Volume 20 - CH 1

Chapter 1: Sign of the Mysterious Bird ―― Underway on nuclear power

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—Return to Japan and speak with Shirayuki Hotogi.

–She knows everything about hihiirokane.

Minuet’s words left me in shock.

As I stood, stunned…

A tiny part of my brain said:『I knew it.』

Back when I fought Son in Hong Kong–her being a defective Scarlet Goddess, she answered me like this when I asked her a question:

『If you wanted to know, you should have stayed in Japan. 』

…In searching all over for something, it was actually found where I had started.

Such happenings are common in the world.

It is like the irony of the play『The Blue Bird 』1

「I shall step you through it from the start, like the steps of a minuet.」

As Aria and I stood speechless in the Holmes’ residence’s music room, Minuet took out a pipe from a compartment within her wheelchair–

As the scent of cherry oil wafted up, she explained her deductions.

「Your entire approach to the solution of Elder Sister’s Scarlet Goddess issue has been flawed from the outset. You should have acted to confirm the nature of the issue first and establish its parameters. Your haphazard first strategy to『recover the stolen karagane』and『find a way to exorcise the Scarlet Goddess』has recklessly placed you in direct confrontation with her– What you ought to have done was firmly establish knowledge of your opponent’s true nature.」

…True nature.

The Scarlet Goddess had come to possess Aria via the hidan.

It was similar to how Mash controlled LOO.

But it seems that the Scarlet Goddess’ soul inhabited the metal. She was not human.

However, the essence of the idea was not entirely dissimilar.

Coming to that conclusion…

「If you do not understand your enemy, then you do not comprehend enough to discuss how to fight them. If your enemy is fire, you use water, and if they are a tree, you use fire. If they are a mouse you use cheese, and if a child you use sweets to bring about a reconciliation, or else you cannot even start talking about a reconciliation.」

As Minuet spoke, her forget-me-not blue eyes took on a contemplative look.

「–Do you think that Shirayuki knows what she really is?」

Aria’s camellia eyes showed a slight expression of『could it really be?』

「Since the time of the first, founding scarlet miko, the miko of the Hotogi Shrine have studied hihiirokane for 2000 years–that is the study of the Scarlet Goddess. That is to say, the Hotogi Shrine has maintained a side aspect of a『hihiirokane research facility』for generations. Shirayuki Hotogi is the modern inheritor of the scarlet miko legacy. She must be the one who knows the most detail about the true nature of the Scarlet Goddess.」

Minuet’s answer was unambiguous.

「However, there is a singular fault in the logic underpinning my reasoning.」

「What flaw?」

Hearing my question, Minuet turned toward me with her pipe.

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「Yourself. This matter clearly involves you–and where you are concerned, the normal operation of my logic is disrupted. My reasoning is based upon the orderly operation of logic and reason.  You are one who disrupts all logic to make the impossible to be possible.」

Minuet scowled as if discovering a bug in her programming.

「I don’t think any plan will go as expected because of him. Just a look at Shirayuki’s large beasts, and he’ll be drooling over her.」

Folding her arms across her flat chest, Aria scowled at me like I was an insect.

Hey, why are both you sisters quibbling and finding problems with Enable-sama?

That was what I wanted to say, but the Holmes sisters would likely consider the words of a midge such as I:『To be of little consequence』.

「By the by, elder sister.」

「Yes.」

They had already moved on to the next topic of discussion. Insignificant! That was what I was to them…!

「There is one more thing. And I do not know if it is beneficial or detrimental… However, a『certain person』has taken an interest in this affair. When you and Kinji go to meet Shirayuki Hotogi–that is the point in time at which they will choose to interpose themselves. I have deduced as much.」

「I have also had a hunch that someone would appear. Call it a strange feeling in my chest.」

「There is not much in your chest to feel, and I am sure that the premonition carries the same amount of substance.」

At that, Aria gripped Minuet by the collar with both hands, and Minuet delivered a Mongolian Chop to her neck. Thus began the battle of sisters. Despite the fact that mere moments ago they had been dancing the minuet together beautifully and gracefully.

But as for Aria’s intuition and Minuet’s reasoning–I suppose that together they add up to the capacity of the full ability of Sherlock Holmes.

In any case, we should do as she suggested and return to Japan to meet with Shirayuki.

She had not told us until now, but we must learn the truth about the Scarlet Goddess at all costs.

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As the Holmes sisters grappled, the maids Endora and Sachet–as if such displays were common–came up behind them, pinned their arms behind their backs, and separated them–

My first thought was to call Shirayuki on my mobile, but I had no idea what the charges might be, so I headed into the living room to borrow the landline.

I did not know how to make an international call from an English landline, so I brought Lisa with me…

「…?」

As she moved to pick up the receiver from what looked to be antique metal scales that it rested on, her eye was caught by a dark shape moving outside the window.

As she stood, frozen, realisation dawned in her emerald coloured eyes as she stared in silence at the overcast sky.

「What is it, Lisa?」

「M…Master. Please excuse me…! Hrngh–!」

With both her fists clenched and held slightly above her large set of breasts, Lisa appeared to strain herself, and on top of her head and behind her maid headdress–With a *Pop!*, her wolf ears appeared.

With both hands cupped around her ears, she faced outside and listened for something.

Her expression was not her usually kind and gentle one, it was dead serious–

I could see from her face that something odd had frightened her.

….Kuraaaaah…!

–-What the heck!?

I heard a soft noise from somewhere far away in the foggy night sky–

Hearing that bizarre and eerie bird-like call, I also moved to look out the window.

As soon as she heard that faint cry, the skirts of her maid costume flipped up against her buttocks.

Hurriedly, she opened the Japanese style framed windows to look out and see if anyone walking the evening streets of Baker Street had made the noise.

–Kuraaaaaaaaaah–!

「…!」

I heard it again coming from the sky.

By its echo, I could tell it came from somewhere east. Near London’s centre.

How…how did this sound provoke such an instinctual fear and dread?

It had to be some kind of bird. But I’ve never heard such a cry before.

Despite the great distance between us, I could tell that the thing was huge.

「…M-Master… protect me… I am frightened…!」

Under such a strange circumstance, Lisa– The King of Beasts, Gévaudan, and rider of whales was petrified. By a bird’s cry.

I attempted to reach out a hand to her, but completely panicked, Lisa, pale-faced, pulled me in and hugged both my hand and head in tight–

Hey now! Why are you holding me close like this!?

「Do something, I beg of you…! Please protect Lisa…!」

Tears in her eyes, Lisa pressed my hand into her left breast that was too large for it to hold in a single hand.

Soft as a marshmallow, it engulfed and swallowed all 5 of my fingers.

Uuu~~~!

Let me go! I wanted to order, but that was impossible.

The reason being that my mouth and the lower half of my face was pressed up against and engulfed by her right breast through her sailor maid outfit. Buried in her chest, I tried to control my breathing, but that only resulted in me being forced to inhale her sweet maple scent.

What’s more, her breasts were plump and hung down pleasantly. Despite the thick cloth of her uniform, my mouth was filled with the sensation of something soft–just like the『Mother and Child Play』adult game that Mutou had told me about. But if that were the case, Lisa’s expression would have melted in affection and not be filled with fear.

「…」

–I see now.

Lisa was scared of the bird’s cry that she wanted me to change into her Hero-sama.

And as she wished, I did. In a mere 10 seconds.

However, I do not like being forced to change. So in order to teach her not to do it, I pushed her away with some force as I escaped the valley of pleasure.

–Kuraaaaaaah–! Kuraah! Kuraah–!

As the strange bird gave its cry from above again, Aria and everyone from the music room came into the living room.

In order to deflect from what had just occurred with Lisa, I turned on the old television set in the living room…

We were all speechless at the live BBC News video feed.

Illuminated by a searchlight in the dark, foggy sky over the Thames, there was a large flying creature with outspread black, bat-like wings. It was real.

As it skimmed past the London eye, a quick estimate of its size put it at– 9 metres.

When it flew through thinner patches of the fog, I could see that its eyes were approximately 20 centimetres in diameter.

Its face had a terrible aspect like a cruel pelican.

