“Th-that doesn’t mean you should exercise while looking like that…!”
Yuiri was covering her eyes during her frantic rebuttal. To her, raised in an all-female dormitory from a young age, it was probably her first experience seeing a man’s bare chest firsthand. On top of that, in contrast to Gajou’s own words, his physique was on par with a Greek statue’s, which was more than enough to intimidate Yuiri out of her wits.
However, Gajou paid no heed to Yuiri’s emotional state, turning over on the tatami mat as he said, “Why don’t you join me, Yuiri? I’d be grateful if you helped me with my stretches.”
“S-stretches…?”
“Yes, yes. Come on, do something that feels good with the old man here.”
Yuiri’s face twitched as she recoiled from Gajou’s suspicious invitation.
Of course, Yuiri herself appreciated the great importance of stretching. It made sense to do cooldown exercises after weight training, for instance, and she knew that there were stretches that could only be done with two people.
However, helping this man with stretching meant touching his body, and depending on the circumstances, their bodies might press up against each other, resulting not only in touching his physique, but her flesh being pressed against his. Wouldn’t that be a step toward adulthood? She had never done it with a man before, but it wouldn’t hurt, would it?
This was the steamy inner conflict Yuiri grappled with before something interrupted them.
“—Er, nuoahh?!”
Gajou Akatsuki was lying down when a metallic arrow whooshed right past his ear. A few centimeters’ difference, and his left ear would have been torn off completely.
“Don’t seduce Yuiri, you filthy beast!”
“Sh-Shio…?!”
Yuiri’s face was pure shock as she turned to the person behind her.
A black-haired girl wielding a silver recurve bow now trained a hateful gaze on Gajou. Her height and build were almost identical to Yuiri’s, but her short hair, long only on the sides, gave off the impression of a strong-willed girl.
She was wearing a uniform that was identical to Yuiri’s. From beneath that uniform’s skirt, she nocked a new arrow, taking aim at Gajou once more.
However, when Gajou saw the food tray at Shio’s feet, his eyes woke up as he said:
“Ohhh, food, food!”
“I-idiot! Put on some clothes!”
Seeing Gajou, still bare from the waist up, closing the distance, Shio nervously dropped her arrow.
Gajou rested upon the iron gate, twisting his body toward Shio as he said, “Incidentally, Li’l Shio—”
“Y-You are in no position to address me that way!”
“Shio, then. How long do you plan to keep me in a place like this? You’re from a special government agency, right? It’s not good to keep an upstanding citizen in unlawful confinement.”
“It is not an issue. This is an emergency measure for the well-being of the public. And stop calling me by my given name…!”
“Emergency measure… Huh.”
Gajou slanted his lips with a “Hmm” as he accepted the food tray from Shio. Resting atop it was pickled daikon with a rice-and-veggie mixture, plus beef with additional steamed vegetables. The menu was rather extravagant, but it was obvious at a glance that it was an amalgamation of foods from storage.
“Besides, Mr. Gajou’s confinement is on Ms. Hisano’s orders.”
“I still cannot believe it, but are you truly her son?”
“Tch… That hag again.”
Gajou clicked his tongue as he listened to Yuiri and Shio’s explanation.
It was none other than Gajou’s own biological mother, Hisano, who had ambushed and knocked out Gajou upon his arrival at Kamioda Temple one week prior and tossed him into that cell. In the time since, Hisano had not shown herself even once, so Gajou did not know a single thing about the circumstances. It was surely the worst treatment possible toward the son who’d brought over her granddaughter for a homecoming.
“Still abusing her own son at a ripe old age… She won’t die in peace, that one. So what’s that old bat up to these days?”
“That is not something you need to know. For that matter, talk or eat—pick one!”
Shio’s eyes narrowed, glaring at Gajou for continuing his questions while stuffing food into his mouth.
However, once Gajou made quick work of the food, he said:
“Hmmm. So the Self-Defense Forces are on the move, huh? Finally.”
He said it in a nonchalant tone. Shio’s and Yuiri’s faces paled as they listened.
