by Kamiya Yuu
“—It’s nothing. Got any questions?”
With a stoic expression, Marie continued,
“This life was gotten back through Naoto. With RyuZU’s capabilities, she might be able to return from such a massive depth. If that happens—I guess I’ll be killed by her.”
She shivered as she hugged her shoulders tightly.
“This life’s almost at its limit now, so I should use this effectively. I have to do everything I want to do before RyuZU kills me.”
With a serious look, Halter heard these words.
He frowned, and seemed like he wanted to chime in, but did not say anything.
He merely let out a sigh, and nodded back.
“Got it, Milady. You can do whatever you want to do, but as a professional, I’ll advise you to go to sleep now. Your life will be used up, but you want to do your best under the best conditions possible, right?”
“…”
“Take a shower, drink some sweet cocoa, and have a nice little nap. Regain your strength, clear your head, and beat up any guys you dislike as you want to.”
“…”
“That should be more logical here, right?’
“…You’re right. It’s true, just as you said.”
Marie accepted those logical words heartily as she nodded honestly. Once he was sure she was going to shower, Halter exited the room.
He bought some cocoa and sandwich at the nearest shop, and quickly returned to the room.
The flowing water in the shower continued to ring.
He sat at the chair, waiting for Marie to appear, and suddenly thought, Maybe this is a suicide scene here. The instant he thought of it, he chuckled.
No. There’s no way for that. Marie herself would definitely not do such a thing.
And in seemingly confirmation, the sound of the dryer blowing the hair could be heard, and Marie appeared.
She was simply dressed in a bathrobe, walking over to him with the water dripping onto the floor. As he faced this gloomy Marie, he wordlessly handed over the cocoas and sandwich.
Thanks. Marie weakly muttered as she stuffed it all int her mouth. She continued to eat silently, and silently snuggled into the bed.
Halter moved the bed, taking the window side. He looked at the sight of the defenseless, sleeping girl, and suddenly, he spoke up hesitantly,
“Hey, Marie, as an adult’s duty, I got something to say.”
“…What?”
“You’re a kid. You’re just a little girl. That’s what you said before yourself.”
“…So, what?”
“Even if a girl’s going to cry like a little girl, nobody will say anything about it?”
Marie did not answer.
A long silence passed, and just when Halter was wondering if she did fall asleep like this, he finally heard a somber reply,
“—I’ll say, even if nobody will say it, I’ll say it. I definitely won’t allow it. If I’m going to succumb to my tears here, I—I’ll becoming nothing.”
Marie did not nudge or squirm her body. Her voice was flat and calm, not showing any falter.
Halter did not do anything.
However, he silently pondered.
He knew that Marie Bell Breguet’s talent was not omnipotent.
This genius girl became the youngest Meister in history, and surely, if anyone were to be asked this, that would be the image they had of her. She was smart, and could do anything…but that was not the case.
The reason why she was a genius was because she was absolutely harsh on herself—it was too difficult to understand, so her normal talents were hailed as ‘genius’, and she was said to have the ultimate talent of them all.
She was wise.
She was tenacious.
She was kind.
In other words, she carried out her ideals through her body and mind; from Halter’s perspective, it was akin to a fanatical level of faith.
An ordinary person would give up at a dead end, but for this girl, it would be the best starting point for her to get riled up; her engines would run to the point of accelerating past the limit, a destructive will to improve.
She had an indomitable spirit of self-denial, of being harsh to others, but harsher to herself.
—That was the basis of Marie Bell Breguet.
That was why this girl would not crumble. For she knew that if she did, she would become one of those useless untitled individuals. That was what she was most terrified of, and thus why she could not pamper herself. She decided that she was to live this way, and thus, it was understandable why she would become Marie Bell Breguet.
If she were to compromise—it would mean death for her.
Halter let out a deep sigh, and shook his head,
“Alright—where are you going to start a ruckus once you get up? Let’s think about it first, talk it out even if we don’t have recommendations.”
“…You understand very well that I have no intention of giving up.”
Yeah. Halter nodded.
Marie’s soft voice was filled with a dangerous atmosphere as she continued,
“I want to take down the leader. We’re gunning for that head of his.”
● ● ●
“—Damn it!!”
Morikatsu Muroi dialed the communicator in annoyance.
He was the Prefectural governor of Grid Mie. Having finished all the arranged public duties on this night, he hurriedly finished dinner with his family in a hurry, and locked himself in the study.
Normally, it would be a habit of his to enjoy a late drink with his massive wife, but on this night alone, he did not have such a luxury.
Ever since he took up the role of Prefectural governor, days passed by like warm water. He simply had to settle his daily routine work. It was an ordinary, boring job that would make anyone unenthusiastic.
He however was satisfied with this. He did have his own ideals burning back when he was young, but having become a middle-aged man, and now entering his late years he could only laugh bitterly at his old childish naivete.