The monster’s cry could be heard even as far away as Baker Street.

It can’t be… a pterosaur…!?

I saw something like it in a picture book when I was little. It looked like the young flying lizard specimens of pterosaurs that Minuet had in her fossil collection, and I identified it as a pteranodon.

But that specific species of dinosaur was extinct in the Cretaceous Period.

How was one flying in the modern era above the Thames?

「A devil…!」

「How ugly…!」

Sachet and Endora said, respectively, crossing themselves as they stepped back from the television. On the television, I could see the inhabitants of London scattering and fleeing the Thames like a horde of baby spiders. The pteranodon certainly looked like the depiction of a devil from Christian iconography incarnate. Even Lisa was caught up in the general British panic.

However, religious devotion aside, there were two English girls who were not frightened by this large devilish bird.

「–A pteranodon sternbergi! It has long been my own personal theory that pteranodons were warm-blooded, after all. They also appear not to suffer from night blindness. When the searchlights hit its eye, I saw the irises contract. Look at that! It just used its anterior cranial crest as a rudder to alter it’s flight course!」

Contrastingly, Minuet pushed closer with her chair to the television.

「Kinji. Apart from that big bird, there’s this fog. London does get night mists, but this was so sudden. I did not even feel an increase of humidity. And oddly, it only covers the river and hangs heavily. Just like in Hong Kong…」

Alternating between observing the television and looking outside, Aria urged caution.

「Yes. This is just like Katze, the Witch of Cursed Water–she used magically conjured fog like this to hide her tanker.」

However, it seems highly unlikely that Regiment Hex–defeated in FEW–would use a vacuum bomb against Liberty Mason’s London headquarters while in the middle of a ceasefire. 

That being the case…

「Minuet, I wonder if this disturbance is a result of『a certain person’s』appearance?」

I remember seeing another person use this kind of fog.

The sight is burned into my memory.

It was a completely unforgettable nightmare.

On the screen, the videographer finally fled themself– Thrown onto the ground, the feed now only showed the unique London architecture.

Minuet turned her chair to face me.

「…It would appear to be so. Elder sister, Kinij, please take care of yourselves. Please convey my regards as well.」

Pinching her skirts slightly in an aristocratic manner, she gave her parting message.

「I do not intend to have a pleasant chat, but to arrest them. I entrust Lisa to your care.」

「–Let’s go, Kinji!」

At Aria’s order, I checked my spare magazines and the armour I was wearing underneath my clothes as we headed out of the room.

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The fog became thicker as we raced toward the Thames on a rented bicycle.

They only had a single rider version this time, but Aria stood on the rods that protruded from the rear axle, making it a 2-seater.

On the way, we passed one fleeing citizen after another. Children were crying, and clergy were shouting bits of scripture like a charm against the pteranodon. 

As the searchlight fell upon the flying creature–I hoped that it was some kind of artificial pteranodon, but it appeared all too real. Upon seeing a dinosaur for the first time, it had a more awesome presence than any modern animal. Even enough to overwhelm the King of Beasts, Lisa.

–…*Ding!*…–…*Dong!*…–

–…*Ding!*…–…*Dong!*…–

Big Ben chimed, announcing it was 7 PM–

As I ran along the riverbank road, I drifted the bicycle to a stop.

As Aria’s bulletproof uniform skirt fluttered, Aria got off the back.

「Kinji! There’s a red light on the water!」

The sharp-sighted Aria pointed at a faint glow somewhere downstream.

The light illuminated the fog intermittently turning on and off. It was Morse code.

U…n…der…way…

《WE ARE UNDERWAY UNDER NUCLEAR POWER》

Underway on Nuclear Power—That was the message relayed by the world’s first nuclear submarine, the Nautilus in 1955 as it sailed up the Thames.

–Kuraaaaaaaaah–!

In the sky above, the pteranodon was circling the light–as if maintaining contact with the vessel.

Perhaps the flying monster was released from the ship in order to clear people out of  its way.

And the fog was meant to conceal the warship as it made its way up the Thames.

–…*Ding!*…–…*Dong!*…–

–…*Ding!*…–…*Dong!*…–

As Big Ben tolled once more, the ship rose to break through the surface as it moved slowly forward.

At over 300 metres in length—

It was the world’s largest nuclear submarine–

–I.U…!

For some reason it was flying the JMSDF2 banner, but there was no doubt as to what it was.

I had destroyed the secret I.U. cabal.

This was the headquarters for their group of outlaws.

Despite my doubts, I saw it with my own eyes sailing up the Thames.

*Sssssssshhhhhh!*…

I heard it cutting noisily through the water, but there were not sounds of engines. It must be drifting under inertia. It came to a stop with its stern underneath London Bridge.

Thinking it might do as much, I leaned over the bridge railing an tutted.

I thought so… they’re all connected.

I saw the figures of Yen, Tsubaki, and Sarah.

Kon seemed to be inside the oil drum Yen carried on her shoulder, and although they had noticed our presence… they made no antagonistic moves.

—…O zittre nicht, mein lieber Sohn…!–

The aria from Mozart’s『The Magic Flute』began playing from the large speakers on the bridge of the warship that was emblazoned with the large characters『伊U』.

As the fog continued to swirl, the two letters 25 meters in front of us…came to a slow halt.

The ship was now at rest.

「I.U…. It was entrusted to the JMSDF and moored in the south of China…!」

There came an answer to Aria’s anime-like voice.

It spoke from the bridge of the ship.

That voice…

「–Never hold a prejudice, and follow reason to whatever the truthful conclusion must be. Aria-kun. It is little wonder that the same person could steal that same thing twice.」

*Tap!* *Tap!*…

Accompanied by the sound of footsteps, the upper half of a man dressed in a full classical suit appeared on a staircase leading up to the top of the bridge…

It was the one who had been the first in history to escape I.U. on an ICBM–and the world’s greatest detective.

–Sherlock Holmes–!

「Great-grandfather-sama…!」

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Even in her surprise, I could tell by her eyes that Aria had a hunch that she would reunite with him someday–

「…So you are alive after all, Sherlock. I guess it is true what they say about old soldiers simply fading away?」3

「What vanishes shall appear once more. What leaves shall return again. As one whom the world believed to have died and has now returned as well, you should not be at all surprised, Kinji-kun. My reasoning tells me that you have died at least twice since the last time we have met, correct?」

As Sherlock stood on top of the submarine’s deck smiling, he struck a match and lit his pipe…

*Boom!*

There was a dull heavy echoing sound that reverberated.

What appeared to be a gull-wing door–

A tactical missile silo opened on the starboard side of the deck.

「New eras are always heralded from the sea. The Mongol Invasions, the Perry Expedition, and the USS Missouri–so it is for your homeland. My own country is much the same.」

Sherlock beckoned to the oni and Sarah behind us, and they dropped to the deck from the bridge. I saw the wind rush up in a draught to cushion their descent. This was Typhoon Sarah’s power at work.

They entered the ship quickly from what appeared to be a service access hatch on the missile silo.

From how familiar they seemed with it, it appeared that they had been working together for a while.

Although it was not to a great extent, they had been able to predict our movement, so I had thought that there was some kind of mastermind behind the onis’ actions… and it appears it was Sherlock.

Earlier, Jeanne had told me that Kon was an alumni of I.U. That must be the connection. I should have realised it sooner.

The pteranodon also landed on the deck, folding it’s right and left wings in… staggering awkwardly, it slipped down into the missile silo.

「Aria-kun. Kinji-kun. Come with me if you can. Come, even if you cannot.」

He spoke the same words as he did in the Pacific. This time to both of us.

…*Grrrr!* *Grrrrrr!*…

I heard a deep, bass rumble that shook my stomach.

It was the sound of an engine.

I.U. began moving once more.

「I’ll do that much without being told. As a Butei, I cannot simply let a world-class criminal who has stolen a nuclear submarine twice just walk free when they appear in front of me. Sherlock Holmes, you are under arrest!」

Drawing my Beretta, I straddled the bicycle once more.

「Kinji…!」

Aria looked back and forth between me and Sherlock.

