MaruMA:Volume05:Chapter6

Chapter 6

Until yesterday, he had been Lord von Christ Günter.

At least, that's what everyone had called him.

"... And what's... that... last is stored in the warehouse?"

"It is a possibility. However, it is hard to imagine that a substance that has been stored for over a thousand years can still be used properly. If they did not use an incredible storage method... No, even if the did not, I do not know whether it would be able to be used as a poison in that state."

The 'thing' that had once been Lord von Christ Günter looked down from above on two people who seemed to be acquaintances. If he remembered correctly, they were Lord von Voltaire Gwendal (the man of flawless, unparalleled cool-headedness) and his childhood friend and knitting teacher, Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina (of Shin Makoku's Three Great Witches/of Shin Makoku's Three Great Nightmares/the walking experiment enthusiast/the Mad Magicalist/the ultimate lethal woman/the Red).

Her increasing number of titles are telling a story of her awesomeness.

"If so, they may have mixed a new one from a recipe that was left behind. If that is the case then I can only say 'bravo' even if they are the enemy. Just finding the necessary ingredients would have been quite difficult. Not even a single salt-monkey testic-"

"Hey!"

"-has been sold at market for over 500 years. What?"

From his high vantage point, Lord von Christ Günter could see very clearly that Gwendal was losing his composure. Even Gwendal, who only made cold and surly expressions, would change like this according to who he was dealing with.

"You should have a bit more modesty."

"Modesty? Even entertaining the idea of such a thing that can not be used in any experiment would be a waste of time. Speaking of modesty, Günter's snow bunny is almost melted. I do not mind, but would it not be embarrassing for you men?"

Now that I think about, since when have I been taller than Gwendal? Would I pass him in rank in His Majesty’s Spec-Oc top ten ranking now? The thing that had once been Günter snickered to itself and let its gaze wander around the room. If it's melting then make it again-

"Akyaaa!"

He saw it. He had discovered his his corpse lying in a coffin of ice in the middle of the room.

On its crotch perched a disintegrating snow rabbit which looked up at him with a hateful gaze.

"Oh, it seems he has woken up."

"Akya, I, uhhhh, I died, then? My fleeting life scattered on the wind, didn't it!? Ah, but what a beautiful face in death... I would like to have shown this wonderful sight to His Majesty..."

"He seems to be having some complicated, perverse thoughts. It seems as if 'love is senile' was a phrase made just for you... Gwendal, hand me that."

Lord von Voltaire's hands, calloused from swordfighting, seized him and pulled him down from his high perch. Thinking that his soul had just been grabbed with bare hands, the thing that had once been Günter began protesting amidst his shrieks.

"Gwendal! What do you have against me!? A fragile soul that has just died might not be able to be reborn again if it is carelessly touched! Oh! You're probably just jealous of me since I intend to be united with His Majesty in the next life and you plan to put a stop to that now, right!? Ukya! Please don't put me on such a dusty table! I won't be able to stop snee- Achoo! Achoo! Aaaaaaachoo!"

"... Can you not shut him up?"

"He will not be quiet until he dies."

"I won't be quiet even if I di- achoo!"

Anissina raised her well-formed eyebrows and rummaged around in a drawer, pulling out a piece of sticky tape. She pulled the paper backing off of a long, thin piece and stuck it onto the face of the thing that had once been Günter.

"Listen carefully unless you want me to stick it on you."

Don't say that after you do it.

"Unfortunately, you are not dead. This is just a simple out of body experience. Even your body which is in suspended animation is still carrying out its biological functions so I have secured your astral body so that it will not be whisked away."

"Hmmfhh!?"

"I had a suitable vessel to contain your astral body so you are now inside that vessel."

"Ffmmhh!"

When he heard the word 'vessel,' he thought of his brain being in a pickling liquid in a glass container the size of a flower vase... That was simply too disgusting. Even if it's a cute pink color, a brain floating in a container was simply too disgusting.

Oh, what terrible luck! The grey hair that His Majesty had loved and his violet eyes had been reduced to a peach-colored mass of brain cells. Although the value of a mazoku isn't based on their outward appearance, His Majesty, that shy and late-blooming boy, had even went so far as to say 'I want to gaze into those amethyst eyes forever' and seemed to be quite fond of them (excerpt from the entry made on the second month, fourth day of Fall in 'The Diary of Swaying Feelings of Fall')... the diary in his brain was going along full steam.

