The problem was that Akuto was completely unaware of this. The day of the meeting was coming. And it was Junko’s job to tell him.
—Wh-What do I do? Tell him that the date’s been decided? No, what happens if I do that?
“The date of the arranged marriage meeting has been decided.” “Huh? Whose?” “Yours and mine!”
“Does that mean that you decided all this without asking me? Don’t act like I don’t get a say in this. I thought that was one thing you’d understand about me...”
—That’s what he’d say, of course! Then what do I say? Maybe this?
“Marry me!” “W-Wait a second. We’re not old enough for that yet. Are you making fun of me?”
—That wouldn’t work either. Bringing up marriage first is a bad idea. Th-That’s right. First I need to find out how he feels.
“Do you like me?” “Of course. You really have your act together, and I can always trust you.”
—That’s right. That’s the kind of person he is. That wouldn’t work either. So what am I supposed to say? Wait, maybe my feelings are the problem here!
“I like you. I love you. Please be my husband.”
—No no no. I can’t say that! And do I even think that? How do I feel about him? Do I want him by my side? Do I want to watch over him? Wasn’t that all this was? And even if he likes another girl, I’m fine with...
“If you’re that worried about it, should I help you?”
—No, there are some things that you need to do yourself. That wouldn’t be right.
“I see.”
—That’s right. Wait, why is someone interrupting my thoughts...!
“You were saying them aloud. Hiding didn’t help you.”
“I-I was? How much did you hear?”
“Since you started saying all that weird stuff to yourself.”
“Huh...?”
Junko turned to the side and saw a stunning beauty standing next to her. It was Korone. She was looking at Junko expressionlessly.
Instantly, Junko’s mind went numb. She turned red and dropped to her knees.
“Wh-Who reads somebody else’s mind? What humiliation...”
“You were saying it aloud, though. Don’t worry. I’ll keep the information secret. It has to do with the mission, for one thing.”
“R-Really?” Junko looked up, relieved.
“Really. I’m well aware that it’s the nature of humans to want to hide their sexual desire,” Korone said calmly.
“S-Sexual desire? D-Don’t be stupid! Marriage is a holy... A-And anyway, this is a political marriage!”
“If that’s the case, it should be easy to talk to Akuto. Even if he refuses, if you tell him it’s a political decision, he’ll rethink things.” Korone was right, so Junko said nothing. At this point, she had no choice but to tell him. She’d been backed into a corner.
“Th-That’s right. Yeah. I was just about to go over there.” Junko removed her disguise and started to walk.
But there was no one in the place where Akuto had been a moment ago.
“Wait... he’s gone. I-I guess I’ll just have to wait until tomorrow. Yeah, don’t have a choice. I’ll do that,” Junko said in a monotone voice, and spun around.
Korone was waiting for her.
“It seems that Keena woke up and was hungry, so they went to the cafeteria. My Akuto Sai locating device tells me he’s still there.” Korone showed her a strange machine.
“That’s a really convenient machine to have...” Junko whispered. But Korone was probably telling the truth.
“The cafeteria.” Korone brought her head up closer to Junko. Her lack of expression only made it worse.
“I-I get it! I’ll go! Fine!” Junko yelled, and headed towards the cafeteria in the dorm.
There were barely any students left in the cafeteria, and it wasn’t even lunchtime, so the place was empty except for Keena and Akuto. Akuto was sitting in the middle of a long table, reading a book on a miniature screen. Keena was in the corner getting rice from one of the rice maker machines. If she wanted to talk to Akuto, now was the time.
She walked loudly so that Akuto would hear her as she crossed the cafeteria. She was too embarrassed to look at him directly, so she looked at the tables to the side instead. When she figured she was close enough, she spoke.
“H-Hey, can you come with me in two days? It’s something simple. I’m just going home for a while. I just mean come with me, nothing more. Nothing weird. I-It’s purely a political thing. My father and relatives want to meet you. My house is a long way away, and they’re preparing a banquet, so I’m sorry but you’ll have to stay the night. It’s a big house, so it won’t be a problem.”
“Hang on. What’s going on here?”
“Um, you’ll understand when you get there. It’s political. But potentially very important. So it’s fine. You won’t regret it. I’ll make sure the banquet is worth your while. Food in my home of Iga is very good.”
“Huh... That’s nice, but I really just can’t see myself going, ya know?”
“No, this is important. If you don’t come...”
For the first time, Junko looked to her front. It was her classmate Hiroshi who was standing there. He was small and still had the air of a mischievous kid.
She looked around. She hadn’t realized it, but Hiroshi was sitting next to Akuto now.
“You’re talking to the boss, right?” Hiroshi grinned as he realized her mistake.
When she saw the look on his face, she couldn’t bring herself to admit she was wrong.
“Th-That’s true. I’m talking to Akuto Sai. But what I said wasn’t a lie. You come too. You’ll make things more exciting,” she yelled as she pointed at Hiroshi.
“Don’t say that. I’m busy, you know.”
“Don’t lie to me. We’re both students, so I know you’re not busy,” Junko said sullenly, and Hiroshi scratched his head.
“Yeah, you’re right. You’re right about that. Haha. I’m not really busy.”