「Aria. You do not have to fight, it is alright. It is honestly alright.」

Knowing that she could not point her gun at her beloved Sherlock, so I told her this over my shoulder–*Boom!*

Kicking out with Ouka, I gave the bicycle a rocketing start.

Instantly accelerated, the bicycle headed toward the edge of the bridge and  up and over the angled fence railing that prevents people from toppling over into the Thames–

Soaring through the air, I headed toward I.U.

Under this rash manoeuvre, the spokes of the wheels broke, the frame warped, and the front and rear tyres exploded, scattering in pieces midair.

The debris hit I.U.’s deck at the same time I did.

「–Sherlock! This blizzard of cherry blossoms–do not forget it!」

Falling, I employed an Ouka-fuelled dropkick, to which Sherlock–

He caught it in the hand that was not holding his pipe.

–*Whoohm!* With both the sound and sensation of kicking a soccer ball, it was stopped and it’s power diffused.

It was likely due to an air cushion. He must have copied that trick from Sarah.

「I think I will, if you do not mind? I employed a small fraction of my ESP power upon you.」

My ankle still in his grasp, Sherlock used what looked like a Baritsu move and twisted it.

Understanding what had happened, I matched the rotation with my own body–drawing my gun in my right hand, I pointed it at Sherlock’s feet.

–*Bang!* Ba-Bang*

Accompanying the flare of muzzle flash, spent casings rotated with me and scattered in the darkness.

But Sherlock had already let go of my leg and brushed the hand with the Beretta lightly to the side. My shots impacted just in front of him.

Then he gripped my hand with his, intertwining our fingers.

My gun still in hand, we engaged in something like finger wrestling.

Our fingers were locked together in a joint-lock technique–.

「Is this what you call a pinky-promise? In Japan?」

Before I had realised it, it was gone in an instant.

My Beretta was in Sherlock’s hands.

「It is a bit different, actually.」

–*Bang!* *Whipsh!* Sherlock fired, and I intercepted the shot with a quickdraw shot from my Desert Eagle.

With a *Thump!*, I finally landed on the bridge of I.U. on one knee.

Right in front of Sherlock.

Smiling down at me, he held the Beretta where I could see it making an L-shape. It was a signal that he wasn’t going to shoot.

「…If you are not going to use it, give it back.」

I held out my left hand.

「Very well.」

With a *Plop!* He dropped my gun into my hand.

As the blood rose to my head, I pointed both guns at Sherlock–

Sherlock spun his pipe in his hands and with his hands– *Whoomph!* *Whoomph!* *Swish!* *Swish!*

He skilfully trapped and manipulated my wrist and elbow joints.

Then I noticed that both of my hands and guns were pressed up against both sides of my chest.

Already having gathered enough power for Ouka in my legs for a kick, I launched a subsonic headbutt–

「Ah! I have no desire to be struck by another of your headbutts. 」

–Sherlock stood directly in front of me with a smile on his face. Holding up his hands and telling me to『hold on』.

I would have liked to have been able to use this trick to crush his face in, but…

It was impossible to cancel out the effect of Ouka.

I ended up hurtling forward inside the ship from the bridge–

The figure of a surprisingly small girl then entered my vision.

「Tohyama! You shouldn’t fight! Sherlock is a friend!」

Hearing the slightly nasal and flustered childish voice, my eyes widened.

With bulging eyes, and standing  even shorter than the 142 cm Aria–at what I guessed had to be 138 cm, was a long, black haired girl.

「…K-Kou…!?」

Perhaps weak to the cold, she was no longer wearing that revealing Nagoya High cutoff sailor suit…

It was a fluffy down jacket she was wearing–

Unless I was mistaken.

I hadn’t seen her since we parted in Hong Kong.

「I travelled to London by way of Hong Kong. I reasoned that she could act as a mediator between you and I.」

…Sherlock, you bastard. Foreseeing that as soon as I saw you, I would try to take you into custody by force, you prepared her as a contingency against me, didn’t you?

Of course, that was not the only reason for drawing Kou out from Hong Kong…

In Hysteria Mode, I would be more likely to listen to a woman.

「Oh! It seems that coming from a warmer climate, the London cold is affecting Kou-kun. Now then, let us head inside, everyone.」

Without turning around, I.U. began moving back toward the estuary again, ready to get underway for an underwater journey–already the deck was sinking lower.

The water was already up to the level of the bridge.

「Kinji, Great-Grandfather-sama–!」

From the same London Bridge that Sarah and the rest descended from–*Whizz!* Aria rappelled down from the bridge using a wire.

Holding down her pleated skirt as she landed, Aria surveyed the scene and found me sulking, Sherlock in a fine mood, and the split personality Kou looking worried.

「???」

「Aria-kun. It is alright. Kinji and I seem to have injured each other–I would never do anything to make you cry. Now then, Kinji-kun.」

You go ahead and say that, Sherlock. Despite the fact that you shot Aria in the back with the hidan.

However…

I actually do not sense any bloodlust radiating from him.

Grasping my Beretta and DE in my hands, I saw the rising tide of water.

I.U. was once again going to be concealed underwater. It would not take more than 3 minutes.

I must make a decision before then. Whether to stay aboard or to retreat.

Kou looked around anxiously, watching to see what Aria and I would do.

This being the situation, Sherlock puffed on his pipe calmly.

Then he addressed the most hostile character present…me.

「I received a message from Yen-kun that you lot wish to make peace. That is a very interesting prospect.」

「What the hell are you saying? To come all the way from Hong Kong with a nuclear submarine, you should have been able to guess as much before receiving such a message.」

「Very astute of you. You seem to be quite capable of elementary reasoning.」

「And there is one more thing–Something I have reasoned out: I.U.’s current destination.」

I said as Aria and Kou looked up at me in confusion.

「Aria and I had no other choice but to come aboard this ship. That is to say, it is the location of the final piece of karagane. The oni have retreated here. Namely, Habi has.」

「Quite right. It is near Japan– Kii no Kuni has already received notice of our arrival. Our itinerary estimates a travel time of 165 hours. After a hundred years’ work on『A Study in Scarlet』, I deduce that the final act is nigh upon us. I cannot bear the thought of playing absolutely no role in the final revelation. Therefore, I have offered my services as a facilitator.」

I knew it…! Kii no Kuni.

Sherlock made a grand gesture, asking us to cooperate…

「–Aria. This is a dangerous matter, but the truth may be different from what Minuet has deduced. As far as I know, there is not merely a single way to stop the advent of the Scarlet Goddess. Recovering the final karagane from Habi may be enough to stop the『soul merge』– that is to say that there are likely other methods to prevent the Scarlet Goddess from dominating your will and partitioning off her influence. Merely restoring you to the state in which you were prior to Bandire is not a perfect solution, by far–However, it will serve well enough as a stop-gap measure. There is no way to get the tiger’s cub without entering the den, and in that spirit… I will leave it to you to decide whether or not you wish to board I.U. with Sherlock and the oni.」

I asked Aria, deferring to her sense of intuition.

Aria considered it for a few seconds.

「…I’ll go.」

She answered.

「An eye for an eye, and tooth for tooth. The oni came to London and did as they pleased, so let’s do the same here.」

An eye for an eye, and tooth for tooth. Paying back what has been done to you. In a certain sense, that is the shared motto and duty of Butei around the world.

It was a very Aria-esque way of thinking.

When it comes to Aria, no matter how trivial a thing is done to her, I cannot help but answer back for it.

「What’s more, even if we followed Menu’s advice–It might be hard for you and I to get into Japan via the airport, right? I am trying to work it out right now, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would notice us. While the deal with the Ministry is being worked out, we could go to Kii no Kuni and recover the karagane. Once that is done, we should be able to go and talk to Shirayuki publicly.」

Come to think of it… that is probably the best possible outcome.

As much as I hate taking favours from Sherlock–I followed Aria, Kou, and Sherlock–

I stepped down the stairs into I.U. as the water lapped up onto the deck.

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The hatch at the top of the staircase was made of a superalloy, it closed automatically and was formed of several layers.

As the sounds of the ship’s passage rang overhead, we descended into the warship’s interiors via a spiral staircase.

