Fiesta for the Observers

by Gakuto Mikumo

  But there was one section that was not open to the public.

  In one corner of the museum, there stood a single, aged spear inside a glass display case. Above and below the full weapon were a variety of large spear tips. The spear had an odd design, as if two shorter spears had been rammed together to form this one.

  The display case did not list the tool’s name or its history. Secured by several stout wires, it was as if the weapon locked up in the museum had been sealed away by someone.

  A lone, youthful man looked up at that spear.

  The young man wore glasses and had a composed, intellectual air about him. He had a gray manacle around his left forearm. This proved he was the last of those that had escaped from the prison barrier.

  “…It would seem the mist has lifted.”

  As he gazed at his own reflection in the display case, the young man gently opened his mouth, almost as if he was speaking to himself.

  A high school girl in uniform emerged then, as if answering his call.

  She wore glasses of her own and carried books under one arm. These were no grimoires; they were all literary works purchased from a bookstore. The girl gave off a rather adult air and looked like an avid reader.

  The girl spoke with a faint sigh mixed in.

  “Yes. The mist phenomenon that occurred in the dead of night did not result in any casualties. The damage to the materials as a result of loss of magic is well within self-repair specifications, though no doubt the Gigafloat Management Corporation’s managers shall continue their inspections and countermeasures well into the night.”

  The young man listened to her reply with a pleasant, satisfied smile.

  “It has been a while, Shizuka.”

  “Indeed…”

  The girl looked up at the young man’s full figure, an expression coming over her that seemed somehow perturbed. She looked like an enforcer of school standards who’d found someone violating policy.

  “I thought you might come here.”

  “The museum’s ward was down, after all; normally I’d never have been able to make it in so easily… I suppose I should thank Aya Tokoyogi for that.”

  “Even though you used her knowing this would be the result,” the girl rebuked.

  The young man pretended not to hear her as he shifted his gaze back to the display case.

  “Demon-Purging Twin Spear Type Zero, Fangzahn—you were careless to leave it in the Demon Sanctuary like this.”

  “…It isn’t as if we could take it out, and it was, at any rate, a failed experiment.”

  “Certainly. In one sense, it is a weapon well suited for me.”

  Once he said this, the young man smirked. As he did so, the manacle on his left wrist emitted a metallic glimmer.

  The manacle was linked to a single broken chain. Through the spatial control of Natsuki Minamiya, warden of the prison barrier, it was connected to the prison interior even then. If Natsuki regained her magic, the prison barrier would reactivate, and the jailbreakers would be dragged back into the otherworldly prison once more.

  “It would seem Natsuki Minamiya has regained her magical power,” the girl stated.

  The young man quietly nodded and extended his hand toward the display case.

  “…Quite so. However, it is too late.”

  The black-lacquered spear on display emitted a resonant glow. That gray-white shine was the light of the Divine Oscillation Effect that nullified magical power and could rend through any barrier.

  The young man’s manacle shattered, falling to pieces on the floor.

  The wires holding the spear immobile blew away, breaking apart the display case in turn. As gravity pulled the weapon down, the young man grabbed it in midair. It looked as if the spear had flown into his hands of its own volition.

  Now armed, he gave the spear a light twirl. The gesture had dexterity to it, as if he was testing a piece of gear he was thoroughly accustomed to. Satisfied, he turned and began walking off, seemingly having lost all interest in the museum.

  “Where do you intend to go now, Meiga Itogami?” the girl asked from behind the sorcerer.

  The young man stopped where he stood, looking back in amusement.

  “Oh my—are you going to stop me, Paper Noise?”

  He said it casually, not as a taunt; the girl inclined her head in a teasing motion.

  “…I shall refrain. After all, I do not think even my power can stop you without killing you now that you wield Hell Wolf. Besides, letting you go brings no harm to the Lion King Agency.”

  The young man smiled softly, though his eyes were full of a dark light that not even his glasses could conceal.

