by Yuu Kamiya
“You—you knew?”
As usual, not taking his eyes off his game, he answered absently.
“Yeah, I mean—that’s why I said ‘everything on the continent,’ right?”
“—Wh-what do you mean? What are we supposed to do with this territory now?”
Then they’d only taken back the borders of the continental domain. They could barely do anything with the farms and other facilities that the Eastern Union had developed. It was true that the knowledge Sora and Shiro had brought from their world could address it, given enough time. But considering the food financing crisis Elkia faced, these resources definitely would have helped. But Sora mumbled shortly thereafter.
“Eh, don’t worry—the game’s not over.”
“Not—not over…?”
After going through that kind of hell, it was not over—? As Steph considered whether, depending on the meaning of his statement, it might be advisable to give him a good faint.
“…King Sora, may I have a moment?”
Yet another person appeared in the Presence Chamber. A traditionally-clad, aging, white-haired Werebeast—Ino Hatsuse.
“Oh, here you are; I was waiting for you.”
“It sounds as though you knew why I was here.”
“It’s not ‘as though’—I know. You’ve got a letter from the Eastern Union, right?”
“Y-yes…delivered using the fastest service…”
Sora opened the letter he was handed. It was written in Immanity. In contrast to Shiro, who studied it, Sora just glanced.
“Jibril.”
“I am here.”
Jibril answering Sora’s call by materializing out thin air to kneel before him.
“You can shift to the capital of the Eastern Union, right?”
“Yes, I can—but how did you know?”
As Jibril gaped, puzzled, an amused Sora continued without explanation.
“We got a call—straight from the Shrine Maiden, the agent plenipotentiary of the Eastern Union, so here we go.”
At Sora’s careless declaration, Ino and even Izuna, who had been playing a game, stopped their hands and stretched open their eyes.
“Th-the Holy Shrine Maiden—has summoned you?!”
“Yeah, what, is that, like, a big deal or something?”
“A big deal—?”
—The “Shrine Maiden.” The one whose true name no one knew, who had brought together the Eastern Union from a mere collection of countless island tribes. The one who had elevated them to the status of third-greatest country in the world in a mere half century, a god among beasts. She—had called upon them directly? But Jibril answered that with disbelief of an entirely different nature.
“It is what you should call a ‘big deal,’ Master. Now that the tables are turned and they have been cut off from their continental resources, for them to summon you is a ludicrous proposition. If they have business with you, good sense would dictate that they come themselves.”
At Jibril, beaming as she said this, Ino and Izuna thrust a glare. It spoke to the Shrine Maiden’s status among Werebeast. But Sora—
“Nah, see, they must be asking us ’cause they know we’ve got you, Jibril. In other words—they’ve got something so urgent they need us to come stat, get it?”
As Sora chuckled, Ino, hesitatingly, said once again.
“—It sounds as though you know why she calls.”
But Sora just flashed a smile, grabbed Shiro from his lap under his shoulder, stood, and ordered:
“Come, clutch onto Jibril and let us go! To the paradise of this world—the animal-girl empire!”
In answer to these words, Jibril spread her wings.
“Now—this will be a long-distance shift, ladies and gentlemen, so please hang on. Please sit up in your seats and fasten your seat belts securely. Should you experience nausea during the shift, unless you are one of my two masters, please take advantage of the compartments of your clothing. Ah, but Masters, please feel free to—”
“…Jibril, enough of that; come on, let’s go.”
Jibril displayed the array of knowledge she had acquired from Sora’s tablet, but Sora hurried her, fidgeting as if he couldn’t bear the siren’s song of the animal-eared kingdom.
“Please forgive me, Master. A long-distance shift such as this requires some preparation.”
With this, Jibril opened her wings wider. Her geometric halo increased the speed of its revolution dramatically, and her palely sparkling feathers clearly emitted light. Everything started to warp as if in a heat haze—and space began to fold.
“—!”
