“In that case, you can simply take us to your headquarters.”
“...”
“If that will put you in danger, Miss Cielz, you only have to tell us where it is.”
I didn’t say anything about her act. I found no pleasure in pointing out the shortcomings of others, and I would gain nothing from calling her out on her lie in this situation. I didn’t want to trick or kill the Demon Lord, after all.
“...You won’t chide me for my dishonesty?”
“We’re asking for an audience with the leader of a group that opposes us. I don’t expect to be welcomed with open arms.”
“...You are a strange man, Eiji.”
Miss Cielz smiled. Yep, I thought she was much more charming with a smile than a frown. I returned the smile.
“So? Make a decision already. Are you going to take us there or not?” Tiamat interjected, rather unpleased.
Oh? Could it be? Was she jealous? How cute. I glanced at Tiamat with a self-satisfied grin, when, smack!
“Aghhh!”
Out of nowhere, a dragon’s tail struck the top of my foot.
Five days had passed since we said our goodbyes to Mister Dolitos and the city of Wulds and started traveling eastbound. We went in and out of the forest and the travel road. We carried on, following Miss Cielz’s navigation through the obviously roundabout route. Just when I was beginning to worry about how little food we had left on Mister Donkey, we came to a clearing with a stronghold in the distance.
“...The abandoned castle of Gannes...” Ruey uttered softly.
“You know this place?” I asked.
“Only through rumors. The Demon Lord annihilated many nations and cities. The city-state of Gannes was one of them.”
That was over a hundred and fifty years ago. No accurate records were kept, and those who survived to see it happen were long gone now. Apparently no one even knew its accurate location until now. Still, Ruey knew of the city-state because it was located within the current Noura territory.
“It all happened when a single rat appeared in the castle one day. I was told that no one in the castle nor the city survived the night.”
Ruey rubbed his neck as if to calm his goosebumps. That sounded just like a scary story. And not a good one.
“If not a single person survived, I wonder who told that story.”
I shrugged. Scary stories with impossible premises aren’t hard to find. For example, the story of a female ghost that appears in the Tsukioka hot springs in Niigata prefecture was once described in a book by the (now deceased) paranormal researcher Iwao Nikura.
Apparently the ghost was named Michi, and she was from the Edo period. She was a servant at Echigoya, a supplier of goods for merchant ships during the time. She fell in love with the heir of the business, Seitaro. Of course, a servant and the soon-to-be-owner of a large business lived in different worlds. Everyone around them furiously opposed their union, naturally.
At their wits’ end, Shintaro and Michi eloped, hand-in-hand. After drifting through town after town, they finally arrived at Tsukioka hot springs. By that time, they had used up all of the money they had left. They were struggling to come up with each meal. Then Shintaro fell ill, and Michi was not in much better health herself. In the end, they chose the unthinkable.
With an oath to reunite in nirvana, they chose to commit shinju, or double suicide. But, even after death, they didn’t end up together. While Shintaro’s body was taken by his family that ran the goods-supply business and ceremoniously buried, Michi’s body was left ignored. In fact, her body was stomped on, spat on, and abandoned at the side of a road.
Who could blame her for holding a grudge? Accordingly, Michi’s spirit materializes out of her passion for Shintaro and her hatred for those who tore them apart.
“And that’s the story. What do you think, Tia?”
“A run-of-the-mill ghost story. Nothing seemed particularly noteworthy, maybe other than the overly specific background information. But isn’t that true for most ghost stories?”
“Even with your intellect, Tia, you didn’t pick up on the lies of this ghost story?”
“Lies?”
“Yep. The first lie is that no one used the word ‘shinju’ after the mid-Edo period.”
The use of another Japanese word by the same meaning, ‘aitaijini,’ was strictly enforced from that point on by the orders of Yoshimune, the eighth shogun. The word ‘shinju,’ on the other hand, was eradicated from public records from that point on.
