Chapter 3-1
Chapter 3: Fog of Figment
Part 1
“You know, I always thought it was strange.”
The woman said with a carefree smile.
It was a certain day in the fall, clear enough to see straight up into the sky.
“Why is everyone so afraid of saboteurs?”
Jasmine.
She’d been born and raised among a troupe of merchants. Ever since she was little, she had visited the Acura village with her parents, where she ended up making contact with and befriending the saboteurs that lived there. Though she was well aware that saboteurs were “different” from her kind, she’d never really found the saboteur way of life all that odd.
Outside of matters pertaining to money, traveling merchants were rather magnanimous to begin with…or perhaps you could say “carefree.”
They restocked their wares by traveling to all sorts of lands, and they would sell them while on their travels. For merchants, the fact that everyone had different values and ways of life was a given. In fact, there was meaning in those individual differences…they understood very well that they were what made business possible in the first place.
Saboteurs, who were called the “artisans of the battlefield,” or even “mongrels of war,” were no exception.
To Jasmine, saboteurs were just saboteurs.
However…
“Well, ‘cause they’re strong, of course.”
Tohru, who was still young and immature at this point in time, replied a bit forcedly.
Tohru and Jasmine were sitting next to each other in an open area outside the village, conversing.
Since Jasmine had been born within a family of merchants, she had traveled to all sorts of places ever since she was young. Her stories were always entertaining. Tohru would often feel a fresh sensation of amazement at how she described her travels so nonchalantly. That was why whenever she came to visit, he would rework his training schedule to include time for casual conversations like this.
“It’s only natural to fear the strong, right?”
Tohru, who had never set foot outside the Acura village, couldn’t divulge any specifics on why saboteurs were feared. He had not yet developed a sense for common societal values. So all he understood—or thought he understood—was the simplified notion you’d expect from a child that “people were afraid of saboteurs.”
“No, that’s not it.”
Jasmine gave him a delicate smile as she shook her head.
“If it was just because they were strong…people would also fear wizards, would they not?”
“…Well, that’s…”
Tohru was at a loss for words.
Even within young Tohru’s current narrow worldview, he knew of wizards.
Their physical strength was negligible—from a saboteur’s perspective, they were on the same level as infants. However, in terms of the breadth of power they could wield, they were on a completely different level. Provided they had a large enough Gundo and plenty of fuel, it was said that a single wizard could blow an entire castle to smithereens. It was also said that with added chants and magic circles, large-scale destructive magic became even more precise.
Indeed, in terms of sheer destructive force, saboteurs weren’t even fit to lick a wizard’s boots.
Of course, in a one-on-one battle between a wizard and a saboteur, the saboteur would win almost every time.
It wouldn’t even be a contest. Once they realized their opponent was a wizard, no way would the saboteur take them head-on. They’d likely wait until the wizard started chanting, and subjugate them with melee attacks before they even had a chance to activate a single spell.
Yet…Jasmine wasn’t talking in terms of winning or losing.
It wasn’t a matter of who was strong and who was weak.
Tohru knew that…so he was confused.
Then why were saboteurs feared so?
“It’s more like…a matter of feelings.”
“Feelings?”
“Like, what’s in the heart, perhaps?”
“…What the heck?”
Tohru screwed up his face.
He didn’t get it. Just what was Jasmine trying to say?
“When it comes to achieving their goals, saboteurs will use anything and everything, right?”
Leading a human heart astray through groundless rumors. Overthrowing common sense with a well-laid scheme. Taking someone hostage. Betrayal, trickery, and the like—those methods that were particularly looked down upon and despised, methods that would make anyone in their right mind hesitate—saboteurs would use without a second thought.
“That’s what it means to be a saboteur.”
Tohru said it with pride.
That was how he’d been raised. He’d been told that that was their strength; their raison d’etre. That they were different from cavaliers and soldiers, who were bound by lip-service and keeping up appearances. And because the nations were aware of that, saboteurs never had any shortage of requests.
