27、19 + 後記+最終章 Yukar ...
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Yukari was standing at the entrance, and her white swinging sleeve kimono had swirling shapes of gold resembling the northern lights on the lower half, with silver floral motifs decorating her brocade belt. On the belt, hang two pendants, each with a magnificent jewel centerpiece: one of obsidian, the other of sapphire. She had a crown on her head, with gemstones set on the gold band, and they were peridot, emerald, amethyst, ruby and rose quartz. Instead of having light purple trim on her entire kimono, the collar trim was light lavender, deep green on her left shoulder, light red on her right shoulder, lime green on her left sleeve, and light pink on her right sleeve.
In her hand, there was a hollow sphere of golden thread and silver lace, holding a crystallized spider’s web in its centre.
“Are you... but...could it be that...”
Yukari walked forward, and pushed Hitomi on her shoulders, until Hitomi’s back was pressed against the crystal of ice.
“I am Yukari, no one can resist my commands. All who dare to rebel against my authority are mowed down like worthless grass. I am seated upon my throne, and you will kneel and bow down in awe. You will dream of becoming my foot rest, for even that position signifies a privilege that is beyond your wildest dreams of fantasy. You commoner with your deplorable desires. You fancy kissing the bottom of my boots, and with that despicable thought in mind, you touch yourself at night, then savoring the taste on your fingers. You are but an insignificant tool in my immense factory, akin to a speck of dust that I ignore, and an annoyance that I gracefully overlook and forgive.”
“I am also Midori, who will sway your heart with suggestive words and leave you no choice but to be swept away by your own intensified desire. The waves of passion toss you helplessly every which way, and I will tempt you with lust. Your eyes lose focus at my command. Your body will reach orgasm on its own with no physical stimulation, for my words control your very body. I will chastise and belittle you for your shameful sinfulness. Without my voice, you have no meaning, and your existence would be a screaming hollow.”
“I am Kasumi, who can read you like an open book, and no secret can be hidden from me. It takes me just one look to know all your thoughts. My mind binds you like fetters and chains from which you can never escape. I will turn all your plans to ruins, and take delight in your disappointment at the seemingly unexpected outcome, for your feeble intellect could not begin to comprehend how intricately my scheme hijacked yours, while leaving no evidence for you to notice. Your world will be a story that I write for personal pleasure. The places you visit, the people you encounter, the events that transpire... nothing deviates from my predetermined plot. You are my hamster in a wheel, an ant in my glass ant farm, and my goldfish in a bowl.”
“I am Yayoi. I make you into my doll, and you obey me and do my bidding. Never again do you have to think. I can make you burn your treasured collection at will. I can make you suddenly undress in a classroom in front of all your students. I can make you terminate all your loved ones in the most cruel manner. You never know what random fancies of mine would cause you to do. You have no control over what you are, who you are, or when to be yourself. I am the fearsome puppet master, and your fate lies in my hand. The tip of my finger dictates your destiny. I can make you freeze in the middle of the intersection. I can make you dash in front of a truck. You do not know my other puppets. Your life will feel like a play that you are the only one who is not allowed to read the script. Your friends and loved ones can suddenly turn on you, and there is not a single thing that you could do.”
