“Let’s eat over there,” Yuko said, and then laid down a blanket on top of a small grassy knoll.
“I put a new type of flavoring I got from a sponsor on the rice...”
“You’re pushing a lot of rice flavorings lately, aren’t you?” Hiroshi said. The two of them began to eat, but at times there was an awkwardness between them.
“The Republic is meaningless in the face of the Empire’s righteousness...!”
A group had deployed a big mana screen in the park and was broadcasting a speech. Passerby were giving it a moment’s notice before returning to their walk. Nobody was listening, but nobody was telling them to stop, either. Small groups of two or three people were chatting in a low voice. Nobody seemed to want to let people know what they were thinking.
“Want to sit somewhere else?”
“It’s gonna be the same no matter where we go.”
“The town’s not a happy place right now.”
“Yeah... not after what happened.”
“You’re acting weird too, Hiroshi! You’ve got the famous Yuri Hoshino next to you, so cheer up!” Yuko poked him in the cheek.
Hiroshi smiled, but his smile was forced.
“I’m just worried, is all.”
“Worried? Don’t worry, I’m not going to the front lines.”
“No, I’m not worried about you.”
“Huh? That’s kind of mean, isn’t it?”
“No, I just mean that even if you did go to the front lines, I’d protect you myself. I wouldn’t have to worry then.”
“Ooh, you’re so cool.” Yuko laughed. But there was still a grimness to his smile.
“So are you worried about something else, then?”
“Hmm, yeah, I suppose I am.”
“You’re so indecisive. That’s not the Hiroshi I thought was cool,” Yuko said, and cheerfully leaned her head on his shoulder. Hiroshi’s heart began to pound as her face was shockingly close to his, and he mustered up the courage to speak.
“Um... Yuko, if you were being forced to do something big you thought you couldn’t do, or something you didn’t want to do, what would you do?” He began.
The answer came faster than he expected.
“Huh? I’d refuse.”
“S-Sure, but what if the reason you didn’t want to do the thing they were telling you to do was that you really didn’t have anything that you wanted to do, but the thing that you had to do was something that was really important, and so you didn’t think it had to be you that did it...”
Hiroshi didn’t even know what he was saying anymore, but Yuko must have understood, because she cut him off.
“Oh, you mean work, right? My job is weirder than most people’s, so I understand that. They make me wear weird clothes, which I don’t like, but there’s so many staff around me that it feels like I can’t turn them down. If you refuse, they say you think you’re too good for it and want to be an artist, and you get less work, you know? If you really do want to be an artist, you can get by anyway, but that’s only if you have something you really want and are really aggressive about it.”
What Yuko was saying had nothing to do with Hiroshi’s problem, but it made a strange sort of sense to him.
“Yeah. That’s how it is. It feels like I’m being forced to fight, basically,” Hiroshi said. “But everybody around me has their own plans, and they’re trying to use me for them... That’s what it’s like.”
“From my experience, that’s...” Yuko paused for a moment and held up a finger.
“That’s?”
Hiroshi leaned forward and waited for her answer.
“That’s... something you’ll just have to give up on.”
“Huh?”
Yuko laughed, and Hiroshi didn’t know what to say. But she continued.
“It’s just like being an idol. Nobody cares about how idols feel. If they found out you’re dating a boy, your fans will panic and say they’ve been betrayed!”
“Haha... That’s true, I bet.”
“So you just have to give up. It’s not me they’re talking about, it’s Yuri Hoshino. Of course, you can’t completely separate the two, so I’ve had the same worries you have. The Yuri Hoshino everybody loves is a lot more wonderful than I am. But that just means I was unlucky.”
“Unlucky?”
“Yeah. I became Yuri Hoshino because I was unlucky. It was pure chance that what I did became popular. It was pure chance that somebody liked my face. All that matters is whether you know it was chance or not,” Yuko said, and smiled.
“Then my suit was...”
“Of course. The ultimate in random chance. So maybe somebody will take it away from you, but that’s just like me being Yuri Hoshino. Being an idol is something I’m borrowing from my friends. So if it ever gets out that I’m behaving badly, or dating somebody, they’ll take it away from me.”
“Yeah, that’s right...”
“So as long as I’m borrowing it, I’m going to use it how I want.”
“But there’s nothing I really want to do.”
“Hmm? Of course there is. You want to protect the people around you, right?” Hiroshi felt like she had seen through him to his very core, and he felt a little sad. He felt like he was a very simple person.
“Well... You’re right. I’m a boring person. There’s not much more to me.”
“That’s normal, and there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s surprisingly common for people who think like you to be given really important jobs. But there are some things that only a person like you can do.” Yuko laughed mischievously.
“What is it that only a normal person can do?”
“Bare their emotions. Everybody around you is really concerned with the country, and society, and all those big things, right? When you’re thinking about that, you’re not thinking about the feelings right in front of you. So help them remember.”
Her words made sense to him. A lot of the people around him seemed to no longer have any emotions of their own at all.
“Yeah, you’re right, actually.”
“Yeah. So be the hero that you can become. A hero who can express everyone’s feelings.”