LED lights illuminated the steps, and the stairs narrowed as we descended. Sherlock and my shoulders and hips snagged on the rails several times. Kou’s pouchette and coat snagged on the railing, and she cried out each time. As I thought, I could see that she was wearing the cutoff sailor suit underneath, but due to the angle, I couldn’t see anything else.

「Now then, allow me to extend greetings once more. Aria-kun. Kinji-kun. Welcome to I.U.」

As Sherlock spoke, he stepped off of the stairs and into what appeared to be I.U.’s reception hall–

「…I see your collection is as large as ever.」

Ranged in rows like a museum, there were full dinosaur skeleton specimens illuminated by chandeliers.

The floor was marble. On the walls, there were rows of stuffed, extinct animals.

I have been on board before, but at this point the sense that this was a submarine vanished entirely from my mind

For I.U. that spent long periods of time dormant or crossing oceans, it was laid out so very extravagantly. 

「Please take as long as you like to inspect them, Kinji-kun. It will take several days to traverse the Arctic Ocean to the land of the oni. But first, let us share a light meal with Yen and the others. I am sure that you have many questions.」

As he said that, Sherlock walked past a Pteranodon fossil.

Aria followed after him, and:

「Tohyama! Kou has wanted to meet you again! You have been very busy in the East and West since leaving Hong Kong, haven’t you? Kou expected nothing less of you. Kou has been very anxious about what happened to you since our gunfight.」

Divesting herself of the jacket, Kou latched on to me in her usual short, cut-off sailor suit.

Caught off-guard, I jumped slightly in shock.

Her orange tail was crooked into a heart-shape.

「O-oh! I’m glad we could meet again too. But I never imagined that you would bring Sherlock along too.」

The scent of tapioca milk wafting from her body as she clung to me was almost too much…

「I was eating porridge at the North Poing Sang Kee specialty shop when he appeared all of a sudden–『Ni Hao, I am a friend of Kinji Tohyama.』, he told me while we ate porridge.」

Sherlock, you bastard! I bet you just showed up and didn’t even show her any proof.

Actually, I wonder how he managed to reason out where we were?

He must have pieced it together from various sources.

「This was after he had reached out to Rampan to say:『I wish to council Kinji-kun and Aria-kun in the matter of hihiirokane』, and he came to scout Kou directly.」

Then Kou let go of me and dropped to the floor… Then she cheerfully straddled the bicycle with training wheels that was parked at the bottom of the stairwell.

Even as the back of the micro-miniskirt did nothing to cover the back of her buttocks as she sat on the seat:

「Kou also wanted to repay Tohyama for rescuing her in Hong Kong!」

Kou turned a happy face toward me as she pedalled, the training wheel squeaking as she did so. With an overall length of 300 metres, I suppose having a bicycle to traverse the ship is convenient.

What is certain.. Kou harbours some hihiirokane within her body, and she is a failed Scarlet Goddess–Son was artificially created to serve in that role.

As we draw closer to discovering the real truth about hihiirokane, there is no better qualified person from whom to borrow knowledge and experience.

No doubt intentionally, Sherlock had preceded us with Aria, and Kou and I followed.

However, Sherlock…

Despite the fact that we had been fighting until now, he boldly displayed his back to me. That was a very bold action.

Now that I think about it, Sherlock is blind, and he uses the perception of the shift of air current as a substitute for vision. Whoever goes first or last might be meaningless.

That being the case, I stopped worrying about positioning and caught up to Sherlock.

「Oi, Sherlock! About that pteranodon. Is that thing your pet? Did you find some DNA in mosquitoes trapped in Cretaceous period amber like Jurassic Park?」

「Not at all. We used fossils. It has been widely accepted for the last 50 years that molecular fossils–namely DNA–can be extracted from biological fossils.」

「…Still, why the hell would you bring back a dinosaur?」

「Do boys not like dinosaurs, Kinji-kun? I am essentially a boy at heart!」

Sherlock declared with a wide grin on his face…

Despite the fact that he was past 150 years old, he managed to look more boyish than me.

*****************************************************************************

It is a well established scientific fact that atomic energy produces a vast amount of power, in spite of the serious drawback of radioactivity. 1 gramme of U-233 is able to produce as much energy as 3 tonnes of coal.

A nuclear submarine–that is to say, a submarine equipped with an atomic reactor–is furnished with a near infinite source of power. With infinite power, infinite fresh water can be created through desalination, and from the fresh water, infinite oxygen can be created via electrolysis. Such a large craft has a virtually infinite range of travel.

I have heard doubtful rumours that in anticipation of long sea voyages, Soviets and Americans constructed nuclear submarines with such things as pools, tennis courts, arcades, and livestock pens.

However, I.U. is unique in the amount of freedom that it possesses to traverse the world.

As we walked through the interior of the large craft that had been converted into some kind of museum and university, my Hysteria Mode wore off… I had already lost track of how many decks we had passed through.

Then we arrived at an indescribably vast astroturfed greenhouse–

Inside were Yen and Tsubaki, wearing kimonos, Kon peeking out from under the lid of an oil drum, and Sarah wearing her blazer and plains skirt.

In front of the party of oni was a Sino-African style picnic on a cloth.

Aria and I made brief eye contact to put each other on guard, and Yen beckoned to us.

「Now then, let us have a reconciliation celebration.」

As Sherlock encouraged us to do this… I clicked off the safety on my guns..

On the cloth there were mounds of rice balls, hamburgers, banana spring rolls, broccoli, salads, and all sorts of sandwiches..

The oni were presently eating the rice balls.

「…Do you only eat onigiri? Shouldn’t you get something with Vitamin C?」

Reading the room, I knelt down to sit beside Yen, and Tsubaki glanced up at me in her black kimono.

「『Omibusu』, you mean.」

「What?」

I asked, crossing my legs and taking a seat on the cloth.

「Onigiri is a word too close to『oni slaying』and one to be avoided.」4

She gave an incomprehensible explanation but… the mood seems to be one of reconciliation, and I had no desire to disturb it. I continued to make small talk.

Tsubaki seemed to loathe how familiar Yen and I were.

This is something I have recently discovered in human relations as well: Younger sisters who admire their older siblings seem to get angry when I talk to them. That seems to explain the phenomenon of utter disdain that causes Tsubaki, Shirayuki’s sister Konayuki, and Aria’s Amica Mamiya to treat me with the same regard they would an insect pest. Tsubaki seems to admire Yen greatly.

In other words, that means that she will never stop hating me, doesn’t it…?

However, her ire seems reserved for me alone.

Aria and Sherlock sat together eating hamburgers, and Kou plopped herself down to start shovelling banana spring rolls into her mouth with a spork.

Next to Aria, Sarah ate broccoli.

「Your clothes…. Which school do they belong to?」

「These are a disguise. They are a Scottish tartan pattern.」

The fellow Britishers exchanged in English.

On the other side of Aria, the short, golden twin-tail Kon… would not look my way.

「Sha-Sharrock…」

She called out to Sherlock in a thin voice, holding out a cooked sweet potato through the gap between the drum and its lid. Using all 4 of her dark-skinned arms to present it formally.

Having taken an interest in mine and Yen’s conversation up to this point, Sherlock said:

「Ah! A baked sweet potato, is it not? Thank-you, Kon-kun.」

And he smilingly accepted the sweet potato that did not seem to be what one would eat while wearing a suit.

Kon.. blushed behind her glasses through the narrow gap, and a soft giggle escaped her.

「Heh heh!」

What’s this?

Not being exceptionally good at chatting with girls for a long period while eating『omibusu』–I cut straight to the point.

「So I’ve heard from Sherlock that you want to talk about a cease-fire with us.」

I brought up the topic to Yen.

Then she nodded in agreement, and fixed me with her golden eyes.

「Correct. Aria becoming the Scarlet Goddess will slay her soul. That is to say, it will kill her love. We three oni have held conferences and are irresolute. We are at a loss.」

「If you are unsure, then you should stop. That is the oni way.」

From Yen and Tsubaki’s words, I could sense that they were more than a bit confused.

…They were seriously discussing peace talks. They had no intentions to fight here.

