December smiled cheerfully, giving Logi’s hair a good stroking.
“Of course I trust you, Logi. Love ya.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Logi gloomily squirmed away, but he made no particular effort to brush December’s hand away.
Perhaps the ruckus from December’s and Logi’s voices had been heard, because the back room door opened, and a new individual emerged.
Though she had rather good looks, she had an emotionless face and a foul look in her eyes.
She had a long muffler wrapped around her neck and was wearing a thick, baggy coat. “Welcome back, December.”
The girl spoke with an inflectionless voice as she ate ice cream from a cup. December stared at the girl in surprise as she said:
“Raan! That’s my ice cream!”
“I thought it would be a shame to let it melt, so I’m eating it.”
The girl named Raan replied with no malice evident in her words. December fell to her knees as if she’d suffered a particularly devastating blow.
“Uu… My precious limited-edition seasonal flavor that I got from Lulu’s…”
“It was delicious. But I prefer caramel.” Raan tossed the empty ice cream cup into a cardboard box that was a substitute for a garbage bin.
December’s cheeks puffed up as if she were a child while she turned an envious gaze Raan’s way. However, Raan’s expression did not change.
December, at her wits’ end, sighed and said, “…Preparation for the Roses?”
“Finished. Now we wait.”
“That so? Hard work, huh?” December said flatly.
With a tone of dismay, Raan asked, “You aren’t praising me?”
“Ice cream grudges run deeper than the ocean.”
“…”
When December gave her malicious reply, Raan looked back with a neutral expression.
Even though her face almost never changed, she somehow gave off the air of a lonely, abandoned puppy.
December must not have been able to stand the sight of Raan like that, because she quickly followed up with “I’m kidding, Raan. Love ya” and hugged the girl with great force.
“Can’t…breathe.”
As she was bear-hugged, Raan uttered the words, sounding unmoved. But December did not release her. Logi ignored the horseplay between the two girls for some time, but…
“December, it’s time.”
When he abruptly spoke those words, he rose to his feet in an instant, not making a sound.
When December checked the men’s watch wrapped around her wrist, she clicked her tongue in regret and let Raan go.
“Can’t be helped. Then begin your end, Logi. Raan, rendezvous with Carly before moving.”
“And you, December?” Raan asked curtly.
December smiled and pointed at the homunculus boy as she said, “I’m Logi’s backup.”
“Don’t need any.” Logi’s reply came without a moment’s pause. He was behaving like a cheeky little brother rebelling against a meddlesome older sister.
However, December was undeterred. “I won’t interfere. I’ll just watch.”
“Then I really don’t need help.”
“Why not?!”
“Because you’ll just get in the way.”
“Logi, you meanie!”
December sulked, stomping on the ground like a little girl. Logi shook his head in exasperation.
“Do as you like.”
6
Kojou Akatsuki was sitting on the sofa in the student guidance office, facing opposite Natsuki Minamiya.
Visible right next to her was Yukina, dragged into the matter only slightly ahead of him.
Setting expensive-looking teacups on the table, Natsuki’s assistant and homunculus girl—Astarte—poured black tea, causing a high-class aroma to fill the air.
Natsuki calmly crossed her legs and opened her lace fan. As she did, Kojou glared intently at her and inquired in a low voice, “—So what’s up with these chains exactly…?”
Kojou’s arms and legs were bound with golden chains, leaving his body in a largely immobile state. When Natsuki had appeared with Yukina in tow, she’d bound Kojou’s entire body, hauling him to that room against his will.
“You’re chained up because, even though I called your name in a gentle voice, you suddenly began to run away.”
So it’s your fault, Natsuki’s tone was saying.
Yukina, rendered complicit in Natsuki’s act of despotism, could say nothing, a conflicted look coming over her as she averted her eyes from Kojou.
Kojou’s lips twisted in dissatisfaction, looking back at the pair with a sigh mixed in.
