Published at 26th of March 2019 12:52 am

Volume 9, Stage 01: A World of Ruin Indulges in Chaos

“Are you ready now?”

“Yes.”

(Stage 01 Open 08/21 09:00)

A World of Ruin Indulges in Chaos

Down with the Queen.

Most of the people populating this planet would have no idea what that phrase meant. Even so, it eerily began spreading on its own. People used it when they wanted to gather attention on a video sharing site. It appeared as a social media hashtag. It was the name of a famous artist’s song or the theme for their concert tour. It was given impressive renderings as spray-painted wall art. It even covered the placards and banners carried by the protestors filling the streets.

However.

Unsurprisingly…

“Wow, they’re really running with that, aren’t they?”

On the top floor of a luxury apartment in Toy Dream 35, the swimsuit girl named Aika was being very unkind to the planet by keeping the air conditioning at 19 degrees despite the midsummer heat outside. She used her 5m white liger as a sofa while she commented on the commotion which had even more of a presence than the cicadas crying outside the windows.

The tablet she held was linked to a projector that displayed some footage over the entire ceiling. But the deep rumbling could not be explained by the audio and video of some online news.

These protests were not isolated to the screen.

If she opened the curtains, she would find thousands or even tens of thousands of people participating in protests - no, they were riots at this point - within Toy Dream 35.

On the video chat, the modified China dress beauty named Lu Niang Lan spoke with exasperation in her voice.

“None of them can even know who they mean by ‘the Queen’, but they’re still wasting their summer break on this. Those normal people have never even heard of the Blood-Sign Summoning Ceremony, so who do they think they’re mad at?”

“There is such a thing as anger without an outlet and anxiety without a cause.”

“Is that any reason to attack pawnshops and prize exchange shops? And a few Illegal front shops have been destroyed in the process! That’s a huge problem!!”

“Invisible anxieties take aim at the weakest points and eventually lead to financial exploitation. Just like the victims of the witch hunts who had all their assets seized.”

The white and green striped bikini girl kept a dry attitude at times like this. She could not function as a Government intermediary otherwise.

People tended to think scientism, realism, and atheism were relatively widespread in Japan, but remnants of older beliefs were actually quite common. Many common idioms and phrases originally referred to mythical creatures and the fortunetellers who stared at a crystal ball while performing a cold reading to draw out their customer’s worries had only been replaced by AI speakers and big data. Despite claiming to be skeptics of everything, they had carried over quite a lot by simply changing the box they put it in. Truth could be found in lies, but the opposite was also possible. This country’s darkness had not been illuminated enough for the mystical to have no hold on the people there.

Mythology and religion could shake them far deeper than they thought and without them even noticing. Normal people had no way of knowing about the opposition between the White Queen and the Colorless Little Girl, but the vague anxiety and fear had reached them. And because they did not know the identity of that internal pressure even as it passed its limit, they made bizarre actions as a way of protecting their own minds. Just like the popular question of what someone would do if they knew the world would end tomorrow.

But what about the real summoners and vessels who knew about the Blood-Sign System?

Did knowledge of the truth help them keep their cool?

The answer was no.

In fact, it may have been even worse.

As if to say there were some things you were better off not knowing.

“But is this any time to just watch it happen?” asked Lu Niang Lan. “Government is supposed to preserve order, so shouldn’t this be an even bigger problem for you?”

“To be honest, Government is an organization for protecting and punishing people. When the White Queen or Colorless Little Girl themselves are directly involved, it’s mostly outside of our control.”

“This is centered on him, isn’t it?”

“It is,” confirmed Aika while retying the side strap on her hip that had a habit of coming loose if she was not paying attention.

There would be no solution unless Shiroyama Kyousuke took action instead of rotting away in his cruiser.

However.

“Would Kyousuke-chan even listen if someone said ‘help me’ right now? I mean, it’s really a miracle he never broke before this. The world was far too reliant on his good will.”

“Heh. Looks like this job is too much for the wet gunpowder that is some old lady’s seduction. If you want to trigger a response, you need to send in the cute little sister.”

“I’m going to let that one slide, but how does a year-round shut-in expect to go outside?”

“Mhn.”

