MaruMA:Volume10:Chapter 3
Chapter 3
There are loud and hurried footsteps coming down the wet stone stairs.
How many days has it been since there was last a soldier passing by? Usually there isn’t much light shining into this underground prison. The only thing on the mossy stone floor is a cracked bowl. There has been an unpleasant smell coming from the half-empty bowl of water for a long time now.
At the bottom of the stone steps, the castle’s lowest steel gates are creaking open and the footsteps of two people approach. One is the familiar clack of army boots, but the other one doesn’t walk like a prison guard. Both the physiques of the visitors and the materials of their heels are likely different. Maybe it’s an executioner here to deal punishment, or maybe it’s another comrade who got caught.
The man thinks so dazedly, but he remains motionless, lying on the damp stone floor with his back to the cell door. After so many interrogations and much physical violence, his body has long since fallen to the pressure. Even if there weren’t cuffs on his limbs, he wouldn't have been able to escape.
The rusty hinges make a screeching sound of metal and the door to the underground prison opens. A wavering light like a torch lights up the floor, its color changed by the perpetual moisture.
“That’s right, it’s this guy.”
Just as he's wondering at the familiarity of the voice, he's kicked viciously in the back. As he's splayed face down on the floor, groaning, this time he's kicked in the side with a boot-tip, forcing his body to face forward.
“What a bother.” A man raises the bright torch in his left hand, mumbling amusedly. “So you haven’t died, after all.”
“… A-”
The prisoner gave up on moving his lips. His voice wouldn't have come out anyway.
In his blurred vision, he can see the other party’s golden hair sparkling in the orange flames.
“Hey, you gonna pretend you don't know me and go night-night? Do you know how many crimes I had to commit to get to this lowest-level underground prison?” The tall man with the prison guard — Adalbert von Grantz — keeps speaking in a cheerful tone that doesn't match the situation. “I ate and drank without paying, vandalized the inside of the castle, and I even sold baked pastries with drinks without a license!”
How could such a petty criminal be locked together with the mastermind who disrupted the national order?
“But you sure look bad, looks like prisoners are the same in every country.”
“This man is the sinner who attempted to take King Saralegui’s life, he’s different from the other convicts.” The prison guard replies self-righteously, in a tone of unwavering determination in this truth. “But no matter how we interrogate him, he simply refuses to reveal his companion’s names.”
“Maybe your interrogation methods are too gentlemanly? How interesting, but this guy was a high-level general in the military not too long ago, right? Falling from grace happens really fast, huh.”
Adalbert bends his knees and squats down, grabbing the man's chin who was not attempting to listen to them speak. Although he’s covered in bristles now, not long ago he was very clean-shaven. Normally, this condition could never be found on a Shou Shimaron soldier.
“It’s this guy all right, I’m taking him.”
“No way, this wasn’t what we-”
The panicked prison guard is smashed against the iron bars with one sweep of the arm. After kicking the prisoner again like he was doing it just because, Adalbert speaks while lifting up the man's curled up body.
“Oh yeah, there’s something you might like to hear. Wanna hear it?”
“… Whate-”
At first he wanted to say ‘whatever’, but the other party doesn’t give him a chance to reply. This part hasn’t changed either.
“It's about the boat that the king who got away from you all is on.”
These unexpected words make his back twitch subconsciously, which then makes him moan in pain.
“It's no good. It's gonna wreck.”
“Why?!”
“Oh, you aren't happy?”
It seems like he let out a more serious voice than he thought.
Come to think of it, something like this happened before, a long time ago.
But before he can remember what the circumstances were, Nigel Weisz Maxine loses his consciousness.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※
What idiot would believe such a far-fetched thing?
Shibuya Shouri put his cellphone on his shoulder, purposely raising his voice as he spoke while the shocking truth his brother's friend told him still echoed in his mind. What he's hearing through the phone is just a time announcement.
“Hey, Sapp[1]? It’s me, it’s me!”
As expected, Murata Ken raises a complaint. He doesn't have the time to calmly shake off jokes.
“I'm not looking for that Bob. Besides, what's the point of trying to scam a robot cop with an 'It's me!' scam?” [2]
“… Hey, isn't that ROBOCOP?”
“I don’t care if it’s Robo or Boro or Mirko or Francis[3], just hurry up and connect me with Bob! I’m sure you’re really worried for your brother’s safety, right? Brother of my friend. I’m begging you, do me a favor since we’re both glasses guys.”
“Not cute at all. Now if it was some glasses girls club, that would be cute.”
