Volume 19 - CH 5

Chapter 5: Together with Minuet

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「–Thank-you for your efforts, Master.」

Returning to Baker Street, I gave Minuet the general outline of what had occurred while Lisa 

served cherry tea… and my eyes flicked across the composite evening paper Lisa had made.

Standing up from where I sat on the living room sofa would be bothersome, due to the after effects of my Hysteria Mode fueled Zetsurou battle with Yen. Taking and returning supersonic strikes 27 times makes a body stiff.

「…」

However, there were many news articles about it. ‘Arrest made in bus-jacking!’ and other such headlines ascribed all the credit to Scotland Yard.

I couldn’t find a single mention of me as an illegal immigrant, Watson as a part of Liberty Mason, Scion as an intelligence agent, or Aria and the Prince. Were they leaving us out?

There were also pictures of the suspects. What’s this!? Those aren’t their faces? They must have used some sloppy CG work to draw them in.

Because I was there, the oni were taken quietly into custody…

However, due to Sarah, they must have escaped soon after. All of them.

–This would be a police scandal, so instead, the media was selling the public on a pack of lies. The crash of the attack helicopter was attributed to a plane crash during movie filming. That’s a pretty thin story.

Actually, well…

It seemed like the oni were not in the mood for a fight, and they knew that if anything happened to Aria, they would have to face me and Scion again. We didn’t sign a treaty, but we entered into a truce.

–Regarding the articles through the magnifying glass memento she had gotten from Sherlock as Minuet sat beside me, and I said:

「So then how about it? Of course you’ll give me a star?」

Holding out my star card.

「Hmm? Very well.」

Minuet puffed on her cherry-scented tobacco pipe.

Then taking a quill proffered by Sachet, she sketched a star. A single star.

「Just one?」

I didn’t understand. Why does a huge battle merit the same reward as an inspection of Lisa’s ears?

「You were not the only one to resolve this situation, were you not? According to what you have told me, Sarah Hood eluded capture and freed the rest. As a result, you now see these strange mugshots of Arab men.」

Drawing the same conclusions that I did, Minuet pointed to the news articles with her pipe.

As I sat speechless with my mouth open in a ロ shape…

*Brrring!*… *Brrring!*… an old-style landline bell telephone rang.

Then Endora passed the receiver first to Minuet.

「–Elder sister. I have already inquired about the details from Kinji. Ah, you are nearby?」

Oh! It seems that the call was from Aria who had returned to the palace.

「Aria is coming here?」

As the brief call ended, I stood unsteadily to my feet and asked.

「Yes. Both of them will be coming here. Please meet them and make the proper greetings for me.」

Minuet replied,

『Both of them』.. Is Watson coming too? Wasn’t he hospitalised due to injuries sustained when his Porsche crashed?

Making those vague guesses, I headed out toward the cold entry way…

Having changed out of the English-style suit back to my Butei High uniform, I headed out onto evening down Baker Street. Then:

「…」

Heading toward the bus stop, Aria stood there in her sailor suit. 

And having seemingly changed into a fresh white suit–Prince Howard was there as well.

They probably came here in the Bentley parked at the side of the road.

I met them under the streetlamp…

「…Howard. Thanks for what you did on the elementary school bus. Oh, you have a bump. How are you?」

I pointed to the bump on his forehead as he removed his sunglasses.

「I was struck by a scepter. Please say no more about it.」

I carelessly called him by his first name, but the one who punished him for this escapade..

Wel… it had to be the Queen, didn’t it?

She would be just about the only one that coils impart physical punishment to the Prince. I felt bad for him.

Forcing a smile onto his face:

「Kinji. Firstly, we–owe you an apology.」

Howard said, taking off his white hat and holding it against his chest.

「We were smitten with Aria at first sight and mixed business with pleasure when I believed that you would snatch her away from me. However, the events of today have impressed upon me how deeply you love Aria. To tell the truth, I knew as much from the outset. And Aria truly cares for you as well. And there is no place for ourself in that equation.」

Having suddenly brought up matters of love…

「W-well..」

「Th-that…」

Aria and I both flushed red in embarrassment.

「Do not deny it. It is known, even to us. We are the prince of the country. In this country, our word is law. Therefore–our order to become a member of the English Royal Family will result in a broken heart.」

Despite looking and sounding as pompous as ever…

「Aria Holmes-Kanzaki. From this day forward, you are released from this obligation. Thank-you for your efforts.」

Howard gave up Aria like a man.

With the slightest hint of tears in his eyes, he urged Aria toward me–

–Seeing Aria standing next to me, he smiled with his handsome face. In order to hide his tears, he put on his sunglasses despite it being night.

Then he took out an envelope with the Royal Seal on it from his breast pocket.