“But for other people, that kind of work is impossible. And it’s because it’s impossible that they’re afraid,” Jasmine said, looking up at the sky. “The saboteurs do their jobs without preamble, with nary a wince or a hint of embarrassment. That resolve within a saboteur’s heart…it’s scary. Probably.”
“Hey, what’s that for?” Tohru frowned. “Now you’re even on the bandwagon?”
The despised of the battlefield. Mere hounds of the higher-ups.
Those who would stoop to the lowest extremes to accomplish their goal. Rank-and-file pawns without an ounce of pride.
The majority of society viewed saboteurs that way. Tohru thought they were just a bunch of sore losers who were too caught up in their own appearances to realize their own strengths.
But—
“I’m not scared,” said Jasmine with a laugh.
She leaned over a bit to peek at the face of Tohru next to her. He wasn’t upset, nor was he scoffing at her. She was like an older sister trying to teach her obstinate little brother a life lesson. Not that Tohru had ever known if he even had a real older sister.
“That goes for me, and all the merchants. That’s because—we all know. We know what kind of people the Acura are.”
Jasmine said it clearly.
“We’re confident we understand you guys. We understand that you always keep your eyes on your goal, and that everything you do is for that purpose. And so we can accept both parts of you. The parts that are the same as us—and the parts that are different.”
“…”
Such concepts were too abstract for Tohru to understand. He didn’t get what she was saying at all.
Yet Jasmine continued on undeterred. Looking back on it now, it was clear that she wasn’t trying to force an understanding, but was probably thinking “even if you don’t get it now, as long as you understand someday it’s fine.” Such was her easygoing nature.
“But still, it’s probably impossible for everyone to share that sentiment. After all, even though we feel like we understand, there’s a chance we might be mistaken or even be deceived someday.”
“We’d never—”
“I know, I know. I’m just speaking hypothetically,” Jasmine said, turning to face Tohru. “In the end, ‘trust’ is just hopelessly one-sided, huh?”
“…”
One-sided. Not understanding each other. Not on the same wavelength. Not getting through to one another.
Hearing those words, he felt a deep sense of loneliness.
He didn’t understand why Jasmine would say something like that.
The sleepless night that was to follow had stuck in his memory ever since.
* * *
Feeling a slight sensation of being unable to breathe—Tohru awoke.
It was likely due to the burden on his chest.
“…Mm.”
It really wasn’t so heavy to call it a “burden,” though.
Tohru had originally been leaning against a rock wall, fast asleep. His dozing companion had leaned even further, and was now resting on top of his chest. She had likely stirred in her sleep, causing her center of gravity to shift—and thus, Tohru’s feeling of suffocation.
“…”
Lowering his gaze slightly, he saw a whorl of silver hair.
She was just as short as ever…or rather, ever since their initial meeting, he got the feeling she hadn’t grown one bit taller. Was that just her constitution, or due to some illness? The girl herself seemed more concerned by her flat chest than her height—although Tohru had no complaints in that department.
It was Chaika.
Tohru was sitting cross-legged on the ground, and fit snugly between his arms and legs, the princess of a fallen nation slumbered. She had a content look on her face, as if to say “this is my designated spot.” She looked like a cat or small puppy snuggled up in the body of its owner—even more so since it seemed she preferred cuddling the parts of Tohru that had spaces in between, like the area under his arms or between his neck and shoulders.
The two were in the middle of a colossal labyrinth.
“Ah…”
Tohru’s mind felt hazy.
Just where was this place, anyway?
“…If I remember correctly…this is…”
Tohru shook his head two, three times to get rid of the drowsiness.
As his consciousness became clearer, he felt an understanding of the situation gradually surface from the deep recesses of his memory.
“That’s right…this place is…”
They were in the middle of an old abandoned fortress.