“What? You’re weird. Now, do you get it?” She turned to Akuto.
Akuto seemed like he’d been listening too, and while he didn’t seem to understand what she was talking about, he must’ve realized that arguing was a waste of time. He looked up from his book and nodded awkwardly.
“W-Well, that’s fine. But the day after tomorrow? That’s sudden.”
“A-Actually I knew before this, but I didn’t get a chance to tell you... No, that doesn’t matter. I have an air bus coming to pick us up. It’ll be here on the morning of the day after tomorrow, so be ready. Hiroshi, you too!” Junko said quickly.
“N-No, I really don’t think I have anything to do with this...” Hiroshi didn’t seem happy, but she glared at him.
“Th-This is because I’m not just inviting Akuto!”
“I-I get it... You don’t have to be so stubborn...”
“What was that?”
“No, never mind. I get it,” Hiroshi said in resignation as he sat back down next to Akuto.
“That’s good. Two days, okay?” Junko said, and then she left the cafeteria.
She told herself in relief that at least she’d done the bare minimum of what she needed to do.
Korone, who’d been watching her from the entrance to the cafeteria, whispered to her as she passed by.
“As his observer, I’ll be going with him. That’s all right, yes?”
Junko turned away without a word.
○
Meanwhile, an eerie scene was unfolding under the school. Fujiko Eto was holding an orange mana light in her hand, shaking at what she saw.
On the surface of an endlessly black pool of liquid floated what looked like a mat of some kind. It must’ve seen the light, because it sunk into the blackness as if to escape from it. In its place, a hairy pole-like thing came out of the depths, followed by a scaly, clawed hand. Giant creatures seemed to be lurking within; it seemed to be a mix of insects, mammals, and lizards.
“Demon
beasts... and so many!” Fujiko brought her hand to her lips in surprise.
Demon Beasts had appeared in large numbers before, causing great damage to human society. They were nonhuman creatures that absorbed mana inside their bodies and grew to incredible strength. In many cases, they were fated to be exterminated as dangerous beasts. Some research labs would artificially create them, but of course keeping them as pets was strictly forbidden.
The way most people saw it, your average demon beast, no matter how weak it was, was a horrible thing to be avoided and hated. The monsters coming out of the black muck, one after another, were giant centipedes and human-like monkeys with long fangs, the kind of things that would end up securing a place in your nightmares the moment you saw them. And to find them in the basement of a place of storied traditions, like Constant Magical Academy...
“...How wonderful!” Fujiko’s face was full of joy, and her eyes were practically heart-shaped.
Just like her long black hair and sharp, intelligent eyes suggested, she’d sworn a vow as a black mage.
The reason she’d come here stretched back to a week ago. Fujiko had learned during the incident at the seaside retreat that the mana waves within Akuto’s body were causing the demon beasts to become more active. What’s more, the beasts that were affected gained a limited form of intelligence. Fujiko, who was devoted to him more than anything, decided to keep this fact a secret.
—He’s so kind. If he knew this, he would use his powers to strengthen the demon beasts all over the land to protect them, and put far too much stress on his body! Before he does that, I’ll find a way to control them!
That was her decision. In fact, Akuto would’ve actually blamed himself for whatever happened as a result of the demon beasts, but that wasn’t any concern of hers.
“If I can find a way to control them, Akuto will be so grateful that he’ll say, ‘Come with me, and we’ll rule the world together!’ And then he’ll hold me close... yes... like this...”
Fujiko realized there was, in fact, something reaching out to hold her close, and was pulled back from the world of her fantasies. A slimy tentacle had wrapped itself around her body.
“Hyaaaah! It’s slimy!”
The whole tentacle was wet with some kind of pink slime. It seemed to be some kind of shelled demon beast. The tentacle was stretching out from a giant shell, where she also saw many smaller tentacles and two eyestalks. A tentacled snail? So it must use the thick tentacle as its leg.
“W-Why are you trying to get inside my clothes?!”
The tentacle had crawled up her body and snuck inside her clothes.
“No! Don’t undo the hooks! S-Stop it! Don’t go around to the front!”
Fujiko reached out a hand to rip it off. She managed to grab it, but the slime meant it quickly slipped out of her grasp.
The eyestalks on the tentacle’s owner seemed to be laughing at her. The demon beast had more intelligence than was usual for its sort, but it seemed to have evolved along a bad direction.
“Ahh...ah... no!”
The tentacles wrapped themselves around her and lifted her up, and one tiny tentacle started to go up each of her legs.
“H-Hey... that’s going too far...!”
The tentacles forced her legs wide apart, locking her in mid-air in that position.
The look in the giant snail’s eyes got even naughtier as the tiny tentacles all headed for Fujiko’s skirt.
And then Fujiko changed.
“Knock it the hell off! I said that’s going too far!”
With a demonic expression on her face, she grabbed a bottle from her pocket and flung it at the snail. One of its tentacles quickly knocked it out of the air, but when it touched the ground, it exploded.
It was a small explosion, but it was enough to scare the snail into drawing all its tentacles back in. The instant she was free, Fujiko moved to a position where she could look down on the giant snail.