“This—can’t…!”
Izuna and Ino each used their hands not touching Jibril to cover an ear against the torment. Sora and the other Immanities, unable to sense magic at all, felt suffocated, as if the air had been compressed. It was beyond their ability to know how it felt to the Werebeasts, whose senses were sharp enough to pick up magic. But if someone who could clearly use magic—say Fi had been here, then probably…
…she’d faint from all the spirits that conglomerated and surrounded them. And then Jibril, her amber eyes open slightly—clearly not looking here but someplace far away—said:
“With that, ladies and gentlemen, we will be on our way to Kannagari, capital of the Eastern Union—landing in the Inner Garden of the Central Division of the Shrine.”
Upon Jibril’s casual declaration that she’d jump right into the heart of the Shrine, Ino—
“Distance: 4,527.21 kilometers. Time to destination: 0.023 seconds. It is expected that for the two Werebeasts onboard, it will be an exceedingly uncomfortable flight, so please relax and enjoy the trip.”
—there was no chance to speak. As as a sound like glass shattering assailed their ears, like photos in a slide show—
—their surroundings flipped.
“Agh…”
Holding his head which ached slightly, perhaps a side effect of the long-distance shift, Sora looked around.
—It was a place somehow reminiscent of the Japanese gardens of their old world. Wooden buildings suggesting Southeast Asia enclosing them. All that lit them under the black sky was reddish lamplight. Jibril had apparently jumped right into the middle of the Shrine, but the shrine grounds must have been extensive for just barely visible beyond the structures and fences surrounding them was what appeared to be a city. Countless high-rise buildings, emitting the red flickering of paper lanterns. Trees blocked the light to create a pattern of irregular black contrast that swept across the scene.
“Oh, I get it. It’s a different time zone.”
Sora realized, a little late, that it was night.
“—What’s this?”
Then something caught his eye: Izuna and Ino, keeled over on the ground. Shiro and Steph, also holding their slightly aching heads, imitated Sora as they looked around. Jibril stood with her hands together before her, as if to convey wordlessly to her lords, We have arrived.
“…Hey, Jibril, what’s up with Izuna and Ino?”
“As I mentioned, I expect that the trip was remarkably uncomfortable for the Werebeasts, with their fine senses. Perhaps what we are seeing is the effect of hearing the super-ultra-high frequencies created when a hole is opened in space.”
“…Hmm, I’m glad we as a race are just dense enough not to get how nuts you are.”
Holding his ears, Ino stood up with a pained face that suggested a swollen blood vessel.
“What are you, a disaster on wings?! Use some common sense in mocking the laws of physics, you antique bitch! And then you barge right into our Maiden’s Holy Shrine without authorization! Just how far do you intend to screw with us, you little shit?!”
Sora chastised the screaming Ino, while secretly thinking to himself, “Is that something you want to word as a question?”
“Old man, keep a lid on it. I mean, cool it. It’s just—”
Though thoroughly disgusted by Ino’s outburst, Sora quickly changed his tune when Iz
una painfully muttered moments later:
“…This blows, please… I wanna barf, please.”
“Jibril, think of Izzy! What are you doing to one of the world’s greatest treasures?!”
“Ah, I do apologize, Master! Frankly, those other than my masters never even entered my consideration! I repent!”
Ignoring this commotion, Shiro and Steph took in their surroundings.
“…This, is…the Eastern Union?”
“Quite old buildings for such an advanced civilization. With that sort of an embassy, I thought—”
Jibril answered their mumblings.
“This Shrine itself was built 920 years ago. If you exit, you will find a number of fascinating buildings which include high-rises such as the embassy. As I can best gather from the tablet, to put it in terms of my masters’ world—what we have here is the culture of the 1900s.”
Sora called up the knowledge from his memory. When he’d seen the embassy of the Eastern Union in Elkia, his first impression had been of something akin to the Empire State Building, which was built probably sometime around 1930, and that it was representative of their architectural state of the art.