“I am Ryō, who makes your body a toy and your soul a prisoner. Your mind will be blown and your will is going to be shattered by the addictive pain that I inflict on you. I will attach electrodes all over your body, and inside all your orifices, too. My whips will sting like barbed wires, and my nails are sharp like blades. My chains will arrange your body in the most unbelievable poses, and my ropes will hug you tighter than what you think you can endure. I will inject chemicals to intensify the pain, and I will cover your most sensitive parts with irritants. I will deprive all your senses and leave you isolated for days, and I will insert devices to take away any control of bodily functions. You will inhale potent mind-altering substances for my viewing pleasure. I will inject highly addictive drugs into your veins, and watch you writhe in agony due to planned withdrawal, while I enjoy a glass of wine, relaxing. You will be tattooed and scarified. You will have piercings in the most unimaginable places. You will be forced to appear normal in front of others while holding in vibrators and electrified toys, and I will program the devices to vary in intensity according to my voice. With the electrodes and vibrators, I will force you to orgasm in secrecy, without arousing suspicion, holding in all your sounds and hiding all your facial expressions. You will come in bookstores, in restaurants, on buses, on airplanes, at the grocery checkouts, waiting in line at banks. You will suck the juice from your soaked underwear and beg for more. Your pussy will quiver in excitement when you hear my voice, and your body will tense up when you fantasize what new methods of torture I might have invented, when you wonder with anticipation what machines and devices to which I would subject your body.”
“I am your Akishi Oneechan, who comforts you and caresses you. I hold your face and calm your heart with my gentle love. I stay by your side when you are depressed. I rejoice with you when you share news of happiness. The world takes on a more loving hue because of me. You will feel that your store of goodness and kindness would never be depleted as long as you have my presence by your side. Even the difficulties and trials will take on a softer outlook if we face them together.”
“I am your Arashi Oneesama, whom your heart desires, whom you pursue with your whole spirit and mind. I inspire you to self-improve with all your effort, and you feel self-driven when you want to stand shoulder to shoulder with me. We watched sunset together, and we will watch sunrise too, with your head on my lap, and my hands enveloping yours. We will watch the stars, the moon rise, flowers, rivers, falling leaves, falling snow and the floating clouds drifting by. We will listen to the birds, crickets, cicadas, mountain streams, waterfalls, and the howling winter wind. We will treasure each other in stillness while the transient world around us changes seasons. We will be the universe to each other. We will be the eternity to each other.”
Hitomi’s mind went blank.
“...How can this be... It can’t be, can it? You mean it was you all along?”
“No. In fact I was not any of them. But I WILL be all of them.”
“This is so confusing...” Hitomi thought she might get a headache. “Is this still the Kannazuki no Miko dream that I thought I was in? And what name do I even call you now??”
“This is not a dream. Hitomi’s life was a dream. Kagami’s life was a dream. This, however, is not a dream. And you know what to call me. You devised the longest title that anyone had ever come up with when they think of me.”
“This can’t be... How... you mean...”
“Yes, my dear, say it to me.”
“You are not offended by it, are you? You mean I can?”
“Say it.”
“Izanami the great Goddess”, Hitomi hesitated with embarrassment, “Queen of darkness, Lord of Underworld...” Hitomi continued, “...Yami no Jō’ō Heika, Myōkai no Shujō, Izanami ?migami-sama...”.
“Just now, ‘Hitomi’s life is a dream, but this is not a dream’, what can it mean? I lived my whole life as Hitomi, so who’s dreaming to be Hitomi? And if this is not a dream, am I actually on the moon? That can’t be!”
“This is not the moon. In fact, you are in a realm that I have newly created, just for you. The blue planet in the sky is the real earth. Hitomi lived until the age of twenty, and upon a bad break up with Rin, wandered aimlessly in the park until midnight, where she ended her life by jumping into the icy old water of the lake. Your spirit came to the underworld and I knew who you were and what had happened and I wanted to give you a happy ending. So I created this realm in the sky, and wove worlds of fantasy for you to reside. I am with you every moment in the dreams, and we will live together, and never age.”
There was a long silence as Hitomi slowly processed the information.
“I stayed in the netherworld because no one in the world that I had created wanted to be with me, but then a certain young girl started chanting my name every evening, and thought of me, and felt sorry for what I had experienced, and started piling title upon titles before my name.”
“That’s the reason. I came just to see you. I came out, made a new realm, and we are with each other. And don’t be embarrassed that the titles you compiled take too long to say, I would be happier if you would call me something special.”
“You should call me ‘goShujin-sama’.”
