“Alright, let’s go, then. We’re in different rooms, right?”
“Correct. We leave tomorrow. It’s not that far, so we’ll just walk there.”
“I’m kind of disappointed it’s so close, but I guess that’s fine. It’ll be fun! See you tomorrow!” Keena handed Korone the ticket and left through the window. Akuto watched her go, and then turned to Korone.
“So, what’s actually going on here?”
“Look at the ticket. The name of the inn is ‘Sasahara.’ It’s the same as that janitor. This is her family home.”
“Oh, I was just there.”
“Yes. As you know, Nozomi Sasahara claims to have imperial blood, and has been causing all manner of trouble. But our investigations have revealed that her claim might be true.”
“Huh? Really?”
“There’s a possibility, that’s all. Records were found indicating that treasure of the Imperial Family was given to her clan. The Royal Guard has already gone to look, and ascertained that the treasure is real.”
“And what is it, exactly?”
“An imperial seal. What effects it has, exactly, are unknown, but there’s a possibility that it’s built to trigger in response to royal blood.”
“...The imperial seal. The symbol of the imperial family is sitting in that inn?”
“Correct. The loss of the seal is the reason that the title of Empress or Emperor is instead given to the one who can use the family’s unique magics,” Korone said. “Normally, the royal seal identifies the heir.”
“And that’s why Keena herself needs to go there?”
“Yes. The Royal Guard will be providing security incognito. The inn staff will be operating their business as normal. They don’t know about this.”
“But won’t it cause a bit of a commotion if the Empress goes there?”
“Nozomi Sasahara herself was the one who proposed it. I’m sure the inn is ready. What, exactly, they’re ready for, is another question, but they’re ready. We’ve imposed a media blackout to keep attention to a minimum. There will likely be rumors, of course, but we’re only staying a single night. By the time the rest of the world finds out, we’ll already be gone.”
Akuto nodded.
“Then it’s my job to keep Nozomi from putting whatever plot she has into action. I hope there’s not too much trouble. Her parent seem like good people.” He seemed to lose himself in thought for a moment. “But... why do we still need to maintain the system of an Empress? I know I’m probably not one to talk, after everything I’ve done, but wouldn’t it be better if there was nobody to serve as the cause of all this trouble?”
“We artificial intelligences understand that humans find trouble pleasant,” Korone said.
“Yeah, I’m sure you and God both feel the same way. Even war and slaughter can seem pleasant as long as you’re not actually part of it.” Akuto shrugged.
“You’re closer to us than you are to humanity,” Korone said calmly, “And to answer your question, the reason it’s better to have an Empress is that it’s convenient.”
“I understand that. But I just don’t like it. I don’t want to start a war, but there are some systems I’d like to dispose of.”
“That’s a very dangerous statement to make. But before you start talking about national politics, you should deal with the more pressing issue that’s close at hand.” Korone pointed outside the window.
“What?” Akuto looked outside to see that Nozomi was selling tickets.
“Come one, come all! Get your tickets while they’re hot! The Empress and the Demon King are staying at an inn, and you can be there the same night. Who knows what will happen, but you’ll be there to see! They’re super cheap!” She was yelling and waving around fistfuls of tickets. She had a mask and sunglasses on, and a sign made from cardboard was hanging from her neck.
“...Uwah.” Akuto just sighed sadly, unable to speak.
“I did tell her that she was free to advertise her business. But don’t worry. Nobody will be stupid enough to actually buy... Oh, someone just did,” Korone said. Fujiko had run up to Nozomi.
“Is this true? Akuto is staying at an inn with Keena?”
“Yes. It’s true. Absolutely true!”
“Not happening! I’m going there too! How much?”
“They’re super cheap at just 20,000 yen a night!”
“That’s expensive!”
“Then don’t buy it!”
Nozomi insisted on yelling loudly during the whole conversation, but finally, Fujiko was able to haggle her down to 14,500 yen.