"We have not pickled you. It would be unappetizing just to look at."

Hearing her words as he stood next to her, Gwendal promptly grimaced. Presumably he'd imagined a pickled schoolmaster. To clear up this terrible misunderstanding once and for all, Gwendal held a mirror in the face of the vessel that was holding the thing that had once been Günter.

"This is you."

"Hhg..."

In the brightly polished mirror, Günter saw snow-white skin, scarlet red lips like a bud just before it blooms, and shining, back-length hair. The vessel was a foreign doll in a kimono.

It was the length of an upper arm and one-third of that length was the doll's head. The bangs ended above the eyebrows in a perfectly straight line. The hair, the curved eyebrows, and the smiling, crescent-shaped eyes were all an aristocratic and elegant black. Anissina brutally ripped the tape from the mouth of the doll.

"How do you like it? 'Okiku Günter, Bride of the Maou Version.'"

"The Bride of the Maou, you say?"

What passionate words that stir the heart.

"Correct. Okiku Günter. And sleeping over there is Snow Günter. Even Lord von Voltaire, who loves small and cute things, said that Okiku Günter fits perfectly with His Majesty."

"Really?"

"... Uh."

The doll turned its head 180 degrees and locked its smiling eyes on Gwendal. At the same time, his back made some movements as if he were cold. I must be too cute.

"What a glorious masterpiece!" proclaimed Anissina. "I constructed the doll so that the object inside can perform impossible, elegant movements and various other tasks. Her jaw rattles when she talks and her hair will grow longer over time even when she left alone. She can even fire red Killer Beams with her eyes!"

Elegant?

"Better yet, this doll has mastered the art of levitation coveted throughout time by all human-type people!"

"I can fly?! How fantastic! I've got to give it a try right now!"

Okiku Günter shoved himself upwards off the worktable with all his might... and hovered.

He moved as slowly as an infant at around a finger's height high. Meanwhile, he let out dreadful noises as if a giant fly was circling in the room. Indeed, levitation was a success, though it was not quite flying.

"So, is it not wonderful? Just for today, she is priced at a only 98 gold pieces and she comes with a magnificent box as a free gift!"

"... So it's not two for the price of one," hummed Gwendal.

"Honestly, men are so greedy."

As he watched the pair who got along quite well in their own way, the person they were talking about started to become annoyed.

In spite of all this, Günter was lucky. When one fell victim to this poison, most victims could not die with dignity. Even worse, it was customary to burn the corpse, divide the ashes, and bury them separately. That was how horrific this poison was.

"Just in case, a guard was assigned to all of the members of the von Wincott family, but... we do not know where all the people who have Wincott blood are. Should a young Wincott leave the country for study and reveal his identity frivolously, he will be immediately taken advantage of," explained Anissina.

"W-what are you trying to say? Was my life targeted by one of the ten noble families? Was the tip of the arrow that hit me coated with this... this appalling Wincott Poison? The poison that leaves you controlled by the whims of your opponent even after death? The poison that even eats away at your bones?"

"That is correct. Judging by your symptoms, it is obvious. The arrowhead was coated with this absurd poison that allows only those with Wincott blood to control the victim. In the past, do you have any idea how much society had fun wi- were troubled by the victims afflicted with this poison by criminals who delighted in the act?"

Like a zombie that drank too much at a bar and secluded itself in the bathroom and then proceeded to vomit up its internal organs. Or like a zombie that's running away from starving, wild dogs with huge chunks missing out of its body. All of the imprudent members of the household would use the poison specifically to scare others.

The doll's jaw popped off with a clack.

"B-but why would anyone want to control me?... That being said, I am glad that I was able to protect His Majesty. If something had happened to him.... Huh!? His Majesty! Where is His Majesty!?"

Okiku Günter would have no way of knowing that Yuuri himself was posing as a descendant of the Wincotts.

---

Lord von Bielefeld just stood in silence before the mountain of mud.

Even the motions of the soldiers, who had spent the entire night performing the search operation, had become sluggish from exhaustion.