Often, the innards of fortresses constructed during the war were designed to be labyrinthine in order to keep the enemy from invading in one fell swoop. Passages were narrow and twisted, and of course, despite being under a roof, walls were sturdily built with stone and fireproof brick so as not to be easily knocked down. They were nothing if not thorough.
What’s more, in more elaborate fortresses there were often quite a few varieties of traps, like holes designed for one-sided attacks from above from which arrows fired or boiling oil spilled. Raising his gaze at once, he spotted holes drilled in at fixed intervals even on the wall opposite the one they were leaning against.
To begin with, this was a labyrinth, not someone’s room.
It was certainly no place for a snooze.
But…
“…”
Tohru’s gaze shifted to the thing the girl was cradling.
The long, heavy and cold object was her beloved “magic staff”—her Gundo.
Though it looked old in some respects, it sure could take a beating. Not once had Tohru seen the magical device break yet. Of course, the biggest reason was likely that Chaika took great pains to disassemble and store it properly.
The Gundo—was currently in use, and was emitting a quiet, low sound.
Even if Chaika herself was asleep, her spells could continue to function with no problem.
She had called it something like…”The Defender,” if memory served? At its core, it was the same as the defensive magic other wizards from different schools of the craft used, like “Hard Shell” or “Luminous Holy Coffin.”
Up until now there had been many a time where this spell had been activated during instances where the two of them had to stop and rest, so Tohru had grown quite familiar with it. While its area of effect was small, it could sense approaching presences and intercept bladed weapons, as well as the majority of individual-class spells.
Tohru could react to killing intent even while asleep, but if an enemy were to use magic from afar, he wouldn’t be able to sense it. They were in a constant battle for their lives; or rather, they were always on the run. This was one of those spells that was indispensable for their current situation.
“Chaika.”
“…”
At the sound of her name, the silver-haired girl stirred.
She was still asleep, it seemed. Her name being called had only half-registered in her subconscious.
“Chaika.”
He called her name once more, but she did not wake. This time, she didn’t even stir.
With a silent, wry smile, Tohru took hold of her silver hair, immaculate like silk thread, and parted it to reveal the girl’s small white ear hidden underneath. Once it was exposed, he brought his lips closer and—
“CHAIKA!!”
“Fugyaa!?”
Chaika jolted like she’d been struck by lightning.
As bad as she was as getting up, there was no way a little bite on her ear and a yell directly into her eardrum wouldn’t rouse her. The moment it looked like she was about to enter convulsions from shaking so badly, she hopped straight up, like a spring-loaded mechanism.
Tohru immediately bent backwards to keep Chaika’s shoulder from smashing his jaw in.
“…Tohru.”
Chaika turned to look at him.
Her cute face was also unchanged from their first meeting—her features were perfectly arranged like a doll’s. On that face was a slightly reproachful expression as she looked down at Tohru, who was still sitting on the floor.
“Morning.” Tohru raised his hand in a greeting. “You sure slept well, huh?”
“Problem, unresolved. For a bit now,” she said, pursing her lips. “Wakeup, more considerate. Necessary.”
“‘More considerate,’ huh—isn’t it a bit late to be saying that?”
Tohru smiled bitterly.
As solid their defensive magic was, they were being pursued. It’d be problematic if they weren’t ready to wake up at any moment’s time. Yet no matter how many times Tohru called Chaika’s name or tried to shake her awake, she remained in a deep slumber. Therefore, it was only natural to employ rougher methods to wake her up—and lately, this had been the one Tohru had been using.
However, Chaika apparently had some grievances with this treatment.
“Improvement, demand!”
“Huh? Then, how would you like me to wake you up?”
“…Nn.”
Chaika folded her arms and tilted her head.
It seemed she didn’t have a specific plan for reform. For a while she stood there tilting her head to the left and then right, as if she was trying to tilt her brain along with it. But then—
“Ear, whisper. Right in front. Gently. Voice, soft, like caress…”
Suddenly adopting faraway eyes, like she was looking beyond him, Chaika began to speak.
