Vol 1 Prologue (1/2)
Prologue— The Puppeteer from the Far East
“Yaya is cute, Yaya is super cute Yaya is the cutest in the world”
The girl was clasping her hands together,softly like she was deep in prayer
The gentle sunlight drifted doith the rhythround The train had departed from London, and was now Liverpool-bound In one of the 2nd class passenger carriages, a scene was unfolding between an odd pair
The tere Orientals, a youth and a girl
Their oddity did not extend to their appearance alone Inexplicably, the girl was leaning over the seat opposite her, as though trying to cover the youth with her body, while whispering strange words to him
“Yaya is so cute I love Yaya Yaya is so bewitching Yaya is my wife—“
Abruptly, the whispering stopped
With one eye open, the youth was shooting a sharp glare in her direction
“… Were you awake, Raishi+n?”
“What were you doing so close to my ear?”
“Yaya was reciting a charm to make Raishi+n fall in love with me”
“Was it really so so cute and innocent? Because it sure felt like you were trying to corrupt me somehow, you know?”
Coirl calmly pointed out of the
“Look, Raishi+n We’re already inside Machine City”
“Ahh, about ti half a day fro”
“Thatinto view shortly”
Grinning happily, the girl pressed herself up against the youth
“This school houses its students in dorht?”
“Yeah”
“So when night coht?”
“I’d think so…”
“I’hts then <>
“Actually, I’ll be sleeping If you try anything funny though, I’ll kick you out of the room”
“…—?!”
“What with that look of betrayal on your face? I’ll say it again, we’re not here on a vacation”
The girl’s face clouded over, heartbreak written all over her tre black pupils
“… This city is, after all, where the Wisein”
The expression on the girl’s face ihtened
“Magi coainst one another for supreh a series of blood soaked banquet of battles…”
“Yeah I’ll be counting on you then, Yaya”
“Of course If it’s for Raishi+n, I’d be willing to go through anything; through fire, into your futon,”
“Don’t sneak into my futon”
“Ah, is this what they call an interest in outdoor fuc…“
“What was that? Did so face?”
“If that is what Rashi+n desires, then Yaya will serve with all her heart Whether if it’s in the bushes, or even if it’s in front of everyone”
“As much as I’d like to thank you for your devotion, I can’t because you’ve absolutelyI don’t want THAT kind of service, rather, what I’ether different”
In that vein, the two of them carried on their playful banter as the scenery of the modern town flashed by them outside the
Concrete buildings lined the main street, while T-Fords i the paved roads The street corners were littered with stands selling coffee, run by machine dolls The dolls’ body were made of tin, and their stiff, aardto watch
Machine City Liverpool
The point base from which the vast amount of cotton produced by the city of Manchester was exported to the rest of the world The British Empire proudly boasted that it was one of, if not the best, port cities in the world Recently however, it was also beco the next city of acadee
Finally, the train pulled into the station, which had a beautiful iron don
And then passed on through, without even a hint of slowing down
“Why didn’t it stop?” “This was supposed to be the terminal station!”
The passengers were stirring, doubt and and dissatisfaction lining their voices
The train conductor burst through a door, a dire look on his face
“Everyone, please, please calm down and listen carefully to me”
Having said so however, it was obvious that he hi voice, he continued on
“The brakes are not working!”
There was a silence so quiet you could hear a drop of water
And then ale descended into a panicked frenzy
“Everyone calm down! It’ll be fine, the train will eventually come to a halt on its own!”
However, the conductor’s voice did not register with anyone It was lost aers
In the first place, the train did not look re down at all This was probably because it was on a slope
It was si on a doard slope would never naturally come to a stop
Like an oan to shudder At that moment—
“Everybody, return to your seats!”
All the passengers siaze at the speaker
The voice belonged to the person who had been bantering with the girl earlier, the Oriental youth
He was of sure His eyes were sharp like an eagle’s
The young girl standing next to him was clad in a ki of the cloth allowed one to catch an occasional glihs Her bare shoulders showed off her lustrous skin, which was as white as snow Her face did not have any outstanding parts, so at first glance she looked plain and sily well-ordered features was like a delicate work of art belonging to a th hair shone with a brilliance that made it look like it was perpetually wet Her skin was tender and soft like a white peach She was shorter than the youth by a head,her look like a literal doll
They weren’t ordinary people Overwhelers quietly returned to their seats
“Conductor, please infores as well Those who do not wish to die should hold on tightly to their seats”
It wasn’t a request, it was an order The conductor gave the briefest of nods, before dashi+ng off into the next carriage
The youth watched hie As he did so, his eyes came to rest on a seat next to him
A young girl was hugging her little sister, the latter curled up into a ball
There was fear reflected in her eyes Her shtened little squirrel
The youth flashed a clu his hand on her head
“Don’t worry I’ll take care of everything”
The youth took off his coat, and ni his way to the top of the carriage The kiirl followed shortly after him
Moving with the form of acrobats, the pair swiftly ran to the front of the train
“Raishi+n, look at that!”
“That’s… a pretty sharp bend”
The line running through don had a particularly harsh curve If the train were to mount it, it would surely derail!
“We have to stop it before it reaches the curve In that case… Yaya, shi+nkan shi+juuhachishou (48th fist: Graveyard smash)”
“Got it!”
Using the nose of the train as a base, the girl kicked off it, propelling her forward The backlash was tre the train to decelerate sharply
The girl sped through the air like a bullet, landing a considerable distance in front of the train However, the train had not stopped The train was rapidly charging straight towards her, about to run her over!
The people below on the streets noticed the abnor The youth however, reine locomotive, he prepared some kind of attack