The word ‘shinju’ is comprised of kanji that, when combined, become a kanji that means ‘loyalty.’ The top theory for explaining the shogun’s decision was that he really didn’t like having the kanji for loyalty broken up like that, but the verdict is still out.
“Hm. Then that ghost must have lived before Yoshimune.”
“That’s right, Tia. And that’s where the other lie comes in.”
Tsukioka hot springs did not exist on this planet before the Kyoho years of the Edo period (1716-1736) when Yoshimune ruled. It was in a quiet slumber deep below the ground. It wasn’t discovered until 1918, when a certain oil company struck it by coincidence during a boring attempt. In other words, it’s not some hidden hot spring that emerged out of nature.
“That means people only started living there after that.”
“That’s what happened. Tsukioka hot springs was just a hillside back in the Edo period. Not a place any human can walk right through.”
Even if someone did, through excessive effort, go and commit suicide there, their body would have been devoured by a carnivore or returned to dirt. No chance of coming back as a ghost, then.
“Astounding. The whole story’s a lie, from start to finish.”
“Like most ghost stories are. They’re not designed to make logical sense.”
“Then, it is a lie that Gannes was destroyed, Sir Eiji?”
Ruey, who had been curiously listening in on our conversation, crooked his neck.
“I think it’s true that it was destroyed.”
I saw no reason to doubt that, when not a single survivor had been found for a hundred and fifty years. In a single night, though? I was skeptical about that. It felt purposefully terrifying.
“Maybe the rumor was intentionally spread by someone.”
I glanced over at Miss Cielz.
2.
“Good read, Hermit.” The dark elf grinned. “This city was destroyed by vampires.”
“I see.”
It is traditional for vampires to take the form of a bat or a rat. And, according to the popular consensus, vampirism is infectious. If a vampire bites you, you become a vampire. An epidemic that makes the common cold or flu look like child’s play. The number of vampires would multiply like rats in a basement.
“I was told that it took ten days to seize control of the entire city.”
“That’s still a breakneck speed.”
A whole city-state gone in ten days. Actually, if all them turned vampiric, that was more like a whole city-state had turned to the enemy. I didn’t know the population numbers of Gannes at the time, but I could imagine that we weren’t talking about a hundred or two from the well-built castle and walls. If there had been a population of ten thousand, for example, that would mean an army of ten thousand vampires joining the enemy. How could anyone defeat that?
“Apparently, the vampires were decimated in an instant,” she cracked a self-deprecating grin.
“How did that happen?” I asked, with a surprisingly airheaded tone.
With one swing of Shizuru the Hero’s sword given to him by the god, a holy light enveloped the city of Gannes, turning every last vampire to dust. Ash to ash. Dust to dust.
I mean... That’s not really what a vampire hunter does, though, is it? It has to be, you know, more forbidden, and apocalyptic, and underworld. Like a certain Mister D. Isn’t that atmosphere what it’s all about?
What’s with the deus-ex-holy-light, dear brother?
&nbs
p; He owed Hideyuki Kikuchi an apology.
“Well, no one goes into battle looking for atmosphere. It’s more efficient to take care of things as easily as possible.”
I did hear that both humans and monsters were nearing annihilation, back in those times. No time to find the romance in a war like that. I understood that, but imagining the residents of the city being robbed of their humanity without reason, then having even their vampiric lives evaporated in the blink of an eye... It seemed like they were just a number.
“That’s what war is, Eiji. How can anyone remain in their right mind without simplifying their enemy into mere numbers?”
The hero killed those monsters, one after another, as if he was performing a chore; I shuddered to imagine. Isn’t that a little much to bear for a boy, one who was high school-aged at the time? Of course, I had absolutely no idea who put that heavy weight on his shoulders.
“Maybe it was penance. For him bringing over rice.”
“Who knows? I can’t say what he was thinking. I never found out what was going through his mind or what he wanted.”
“...I’m sorry.”