  “I see. A wise decision, Shizuka. Well then…”

  The sight of the young man carrying the spear melted into the dawn skyline and vanished.

  As she watched him go, there was still a quiet smile evident on her beautiful lips.

  The second night of the Hollow Eve Festival fast approached.

  There were all kinds of events scheduled for the next and last day, but in practice, that night would be the main event: the big fireworks show that was the climax of the festival.

  Eight thousand fireworks would be launched into the sky. Specially crafted by alchemy from the Demon Sanctuary, these special fireworks drew significant attention from both inside the country and out.

  The stage for the show, the coast of Island East’s harbor district, was bustling with a great many dolled-up young people, including many lining the rooftops.

  It was a scene scarcely believable for those who had engaged the prison barrier escapees in deadly combat a scant twenty-four hours before.

  “She’s beautiful… Kojou Akatsuki sure brought a real babe with him…”

  “The hell…is she a model? Long legs… Thin… Big breasts…”

  “Apparently, they knew each other in middle school before he transferred… Crap, why does he have all the luck…?!”

  Sayaka, tagging along with Yukina and Kojou on their way to watch the fireworks, stuck with them all the way to the appointed meeting place. She had no idea whatsoever why she was now surrounded by a group of boys unfamiliar to her.

  “Er…ah, um…wait a…?”

  These were mostly high school boys in the same class as Kojou Akatsuki. They were grossing her out, but they were a pretty harmless bunch nonetheless. They were practically hissing like snakes at how Sayaka’s beautiful visage was now part of Kojou’s social circle.

  “Wh…what is this?! H-hey…save me, Kojou Akatsuki! Gyaaah—!”

  Sayaka’s anguished shriek made her festive mood evaporate into thin air.

  Asagi was watching from the shadow of a bronze bust, smiling wryly as she watched Sayaka so desperate for escape.

  “Keh-keh-keh…just as I planned. Well, that’s what you get for bringing a babe like that out in public to a festival with boys from our class.”

  Don’t take it personally, Kirasaka, mused Asagi to herself with a rather villainous grin.

  Motoki Yaze, dressed in casual summer clothes and watching Asagi from behind, slumped his shoulders in exasperation.

  “Whoa…I thought somethin’ was up when you suddenly said, ‘Let’s all go watch the fireworks,’ but this scheme is totally evil. You’ve fallen to the dark side, Asagi.”

  Rin Tsukishima narrowed her sparkling eyes. “Even the socially awkward Asagi has become quite resourceful, yes? Another thing we can thank Akatsuki for, perhaps?”

  “Oh, shaddup,” huffed Asagi, puffing up her cheeks.

  “How much do you think I’ve suffered this festival? I have to get at least some payback here.”

  Both of Asagi’s clenched hands were shaking as she spoke.

  Between the mysterious vanishing of magic and the unreal mistization of the man-made island, Asagi hadn’t gotten a single wink of sleep until that afternoon. Before that, she was running for her life from one of the jailbreakers. Even if I wish for at least one proper springtime-of-youth memory before
the bitter end, I probably won’t get one, she thought to herself.

  If I could have gotten Yukina Himeragi out of the picture, too, it’d be perfect—but I suppose it’s all right. It’s already time for stage two, Asagi thought as she reached for her cell phone.

  She’d already called Nagisa Akatsuki and friends to bump into Yukina. She plotted to use the opportunity to quietly whisk Kojou away and disappear into the crowd with him.

  But at that moment, Asagi’s expression froze over. A red object was making its way to her through the congestion.

  The voice of Lydianne Didier was quite loud over the external speaker.

  “Ohh, empress! How fortuitous to meet you in a place like this!”

  The four-legged tank’s armor opened, and the redheaded grade school hacker, dressed in a pilot suit that looked like a school swimsuit, poked her head out.

  As Lydianne pointed straight at her, Asagi wailed as if her voice had been turned inside out.

  “Wh…wh…what are you doing here, Tanker?!”

  Lydianne teasingly stuck out her tongue.

