Chapter 202: Mysteries

“Now then, what do you want to start with?”

Kaoru said calmly, setting up a lighthearted atmosphere.

Pochi and Chappie, seeming to have sensed that, stopped hiding behind me.

They must have decided to, rather than thinking of her to be malicious, assume that she was more approachable than she looked.

“Chappie.”

“What is it, father?”

“What we’ll be discussing now is strictly confidential. Understood?”

As if in response to the pressure in my voice, Chappie’s face grew serious.

He seemed to have gotten a grasp on my intention-

“-I don’t understand all those difficult words!”

God damn it.

“No one outside this room is to know what we’ll be talking about. I’m serious. You got it?”

“Not even Bright?”

“Not even Bright.”

“…Yes, I understand.”

When he finally got the message, Chappie fell silent, then moved over to sit between Pochi and me with a worried look in his eyes.

I wondered if he sensed something different – I hadn’t seen Chappie be like this since he was a baby chick.

He was more worried than scared… that was the impression I got.

“Kaoru.”

“Yes?”

“First of all, how did you know that Pochi and I came from a different era? I know that the Evil Eyes are wonderfully powerful, but it doesn’t make sense that you knew that information before you activated the Evil Eyes. Could that have something to do with Jun’ko, your sister you mentioned earlier?”

Kaoru cast her eyes down and nodded quietly.

I knew it – it was her sister’s Evil Eyes.

The ones Kaoru had, were probably the natural variation, imbued with the magecraft of information analysis.

That would make them the same type that Melchi had, though the latter had gouged out her own eyes to implant them in.

Makes me wonder if Melchi could erase titles as well…

Well, that’s not important for now – gotta ask about Jun’ko.

“Your sister, Jun’ko… What is it about her Evil Eyes…?”

“Future vision… well, not quite, but it’s definitely got a high level of prediction capability. Prophesizing, if you will.”

…Ah, so that’s it…

“So how about I tell you this? Young Polco is meeting with my sister now in order to add some color to a murky future. Makes sense to you now, doesn’t it?”

“It’s understandable, yes. The fact that I’m here today, the purpose of my visit, and that I’m from another era – one should know all those if they actually have the ability to prophesize events.”

“D-does that mean she knows everything about the future?!”

Pochi asked, surprised.

Again, this was after Kaoru had said that it wasn’t outright future vision, but it’s certainly reasonable that Pochi would want to ask that.

“She could only predict the futures of those she talked with, but not her own.”

“I see, so that’s why Master Polco brought Master Bright along with him…”

“Right, young Polco has brought here a boy who will likely go on to become an important figure in the Holy Nation. That’s what I’m talking about.”

…Huh?

What’s that sense of discomfort I just felt?

“Is something the matter, Master?”

“…Father?”

“Ah-ooh?”

Even Leon – who had been in my shirt this whole time – tilted his head as if to ask me what was wrong. Gah, what an adorable kid.

“Heh heh heh, the little boy seems to be behaving himself well enough. If I remember right, he’s the one with young Hudl’s blood in him, isn’t he?”

Hmm?!

“Who’s this Hudl she’s speaking of, mother?”

“Goodness, Chappie… didn’t we already tell you a while ago? He’s the… uh, who’s he again, Master?”

Pochi held her head as she asked me, I put my hand out in front of me to stop her.

“…Master?”

Hudl is the current Holy Emperor, the very ruler of this Holy Nation.

Although to her, he was an Emperor of another nation, it was still strange for one to address him so casually.

Besides, Holy Emperor Huld should be at quite an old age now.

Right… I should have already wondered when Kaoru, who looked to be middle-aged, called Polco, who looked almost the same age as her, ‘young’.

Also, there was what I thought right then…

[An imposing mass of arcane energy that seemed to be swallowing me up. Like, there was absolutely no murderous intent in the air, but it felt as if I’d be killed if I were to let my guard down. Hmm… Actually, I think I might have felt something like this before. Huh? From where, though?]

…Now I remember where I’d first felt THAT from.

…Freaking Tūs.

That guy was the only one I knew whose actual age was close to mine. Kaoru had just about the same aura as him.

And she called me just ‘Asley,’ unlike how she referred to anyone else…!

Now that I’d realized that, Kaoru grinned subtly as she waited for my next question.

“…I hope you don’t mind me asking, Kaoru… how old are you?”

“Why would you need to ask that, Master? From how she looks… she should be between forty and fifty, right?”

“Do you even remember how old we are, doggo?”

“…Oh, I see.”

Just because someone looked older than us or her didn’t mean that they actually were, after all.

Pochi and I may look quite young, but we were practically ancient.

And considering that information about the God Drug was already around by the time I was born, despite the fact it may or may not actually exist…

How did rumors of it get spread in the first place?

That’s right – that means there were people who’d had it before Tūs and I did.

“I’ve stopped counting for hundreds of years now… but it should be close to two thousand. “

Both Pochi and Chappie were taken aback.

Chappie awkwardly turned to Pochi and asked,

“Mother, what is even going on anymore…?”

“A-at least she’s been working hard despite living for so long… unlike my Master here.”

So that’s how the doggo sees me, huh?

Anyway, I get it now – I’d known for a long time that T’oued had a long history, but in that long history, I’d never imagined there to be two people who had taken a Drop of Eternity.

Now there were, to my knowledge, five individuals who had taken it: Me, Pochi, Tūs, Kaoru, and Jun’ko.

