MaruMA:Gaiden04:Chapter 7.2

He's still not coming back: Chapter 2

The sea voyage diary I started randomly, Day Five. Sunny day, the waves are calm.

We had safely left Seisakoku, and are now sitting in a simple but comfortable ship cabin, surrounding a small table with a container of liquid food as we discuss whether or not we should eat. Although there are a lot of chunks in it, it still looks like a sick person’s food no matter how you cut it.

“I am very grateful for the bed and sustenance provided to me.”

The one who won’t stop complaining isn’t me, but Murata Ken.

“But if you’re telling me to eat porridge for five days in a row, my body will only get weaker than before I was rescued—”

“Aren’t there dishes to go with it?”

“Are you talking about the lightly salted boiled vegetables, the boiled fish and shell soup, the boiled fish so soft you could swallow it without biting…? They’re all easily digestible foods, and then the main dish is porridge. Aren’t you always saying that you’re a growing sixteen-year-old, who needs plenty of nutrients?”

Standing in front of the dinner served to him, I hold out my hands helplessly,

“Cut the nonsense and just eat. I’m telling you, Murata, you’re getting off with just this because it’s me today. If the one cooking was Wolfram, he would take up a spoon and feed you directly.”

“Waa—what kind of scary newlywed game is that.”

Wolfram is the kind of guardian that would force people into things, but there’s no point saying more about that in a place like this. Murata holds up his wooden bowl and spork, saying with an expression of dissatisfaction,

“I say, Shibuya, I spent less time in a rough environment than you did. Just a few hours before I was blown into that pyramid, I was in Boston eating pie.”

Hearing that nostalgic word instantly fills my brain with a buttery dessert,

“Whoa~~ Pie, is it? That’s do nice—Apple and pineapple pie, and donuts too? Did you eat donuts?”

“I’m not like I’m a cop.”

“Although I’m jealous that you get to eat donuts, you shouldn’t eat anything too agitating with a bad digestive system, right?”

“The one with a bad digestive system is you, isn’t it--? You were just telling me about dieting, eating too much, not eating or drinking at all.”

He’s talking about my diet while in Seisakoku. I got a little hungry while drifting on the lifeboats, was welcomed on land together with Saralegui, and nearly starved in the underground tunnel. To think that after such a devastating dietary life, my body is still fine… other than losing a little bit of muscle. No, wait. I think I didn’t lose muscle, but fat. If I think of it that way, the result is actually not bad.

“I’m fine, although not eating and drinking sounds really depressing, if you think of it as ‘weekend fasting’, don’t you feel I’m even healthier than before? HEALTHY, HEALTHY!”

“You’re forcing yourself too much.”

“Besides, when I was with the equestrian tribe, they gave me food too. My organs should be perfectly healthy.”

I am fairly healthy, so there’s no need for anyone to worry about me.

As though suspecting my words, Murata raises his fork in front of his face, posing like he’s about to perform psychic abilities,

“Listen up: Even if I take a hundred steps back, I’ll follow you to the end if Shibuya is eating nothing but porridge as well. But the thing is you should be eating normal food too by now, right? I’m not in all that terrible a shape, so I can’t be the only one happily enjoying a life of fluids, now can I?”

“That’s because I’m worried about you.”

“You’re worrying about the wrong person.”

“Who else should I worry about then!?”

“Worry about yourself, why don’t you.”

“Why the heck should I worry about myself, it’s not like I…”

The topic of conversation changes abruptly from the menu we were just discussing, leaving me at a loss for words.

“Don’t you think there are other problems we should consider?”

“You mean health problems?”

“Among others.”

After mentioning it again, now I can’t avoid talking about the undecided matters that I had previously planned to ignore—such as the suffering and pain.

“And what to do with the Box?”

“There’s that, too.”

“And then…”

“About Josak.”

“…True.”

My hands grasp the cup again tightly, to make sure it won’t fall.

“We do have to think this through.”

The warm black tea has gone cold.

“As long as I ask, you’ll have a way to solve all the problems?”

“Even I can’t solve them, I can make a judgment. For all you know I have the most recent information, so just try talking about it first. That’s what ‘Please Help Me, Murata’ is for.”

Murata puts his index finger on his temple, saying,

“Because there’s this.”

It’s data, and memories across several thousand years.

I drink a mouthful of lukewarm black tea, washing down the words stuck in my throat, and at the same time knowing that I’m afraid. Although I don’t want to know about these things, I have no choice but to know—because I have a duty and responsibility to know.

“I heard you talked to Conrad and Wolfram about the Forbidden Boxes too?”

“I told them about the same things I told you, is there anything wrong with that?”

“No, nothing. Since it’s highly likely that they’re the Keys, it’s better to tell them. The truth is, Conrad… Lord Weller is the Key. If that certain someone from the von Bielefeld family is the Key for the ‘Inferno on the Tundra’ over there, it’s best if we don’t put it on this ship.”

The ‘Inferno on the Tundra’ that we got from Seisakoku isn’t here on the ‘Friends on the Sea’ ship we’re boarding, but rather it’s on the number two guardian vessel in the same fleet. If Murata’s knowledge is true, then allowing Wolfram, a member of the von Bielefeld clan, to approach the Box is a very dangerous thing.