“If they’re operating with the Lion King Agency, it’d be Narashino’s Special Attack Mage Regiment or something along those lines. The commanding officer would be Three Saints class from the Lion King Agency… Then the target is Avalon, at the bottom of Kannawa Lake?”
“Gajou Akatsuki, how…do you know about…?!”
The food Shio had brought to him was not cooked at the temple, but rather, it came from a type of military ration. It was prearranged food made for simplified cooking—the sort supplied to the Self-Defense Forces.
The fact he was being assigned combat rations meant that those associated with the Lion King Agency, like Shio and Yuiri, no longer had the luxury of taking the time to cook. In other words, they had finally begun proceeding with their operation in earnest.
Gajou had correctly ascertained all this from nothing more than the change in the contents of his meal.
The Lion King Agency and the Self-Defense Forces were cooperating in a closely held secret project. Even Yuiri and Shio did not know the exact date or hour when the operation would begin. The girls were rocked by the fact that such crucial information had been unwittingly leaked to an outsider. Then:
“As shrewd as always, Gajou. I wonder just whom you take after…”
“Eeep…!”
“Ms. Hisano?!”
As Yuiri and Shio stood rooted to the spot, an old woman clad in an aikido-style martial arts outfit emerged from behind them.
Her slender frame made her appear taller than her actual height. Her long white hair was braided without fanfare down her back. The thick creases of her forehead were appropriate to her age, but her valiant poise retained many traces of the beauty of her youth.
Gajou looked up at the old woman, putting his chin in his palm with a sulky look.
“So you’ve finally come out, you decrepit old snake phantom.”
“Who are you calling a phantom? How rude.”
Hisano spoke in a manner that kept her irritation in check.
Yuiri and Shio kept their breathing quiet as they watched the thorny, bizarre exchange between mother and son.
Hisano’s public position was the chief priest of Kamioda Temple, overseeing the priestesses within. Though this was a venerable and honored position in the priesthood, it did not make her Yuiri and Shio’s direct commanding officer.
However, in the past, Hisano had cooperated in quelling numerous sorcerous disasters, and she had worked as an instructor in ritual magic for numerous organizations, the Lion King Agency included. Many of her pupils were serving as active Federal Attack Mages to that day. In other words, to Yuiri and Shio, she was pretty much the master to their masters. Normally, they’d hesitate to even directly exchange words with her. They couldn’t help but be nervous in her presence.
“And Nagisa?” Gajou asked, glaring at Hisano.
Gajou hadn’t seen Nagisa Akatsuki, his own daughter, even once since being imprisoned in the cell. The only thing he’d heard through Yuiri and Shio was that Nagisa had been in poor health.
“She is fine, of course. Her body will soon be fully healed.” Hisano’s expression did not change.
“Is that so?” was all Gajou murmured as he gazed at his now empty tray of combat rations.
“…So you did bring Nagisa here, knowing of Avalon’s existence.”
Hisano turned a reproachful gaze toward her son. Gajou looked up, smiling defiant
ly at his mother.
“I’ll do anything to save her. Same as you, right?”
For one, silent moment, Hisano’s breath seemed to catch. Then, she exhaled.
“How much do you remember, Gajou?”
“Remember…? About what?” Gajou knit his brows.
Hisano coolly watched his reaction before piling on an additional question.
“About those siblings… Kojou and Nagisa.”
“Ugh…!”
Hisano’s tone was gentle, but Gajou’s reaction was dramatic nonetheless. The box of combat rations fell onto the tatami mat as he collapsed with a groan.
Gajou’s cheeks had lost all color. He let out an anguished moan between his clenched inner teeth. He was assailed by a ferocious headache, almost as if his brain was churning.
“So your memory has indeed been consumed. An aftereffect of the Blazing Banquet—the revival of the Fourth Primogenitor.”
Hisano spoke to herself in a piteous tone.
Gajou Akatsuki had lost large portions of his memories of his own children. As he was now, he did not even comprehend the reason why. The fact that Kojou and Nagisa hadn’t noticed was due to Gajou’s meticulous preparations beforehand…and desperately keeping up the act.