They had not been able to recover the smallest object that could be matched to the missing persons, neither from the space behind the church nor the territory on the slope affected by the avalanche. There was still only the presumed left arm of Lord Weller that had been found at the beginning. They hadn't gotten a single step further.

"... There should at least be that magic stone."

If they'd been caught in the landslide from the rain weakening the earth, their bodies would have surfaced by now after all this digging.

Even if the explosion had ripped them apart, the blue magic stone at least should have been there. As for the second brother, there were parts from his sword, his lapel pin, and his soldier's boots and such, that would have been left over even after being burned.

If still nothing had been found even after though every stone had been turned over twice, one could assume that the possibility that they had both survived was high.

"Hey!" At Wolfram's call, the mud-covered soldiers slowly lifted their heads. "When the reinforcements get here, have them take your place. Rest until then."

"But Your Excellency... don't we need to work as fast as possible...?"

"No. It doesn't look like it will rain for a while. The work won't be affected if you rest until noon. Morgan, has there been any news from the castle?"

"No, not since we learned that His Excellency Günter had regained consciousness. There was... something about a Snow Günter and an Okiku Günter."

"... Did... did he shed his skin or something?"

If so, it would be the historical birth of a new species.

"Whatever. I'm leaving this place to you. I'll head back to the castle and sort out the information."

"Yes, sir. But, um, Your Excellency?"

"What is it?"

The soldier couldn't hide his concern from Wolfram, who was quickly getting up on his horse.

"Please take an escort with you for your protection rather than going alone. There might still be some of them nearby."

"So you think that if I foolishly walk around by myself with a dumb look on my face, I might be attacked?"

"The danger exists."

"All the more reason for me to ride alone. It's the fastest way to find out what country the enemy is from and where we need to strike."

As Wolfram rode away in a manly way completely unlike a spoiled prince, some of the men cheered him on.

They were the ones who bet on Wolfram in His Majesty's Spec-Oc.

---

Although more riders were going in and out than usual, an air of peace lay over Blood Pledge Castle.

The people could not be allowed to discover that an assassination attempt had been made on the king's life, and that even now it was unknown if he was dead or alive. It was easy for unease to spread to the civilians in this area under direct control of the king where the town lay right at the foot of the castle. There was no such thing as being too careful.

After riding so slowly through the city he became impatient, Wolfram increased his pace as he neared the castle. He passed the castle gate and turned his horse towards the foothills of the mountains in the north. Spring was on its way, and a delicate green began to line the path.

Wolfram had been constantly comforting his horse that had hung its head, but from this midpoint on he would have to walk. Silently, Lord von Bielefeld Wolfram tackled the incline that was slightly easier to walk on than before.

Fires burned day and night in the Temple of Shinou and without permission from the priestesses, entrance was forbidden to men. There was even a female soldier standing straight-backed guarding the entryway that was around six times taller than her.

"Lord von Bielefeld Wolfram! What is the reason for your- Your Excellency!?"

"I have a question for the priestesses. I'm coming in."

"Please wait, Your Excellency! No matter how high in rank, you can't enter without an invitation from Shinou and his priestess."

"This is an emergency."

"Your Excellency!"

Shaking off the guard, he forced his way into the building. His quick steps echoed off of the tall ceiling and the reflection of his blonde hair on the polished black floor was wavering. He had visited this place a few times before following proper procedure, but this was the first time he'd walked in alone as if he owned the place.

In the wide hallway, there were young girls watching the intruder from afar and whispering to each other. Most of them were still in training to become priestesses and they wore their hair at the customary hip length.

"Your Excellency! Your Excellency Wolfram!"

When he turned around at having his name called, he saw a young woman coming after him with slightly flushed, pale cheeks and carrying a bowl of fruit. It was Lord von Christ Günter's adopted daughter and the leading military medic in the country. Unlike how she usually was, she had her hair done up and was not wearing her unfashionable military uniform. Her green eyes darkened with concern as she gently reprimanded the acquaintance she'd known since childhood.

"What happened? Men aren't allowed to enter the temple without permission and an escort."

"I'm in a hurry. But what about you, Gisela? Judging by your clothes you're off duty."

"Ah, yes. I had to offer a prayer of gratitude for saving my father's life and I thought I would also pray for the safety of His Majesty and Conrad... I mean, His Excellency Conrart."