The oni wanted Aria to become the Scarlet Goddess…

But they disliked the idea of overwriting her personality, it seemed. They must have listened to my Hysteria Mode lecture.

Even as I recalled my discourse on『Love』 and other topics in embarrassment, the result is undeniably a benefit to us and to be celebrated.

「What does Habi, Er..Habi-san have to say about this?」

Sensing that dropping the honorific made the oni angry, I corrected myself and added the -san to the tiny oni’s name.

「In this matter, we deviate from our mistress’ will. Conveying such a sentiment over a long distance would be most improper. We shall inform her at the first opportunity we have to do so directly. We are fully prepared to commit kagebara. 5」

「『At the first opportunity』you say. When will that be?」

「We know not. It depends on our mistress’ humour.」

「What if that is not soon enough? What if you let Aria go and she turns into the Scarlet Goddess? Tamamo the kitsune woman has set the deadline at the end of March.」

In I.U. The official languages were German and Japanese, so we conversed on Japanese…

The oni’s words were archaic, and it seemed that the expat Aria did not understand part of what had been said.

However, she could tell that it was important and was impatiently listening with an anxious expression.

「Tamamo-dono has declared the last day of March to be the limit… It may be that we are unable to meet that deadline.」

「Yen. You do not need to cut open your stomach, but take me to Kii no Kuni to see Habi-san. We will figure out the rest later.」

「What is it that you intend? If you seek to oppose our mistress with arms, we refuse.」

「Your loyalty is commendable. But in order to save Aria’s soul, we do not need to be proactively violent. Aria’s transformation can be stopped with just one more karagane. Habi-san is the one that has it. You do not have to fight her, but only turn a blind eye while I get it back.」

I explained what I would do with Habi–

As I thought, Yen and Tsubaki became angry, and I sighed.

They were like children who did not understand what their parents were doing.

Finally Tsubaki spoke:

「The reason Yen-nee-sama does not wish you to fight Habi-sama, Tohayma, is for your own good.」

「My own good…?」

「If you were to fight Habi-sama for the karagane, you would suffer a severe blow. You would die in an instant. In such a case, your own love would be slain.」

「Killed? Butei hear such threats every week. Why would I–」

Yen interrupted me as I began to speak.

「Tohyama, can you figure arithmetic? You felt it in our battle on the London clock tower–we were evenly matched, you and I. As I have said before, even if there were seven of myself, I would be no match for Habi-sama.」

…She used numbers to predict my own defeat.

I defeated Yen in Hysteria mode, but that was only by taking advantage of her affection for Tsubaki and Kon. In terms of raw power, I feel that Yen’s assessment is correct, and we are evenly matched.

And If Habi has 7 times Yen’s strength…

I would be soundly defeated by such an opponent.

I understood the theory in practice, but I stubbornly remained silent.

I was unable to do anything but remain silent.

「Let us have an audience in Kiinokuni. Our mistress desires to speak with you. And let us have an interview– but you must not fight. We shall stand at your side and speak for you in the dialogue.」

Dialogue? With Habi and her childish babbling? That seems like it would be hard to do.

But if I expressed that now, the oni would be mad about it.

The most important thing now is to preserve this atmosphere of reconciliation above all else… so I suppose that I should keep quiet and go along with it.

*****************************************************************************

After Sherlock ate the yakiimo6, he got up and went off somewhere–

Yen and Tsubaki; Kou; and even Sarah and Aria–having taken their fill of food–split up singly or in pairs to take baths or showers before sleep.

Left behind in the prairie-like greenhouse, it was only myself and Kon who peeked out from the small gap between the oil drum and its lid–using a bamboo fishing pole to filch left-overs.

From eavesdropping on Aria and Sarah’s conversation, I learned the I.U. was piloting itself through the Arctic Ocean. However, from the total lack of vibration, the sense of motion was entirely absent.

As for the sense of time… I could tell it was getting late.

I recall that back in Tokyo, Jeanne told me that Kon was a founding member of I.U.

「Oi, Kon! I don’t know anything about I.U.’s layout. Where do guys go if they want to sleep?」

When I asked that:

「Ones like you can just sleep outside.」

Such rudeness!

Despite the manners and deference you showed to Sherlock.

But I understood somehow. In this case, Jeanne’s intelligence held me in good stead, and I reasoned that Kon had the fickle temperament of a genius and merely listened to Sherlock as a pupil.

Sure that there was some kind of shared empathy between Kon and Sherlock, as fellow geniuses, I said:

「Kon. You like Sherlock, don’t you?」

As the representative of Japan to the world of my total lack of diplomacy when it comes to dealing with girls, I spoke such a tactless statement. 

–*Ka-boom!*

The lid flew off Kon’s oil drum as if a bomb had spontaneously combusted inside of it.

I didn’t really understand why it happened. Now there is steam erupting from the drum like some kind of volcanic eruption!

「Uh-wha! Wha!? Tohyama…! Wh-wh-what…!?」

The lid hit the ceiling then clanged back onto the drum. Using her 4 arms, she clamped it back down with a loud clatter.

Then, from the narrow gap beneath the lid–*Glare!* She scowled at me with a face that glowed with red-hot light. Steam was coming off her head.

It looks like she is just a simple girl at heart…

「Nothing at all. You haven’t said anything to him about this, have you?」

「–T-There is no way I could. One such uncomely as I, and one so handsome as he can never be a good match.」

Caught up in a leading question, she admitted her feelings easily.

…Right, this might just be the first step toward capturing Habi.

Just a few moments ago with Yen when I remained passively silent as she suggested we『speak with Habi』, I did not intend that we『do what Habi wants』.

However, up to this point, I still have absolutely no idea how to reclaim the karagane from her, and I might be able to extract some intelligence from this person.

What knowledge has been gained prior to a battle is the deciding factor in 80% of cases. Takamagahara-sensei’s classes taught as much.

「You might have some kind of complex about how you look, but you still look like a woman. As a man, I can tell you that for sure. Your face is pretty cute too.」

「T…T-Truly? Then how shall I bed him?」

「Y-You can’t just jump all the way there at once! But well, actually, that is to say… there are things to do before *that*. Like a love letter.」

I am not the best with relationship advice, but I started talking freely with my elementary level of knowledge anyway.

「L-L-L-Love letter!?」

With a *Clank!* she clamped the lid down onto the barrel, and hid herself away.

「…Oi! Kon.」

I rapped on the side of the drum.

…That went awfully quickly, now didn’t it?

As I thought that, *Whoosh!* The lid cracked slightly open. Then from inside there was a *Whipsh!* A parcel wrapped in presentation paper with a hand-brushed address『To Milord』 shot out.

After catching it like something out of a period play… I wondered if this was a secret missive or something?

Then, peeking out with a red face through the gap while keeping her arms inside…

「Tohyama. I charge you to deliver this to milord. It is not uncommon for such to occur between members of my own kind. I lack the courage to deliver this love letter myself.」

Huh. 

So some oni lack the courage to deliver such things to each other themself.

I haven’t given one out myself either, so I really don’t know how much courage it takes.

「Above all, you must breathe not a single word of this matter to anyone. Oni and humans coming together. It defies Heaven’s order. If Yen and Tsubaki were to discover it, they would be shocked and deride me.」

Ah! How girlish.

「You’re an oni, and you’re still this nervous? Well, I’ll still take it to Sherlock for you. But I won’t do it for nothing. You’re going to have to pay the postman. You will have to answer a question.」

「…」

「Hmm… I wonder if I should take this to Yen?」

「Wh-what!? Halt! I concede!」

…She became very miserable and pitiable.

But this was to figure out how to deal with Habi and help Aria.

I will extract the secrets from this oni’s heart.

「Oni and human bodies are somewhat different, aren’t they? I mean, oni have some interesting organs that humans lack. For example, the *devil’s pouch*–where is it located within the body?」

Aria’s karagane–is located inside Habi’s devil’s pouch.

If I had to extract it surgically from her abdomen, or something, it would be difficult without knowing where it is.

I asked the question with that purpose in mind, and Kon who had merely watched Sherlock as Yen and I conversed–

Did not seem to realise the import of such a question.

