Tatakau Shisho

Volume 7, Chapter 4: The Magic Blade is Dancing – Part?1

The party continued. The Armed Librarians forgot all about their usual strict discipline and had as much fun as they wanted.

“In conclusion… all of today’s Armed Librarians are no good at all!”

“Yeah!”

Kalne, Tsamuro and the rest of the vigorous youths were shouting. They kicked down the tables and sat in a circle on the floor. It was impossible to guess just how much alcohol they had consumed.

“Why! The next Director is Yukizona! But Yukizona’s also not good!”

“Yeah, we can’t let Yukizona do it!”

They all cried and hit the floor with their fists. No one explained why Yukizona was no good. They probably all had their own ideas.

“But we have no one but Yukizona! Matt-san will soon retire! Bonbo’s not a First Class Armed Librarian! Kyasariro and Malfa are lacking in power!”

“Yeah!”

“So in conclusion, all of today’s Armed Librarians are no good at all!”

They have been repeating almost the same conversation from about half an hour ago. It would probably continue until they all drink themselves unconscious.

In the kitchen, Rizzly and Bonbo were shouting at each other. Most of the slices of pickled salmon disappeared from their bowl.

“Ahhh you’ve eaten all of it, what’re you doing Bonbo-san?!”

“It’ll all end up in my stomach anyway so it doesn’t matter.”

Bonbo said nonchalantly while stuffing his cheeks with parsley that was supposed to be used as garnish.

“You’re the worst! Just what do you think cooking is?! What about the efforts of the chef looking for the best taste?!”

“Tonight I’m the appetite monster. You can only stop me by killing me.”

Rizzly’s anger was on the verge of activating his Magic Right. But if he were to pick a fight with Bonbo the whole town would be destroyed. Bonbo was the person least able to hold himself back among the Armed Librarians.

The trainees all had a gloomy face as they knew Rizzly would vent out his anger on them.

Meanwhile, Mattalast gave Luik some life counseling. He was two meters tall and weighed more than 150 kilograms, yet he shrunk like a little puppy.

“I actually thought Renas is nice since long ago.”

“I see I see, I know how you feel, she’s a wonderful woman.”

“But since I’m like this, I can’t even speak to her. She’ll probably be too scared of me to speak and run away.”

Luik began sobbing.

“I’m happy that Olivia-san’s alive. Because it means that Renas is alive too. I’m happy, so happy, but she’s kinda scary.”

“I know. You’re right. She’s dangerous.”

Mattalast nodded again and again.

“But whenever I look at Olivia-san, I always recall Renas-san, because they’re the same person after all…”

“Drink. Drink and forget it all.”

Luik twisted open a bottle of whiskey with his bare hands. He drank nearly all of it in one gulp.

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Forget all about it. Nothing ever happened.”

Meanwhile, several woman Armed Librarians gathered around Kyasariro and Olivia who were chatting.

“Well then, and now for the main topic… how did I seduce that fatty?”

Kyasariro gulped.

“So as I thought it’s always about the bed with you…”

Olivia, who was also slightly drunk, spoke about her relationship with Charlot accompanying it with hand gestures. It was quite the lewd conversation, and so Kyasariro and the rest weren’t able to follow it well.

“Olivia-san, p-please consider your words a bit.”

“What’re you saying. That’s what happens when you enter the bed. That’s no place for scared women.”

The women listening to her all became immensely curious.

“…Everyone seems to have fun.”

Yanku walked through the gaps between all the Armed Librarians. He cleared up the dishes and placed a broken table in the corner. None of those carefree Armed Librarians knew that just a few days ago there was a battle capable of shaking the very foundation of their organization.

Nor the fact that that Yanku had decided that on this day and place he would massacre the Armed Librarians.

December 24, 1926

Yanku left Bantorra Library and came to the southern frontier in a hurry.

He did so to attend the meeting with the vanguard of the Indulging God Cult, Laty Margent. He was the one to designate the location – an uninhabited island about ten kilometers away from his village on sea.

People never lived on that island since ancient times. Ninety percent of it was a forest made of huge trees more than fifty meters tall. The small amount of land open to the sea was covered in scraggy rocks.