"I see. Ah, I heard that Günter shed his skin. Congratulations."

"Sh-shed his skin? I don't think he has. But thank you anyway. He's currently going through some training to get used to his new form."

"What did he become after he shed his skin? A butterfly? A crab? Some sort of reptile?"

Gisela imagined her adopted father's new face and decided it was something even stranger.

"He's human-shaped... but Your Excellency, aren't you a bit prejudiced against my adopted father? Normally people wouldn't think that someone would shed their skin, would they?"

"Is it okay for you to not be caring for him as his daughter?"

"Lady Anissina chased me away. It seems like he's being made into good research material."

Even though a lady was walking next to him, Wolfram did not even slow his pace. It was for reasons like this that he never quite ended up the object of anyone's romantic affections. Gisela herself was not looking to be treated as a woman, so in the end they ended up walking shoulder to shoulder at a brisk military pace.

The deeper into the Temple they pressed, the higher the rank of the priestesses they came across. There were several young girls at the sides of the hallways and behind doorways hanging their heads glumly. Normally, they'd be at the age where they'd be running around yelling and having fun. It was an odd sight to see all their spirits beaten down at once.

"... It seems to have hit them very hard that they lost track of His Majesty... Yes, that much would be obvious, but... I can't believe they would be like this after knowing how they are normally," said Gisela.

"It's because they're just rude."

You're the last person to be saying that.

Just before the entrance to the inner sanctum, a female soldier barred his way again. Behind this door lived Ulrike, the highest and oldest of the priestesses; the receiver and herald of the venerable word of Shinou.

"The Oracle Priestess receives no one."

"I said it was an emergency!"

The guard's expression did not change. Perhaps because she was devoted to her work, she did not back down an inch even while faced with Lord von Bielefeld despite the fact that she wasn't particularly built.

"What are you doing holing yourself up in your room because you botched Yuuri's return trip!? Hey, Oracle Priestess, open the door!"

"Wolfram-... Your Excellency, that's a bit rude," Gisela commented.

"Do you want money? I can't meet you unless I have a donation!? If so, I've brought some. Name your price!"

"Your Excellency! That's a shameful sacrilege against the priestesses! Lady Ulrike, if you don't answer him soon, he might break down the door~. In a way, he is His Majesty's fiance so he may become consumed with rage and explode."

"In a way? What do you mean 'in a way!?'"

"Shh! It's alright, just keep yelling, Your Excellency."

That was his intention anyway so Wolfram let his pent-up feelings loose in a powerful explosion. His threats during that explosion were so incredibly intimidating that even the guard looked down at the floor.

"So what's it going to be, Oracle Priestess? Are you still not going to take responsibility!? Then I'll to break down this door here and now! But who knows what will happen if I use magic right here in the Temple of Shinou!"

When the verbal abuse stopped for a moment, Gisela pushed aside Wolfram, who was breathing so hard his shoulders were moving with each breath, and called out in a kind voice.

"Lady Ulrike, if you leave it to me, I will contain His Excellency Wolfram's anger. So please open this door and listen to what he has to say. Otherwise, this raging man will not be satisfied. I will take full responsibility for your protection. I won't let him lay even a single finger on you."

The stone double doors opened a fraction and through the gap, silver hair was visible. It was Ulrike.

"... Really?"

"Yes, of course." Gisela bowed slowly to the highest priestess. "After all, it's the first time that you, Lady Ulrike, have failed while performing a return trip, isn't that right?"

"I didn't fail!"

"Oh no, of course not. You certainly did not fail. This is all because some unknown person got in the way."

"... That's right. An unknown person got in our way. We did our best to lead His Majesty back to the other world, but we were attacked by an evil power that countered our magic."

The priestess moved back into the room so Wolfram and Gisela pushed open the door. Her shining silver hair reaching all the way down to drag on the polished floor, Shinou's priestess sat down with a sigh. Seeing Ulrike hit rock bottom wasn't an everyday occurrence.

"This time, we didn't call for His Majesty."

"I heard that too," said Wolfram.

"Nevertheless, it so happened that His Majesty's soul was brought into our world through the power of an unknown entity. As if that weren't enough, we weren't even able to send him back unharmed and now we have lost track of him entirely... As the Oracle Priestess, never have I suffered such dishonor... such a disgrace since my birth 800 years ago."

