.

”And then Yuri-san's expression became very strange, did you see

something?”

”No, not at all. I guess I was just a little tired that time, and then just lost

consciousness. Nothing strange happened.”

Yuri explained immediately.

Why would a hallucination of Sasha Dejanstahl occur? This was

completely impossible to understand. Meeting that old man was over four

years ago. Could it really be due to contact with the grimoire from eastern

Europe that the memories of the Campione were awakened? Or, or was

there another reason?

Anyway, one must not rashly jump to conclusions.

Yuri decided to change the subject, and glanced towards the doc.u.ments

Amakasu was reading.

”What are these? ...Resumes?”

If these were meant to be private, then they should not be spread out in

such a place. It would be unthinkable for a representative of the History

Compilation Committee to be so imprudent.

Having thus decided, Yuri took a look at the pile of doc.u.ments.

They all seemed to be resumes with L-size[3] photos clipped on.

...It looked like all the photos were of teenaged girls, and every one of

them had a cute appearance. Some of the girls had a more mature and

adult feel, while others were cute and innocent. There were also some girls

who looked very outgoing, and others that looked quite sincere. There was

a great variety of them.

”Ah ah, this is the matter we were talking about. To pick someone qualified

to be the lover of Kusanagi G.o.dou. Truly the elite of this nation, they are all

extremely talented individuals.”

Amakasu talked with quite a joyful appearance.

Yuri casually glanced at the resumes which resembled job recruitment

profiles.

”Perhaps in order to defeat an opponent of Erica Blandelli's caliber, it

would take a combination of elegance, adolescent adorability, and the

friend route character. Sounds about right. However, there is also the

possibility that he prefers other types. This is quite a difficult decision.”

”Amakasu-san! Is your side really planning on putting that plan into

motion!”

The History Compilation Committee member simply retracted his head

slightly in response to Yuri's scolding.

”These are necessary human resources. Unless Yuri-san has a better

suggestion?”

”Umm, ummm... If it is explained clearly to Kusanagi-san, and an

opportunity is created for practical negotiations, he should be able to

understand where he stands—”

”Haha, that's not going to work. He is a teenaged boy after all.”

Amakasu laughed condescendingly with sounds of ”hehe” as if trying to

provoke Yuri's anger.

”No matter how honest he claims to be, he cannot refuse if he is begged

by the girl he is going out with. That's what males are like... For a boy of

that age, dreams or aspirations to higher morals can never compare to the

value of girls.”

”Precisely, that is why you cannot ignore the wishes of a girl and force her

to play the role of a lover or anything like that!”

What Yuri feared was the History Compilation Committee using its

authority to force this mission upon a hapless young girl or miko from some

wizardry family.

That kind of tyranny was definitely unacceptable. To the excited Yuri,

Amakasu calmly replied.

”How could that be? Don't worry about the will of the person being

selected. They will be carefully chosen from volunteers. Relax.”

”Ah!?”

”After all, the t.i.tle of the Campione is very effective. Whether personally or

the interests of the clan, there are numerous advantages to becoming the

lover of the first Devil King of j.a.pan. Lack of volunteers is simply not a

concern.”

Amakasu smiled in an extremely satisfied manner.

Yuri was shocked. Could there really be so many selfish volunteers

appearing one after another—

The Latin beauty Erica Blandelli who called herself the lover of Kusanagi

G.o.dou and pa.s.sionately approached him completely unabashed.

Strangely enough, Yuri did not feel repulsed by Erica's presence.

At most it made her feel awkward at times. Though Erica could be very

calculating, she was always open and straightforward—perhaps due to

that relaxed and candid personality.

No matter what, Erica could place herself in danger without hesitation for

the sake of G.o.dou.

After the battle with Athena, Yuri understood that perfectly. However, what

about the other girls planning on approaching G.o.dou in order to make use

of his power and status?

”Still, still not allowed! If he gets close to girls with those kinds of intentions,

what kind of bad influence will they bring? It's not easy for Kusanagi-san to

have an opportunity to start a new life, what is going to happen!”

Yuri could not help yelling, feeling that this was a dirty matter.

”However, there will be a ton of people trying to use him for his powers

anyway. If we don't do it, someone else will. Unless Yuri-san yourself will

keep watch over this young man by his side.”