“Once the Key reacts and releases the evil power, it could cause a great disaster.”

The tragic scene of Caloria floats into my mind. Just thinking that the same thing could happen again sends a chill down my spine.

“We sure are carrying some troublesome luggage.”

“I know, right~~”

“But we can’t inconvenience other countries, either. If we kept it in Seisakoku, and one day it was taken away by Shou Shimaron, things would get even messier.”

Murata nods his agreement, putting his spoon into the bowl. Looks like he’s finally willing to eat.

“Back then, I thought it was a second-best option that couldn’t be helped as well. Besides, that Box should be on Earth. A long, long time ago, before Japan or America were born, I… No, I should say, the ancestor of my soul risked his life to bring it there.”

“Oh~~ So that’s how it is.”

“That’s right, he took the Boxes of Fire and Water on a Star Tour. Although the story itself is not that impressive.”

“Are you saying, that the Box of Water is on Earth too!?”

“Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, and it sank in a misfire somewhere during the Second World War, so even I don’t know where it is exactly. It’s not like there’s a note on the naval maps.”

“Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean—Then it’s lost for sure. It’s like looking for a limited edition pin in the wild grassy fields.”

“Mn—That should be easy to find, right? I lost one before.”

That’s right, I once ventured out too far to grab a homerun ball. It’s embarrassing when I think back on it now, because that would only disrupt the game. But these childhood lessons can wait until I get home.

The sea, huh… I can’t help but mutter to myself.

No matter what, the Box isn’t on this ship. In order to deal with that thing, there is indeed a need to move it to another vessel. ‘Friends on the Sea’ is carrying the warriors of the ocean led by Captain Sizemore, the multitalented Dacascos, as well as Murata, me, and the leader of the search team Lord von Bielefeld Wolfram as guests. And then there’s…

“Speaking of which, how is he?”

Murata’s sudden question almost makes me spill my tea. On the other hand, he’s struggling to dig up the overcooked vegetables with his spork.

“Who…”

“Your adorable spy, of course.”

I never said I find him adorable… That sounds a bit like a child throwing a tantrum.

“You mean Josak?”

“That’s right, I mean Gurrier.”

“He’s the same as always, crouching motionlessly in a corner of the room.”

“Is he breathing?”

“I think Gisela said it’s only enough to survive, and his heartbeat is extremely slow and weak as well.”

Since something like that happened, I didn’t allow Murata and Josak to meet. Although I don’t know what they’re thinking inside, but when it comes to a meeting between the offender and the victim, both sides would first need some time.

And Murata isn’t the only one who couldn’t meet him, even I had to talk to him across a heavy door. We don’t know when he’ll strike, and we have no idea what kind of effects Adalbert’s medicine will have on Josak either. It’s all too dangerous, there’s no way they could let defenseless ol’ me meet him— Wolfram and Captain’s Sizemore’s insistences do have some truth in them.

“But even if I talk to him, there isn’t any response.”

“I thought so.”

“What does that mean? Don’t tell me you have a clue?”

My friend murmurs softly, putting his spork into the bowl,

“If you’re talking about clues, all I have is a guess… I think he’s connvinced that he’s dead.”

“Convinced… But he’s still alive, isn’t he?”

“Maybe, but did you see his legs?”

“…No.”

I couldn’t look directly at him, fallen onto the ground, so I shake my head. I always thought I’m the one who killed him.

Murata sighs heavily, and pushes his glasses up with his pointer finger,

“Most of it has been squashed flat.”

“How is that possible!? He can stand like a normal person.”

“That’s because he’s relying on Yelshi’s power, to make him move as though controlling a corpse.”

“But he’s still alive, y’know?”

“Shibuya, this is just my conjecture, but the more I think about it, the more sense it makes. The reasons he can still move even though his legs have been squashed is because he was controlled as a member of the dead. Those corpses with only bones and rotting flesh, didn’t they pick up swords to fight you guys as well? They don’t have muscles, and they couldn’t see either. This means that as long as the target is dead, they can be controlled to do anything. Once you’re convinced that you’re dead, your mind will have a terrifying influence on your physical body. Once you strongly believe you’ve been cut, you will bleed even if you never touched a blade. This kind of thing is common, stuff like stigmata is most likely because of this.”

I instinctively touch my cheek, finding the spot where there had been a nark. Maybe Adalbert’s power had healed me, because there’s no longer a scar there.

“A powerful belief can cause a wound… Then isn’t that the same principle as everything you see becoming reality?”

I briefly tell Murata about what Hazel Graves said, and my own experiences in the underground tunnel. The tea cup in my left hand is suddenly a lot heavier.

“I think that sort of places really exists, there may even be something like that on Earth. After all, there are some phenomena in this world that can be explained, and some that cannot be explained. In other words, there are situations where breathing in poisonous gasses or spores and the like influence your mind into having hallucinations, and there are also those rare few factors that could control your mind completely. But those are more like the supernatural, or curses.”

“Could it be a curse?”