He had chosen a place suitable for battle in advance. Such an island filled with obstacles was perfect for Yanku to ambush several enemies. It was quite wide and had plenty of hiding places. He was aiming to crush each and every one of them individually as they ran around.

“…I’m tired of waiting.”

Yanku muttered. There were still a few hours until their meeting time. In the meanwhile he checked Shlamuffen and prepared for battle. It wasn’t easy spending several hours like that with all his tension. This was also part of Yanku’s inexperience.

When an hour was left until their meeting, he could see the silhouette of a ship in the horizon. It was the same fast boat that he had seen about twenty days ago.

Only one person rode on it. It was the same woman that he had seen at the time. She was undoubtedly Laty Margent.

Yanku equipped the Ever-Laughing Magic Blade Shlamuffen on his hand. He went into the forest, hid himself and observed the woman.

Laty brought her fast boat to the rocky beach. She wasn’t skilled; from her movements he could conjecture that she had had no fighting abilities. If she mastered bodily reinforcement Magic she should have jumped on to the cliff after fixating her boat. However, he also couldn’t deny the possibility of her just trying to make Yanku be careless.

He removed Shlamuffen that dug into his hand and concealed it in his pocket. He decided to first see how his opponent would act for the time being.

“Am I early?”

Laty looked around. Yanku revealed himself from behind a tree and spoke to her.

“Come here.”

Although puzzled at Yanku’s conduct, Laty stepped into the forest.

Yanku observed her as she did. She was a blonde woman of about thirty years old. Her attire wasn’t bad at all. Her menswear suit, black-rimmed glasses and leather bag were not top-class but still of a good quality.

She had an ordinary physique with no signs of any training on her body. She had an intelligent appearance and he couldn’t feel any weakness from her. His first impression of her as an elite of the business world was probably not far off from reality.

The distance between the two was about ten meters. It was a distance where they could converse without any problem and also left him with enough space to respond to any attack.

“Good to meet you, Yanku Kuin-san. I am the director of the Margent Humanity Development Foundation, Laty Margent.

I apologize that me greeting you was so delayed due to various circumstances.”

It was a passable, proper greeting. Yanku immediately cut into the chase.

“You’re the Indulging God Cult, right?”

“How do you…”

Laty faltered for a moment, but soon pulled herself together.

“I see, Mani-san told you. Such a problematic child.”

Laty continued talking without letting her firm demeanor crumble.

“Now I understand why you were wary of me for a while. But do not worry. I have no intention of causing you any harm. You have probably already also realized that I do not have the ability to do so anyway.”

Laty had no fighting ability. It was almost confirmed judging by her demeanor.

“I think it will be hard for you to believe me, but there is first something I would like for you to understand. The Indulging God Cult no longer has any intention of fighting against you Armed Librarians. The war between us is already over.”

“Even if you say so, destroying the Indulging God Cult is the Armed Librarians’ duty.”

“Please look at this.”

Laty produced a document from within her bag. Yanku signaled her to throw it to him. She folded it and tossed it toward him.

“This woman is a member of the Indulging God Cult, but she’s not our enemy. I guarantee it.

Mattalast Ballory”

It certainly was Mattalast’s signature. It was not a counterfeit.

“Are you surprised? But this is true. Originally the Indulging God Cult and the Armed Librarians were not opposed to each other. That war was also a mistake for the Cult.”

“…”

Yanku was not particularly surprised. However, the fact that the Indulging God Cult and the Armed Librarians were actually related was indeed shocking to an extent. As was the fact that not only Hamyuts but also Mattalast was involved in the conspiracy.

“Do you understand now? I also do not want to be killed by you. I want you to calm down and listen to me.”

“…”

Killing her would be simple. But rather than that it would probably be better listening to what she wanted to say. Information would become his weapon. Especially when it was revealed by his enemy. He would be able to kill her whenever he wanted.

“Before we move on to business, I must first reveal to you the truth about the Indulging God Cult. It will be a long story, so please listen.”

“Won’t you tell me about yourself first? If I don’t know who you are I’m not sure if I should listen to you.”

“I see. My name is Laty Margent. Publically I’m an investor from Ismo. At the same time I serve as the spokesman of the board of directors from the charitable institution named the Margent Humanity Development Foundation.