“There’s no way that’ll wake you up, though.”
“Tohru, hasty.” Chaika thrust her index finger at him as she spoke. “Listen until end. Phase 1, over. Phase 2, commence.”
“What do you mean, ‘phase’—”
“Phase 2. Gently. Quietly. On cheek.”
Ignoring Tohru’s expression, which was becoming more and more incredulous, Chaika continued on, looking somewhat bashful.
“Absolutely necessary. Waking-up ritual.”
“‘Ritual?’ What do you specifically mean by ‘ritual’?”
“On…cheek…or maybe…directly…on lips…”
Chaika’s voice became quieter and quieter, and her porcelain-white face flushed crimson.
Furrowing his brows, Tohru tried to enquire further.
“On the cheek? Ah—I get it, you want me to bite you on the cheek instead of the ear?”
“Refuse!” she said, puffing up her cheeks instantaneously.
How could he put it…it was like her appearance wasn’t the only thing that was childish about her. With behavior like that, it was clear she hadn’t matured at all. He’d always been puzzled about how old she actually was, but due to her fuzzy memories being in disarray, apparently the girl herself didn’t even know.
“Tohru, brute. Bite fetish.”
Chaika pointed at Tohru, looking furious.
“Beastly. Frederica, bad influence.”
“Even calling me ‘beastly’, huh? All right, all right.” Tohru nodded emphatically. “Fine. No need to go that far; even I’ve got some dignity, y’know. I’ll just have to come up with a method a beast can’t imitate.”
“Mui?”
“I’ve got a needle in here.”
He took a small iron needle out of his bag and showed it to her.
“If I just slide it underneath your fingernail…”
“Refuse, super refuse, ultra refuse!!” Chaika shouted, stamping her feet.
“But I bet you would wake up in an instant.”
“Torture, not allowed!”
“Nah, it’s not actually torture if there’s no interrogation.”
“Abuse, not allowed!”
“It won’t even leave a mark,” Tohru said, but he put the needle back in the bag.
“Future prospects, looking grim.”
Chaika drooped her shoulders and heaved a sigh.
“That’s my line—” he reflexively replied, but then…
”Or maybe not, actually.”
Tohru glanced at the long black box lying on the ground beside them.
…A coffin.
Though it went without saying that it was always on Chaika’s person, it was also ”everything” to her—something that absolutely had to be in a place where she could reach and see at all times. Inside, along with her belongings, were the biggest reason for their constant pursuers: the “remains.”
They were the remains of the corpse of her father Arthur Gaz the Taboo Emperor, which had been divided up by the eight heroes.
“Mui?”
Chaika looked at him with a surprised expression.
She didn’t seem to understand the meaning behind what Tohru had muttered.
“Oh, I mean, it just kinda feels like we can see the end in sight.”
Tohru pointed to the coffin.
“…Agree.”
“Just…three more to go, huh?”
The total number of remains they’d gathered so far was—fourteen.
Originally they had been divided into eight by the eight heroes, but there were pieces among them that had been divided even further afterwards, and in the end the number had more than doubled…when all was said and done, Tohru and Chaika were after seventeen in total. What’s more, there had been more than a few times where upon obtaining a piece they’d learned it was a fake or an imitation. Perhaps there were people out there who’d developed a strange avarice for them, since they’d been divided in excess.
It had been a long journey. A very long journey.
Yet this journey to retrieve the “remains” was approaching its end.
They knew the locations of the three remaining pieces.
To be precise, they knew who had the remaining three pieces.
“Those last three are gonna be a ridiculous pain in the butt, though,” Tohru said with a sigh.
A “ridiculous pain in the butt”…there was honestly no expression that described it better.
Looking at the circumstances, it wouldn’t even be an exaggeration to say “impossible.”