「Humans are inquisitive. It is located just above the stomach.」

Kon informed me.

*****************************************************************************

Besides that, Kon drew me a map of I.U.’s interior.

What a detailed map done on washi paper with a brush! How did you get such straight lines?

And I followed it despite the hard-to-read ancient style kanji…

Out of an abundance of caution, I inspected the ICBM hangar where I once fought Sherlock.

An automatic door with a radiographic hazard symbol stencilled on to it opened, and inside–

Ah…! There are a bunch of them!

Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. There were 8 of them.

On their outer surfaces I saw『Polaris 09』written.

Without the nuclear warhead, they were now a kind of escape pod–transport vehicles.

Which reminds me of the time in Sotobori-dori when Watson saved me and Aria from Hilda’s attack…

「Watson was number 5 and visited here before meeting you. He came here are a spy from Liberty Mason, and when that was discovered, he was treated as an honoured guest.」

Seemingly having predicted what I would do, Sherlock also correctly guessed at where my thoughts had led.

Turning my head around, I saw Sherlock leaning against the bulkhead, twirling a walking cane and tucking it up under an arm.

Despite the invasion of privacy by logical reasoning out all manner of things, I did not voice any compliant–

「…I thought so, but now I know for sure Watson came from I.U. Actually, Sherlock. You’ve aged all at once when you let go of the hidan–You look 20 years older. Is that because you no longer have the hihiirokane?」

「Kinji-kun. When presented with an inexplicable situation or fact, one should infer all possibilities by conjecture for consideration. Does irokane merely keep death at bay and rejuvenate youth? As a point of fact, since we parted from each other on that summer night, I have met the clinical definition of ‘dead’. A certain English noble, Madame Maria associated with the Romanian National Institute for the Research of Aging… Vlad-kun’s wife, at my behest, revived me immediately following death. With her cooperation, we have used NMN to boost the function of the sirtuin gene expression to increase its rejuvenation ability. In successive growth periods, how far do you think we will be able to boost the level of intelligence?」

…I don’t really understand what he said, but he seems to be able to use his connections from his time on I.U. to full advantage.

But is this what he means by a growth period? That would explain how he seemed on the Thames before.

Since the last time I fought him–he feels stronger.

「If you mess about with things like genes without knowing what you are doing, you might end up looking like Vlad.」

「I shall take your concerns under advisement.」

However, since the last time I met him, Sherlock seems less hostile.

That being the case–

「So then, can you still reason? What is going to happen to Aria? Tell me… if you can.」

Framing his position as one of my allies, I asked frankly for his advice. In reply:

「…It is rather embarrassing, but I will answer candidly. I do not know.」

「You don’t know? Why?」

I was baffled at how quickly the famed Sherlock Holmes waved the white flag.

「–To start, the very essence of irokane defies my powers of deduction. That is also the reason that I entrusted irokane to you of the next generation on that day. The name I bestowed upon Aria-kun–『Hidan no Aria』. It embodies the hopes that I have that she will unravel the mysteries of the hidan.」

「…If you don’t know, I’ll make you do it. That brain of yours can understand anything.」

「Do you comprehend anything I have said? There are things that are too much for my mind, Kinji-kun. There are many exceptions to what I can determine by deduction. This mystery is my raison d’être. As I have said, the matter of hihiirokane–my 『Study in Scarlet』is rapidly heating up. And you are as well, are you not?」

「…Me?」

「Minuet-kun told you, did she not? You are『Enable』. The man who makes the impossible; possible. That is to say, you are a walking contradiction. Contradictions are unable to be resolved by logic, and are an exception to deduction. Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, and contradiction for contradiction–you are a fitting person to get close enough to unravel the mystery of hihiirokane. As for myself, I share your same intense interest in irokane.」

「Don’t say it like it doesn’t horrify you.」

Sherlock is able to reason out the outcomes of an entire society, but… 

『The things that defy logic』are infinitely more interesting is what he is saying?

And because of his incredibly powerful mind, he is able to take part and play a role in such dangerous things. And in the end, he is forced to look to those caught up in the situation around him to find the answers– this perilous great detective. The bastard. He’s opened a Pandora’s Box of trouble for others in irokane. And closing that Pandora’s Box is another Pandora’s Box that I have to deal with, isn’t it?

After all, isn’t『clean-up』part of a Butei’s job…?

I sighed deeply–

I recalled the last time I fought Sherlock in this hangar… I recall that he told me that love between men and women was something that could not be deduced. Even the greatest detective in the world declared at the outset that not everything could be logically determined.

…Ah, I see. That is how it is between men and women.

「Let me change the subject. Here’s a letter for you.」

I took out the tri-folded washi paper from my bulletproof uniform pocket.

「A letter?」

「You didn’t deduce this?」

「Quite. This event is an exception to logic.」

So it would seem. A love letter is the embodiment of love after all.

A thing like this would definitely pique Sherlock’s interest.

「It’s from Kon. Write a reply after you read it. It is a confidential message, so handle it with care.」

Based on the fevered looks she gave him when handing him the yakiimo, I thought that if I mentioned her name he would realise, but…

「What an unexpected and interesting occurrence. And she has employed a messenger within the confines of the same vessel. One could even say that the addition of a proxy agent intensifies the enigma greatly.」

Sherlock wore an expression of unbounded wonder. He is surprisingly uninsightful.

Upon finding himself in receipt of a secret letter from a girl, he is entirely unable to hazard a guess at its contents.

This guy… he’s like me. I, at least, have the excuse of my condition, but Sherlock seems so totally engrossed by the mystery that he is unaware of the typical actions of girls.

Receiving the letter from me, Sherlock was vexingly unable to comprehend its significance…

Before opening it, he made an Aria-esque motion of crossing his arms.

It seems to be a mannerism that both she and Minuet inherited in times of deep thought to employ the use of a smoking pipe.

「The more complicated a matter appears to be upon its face, the simpler the essence of the solution shall turn out to be. In the converse, those with the plainest appearance are often the most memorable…」

He said this as he continued his string of muttered comments, her pondered over the envelope addressed『To Milord』.

He really did not understand! 

Kon, this is a feat! At this singular point in time the dangerous Sherlock Holmes–for a brief moment posed no one a threat at all.

*****************************************************************************

Sherlock was trying to apply all of his powers of logic to determine what the intent of the one who sent him the love letter was. He pondered it grinning, turning it over in his hands, and I was not so rude as to merely stand there gawking. So I left the hanger.

Consulting my diagram of the ship, I began searching for a good spot to get some sleep.

There were the regular soldier’s quarters, but unfortunately my penchant for unfortunate accidents had been well established since my second year. Is it my fate that everytime I open a door, a girl will be in the middle of changing clothes, and I will receive a beating for it? Is that why I was given such crisis management skills? That has to be it.

For that reason, I was seeking some kind of security measure aboard the ship similar to the one in the living room in my apartment.

There is a sofa in the library. It is not an entirely bad substitute for a bed. The grain storage areas might be covered in flour. Inside the giant clam in the main hall would not be terribly horrible.

As I wandered on–

I entered a somewhat darkened room. At the top of the map was that the word『Laundry』written?

The smell of soap put me on guard in case it was a bath… but when I turned on the lights, I could tell it was something else.

Large, Japanese style drum clothes washers stood alongside dryers.

So that is what ‘Laundry’ means? It actually looked like a large, coin-operated laundromat.

That reminds me, Sherlock did say that it would be about a week’s journey.

Just because it is free, I will do my washing later on.

If I wanted to use machines this big in Daiba, it would probably cost me 800 yen. This is a great way to save some money.

I walked over to slap the top of a machine with my hands then…

「…?」

There was something at my feet. It was a small bit of cloth.

What’s this? I picked it up out of curiosity.

…

…….?

It was a piece of white cloth I thought was some kind of handkerchief… It had a well-worn feel to it as I rubbed it between my fingers.

But when I saw the seams stitched into it, I knew it wasn’t a handkerchief.

…. I have a bad feeling about this.

So I began to unfold it.

