Vol 2 Chapter 1 (2/2)

Both body and spirit were weary. I think I’ll turn in early.

Kaya opened the door to her room. To her shock, someone was sitting on her bed.

“You’re back.”

She yelped in surprise at the voice.

“…There’s no need to be so scared, s.h.i.+nki-sama. I’m positively wounded.”

The dark-skinned young man feigned offense as he shrugged.

“J-Jahar… You gave me a heart attack.”

Kaya sighed and entered the room, closing the door behind her. Her heart pounded in her ears.

Although she pretended to be nothing more than a simple trainee, her true ident.i.ty was none other than one of the five s.h.i.+nki protecting the city, the “s.h.i.+nki Crowned with the Moon.”

This young man – Jahar – was her Duelist.

“Um, the dorm forbids strangers from entering, you know… How did you get in?”

“Window.”

“This is the third floor…”

“And your point is…?” Jahar responded calmly. “Don’t get caught up in such trivialities. Anyway, why the surprise? I told you before there was something we needed to talk about. Plus, when I’m nearby, you can feel my presence, right?”

A special bond existed between Duelist and s.h.i.+nki.

If they focused, they could feel the other’s presence. Furthermore, within a certain range, they were capable of telepathic communication as well.

“S-Sorry. I was a bit out of it.”

“If you’re going to be that unmotivated, then this is going to be pretty hard on me. You need to try harder.”

Jahar sighed in disappointment.

“You s.h.i.+nki are ever in the middle of a battle to the death. If you’re careless for even the slightest moment, someone will seize the opportunity, and that will be the end of you. Since I’ll be dying right alongside you, please try to avoid such a death at all costs, would you?”

“I-I understand.”

“Do you really?”

Jahar crossed his arms, looking askance at her.

“Kaya-chan, you’re simply too timid. You would do well to pick up some of that Tina girl’s fearlessness.”

“S-Sorry.”

Kaya shrank from him as she answered. I wish I could just disappear.

When a s.h.i.+nki initiated the summoning for a Duelist, the Heavenly King would select the person most appropriate to serve them and call them forth from another world – or so it was told.

However, Kaya had always felt that she simply could not get along with Jahar.

Truth be told, she was terrified of his savage and barbarous demeanor. Absolutely terrified. Their personalities could not have been less alike.

She’d come into this world but three years prior; after Tina, she was the youngest of the s.h.i.+nki.

The moment a s.h.i.+nki was born, they’d come into being with knowledge on several topics:

The world, slowly approaching death at the hands of The Devourer. The existence of the barriers preventing its advance. The town of Solitus and the labyrinth, Magna PortaGreat Gate. Reliquia and divine energy. And finally, their mission and the nature of their enemies——

Yes, the very moment she’d entered this world, she’d been thrust into the heart of this cruel battle to the death.

The reason Kaya, the “s.h.i.+nki Crowned with the Moon,” had been born was due to the death of the previous s.h.i.+nki of that t.i.tle. In order to avoid the fate of her predecessor, victory was necessary.

That knowledge, however, didn’t make things any easier.

Generally speaking, not only did the s.h.i.+nki have a Duelist at their command, but also a company of elite adventurers known as an Oath Legion, whom were relied upon for their ability to retrieve Reliquia from the labyrinth with great effectiveness. Unfortunately, the previous “s.h.i.+nki Crowned with the Moon” had, prior to her death, disbanded the Moon’s Oath Legion for some unknown reason.

Thus Kaya and Jahar had had to start entirely from scratch.

The first step would be to rebuild the Moon’s Oath Legion, but the problem was she had neither divine energy nor money, let alone a network of contacts. For that reason, she’d been forced to hide her ident.i.ty and live among the people, gathering intel by hand.

When it came to gathering intel firsthand, obviously the nearer she was to the labyrinth itself, the better. However, given her physical age, if she were to move about in the labyrinth, her actions would draw attention. Consequently, she’d enrolled in the training school as a trainee and Jahar had pretended to be an adventurer.

The s.h.i.+nki did not age, and so if she stayed at the training school for too long, she would eventually arouse suspicion. She’d already been a student here for two years; she didn’t have much longer. Just as she was worrying about the impending necessity of producing at least some results, she’d heard news of a sixth s.h.i.+nki – Albertina.

In the month since, her primary duty had been to observe Tina.

Tina’s cheerful innocence was radiant like the sun; she was practically the embodiment of Kaya’s ideal self. She’d long thought that if she could be like Tina, then all would be well. Kaya mused to herself that if she wasn’t continually mindful, then she’d likely find herself growing fond of her fellow s.h.i.+nki.