  “You wrote, ‘The more the merrier,’ so I didn’t think there was any problem with my joining the fray.”

  “Ahg! You, you took a peek at my e-mail?!”

  “No, no, ’twas a simple accident. It wasn’t encrypted or anything. Oopsie…”

  “Don’t oopsie me! What, you’re saying I should’ve put quantum encryption on a fireworks rally invitation?!”

  Rin and Yaze said, pitying tones mixed into their pained smiles, “…So this is what it means to be hoisted by your own petard?”

  “Ain’t it more like…what goes around comes around?”

  With a mixture of various thoughts and feelings, the festival continued into the night.

  Kojou and Yukina were walking along a side street slightly removed from the meeting place.

  Both were in street clothes, but not yukata. Sayaka wanted to get Yukina into a yukata, but that made walking around with a spear rather inconvenient, so she had declined.

  Speaking of Sayaka, they had stopped being able to hear her shrieks a short time earlier.

  Kojou uneasily glanced behind him as he muttered, “Geez, is Kirasaka gonna be all right there…?”

  Of course, Kojou didn’t think his classmates could do much to harm a Shamanic War Dancer of the Lion King Agency.

  He was more concerned that Sayaka might wipe the floor with the schoolboys out of pure annoyance.

  Yukina gave off a look much like Kojou’s and added a sigh.

  “I’d like to say she’s all right when she doesn’t push it, but she pushed it when she said she had to keep an eye on you… Sayaka’s not very good with crowds.”

  “And she’s supposed to be on her break. I feel bad for gettin’ her wrapped up in that.”

  You wouldn’t think she has so many weaknesses, sighed Kojou to himself, sympathizing with a strained smile.

  But it was a fact that she’d saved him more than once in the last several days: deadly duels with the Meyer Sisters and one of the escaped prisoners and treating Kojou’s wounds when he was on the brink of death. She’d also put in a lot of effort so that Kojou could drink her blood.

  Kojou’s face reddened as he subconsciously recalled precisely what her efforts had entailed.

  Yukina shot him a glacial gaze; it was as if she’d been peeking inside Kojou’s mind at the worst possible moment.

  “I suppose so… It seems you and she went through quite a lot last night.”

  Kojou’s breath caught at the blatant displeasure in her tone. Uh…

  He’d optimistically expected that she wouldn’t notice if he didn’t say anything, but apparently, she’d figured out that he’d tasted both Sayaka’s and Yuuma’s blood.

  “I wonder if Kirasaka really is ticked off at me… That’s more than enough to set her off…,” Kojou mumbled to himself, slightly annoyed.

  Yukina was watching the side of Kojou’s face when she blinked several times. She looked like she couldn’t believe he actually meant what he’d said.

  Yukina made a shallow sigh as if she was sympathizing with Sayaka.

  “I do not believe that is the case…but do be somewhat gentle with her, senpai.”

  The displeasure vanished from Yukina’s warmly smiling face.

  The two of them walked to a lonely corner of the harbor district, largely devoid of people.

  They were a long way from the viewing spots in the fireworks rally guidebook; with the street lighting at the absolute minimum necessary level, it wasn’t a place normal people would be in at all.

  The two slipped through spaces between piled-up shipping containers and exited onto a cliff.

  It seemed to be a place for cargo ships to weigh anchor, but Itogami Island had few freighters visiting at that time of year. Thanks to that, the view was quite splendid; the sea covered one’s entire field of vision.

  Kojou took out his cell phone to check something, feeling slightly uneasy.

  “So this was where we were supposed to meet up…?”

  Suddenly, the world was bathed in fresh light.

  At a momentary delay, a subsequent boom made Kojou’s and Yukina’s skin quiver. Fireworks. The night sky bloomed with flowers of fire.

  Yukina gazed upward, letting out a small sigh.

  “Ah…”

  Her two wide-open eyes contained a twinkle like that of an innocent child. The sky was vast; the fireworks were close. Their entire field of view was deluged by light.