Even amongst the long-lived mazoku, someone living that long is rare. It's like she's looked on the world as an old tree or a geological formation of some kind. A kabuto beetle bought when she was born would have fossilized by now.

"You're an 800 year old with excellent skin," observed Wolfram.

"But Lady Ulrike, how did the priestesses know that His Majesty was on his way to us?"

For a brief moment, she regained a bit of her confidence and smiled haughtily, but she immediately remembered the current situation and her gaze sank back down again.

"With the power that of the mighty Shinou, we are capable of determining the location of the souls of the Maous of the past. This sight is not intended for the eyes of ordinary people, but..."

Wolfram was offended by being considered an 'ordinary person,' but nothing would get accomplished if he started an argument at this moment. Ulrike approached the wall with small steps and threw back the ceiling-high curtain with a deft movement.

A milky sphere hovered over an obsidian pedestal. It was cloudy and unclear like the inner skin of an egg. It was large enough to be lifted it with both arms, but touching it seemed out of the question since it looked like it would disappear.

"Look, do you see the golden star here?" asked the priestess.

Like an actual map of the heavens, a number of stars twinkled inside the sphere. Four of them stood comparatively close together while the rest were spread farther apart. The golden star that the priestess gestured to was shining in a place farther away from the rest, but shine the brightest out of all of them.

“This is your mother and the soul of the previous Maou, Lady von Spitzberg Cäcilie.”

... It looked full of life.

"It hasn't been very long since she retired so she probably still has the power of a Maou left," Gisela said.

"I don't think that's the only reason..."

Next, Ulrike pointed to the weakest of the four bright points that were close together, a faint golden dot.

"And this flickering light is proof that the power of the previous, previous... previous king is on the verge of disappearing. This area is the Radford region. In the near future, His Majesty Bertrand will lose his immense powers as Maou completely and lead a quiet life in retirement."

"You can even pinpoint their whereabouts?!" Gisela exclaimed.

"Inside the Kingdom's borders, yes. On human territory, not even I can determine their location, unfortunately. Take, for example, this golden light of Lady Cherie. Although I can tell that she is without a doubt in good health, I don't know where she is at this time since she is far away from the kingdom. That lady is always travelling about energetically- oh!"

For a fleeting moment, new star flashed right next to the golden one. It had a strong blue-white luster, but its shape was more oblong than the others.

"What was that?" asked Wolfram.

"... I don't know. It was abnormally strong and unstable... and atrocious. It was erratic... maybe-"

"It's Yuuri!"

Wolfram remembered feeling Yuuri's magic near the internment camp. It was atrocious and dreadful and undulated with extreme irregularity.

It was very similar.

"It's true that His Majesty's star always has an incessant flicker, but this is slightly abnormal. Oh, look! There is it again!"

"Whether it's abnormal or normal, that’s Yuuri. Thank goodness, he's alive! He's alive, right!?" Wolfram pressed the flat of his hand to his forehead to stave off the stabbing pain spreading through his sinuses. He held back his tears. "But where is this? Do you know the location?"

"If I believe your words, then His Majesty really was still in this world. Ah, but that is not our mazoku territory so I cannot determine his current location."

"What did you say? You’re 800 years old and you can't even do that!?"

The girl bit her lip sharply.

That's bad.

"... I, I don't have to take that from some 80 year old!"

Sensing that Ulrike could break out in tears at any moment, Gisela immediately changed her attitude and started lecturing him like an honors student.

"Your Excellency, that wasn't very adult of you. How can you act like that towards such a young girl."

"Young? She's 800 years old!"

The 82 year old pretty boy looked taken aback.

"Girls are still girls at any age! Right, Lady Ulrike? Really, it's always the same with you men."

She sounded a bit like Anissina.

In the face of the eldest priestess nodding tearfully in the arms of the master military medic, Wolfram's shoulders fell dejectedly. Utter defeat. To think that I, who have even been called Spoiled Little Prince, would be defeated in this lightning fast game of coping mechanism tag.

In short, was it like this? Shinou's Oracle priestess, Ulrike, was not a young girl with an old soul unlike her outward appearance, but an old woman whose mind and appearance were that of a young girl? This lie was kind of ridiculous.