“You’ve got guts trying to go for hentai when you’re a hermaphrodite! Stay right there, ‘cause I’m gonna fry you and eat you with garlic bread!”
There were several tiny vials held between her fingers.
The snail’s tentacles shrank as it looked up at her in fear. It seemed less afraid of the exploding vials than of the look on Fujiko’s face. The tentacles rubbed together as if to say “Sorry” as the eyestalks drooped.
Fujiko put one leg on the giant snail’s shell and began to press into it.
“As long as you understand,” she said.
But for some reason, the giant snail seemed happy to be stepped on. This might have been because the two eyestalks were looking up at Fujiko from under her skirt.
She realized what it was doing.
“You still don’t get it?!”
She kicked it away, and this time, it truly surrendered. It lowered its head and waved its eyestalks up and down at her.
Only then did the fierce look on her face fade.
“It still looks weirdly happy,” Fujiko whispered. It seemed the giant snail was happy to be kicked by a pretty girl.
“Are all demon beasts like this?” she asked as she turned around.
A voice answered her from the darkness.
“Not all of them. This one has special fetishes, probably.”
The giant snail was suddenly plucked from the ground. It didn’t seem to realize what was going on, but panicked when it turned around.
A giant, 15 meter long dragon was staring at it with a bored look.
Its body was covered with metallic black scales, and its claws and fangs were made for battle.
Peterhausen, the black dragon, flung the giant snail back into the pool it came from.
“You know, if I weren’t here, the only one of these you’d be able to handle is the giant snail.”
Peterhausen pointed to several of the demon beasts that were trying to leave the pool. All of them seemed to be longing for a fight. Fujiko understood instantly that the only thing keeping them back was Peterhausen.
“What’s this...?” Fujiko asked Peterhausen.
“They don’t attack anything stronger than they are. They’re animals, essentially.”
“And why are these animals here, in such numbers?”
“This pool is filled with liquid that cuts off the influence of mana. It’s the perfect place to put demon beasts who are unfortunate enough to have long life spans.”
“Long life spans...? So the last Demon King left them here?”
“That’s right. Several of them have awoken in the past, but with their present lord beginning to awaken, they’re all starting to become active for real.”
“So I was in danger, then?”
“You were lucky that this one was the first one to attack you.”
Peterhausen pointed to the giant snail, which was trying to leave the pool again.
“Then I’ll be grateful to it, and make good use of it,” Fujiko said.
She had to rejoice in her good fortune. The demon beasts that appeared in the underground labyrinth were famous, and she’d hoped that she could find some clue about them on the bottom floors, but this was better than she could have imagined. Peterhausen seemed to know this from the start, but he also seemed to be avoiding interfering in things too much. He wouldn’t explain anything unless she took action herself. It was dangerous for anyone, even Fujiko, to go down to the lowest depths without Peterhausen’s protection, but it was worth it.
“All of them except him, though, look like they’d be really useful.” Fujiko smiled.
“What do you intend to do with them?” Peterhausen smiled as if he already knew the answer.
Fujiko’s smile became even more wicked.
“Akuto hasn’t managed to completely master the demon beasts, yet, right? So I’ll find a way for him to do so.”
“Nobody but the Demon King has ever been able to command the demon beasts.”
“That’s because no one like me has ever served the Demon King. And the reaso
n the research hasn’t gotten anywhere is that they assumed that the demon beasts were just a mana bug. Now that I know that they’re caused by Akuto’s particular wavelength, the research will go much faster. Also, you’re going to help, right?”
“Heh. Why do you think that?”
“You’re only avoiding interfering because Akuto needs to awaken on his own, right? You’ll want to limit your involvement with the people around him to a level that doesn’t interfere with his free will.”
Fujiko and Peterhausen exchanged smiles.
“You’re almost completely right. But that’s not the only reason I avoid getting involved. Of course, I can’t tell you the other reason yet.”
“Do you like conspiracies? I rather enjoy them myself.”
“Hahaha. It’s a little too big to be a conspiracy. It may go beyond what you humans can understand.”
Peterhausen deftly raised a single eyebrow.
○
Keena was, as usual, loading up a bowl with rice from the rice maker. With Junko gone, Akuto and Hiroshi had nothing to do but watch her.
“Boss, how long is Keena going to keep eating?”
“No idea. That’s actually pretty slow for her. She’s capable of eating about three rice cooker’s worth of rice, so she’s taking her time with the one she’s got.”
“Wow...” Hiroshi nodded, impressed.
“...Anyway, what was up with the Class Rep? She really wants me to visit her house?”
“No idea. But she did say you could, whether she really meant to or not. I’d be glad to have you, instead of going alone. It’s some political thing, I guess... Anyway, is everything okay? You seem tired lately.” Akuto looked back at Hiroshi.
Hiroshi looked pale. But he wasn’t sick. It looked like he hadn’t slept, and had spent days working a physically demanding job.
“I-I’m fine. It’s nothing.” Hiroshi waved his hands dismissively, and then opened his mana screen and turned on the TV.
“If it’s nothing, then okay, but...”
Demon King Daimaou: Volume 4 Page 2