Upon hearing those words, Hitomi felt the blood in her entire body was gushing toward between her legs. She clenched them tightly, and her body tightened and shivered from the top of her head all the way to her toes, and Hitomi let out a long cry.
Today, she sings for her goShujin-sama.
Hitomi woke up.
“Rin”, she mumbled, “I just had the weirdest dream again, I dreamed that I was on a different planet and...”
“That’s just a dream, my love” Rin kissed Hitomi’s forehead.
“Now back to sleep”, Rin hugged Hitomi’s head, and pressed it tightly onto her chest.
“Yes, goShujin-sama.” Hitomi closed her eyes and went back to sleep, and as a result, didn’t manage to see a shimmering glow of spectral light from Rin’s right eye: in that colourful display of light, there was the glamour of amethyst, emerald, ruby, peridot, rose quartz, obsidian and sapphire.
[Author’s Note]
This marks the official ending of the English version of the story．
【後記】
Karma of Causation (Yukari) 縁
“Aaaaahhh!” Yukari cried out in agony as the swords of light impaled her body. The leader of the Himeyama forces breathed her last, and died, with her eyes wide open.
Feeling dizzy and nauseous, Yukari held her forehead with her right hand. She’s alive. Yukari looked around, and found herself standing with the rest of her elites, by a small hill at the foot of Kageyama, with a young girl trembling in pain in front of her. It’s the seven year old Kagami, whose soul had been summoned forcibly out of her by Ryō five minutes ago, and a fragment of which had been snatched away and imprisoned in a hollow sphere. A moment earlier, Yukari had just branded Kagami’s heart with scorching white-hot magic, which would destroy Kagami whenever Yukari would activate it, from wherever in the world.
Yukari knew the rest of the story. She had just lived through it.
Kagami would become greatly depressed after gradually losing all ability in sword, magic, and alchemy, and would become one of the cleaning staff at Kageyama, doing menial labour. She eventually regained some physical strength, after another eight years.
Arashi would get married at age twenty with Akishi’s younger brother, who had volunteered to practice swords with Kagami during her first class. They would give birth to a baby girl named Ran, which meant orchid, and Ran would have Arashi’s spirit protecting her well past the regular three days. Ran would be brought back from the caves and live together with her parents.
Yukari would make an unannounced attack on Kageyama in order to capture the family of three. Ran’s father would die in battle, while Arashi, holding tightly onto Ran, would leap off the west cliff.
Kagami would find them, then bring Ran to a secret place, as directed by Kageyama, to keep the baby girl safe. Arashi would wake up and would be prevented from knowing the whereabouts of her daughter until she made a full recovery, a process which would take two years.
After making a full recovery, Arashi would get her daughter back, and would cut all ties with Kageyama due to two years of bottled up outrage from the forced separation between her and her child.
Upon hearing that Arashi was no longer at Kageyama, Yukari would launch a full attack with all of Himeyama’s forces. All would be cruelly tortured and brutally slaughtered, and yet, when the last person, Kagami the cleaning staff was to be put to death, after much mental and physical torment at the hands of Midori and Ryō, strange powers awoke from within Kagami, and summoned innumerable swords of light and shadows to fill the whole sky. These swords would wipe out the entire army of Himeyama, along with Yukari herself.
And this entire series of events was nothing more than a dream by an ordinary girl named Hitomi, who was currently experiencing the world inside this Kagami, who was writhing with enormous pain in front of her right at this moment.
Yukari felt disgusted. Her existence, her mightiness in battle, her supreme ability as the commander of Himeyama’s unstoppable military forces, her dominating leadership which drew a great multitude to obey and follow her, her peerless talent and capacity... was merely meant, even less than a fully developed character in a script, for some girl to tell others as a tale of curiosity.