Finally fed up being bothered by the fussy brat, he scrolls down the ‘Bo’ list in his contacts. Bonda Tetsuro (friend), Boston Shop (bar), Bowling King (bowling arena), Boris Akademi (exchange student).
“Bob, Bob… got it. Muraken, listen closely, if it doesn't get through then you gotta give up. If he's not in the country, my cellphone can't reach him. Even his phone can't connect with the system in Europe.”
“That's fine. I don't care so just make the call.”
“Really, children should just calmly send an email or something…”
Shouri’s grouching is abruptly cut short once he hears the dial tone. For some reason, behind the ridiculous amount of background noise, there’s a hearty American greeting. How unlucky, they actually got the guy the brat wanted.
“Hi, Shibuya! It’s been a while, why are you calling me now?”[4]
“Bob?! Where on earth are you!”
On the other end of the phone is nothing but annoying 'Woohoo' or 'Papi, Papi!' noises. Maybe it's because the phone is an old model, but all he can hear is the background sounds, even including a rhythmic drum beat.
“This voice is JUNIOR, you’re JUNIOR, right? Wo—Yee—Hoh--! I’m dancing the samba now! Sing, samba! Dance, samba!”
He’s in Brazil? Shouri grips the phone firmly again.
“Don’t call me JUNIOR, I’m not your son. Back to the point, are you in Rio? Rio de Janeiro?”
“No, Shouri, I'm in… a shopping street. Since yesterday I've been participating in the carnival in this... shopping street that was organized by the commercial and industrial association. Hayahou—! Follow the samba rhythm everyone, easy delivery[5]!”
“Are you telling me a bad joke?! And in Japanese, too. What type of activities are you handling now?”
The eldest son of the Shibuya house ‘tsks’ at the phone receiver. Having such a crazy sunglasses dude as a leader, is the world economy okay? And this old man is also the Maou of the entire world. Looks like the future of the earth isn’t so bright.
“Bob, Bob took the call? Is it the real Bob?”
Beside him, Murata’s lenses are shining as he waits. He’s as excited as though it’s his first time discovering matsutake mushrooms.
“Oh, yeah. A brat called Murata came to my place, and he wanted to find you urgently.”
“Murata? Who’s that…”
Murata grabs Shouri's phone before the American enjoying a samba carnival can search his memories. He waves at the man he can't see as he yells into the phone.
“Bob? I’m Henri. Well, honestly that's not true, but using this name makes it easier to understand, right?”
Another unfamiliar name. Shouri can’t help but frown.
“That’s right, I’m Henri Régent. But now I’m called Murata Ken. It's nice to meet you as Muraken.”
So they really hadn't met before? The introduction was in French, but everything after that is in fluent English.
He had heard that Yuu-chan’s friend here has high test scores, but he didn’t think that his English was so good, too.
“Sorry for the sudden call, Bob, but I urgently need you to let me borrow someone who can help me get to that world. If there isn’t anyone, then a thing or a place will do. Like the place where Lord Weller arrived, you needed a powerful person or something to call him to Earth, right?”
Now they're talking about a man who came to Earth from another world. There and Earth? Where is 'there'? Mars or Venus? Don't tell me it's warping to an alternate world. Don't tell me that the era of Star Trek came before the stardate began. [6]
Shouri thinks so after hearing the reason for his brother's disappearance and asks, “What? What do you mean? You’re saying that Yuu-chan didn’t travel in a spaceship or a small capsule, but physically went straight through a worm hole?”
“That’s absolutely right. And not a worm hole, the first time he was flushed down a toilet.”
“Stop joking around, if you wanna sleep talk, then wait till you’re asleep!”
“This is not sleep talk, brother of my friend.”
The brother who has lived with him for sixteen years is actually the king of a powerful country in an alternate world. And not something romantic like the heir to a long-lost royal line, but the Maou of a tribe with great powers. Something like that is really hard to believe. The only person who would unexpectedly believe this sort of fantasy story easily is someone who was not only told that their father was an Earth-born mazoku when they were a child, but was also the person being forced into being the heir of the Maou of Earth.
In other words, me.
Shouri lightly crumples a post-it note on his computer desk in his right hand. If he was his HEAVY SMOKER grandfather, by now he would have long since smoked a cigarette to calm himself down.
But he won't smoke because there's a SPORTS MAN in the family. If the second-hand smoke affected his brother's growth, he would blame himself till the day he died.
“Like I said, Bob, normally he would be back within two or three minutes. Although if you count according to that place's *beep* time, it would have been a few days. Normally he'd be wearing those *beep* G-strings, floating in the same place he went on that *beep* stupid Star Tour. But this time it's already been ten or twenty minutes…”
Gripping someone else’s phone tightly, Murata swears uncharacteristically.