“Oh... I don’t know where she heard about it, but Yoshie Kita bought one too. She’s called Hattori, as well. Hattori is feigning reluctance, but she’s bought one.” Korone calmly commented on the unfolding situation.
“You don’t need to tell me...” Akuto had already given up on watching and was quietly sighing to himself.
○
“Welcome, and thank you for coming.” The old couple looked nervous when they saw Akuto. He knew why, so he tried his best to make a soft smile. They’d been informed afterwards that it was all a big misunderstanding, but after what they saw, they were still frightened of him. Perhaps they were relieved when they saw how kind he was in person, or perhaps Fujiko’s best efforts at being charming paid off, because they were polite the whole time.
In the end, Akuto, Keena, Korone, Junko, Fujiko, and Yoshie had all gotten tickets. The girls would all stay in one big room, while Akuto stayed in a smaller one. As for Nozomi, the girl who’d come up with this plan, she was welcoming them in the front hall with a smile.
—Tonight, you’re all going to see the Empress hand over the throne to me, she thought to herself, as she bowed politely.
“Welcome.”
“Uwah... This place is amazing. I love places like this,” Keena said happily as she craned her head to look around the lobby.
“You do? Well... It certainly does have an atmosphere,” Fujiko said, frowning a little.
The carpet on the lobby was worn down. The leather on the sofas was thin and torn in places, and the glass on the table was cloudy. There were countless small cuts on the big wooden pillars that supported the ceiling, and their surfaces were cracked and worn down.”
“At least they’re keeping the place clean, I guess...” Yoshie said, in her usual brusque tone. The place felt like it was falling apart, but there wasn’t a speck of dust to be seen. Everything was clean, it was just so old that cleaning didn’t help.
“No, you’re not supposed to say that...” Junko said, but since Yoshie was right, she trailed off.
Nozomi, who was taking them to their rooms, would normally have complained. But this time, she planned to use the place’s age to her advantage. So she said nothing.
“It’s old, but it’s got a lot of history. For instance, that rattan chair that’s hanging from the ceiling...” Nozmi pointed to a rattan chair which was tied to the ceiling with wire in a corner of the lobby.
Of course, it was too high up to sit in, so it seemed to be some kind of interior decoration, but...
“Everyone who ever sat in it died within a week of doing so. Anybody who tried to throw it away died too, for some reason, so we ended up just hanging it on the wall.” Unfortunately, she wasn’t bluffing. She was telling the truth.
“Um... there’s no such thing as curses, right?” Junko said, worried, as she tugged on Akuto’s sleeve. But nobody except Junko was scared, and Fujiko whacked her hand away, saying “Of course not.”
“A lot of people think that curses are a part of black magic, but since they use mana to function, they’re no different than any other spell. If it’s got a spell on it which can interfere with the mana in your body and kill you, it should be pretty easy to sense.”
“It’s also possible that it’s all just a series of coincidences. But life’s no fun without coincidences like that, don’t you think? Maybe it’s better to just write it off as a mystery.” Yoshie’s words could
be taken either way, but if nothing else, it was clear that she wasn’t scared. As for Keena, the girl whose opinion was most important...
“Wow, isn’t that amazing, Ackie? It’s so scary!” She said it was scary, but she had a giant grin on her face.
“Well, it’s probably one of those things that’s more fun if you believe in it.” Akuto nodded, disinterested.
—It didn’t work... But I’m just getting started! Nozomi bit her lip, but on the surface she remained bright and cheerful.
“It’s popular with our guests, you know. But some people say that just looking at it makes them feel sick. Now, I’ll show you to your room.” Nozomi led them deeper into the inn. As they walked down the hallway, she would stop to point out empty rooms and explain their histories.
“About a century ago, three people hung themselves in this room. You’ll all be staying next to each other, so you don’t have anything to worry about, but sometimes you can hear the boards in the ceiling creak at night. It’s the sound of the ropes in the next room, the ones they used to hang themselves.” Nozomi’s forehead glistened slickly in the light as she spoke.