"Fine, whatever. At least we know he's alive. I'll find out where he is by myself somehow. Oh, it lit up again."

Right next to Her Previous Majesty Cecilie, an oblong star had appeared again. Rather than saying it was oblong, it looked more like a comet dragging a tail along behind it. Compared to the golden light of Lady Cherie, it really was flickering and unstable.

"My mother's magic is more stable- wait a minute, if both of those stars are so close together, could that mean..."

"You can say that, but that doesn't mean that they are together! They may look close in there, but they might be entire cities away from each other!"

Shinou's priestess had labeled Wolfram as her enemy so she was just making excuses in a tearful voice, but Wolfram didn't care about that anymore.

"As long as they’re only one or two cities apart from each other, it's no problem. It'll be enough if we can isolate an approximate location and do a thorough investigation of that area. Going by the placement of these stars, Yuuri must be near to Her Previous Majesty. If the range is small, then they might be in the same country, and if large, the same continent. And right now, Mother's location is..."

Lady Cherie made no distinction between mazoku and humans while on her journey of free love. The man she'd taken into the circle of her favorites about six months ago was a wealthy man from a large country. He was also incredibly younger than her.

"Shimaron! She let him give her castles and ships that were all registered in Shimaron."

"Then the probability is high that His Majesty is also in that region... with him out of our reach, this isn't news to celebrate."

Gisela's voice was heavy. Her opinion had an unsaid 'of all places' attached to it.

Of all the human lands antagonistic towards the mazoku, Shimaron was the most powerful. The main country is comprised of Shou Shimaron and Dai Shimaron, but their power did not end there. In the last few decades, Shimaron had gained control of nearly all the nations on the continent through war and had expanded their territory at an astoundingly fast rate. Now they had even extended their reach to the surrounding islands, and Shimaron ruled over a quarter of the world. If you simply compared material resources, Shin Makoku would not even amount to a third of Shimaron.

And according to the most recent information, Shimaron had also taken possession of a 'box' that should never be touched. With the aid of this weapon, their combat strength would grow immeasurably. Their target, of course, was the mazoku. They have no reservations about attacking other races. However, if Shimaron did use the 'box,' the future of the entire world was uncertain.

"Shimaron of all places."

"It's better than knowing nothing," Lord von Bielefeld Wolfram said, turning on his heel and loudly stomping away in the same way he had come. Gisela, who had been comforting Ulrike, ran after him.

"What are you planning to do?"

"I will report back to Lord von Voltaire."

"And then?"

"I will wait for further orders."

"Orders?"

"Of course. Since Yuuri isn't here, the command lies with my older brother. And your adoptive father has recently shed his skin so he's can't be relied upon."

"He has not shed his skin."

In order to lighten the mood even a little bit, Gisela turned the discussion to Günter's condition and talked about the beams of light that came out of his eyes and his levitation ability, but the third son, not really in the mood to laugh, only gave dismissive responses.

When they returned to where he had tied up his horse, Wolfram finally spoke.

"I'm wondering about Yuuri's star."

"Its shape was somewhat protracted."

"Yeah. The tail of that shooting star... it was too different compared to the others. And the range of its light was large, too."

"Maybe he's not alone? Maybe His Excellency Conrart is by his side?" Gisela hesitated after saying that. "Well... I heard that his body was never found. Maybe they're together after all, even if he did lose an arm... he has a strong sense of duty, after all."

"I would rest easy if that were so. Although, I would be concerned for another reason. But thinking realistically, that's not the case. Lord Weller has no magic at all so his location can't be determined like Yuuri and Mother. The few people who are shown as stars there are all those with immense power."

"... I see... I wonder what happened to His Excellency?"

Hearing that whisper that bordered on a sigh, Wolfram came to an epiphany.

Gisela was infatuated with Lord Weller. Conrart was popular with the ladies from all over, so it wouldn't be odd for there to be a woman close to him suffering from unrequited love. Perhaps concern for him had driven Gisela to visit the Temple of Shinou with an offering.

The pretty boy's insight into matters of the heart was, after all, fairly poor.

Back to Chapter 5

Return to MA Series

Forward to Chapter 7