Because the remaining three pieces were owned by Alberic Gillette.
Alberic had nine subordinates underneath him. Over these past several years, half of Gillette Corps’ original lineup had perished; however, a double amount of replacement personnel had been sent over. Unlike Tohru, Alberic had the backing of an agency. He could get both personnel and equipment sent over in droves.
In comparison, Tohru only had himself and Chaika.
Akari—was no longer with them.
Frederica had disappeared one day all of a sudden, and had not been seen since. She was a Feyra, after all; he’d likely been the one more at fault for attributing human logic to her actions.
Put simply, in a battle of pure combat strength it was one against five.
And as if that wasn’t enough, their opponent had the backing of an organization, and planned on using those remaining three pieces they’d beaten Tohru and Chaika to the punch to as bait to seize them. Conversely, this meant they were sure they would win, and thus had made it well-known that they already had the remaining pieces, which was an ultimatum to Tohru and Chaika saying that they were ready for them at any time.
At present, Alberic’s group were in pursuit of the two of them, so they ought to have entered this fortress as well.
They could cross paths at any time now.
In other words, it was very likely that Tohru and Chaika’s journey would end here.
“Well anyway…this is gonna be a tough opponent, so we should rest up and eat all we can. We need our bodies to be in peak condition,” Tohru muttered.
“Tohru, sleep well?” Chaika asked, looking a bit concerned.
“Yeah. I had…well, a dream that kinda took me back.”
“Dream? Took back?”
“It was a bunch of years ago. Remember when we had that fight with Alberic’s group in the“Valley of No Return” next to that town Ladimeo? It was a dream about that.”
“…”
Chaika’s expression clouded over a bit.
The “Valley of No Return” incident was always casting a dark shadow over the two of them.
Because that was when the they’d been caught up in the collapse of that cliff…and when Akari had died.
“Tohru—”
“Well, things like dreams don’t matter right now, though.”
Changing the topic a bit forcedly, Tohru stood up.
He appreciated that she was grieving for Akari, but…losing morale here wouldn’t do anyone any good.
“You know, when you think about it, this is actually in our favor.”
“Favor?”
“They went and brought all the pieces we need right to our door. If we win against Alberic’s group we can get all three in one fell swoop.”
“…Agree.”
Chaika smiled.
“Tohru.”
As if a thought suddenly came to her…Chaika leaned her Gundo against the rock wall next to them, and extended both hands toward Tohru.
Her white fingers came down on both his cheeks.
“…Nn.”
Applying strength, she pulled his head forward as if trying to carry it somewhere—no, it was more like she was trying to draw it closer to her. Making no move to resist, Tohru slightly leaned forward, letting Chaika take the lead.
Stretching over him, Chaika brought her lips on top of Tohru’s.
“…”
“…”
The intimate moment passed gradually.
After a while, Chaika removed her lips from his and gave him a small smile, her face flushed.
“Grateful. Seal—of thanks.”
“Chaika.”
He blinked, and stared at the silver-haired girl.
This was not the first time they’d shared a kiss…but every time Chaika initiated it it was so sudden, often leaving Tohru dazed afterwards. Perhaps she was still a bit bashful, considering that it always seemed to be related to their “mission” somehow. This time she’d called it a “seal of thanks.”
A wry smile appeared on his face, and he decided to ask.
“Just now, was that as my master? Or was it…”
“Both.”
Master and servant. Man and woman.
There was no doubt that both of them described the relationship Tohru and Chaika had.
Come to think of it, when had been the first time they’d locked lips?
When this journey had begun, his feelings that it was “all for Chaika’s sake” had been out of mere obligation and empathy. To the saboteur Tohru, just risking his life for that purpose was enough.
But that didn’t mean that there couldn’t be something more.
After Akari disappeared from their lives it was just the two of them, and at some point during their continuing journey—the relationship between Tohru and Chaika had naturally gained yet another facet.