“H-Hey... Cut it out!” Junko’s voice was quavering again. But the others’ responses weren’t any different from before.
“If the dead are haunting that room, I can talk to them with necromancy.”
“It’s probably just the boards shrinking when it gets cold at night.”
“It’s so scary, huh Ackie?”
“Yes. Suicide is a very sad thing.”
—Crap. They say it’s hard for modern people to believe in ghosts... but maybe that goes double for students at the academy? Nozomi began to get worried.
“And here’s the room for the girls. It’s a big room, but watch out for the mirror in the corner. Sometimes a woman in white will come out of it. I’m told that sometimes, she’ll drag you into the mirror, too,” Nozomi said as they entered the room.
“D-Do you die if she drags you in?” Junko’s voice quavered.
“You do,” Nozomi said firmly.
“Aaaah!” Junko screamed, but Akuto put a hand on her shoulder.
“If somebody died like that, there’d definitely be records of it. I understand that you’re trying to entertain us, Sasahara, but if you take it too far you’ll spoil the fun.”
“No, it’s the truth. I just wanted to warn you.”
“Right, right.” Akuto waved her off. But then Fujiko jumped at Akuto and grabbed his arm, pressing herself tightly against it.
“Kyaaah! How scary! The evil spirit in the mirror is going to try and kill me! If that happens, will you protect me, Akuto?” She looked up at him pleadingly, but he just furrowed his brow.
“I’m sorry, even I can tell you’re faking that.”
“Tch!” Fujiko said.
○
Afterwards, Nozomi went to show Akuto his room, while the others stayed behind. Akuto and Korone followed her.
“You’re not going to stay with the others?”
“I want see what your room is like, just in case something happens,” Korone said.
Nozomi told him all about the terrible things that had happened in the room’s past, but he mostly ignored her. Her next words, though, got his attention.
“There’s another room behind yours which is locked up tight. There was a terrible massacre right after the inn was opened, and it’s been sealed ever since.”
Akuto looked at Korone. “And there’s something hidden there, or something?”
“Heheh. I knew you’d ask that. There’s said to be a legendary pot in there, with an evil spirit sealed inside. This pot is actually...” Nozomi continued, but Akuto threw a glance at Korone. She nodded and whispered in his ear.
“The thing you’re thinking of is in the basement. But the investigation was never able to reveal if it was real or not. We’re going to have to look into this room, as well.”
“Let’s do it,” Akuto said.
“Huh? Why are you whispering to each other? Are you scared? Well, have a good night!” Nozomi grinned, though she had no idea what they were talking about. And when Akuto was putting his things away, Nozomi walked over and whispered in Korone’s ear.
“What do you think about my perfect plan? I’m going to scare the Empress until she can’t think straight!”
“I see. Now, everything you told us so far is true as far as you know, right?” Korone asked.
“Huh? Of course it’s true!”
“Understood. Good luck with your plan, then.” As Nozomi walked out of the room, confused, Korone went over to Akuto.
“I hate to say this, but we may have a problem. Be careful.”
“...You don’t look like you’re just trying to scare me. But there’s no such thing as ghosts, right?”
“Perhaps we can’t be so sure about that,” Korone said with a serious expression. Of course, she always had a serious expression, so it lacked the effect it might otherwise have.
“You are just trying to scare me after all, aren’t you?”
“No... Oh, we’ll be eating dinner with the rest of the girls in the large room. Until then, we’ve been told we can take a bath. We’ll do our investigation once night falls. For now, our goal is to search the inn and find the imperial seal by morning. And then tomorrow, we can have the Empress take a look at it.”
“Got it. Let’s relax until evening, then.”
○
The sun set, and Akuto headed alone to the inn’s large bath. The girls were busy changing, but since the mens’ and womens’ baths were separate, there was no need for him to worry about running into them.