Eventually, Hitomi would write it down, and the story would end with an ending that did not even include Yukari:
Kagami burned her own spirit as a sacrifice. With her body becoming dust of light, swords of lights and shadows rained down from the night sky, killing all of the Himeyama forces. Arashi tried to preserve Kagami’s soul in a toy doll that Kagami had once made for Ran, but it failed due the incompleteness of the soul. Arashi sacrificed a portion of her spirit to open a channel in the fabric of time and space, sending the remnant of the doll with incomplete soul to another universe, hoping it will live out its own life in peace.
Hitomi woke up, and it was the middle of the night. When morning comes, she would go to the lake side in the quiet park. Even though it was a pity that, according to the dream, what was missing was a fragment of her soul and a portion of Rin’s spirit, the absence of which had caused the breakdown of their relationship, Hitomi and Rin now lived in rather peaceful separate lives. They had been together; they had made unforgettable memories. Despite the outcome, they did not betray Kagami and Arashi’s faith and trust from the other world.
Feeling relieved and resolved, Hitomi fell back asleep. Alarm wouldn’t ring for another five hours.
(“What can I do now?”) Yukari wondered. She pointed her finger at Kagami’s forehead, putting Kagami to sleep while simultaneously setting a barrier to prevent anyone from finding out what had happened. Then, Yukari proceeded to lead her group of elite noble warriors back to Himeyama.
Yukari, upon her return to Himeyama, made her way to the Grand Depository, where records, charts, notebooks, scrolls, manuscripts and incomplete parchments with spell diagrams were housed and studied.
She immersed herself in the archaic mountain of knowledge and theories, of experiments and hypotheses, of errors and successes. Yukari was determined to change her own fate, and guide Himeyama onto a different path, out of predetermined doom along the way.
Yukari emerged once again from its shadow. Yukari started with laying down rules for the battlefield: “One. Do not kill; only immobilize and incapacitate the opponents and take them prisoner. If one cannot overpower the enemy without killing, then the said warrior is too weak to be in the attacking forces. Two. Demand full surrender with a specific date. Only attack when full surrender is not offered upon arrival.”
Yukari entrusted the administration of the student body to Midori and Kasumi, before disappearing into her study.
Yukari drew a matrix with unprecedented complexity, a task which was the result of her two years’ worth of concentration and effort.
If her previous life was simply to be a strange tale, Yukari would demand her own self to be described, and not some pretender assuming her name and identity.
In her previous life, her thinking was shrouded by a mysterious consciousness, and she, as if being compelled and manipulated, sleepwalked through her short life of prescribed maliciousness, sadism, ruthlessness, mercilessness, hatred, greed, lunacy and vanity.
That life was not hers, and she would not allow people to know her by some ill-conceived assumptions.
The spell was complete, and Yukari slowly sang an enchantment, sending her spirit to the world where Hitomi resided, through the matrix that combined the wisdom of millennia.
There sat Hitomi, in a tiny apartment, plainly furnished, located by a noisy major street, and she was writing down her dream for a novel contest.
“With superb skillfulness, Midori cast the elaborate spell that dampened Kagami’s talent, which would also, for the next two years, gradually reduce Kagami’s capacity for sword, magic and alchemy to a painful nil.”
Seeing that Hitomi was about to describe how ‘Yukari’ would find joy in seeing Kagami be overcome with agony, Yukari’s spirit quickly halted Hitomi by telepathy, and planted a short sentence into Hitomi’s head:
“She would not; that is beneath her.”
Hitomi was shocked. A character in her short story had come alive, and was taking on a life of her own. Hitomi debated whether she would keep true to the dream she actually had, or would she respect the will of a character.
After much mental debate, the real Yukari proved triumphant.
“That changes everything. I was going to just write down that dream, but now I don’t even know what the ending will be. I just found out about the novel contest on the last day of August, and have less than a month to write it all out. Now what...” Hitomi sighed. “I wonder how Yukari would cast her spell then...”
Like giving stage direction, Yukari spoke commands into Hitomi’s mind, changing the story a little at a time.
‘Yukari’ would put Kagami to sleep before invading Kagami’s consciousness to erase her memory.