Kaoru and Jun’ko seemed to have lived for about 2,000 years at this point, and then Tūs and I would also each take one a few decades after this… with that in mind, I think I could see some sort of meaning behind it.

I was born in what the Holy Nation would go on to become, Tūs was born in the land of the Elves, and then there were Kaoru and Jun’ko in T’oued.

How could the origins of various Drops of Eternity be so… far apart?

I couldn’t help but feel that this was by the will of God – either the one I knew, the one that guy didn’t believe in, or the version this Nation had.

“Now then, it’s been quite a while since I’d last gone outside. Young Polco seems to have just finished his business, too.”

…She’s been on a Telepathic Call with Jun’ko, huh?

“Help me out a bit here, will you?”

Kaoru held out her hand, I held it and helped her stand up.

With the sound of the bamboo prop in the background, we all walked through the narrow path at the back of the hut instead of heading for the entrance.

Considering the direction, this should lead to…

The temple. Right. Exiting the path to where the stairs were, Kaoru went up first, then the rest of us matched her rhythm as we followed.

We entered the temple from the front, then went past the front door and the sliding screen behind it. Inside, a woman who looked exactly like Kaoru appeared in front of us.

“Oh, they were twins?”

Pochi blurted out, and at the same time, Kaoru whispered something to Jun’ko before sitting down next to her.

I let go of Kaoru’s hand and then, seeing the three cushions that had been laid out beforehand, sat down on the middle one.

Pochi and Chappie proceeded to sit to my right and left respectively, after which Jun’ko started speaking,

“Welcome, Asley.”

She’s got the same voice as Kaoru.

I probably wouldn’t be able to tell which was which if they were to switch places. They were THAT similar – their faces, mannerisms, skeletal structures, voices, and even muscle builds.

“Nice to meet you. I am Asley.”

“I am Pochi.”

“Name’s Chappie.”

The three of us introduced ourselves, to which Jun’ko and Kaoru bowed in unison.

“How have you all been liking T’oued so far?”

“It’s a place rich in history, and where people are optimistic about the future… is the impression I’ve had.”

Jun’ko accepted my genuine compliment with a faint smile.

“I’m sure Kaoru has told you most of the story. Particularly the parts about our age and my right eye.”

I nodded quietly and waited for her to continue.

“I’ve already known about you for a long time now, Asley.”

“…By looking at Master Polco’s future, I assume?”

“That’s right. When I predicted his future, I saw your… anomalous existence. And with it, a bright future for this era to head towards.”

Pochi and I turned to look at each other.

What’d she even mean… a bright future?

“The introduction of the last of the Holy Warriors.”

…Oh, that. Of course.

Then Kaoru explained, as if standing in for Jun’ko,

“You see, she’s predicted this round of the Devil King’s resurrection as well.”

Oh, so that’s already been prophesied.

Kaoru proceeded to recite the prophecy, sounding as if she was singing.

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～

Holy Warriors shall assemble

Charge beyond the City of Ruin, into the Chestpocket of countless Devils

Holy Warriors shall assemble

One a brave Golden Boy, in his hand the Invincible Blade

Holy Warriors shall assemble

Two a violent Plunger of Armies, friend to the Crimson Ox, of different Birth and Power

Holy Warriors shall assemble

Three a wielder of thousand Tricks, astride the Black Wolf across the Seas of Time

Holy Warriors shall assemble

When Evil encroaches on the World, they shall descend as the Light

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～

Upon hearing the prophecy, Chappie snapped his head up and Pochi twisted her neck back around.

So it’s Giorno, Lylia… and me?

But there are still some points of concern.

What’s the Crimson Ox associated with Lylia in the prophecy?

Now hol’ up a minute… I think I remember a story Melchi had told me. About one of the Holy Warriors making the Heavenly Beast Seki’teigyu into their Familiar.

I don’t remember it in any of the literature I’d looked at, but there may have been some legend about it left behind somewhere.

The Limit Breakthrough still existed in this era, so it was probably possible for a Warrior to form a Familiar Contract.

And even in the present day, Barun of the Six Braves had managed to make a contract with the monkey Ricky.

It’d been a long time since Giorno and Lylia left us, too. The contract may have already been formed, even.

Okay, so this was most likely about the Crimson King Ox… but I guess I should confirm with the twins, just to be sure.

“Could the ‘Crimson Ox’ be referring to one of the five Sacred Beasts, Seki’teigyu the Crimson King Ox?”

“It is.”

Hearing my answer, Kaoru went on to say as if she’d just recalled something,

“Which reminds me, this year’s Sign is the Ox, isn’t it?”

“What do you mean, this year’s Sign?”

“It’s part of a cultural concept foreign to the Holy Nation. Here in T’oued, we count the years by the system called the E’to. The Rat, the Ox, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Snake, the Horse, the Sheep, the Monkey, the Rooster, the Dog, and the Pig. The twelve Signs of the years form the E’to, otherwise known as the Signs of the Zodiac, or if you’re feeling fancy, the Duodecim Signa Zodiaci.”

The E’to system, Duodecim Signa Zodiaci… a repeating cycle of twelve years. Huh, that’s interesting.

…Now hol’ up a minute? Duodecim Signa Zodiaci… twelve Signs of the Zodiac? ……Twelve?

I might have heard something about its significance before… or have I not?

Significant to that one organization some noisy professor called Irene was associated with, perhaps?

Hold your horses, Asley… this and that are millennia apart, and just because they sound similar doesn’t mean that they stand for the same thing.

Mm-hm, that’s right… That can’t be.