Also, I am the head chief of the False Men of the Indulging God Cult.”

Speaking this far, Laty shook her head as if she recalled something.

“Excuse me. We no longer use the term False Man. At present we only refer to them as members. That is the policy of the current Overseer of Paradise. Not that it is a big deal.”

“Can you go into more details? Or can you not tell me?”

Laty averted her gaze, indicating it was difficult to speak of.

“Understood. I also have to reveal our past follies in order to gain your trust. I was originally picked up by Kachua and joined the Cult. At the time I did not doubt the doctrine of the Cult.”

Yanku listened to the details of Laty’s story with great interest. Until now he thought of the Indulging God Cult as nothing but enemies that needed to be killed. He now learned for the first time that there were actual people there.

Originally she served Parney Parlmanta. Parney was a wonderful actress and a great mistress. Laty spent all of her energy on ensuring the success of her acting passion. She didn’t have any doubts about doing this for her every day.

Later Parney died. With the death of her mistress, who was also her friend, she started harboring doubts about the teachings of the Indulging God Cult.

Then, when she met Cigal Crekessa, she decided to defect.

Pursuing happiness was wonderful. However, there was something clearly wrong with that man. That’s what she felt.

Laty was not a slave to her religion. She left Ismo, hid her assets, changed her name and ran away from the Indulging God Cult. She had no connection to the fight between the Armed Librarians and the Cult that happened later.

There were many other people like her who ran away from Kachua. There were also those who weighed their conscience against their belief and let the former win.

“Then, I met with the current Overseer of Paradise, Minth. After sympathizing with his ideals and gaining his trust, I joined the Cult again.”

“Minth Chezine is the Overseer of Paradise?”

Yanku had never met the man but knew about him from Noloty’s Book. Why did that proud Armed Librarian join the Indulging God Cult? Why did he become the Overseer of Paradise, the one who practices wickedness and sacrifices everything for the happiness of True Men?

It was something no human could understand after all. Even with those who seemed to be good people, one couldn’t really tell what they were thinking on the inside.

Just as he thought the decision to fight alone was not mistaken. He couldn’t trust any of the other Armed Librarians.

“Is that enough for my story? After all I am a mere assistant.”

She probably told him no lies. But because of that he couldn’t trust this woman. Because the Cult was the Cult.

“Then let us get into the main topic: the real relationship between the Armed Librarians and the Indulging God Cult. And about Heaven.”

Yanku nodded.

“You know about the birth of the Indulging God Cult and the truth behind it.”

“Yeah. It was supposedly born due to some stupid delusion.”

“That was all lies. That story was nothing more than Mattalast’s fabrication. Heaven is real. There is no doubt of that.”

“Just what is Heaven? Where is it?”

Yanku recalled a certain fact. Thinking of it, Noloty asked Kachua the same question.

“I’m very sorry, but I also do not know its location. Neither where it is nor what it is. The only ones to know are the Acting Director, her close associates and the Overseer of Paradise.

I only know two things: that Heaven desires the Books of happy people, and that the Armed Librarians are burdened with the duty to provide it with them. That is all.”

“The Armed Librarians? Not the Indulging God Cult?”

Laty shook her head.

“It is the duty of the Armed Librarians. The Indulging God Cult is an organization that receives orders from them and creates the Books of happy people. They are nothing more than a branch organization tasked with part of their duty.”

“This is quite different from what I’ve heard. Isn’t the Cult’s doctrine to allow any sort of desire?”

“That is nothing more than one way to create happy Books. This is merely a front so we could gather believers, make them work for the True Men and make the desires of those True Men come true.”

Yanku laughed from the back of his throat.

“I see. So you’re making them believe a false doctrine for the sake of the Armed Librarians’ duty. Even the Cult members were being used.”

There would probably not be many people willing to work if told to create Books of happy people. Rather than that, using the bait known as Heaven and inducing a fake doctrine would make it easier for them to listen to orders.

“That is right. The past generations of Overseers of Paradise deceived their followers. Everything was for this mission of bringing Books to Heaven.”

“…Why do they have to fulfill this duty?”

