Volume 3 - CH 1.4

“I think horror stories are just one huge collective illusion,” Victorique said all of a sudden.

Kazuya, debating whether to crush or continue licking the candy, raised his head, surprised. “Wh-What?”

“I’m talking about the horror stories that are popular in this academy.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m bored.”

Kazuya frowned.

Victorique removed the pipe from her mouth and glared at Kazuya resentfully. Her emerald eyes glowed.

“Since you haven’t brought me any mysteries from down the surface, I’ve been completely and utterly bored. I’ve been telling you constantly that I’m bored to death, but you have not found a single mysterious case, and you don’t have the heart to create one yourself.”

“If I created one myself, I’d be the culprit. They’ll put me on a ship and deport me immediately. You can be unreasonable sometimes, you know that?”

Victorique raised her head. “Princess’s orders, Kujou. Get yourself involved in some incident by tomorrow.”

“No way. Why would I do that?”

“Don’t worry. I will solve the case once I feel like it.”

“What happens if you don’t feel like it?!” He turned his back on her.

Victorique scoffed. She moved to flip through the book, but yelped and pulled her hand back quickly. She clenched her hands into fists again and glanced at Kazuya, wondering if he saw anything.

She felt relieved when she saw he wasn’t looking.

She stretched in the manner of cats. Her small body extended surprisingly long. Her blue satin dress and layers of black lace made a shuffling sound.

“So..?” Kazuya said.

“Hmm?”

“What was that about horror stories?”

“Oh, that.” Victorique finished stretching and brought her pipe close to her mouth again. Puffing out smoke, she said, “Did you know that we are in the midst of an unprecedented horror story boom? Books compiling supernatural stories are selling like hotcakes, and tourists are flocking to mansions that are reputed to be haunted.”

“I had no idea. There’s one student in my class who loves horror stories. I’m not really interested, though.”

“Have you noticed that this trend is centered in urban areas?”

Kazuya shook his head. “Not at all.” Then he recalled the stories he heard from Avril earlier. They were all set in urban department stores, or city streets. He nodded to himself.

“This has been going on since the end of the last century. Rapid modernization is driving the darkness away. Mysterious phenomena that couldn’t be explained by logic are being debunked by science. Mysteries cease to become mysteries. But people don’t live only by what they can see and understand. This is where the supernatural story boom comes in. It’s simple desire.”

“Desire?”

“Yes. The desire for the unseen and the incomprehensible to exist. Some look to religion, because they have not yet seen God. Some look to love, because they had not felt it. And some began looking to the supernatural.”

“Religion and love is one thing, but the supernatural is just weird.”

“What’s weird is the souvenirs you sometimes bring.”

“Ugh… right. Sorry about that.”

He glanced at the candy container on the floor beside Victorique. Once a curious hat, it had been flipped upside down and turned into a candy jar. Even Kazuya himself had no idea what the fist-sized golden skull inside was used for.

Kazuya popped a second piece of candy in his mouth. “But I don’t believe in supernatural tales. They’re all just made-up. There’s nothing in this world that can’t be explained by logic. There are even countless theories about God, love, and so on. Anyway, I will never, ever believe in any kind of supernatural phenomena.”

Victorique snorted. “People who say such things tend to have cold feet when something inexplicable happens.”

“Th-That’s not true…” Kazuya went silent.

Victorique looked up and regarded his face curiously. “Why the stupid look on your face?”

“Sue me, okay? I was born with this face.”

“I see you’re confident that you won’t fall for any lies. Allow me to show you, then, that you are a fool, a rascal, and a brute.” She sounded oddly cheerful. She faced Kazuya directly and stared at him, which was very unusual for her.

Kazuya shot her an uneasy look. Studying her from up front reminded him just how small she really was. It looked as though an intricate doll had been placed on the floor. The hand holding her pipe sometimes moved slowly like a puppet, but it was the enigmatic glint in her deep green eyes that proved that this was no doll, but a being with a will.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Take a gander.”

“Hmm?” Kazuya leaned forward.

Victorique held out a clenched fist. It was surprisingly small. There was something shining on her right hand. A ring. A dull, olive-colored stone inlaid on a golden, serpent-shaped base.

“This is a magic ring,” she said.

Kazuya stared at Victorique with a puzzled look on his face.

She was serious. She didn’t seem to be joking, but she was certainly up to something. Her eyes were smiling.

“It’s a magic ring,” she repeated in a childish tone.

Kazuya scratched his head. “You can be so childish sometimes!”

“Shut up. How is this ring magic, you ask? It has the power to see through your lies.”

“Oh, just drop it already. There’s no way.”

“It can see through your lies. Scary, huh?”

“N-No, it’s not!”

“Then clean out those silly ears of yours and listen carefully. This ring glows red when you tell the truth. But it glows green when you lie. It’s a magic ring, after all. Do you understand? Nod even if you don’t.”

“…Okay.”

“Very well. I will now start asking questions.” She gave an affected nod.

She looked just like a child, her usual sagacious side nowhere to be found. Kazuya was confused, but he could not think of any way to escape from this situation, so he reluctantly decided to play along with her.

Right when I managed to escape from Avril and her ramblings about the supernatural… He sighed.

“Are you ready?” Victorique asked.

“…I am.”

“Kazuya Kujou is an idiot.”

“What was that?!”

“Give me your answer.”

“I’m not an idiot. I’m average,” he snapped. “No, wait. I’m a little smarter than average.”

“You’re lying.”

“Why, you…!”

Victorique’s smug look baffled him. He glanced at Victorique’s hand. The color of the ring had changed to a dark green.

Kazuya looked baffled. “You secretly switched the ring with a different one, didn’t you?”

“I did no such thing. If you’re in doubt, keep your eyes on the ring.”

“O-Okay…” He stared at the ring.

“Kujou is a womanizer.”

“…”

“A philanderer.”

“That’s too far.”

“He’s a bloodthirsty, lecherous, good-for-nothing.”

“Now you’re just being mean. More than usual…”

“Kujou.”

“Then answer is no! Listen here… Huh?”

Kazuya cocked his head. The ring had once again changed to a dark green. He watched it with bated breath.

Victorique cackled. “I told you. This is a magic ring.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m just a bloodthirsty, good-for-nothing. Fine. You jerk.”

“Be quiet. One last question. Kujou, you are a boring simpleton.”

“Yeah, yeah. I get it. I’m a boring simpleton.”

With a big smile on her face, Victorique held up her hand toward him.

The ring had changed to an ominous dark red, the color of blood.