「Aria. This will be the one and only gift we have for you. Please accept it. This is a handwritten letter or recommendation to the International Butei Association–it may take longer than it did in our service as a Butei, but in recognition of that we recommend you receive the R-rank.」

Receiving that in surprise, Aria attempted to express her thanks–

–But cutting her off, he turned to clap me on the shoulder. Now with a bare, ungloved hand.

「Now then, Kinji. I have advised MI6 that there is no need to keep watch on you. For your entire life, I confer upon you free passage of all British airports. It would seem that you were smuggled in, which is an embarrassment to our domestic Department of Foreign Affairs and law enforcement, however, my order quashes that issue.」

「Howard…」

「Thanks are entirely unnecessary. It is to serve as a sign of my apologies. And now that apologies are concluded, I wish to express thanks. You– have taught us something very important. In our role as Prince, until now we have only thought.and lived for ourselves…」

Despite his sunglasses, I could tell that he was staring straight at me…

「『A ruler doesn’t just act for himself–he fights for his people』–The English was crude, but the words etched themself upon our heart. Henceforth, we shall live for our people. If we must fight again, we shall tackle that challenge heroically for that purpose. As you yourself have just done.」

Then he pressed his fist against my chest with a *Thump!*–

「This is farewell, Aria. Farewell, Kinji. You both bear the burden of some kind of difficult challenge–however, since it is the two of you, we are sure that you will be able to surmount it, no matter what it may be. We have spoken, therefore it must be so.」

Leaving us with those words, the Prince… returned to his sky blue Bentley Arnage.

Then Aria bowed politely as he walked away–

With a slight smile on my face, I watched as the real, revealed Howard left.

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Officially released from the Prince’s service and now a free woman, Aria–

Because we were so close, we proceeded directly into Minuet’s house.

We did so in order to hear her thoughts on the enigma that was hihiirokane.

Having lost the protection of the Prince, Aria was once more the useless Holmes the Fourth. As one would expect, this would sour the mood of those in the Holmes Family…

The current situation being what it was, we headed toward Minuet’s house nearby.

As for Minuet– If I bring Aria along, we would meet her unannounced. After what happened with Momoko, she has been a bit more diplomatic.

Minuet might be the starting point of the healing Aria’s rift with the Holmes Family.

Holding this hope in my chest, I spoke with Aria as we walked down Baker Street…

「Now then, about Menu. Did she shoot you with her airgun when you met her? She is a bad child, isn’t she? The Holmes Family is a strange one… were you surprised? Do you hate them?」

You shot at me with real gun when we mean, didn’t you?

I wanted to say that, but because of Aria’s unusually anxious expression, I swallowed the comment.

「 I wasn’t surprised, because in the Tohyama Family, it isn’t a shock if my older brother would just suddenly shoot at me. I guess that means both of our families are full of eccentrics. Yours and mine.」

Then knocking on the door of 221 Baker Street–

Sachet and Endora greeted us. Now for the 4th generation Holmes sisters to meet.

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Aria entered the living room, and Lisa pushed Minuet’s chair–and they came face to face.

「 It has been a while, Menu. You have grown more beautiful since the last time we met.」

「 You as well, elder sister. They do say that a woman in love grows more lovely, do they not?」

「Whaaat!?」

Hearing that, Aria grew excited and pushed me away for some reason–

「However, the recipient of your affection does not appear to be His Highness, Prince Howard. The fact that you were accompanied by Kinji indicated that you have pooh-poohed the Prince. That is to say you have squandered the greatest opportunity afforded to a denizen of this country. You cannot possible be in a proper state of mind.」

「I have not squandered.anything. We never even held hands.」

「Despite the fact that things did not play out as I had thought, I am glad that you are safe. The matter is closed.」

Baring her canines like an oni, she brushed Aria off lightly. As expected of her little sister.

「No it’s not settled. We still haven’t heard what you know. I brought Aria here, so give me the last star. So then tell us about hihiirokane.」

「It is quite a common thing for an elder sister to meet her younger sibling. Giving a star to you would be an insult to my elder sister.」

To Minuet who said this, despite her not meeting too many people herself, I replied–

「Well, then let’s have a good showing with your sister here.」

「A good showing?」

「Gamble with me. We’ll bet stars.」

Obviously not wanting to give me the final star, I proposed a high-risk wager to her. I decided to stake it all on a coin-flip chance.

「Have my deductions come true once more? Very well. Something that I wish to take from my sister has just become apparent.」

Minuet responded with an expression that said she had trapped me.

「What is it?」

In response to Aria’s question–

「Kinji.」

–She said that.