「…! …!」

*Tha-Thump!*

This is a girl’s u-underwear! And why the heck was it at my feet!?

What’s more, I recognise the Japanese-style ribbon placed to fall below the navel on them. I-I’m about to be in a tornado hell, aren’t I?

By the user of the Wind Arts that blew me, Psion, and Prince Howard away the first time I saw it, the former member of GRENEDA and I.U. war hawk faction, Ignatius Nomad–these were Sarah Hood-chan’s!?

I went stiff in embarrassment as my luck ran out.

My propensity for disaster had re-asserted itself.

「…!」

It appears that she came to see if her blouses and underwear were finished washing–

Typhoon Sarah stood before me.

「…!」

Sarah saw me standing frozen, holding her underwear spread out as if I was going to wear it as a mask…*Rrrrrrrrrr!*

I heard a vibrating sound.

Then her bulging azurite coloured eyes filled with disgust– and tears started at their corners–

「Uwaaaaa!」

With a *Tap!* *Tap!* *Tap!*, she began running.

I wondered if she would use gusts of wind like blades to cut off my head, but Sarah seemed too shocked to concentrate enough to use her magic. That was good!

Then she hit me. Impacting me with a charging attack, her body was soft and warm.

「Give them back! Give them back!!!」

This was the same as when I took her bow on the Fugaku, she began to rain feeble hammer bows on my chest.

Despite her usual calm manner, she was just as frantic as then.

But this time there was no way to misunderstand what had happened.

She had probably dropped these when she put her other clothes into the washing machine without realising it…

Regardless of the reason, the sight of what I now held in my hands had to be shocking enough to set Saraha’s hair standing on end. She appeared to be at that sensitive age of 14 or 15.

–*Bzzzt!*–

As the washing machine signalled that it had finished its cycle, I…

Without any warning at all, from what I held in my hands–shockingly, I found myself in Hysteria Mode.

It had only taken a few moments. That is how quickly my blood coursed.

–!

In the very next moment, Sarah’s lime scented silver-grey hair swished.

And she snatched them from my hands.

「What do you wish for me to return? Sarah, did you mistake this for something else?」

Feigning ignorance, I pointed to the map of the ship that she now held in her hands.

「…? …?」

Sarah looked at Kon’s hand drawn map in her hands, then whipped her head around to see her underwear inside the washing machine–

「Get out!」

Grabbing a nearby laundry basket, she threw it at me.

*****************************************************************************

*****************************************************************************

「Whatever do you mean? Whatever it is, it has got you awfully upset.」

「Get out!」

「I-I understand.」

I played dumb, but followed her instructions and left the laundry room.

Then stepping out into the corridor…. *Phew!*… I breathed out a sigh.

I figured out what I had just done—

Using only my right hand, I had employed Ouka. Using it to replace her underwear back into the machine at subsonic speed.

Humans blink once for approximately 120 milliseconds every 4 seconds. Sarah is no exception.

During the space in time where Sarah blinked I opened the door to the drum-style washer, closed it, then took the map from my pocket and held it above my head. All that was accomplished within 120 milliseconds–then Sarah had snatched the map of the interior from me.

–I had put the power of my whole body into sticking out my hand that I typically put into my entire body to make it move『all at once』.

However, Ouka requires each muscle and joint to move『in sequence』.

The principle relies upon each muscle in the sequence contributing its part to the total force and speed of the final motion.

In order to reach Ouka’s typical speed, 4-6 such transfers are required. Originally the sequence was『toe➝knee➝abdomen➝shoulder➝arm➝wrist』, but when I fought Watson at the SkyTree it was『left wrist➝left elbow➝left shoulder➝right shoulder➝right elbow➝ right wrist』.

This means that Ouka can be employed using any joint or muscle set in the body that you desire.

I derived the understanding of this principle with my hysterised mental abilities… tickling at the possibility of new techniques…

Just as I came to that realisation, Hysteria Mode dissipated.

This was the shortest duration I have experienced to date, and now I am in post-Hysteria recovery.

Across the entire world, all women secrete beta-endorphins that cling to their clothes and other possessions that men can pick up on…

The fact that such a tiny piece of cloth elicited such a strong reaction that sent my brain reeling is something whose explanation exceeds my meagre experience.

*****************************************************************************

I.U.’s speed increased to 47 knots as it rose to cruise on the surface of the Arctic Ocean.

Although it is the world’s fastest nuclear submarine, it must still travel like this. To reach Ki no Kuni in the Sea of Japan, it took 165 hours. 

Because the journey crossed multiple time zones, it is hard to quantify just how long it took, but it felt like about 6 days.

I intended to use the time to take it easy and rest, but..

On the third day out, Aria caught me early in the morning.

Originally purposed to train superhuman students, the vessel is equipped with classrooms areas on board–and as she dragged me to one of those:

「I bet you slept the whole day away yesterday, didn’t you? In Butei High, back in Japan, it’s about time for final exams, and I wonder if you’d even show up on time for them?」

She said, forcing me to study.

Aria’s Spartan-esque training regimen of squeezing my neck whenever I answered a question wrong overflowed with originality. Such casual stimulation of the ability to concentrate via fear of the loss of one’s life did, however, induce an improvement in performance.

Then I said:

「The other day, I think I mentioned it. If I were to go back to Japan, I would have to be smuggled in.」

I would have to cast aside my homeland to preserve my life…

「Don’t worry about that. I expect something to happen in the next day or so. I had a teleconference with a Conservative Party member of the House of Lords, and I have Zenigata working on it.」

Aria replied.

「House of Lords?」

「Don’t you know? Are you stupid? It’s Britain’s upper legislative house. It’s like Japan’s House of Councillors.」

Aria ridiculed me with an expression that belied shock at my ignorance…

「Heh! You can’t fool me with that. You’ve been cooped up and unable to act out for the past few days, so you’re using the excuse of studying to take it out on me. You won’t catch me with this conspiracy theory. I know you’re the daughter of some kind of aristocratic family, but I heard in the Wagamama restaurant that there’s a difference between nobility and members of Parliament. Even if it were the case, who would you have been able to speak to?」

Feeling like I was being taken for a fool, I prattled on, adding to her conspiracy theory–

「My father. It is definitely mixing business with pleasure, but we could keep it a secret, couldn’t we?」

Aria made a grimacing expression.

I did not know much about the illustrious Holmes Family because Aria rarely talked about it…

… But apparently they had a member in Parliament. Aria’s father.

My points refuted in an instant, Aria then lifted me in a bear hug–carrying me in both hands over her head. Then, to prevent me from squirming out and running away, she shoved her horns into my back in an inhuman technique as I was suspended above her. I called this: Idiot Riko, as she forcibly removed me.

From then on, things proceeded as if Aria was a private tutor for a spring cram course.

Aria taught me, non-stop, under constant supervision. Her Modern and Classical Japanese were a bit lacking, but she excelled in every other subject. However, I.U. was stocked with workbooks and reference books. But they were all in English.

「…Now that you mention it, what were you doing? Yesterday, I mean.」

I asked her as I was solving a Trigonometry problem Aria had pointed out from a Maths workbook…

「Talking about a bunch of things with my great-grandfather.」

「Did he tell you anything about hihiirokane?」

「Not much. He does not know much about it. That I why I have to do something.」

「You don’t resent him? Sherlock, I mean. For shooting you with the hidan last year?」

「Not really. It must not fall into criminal hands or a rogue state… 」

Resting her elbows on her notebook on top of the table, she reached over… touching her left chest where the hidan was located with a small hand…

「–I might even do something even worse with it than the Scarlet Goddess. Great-grandfather entrusted it to me. As the defective member of the Holmes Family, I have inherited this task for Her Majesty. I have a duty to carry out that I hope leads to a happy ending.」

From her words, I could tell that she held a lot of respect for Sherlock, despite the fact that he shot her…

It was so vast. The reverence in which she held him. But her body was small.

「Well, I suppose being shot is all part of being a Butei.」

What I really wanted to say was:『Well then, why don’t you stop shooting me so much?』, but if I did that, she would hit me.

So I changed what I was going to say to a more safe topic. This is what you call risk management.

