Akuto was able to concentrate on the characters for several minutes. But after those few minutes of concentration, someone began to poke him on the side.
“Oh come on... what is it?”
Of course, it was Keena who was poking him.
“Hey, are you sure you aren’t hungry?”
“I’m sure.”
“...You’re not hungry?”
“I said I’m not hungry.”
“......You’re not hungry?” Keena tilted her head at him as she spoke.
“Fine. You want me to eat, don’t you?” Akuto sighed and moved his face away from the wall.
For some reason, he had a soft spot for Keena. He wasn’t sure if he was this way with other girls, but he certainly couldn’t resist anything Keena did. No matter what it was, he would quickly forgive her. Akuto thought that maybe this was because he’d met Keena when they were both at the orphanage, and he’d felt a connection with her since then. He didn’t remember much about it, but there was something about Keena that Akuto just couldn’t argue with.
Keena opened the lunchbox. There were several rice balls made from white rice inside.
“What’s this?” Akuto asked as he pointed to one on the end.
“It’s a rice ball!” Keena said cheerfully.
“No, I mean what kind of rice ball is it?”
“I’m so glad you asked! This is a famous brand of rice with more than a millennium of tradition behind it: Akitakomachi!” Keena said fervently.
“I wasn’t asking about the brand of rice. What’s the filling?”
“It’s Akitakomachi.”
“Huh?”
“Akitakomachi rice is the filling. Koshihikari is the rice ball.”
“Hmm... okay.” Akuto lost the will to resist, and took a bite of the rice ball. If you thought of as just a salty ball of rice, it wasn’t that bad.
“The blend of the rice is the most important part! If you change the ratios of rice you can end up with a something that’s a whole different dish! For example...”
He didn’t follow a word she said, but Keena began to tell him about the wonders of white rice. This was nothing new coming from her, so Akuto ignored her and went back to the constitution. Strangely, Keena’s chattering was like background music that made it easier to concentrate.
—That makes sense. So magical concentration is the same kind of concentration I needed for those part-time jobs I took when I was poor. I’d been overthinking it because it’s “magic”, but maybe I don’t need to think that hard at all...
And then he realized a grain of rice had flown over and stuck on the word he was trying to read. He turned around and saw that Keena had figured out he wasn’t listening, and was yelling as she ate her rice ball.
“If it’s that important to you, then take better care of your rice,” Akuto said as he pinched the grain of rice off the wall with his fingers. The sticky rice was clinging tightly to the wall. It shouldn’t have been that difficult to get it off, but then he realized something was wrong. When he pulled at the rice grain, it felt like part of the wall was coming off with it.
“Huh?” He took another look at that part of the wall. It looked like there was a paper stuck on the wall, and the lines of the constitution had been written on the paper to make it blend in with the rest of the wall.
He tore off the paper, and it turned out that it was parchment. This was unusual, as normal paper was readily available these days.
There were words and a map on the parchment, burned into it by magic. It was faster to write it by hand, so the only reason you’d do it this way was to ensure that it would last for years. That meant somebody had put this up here hoping it would last for a long time.
“That’s a lot of work for a prank,” Akuto said. Keena peeked over his shoulder at the parchment, her eyes shining.
“Hey, this is a treasure map, Ackie!” Keena said excitedly.
“Come on, don’t talk like a little kid... huh?” Akuto looked at the words in surprise. Apparently it really was a treasure map. The map was clearly legible, and the words below it read thus:
(A message to the courageous one who reads this map. The sealed treasure will reveal itself when three keys, hidden in the three locations on this map, are gathered together. But do not forget, they who know about the treasure are constantly seeking it. Only seek the treasure if you are selfless, and if you are willing to risk death. Only death awaits those without the right to claim it. This is not a threat, but my dying wish.
K)
“K” was probably the author’s name. The writer of the message certainly didn’t seem like they were joking around, but they didn’t write any other information regarding the quest.
“What exactly is this about?” Akuto said, cocking his head with confusion.
“Oh!” Keena exclaimed. “This is a map of the school!”
“Huh? It is?” Akuto looked at the map again. He wasn’t used to this place yet, so he couldn’t be immediately sure, but when he took a closer look he saw markings that looked like the school.
“The school grounds are so big that it’s hard to tell, but look, if you figure this is the school building, then this is the forest behind it, and this is the mountain you can see from the roof.” Keena pointed at different spots on the map. But Akuto had never fully explored the school grounds, so he still couldn’t be sure.
And then Korone, who’d been silent until then, chimed in.
“The dimensions of this map aren’t very carefully made, but it’s forty kilometers from one end of the grounds to the other. An experienced user of flight magic could travel that distance in two hours. If you walked, it would be about a half day.”
“I see. How old is this parchment?” Akuto asked.
“If you’re asking how long ago the parchment was made, it’s rather old. About fifty years. As for when the map was drawn, the magic makes it impossible to tell.” Korone’s analysis was instant.
“So it was at least within the last fifty years, but that’s all we know.”