It's amazing that a high school student from off the street is speaking with an American in fluent English, but when he listens carefully he notices there seem to be a lot of curses mixed in. Four letter words you shouldn't say and excrement flying everywhere. Where did a Japanese high school student learn this kind of language? The strings of censoring *beep*'s really grate on the ears.
“Hey, use some politer English! Don’t say shit and fuck.” [7]
His brother’s friend reacts to an elder’s warning with just a glance.
“Nothing, it’s just that JUNIOR is a bit impatient, being sidelined. The main problem now is how do I go over to that side? Last time Shibuya… I’m talking about Yuuri, the LITTLE one. As long as there’s a technique to find his presence, moving across was surprisingly easy. It was a piece of cake. After all he’s so unique and his maryoku so powerful. Truth is, Yuuri is already travelling across these two places with his own power, he just hasn't realized it yet. As long as the various circumstances line up with the TIMING, he can cross over with his own power, though of course it needs sufficient stamina and outstanding resolve. But the situation this time is a little serious. No matter how much I try to take hold of his consciousness or soul, I can't reach. This is the first time Shibuya and what appears to be his soul were not anywhere in my sensory field, even though I could vaguely feel him even when he was in human territory. What kind of strong barrier is he being obstructed by? Or has he ended up being called to a place where the power of the mazoku can't reach?”
“Hey!”
Murata ignores Shouri’s yell completely, just shaking his head at the phone in denial.
In this moment it’s very clear that he is after all a Japanese.
“Mazoku items from that side? I wonder... Ah, one thing does come to mind. I think it's a metal carving of a condor or an eagle. It's something Yuuri was wearing in the very beginning.”
“Hey—”
A pre-order exclusive calendar from a new game is being used as a notepad. Whatever, small matter.
“…Mn, Mexico… should be around there. Got hold of the place Rodriguez is working?”
Finally losing his patience, Shouri snatches his phone from the guest’s hands, and uses the English he learned from a textbook to deal with the college entrance exams to say non-stop, “Bob, Robert! Tell me how to go, too, please PLEASE! HE IS my BROTHER, you know! No matter what, as an older brother, it'd be weird if I don't go along. Yuuri is my younger brother, there's no way I can hand my precious baby brother to a friend he just met a few months ago, is there?!”
The answer he got was in serious words that contrasted with the question asked.
“Unfortunately, Shouri, it's impossible for you.”
His response of “why?” comes out trembling. The hand holding the dark blue plastic cover on the phone is sweating.
“You are a pure living being that belongs to this world. Be it your blood, flesh, or your endlessly reincarnating soul, they're all created only from elements on Earth. Even shared cells during ancient times will become indistinguishably close to pure after living several generations, dozens of generations. Those who lack any elements from that world can't get across with a trivial amount of power. You'll need a strong and vast amount of power.”
“Trivial... Then exactly how much force do you need to go to the alternate world? Is falling from a very high place enough? Like the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building or the Yokohama LANDMARK TOWER? Or a bomb, or nuclear bomb? If I use the explosive force of a nuclear core, will it blow me to the ridiculous world Yuuri is in?”
The other side sinks into a long silence. The background noise has long been left behind, all that’s left is the piercing sound of a connection almost lost.
“Robert!”
“… Unfortunately-”
Shouri slams the phone onto the ground without ending the call.
| Back to Chapter 2 | Return to MA Series | Forward to Chapter 4 |
References
- ↑ Bob Sapp, American wrestler famous in Japan
- ↑ This is a reference to a problem in Japan with scammers calling the elderly pretending to be their grandchildren and asking for money, etc.
- ↑ Robo(cop), Mirko(Cro Cop), and Francis(Ford Coppola) all have 'cop' somewhere in their names and 'Boro' is 'Robo' backwards in Japanese.
- ↑ Just a note that Bob has pronounced Shibuya incorrectly by putting the stress on the 'bu' instead of the 'shi'. The 'bu' is also elongated so it sounds like Shiboooooya.
- ↑ Bob says anzan(安産) which literally means "easy delivery/childbirth" (because they're moving their hips to a rhythm that would make it easier for them to give birth XD) ; but also, since he's a businessman those two kanjis can mean "cheap" (安) ; "products" (産), though not if you put them together like that!
- ↑ The stardate is a made up dating system from Star Trek. The earliest canon stardate in the show is during the 2150's
- ↑ Okay, so this sentence was said in Japanese which is why it isn't censored like Murata's dialogue (even though his English dialogue is written in Japanese as well). I realize this isn't so apparent now that everything has been translated into English.