‘Yukari’ would not brand Kagami’s heart with a scorching spell.
‘Yukari’ did not find delight in the misery of others.
As to what Ryō did with Kagami’s soul, Yukari’s spirit did not intervene. Whether Ryō would make a fragment of Kagami’s soul into a toy to indulge in her cruel fancies did not concern Yukari. Yukari did not bother to care about Ryō, or Kagami for that matter; she was indifferent to them. Ryō was an efficient soldier in her forces, contributing her usefulness toward furthering Yukari’s ambition, and that was what mattered.
A few days later, Hitomi was about to write the part where Arashi would marry Akishi’s younger brother. Yukari’s spirit intervened, surprisingly. Having fought Arashi in battle, Yukari held Arashi’s strength, and Arashi's respect for her noble sword, in high regard; the ultimate arts of sword, magic, and alchemy demanded respect like royalty, and Yukari cared more for these noble arts than she did for humans.
“Arashi only loves her sword. Do not defile her with a marriage.” Yukari’s command sounded in Hitomi’s mind.
“Oh, great. Now the whole story runs the risk of falling to pieces. No marriage, no special infant girl, then no sudden attack from Himeyama. I don’t have a story anymore.” Hitomi felt rather sad and was in despair.
“I demand Kageyama to submit because I desire so. Not out of greed. I shall reign by my unmatched powerful command of magic, and by my virtues of delighting in no pain and judging each equally.” Yukari’s firm speech entered Hitomi.
“Why does every stereotypical antagonist want to reign over the world?!” Hitomi shouted out loud, “It’s a lot of work to establish administration to properly operate the world, and these characters can somehow only think of ‘I have military supremacy, thus I deserve to reign’, instead of what is their actual plan in governing it. From Himiko Jō’? Heika in the anime Ikki Tousen, to Nagi denka in MaiOtome, to Lord Enorume in Mahou Shōjō ni Akogarete... What do all these characters want? Reign over the world; all shall kneel and worship and submit and obey... Then what? Balanced budget? Free higher education for all ages? Better pension system? Suitable work opportunity for all people including those with various disabilities? A more advanced health care system that provides what people need while reducing wasted resources by carefully discerning what would be merely ‘wants’? An intelligently set up system of crown corporations to generate revenue for the state, lessening the dependence on income tax, without stifling the private business sector? How to fight wildfires and floods and other disasters without draining resources due to the upkeep of a large special force? How to monitor the performance of government staff yet not encouraging irresponsible spending, nor scaring officials into inaction due to overly severe scrutiny? Couldn’t these ‘masterminds’ put more thoughts into their actual government plan??? Or are they simply going to copy the precedent of ancient empires by sending trusted military generals to be lords and governors, only to have them usurp the throne later, or to be mini-kings that divide and devour the emperor’s authority???”
“Urgh...” Hitomi lounged on a recliner. “Sure, I will write a new ending. But I’m tired of this ‘I have supreme strength thus I am meant to reign’ mentality. I’m taking away all power and capacity and talent and prestige from the Five. They will become commoners, with zero gift in magic.”
Hitomi thought of what the Five would be like, and her thoughts were read by Yukari’s spirit.
Yukari incurred hatred of her pack of elites as they lost all their strength. In a great outburst of rage, the four of them turned on her, and killed her.
A new ending appeared in Yukari’s mind, as Hitomi contemplated how to conclude the story. Yukari was enraged: why did Hitomi want her killed in the first place?
Hitomi’s annoying train of thought did not end there. Furious, Yukari saw in Hitomi’s mind that the new ending being devised now somehow includes Ryō in a ‘happily ever after’:
“I am Rin, I am Arashi, I am Ryō
I am the storm that envelops you, I am the silk that entangles you, I am the cage that imprisons you, I am the wintry wind that freezes you into a crystal sculpture of ice, I make you my own, I claim you for myself, for eternity.”