Even after being transported to another world, she never saw her brother alive again. Nor found out what was on his mind. We could have tried to deduce it all we wanted, but we had no way to know if we were right or wrong.
“Nothing you should be sorry for or carry with you. He’s a stranger to you,” Tiamat said, somewhat keeping me at a distance.
It didn’t seem like she was upset but more... rigid, somehow. Like a wall that would never be weakened.
“You can’t carry it all. Let me take half. And I would love for you to carry half of my baggage too, Tia.”
“Mm. That doesn’t change the total weight at all.”
Two people collectively carrying the baggage of two people. Of course that won’t make it any lighter.
“Is that a no?”
“That was the plan when I took the ring. There’s no need to ask that now.”
She twirled her silver locks. It appeared that she was embarrassed. I, too, could feel my cheeks redden.
“...How long is this going to last, love birds?” Miss Cielz asked in a very disgusted tone.
The humans did stand victorious at the end of the great war that brought the world to the brink of destruction. That being said, it wasn’t like all of the monsters were massacred. There were a considerable number of them left after the Demon Lord’s demise, and the world had a rather serious problem on its hands when those surviving monsters began attacking towns and farmlands in hordes.
With no structure to speak of, humans had to deal with these groups of monsters individually. That proved to be troublesome in a different way. In fact, the government began dealing with bandits and monsters in the same manner. They deployed their military at times, and left the town watches and adventurers to deal with them at other times. While the monsters were a nuisance, they were no longer a national threat. They were merely prey to be hunted down.
However, not all monsters succumbed to that fate. Some accepted their defeat and went into hiding to wait for a time to strike: the dark elves like Miss Cielz and those described as Hellions. The abandoned castle of Gannes became their lair, where no one lived and no one would visit. A location well-suited to playing a long con.
Of course, if humans discovered their secret lair, there was a decent chance that they would be attacked. There were some tear-jerking efforts to conceal their lair, like spreading ghost story rumors and disabling the travel road that used to lead to the city. These efforts lasted a century and a half. Finally, the moment they had been waiting for had arrived.
“The resurgence of the Demon Lord.”
“Yes,” Miss Cielz answered Tiamat, briskly.
A little more than a month ago, the figure had suddenly appeared in the abandoned castle. They had hair as black as darkness itself and eyes as dark as the dead of night, along with overwhelming magic and combat prowess. Of course, the surviving monsters from the time of the previous Demon Lord didn’t immediately recognize them as a Demon Lord. They relied on power, not political stances nor ideals. A few of them challenged the Demon Lord, Miss Cielz being one among them.
“It wasn’t even a fight,” she said, and chuckled. “I was just a toy on a fingertip.”
As would be expected. That’s what a few cheat codes could do. No power or technique acquired after any amount of blood, sweat, tears, and hard work stood a chance against cheat codes. If I was in their place, it would have all seemed ridiculous. Why bother with hard work at that point? “If you’re so powerful, you take care of it all yourself,” I’d say. Although that wouldn’t be very noble of me.
“Our Lord’s wisdom, as well as power, is truly awesome.”
Miss Cielz continued as if in a trance. Her expression told of her adoration for the Demon Lord. I imagined that the followers of Shizuru the Hero were of similar states of mind. He was from modern-day Japan, after all. Of course he would have more advanced knowledge than the people of this world.
“That alone won’t cover it. Just being from modern-day Japan doesn’t explain the strategies those monsters took, Eiji.”
Tiamat reined me back as I was chuckling. Right. Japanese civilians had no knowledge of military strategy. Other than in theory, perhaps. Our last war was over seventy years ago. There were barely any alive in Japan who had experienced war firsthand, and none of them had experienced combat with swords and magic. How could anyone in that situation conduct capable strategies?
We weren’t in a video game or a movie. Even in the sci-fi novel G.I. Samurai, where the Japanese self-defense force time-travels to feudal Japan, the self-defense force was annihilated despite their state-of-the-art technology. Wait. Did one survive?