“…And yet they have perfect VR in their games. Shit.”
“Now then, Master, though this may remind you of your world, you must remember it is a different civilization.”
Unable to accept the fantasy elements, the groaning Sora went on.
“Hang on, Jibril. You sure know a lot here. From books?”
“That is one factor, but also I’ve flown over the Eastern Union many times.”
To Jibril as she declared this with a smile, Ino shouted as if still holding a grudge.
“How many times must I tell you it’s a violation of our airspace?!”
“I beg your pardon, sir, but if you intend to make such declarations, I suggest that first you develop flight technology so that you can reasonably claim control of the airspace. I might also add that, considering that we have been summoned by the Holy Shrine Maiden (lol), it hardly strikes me a violation. If it were, then surely the Covenants would disable its execution?”
“Hey, you greasy pigeon! There was clearly an insinuation in the way you mentioned the Holy Shrine Maiden just now! Why don’t you—”
As the bickering continued, suddenly from out of the darkness:
“…Oh, my. Aren’t you all having a jolly old time. Might I be included?”
—Ring. Soft like a bell drifted in the dulcet tones of old Kyoto, stilling the group’s exchange.
—How long had she been there? A bewitchingly golden girl sat on the railing of a red bridge over a garden pond. Wearing the kind of garb expected of a shrine maiden, woven of the three colors of white, red, and black, a golden…two-tailed fox. In the garden lit only by the moon and the vermillion lamplight, the long hair and ears that asserted that she was a Werebeast glistened all the more strongly. Her eyes, which were like gold itself—full of inorganic light, reflected images of Sora and Shiro.
“You from Elkia, who have come from beyond the sea, welcome to the light of the spirit of the moon—O king and queen of people. I’m the lady of this garden—heh, the one they call the Shrine Maiden. A pleasure.”
The Shrine Maiden, smiling disarmingly with her cheek supported by her forearm. This was the agent plenipotentiary of the Eastern Union—practically speaking, the queen of Werebeasts. At the sight of her, Izuna and Ino promptly got down on the ground and lowered their heads.
“O-o Holy Shrine Maiden, I beg you to forgive our gross misconduct. Having allowed the continent to be taken, even our selves to be taken, and ultimately this outrage, I know nothing I can say or do—”
“W-we’re real sorry, please…”
“I-Izuna! Talk in Werebeast, not Immanity! Who do you think you’re talking—?”
“Ah dear, how tiresome. Relax. I’ll be exhausted ere too long.”
As the two Werebeasts deferred with all their might, Sora regardless stood proud as ever.
“Woo, you’re the Shrine Maiden? Man, you look the part. Hey, hey, can I get a pic?”
—But how could her beauty be captured with a cell phone camera? Sora cursed himself for not bringing a DSLR. Meanwhile, a panicked Steph stammeringly attempted to upbraid him.
“H-hey, this is an ultra-important foreign dignitary here! Mind a few manners, would you!”
But the siblings and Jibril all gaped at the kneeling Steph blankly.
“Huh, why? Isn’t the host the one who has to lower her head?”
As Shiro and Jibril nodded to indicate perfect agreement with Sora’s interpretation of the etiquette of the situation, Steph held her head from a pain that was clearly not the result of teleportation. Seemingly without paying much notice to this exchange, the Shrine Maiden pleasantly and courteously capitulated.
“You certainly are an amusing lot… Well, ’tis true I was the one who called upon you. I suppose I should be greeting you properly on my knees with my head low—
“—but when I’ve called you to complain, can you understand how bowing my head might be difficult?”
“Oh? I can’t really remember doing anything to give you cause for complaint.”
In contrast to Ino and Steph, who wanted to scream How dare you?, the Shrine Maiden merely countered in a tone reminiscent of wind chimes.
“Aye… Well then, shall I put it to you straight?”
Her golden eyes, narrowed by her smile, were narrowed for another reason as well.