“It could’ve been made yesterday, or fifty years ago. I couldn’t tell you,” Korone said.
“Hmm, then it’s interesting, but it’s got nothing to do with me. Nobody’s used this place in a long time, so maybe it was put up a long time ago, or maybe it’s a prank somebody put here since they knew I was coming today. It could be one of those two,” Akuto said coolly, and moved to put the map back where it was. But Keena grabbed it.
“It’s a treasure map, Ackie!” Her eyes were a million miles away.
“I know that,” Akuto said curtly.
“Treasures are so dreamy... Just imagine! It must be where an ancient pirate hid all the treasures he gathered in his life!” Keena had her hands folded in front of her chest and was staring off into space.
“This area has been dry land for over 4,000 years,” Akuto said, but Keena was ignoring him.
“Oh, if only I were a boy! I’d go face the danger, no matter how great! I’d fight the guardians of the keys, and defeat them one after another! No, I wouldn’t kill them! If you kill them, you lose your right to get the treasure! That’s what made all the other adventurers fail, as they were strong but not kind!”
Akuto had forgotten that once Keena started fantasizing, she didn’t stop. If you played along, she’d go on forever. In fact, the first time they’d met, he’d believed one of her fantasies and it ended up in a terrible mess.
“I hope you’re right,” he said, and tried to go back to his training. But her response was unexpected.
“Ackie...” Keena suddenly quieted down and started to fidget. Akuto turned around, wondering what was bothering her.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. Keena started quivering and, in a voice that sounded like she was about to explode, announced:
“I have to pee!”
“You what?!” Akuto had no idea what to do. He looked around, and only saw the waterproof bag and water bottle he’d been told to bring.
“Don’t tell me... was that why?” The water bottle was for water. Twelve hours without water was dangerous. And if you were locked in here for twelve hours, of course...
“H-Here...” Akuto handed her the bag.
“What? No! That’s embarrassing!” Keena resisted.
“It’s better than wetting yourself, right? I’ll turn the other way!”
“No!”
“I’m just as embarrassed as you are! There’s a good chance I’m gonna have to go too!”
“I don’t want that either! I don’t want to see you peeing!”
Akuto and Keena argued for a moment before Korone suddenly opened her mouth.
“If you need to dispose of your waste, would you prefer that I drink it?”
That was enough to make both Akuto and Keena freeze.
“What?”
“W-Wait a second...”
But Korone was unperturbed.
“Don’t worry. A chemical reaction occurs within our body that transforms it into energy. It’s an extremely small amount, though.”
“That’s not the problem!”
“Uwaaaaan! I don’t wanna! Let me out of here!” Keena started to cry.
Korone saw this, and expressionlessly shrugged her shoulders.
“That was a joke. For one thing, it doesn’t taste good.”
“Either way, that’s not a solution! And how do you know how it tastes...”
Akuto didn’t remember what happened after that. He later told himself that they must have worked something out with magic.
○
The next day, he woke up and took the map he’d found from Korone, who was sleeping inside a cabinet above his closet. He’d decided to give it to Korone, since otherwise Keena would have run off with it. Of course, he wasn’t going to use it. He didn’t want to deal with it, so his plan was just to talk to the student council president about it today.
Before classes started, he tried going to the student council room, since the student council always held a meeting before classes began. The student council president welcomed him.
Akuto was, at least in theory, the head of the disciplinary committee, which meant that he needed to work with the student council often.
“What is it, Sai?” the student council president said cheerfully. She was known for the stylish, pointed hat that she always wore. She was short, and had a youthful face. She looked like a young boy, in fact, but she was a third-year student. And strangely, despite her young looks, she was oddly intimidating. The fact that she was the student council president at a place like this, with its emphasis on strength in battle, meant that even though he’d never heard anyone mention her power, he could assume she was fairly strong.
Akuto showed her the map. When he explained how he’d found it, her eyes widened a little in surprise. But then she looked back and forth from Akuto to the map, slightly annoyed.
“Don’t you think it’s just some kid’s idea of a joke?”
“I do. But if it starts getting spread around, some idiot might decide to go looking for it.”
The president laughed at Akuto’s words.
“You’ve got that right. Okay, I’ll take this. Keep it a secret, please,” she said, and then turned her gaze towards the other three members of the student council. They all gathered around her desk.
“Alright, I have to get back to work. Mornings are always so busy,” she said as she waved him out.
Akuto lowered his head in a bow and left the student council room. As he left, he could hear the voices of the other three members.
“Ma’am, isn’t this a map of the school-gyah?”
“Gugah.”
“These marks indicate areas that were abandoned during the great war, right?”
From the way they spoke, he could tell that they had... unique... personalities, but the voices quickly faded away. They seemed to be using some kind of magic to keep their voices from being heard, but Akuto didn’t even give it a second thought.
○
Junko hadn’t come to class. And as usual, Keena wasn’t there either.
—Keena’s one thing, but what should I do about Hattori?