“I see... Maybe you’re right. No, you are right. There’s still things I wanted to do,” Hiroshi said, as if talking to himself.
“Heheh. I’m glad I made you feel better. I guess all that idol work paid off,” Yuko said proudly.
Just then, an unsettling noise came from her tablet. Her expression changed. Hiroshi sensed something was wrong, and froze.
“Don’t tell me...” Yuko stared at the tablet. There was an encrypted message on it.
“It’s begun... It’s really started.”
Yuko looked at Hiroshi nervously.
“The war?” Hiroshi asked, and Yuko shook her head.
“No. Some weird guy appeared in front of the Republic’s ships and started attacking, ignoring our orders.”
“The new Demon King... Kei Sakura,” Hiroshi whispered.
“I’m sorry. I have to go.” Yuko stood up. In that instant, the light returned to Hiroshi’s eyes.
“Let’s go. I’m coming with you.”
“Huh?” Yuko looked at him. Hiroshi stood up.
“I can finally see it. The thing I need to do. And the thing I can do.” Hiroshi slapped his cheeks to wake himself up. And then he smiled at Yuko.
“You helped me realize it. Thank you, Yuko.”
Yuko blushed. It was the first time she’d seen Hiroshi look like that.
“W-Wow, it’s like, ‘Who is this boy’?”
3 - From the Sky Shall Come Terror
Akuto landed in the jungle. He was holding Keena, and groaning in pain.
“I did my best to do what she said...”
“Haha! You were pretty good at falling on those leaves,” Nonimora laughed at him.
She’d managed to land on the ground without any problems at all, by landing on one large leaf after another, letting the branches lessen the im
pact of her fall. Akuto had tried his best to copy her, but he was carrying Keena, and their combined weight had broken through the branches and sent them almost straight to the ground. If he hadn’t only just run out of mana after landing, they might’ve been badly hurt.
“You okay, Ackie?” Keena asked. Akuto took a moment to move all his limbs around before he answered.
“Looks like I’m fine. But I can tell that you can’t use mana here. It’s being absorbed by these trees.”
“Then we can’t get out, can we?” she said uneasily, “And I only have the right I brought with me.” But then, Korone came down from above. She’d arrived slower than the others, because she was using a parachute. She landed a short distance away, and then began to walk towards them through the trees, bundling the parachute up as she went.
“It seems we can’t use mana here. I’m running off my internal battery, but combat will be impossible for me. I also can’t use my tools. Like all of you, I can convert food into energy, but I won’t last two weeks.”
“That’s rough. Especially since we need to walk out of here.”
Akuto put his hand to his chin. The situation may have been more serious than he thought. But Nonimora’s voice was happy.
“Don’t worry. You can cross the whole island in a few days. And these trees were modified in the distant past,” Nonimora ran over to and climbed up a nearby tree, and then came down holding what looked like a large ball.
“This fruit is edible. It grows everywhere, so you’ll never run out. And when night comes some of the trees glow in the dark, and also give off water.”
She tossed the ball-shaped fruit to Akuto. It had a hard skin, but there was a thin line like the stitching on a soccer ball running along its almost perfectly spherical form. He lightly tugged on it, and the skin came off easily, revealing white fruit inside. He looked at Nonimora, and her face seemed to indicate that he was supposed to eat it. He ripped off a chunk. It wasn’t particularly juicy, and felt like ripping a sponge. When he tried it, it had a taste and texture somewhere between bread and yam.
“I see. It’s pure carbohydrates.”
Nonimora nodded, satisfied.
“Yup. The blessings of nature.”
“But with all the modifications you’ve done, I don’t think you can call it nature...”
Nonimora pouted, as if she was upset.
“You know what’s unnatural? The idea that what humans do isn’t nature. Buildings, Liradans, anything that’s created is natural as long as it’s working in a way that’s true to itself.” Nonimora gestured toward Korone.
“What’s unnatural is to not be true to yourself. Forcing yourself to do things. Going too far. Those are the only things that are unnatural. Taking more than you need to eat. Working when you’re tired. Hurting people who’ve surrendered, or surrendering and going on to get revenge. All those are unnatural. If you’re not living naturally you lose sight of the blessings of nature.”
“Acting natural is my specialty,” Korone said casually.
Akuto sighed, but nodded. He could accept this. And not only that, he wanted to know more. A lot more.
“Does that apply to even something like a theme park?” Nonimora nodded.
“It was made to be a fun place, and it is. So its nature means enjoying living there. A lot of people say we’re believing a lie, but what is truth? It’s instinctual to want to know what the truth is, but if you take that too far, that becomes unnatural too. Truth is just the things we can learn from science. Whenever you try to think about the truth of anything else, it causes problem somewhere.”
Akuto felt like he was being criticized. But Nonimora’s words made sense to him. She was probably saying that you needed to be a little flexible in your thinking.
“But a lot of people do believe lies,” Akuto said, and Nonimora nodded.
“But even so, if they’re living in harmony with nature, people can talk and understand each other. It’s unnatural to spend more than a day alone. Whenever there’s a problem between people on this island, it’s because they spend all their time alone, or force themselves to meet other people.”