「Just as Kinji and the Prince dueled for my elder sister, she and I will make a wager for Kinji. We shall stake Kinji’s final star on the outcome. From Kinji’s perspective, it would be similar to Scion’s role–my elder sister shall stand in as  proxy to earn his final star. If I win, she shall give me Kinji. In a hand of poker.」

「O-oi! Hold one there!」

「It is not a problem, is it? Such a philandering man is a small stake to wager.」

Hey…!

Hasn’t Minuet stripped Aria of all her possessions in games of poker!?

As I panicked–

Completely ignoring my own will, the Holmes sisters headed into a room further inside the house… Stacked with musical instruments, it appeared to be a music room, and they stepped briskly and rolled toward it. They have decided to fight there.

Being the wager itself, I chased after them.

It had begun without my consent. The Holmes sister showdown…!

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In the middle of the somewhat spacious music room, there was an antique table that was a memento from Sherlock–and 2 of his great-grandchildren sat at it. Aria seated in a salon chair, and Minuet in her wheelchair.

「It has been approximately 3 years since I last played poker.」

「Is that right? But I always believed we would meet again. So here.」

Aria then took out her personal set of playing cards from her pocket.

On the back, there was a Speckled Band) pattern that was familiar to me. The Speckled Band–called so after the famous case solved my Sherlock Holmes. Such were Aria’s tastes.

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「Now then, the same as always?」

「Alright. That is fine.」

The sisters first shuffled, then spread the cards on top of the table. All the cards were set out, face-down, like a game of Concentration. Then they used both their hands to mix them up. It appeared that the two of them selected their cards from the pile as they were mixed. Such a manner of shuffling is employed when two people are playing cards in order to prevent fraud in the absence of a dealer.

As the two of them shuffled the cards, they spoke…

「By the way, Menu, are you still using that pigeon gun of yours?」

「I could ask you, dear sister, if you are still using that imported gun.」

No sooner were they reunited, but hey began talking of guns. If anyone cheated, there would definitely be gunfore.

「I also have clothes left in this house. I will give them to you. I have too many clothes that I purchased in Japan.」

「That is quite alright. Whenever I wear your clothes, they are a bit constrictive at the bust.」

「Hrk!… A mental assault, is it?」

「Not at all. I am merely stating facts.」

Their relationship is a poor one. It certainly seems that these sisters are not ones who should spend overmuch time together.

「I have drawn a wild card. I will exchange it for another. As usual, you shall go first.」

「Very well.」

Aria and Minuet–despite the fact that Aria was wagering my on fate, they took up the cards in a casual manner.

Presently situated behind Aria, I saw her hand…

…A single pair… The weakest hand possible…!

「Then I shall draw a single card.」

Saying that and exchanging one card, Minuet had to have a stronger hand.

「Alright, then I’ll draw three cards.」

Taking her turn, Aria laid three cards down on the table as she took more–

This time, however, she was deliberate about it… her Camelia eyes staring at something…

Her eye looked at the mottled pattern of the card backings. But staring through the table top to focus at the distance of the floor.

Holding that expression, she replaced her three cards.

As the exchange of cards concluded–the result of the card match between the Holmes sisters was already decided.

「My shy elder sister ought to–blush at this hand.」

There seemed to be some kind of history of them making bad puns based on what cards they held, as Minuet laid out her cards… Q, J, 6, 3, and 2… a flush.

The odds of making that exchange of cards was not even 1 in 100, and it cemented her in a strong position to claim victory.

–Then Aria revealed her hand.

「I wanted to say something about this house today. With Menu, Sachet, Endora, Lisa, Kinji, and myself– it is pretty Full.」

…A♠, A, A♦, K♠, and K♦…!

…Sh-she won…!

The odds of getting a full house, a stronger hand than a flush, was much smaller.

–She won! Pulling off just enough of a victory.

「…I have been defeated. Well, that is my elder sister for you.」

Calmly admitting her defeat, *Hiss!*… she increased the steam level in her wheelchair.

「Now then, Kinji. I won the game, so please give her your star card.」

Encouraging me with a wink, she prompted me to hand over my card to Minuet.

As Minuet drew the tenth star as promised–

「In the future, please allow me to borrow Kinji from you. He is an interestingly mysterious character that defies my powers of deduction.」

「I’ll mail him to you via express service when he angers me. But I will allow you to take care of the postage.」

They had such an exchange as Aria gathered up the cards.

As she scooped them up, I finally understood…

…The way she had cheated. The way she had gotten that full house.

I sealed away the memory because I did not want to recall it, but this was the same trick used in the『 Cast Off Table』card tournament hosted by Riko during the summer holidays.

The pattern on the reverse side of the cards is subtly different in some way from the typical Speckled Band pattern–a random dot stereogram. It was an old fad where by unfocusing the eyes and using the parallax effect, characters and images seem to rise out of a printed pattern.