Kaya had thus forcefully cut off her feelings and done her utmost to avoid thinking about what relations.h.i.+p they might have in the future.

“So? What’s the situation?”

“Oh, um, as you asked, I registered for the event and have been placed in their party. We met and practiced just earlier.”

“You’ve done well. And the Snow Blade King?”

“Yuuki-sensei? He’ll be coming as well…”

“Of course. Man, how great it would be to fight him… Anyway, for victory’s sake, we’ll need to go after them one at a time.”

Watching him, Kaya had an ominous premonition.

“About that… what do you plan to do exactly?”

“Oh, the Star s.h.i.+nki’s asked me to end the lives of Tina and Yuuki.”

“Wha——”

Kaya froze.

Kaya and the “s.h.i.+nki who Scatters the Stars,” Elfriede, were allied. At the very beginning, the other party had come to her with the proposal.

Jahar had noted that Elfriede likely felt there was little value in simply killing Kaya, as a new s.h.i.+nki would simply be born again some time later. When it came down to it, she’d much rather have another s.h.i.+nki under her instead.

At the time, Kaya had only just been born, and without even an Oath Legion to serve her, she’d had no room to refuse the offer.

Even now their relations.h.i.+p was anything but equal; if anything, Kaya was now essentially a subordinate of hers.

“You can’t kill anyone, Kaya-chan, so I’ll have to handle this one. When it comes to splitting the two of them up, though, please do your best,” Jahar remarked cheerfully.

The s.h.i.+nki and their Duelists were protected by an aura of divine energy known as the ScutumHoly s.h.i.+eld, and were impervious to harm under most circ.u.mstances. Penetrating this s.h.i.+eld was possible only via a very limited number of methods, one of which Jahar possessed – a celestial Dragon Fang weapon.

“K-Kill…?”

“Huh?”

“When you say k-kill, do you mean now? Why?”

Kaya, finally finding her voice, spoke.

“Apparently it’s ‘for the world.’ That vixen wouldn’t explain in any greater detail, though. ——In any event, s.h.i.+nki-sama, that girl’s another s.h.i.+nki-like existence – our enemy, in other words. No matter how you look at it, this is good for us.”

“B-But, I can’t do anything like that.”

“No worries; I’m the one doing the killing here, not you.”

“I-I don’t want to help, either…”

Kaya found it hard to speak.

Jahar narrowed his eyes and gave a bitter laugh.

“In other words, Kaya-chan, you’ve given up on victory – on life?”

“U-um…”

“If you refuse to allow me to do this, then all that awaits us is death. Hate conflict if you want, but do you have the resolve to bear the consequences? Are you ready for you and your Duelist to die a dog’s death?”

“…”

Kaya couldn’t speak.

“If you understand, then that’s great.”

Jahar smiled. His previously dangerous expression had disappeared without a trace.

“Our enemies still have no idea who we really are. Moreover, Yuuki ‘saw me die’ in the incident a month ago, so I should be pretty free to move around. If we were to fight out in the open in the city, then cleaning things up afterward would be a problem, so we’ll need to end this in the labyrinth itself. We’ll decide which one to kill first as circ.u.mstance allows. ——When do you leave?”

“Huh?”

Kaya was lost for a moment before realizing that he was referring to the trainees’ trip to the labyrinth.

“Ah, um, the exact time hasn’t been decided yet, but I’ve heard it’s going to be four or five days from now.”

“Good, that gives us time to plan. We’ll continue this conversation later, okay, Kaya-chan?” Jahar said happily.

“Yuuki-kun, what do you think about changing things up a little?” she asked, her hands crossed behind her back.

She appeared slightly displeased, but about what, Yuuki had not the slightest idea.

So he asked.

“What exactly?”

“My name!”

“Your name…?”

“…That’s exactly what I’m talking about.”

She frowned. That was a bad omen.

“A name’s really important, you know? A name means that ‘you’re not just anyone, you’re you.’ It’s a very important sign.”

She was slightly taller than Yuuki, who’d been frozen at his thirteen-year old height, and so when they spoke, she had to stoop slightly to speak to him. He didn’t mind, though.

“I don’t quite understand. Could you explain?”

“——Oh, you!”

She shook her head in surprise.

“This child is just too slow. ——Yuuki-kun, you’re always calling me ‘you.’ You have a name, Yuuki Takamigahara, and your Onee-san does too! I’ve told you before, you know! Simply put, when you don’t use my name, I feel lonely. It makes me sad.”