“I had Natsuki and Himeragi chasing after me. Of course I’d run! Even without knowing your reasons, whatever you want sure as hell ain’t anything good. Our little New Year’s incident should be evidence enough of that…”
“Y-you’d equate me with Ms. Minamiya…?!”
Kojou’s frank declaration wounded Yukina, whereas Natsuki feigned innocence as she sipped her black tea.
“New Year’s? Hmm, what could you possibly be referring to?” the Attack Mage said.
“Eh, if you’re fine with it, I guess I’m fine with it, too…”
When Natsuki put on a front brazen even by her standards, Kojou gave up on rebutting her any further. It was almost unthinkable composure for the culprit who’d attacked Kojou only a few short days prior. Put differently, it was as if her battle with Kojou and the others on New Year’s hadn’t been a serious effort on her part.
“More importantly, let’s get to the point. Astarte, show them the data.”
“Accepted.”
The maid-attired homunculus spread a bundle of photocopies over the table.
There were damage reports with pictures of ships that had run aground or collided with one another. One page was a summary of the others. The data was on shipping incidents occurring across the entire area surrounding Itogami Island. Astarte had apparently pieced the report together.
“This is that shipwreck incident thing from yesterday? Ships missing their stops at Itogami Island?” Kojou asked with chains still binding his arms and legs.
He’d heard about it from Rin, but seeing actual data with his own eyes made him understand the gravity of the incidents.
However, Astarte looked back at Kojou’s sober face and shook her head.
“Negative. All the incidents in this report took place prior to noon today.”
“Noon today…? You mean, just today, there’s this many?!”
This time, Kojou outright gawked as he gazed at the thick pile of paper. Yukina, too, gasped in visible astonishment.
“The total number of incidents that have been reported is twenty-one. Seven incidents of going off course from engine or electrical trouble. Four cases of collisions or running aground, two incidents of illness among the crew, and the other eight incidents—”
Astarte summarized the situation in a businesslike tone. However, even without hearing the detailed contents, the abnormal figures made it crystal clear: Mere coincidence could not account for such numbers.
“This is where the incidents took place. What do you think?”
Natsuki spread a map over the table. The X marks written in red ink indicated the locations of the various incidents. They were occurring in a seemingly random pattern within a broad range, centered on Itogami Island.
“You’re asking what I think, but…aren’t the incident locations pretty spread out?”
“Apparently. The damaged ships have no particular commonalities. They range from coast guard patrol boats to fishing boats, spread out all over the place. They’re not included in the number of incidents listed here, but several ships registered overseas and smuggling vessels have apparently been seized while adrift,” Natsuki explained, though rather bored of it all. “If someone asked me what strongly connects them, I can only muster that all the ships in the incidents were heading to Itogami Island. And unable to arrive, they
turned back for the mainland.”
“Are the ships leaving Itogami Island all right?” Kojou asked, suspicious of the circumstances.
If that many incidents are happening, is it even possible the ships leaving Itogami Island are unscathed…? he thought, mystified.
“No damage. The same applies to aircraft. Thanks to that, the island’s harbor and airports have been emptied. Traffic has only been going one way, after all.”
“So that’s what’s been going on…”
Kojou’s voice quivered as the gravity of the situation sank in.
If incidents were occurring to only the ships and aircraft approaching Itogami Island, this was clearly a man-made attack. The culprits’ objective was probably to isolate Itogami Island by cutting off its shipping routes.
As an artificial isle, Itogami Island relied on shipments from the mainland for most of its necessities for everyday life. Should those supply lines be cut, the continued existence of the Demon Sanctuary was in jeopardy.
“Ms. Minamiya, I now understand just why you bound senpai.”
“Do you now?” said Natsuki, raising an eyebrow.
“You suspected this abnormality might be his doing, did you not?”
“Mm, precisely.”
“…What? My fault? How’d it turn into that?”