How unfair! Yukari thought. Because Ryō took a fragment of Kagami's soul, she got to be in the ending -- with no punishment for the crime, either! Hitomi, in designing the story, had shown blatant favouritism.
“Stop those thoughts of nonsense!” Yukari’s spirit ordered. “If you are so concerned with being ‘right and just’, denouncing my ambition and my belief, then show equity yourself!”
It took Hitomi three days to come up with an ending that Yukari would tolerate.
In the new ending, ‘Yukari’ was shown in good light, and no longer acted as a stereotype, but in a dignified manner that Yukari’s spirit approved.
Yukari’s spirit returned to her body, which was still seated in her study at Himeyama. Pleased that she would live her own life instead of being a blindfolded caricature in a script by someone else, Yukari took out a blank scroll, and started to draft the upcoming annual budget for Himeyama Academy, dependencies, and estates, along with a revision to her ten year plan.
【最終章】
Your Majesty
(Jōkō heika 女皇陛下)
December came, it had been more than two months since Hitomi finished writing down her dream for a novel contest, a contest that she mainly used as a way to finally force herself to describe the dream in its entirety. It had also been three months since Hitomi met the real Yukari, who guided the story-writing to reflect the real characters in the other universe.
It was then Advent, and Hitomi’s family took out lights and candles. As Hitomi lay in bed at night, she increasing missed Yukari, and wished to see her highness again, a longing that grew more and more intense with every passing night. On a very snowy and windy Tuesday, Hitomi woke up and had a sudden feeling that something had happened in the other universe, and her mind was concerned all through breakfast. Toward mid morning, Hitomi realized, though without any proof of evidence, that the coronation ceremony for Yukari had drawn to a satisfactory conclusion. She would address Yukari as Her Majesty from that point onward.
“Your Majesty?” Hitomi called tentatively in her mind, with no confidence at all on whether any communication could be achieved. To her great surprise, she saw in her mind the likeness of Yukari, with a delicate, but rather simple, golden crown. “Your Majesty! Most heartfelt congratulation and praise on the jubilant occasion of coronation and ascention to the throne from your most humble servant.”
Yukari smiled gently, which was the first time Hitomi ever beheld a smile from her. “We are friends. Use plain speech.”
“Though the arrival of abiding divine power rightfully deserves a celebration on its own?”
“That is not the case, Hitomi. It has been an exhausting decade for us exploring how the power and presence of Himeyama could benefit this world. However, when we succeeded, and thus elevated to the throne, we declined the union with divine might, as we did not view it as by any means necessary.”
“That sounded confusing for some reason... Are Your Majesty using ‘we’ as the royal pronoun here?”
“Of course.”
“It wasn’t my idea to say ‘use plain speech’! I got confused!”
“You confused yourself, Hitomi. Had you decided to conduct the conversation in Japanese, the royal pronoun of chin (朕) would not cause any confusion. But out of due consideration, the pronoun of ‘I’ shall be employed thereby.”
“So Your Majesty declined the company of divine power?”
“Indeed. Remember, Hitomi, in your original dream I was killed. In the version that we developed together I momentarily had to rescind my ultimate mastery over magic, but that was simply a fiction for me. I never lost my mastery in reality.”
“I had traveled to your world a few times and observed societies and examined the corpus of knowledge. If I were to view fire as an expression of energy exchange, the magical elements could be interpreted as the carbon and oxygen cycle.”
“Hitomi, imagine the element of earth representing all solids, which would include wood and sugar, which is to say, carbohydrates. Photosynthesis could be written as fire joining water and air to produce solids and oxygen, whereas cellular respiration would become solids joining air and bring air, water and fire as the outcome. After all, don’t people in your world call cellular respiration ‘controlled combustion’? Similarly, parallel cases can be drawn for the formation of chalk and limestone involving carbon dioxide, in addition to other examples.”