As she spoke, she held his cheeks in her palms and laughed.

“So, call me by my name, alright?”

“If that’s what you want, then okay.”

“Oh, and it’d be great if you put some feeling into it. Feel free to add ‘beloved’ or ‘beautiful’ before my name too.”

Yuuki sighed. She was always like this, never hearing a word anyone said.

“Or you can add ‘onee-chan’ to the end if you want. Now, why don’t you give it a try?”

“Muriel-onee-chan.”

“…”

Her mouth snapped shut and she blushed to the tips of her ears.

“W-What are you saying all of a sudden?! This kid!”

“You were the one who wanted me to call you that.”

“R-Right. I really shouldn’t be the one saying this, but that sure makes me embarra.s.sed. Much more so than I expected. It’s almost like I’ve done something I shouldn’t have. ——Anyway, from now on, it’s not ‘you,’ it’s Muriel, okay? You don’t need to add anything after that. Okay, give it another try.”

“…Muriel.”

“Again.”

“Muriel.”

“Mm. That feels right. Simplest is best, I guess. Alright, make sure to call me by name from now on, okay?”

Having finished saying what she wanted to say, she laughed aloud.

Yuuki couldn’t tell what the difference was.

But seeing how happy it’d made her, he kept that thought to himself.

The cheerful sound of chopping filled the cramped kitchen.

Yuuki was making a stew with the vegetables Franka had brought a few days prior. If they were careful about using ingredients, they’d be good for a while longer. They’d been lucky.

Yuuki cut the vegetables with a deft, practiced hand—— Suddenly he stopped.

(…That memory again.)

His dream from the night before came to mind once more.

That had been the first time he’d called “her” name – a pure, blissful memory untainted by negativity. Alas, it hadn’t been until long after things had concluded that he’d come to that realization.

He exhaled slowly and deeply. He knew what had brought on the memory.

More likely than not, it had been those words he’d shared with Tina – of what it meant to be a “big sister.”

As far as he was concerned, there was only one “Onee-san” – “her.” When he’d spoken to Tina, he’d also thrown the inner sanctum of his heart into disarray.

The mere thought of Muriel brought with it a deep pain.

——That notwithstanding, it was no longer of a degree that he could not bear it. On the contrary, some of that pain had now been replaced by a gentle warmth.

Perhaps this was “her” influence.

But was that a happy thing…?

“——Ow!”

Suddenly, a sharp pain ran through his finger.

“Are you alright, Master?”

Tina, who’d gone out back to draw some water from the well, had returned.

“…I cut myself.”

“Oh, you weren’t paying enough attention, huh? You need to be more careful.”

“…That sure is hard to swallow, coming from you. I need to cover it; would you mind grabbing some bandages for me?”

“Mm… Let me take a look first, actually.”

Without waiting for an answer, Tina grabbed his hand and a.s.sessed the wound.

——In the blink of an eye, the cut was gone and any blood that had spilled forth had disappeared as well.

“Hmm, not bad if I do say so myself, especially considering I’ve never done this before. ——What’s the matter? Hurry up and praise me, Master!”

Yuuki ignored the indignant Tina, instead continuing to stare at his hand.

“…This wasn’t a healing art. You turned back time, didn’t you?”

Rather than stimulating the body’s natural healing processes for recovery, she’d instead restored his finger to the state it’d been in before it’d been cut.

“Oh, you know? Yeah, this way it won’t leave a scar. It’s completely—— Ow!”

Yuuki had flicked her forehead with his finger.

“W-What do you think you’re doing?!” Tina asked with tear-filled eyes, rubbing her head.

“Didn’t I tell you before not to use your powers without permission?” he replied.

The miracles of the s.h.i.+nki – effects far beyond the ability of humans to replicate.

Divine energy, the fuel which powered such miracles, had to be slowly acc.u.mulated through the collection of Reliquia found in the labyrinth.

When Yuuki had first found her, she’d pretty much exhausted her internal supply. In the time since, however, he’d provided her with Reliquia to partially replenish that reservoir. She’d just wasted some of that store.

“It’s fine. There’s no one else here besides you and I, Master,” Tina retorted.

“It’s a waste of divine energy either way. You scamp – you’re the kind who spends all their allowance the second they get it, aren’t you?”

“I’ve never had any allowance, so I can’t tell you. ——Oh! How would you like to give me some, though?”

“I refuse. I don’t have that kind of money.”

“Hmph. Master’s such a scrooge.”

Tina sighed.

“——But what did you expect? Helping people with the power of miracles is the responsibility and privilege of the s.h.i.+nki. If someone needs help, then Tina will help them. If someone gets hurt, then Tina will heal them. Even if that person is stingy Master!”