”But, but, if that's the case... However for me, I don't think Kusanagi-san

has a good opinion of me.”

He probably did not have a good impression from all that nagging from me.

Though Yuri was a complete stranger to the subtleties of the male heart,

however, she felt that her conclusions were correct. Since she had always

been distancing herself from others in an obvious manner, it was natural to

think that others thought the same.

Shyly, Yuri bowed her head.

Probably, my face was blus.h.i.+ng all red, the color of a fully ripened

persimmon.

”On the other hand, perhaps it is Yuri-san who dislikes Kusanagi G.o.dou?”

”Dislike!? Not at all. Though Kusanagi-san and Erica's actions are

inappropriate, I do feel that he is friendly, generous and a person of good

character. He is not arrogant despite possessing that level of power, and

being humble is one of his virtues ... So, I don't dislike him at all.”

”Hoho, it really is like that. Then please maintain current relations for now.

Blus.h.i.+ng shyly, your head bowed down, yes yes, very good. Extremely

cute.”

”Ah, Amakasu-san, what are you talking about?”

Amakasu suddenly took out his cellphone and snapped a picture of Yuri

with the camera.

Yuri could not understand the intentions behind his actions.

”Reference material. The other Committee members will definitely approve

at the next meeting. Anyway, the power of Yuri-san's photo will surely blow

away the compet.i.tion.”

”Uh? What do you mean?”

”Isn't it true that Yuri-san doesn't wish for unscrupulous girls to approach

Kusanagi G.o.dou? In that case you must develop good relations with him,

isn't that right?”

”That's why I said, I am not...”

”Nothing to worry about. We the History Compilation Committee will lend

you our full support, and so, please win over Kusanagi G.o.dou with full

confidence!”

The declaration shocked Yuri like a clap of thunder.

”Win, win over!? I don't intend to have that kind of relations.h.i.+p with

Kusanagi-san!”

”Hohoho, still not being honest. Whatever, this will be a perfect ingredient

to flavor the dish, let's just leave it at that.”

Amakasu gave a fearless smile as he spoke with incomprehensible words.

”Let's put it this way. We wish to ma.s.sively increase Yuri-san's influence

over Kusanagi G.o.dou. Our hope is that whenever he is tempted by Erica

Blandelli, or when he is falling into darkness drunk on the power of his

authority, you can persuade him and guide him down the right path.”

”I can guide that person towards the right path?”

”Yes. Just become closer to him starting with normal situations, and have a

better relations.h.i.+p with him than Erica Blandelli. Do your best. It's a

promise. If you can do that, we will terminate that plan.”

Amakasu's tone of voice was akin to the serpent who tricked Eve into

eating the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, but Yuri was completely

oblivious.

”...No, but even now, all I've been doing is nagging at Kusanagi-san, and

leaving him with a bad impression. It's probably fruitless to try to improve

relations at this point—”

To become even more intimate with him than that Erica, it was completely

unthinkable.

Amakasu answered the insecure Yuri with a naughty smile.

”Please don't worry. I have a secret plan—and it works precisely because

the current relations.h.i.+p is distant. Up to now, it only counts as the tsun

phase, so if you start going dere as much as possible from this point on,

boys will definitely fall for you without fail!”

”—Ah? What... is that?”

”First why don't you try making a lunchbox personally? Then say 'This is

extra, it's not like I made it specially for you, but it would be a shame for it

to go to waste, so here you go' when you hand it over to him. Isn't that the

best tactic?”

”Ah!?”

”Pardon my forwardness, but if you lack information in this area, I can

provide some from my personal collection. I'll send them over in a short

while; do you prefer DVDs or games?”

”Ah, umm, Amakasu-san? Please don't continue the conversation so

casually.”

In reality, this event would end up having a great influence in G.o.dou and

Yuri's future life.

Of course, Yuri at that time had no idea at all.

Part 6

It was a beautiful j.a.panese garden of a hotel.

To Liliana Kranjcar who was born and grew up in Milan and whose

grandfather was Croatian, the s.p.a.cious garden in a former n.o.bleman's

antiquated mansion was a very interesting s.p.a.ce.

There was plenty of natural scenery in the grounds which covered tens of

thousands of square meters.