“About that, well—I never walked that place myself so I don’t know. But to you and Josak, what you saw did come true. Because you guys believed, your bodies were also affected. But that didn’t happen to Saralegui, and Yelshi, who—”

Murata takes a breath, as though unsure how to describe this.

“—brought Josak out wasn’t affected either. In that case, it may have something to do with Seisakoku royalty. But as it is now, it’s an unexplainable phenomenon.”

I carefully put the cup back onto the table, covering my face with my right hand as I curse at the floor,

“Damn it, Saralegui did see. No, I should say he didn’t see.”

“Didn’t see?”

“Yeah. That guy has very good night vision, so he can see into the distance even in pitch black darkness. In actuality, there weren’t any rats or bats attacking us at all, so he must have seen nothing.”

“So that’s how it is.”

“But Josak was different, he saw.”

“He saw the boulder coming for us, and he was worried it would squash us. So he…”

He sacrificed himself to save my life—My mouth is filled with the metallic taste of blood. Although the memory isn’t very clear, but back then I did hear the sounds and feel the tremors. I even touched his blood through the cracks. To think none of that actually happened.

“Shibuya.”

I’m burning up all over, and my shoulders are shaking. Murata grips my left hand, resting beside the bowl, tightly.

“All that has past, and he’s still alive.”

“…Yeah.”

“Didn’t the expert say he is surviving?”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“In that case, as long as he doesn’t notice the contradictions, there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Contradictions?”

“Really, enough. Stop thinking about these dark things, Seisakoku is far behind us, and we’re on our way back to our country.”

He’s right. We finally got away from that place, and Josak is still alive. This isn’t the sandy yellow desert anymore, but the sea where we’re surrounded by water. I keep on repeating, “I know, it’s okay now.”

“But I still can’t believe that people used to live there.”

“There are indeed such legends. When someone in the royal family passed on, they would build a funeral procession to send the body there.”

“Because the people can’t be allowed to see a royal corpse, huh.”

“Maybe. I heard their eyesight was very poor since they were people who lived constantly underground.”

“I get it, so they weren’t affected.”

His left hand playing with the spork, Murata asks,

“Shibuya, which side was the switch on?”

“On the opposite side from the tombs, on top of the slope. That’s why he was left behind on the other side.”

“Mn. In other words, it wasn’t a switch created to keep out people from the surface, but to prevent something from underground… to block something launching an attack from the tombs.”

“Launching an attack from the tombs? What could it be?”

He frowns, his expression unhappy,

“It could be those guys.”

“You mean the corpses?”

“Mn, but instead of asking the older brother Saralegui, this may be a mystery only Yelshi can solve for us. For example, why were the underground people forced to leave? What was it attacking from the tombs? The power filling that place, is it a curse? Or could it be the souls of royalty, unable to reincarnate and with nowhere else to go?”

“But Yelshi…”

I think of Yelshi, who lost all rationality after personally witnessing his mother die twice. At the same time, I awaken the memories of that instant when I was pinned onto the Forbidden Box.

“There’s no need for you to feel guilty, he deserved it.”

“Ah, I know. But that’s not it.”

I reach my hand up to touch my forehead, the icy cold feeling from my own palm actually making me shudder despite myself.

“Speaking of which, I felt all weird—”

“Weird? What do you mean? Although I didn’t see it, don’t tell me you went into Ue-sama mode again?”

“No, it wasn’t quite the same that time. How should I put it, it’s like I became not myself? Ah—but I’m like that every time I lose control of my maryoku.”

Because I don’t remember what I said anymore, so even I can’t explain it properly.

“How should I put it to describe it better? It’s like my body became someone else’s. But my memories never broke off, so it’s different from when I was forcefully possessed, and I can’t remember what I said.”

“Wait a sec.”

“Anyway I remember that my movements were very fluid, and I was so strong even I couldn’t believe. I even took down Josak in a second barehanded, that’s totally unlike me.”

“Wait, Shibuya.”

“And it happened once in the tunnel too, I think that time, Wolf… Aaah! I remember now, I swung a blade at his stomach.”

“Did this situation happen a few times? Shibuya, there’s the problem.”

“If you ask me… Now’s the time to condemn that kind of DV.”

“Yuuri!”

Murata grabs my hands suddenly, his grip so strong that the surprise renders me speechless.

“Listen to me, this could be a very important issue.”

“What’s up with you, why are you suddenly so serious?”

“Your soul could end up like mine.”

Before I can ask him about that, Wolfram and the icy sea breeze rush into the room together without knocking,

“Yuuri! Ah, I knew you’d be here!”

“Wolf, by the way, how’s the wound on your stomach?”

“Why are you asking that all of a sudden? It healed a long time ago. I healed it myself when we left Seisakoku.”

He frowns as he looks at us. Because Murata is holding my hands, it looks like we got into some argument, and the atmosphere isn’t particularly happy either.

“What are you two doing?”

“Nothing much, I should be asking why are you in such a hurry?”

“Oh, that’s right.” Wolfram forcefully clears his throat and pretends to have regained his composure, purposely putting an expression of displeasure as he gestures outside the pitch black door with chin,

“You have a guest.”

Now I’m the one feeling nervous.

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