“That last sentence was unnecessary. ——I get what you mean. But more seriously, setting the matter of divine energy aside entirely, I don’t want you doing anything too flashy when we don’t know who may be watching. I’m very grateful that you’ve healed my wound. Thank you.”

Yuuki stooped over and patted her on the head.

“Ah…”

Tina reddened. Trying to hide her embarra.s.sment, she proudly stuck her chest out and spoke.

“I-If you understand, then that’s good. I give you my permission to express your grat.i.tude.”

Yuuki mused to himself that her personality was straightforward indeed. In any event, he hadn’t been lying when he’d said he was grateful for her help. Her reaction had been pretty adorable, too – like a small puppy.

“What’re you so distracted by, Master?”

“…Distracted?”

“Yeah. No matter how I look at it, I can only conclude that your mind is somewhere else. If that wasn’t the case, you’d never have done something so silly as cutting your finger like that. What’s wrong? Something bothering you? Are you worried about something? Come, share with Albertina.”

“No, it’s nothing like that.”

He poured water into the stew pot and then adjusted the stove as he spoke.

“I was just reminded of some things from long ago.”

“Long ago?”

“I was remembering the s.h.i.+nki whom I served as a Duelist.”

“Oh…”

“What’s wrong?” Yuuki asked, noticing that her expression had suddenly changed.

It was almost like she was upset… or hurt.

“I-It’s nothing; never mind. ——It was definitely a good memory, right?”

Tina’s words came in a flurry, and she continued.

“So, um… how was it?”

“How was what?”

“Your s.h.i.+nki. What kind of person was she?”

“Oh. Very different from you. She was tall, with a very mature feel about her.”

Not that a s.h.i.+nki’s age meant anything.

“She loved to laugh… In that respect, the two of you are quite similar, actually.”

“Similar… A-And in other areas?”

“Hmm? You seem pretty concerned about all this. ——Oh, the fire’s too weak. Why don’t you go clean the store and I’ll call you when I’m done cooking.”

As he finished speaking, Yuuki left to gather firewood.

(…I was able to talk about it calmly.)

That he’d been able to keep his calm as he spoke about “her” was a surprise to him.

Last night’s dream had been the same. As he thought of the past, he found that the feelings his memories stirred were no longer solely those of pain. He, too, was slowly changing.

“——Memories had best stay as just memories.”

Yuuki intentionally spoke aloud to disrupt that chain of thought. The gloomy feelings dissipated a bit.

What he needed to focus on now was how best to help Tina.

Yuuki walked up to the pile of firewood stacked up behind the store.

Double-checking to make sure no one was around, he kicked a log high into the air.

“Yah!”

With a shout, the log split into ten pieces which fell to the ground.

At some point in that brief instant, he’d drawn his weapon.

A Reliquia of the highest order, a celestial Dragon Fang weapon which could slay even the G.o.ds – the NixSnow Blade.

A normal person would not only have been unable to trace its arc through the air just now, but would not have even noticed he’d moved.

“…I’ve gotten slow,” Yuuki muttered, taking the firewood into his arms. His sword had vanished as suddenly as it had come.

——Yuuki was a former Duelist once known as the Snow Blade King.

The Duelists were frighteningly powerful bodyguards to the s.h.i.+nki. They were untouched by the hands of time and could not be wounded by most weapons; in this respect, they were like their masters.

However, Yuuki’s master had since pa.s.sed on, and he’d lost the special traits of a Duelist.

He was now as susceptible to time and harm as any other.

All the experience and skills he had acc.u.mulated during his time as a Duelist, however, were yet his. He was definitely at a disadvantage, but he felt confident that should he regain his previous condition, he would be a match for other Duelists.

With that said, did he have it in him to keep Tina safe?

She was the sixth s.h.i.+nki, an unnatural existence.

Even if her foolish actions were decidedly out of the ordinary, her true nature yet remained a secret. As the other s.h.i.+nki were unaware of her, they did not need to fear an ambush.

——Or so he desperately hoped, recognizing that such a thought was nothing more than a vain wish, subject to his personal desires.

If knowledge of Tina’s existence had already spread to the other s.h.i.+nki, and they were even now under watch, what should he do?

The matter bore consideration.

“In the end, whether they be friend or foe, contact with the other s.h.i.+nki is inevitable…”

Yuuki thought back to his time as a Duelist.

When it came to battles between the s.h.i.+nki and, by extension, their Duelists, a straightforward battle was far from the only strategy.