“Hitomi, I sent surveyors to conduct a thorough study of my world, and located areas unclaimed and unused by absolutely anyone, think of that abandoned quarry by Kageyama, for example. I negotiated patiently with surrounding communities in order to acquire those locations with the commitment that Himeyama will benefit everyone with their usage, and that communities will be notified and consulted and involved throughout the development and usage of the aforementioned sites. I devised enormous and complex matrices to draw magical elements to the previously abandoned places, which are now under Himeyama ownership, and invented ways for factories to be operated through the inherent energy cycle of the magical elements. The parallel of photosynthesis and cellular respiration of the magical realm, if the idea can be communicated in such a manner.”
“Consequently, Hitomi, my world is mostly free of raging magical elements as we speak, and my coronation came as a result.”
“What about the daycare staff in caves, then, Your Majesty?”
“I offered opportunities for stable employment with satisfactory salary at Himeyama factories and estates to all of them. In addition, I opened care facilities in towns so that families, now having to learn the new skill of childcare, can learn from the daycare workers, or to entrust the care of their children during work hours, or to hire one to help with chores in their own homes. What was once envisioned to be a daunting task eventually manifested itself as an efficient source of revenue for Himeyama. My authority at Himeyama became all the more sure and secure as a result. I acquired the crystal caves in the same move, and Himeyama’s resources for research had grown to be even more abundant, consequently.”
“Your Majesty is most awe-inspiring and unbelievable in ability!”
“Midori is now unsure on how to serve me anymore, since during the entire years of negotiation and interaction, I had not manipulated others or employed suggestive and deceptive words. I assured her that I still treasure her and value her as my companion. She blushed for the first time.”
“Aaaghhh!!! Are the two of..”
“No. Not at all. But it is a refreshing and indulgent pastime when we play with words in between duties of administration. There are still, and there will always be, impostors, merchants and minor lords who think they can manipulate us for personal gain at the price of Himeyama. Midori’s power with words will find plenty occasions to be useful, in my opinion.”
“How are others, if I may ask?”
“Kasumi is zealously analyzing and designing enterprises to improve Himeyama’s dependencies and estates. Yayoi found her skills to be necessary in order to critically monitor the efficiency of government and has successfully caught cases of corruption and embezzlement. Criminals were turned over to Ryō, who also trains staff on interrogation techniques, only verbal techniques using logic are taught, though.”
“That is very interesting and pleasant news to behold, Your Majesty. I am still surprised by Your Majesty’s refusal to wield divine power, however.”
“I traveled to Kageyama before my coronation, and had a conversation with Arashi. In your original dream, she would get married this year. She did not. Hitomi? Even though you lived for years in that dream, you did not actually know her. I had to be the one halting you from giving her a husband in the novel.”
“Yes, Your Majesty, I should be rightfully hanging my head in shame...*eye-roll* I can hardly fathom that a decade had actually gone by in the world of Your Majesty. It felt like yesterday when Your Majesty manifested for the first time in my dream. But Your Majesty! How did Your Majesty come to know Arashi in the first place? In my original dream, the two never met or talked to one another!”
“The surprise attack on Kageyama that led to Arashi jumping off the cliff, Hitomi? It was my consciousness that infiltrated and compromised the protection mechanism, deactivated magical matrices, generated a floating spell to launch attacks, and formed shadow beings. I fought Arashi that day. I fought the entire Kageyama that day.”
“Your.....Majesty.....alone.....”
“Your Majesty, how easy is it for me to be killed right now?”
“Letting you live when I first arrived in your world is the undeniable and affirmative proof of my mercy and benevolence.”
“...of...which...your humble servant is...most grateful...”
“Arashi told me of the Rules of Life of hers, that we need to define what not to do in order to remain focused. Thus I came to the conclusion that a person of strength will grow to be immune of jealousy, greed, and recklessness only through the refraining of taking that which is not necessary. If I were to be in constant pursuit of more power, the resulting ruthlessness and viciousness would destroy the royalty, grace, and authority that reside inside of me, which would be unbecoming of the Crown.”