“Why you… What do you know, hag?!” Gajou yelled at her, his emotions bared.
“Ms. Hisano…!”
“It’s dangerous! Any farther and…!”
Seeing Gajou burn with rage, Yuiri and Shio shouted at the same time. Hisano gave the pair a scolding look.
“Shio Hikawa, I entrust the continued surveillance of this man to you. Keep your eyes on him until the ceremony is complete. Yuiri Haba, come with me.”
“Y…yes.”
Cowed by Hisano’s coerciveness, Yuiri and Shio dutifully nodded. However, their eyes contained a fair bit of confusion.
Gajou’s labored breaths continued as he shouted, “What…ceremony?!”
His fingers grasped the iron gate as he desperately drew himself closer to Hisano.
“What the hell do you plan to use Nagisa for…?!”
“The same thing you tried to use her for, Gajou.”
Hisano’s voice remained gentle.
And so, in a tone as calm as a placid lake, she stated:
“We will kill Avrora Florestina. This time, for good.”
2
Nagisa Akatsuki rested her head on the edge of the bath, sighing without a care in the world.
It was a large bath in the temple dormitory where the priestesses at Kamioda Temple resided—a stonework bath fed by a natural hot spring.
It was still quite early in the morning, and there was little sign of anyone in the bath area. Nagisa let out another contented sigh as she reveled in solitude.
“Ahh… This feels so good…”
She murmured as she floated on the serene surface of the water.
The bath’s temperature was about 40 degrees Celsius, a comfortable temperature that was neither too hot nor too lukewarm. If rumor was to be believed, the bath was able to heal muscle and joint pain, both speeding convalescence and granting beautiful skin. Most importantly, it was said to be a spiritually infused spring that excelled at healing those whose spiritual energies had been depleted.
For some reason, Nagisa had lost consciousness and collapsed when she’d arrived at Kamioda Temple the week prior. She’d been asleep for nearly the entire time since. Thanks to that, her winter break homecoming, something she hadn’t experienced in four years, had spectacularly gone to waste.
It was under those circumstances that Nagisa’s grandmother, Hisano Akatsuki, had commanded she make use of the bath. Apparently, she had said something like Keep her in the bath as long as possible and heal her body. That was why Nagisa was immersed in the hot spring so early in the morning.
It could be said that the water agreed with her, but actually, Nagisa’s body was quite accustomed to Kamioda’s spirit spring. Even if Nagisa, a priestess who had lost her power, was not consciously aware of it, her endurance had surely been worn down due to being far from Itogami Island’s vast dragon lines. Borrowing the power of the spirit spring, she had finally made a proper recovery. Nagisa’s mood brightened as she felt herself grow stronger.
“Hot springs really are nice. I wish Yukina had come with me. Kojou’s probably worried sick. I hope he listens to my voicemail.”
Nagisa mumbled to no one in particular as she thought of her older brother and classmates left behind on Itogami Island. It was Nagisa’s bad habit to speak a lot, a reaction to having endured a long and lonely hospital life.
Thanks to having suddenly collapsed and the temple being outside of cell signal coverage in the first place, she’d been out of contact with Kojou for an entire week. He was the one who looked after Nagisa, so there was no doubt he was freaking out somewhere at the moment.
She had made a point of explaining the situation in the voicemail she left Kojou the night before, but there was no guarantee that he’d notice. I hope Kojou doesn’t do anything rash.
“Come to think of it, the last time I was here, Kojou and I came into the bath together…”
Nagisa’s face went beet red, submerging her face into the water as she remembered a time when she and her brother both were still in elementary school. For some reason, the unfamiliar bath scared her, so she’d twisted Kojou’s arm into going with her.
There certainly wasn’t any way they could bathe as brother and sister at their current ages, which made her a little sad. No, wait, we could wear swimsuits, thought Nagisa, beginning to seriously mull the idea over when, in the next moment—
Rattle, rattle, craaaash, came a booming sound that echoed throughout the bath.