Because the two had wished to close the distance between each other as much as they could.
Originally, growing closer on their journey had probably been a means to naturally quell the surging anxiety within them…but even if love had ended up blooming from that, Tohru had no complaints.
That was what he thought.
His motives became his strength.
His obligation. His empathy. And—his love.
“Now then. Let’s go—Master. It’s do-or-die from here on out.”
“Agree.”
Smiling, Chaika put the coffin on her back.
* * *
A heavy silence permeated the barrier of the defensive magic spell “The Defender.”
“…”
“…”
Astonishment and bewilderment had stolen any suitable words from the two girls’ mouths.
They could only observe the improbable scene before their widened eyes in mute disbelief. Though “The Defender” was a reliable defensive spell, it was only effective in a fixed location at a time. No matter how difficult it was to accept, all they could do was look on.
Finally…
“—Chaika,” Akari suddenly muttered. “What was that just now…?”
“…Mu?” Chaika’s brows creased as a low sound came out of her throat. “Love scene?”
“Yes. That’s exactly what it was.”
Akari nodded, somewhat stiffly.
To be precise, it wasn’t really so intimate as to warrant the name “love scene”—there hadn’t been any deep sexual exchanges between man and woman. However, no one within this small barrier currently possessed the mental fortitude to point that out.
“…I knew it.”
Akari stood up on unsteady feet, wavering as she did so, and faced Chaika proper.
“I really should’ve killed you sooner, before it got to this point…”
Fingers bent like talons, as if to communicate that she was about to grab hold of her neck, Akari took a step toward Chaika. Incidentally, she was expressionless as always, which was actually far more intimidating than any display of anger.
“Akari.”
“What?”
“Implore. Calm.”
“I’m always calm,” Akari said in a matter-of-fact tone. “I had made a very calm, very rational judgement that if I didn’t go on ahead and dispose of you, you’d end up seducing my dear brother with your wiles. But even so, he had to go on and…”
“Akari, Akari. I, right here.”
“Indeed. With you right next to me, turning you into a corpse will be a breeze. I wonder if this is some kind of divine providence.”
“That, not me. Different me.”
In the direction Chaika was pointing, past the semi-transparent bluish-white barrier, a number of stones had been assembled, creating a wall. It was a thick, sturdy refuge wall. In fortresses of old, these types of walls were often installed along paths as a defensive measure.
And within that stone wall—was a small gap.
A human body certainly couldn’t fit through it, but it was large enough to where if you got up close and peeked through you could see to the other side. Looking even further beyond, it was even possible to see the opposite wall, as well as the figures against it.
The figure of Tohru—and another Chaika.
Physical appearance. Body structure. Clothes. They were all identical.
You couldn’t see them as anything but the same person.
But—if that person next to Tohru was Chaika, then what was the Chaika within the barrier? There was no way they could be twins.
In other words…
“Hmph.”
Akari placed both hands on Chaika’s shoulders.
“I knew that from the start, of course.”
“…”
Chaika looked up at Akari with upturned eyes, like she wanted to say something.
But Akari, intercepting that gaze with that iron mask of an expression she always wore, tilted her head.
“Still, this is quite troublesome. Is this another one of that shapeshifting lizard’s tricks?”
Akari took another look through the hole in the stone wall staring at Tohru and the other Chaika.
They appeared to be conversing.
“Frederica? Mu?”
True, at the hot spring the previous day Frederica had assumed Chaika’s form with her transformation ability and attacked Tohru. For now, the only being they’d come across with the ability to replicate Chaika’s form that accurately ought to be Frederica.
But…
“No attack.”
“…It seems so.”
Frederica would likely attack the instant she saw an opening in Tohru’s defenses.
Whether or not she actually harbored any killing intent toward Tohru was up for debate, but there was at least no reason she needed to assume Chaika’s form and get cozy with him. Tohru already had his defenses down and was full of openings; there was no need for Frederica to go out of her way to create one.