“You’re right,” Akuto nodded. Then he heard an upset voice.
“Hey, Ackie, we need to get moving.”
It was a bit odd hearing it from Keena, but she was right. He waved a quick hand at Nonimora in apology.
“Sorry to interrupt. But we need to start moving.”
“Hmm... No matter where we are, we can just head west. Once we see a big tower, that’s the village. We can’t get lost.”
“Ackie, carry our stuff.”
Keena was standing next to a big travel bag that she’d thrown out of the plane when it was crashing. She was calling Akuto’s attention to it.
“Alright. By the way, do you have the Jeweled Branch with you?” Akuto asked. Keena took the box holding it out of her own bag, which was slung on her shoulder.
“See? It’s fine.” But as she put it back in her bag, she let out a small scream.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. A bug just flew past me.”
“A bug, huh? Hey, are there bugs here?” It seemed strange to Akuto for insects to be in an artificial jungle.
“It’s artificial, but these are living things. Of course, some insects are here to pollinate them. None attack humans though, so don’t worry.”
“I see.”
Keena picked up the bag and wrapped her arm around Akuto’s.
“Let’s go.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Akuto nodded, and Keena started to walk forward with him. But since Akuto didn’t move, Keena almost tripped forward.
“Hey, Ackie! You need to come with me!” Keena pouted.
“No, Keena, I think that way is east.”
“Huh?”
“That’s right. The direction with lots of branches growing towards it is east,” Nonimora laughed.
“Don’t worry. I have an internal compass,” Korone said, and pointed in the actual direction of west.
“Hmph. Okay, one more time...” Keena started to walk again
At times like this, Keena was always the one who was most relaxed. Even in a situation like this, she’d sing a song as she went... normally. If she was the normal Keena, that is.
“What’s wrong?” Akuto kept asking.
“Nothing,” Keena would say. But she kept clinging to his arm. Since she wasn’t flying like she usually was, it was hard to walk.
“Shouldn’t you get a little further away?” Akuto said. He wasn’t annoyed or blushing. It was just really hard to walk. Keena, however, didn’t think so.
“Hey, I don’t like it when you talk like that,” Keena said, and looked up at him like she was about to cry.
“What’s gotten into you? Jeez,” Akuto said, but didn’t comment further as they continued walking west. Eventually, they reached a point where they could see a clearly artificial tower beyond the trees. The only tall objects on the island were trees, so the large object made the perfect landmark.
“That’s the tower, right?”
“Yup. It holds the ship that goes to the stars.”
“So that’s where it is, huh? How tall is it?”
“A little under a thousand meters.”
The tower was a cylinder rising straight upwards. The whole thing glowed. It was too far to make out the details, but there was something like a shining jewel on the top.
“So even if we can see it from here, we’re still a long way away. What’s that thing on the top? The one that’s shining.”
“That’s a sign. It changes whenever the Faceless Power is used. The Faceless Power can only use its good power if used by a Good Heart. Otherwise, the Faceless Power will someday destroy the whole species. It lets us know if a good power used it.” Nonimora began climbing up a nearby tree.
“It’ll take 2 days at a slow pace to reach it from here. It’s getting late, so let’s find a tree to sleep in. Something to eat and drink too.”
Given the height of the tower, Nonimora was probably right.
“Alright,” Akuto said, and then asked, “A tree to sleep in?”
“A tree with a shining trunk. And a tree with big leaves. Bring those here,” she said, tossing a few fruits at him. They were all of different sizes, from little to big, and when he’d caught the last one, Nonimora jumped at him too, and landed right on his shoulders.
“I’m amazed you caught everything.”
“Did you think I couldn’t when you threw them? That’s a problem,” Akuto laughed.
“What kind of fruit is this?” Keena asked as she looked over her shoulder at them.
“The little ones are food. The big ones are for you to drink,” Nonimora said, and then started to run a ways off, before turning to look back at them.
“There’s a tree here with a shining trunk. Let’s rest here.”
Akuto followed her and saw a strange tree with a shining trunk. The trunk was straight like a coconut tree, and because it was glowing it looked like a flourescent light stuck into the ground.
“So these are put here so people won’t have problems if they get lost? It feels a little too convenient, honestly.”
“But it means that if too many people live here, it’ll disappear.”
“Does that mean there’s limits on how many kids you can give birth to in your village?” Akuto asked, curious, but Keena pulled his arm to cut the conversation off.
“Forget that. Let’s eat.”
Keena looked surprisingly upset, so Akuto dropped his bag to give her a place to sit, and pulled the skin off a piece of fruit for her.
“Sorry. Were you hungry?”
“That’s not it...”
Keena said, oddly upset. Akuto was starting to worry.
“If something’s bothering you, then tell me.”
“Hmph.” She frowned. And then all she said was, “It doesn’t matter.”
Akuto didn’t know how to react to that.
“...Alright, but if something comes up, tell me,” he said, as nicely as he could. Then he took the large leaves that Nonimora had rolled up and brought them over. They were the size of a futon, and he laid them out to sleep on.
Demon King Daimaou: Volume 11 Page 7