If one blindly charged into battle, it was possible that even non-hostile factions would consider one too much of a threat to be left alone. In such an event, even if you triumphed over the opponent before you, that was hardly the end of your troubles.

It went without saying, of course, that the other s.h.i.+nki were in the same position.

For that reason, it was very common for s.h.i.+nki to join hands – to form an alliance, in other words.

If Tina were able to form an alliance with another s.h.i.+nki, then at the very least, it’d be less one opponent they had to face.

“The problem is, we have nothing to offer.”

Yuuki returned to the kitchen.

Tina was gone. She had gone to clean the store, as Yuuki had directed.

To even hold a conversation with another s.h.i.+nki, let alone form an alliance, first required grounds for meeting. That, of course, was true for both parties. If only one party had anything to offer, then such a thing would never happen; in this respect, it was exactly the same as doing business.

If they and another faction were to join hands, it’d do much for him and Tina, but what would the other side receive?

The gifting of Reliquia was generally enough to open a dialogue, but he had none to offer. His celestial Dragon Fang weapon was, of course, out of the question.

“That being the case, then all I have to offer is intel. ——Right now, the only one who knows the meaning behind the ‘Sixth’ is me,” he mused.

That there were five s.h.i.+nki was a fundamental aspect of the system, and yet a sixth had now appeared.

Once others knew what he knew, others would understand the need for an alliance. The problem was, he didn’t know how to initiate contact with the other s.h.i.+nki. Moreover, the others had no way to externally verify what he knew to be true.

——Whatever the case might be, he had no desire to simply complain or play the role of a pa.s.sive spectator.

He would not lose another s.h.i.+nki. No matter what it took.

“Good morning. ——Ooh, something smells good.”

Franka smiled as she stepped into the store.

“Breakfast, is it, Tina-chan? …Er, Tina-chan?”

The girl in question was holding onto a rag while completely s.p.a.ced out in the middle of the store.

“Oh, Franka.”

Tina blinked, having only just noticed Franka’s presence.

“How long have you been here? Oh, right! Welcome! Welcome.”

“Um, I’d already greeted you. ——Is something wrong? You were quite out of it.”

“N-Nothing. It’s nothing.”

“You sure don’t look like it’s nothing.”

Tina was normally full of energy, to the point that she basically couldn’t stay still. For her to be like this was rare indeed.

However, if the person herself said she was fine, Franka wasn’t going to push the matter.

“Is Yuuki not here today?”

“He’s here; he’s in the kitchen, working on a stew. There was only a handful of meat left, though; if it weren’t for the vegetables you brought Franka, we’d have starved.”

“I-Is that so? I’m glad I was able to help.”

She’d had a sense that they were in pretty dire circ.u.mstances; that had been the reason she’d sent over the vegetables in the first place. With that said, things were apparently worse even than she’d feared.

“So, what brings you here today, Franka? Is there something you need?”

“Oh, I’m not here to buy anything. I was looking for Yuuki, actually…”

“If that’s the case, why not eat with us? The food ought to be just about ready.”

“Is that alright?”

“It was your food to begin with. There’s no need to be polite; Master will be happy as well. He worked on it to the point that he cut himself, after all——”

Tina suddenly stopped, and her beautiful eyebrows narrowed.

She seemed displeased almost… or perhaps confused.

“…Did the two of you have a fight?”

“N-No. We’re fine… Or at least, we should be…”

“In that case, what did Yuuki-san say?”

“No, it’s nothing he said——”

Her words were a bit vague. Tina sighed and continued.

“There’s no point in lying to myself. It’s true that it’s because of something Master said, but the fault is my own… or so I think. Lately, when I’ve talked with Master, something’s felt off. Actually, perhaps ‘off’ isn’t the right word either – annoying, maybe.”

“And why is that?” Franka asked, frowning.

As far as she could tell, the trust between Tina and Yuuki ran deep. Deep enough that it made her envious even.

What could possibly have happened?

“The second the conversation turns to a certain topic – or it’s even brought up, really – I start to feel really lost and confused. More specifically——”

Her next words were carefully chosen.

“Master, before… there was someone he was extremely close to – a woman.”

“…”

“Recently, she’s all he—— Franka?”

This time Tina was the one worried.

“You’re so pale… what’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing! Y-Y-Yeah. Yuuki-san’s so gentle, so of course there had to be one or two people like that.”

This isn’t anything that major. It’s just that kind of thing, you know. It’s definitely not the kind of thing that’d leave you feeling so shocked your knees’d buckle or so disappointed that you wante

<script>