Akuto was still stewing with worry by the time first period ended, but he snapped out of it as he realized that there was something going on in the hallway. Since it was rare for any kind of commotion not to involve him, he found himself going outside to see what the fuss was about. There was a crowd gathered around the wall outside the classroom.
—What’s all this about? ...Wait a second!
Akuto approached the wall, and the students parted to let him through like a receding tide. But there was no time to be upset about the fact that they were scared of him. There was a copy of the treasure map on the wall.
—KEENA!
It was the only possibility he could think of. As he stood in shock, Hiroshi quickly walked up to him.
“Boss, what’s the deal with this map? Keena’s been putting them up everywhere. This isn’t some kind of prank you’re playing, is it?” Hiroshi asked.
His suspicion had been confirmed. Keena could turn invisible. It would have been easy for her to steal the map, copy it, and put it back.
“It is not a prank!” Akuto said, loudly enough for the others to hear him. And then for some reason, Hiroshi raised his voice too.
“It’s not a prank! Then this is a game you’ve set up, isn’t it boss! Let me guess: you hid some treasure and set up maps all over the school! And whoever wins the game will be your servant!” Hiroshi’s words made the students around them start to panic, Akuto included. He didn’t want any weird rumors going around.
“I haven’t done anything of the sort!” he yelled. And then Hiroshi’s voice got louder in response.
“Then that means it’s a real treasure map that you found, doesn’t it?”
“No, I don’t know if it’s real,” Akuto said, but since he didn’t know anything, there wasn’t much he could say.
“What a mess,” he whispered to himself. Now that the rumor had been released, it was too late to stop it. The murmurings of his classmates continued even after class started. It gave him a bad feeling, but he was helpless to stop them.
—Well, I hope it’s just a prank...
But then things got weird.
Lunchtime came, and he’d gone with Hiroshi to the cafeteria to get some food. He was heading back to the classroom to eat it when a stretcher carrying a student flew right by him. It was a floating stretcher, the ones the nurse’s office used to transport injured students. A lot of people got hurt at this school, so it was only used for people who were too badly injured to move themselves.
It was a male student. He was awake, but his face was deathly pale, and he was whispering, “A monster got me...”
“Don’t tell me...” Akuto said, but Hiroshi told him anyway.
“Do you suppose he went to go look for the treasure?” Hiroshi ran off and found one of the student’s friends, who’d been following the stretcher, and asked him what had happened. He was really quick about these things.
“It looks like a student who was really good at flying magic went out to look for the treasure, and came back badly hurt! It must be real...!” Hiroshi said excitedly.
—No, something’s not right here.
Akuto crossed his arms in thought, deciding to think instead of speak. He must’ve had a serious look on his face, because the students around him fled in terror, and Hiroshi looked satisfied that he’d come to some sort of decision. But Akuto himself noticed none of this.
○
There was one other person besides Akuto who was troubled by the treasure maps.
It was Fujiko Eto.
In public, she was the most beautiful girl in the school, with the best grades, and also the head of the dorm. She was revered by boys and girls alike. But in private, she was a black mage with a thirst for power and control. Not long ago she’d planned to bring Akuto under her control, but her plans had been foiled in a very st
range way.
Fujiko had gone down into the basement, making sure nobody knew where she was. She’d turned one of the rooms of this underground labyrinth, which was used during the great war, into a black magic laboratory. Normally she used it when she wanted to be alone, but her goal today was different.
A living, disembodied head, sealed in glass jar, was always waiting for her in the room. It was her brother, who she’d reanimated using the forbidden magics of necromancy. Normally, her brother was just someone she talked to when she wanted company, but today she was here to demand answers.
In the dim, velvet-lined room, she showed her brother’s head a copy of the treasure map.
“You wrote this, didn’t you?”
“No, I’ve never seen it before,” he answered immediately.
“That’s impossible.” Fujiko said, but then she cut herself off. She knew how this worked. Necromancy didn’t truly revive the dead. It simply replayed the stored memories of the past, and used them to create the answer that the dead person would have given. In other words, a dead man couldn’t lie.
“But this is your handwriting...” There was no way she could mistake the handwriting of someone so close to her. But it was impossible for the dead to lie.
In this country, almost everyone underwent some form of religious baptism. And that baptism meant that a god now controlled you. “God is watching you,” wasn’t just a simple metaphor. Every action a human took was recorded by the gods via mana.
“So you have no memories of the location on map then, brother?” Fujiko asked a different question.
Her brother said he didn’t, of course.
—I know for a fact that brother graduated from this school.
Which meant that it was impossible for him to have no memories of it at all...
Was it possible that someone erased those memories? The gods treated everyone equally. And so it was possible for anyone to accept their blessing (that is, use magic). But what was impossible was for anyone to alter the gods themselves. The gods were designed to prevent that from happening, or at least they were supposed to be.
“Listen, brother, my head hurts, so I’ll be going.”
Demon King Daimaou: Volume 2 Page 3