「After being shot, there was risk of the Scarlet Goddess taking over if the karagane were removed, and I slipped up at the Bandire. Minuet told us that we should go see Shirayuki as soon as possible, but before doing that, we are going to see Habi to retrieve the karagane–I would prefer to meet with her after fixing my own mistakes. That is why I am happy we came to I.U.」

「Now that you mention it.. Wasn’t I.U. left in the care of the JMSDF?」

I asked because I remembered seeing it fly the SDF banner on the Thames.

「Right. They took it almost immediately after our fight. Last year, during Caravan I in Kansai… That is to say, while you were off on a romantic rendezvous with Reki.」

「No, you have it all wrong, I was being held hostage by the sniper Reki–」

「You and Reki were definitely off on a rendezvous. When Grandfather stole it again, the conditions of confidentiality were broken, so I went to Kure Harbour with Mutou from LOGI, then made a request of the former I.U. student, Riko, who was present when the JMSDF stormed I.U., and then negotiated how the JMSDF would take possession. This was done in cooperation with the Royal Navy. I worked out all the little details while you were off rendezvousing with Reki. Hold it right there! What’s this? You’re a highschool student. And you’re making an error in addition!? Stupid-Kinji! 」

「R-Right. I’m sorry.」

Addressing me without any honorifics, she scowled as she recalled the time I spent with Reki–pointing out a mistake I had made in my notes, she tapped it with the sights of her drawn gun.

But I had wondered:『What happened to I.U. after the fight? Did it sink or something?』… And now I wonder if Sherlock had managed to steal it again thanks to Aria’s actions?

Despite the natural Japanese antipathy to nuclear weapons, she must have had a hand on their throat to get the JMSDF the prize of I.U. To get it transferred to them under conditions of absolute secrecy must have netted her a great reward. Yet, I–the main reason I.U. was taken–hadn’t received a single Yen. Am I being ignored or something? That seems to be my luck.

Anyway, they won’t be getting any of my help getting it back again.

That being the case–

After a while of studying under imminent threat, we reached a natural stopping point, and Aria glanced at her watch.

「Alright. You’ve done pretty well. As a reward, you can take a break. Stand. Walk. Now come with me, please. I took a look yesterday, but I wonder about today.」

She said that curious statement, curiously cheerful, as she led me to a locker room.

Then she was wearing a fashionable felt coat that looked like something Hilda or Riko would wear, and she handed me a frock coat.

「Why are you dressed warmly? It is fairly comfortable inside the ship.」

「We’re going outside. We’re cruising on the surface right now. You don’t have to wear it if you want to freeze.」

「O-Outside? Just how cold is it? Aren’t we in the Arctic Ocean?」

In answer to my shock.

「Fufu!」

Aria smiled, covering her mouth with a knit mitten–

Then, leaving behind the sound of footsteps, the twin-tailed teru teru bozou left the locker room.

Then I pulled on the coat and chased after her.

Huh… there seems to be a lingering scent of cinnamon.

Ah! Watson probably used this before.

Watson had probably passed as a boy during their time on I.U.

With a wry smile on my face, I went out into the corridor and followed Aria up a cramped spiral staircase.

Where I had trouble passing my head and shoulders through, Aria breezed through up onto the deck. I would have told her to be careful not to hit her head, but she just barely scraped by.

「I think we were headed due east yesterday based off the stars I saw.」

Aria operated a touch panel to confirm that we were cruising on the surface, then she used it to open the hatch–

「O-Oi! Look at that panel! It says it’s 25 degrees below!」

「The open bridge has a heater, it’s fine. The weather’s clear. That’s a lucky thing since I decided to bring you with me.」

*Ka-chunk!*… With a noise, the hatch above our heads opened as cold air rushed in from outside.

Aria grabbed my hand and pulled me outside.

Then it was just the two of us alone on the bridge that was about the size of a bus.

The wind blew across the Arctic Ocean–and it was cold, as I thought it would be.

Warm air wafted up from a heater beneath our feet, creating an effective temperature of 0 degrees.

Away from the ship, it was total darkness. The sound of something like a low rumble of thunder was audible as the bow cut through the frozen seawater, and for all the world, it looked like we were in the midst of outer space.

「It can’t be much later than noon, can it…?」

I muttered as I looked left and right.

「This is polar night. It is the opposite of the midnight sun that occurs in the summer near the North Pole where the Sun stays high in the sky. In other words, it is night all day long.」

…Incredible.

The North Pole is the end of the world.

I have experienced it myself that the further you go north in Europe, the longer the night gets, ultimately giving way to total shadow.

「Night all day? That would make Hilda happy. Fii Bucuros, she might say.」

「Definitely. She says ’bucuros’ while smiling, the strange girl. Fufu!」

*Boom!*… *Shh!*…*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*… *Bang!*…

What sounded like very distant sounds of a far away battle came to my ears, and I furrowed my brows and looked toward the direction from where they came.

「That sound you heard was ice calving off a larger sheet. Have you ever seen it on television?」

Aria explained what had happened. This Arctic Ocean is full of wonder.

In the world, there are some things you can’t fully appreciate without coming to see them in person.

However…

Why are you looking up, Aria? That isn’t where the sound came from.

It caused a slight worry, but there was a feeble flickering of pink light. I thought it came from I.U., but it was too irregular.

「What’s that? What, no, where is it coming from…?」

「You’re terrible at this, aren’t you? Look up!」

Ordering me to look up in her anime-like voice, I looked up–

…!

In the sky, *Blink!* *Blink!*…

It was like a segmented curtain–

「–This… is an aurora?」

A pink aurora flickered.

This is the first time I have seen it in my life. A real aurora.

An aurora occurs when the never-ending barrage of charged particles from the Sun impact the Earth’s atmosphere at the poles, giving off light 100 kilometres in the sky and visible in the night sky. I knew about it before, but…

It flickered and changed so quickly. I had only seen it in still photographs and assumed it was a stationary phenomenon. The gradation of a single hue was also surprising.

In a word… beautiful.

It was a majestic sight. I had seen nothing like it at any kind of gala.

「It was more visible yesterday. But it’s inevitable that with you here, luck drops.」

Despite the verbal jab at me, Aria’s tone was bright.

「I’ve never seen anything like it before. This aurora phenomenon.」

「I saw it before, when I was little, from an airplane, but that time it was more hazy and flickering between yellow and green. The aurora can be all kinds of colours.」

Aria and I–we just stayed looking up at the sky like that.

「…Hey, Kinji.」

「Yeah.」

「If I call you again… like today, will you come?」

「Why would you ask that? If I don’t, you’d shoot me.」

「To look at a scene like this, even if you have to pay a pound, it’s nice to spend some time together, isn’t it?」

If the answer is in the negative, that’s a gunshot.

「…Yeah. Let’s do it again. When everything settles down–Let’s meet up back at the Academy Island arcade. We’ll do the UFO Catcher again.」

「Kinji…」

I.U. was headed to Kii no Kuni.

The top leader of the oni, Habi, was there.

Habi held Aria’s karagane.

The karagane acts as a filter to allow only the ESP powers derived from the『rule-based connection』to be used while suppressing the 『heart-based connection』that allows the hihiirokane to bond with the human personality and the Scarlet Goddess to take over.

Once recovered, Aria’s apotheosis–for the time being at least, will be halted.

Yen told me that Habi is 7 times stronger than her, and I don’t know just yet how I will get it back… but I will do it somehow. If Aria is with me. That’s how it has always been, no matter what has happened.

[END TEXT]

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1. A Japanese play where children go on an adventure only to discover that the ‘blue bird of happiness’ they were seeking was in their back garden the whole time. 

2. Japanese Maritme Self-Defense Force

3. Douglas MacArthur quote taken from a song https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_soldiers_never_die 

4. ‘Omibusu’ is another way to say ‘onigiri’, but slightly more formal and archaic. However, the nuance here is that ‘Oni kiri/giri’ means ‘oni slashing/killing.

5. The practice of inflicting a mortal abdominal wound, then making a dramatic statement and afterwards revealing the mortal wound to the other party. Kabuki theatre trope and dramatic device.

6. Roasted sweet potato dish