Lush green trees were neatly trimmed, while water flowed into pools

through small rivers. There were also ancient paG.o.das and sacrificial altars

in the depths of the waterfall.

However, this garden full of foreign allure seemed to have no effect on her

companion.

Upon deciding on the accommodations in Tokyo, Sasha Dejanstahl Voban

immediately arrived there. As if shaken by the compact style of the garden,

Liliana also became subservient.

Voban's bedroom was located in a separate building within the hotel's

garden.

A tiny traditional j.a.panese house.

However, its interiors were very modern in contrast to the traditional outer

appearance.

In it contained western style rooms that a European like Liliana could

quickly get accustomed to. There were also a few j.a.panese style rooms

with tatami and ornamental screens.

”So Kranjcar, is there any news of the miko?”

Voban suddenly asked.

Voban spoke with perfect j.a.panese as he downed the cup of sake by

himself, looking over the typical but undistinguished menu listing items like

tempura and sas.h.i.+mi.

Until the previous day, this old man had no knowledge of the j.a.panese

language.

However, both Campiones and accomplished magi possessed exceptional

language learning ability. As a result, it was not surprising that Voban had

mastered the language simply by conversing with Liliana who excelled in

j.a.panese.

Furthermore, it only took him about fifty to sixty minutes.

Learning an unknown language in such a short time would not have been

possible for Liliana. Likewise, even other Campiones and Great Knights

would probably fail to match such a feat.

”No, not yet. My apologies.”

Liliana bowed her head in penance.

—Mariya Yuri, fifteen years of age, lived in the bay area of Tokyo.

Possessing exceptional spirit vision, she was a special religious leader

called the Hime-Miko.

In reality, this level of information was extremely easy for her organization

the Bronze Black Cross to investigate.

Even so, Liliana did not report with honesty.

She recalled the things done to the girls in the Austrian villa four years ago.

Amongst all the miko there, Yuri had been the most silent and the one with

the most conservative personality. Furthermore, she looked the weakest

and most delicate.

However, who was the first to arrive at Voban's ritual site?

Everyone there had been very frightened, but she was the first to enter.

She understood the fear in the other girls, and decided to go ahead

herself.

”...Hmph, is that so. Anyway, it's fine. If it so happens, what should one do

if a little bird jumped into a cage? If you tie a rope to it, no matter where it

went, you can find the cage easily enough.”

Voban gloated as he moved his fingers over the cup.

—A birdcage? Liliana frowned at the strange a.n.a.logy.

”About what I just said, I wonder who was it that hallucinated the image of

I, Voban? Perhaps some kind of chance occurrence, where they mistook a

prophetic ability as spirit vision—it's not some kind of powerful wizardry

ability, right?”

Of course, whether the person who hallucinated was Yuri or not, Liliana

could not have known.

However, it was said that Campiones possessed extraordinary instincts.

There have been several rumors that Campiones can sense when they are

in danger, and have an animal-like instinct to detect the presence of

G.o.ds—their fated rivals. However, this was the first time Liliana heard that

they could see through spirit vision.

What kind of extraordinary powers does this old man possess!

”I don't know if that fellow is the miko we need to find. However, I am

positive it will be of great use to capture that person.”

Voban smiled and finished the alcohol as if drinking water.

After several days together, Liliana could tell that he was not a picky eater.

He ate and drank everything and anything, consuming not for taste but

only to satisfy hunger and thirst.

”You don't seem to be very good at finding things. Then how about we find

someone else to take the job? Or perhaps, this should be a job for a

witch—Maria Teresa, come here.”

Voban called the name of a woman.

In response, a dead woman with deeply sunken eyes appeared out of

s.p.a.ce, wearing a large black hat—a member of the [Dead Servants].

”This deceased was once a witch, and shouldn't find it too hard to find the

spirit vision user who saw me in a hallucination. Find that person using

those skills you possessed when alive!”

The Dead Servant witch nodded to acknowledge the tyrannical order and

disappeared once again.

Mariya Yuri will be caught sooner or later. Liliana had no doubts about it,

and deeply sighed.

References

1. ↑ h.o.m.o homini lupus est is a Latin phrase meaning ”man is a wolf

to [his fellow] man.”

2. ↑ Shamusho: The building used as the administrative office of a

shrine

3. ↑ L-size: Also known as 3R, or 9 x 13 cm.

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