Kojou gazed at Natsuki incredulously. Even if she hadn’t done it out of pure spite, that didn’t mean he acknowledged her reason for binding him in the golden chains.
“What do I get out of shooing away every ship that gets close to Itogami Island?”
“I bound you so I could get to the bottom of that.”
“This is an illegal interrogation!! I have rights, you know!!”
“However, the possibility that these incidents were caused by a sorcerous barrier is high,” Yukina cut in, tone grave.
“Well, I suppose you’re right about that,” Kojou conceded.
If it were only one or two ships that were damaged, the incidents might have been caused by sabotage. However, there were simply too many incidents to account for. It was far easier to believe that some curse was affecting only the ships and aircraft headed to Itogami Island, or that someone had deployed a barrier that attacked anything that threatened to breach it.
In that case, the problem was the effective range of the barrier.
The shipping incidents had taken place in seas within a radius of over a hundred kilometers, all around the water surrounding Itogami Island. The surface area was sufficient to cover the whole of the Tokyo Metropolis.
“After all, it would take something on par with a vampire primogenitor to serve as the magical source for a barrier covering such a range. I thought I’d capture you, and that would be that, but unfortunately, my hopes have been dashed.”
“This has become rather troublesome, yes.”
Natsuki and Yukina glanced sidelong at Kojou as they sighed in apparent dejection.
Kojou appeared deeply uncomfortable as he glared at the pair. “Why are you so disappointed I’m innocent…?! For that matter, you don’t need these chains anymore, so take them off already!”
“All right. For the sake of argument, if Kojou Akatsuki is not the cause—”
“I told you already, it’s not me!”
Natsuki ignored Kojou’s annoyed utterance as she shifted her gaze toward Yukina.
“I would like to hear your opinion as part of the Lion King Agency, as a specialist in sorcerous terrorism countermeasures. Does any ritual to deploy a barrier on this scale come to mind?”
“I am uncertain…but if I was to speak of possibilities, feng shui, perhaps?”
Yukina thought for a while before responding in a halting manner. Natsuki immediately froze, almost as if the wind had been knocked out of her lungs.
“Feng shui, you say? I see, Qimen Dunjia…!”
“Yes.”
“Qimen…?”
Kojou wore a dubious expression as he watched Natsuki remain unnerved.
“Isn’t feng shui mostly for divination? You place things in certain spots, change the color of your purse to gain greater prosperity, that thing…? What does that have to do with this incident?”
Even Kojou, someone with little interest in ritual spellcraft, had heard of feng shui. In the first place, there was a famous line of Demon Sanctuary products sold at airport kiosks relating to it, and there were even smartphone apps in circulation.
“No… The methodology underlying feng shui is used not just for divination but also for large-scale spellcraft.”
In place of Natsuki, who maintained her silence, it was Yukina who replied: “Among them, tactical qimen is of particular use as a method of warfare—a large-scale military ritual governing the weather, a matter of life and death for troops everywhere.”
“Military ritual…?”
“Yes. Climate conditions, battlefield terrain, and the morale and physical condition of the soldiers are crucial tactical elements. Even today, military organizations around the world are conducting large-scale research into freely manipulating these via feng shui.”
“Seriously…?”
Yukina’s explanation threw Kojou into confusion. If feng shui had that level of power, certainly it was possible that it had caused these shipping incidents. He could understand the logic of military organizations researching it, too.
If such a ritual was being employed against Itogami Island, however, didn’t that mean Itogami Island was under military attack?
“I see. Making use of the dragon lines flowing in the nearby seas, it is not impossible to cover Itogami Island in an Eight Trigrams Formation, is it?” Natsuki said as she placed her now-empty teacup upon the table.
Yukina gave a vague nod. “Yes. However, I do not know whether a caster capable of controlling such a large-scale circle without anyone noticing it even exi—”
“Tartarus Lapse,” Natsuki interrupted.
“Eh?”