“You’ve really done it now, you hairless monkeys.”
The Shrine Maiden delivered this insult without even compromising either her grace or refinement, prompting in Sora an ironic smile.
“Ha-ha, so they did. Nice, Elf. You guys work faster than I thought.”
Those who understood what he meant were Sora, Shiro, and Jibril. And Izuna—who had been filled in later, probably alone. At the bewildered Ino and Steph, the Shrine Maiden only sighed as if laughing.
“Well, I imagine you know by now, but without the continent, we can’t do anything. We’ve got to get it back if it costs us our lives. If we don’t, our administration and finance will be in shambles. Even so, to mount a challenge from our side—Eh, you know it’s no good. And another thing—”
Grinning frivolously, Sora finished her words.
“Just in case, you moved your core technology and engineers, key staff and vital materials off the continent.”
—Yes. As if in answer to Steph’s gaze, wondering how he knew, Sora explained.
“That’s what anyone with half a brain would do first if someone demanded the whole continental domain. For insurance.”
With a little chuckle and a nod, the Shrine Maiden continued.
“There can be no value in land you can’t steer, so Elkia has to come challenge us to another game if they want the tech to use it. You’ve got no choice. The rest is simple: You fall into our hands and get your rump pounded, roasted, and served.”
—In other words, they’d bring them into a game where no monitoring could enter, a game full of all the cheats they wanted, and finish them off for sure. But…the Shrine Maiden finished, cheek in hand, with a cloudy grin that said, “You got us.”
“—But you knew I’d figure that, didn’t you?”
“Of course. I mean, that’s what I do.”
“Aye…that you would use so little time so well…”
The Shrine Maiden sighed.
“That you had the forethought while we were pulling our important materials off the continent to make contact with Elf—and to expose our game through a spy…to use Elven Gard to lay siege to the Eastern Union, good heavens.”
“Sorry, we’re starving bums with no time to spare.”
“Wha—”
Ino stood dumbfounded. But let’s go ahead and say it—this wasn’t the time to be going dumb.
“—Righto, but I saw that coming, too, you know?”
Now it was the Shrine Maiden’s turn to stare back at Sor
a smugly.
“Never mind that I took you yourselves for agents of Elven Gard.”
“Guess you would. Definitely more sensible than believing someone who says they’re from another world.”
“Aye, it’s a sensible idea. Indeed, getting hung up on it must’ve been what led to my downfall.”
With a heh, the Shrine Maiden closed her eyes and turned her face to the sky.
“—So when Avant Heim showed up, that was the end for us.”
Now this was the appropriate moment—Ino went dumb and shifted his gaze. Jibril, her eyes also closed, stood wordlessly as if in awe of her master’s stratagem. Gulp, swallowed Ino. Just when—when in the world had he fallen into this trap? But judging by the Shrine Maiden’s account, Sora had had it all set up from the beginning. Which meant… By the time he’d come to Ino, he’d already—(This is a battle of wits between one who intends to swallow up the world and one who’s built the third-largest country in half a century…) Ino shivered.
—Yes, Jibril was on the Council of Eighteen Wings—a member of Avant Heim’s government. Though she might have been excluded from her seat having become Sora’s property, that didn’t remove her clout. All they had to do was ask her to give Flügel this simple message:
—“We’ve uncovered the Eastern Union’s secret. If you want their knowledge, we’ll tell you how to beat them.” As for the rest, knowing those knowledge-thirsty Flügel, the result—didn’t need to be spelled out.
As if cross she’d been outwitted, the Shrine Maiden dangled her legs with a pouty smile. Bonking her wooden sandals against the bridge railing, the golden fox spoke sulkily.
“Elven Gard, Avant Heim. And Elkia… Under siege by so many nations with their shields together, our game exposed plain as daylight—no struggle can save us from this… Ah, dear me.”
She quit her repetitive clomping, kicking off lightly from the bridge railing upon which she sat.