  At some point, a very young girl came to stand next to them. She was small with an extravagant dress, looking much like a doll. She held her nose high, proud somehow of the stirred expressions Kojou and Yukina wore.

  “Nice and out of the way, isn’t it? I usually reserve this spot for myself, but I’m making a special exception for the two of you, just this once.”

  “Natsuki…”

  Natsuki, still looking tiny, glared at Kojou with apparent dissatisfaction.

  “Don’t call your homeroom teacher by her given name! Though I might permit you to call me Sana.”

  Kojou groaned as he knelt down, exhausted.

  “You really took a likin’ to that nickname, huh?”

  Without planning it, his gaze was now at the same height as Natsuki’s.

  Natsuki had heard they were heading out to watch the fireworks and got in touch, telling them to come to that spot. Perhaps that was her way of rewarding Kojou and Yukina for having gotten involved in the earlier incident.

  Kojou waited for a pause in the fireworks before asking, “You’re headin’ back to the prison barrier, Natsuki?”

  The prison barrier was something dreamed by its warden, Natsuki. To seal it away, she had to shut herself into another world and return to sleep once more.

  She would not be in direct contact with anyone, nor would she age; she would be all alone.

  That was the price she paid for her witch’s pact.

  Natsuki looked back at Kojou’s eyes as she spoke.

  “No need for concern. We shall meet again soon enough.”

  The Natsuki that Kojou and Yukina had seen was a magical illusion while the real Natsuki continued to sleep. No doubt they’d meet the illusion of Natsuki soon enough. They’d be able to speak with her. But they would never meet the real Natsuki again. At least, not until someone released her from the prison barrier.

  Maybe that’ll be my job as the Fourth Primogenitor, Kojou thought to himself.

  But Kojou could do nothing as he was then.

  Kojou could hide his vampiric nature and go to school like a normal boy only because Natsuki was pulling strings behind the scenes. He’d always wondered how a “mere teacher” like her could pull off something like that. But now he understood why: because she was the warden of the prison barrier. If Kojou turned into an enemy of Itogami Island, Natsuki Minamiya would stop him, not as an English teacher at Saikai Academy, but as the warden of the prison barrier—the Witch of the Void.

/>   Even the World’s Mightiest Vampire could not escape the prison ward. It was precisely because Natsuki held the power to oppose Kojou that she’d been permitted to let him run free.

  Put another way, Natsuki was the guarantor of the freedom Kojou currently enjoyed. As a teacher, she had protected Kojou, her pupil, all that time.

  That was why Kojou couldn’t just come out and say, Okay, Natsuki, quit being the warden of the prison barrier. So long as he was the one being protected, Kojou had no right to say such a thing. Not yet.

  Yes—not yet.

  Natsuki stated with her usual haughty tone, “Normal classes will resume first thing next week. Don’t you dare be late.”

  It was the normalcy of everything that let Kojou smile and reply like usual.

  “Got it, Natsuki.”

  “Don’t call me Natsuki.”

  Her tiny palm smacked the tip of Kojou’s nose, making him yelp as he fell back.

  As he tipped over, Kojou felt someone gently embrace him from behind. He thought Yukina had come to his aid, but it was not so.

  A lively-looking girl with a short bob supported Kojou’s back as she smiled. She was wearing the same outfit she had on when she’d first arrived on Itogami Island.

  Kojou glanced up at his very close friend, Yuuma Tokoyogi, with a look of surprise.

  “Yuuma…?! Are your wounds all right?!”

  Even if she had regained her Guardian, the damage to Yuuma’s mind and body was great; he’d heard she’d have to stay at a hospital for a while.

  “The Witch of…er, Ms. Minamiya gave me special, very temporary permission. You won’t be seeing me again for a while, y’see.”

  There was only a hint of loneliness in Yuuma’s smile. Even though she was a minor and had only been manipulated by her mother, she was still a high-up member of the criminal organization LCO. Even once she recovered from her injuries, she had a long police inquiry awaiting her…but—