“How I long to reside in the realm of Your Majesty and offer my humble service, a longing that becomes more strongly felt every moment. May I indulge myself and inquire the current state of Kageyama, if Your Majesty would allow?”
“Due to the removal of magical elements from the ambience, the study of magic had become unsustainable at Kageyama. I offered magical stones and crystals, obtained from condensed elements at factories and crystal caves in exchange for the department of magic to be relocated to Himeyama, where the elements are still abundant, and the offer was gladly accepted, since the stones and crystals greatly benefited the alchemy department, which was also on the verge of collapse resulting from the change of surrounding conditions. I negotiated with Kageyama to differentiate our studies in alchemy. Kageyama will concentrate more effort into developing tools and devices powered by magical stones and crystals, and Himeyama will slightly shift more emphasis onto potions. No one need to abandon anything that they hold dear. We are simply co-operating and making minor compromises. Since Himeyama’s main strength lies in magic, not swords or crystal-powered devices, this arrangement satisfactorily silenced the animosity on part of Himeyama toward Kageyama, as the Magic Department of Kageyama transferred over in its entirety. Kageyama was pleased to be respected as an autonomous institute, and had immediately agreed to regular contact and consultation on fields of interest.”
“With no attacks this time, I take that the objective of Your Majesty was achieved smoothly with relative ease.”
“Time consuming, though. If I were to take the world by force, it would take a maximum of two years, though I would be concerned of my subjects apparent loyalty for possibly the same amount of time that took me to lay claim to the world by merit.”
“Peace of mind is priceless, Your Majesty. I... ummm...”
“Pleased to see such personal growth in me?”
“Uh, yes. My apologies for offending Your majesty.”
“I told you, we are friends. You are allowed to think such thoughts. I am not offended.”
“*Phew...*However, Your Majesty, I gained some insights lately.”
“Do tell, Hitomi.”
“My spouse and my son are both autistic, and are very different from me. They are easily distracted, have a lack of mental tranquility, cannot see what is in the cupboard in front of them, are rushing and lacking in grace in their movements, and cannot improve. I have been trying for the last decade to bring forth some visible improvement, but in vain. It is easy to think that they must be somehow handicapped by the divine, or even bear some divine punishment for their predestined shortcoming. It has taken me fourteen years, since meeting my spouse, to start to accept that she is simply different from me, although I still wonder from time to time, what view does she behold in front of her eyes, as she utterly cannot see a jar of honey that she is staring at right at that moment.”
“Your Majesty, I had not known that the surprise attack in my original dream was the doing of just one person, and Your majesty did not even take the trouble to physically come to Kageyama. The sheer magnitude of Your Majesty’s strength is beyond my feeble comprehension. Others must indeed be indistinguishable from dust, as viewed from the height of Your Majesty. Your Majesty’s superiority must have been viewed as plain fact, and would not arouse any suspicion of possible arrogance from anyone who has had the privilege of beholding its magnificence.”
“Indeed, Hitomi. Everyone here at Himeyama assumed showing obedience to my overpowering dominance as a natural fact. I had never thought otherwise until I met you, Hitomi.”
“Your Majesty! That means... I actually changed the world over there?!”
“Maybe yes, maybe no. Maybe my troops would annihilate Kageyama and conquer the world successfully, or maybe in the end it was all done in vain. But Hitomi, you made a difference to Kageyama. They would have been all tortured and slaughtered to mark the start of my conquest.”
“Your Majesty... I am overcome with joy... My Arashi Oneesama, my Akishi Oneechan... I’m so very happy...” *tears*
(陛下…よかった…嵐お姉様、亜希芝お姉ちゃん…あたし…本当に、本当に、うれしいです…*涙*)
【終わり】
【皆様本当にありがとうございました。】
作者有话说
第27章 19 + 後記+最終章