“I know of only one similar case. The case of the destruction of Europe’s Iroise Demon Sanctuary—one of the ringleaders was extolled as a brilliant feng shui practitioner.”
“Iroise…?”
Where’s that? Kojou wondered. It was the first he’d heard of the place.
Yukina put a finger to her temple, seemingly rummaging through her memories, when she said, “That is the incident that caused the abandonment of the Pacific Ocean Demon Sanctuary six years ago, was it not? Were the causes of that not erosion in the city’s power plant and flooding caused by a typhoon?”
“That was the story given to the public,” Natsuki responded with a slow shake of her head.
“But that is at odds with the facts. That city was destroyed by sabotage… Sabotage from Tartarus Lapse.”
“Tartarus Lapse… And they are?”
“Destroyers. They’re a wrecking crew that commits sorcerous terrorism for profit. At the very least, that is what they call themselves. Even I do not know more than that. Surely the Lion King Agency has more information about them?”
Yukina answered Natsuki’s question with silence.
Yukina, at the lowest extremity of the organization, certainly hadn’t been told anything about this Tartarus Lapse organization. Put differently, it meant even the Lion King Agency hadn’t anticipated the current situation on Itogami Island.
“But six years isn’t all that long ago, huh…?”
Kojou inclined his head as he murmured.
Even across the entire world, there weren’t many cities known as Demon Sanctuaries. One among them had been destroyed. There had to have been quite a stir at the time. And yet, Kojou didn’t know a thing about it.
“Something like that really happened? I don’t remember anything about it, though…” Suspicion was thick in his voice.
“Of course not,” Natsuki said. “The government of Japan included, various international organizations desperately covered it up.”
“Covered it up?”
“A tiny, no-name-worth-mentioning crimina
l organization had destroyed an entire city. If information like that leaked, it would have set off a worldwide panic… Particularly in fellow Demon Sanctuaries.”
“So they put out disinformation…? They can really pull that off?”
Kojou had a grave look in his eyes. Erasing the fact that an entire city had been destroyed—if that was possible, he felt like he wouldn’t be able to believe a single word of publicly announced information again.
A city had been destroyed, and all news about it had been swept under the rug without people having any chance to learn the truth. Furthermore, the criminals that had caused its destruction remained at large to that day.
However, That is an exception, bespoke the look Natsuki returned Kojou’s way. She said, “That is because, very conveniently, precious few people knew the truth. Even the survivors of Iroise had little understanding of what had been done to them.”
“So someone’s hired these wreckers, and this time, they’re out to smash Itogami Island…?”
“I am merely saying it is a possibility. The method by which this Tartarus Lapse group destroyed Iroise has never been explained, you see.” Natsuki spoke in a cool, rational tone. “However, records remain of an unnaturally large number of incidents in the surrounding seas just before Iroise’s destruction. I do not need to spell out that this greatly resembles Itogami Island’s current situation.”
“Ms. Minamiya, do you know the identity of Tartarus Lapse’s feng shui practitioner?”
Perhaps Yukina sensed something from Natsuki’s manner of speech, for she posed the question without forewarning.
“Hmph,” went Natsuki.
Kojou could feel the vivid dismay from her exhale.
She continued: “Takehito Senga—he would be around forty years old by now. A world-leading employer of tactical qimen. Neustria in Europe has employed him as a military consultant in the past.”
“So if you find and capture him, you can break the Eight Trigrams Formation thingy?”
Kojou looked as if he was getting his hopes up when he checked to see. The fact that Natsuki acted like she knew this Senga guy’s past tugged at him, but he pretended not to notice.
“Logically, that would be so. Assuming this is truly Tartarus Lapse’s doing, that is.” Natsuki turned her face toward the homunculus girl waiting attentively behind her. “Astarte, contact the Island Guard. Have every surveillance network on the island look for Takehito Senga. Make it top priority.”
The Roses of Tartarus Page 4