Anyway, war is not as easy of a craft as us civilians think. You don’t have a convenient screen that shows you the enemies’ stats or anything. Just deciding how many fighters to send to which battlefield requires a lot of forethought.
“Maybe the Demon Lord got a cheat code for military knowledge, too.”
“We should assume so,” Tiamat said. “If the knowledge was brought in, we could have had an idea of the ceiling, making our lives a lot easier.”
As we continued our conversation quietly, we were nearing the city gates.
“No need to keep your human form here,” Miss Cielz remarked, as sarcastic as always.
3.
Two humans leading a dragon, Fenrir, and Cait Sith. Plus a donkey. Such a party would draw so much attention walking through a human city, but not in Gannes. There were dark elves, Hellions, Demons, and even human-animal hybrids. It was like a melting pot of humanoid species. In fact, Ruey and I were the odd ones out.
...We weren’t about to get snatched and eaten, were we?
“...I don’t sense any ill intentions, Sir Eiji,” Ruey said after carefully observing our surroundings inconspicuously while pulling the donkey’s reins.
“I sense curiosity. Perhaps that dark elf—Cielz, was she?—may have a considerable position in the army.”
“That makes sense.”
She did have complete authority over the life of one of their battalion leaders. That was a display of the Demon Lord’s trust in her, as well as in her powers to complete the mission without fail and to not make any incorrect decisions. Considering that she was working solo, I could imagine how deep the trust ran.
Us bureaucrats, for example, generally don’t work on our own. We are always in a pair or a larger group. Alone we wouldn’t be able to recover well from mistakes nor would we have anyone to hold us accountable. Especially when handling any money, even pocket change, we would always be in a group of two or more.
By the same token, the Demon Lord was confident that Miss Cielz would never compromise her work nor make any mistakes, even when acting on her own. It may seem trivial, but this was important.
“Mm. If I left you alone, I would be worried sick that you might drop dead from anythin
g.”
Tiamat threw this jab in. Well, I’m sorry you can’t trust me to survive on my own for even a minute.
Great. The rest of our party was nodding along now. Even Mister Donkey. I was no fool, so I didn’t rush in where angels feared to tread. Know yourself and know your enemy to survive a thousand battles.
“We would be at ease if you just chickened out to somewhere safe, but you always have to stick your nose into the frontline, Eiji.”
“Our tribulations may never end.”
Tiamat and Hieronymus chuckled at each other.
Oh, laugh it up.
We walked down the streets, all buddy-buddy. We were never stopped for any questioning or anything. We weren’t welcomed nor turned away. What an awkward feeling.
Eventually we reached the castle gates, where there wasn’t a single guard. Wasn’t this a little too naive of them?
“Cielz sent a Thought Speech, so the monsters are standing back. For now.”
Tiamat explained the trick for me. While I was grateful, Ruey was made a fool for keeping his guard up.
“In any case, I would not have let my guard down anyway.” The Earl’s heir smiled.
What a nice guy.
“This way. Our lord will see you.”
Paying no mind to our comedy routine, Miss Cielz led us down the wide hallway. Since the castle was originally built for humans, it might have been a little cramped for the large magibeasts, but the architecture still provided ample space. I nearly couldn’t believe that it was constructed over a hundred and fifty years ago. It seemed like it had always been properly maintained.
The giant doors opened without a sound, revealing a red carpet down the center of the space, leading to a set of steps that ascended to the throne. On said throne sat the current Demon Lord.
I spotted the black hair, as Miss Cielz had informed us. The silky straight hair, however, reached down to the middle of the Demon Lord’s back. The Demon Lord’s irises were black inside eyes that popped. All right. You know, I had expected the Demon Lord to be male. For some reason. I mean, it’s not rare in light novels for the Demon Lord to be a young woman.
Isekai Rebuilding Project: Volume 2 Page 10