That is to say, for Aria who used this, it was the same as if the cards were face up. That must be how Aria managed to cleverly eke out a hand that was just strong enough to beat Minuet.

Minuet for her part, not able to pick up on this, was defeated.

Perhaps it was too simple a trick for Minuet’s intelligence to perceive.

Or maybe, actually–

Or perhaps, seeing me return with Aria in place of the Prince, she discerned the bond between us and… she gave up the victory on purpose.

The highly prideful Minuet, ended up returning Aria to me–

And it might have been by her own choice.

But let’s leave that as a mystery.

It is poor manners to pry into all of the motivations and emotions of a woman, and I should act the part of an English gentleman.

As I pondered this in my capacity as a former stake of the bet, Minuet propelled herself in her chair….

Rolling across the damask carpet of the music room, she turned to look back at me.

Then she smiled at me with her forget-me-not blue eyes.

「Sachet, Endora. As when my elder sister and I were young– Petzold in G major, BWV Anh. 114. We have Lisa today to form the required trio.」

So order, Sachet and Endora happily took places up at the piano and harp…and Lisa took a violin off a shelf with a smile and bow.

Minuet then held out a graceful hand to Aria–

「Elder sister. Let us dance a minuet.」

Meeting her half way with a gentle smile, Aria took her hand.

Sachet, Endora ,and Lisa then launched into a performance of a famous piece of music that I was not familiar with…

Hand in hand, Aria and Minuet began to dance skillfully.

Doing so face to face with equally beautiful faces.

Apparently designed to mimic the movements of a minuet, the wheelchair somehow flowed smoothly through the movements. At times it revolved around Aria, and at others it bobbed up and down live a wave.

Aria’s pink twin-tails and Minuet’s platinum blond pig tails whirled and gleamed as they danced through the air.

How…how beautiful. 

Despite being tormented and abused by those of titled status, I had to admire the performance. These two really are true aristocrats.

「Minuet.」

Her Camellia eyes narrowed, Aria happily called out her sister’s name as they danced.

「What is it, elder sister?」

「I love you.」

The sisters who shared part of their blood spoke softly–

「–And I as well, elder sister.」

Minuet also answered in a whisper. With the happiest smile on her face that I had ever seen.

It was beautiful. Both of them were.

It was pure sisterly affection that I saw.

I observed the Holmes sisters with a warm feeling inside…

As the music came to an end, it seemed natural to me to applaud.

「My elder sister opened wind holes in everything. Even here in this boring everyday life in London.」

Saying that as she looked up at Aria…

Minuet then turned her chair to face me and tell me what she knew as she had promised.

「–Return to Japan and speak with Shirayuki Hotogi. She knows everything about hihiirokane..」

Go For The Next!!!

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Atogaki

Hello! It’s that time of the year for Santa Akamatsu!

It’s getting harder and harder to understand the Roman numeral numbering, but we are pleased to present the next volume of Hidan no Aria.

It is a seldom seen numbering, but XIX means volume 19.

Honestly, if I had a time machine, I would go back to when I decided to use Roman numerals and say:「Just use Arabic numbers! I went into a bookshop the other day and saw volumes IV and VI in the wrong order!」and I feel like I want to drop kick myself.

When I arranged them on my own bookshelf, I looked at them and say:「Uh.. Something seems off, doesn’t it?」and I had IX and XI swapped… My sincerest apologies, all you readers and bookstore workers…

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Now then, thank-you for waiting so long!

We can now announce the true identity of the mysterious new Hidan no Aria「New Project」.

–The『Hidan no Aria AA』anime adaptation!

In the last afterword, I mentioned it, and Hidan on Aria AA is a series featuring Aria’s Amica, Mamiya Akari. It is a series full of cute girls that are Aria’s kohai and their amazing everyday lives and fights.

In the industry there is a term『cute justice』, and『cute + cool = great justice』at least in my own personal theory.

More and more news will be shared about the anime in the future.. Please look forward to it.

Now, for the comic source material for the anime『Hidan no Aria AA』, next month, volume 9 (IX) will be on sale.

My original work is serialised and popular in Young Gangan. I write it so that you can understand what is going on even if you start in the middle, so please read the latest volume.

What’s more, the novel version of AA is scheduled for release, so… if you’ve been waiting to buy it, don’t worry about getting lost and buy it!

Now I’ve used up my space in self-promotion marketing–also known as propaganda advertisement– and I don’t feel like it was subtle.

So then, until next time–Until we meet amidst the flowering cherry blossoms that complement Shirayuki Hotogi well.

A certain day in December 2014, Chuugaku Akamatsu