In the end, he was simply a cog that could be replaced in society; on the other hand, it was a must.
He simply continued to work, get his pay, scolded his daughter a little, but got hated in turn, and also chided by his wife.
—This is fine enough. He thought.
He did not need anything like change. The outcome was that anyone who searched for such a thing did not get it.
And because of this, what happened on this day should not happen.
It seemed there were intruders at the bottom level of the city. That was the most classified area, and furthermore, the report was that the culprits escaped.
Once he received the report in the morning, he showed anger, a rarity at that. He was still feeling displeased when he had diner, and that caused his wife and daughter to feel displeased too.
…He would have to apologize to them later.
He wondered exactly how he would get back on his wife’s good side for some time as he spun the dial.
Soon after, he was on the line,
“—It’s me.”
“—”
“…Eh, it’s about this morning. What exactly is the outcome? You did say before that its secrecy’s completely assured.”
“—”“That’s not it. As long as we see no evil and hear no evil here anything here, your lives and ours will not be threatened. Didn’t we make such a deal here? Are you renegading on what we agreed on?”
“—”
“Threaten? I hope you’re ot joking here. Didn’t I ask you guys already? Please don’t betray us now. Yes, yes, I’ll try to investigate what happened on your side, but hatred and ideals alone aren’t going to feed you.”
“—”
“Alright, please hurry and give us a conclusion here. It has been 30 years since then. It can’t be helped that things are a little slow, but even so, we shouldn’t finish this off like this—this goes for both of us.”
After sa
ying this, the line was cut.
Muroi took a deep sigh, and put the receiver back.
He wiped his forehead that was seeping out sweat before he knew it, and slumped into the study’s chair
…30 years.
Muroi recalled the days that had passed, and sighed bitterly.
Till that point, his work revolved around nothing but Mie, and it had always been going on well. Even though they might be some major, minor troubles, he was able to handle them all.
It was not an impressive job. It was simply a job where he ignored the dangers near him, or the bomb that may blow up along with Mie itself one day.
But the now interrupted daily life was an unbearable theme for him.
Whether it was the intruders who brought him much pain in the gut, or ‘those guys’ who allowed them in so easily.
To him, all of these incidents were what he could not endure.
Why, why would every single person not keep their mouths shut and keep quiet?
“…Shit.”
To drown his bitter, awful feeling, Muroi wanted to gulp down some strong alcohol. He gulped down some Whiskey, and wondered if it was time to turn in for the night.
He simply had to apologize to his wife the following day.
He rubbed his temples, trying to relax, and stood up.
At that moment.
The collar of his shirt was grabbed, and he was dragged back to the chair.
His heart raced.
There was a soft cloth stuffed into his mouth just when he was able to shriek. He continued to squirm desperately, but his body had something wrapped around it; duct tape. The sticky, sturdy tape tied Muroi firmly to the chair.
During this time, the captors remained speechless. However, he understood what they were trying to convey.
—Quiet.
—Or else.
Unable to fight back against such violent wills, cold sweat trickled down him.
It was not a prank. There were some people with malicious intents who invaded his study.
For a while, he was unable to believe that fact.
This was the official residence entrusted to the Prefectural governor.
It was not some classified facility, but there were often security guards(or rather, invigilators) stationed here. It was not a place that could be easily entered. Muroi himself did not notice anyone enter this room at all from the moment he entered the room till the phone call ended.
The reality however was that he was tied up.
He was wrapped from shoulders to feet in rounds, and the culprit who overpowered him slowly approached him from the front.
It was a tall man, a hulking man dressed in black, rubber suit, giving an overwhelming presence of one who dealt with violent situations.
The man hissed,
“We’re going to take out that thing stuffing your mouth now. If you want your limbs intact, don’t say anything unnecessary.”
Muroi’s shoulders shivered, and he nodded.
Once the cloth was taken out of his mouth, he was gasping for breath frantically.
He assumed the interrogation would begin just like this, but the man reached a hand out for the back of the chair, and spun it around nonchalantly.
“!!”
Stunned, he widened his eyes.
Right behind Morikatsu Muroi was a girl of tender age.
She was dressed in in a black rubber suit, and the slender, line-like figure was well defined. However, that itself did not give off a feeble impression.
The blond hair could still be seen in the darkness. The adamant emerald-like eyes glittered, giving off the atmosphere of boiling magma.
And so, Morikatsu Muroi recognized this girl’s face,
“Ma-Marie Bell Breguet…you’re alive!?”
Supposedly dead 3 weeks ago was the Princess of the Breguets, or a girl with a completely similar face. The baton attached at the waist swung at him without a beat.
Bam, a blunt sound could be heard.
He felt an exploding pain in his solar plexus, and let out a little moan, but it did not become a full blown groan. For the first time, he learned that to yell out loud would require him to have the opportunity to do so.