Akuto opened the door to the changing room, feeling peaceful and relaxed at the prospect of spending some time alone. The changing room was clean, but it was old. The basket for holding his clothes was falling apart. Akuto didn’t believe in ghosts, but the atmosphere felt gloomy in here.
“...Well, I hate to say it, but I don’t think I have to worry about any other customers,” Akuto whispered as he opened the door to the bath. It was an open-air bath, and a pretty big one, too. The inn was surrounded by trees, so even in the center of the city it still felt isolated.
“Gloomy or not, I still haven’t felt this relaxed in a long time...” Akuto sank into the bath and let out a big sigh. He could feel his exhaustion draining from his body as the heat surrounded him. Right above him, in the trees, however, was a lurking shadow. Of course, it was Nozomi.
“Hehehe... I can play my tricks from the men’s side of the bath without those girls finding me...”
She straddled herself on a large branch as she took out a bottle from her pocket. It was filled with a red powder that dissolved in water. If she spread it into the girls’ bath, it would turn into what looked like a lake of blood.
“And a few minutes later, the water goes back to clear! They’ll all scream and run away, and then when they come back, they won’t know if they hallucinated it, or if it was a real ghost that did it!” Nozomi looked away from Akuto’s naked body, and waited excitedly for the girls to come into the bath. But when she heard a voice from below she looked back down at Akuto.
“F-Fujiko! What are you doing here?” Akuto was screaming, and there was no wonder why. Fujiko was there, completely naked, and pushing herself up against his back.
“Because I just wanted to see you so badly,” she said in a seductive voice.
“But this is the men’s bath.”
“There’s nobody else here in the inn. I just walked right through the front.”
“But... you know...”
“Oh, you don’t want me here? I ran out before everybody else came, so we don’t have much time. Come on, let’s do this quickly.”
“D-Do what quickly?”
Nozomi gulped as she looked down at them. Of course, she’d never seen anything like this before, and she was so stunned that she thought her heart might burst out of her chest. She knew she shouldn’t watch, but she couldn’t help it.
�
��Aww, you know...”
“No, I’ve told you before, this isn’t right...”
“Oh? If you’re talking about some sort of religious thing, that doesn’t matter to you anymore. And of course, ethically, there’s no problem at all. I plan on giving birth to a very healthy child.” Fujiko began to rub Akuto’s chest with one hand as she rubbed her own with the other.
“A child?! No, wait... I mean... hey!”
“Ooh, you’re so strong all the time, but you’re so cute when I do this... I love it...” Akuto and Fujiko began to squirm inside the bathtub. Nozomi was now completely focused on them, her eyes bloodshot as she let out short, panting breaths.
—A-Aah... This is amazing... It’s amazing now, but what if it gets more amazing? Huh? I feel something on my face.. Oh, my nose is bleeding... She gasped and put her hand over her face, but it was too late. A drop of blood was already falling on top of the two.
“W-Wait, Fujiko. Something just fell on me...”
“Heheh... Don’t try and change the subject. Or are you just embarrassed about how big you are down here? Huh? Blood?”
—Crap! Nozomi went to run away. But she didn’t have to worry.
“STOP IT!” She heard a scream, and then the sound of something being sliced. She looked over just in time to see the bamboo wall separating the mens’ and womens’ baths being sliced open by a katana. With a powerful kick, Junko knocked a hole in it and came bursting in.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Junko yelled, but the response was surprisingly calm.
“Wait... this is blood...”
“T-The whole pool turned red...” Akuto and Fujiko were gasping.
“You can’t try and change the subject... W-Wait... AAAH!” Junko began to loudly scream.
—Huh? It was just a nosebleed... Nozomi turned her gaze from Junko back to the bathtub. The water was beginning to turn red.
—Wait, don’t tell me I dropped the bottle... She checked, but the bottle was still there, and still firmly sealed. It hadn’t cracked, and it wasn’t leaking.
Demon King Daimaou: Volume 10 Page 10