No, before that—
“But what dear brother was saying earlier didn’t make sense either.”
He’d said there were only three pieces of the remains left.
He’d said that the “Valley of No Return” incident had happened years ago.
“So does that mean this ‘dear brother’ is also a fake? But then…”
It wouldn’t make sense for either of them to put on a show in a place with no audience.
To begin with, where in the world was this place anyway?
Just a bit ago, they’d encountered Gillette Corps. Then Frederica had intervened, causing the cliff to collapse. Afterwards Tohru, Akari and Chaika—and most likely
Gillette Corps as well—had fallen into the “Valley of No Return.” That was all fact.
At that point, she had activated the defensive magic spell she’d already said the chant for; in other words, “The Defender”; which she’d maintained up until now. Though Tohru had told her to prepare some offensive magic, she’d thought there might be a chance she’d get in their way, and had instead chosen this defensive spell so Tohru and Akari could at least fight freely without having to concern themselves with her.
But, she had to wonder if that had really been the right choice.
Akari, having coincidentally been right next to her, had been enveloped in the barrier, but it hadn’t reached Tohru, who was just a little ways away. Out of sheer happenstance the spell had activated at the perfect moment before Chaika and Akari hit the ground, so they were unharmed, but—
They’d then noticed that their surroundings looked nothing like any valley they knew of.
Had someone built a fortress in the depths of this valley?
But falling off a cliff and suddenly ending up indoors made no sense whatsoever. There was no way this fortress didn’t have a ceiling. Looking up above their heads, they didn’t even see any holes.
“Between this place, dear brother’s words, and that Chaika that doesn’t know her boundaries, there’s just too many things that don’t make sense. We don’t know how this labyrinth is structured, but we’ve got to get over there as soon as we can and snap him out of it.”
Akari turned to Chaika.
“Get rid of this barrier. We can’t go straight because of these walls, but if we keep moving around we might reach dear brother.”
“Nn…”
But Chaika didn’t dissolve “The Defender.” Instead she had a look on her face like she was deep in thought.
“What’s wrong, Chaika?”
“—Could be magic.”
“Magic…?”
“Illusion kind, mind control kind, many effects. Magic,” said Chaika, pointing to her Gundo. “Me and Akari. Within range of “The Defender.”
“…You mean to say the mind control magic isn’t effective on us, since we’re inside the barrier.”
“Yes.” Chaika gave a big nod. “Material, intermediary. Interfere with nerves.”
Material in a fog state could invade the human body as it was.
By coming into direct contact with the eyes, nose, throat and other mucous membranes with a high concentration of nerves, it could insert the mind control spell directly within—explained Chaika.
“But we haven’t been exposed to the mind control spell,” said Akari, pointing to the Chaika on the other side of the hole. “So why are we able to see the fake?”
“Material.”
“…You mean…that is? And that, too?”
“Probably. People. Stone walls. Ceiling. All Material.” Chaika made a circular motion with her finger as she indicated the area all around her. “Material, to begin with.”
“You mean to say this environment…this stage, scenery and characters alike, were all created with magic?”
“Yes. Possible. With large enough Gundo, and magic source.”
“…Mu.”
As one would expect, Akari’s brows creased, and she let out a groan.
“But if that is true, why would they…”
If someone just wanted to remove any intruders from their territory, there were plenty of simpler methods they could use. Simon Scania was a hero, after all. Just the authority imparted upon him by the state should be enough for him to do whatever he saw fit. There was no need to go through the trouble of using magic and creating such a grand illusion.
Or perhaps…the one behind the curtain of this gigantic fabrication wasn’t Simon Scania?
If not, there was still the question of what the wizard’s motive would be, then.
“At any rate…” In a rare occurrence, you could detect a hint of irritation in Akari’s tone as she spoke. “We can’t leave dear brother like that. Dissolve the barrier, Chaika.”