The tip of the baton easily pressed at his throat that was gasping in large breaths.
“—Who said you could talk?”
She spoke coldly with a frivolous girl’s voice.
Upon hearing uninterested sounding voice, Muroi yelled in anger,
“Y-you bastards, d-do you think things will end just like this!?”
And he got a hit from the baton as response.
Mercilessly beaten, sparks fluttered in front of his eyes.
And while Muroi was unable to voice out and nearly knocked out, the girl spoke flatly,
“We’ll just spill it out for that dull-witted brain juice to understand. I’m not making a request to you. I’m ordering you here. You and I are not equal.”
“…S-stop messing with me!”
His face utterly dyed red and black due to fury, Muroi said,
“I-I’m the Prefectural governor of Mie! I will not forgive this insolence!”
“Oh sure.”
The girl nodded, and lifted her eyes slightly as she continued,
“Go down and get the wife. I guess I’ll show you how serious I am right now here. Women are fair play too.”
“Don’t do it!”
Muroi shrieked,
“Please! Leave my wife and daughter alone! I’ll answer any question!”
“I really wish you showed such an attitude right from the beginning.”
The cold voice caused Muroi to be utterly terrified.
The emotions in the emerald eyes were inscrutable . It’s like the eyes of a praying mantis, Muroi wondered. They were sharp, and devoid of emotion, but there was an inexplicable, intense will hidden with them.
The mantis, having taken the form of a girl, continued on,
“When you speak up, answer ‘yes’. Answer all the questions truthfully, and think of it for the sake of those useless organisms like you, don’t force me to do them in one by one.”
Muroi shivered, and nodded.
This girl did not think about his own circumstances. If he showed nary a little hesitance, she might literally carry out the threat—that was the intent that was conveyed.
“Now then, let’s begin from the most basic of problems.”
The girl sat on the office desk, and folded her legs leisurely.
She asked,
“Now then, looking at your surprised reaction, I suppose you don’t know that I’m still alive, right?”
“…I-I-I thought, you’re already dead…”
“Halter, hang him.”
Ugh. Muroi’s collar was lifted by the tremendous strength, and he was left breathless.
He was hanging in the air, and he continued to struggle with his neck bearing his weight. The girl coldly told him,
“You answered me the wrong way here. You are suppose to say ‘yes’.”
Muroi’s neck was released, and he coughed profusely.
His shoulders were quivering in fear, and with tears in his eyes, he apologized,
“Y-y…yes. M-my apologies…”
“It really is difficult training to train a stupid dog here.”
The girl curled her lips, and said,
“Next question. Do you know of the weapon that’s secretly built at the lowest level of the city?”
“Yes, I do.”
“That it also is in violation of the International Treaty with regards to massive weapons?”
“Yes…I-I never heard of the specifics, but I did hear it before?”
“Oh? Nice cooperation.”
The girl raised an eyebrow, and smirked,
“So such a dangerous thing is happening right under your own feet, and you dare say that you’re not sure of the specifics? How useless are you, exactly? Do you think I’m a fool who’ll believe that!?”
“I-it’
s true! All that is for them to deal with themselves!”
“Deal? You’re not the highest authority in this Grid Mie? In that case, the conspiracy that’s plotted here should be done with you as the head.”
“I-I’m just a representative here…!”
Still panting, Muroi said,
“Right now, the Mie parliament’s the same too. We’re just running the daily routine work of the city, and we’ve agreed with them not to interfere with them.”
“Stop with that sleep talk already. You said that the ones making that weapon is just a one-sided deal on the military part, but aren’t you just letting them do what they want?”
“…Y-yes, it’s as you say.”
“Is there a reason why you have to keep your mouths shut for their sake?”
“Th-that’s…because our parliament got threatened by the ‘military’…”
“Stop with that bad lie.
With an expression below freezing point, the girl glared down at Muroi, and said,
“There is definitely no way a part of the city’s taken away because of the threat of military might. Mie—or at least the parliament you’re part of, were probably helping the military enthusiastically for a long time.”
“Th-that is.”
“What I am not certain of here, is why did you do that. At first, I thought it would be for money and power, but there are no suspicions about the parliament’s accounts. Maybe the money is going to your side. As part of the deal, you probably got something back in return. However, the books showed nothing of such sort—it really is an unnatural relationship here, huh?”
“…”
“Explain.”
Muroi remained silent, not answering.
The girl let out a sigh, and pointed her chin at the man standing behind Muroi.
“Penalty. Kill one person.”
“Stop, don’t!!!”
Muroi frantically yelled.
The man leisurely pulled a knife from his waist, and turned to ask the girl,
“Which one do I kill?”
“Which one indeed…?”
While asking this, the girl tilted her cute face, and smiled at Muroi,
“Your choice then—your wife or you daughter? Which one do you want us to kill?”
“Please, stop it, please…!”