She then heard a fickle, slightly delayed Hyah!
“Wh-who’s there?!”
Nagisa nervously poked her head out of the water and looked back.
She saw a figure fallen on her rear beside a crumbled mountain of piled-up bath buckets.
It was a young girl around Nagisa’s age. Her foot had slipped on the wet stone, causing her to fall hard on her back, completely naked.
“I-I’m sorry. I’m very, very sorry!”
An “Owww” trickled out of the girl in a frail voice as she slowly rose to her feet and began righting the scattered buckets. At a glance, she seemed quite timid or shy.
She looked like she was ready to burst into tears at any moment, but that was apparently her normal expression.
The girl’s hair was white, possibly a condition she’d been born with. It was the same pure, glacial white of an artic fox’s coat.
However, what arrested Nagisa’s attention was not the girl’s hair, but her bare breasts.
“Th-they’re huge…”
Nagisa gulped as she stared intently at the girl’s naked body.
Almost unfathomable for her petite frame, the girl had a generous pair that bobbed in concert with her movements. Her breasts were immaculate in terms of shape, volume, and breadth, as if Nagisa’s idea of the perfect body had been made flesh before her very eyes.
Perhaps noticing Nagisa’s gawking, the white-haired girl lifted her head and said, “Ah… I’ve made you see me in such an unsightly state…”
“No, no, it’s no trouble at all.”
You’ve been blessed, thought Nagisa, just barely managing to keep herself from blurting the words out loud.
When the white-haired girl finished tidying up the bath area, she washed her body and sheepishly entered the hot spring itself. She seemed a little too young to be an employee of the temple. Without a doubt, it was Nagisa’s first time seeing her.
“Um, do you work here at the temple?”
Nagisa smiled, putting on the most amiable face she could muster. The white-haired girl shook her head frantically.
“N-no, no, not at all. In light of minor circumstances, I am in their care for the moment… That is all.”
“Ahh. We’re in the same boat, then.”
Nagisa grinned as she f
elt a kinship with the girl. Be it for prayer or ridding oneself of worldly obsessions, Kamioda Temple received numerous guests. The girl was likely visiting for a similar reason.
“I—I am…Shirona. Shirona Kuraki.”
The white-haired girl’s voice trembled as she introduced herself and bowed her head. Nagisa returned the politeness in kind.
“Very pleased to meet you. Er, I’m—”
“I…I know. Nagisa Akatsuki, yes?”
Shirona had deduced Nagisa’s identity before she could introduce herself.
“Well, yes… But why do you know that…?” Nagisa asked, blinking.
“I heard that Ms. Hisano’s granddaughter was coming.”
“Ah, so you know Granny, then.”
“Yes.”
Shirona nodded, lowering her gaze to her own chest. Her heaving breasts were now a faint shade of pink as they floated on the clear water’s surface. The sight of the deep cleavage formed between them made Nagisa think of picturesque fjords carved from a glacier.
For a moment, Nagisa lost herself, consumed by the sight when—
“Um… Would you…like to touch them?”
Her cheeks reddening, Shirona presented her chest to Nagisa in invitation.
“Huh? Is it really okay?!”
Nagisa was thrown for a loop at Shirona’s next comment:
“I—I am sorry… You just—seemed so interested…”
The fingers on both of Nagisa’s hands twitched. “Y-yeah. I am, actually… But you’re really fine with it?”
“Yes. If it pleases you…”
“Th-then I’m not holding back!”
I’d better hurry before Shirona changes her mind, thought Nagisa as she cupped the girl’s breasts. Each palm filled to excess as her hands cradled their bounty. Aah… Shirona cooed, a shallow breath escaping her parted lips.
“Ohh, th-this is…!”
Nagisa’s tension level spiked at the remarkable feeling in her hands. Her unwavering palms communicated a heavenly sensation.
“So soft… With just the right amount of firmness. I can feel my fingers getting lost in them… They’re a masterpiece…!”
“Mmm…Nnf…”
The Knight of the Sinful God Page 2