“We are not told the reason. Because there is no reason for us to ask about it. I have sworn my loyalty to Minth-sama and to the Indulging God Cult. If I ask why I have to obey it, it will be no loyalty.”

Laty took a step toward Yanku.

“Let us enter the main topic. Yanku Kuin-san, I would like to invite you to become a member of the Indulging God Cult. No, not only you, but all people of your village as well.”

“Why?”

“We want to welcome Mani-san as a True Man. For Heaven and for our duty, we want to bring that virtuous girl the greatest happiness.

If you consent, we will promise your village peace and prosperity.”

Laty looked at Yanku with a serious expression. He started laughing without thinking as he received that gaze.

“You’re truly one to say such things, Indulging God Cult. Using your believers and causing misfortune to innocent, unrelated people, all for your duty.

You’ve killed Big Sis Noloty for this.”

“It was Kachua’s foolishness that killed Noloty. It was because that man went against the Armed Librarians.”

“No, if the Indulging God Cult hadn’t existed, Big Sis wouldn’t have been killed. If you hadn’t existed she wouldn’t have been killed. Am I wrong?”

Laty became speechless and took a step backwards.

“Die, Indulging God Cult, for you’ve killed Big Sis Noloty.”

Yanku invoked his Magic Right. Mud was created at his feet and slid towards Laty.

“Don’t think it will end with this. Your life isn’t even worth one thousandth of compensation. I will reap all of your comrades one by one.”

Laty turned around and tried running away. But after all she was a normal person. She couldn’t resist at all.

The mud clung to her legs. She couldn’t even fall.

“Please wait Yanku-san. Calm down. We will never hurt Mani-san. We are her faithful allies.”

“…Allies? You’re just using her.”

“That…”

Laty mumbled.

“This is my village. The village Big Sis Noloty tried to protect. It’s not there for you to take advantage of it!”

“That is wrong! We would never…”

He couldn’t hear her talking anymore. The mud covered Laty’s entire body. The moment he tried to engulf her face, Yanku felt pain at his ear. A slight bit later, a gunshot echoed.

“You cannot be this emotional, Yanku.”

Yanku’s mud stopped just short of killing Laty. It returned to his feet, hardened and assumed a battle position.

He looked back. Was I too careless? Thought Yanku. He was relieved that Laty came there alone. They probably landed at the other side of the island during their conversation.

The other person was standing lightly atop a branch of cedar tree. Yanku then called her name.

“Yuri Hamlow…”

She wore a white coat on her slender, tall body. Her long, black hair waving around would look better on a movie screen than it did on the background of the deep forest. Due to her elegant demeanor, the huge gun she held with one hand was all the more conspicuous.

“I am not impressed with you not using any honorific. Even though I am nothing compared to my big brother, I am still an Armed Librarian.”

Laty was running away. Yanku ignored her. This wasn’t the time to be concerned by some small errand runner.

“Since you’re an Armed Librarian you shouldn’t mind it. Is there any fool who would respect their enemy?”

Yuri chuckled.

“So you really were a problem child. Calling an Armed Librarian your enemy…”

“You are though, right? Aren’t the ones who created the Indulging God Cult and used them my enemies?”

“Please cease this dangerous talk. Did Laty-san or I ever call you an enemy? We have opened our hearts to you, came to you in good faith, and asked you to become our ally.”

“I refused. So you’re my enemies.”

Yuri made a small sigh. She had same expression as someone looking at a disobedient child.

“A kid who surprisingly does not understand anything, huh. If you really want to rebel, then I have no choice but to erase you…”

Her gun’s muzzle moved faintly.

“Since my big brother is a generous person, he told me not to kill you. If I kill you he will become terribly angry at me. I would like for you to not rebel against us.”

She’s too careless. Yanku was convinced judging from her tone: she had no idea that Yanku possessed Shlamuffen.

How fortunate, he snickered in his mind. If Mattalast or Hamyuts were his enemies he would have had no chance of winning. However, he could win against Yuri.

“Yanku-san, must you absolutely do this? If you die Mani-san will be saddened. She is the Cult’s precious True Man. We cannot make her sad.”

He felt irritated at her way of saying this. She spoke as if she was raising some high-class cattle.

I will kill this woman. Thus Yanku decided.