“Afflicted with mind control spell. Us two. Same as Tohru.”
“…Mu.”
If she dissolved the barrier, Chaika and Akari would also come into direct contact with the fog Material. If that happened, they couldn’t deny the possibility that they too might have their minds manipulated like Tohru.
“What if we hold our breaths…no, that won’t work.”
Akari shook her head.
No matter how fortified a saboteur’s body was, the time and distance one could go without breathing was limited.
The time and effort it would take them to dash over to Tohru’s location, pry the ensnared Tohru from the illusion either by persuasion or just knocking him out, and return to their original location with him in tow, all without breathing, was just too much.
“In the end, we can’t do anything about what we can’t see, huh?”
“Tohru. Come to us. Dissolve—for short time,” Chaika said.
If Tohru could get to them, they could dissolve “The Defender” temporarily and then reactivate it once he was within its range. It wasn’t just “The Defender”—the majority of individual-scale spells could not be maintained while moving. As long as the barrier was active on their end, Tohru couldn’t get close.
“But, the wall…”
They could see Tohru and Chaika’s figure through the hole in the wall, but the truth was the wall was separating them from each other. The chances of Tohru making his way through this labyrinthine passage over to Chaika and Akari were actually frighteningly low.
“Material.” Chaika pointed at the stone wall. “Only part, for limited time, but can disrupt control.”
“You mean to say that for a limited time, we could possibly make a part of this wall disappear?”
“Yes. This hole, tear in magic,” Chaika said, pointing to the small peephole in the wall.
In other words—the wall had been created by magic, transforming the fog permeating the valley into a solid form. Apparently the activation of Chaika’s spell “The Defender” had disrupted a part of the spell managing the behavior of the Material, which meant a part of the wall was free from its control.
Once it was free, the Material had returned to its original fog form.
Ultimately, the small portion of Material released from its control had created the tiny opening in the wall—which had appeared right next to “The Defender.”
“For best opportunity, remain on standby.”
Once Tohru got within a certain distance, she would first dispel “The Defender.”
Then, Chaika would use magic that could easily interfere with the spell controlling the material—or rather, disrupt it. This would cause the surrounding wall to temporarily vanish.
Akari would then rush in, grab Tohru and pull him over to where Chaika was, at which point she would reactivate “The Defender.”
Such was Chaika’s plan for rescuing Tohru.
“…It does make sense,” said Akari, gripping her fist tightly as she spoke. “But do you really expect me to just sit here and watch my dear brother flirt with Chaika like this until we get our chance…”
Her expression and tone were of course the same as always, but from the way her fist was shaking, it was obvious their earlier kiss had gotten Akari all kinds of riled up.
“And leaving me, his sister, behind in the lurch…”
It seemed Akari’s impression of a “sister” deviated quite a bit from normal society’s—but if someone pointed that out now they’d likely find their brains out their ears once Akari pulverized their skull with her hammer.
“My dear brother…with Chaika…doing this and that….and with such a flat-chested kid to boot…with Chaika…and before me, no less…then, there’s only one option…”
“…F, fake, remember?”
Chaika, her cheeks slightly tinged red, tried to quell Akari, who was muttering something that sounded dangerous.
Well, even though she knew the person in question was a fake, Chaika probably did have some complex feelings towards seeing a mirror image of her getting intimate with Tohru.
“For starters, why am I not present within this farce?”
“…Mui?”
“If I’d been there, I would have never let this ridiculousness come to pass,” Akari said, gripping her beloved iron hammer tightly. “Even if dear brother had to be tied up and hung from the ceiling half-dead, I would protect his chastity.”
“…”
Then wouldn’t you be completely unnecessary?-–was the common response, but Chaika was not idiotic enough to thoughtlessly give voice to that opinion.
TRANSLATOR’S NOTES
(NanoDesu) A Translation of the Hitsugi no Chaika Light Novel 