With a grunt of effort, the swimsuit girl pulled out a stuffed doll with cartoonish proportions. The doll had unique twintails made by tying a braid into a loop on either side of its head, it only wore a striped bikini, and it was packed full of enough tech to walk upright in response to instructions from a tablet.

“I call it the Pretty Aika-chan Doll. You can even change its clothes. Now I can leave the apartment just fine as a shut-in, so Onii-chan will never again have to spend a night alone.”

“If this actually works, I will be seriously concerned about Kyousuke-chan’s future.”

It had begun as disbelief.

If he accused her of betraying him, would he be neglecting to consider her feelings? After all, he had never been given any kind of guarantee that Shigara Masami would unconditionally take his side.

“…”

Inside a cruiser moored at the yacht harbor at the bottom level of Toy Dream 35, Shiroyama Kyousuke lay motionless on his own double bed.

While so close to the water, the cries of the seagulls were louder than the cicada chorus. But a cacophony loud enough to forcibly mix everything up might have been better here.

A heavy gloom hung over the cruiser.

(Even at her level…)

He had seen a portion of Shigara Masami’s humanity and skill at the Queen’s Miniature Garden. If what he had later experienced through the Yellow Gills was true, then she was Freedom Award 3000, placing her far above Shiroyama Kyousuke’s Award 903 position.

And yet…

Yes, and yet…

(Even a summoner at her level can be distorted like that? The White Queen’s powerful influence will even violate a mind on that level?)

Isn’t it for the best if there are no more victims? If you can reconcile your differences, isn’t it more productive to take advantage of this opportunity? The world should be filled with love and peace, so it’s obviously better to eliminate all conflict. Now, Kyousuke-kun, go make up with her and take the cutest and strongest White Queen for yourself. What could be better than that?☆

Really?

Was that really what the researcher was thinking?

“That can’t be right.”

Kyousuke could not go anywhere, so he simply groaned to himself.

Too many unwanted thoughts came to mind when he simply closed his eyes.

What about the tragedy at the Queen’s Miniature Garden? Or the civil war in Kingdom F? And he did not need to stick to the past. The White Queen was currently dragging so many people into this mess, including Meinokawa Renge and Higan.

“That can’t possibly be right.”

All’s well that ends well.

Could he really just brush it all off to have a happy ending? After everything that happened? She had done such horrific things. Could he really accept it just because Shigara Masami, one of the victims of the Queen’s Miniature Garden, had reappeared and said she did not mind? He had to stay true to himself and stand firm. The White Queen had caused half the world’s tragedies and Shiroyama Kyousuke was connected to the other half. He could not forget that. No matter who tried to offer him forgiveness.

The cocoon and the Colorless Little Girl were of secondary importance. The White Queen was the root cause of it all, so killing her would solve everything. He could not look away from that answer.

He could not seek a happy ending just for him and his friends.

He could not lose momentum, stop before reaching the finish line, and decide that was “close enough”.

“Heyyy.”

A girl with long silver hair approached Kyousuke who was acting like his batteries had died. She looked just like the White Queen, but a close look would reveal some differences. For example, that white girl would never have worn a black bikini.

This was Meinokawa Aoi.

She was the Meinokawa Shrine’s secret object of worship and a Joruri Method vessel made to look just like the White Queen. She childishly pouted her lips and raised her voice louder than the cicadas.

“I don’t like this bait. I mean, I come from the mountains, so I’m used to small prawns and sliced wieners! I can’t bring myself to touch these wriggling ragworms and eunicids! Bait the hook for me, boy!!”

“…”

“Are you even listening? Oryah!!”

He heard a shout and then the blanket rose up at the foot of the bed. Bikini Aoi must have dived in headfirst like she was sticking her head into a tunnel. The area below the blanket was immediately filled with a warmth that could not be explained by Kyousuke’s body heat alone. No matter what she looked like, she was still an old lady on the inside, so she did not seem to have an issue with getting so close to a teenage boy.

“Hmm, sniff sniff. It smells strongly of boy in here.”

Aoi crawled ever upwards and ultimately stuck her head out from the blanket by Kyousuke’s face. And she raised her voice while looking him in the eye.

“Bwah! Anyway, do the bait! I can’t fish without new bait on the hook, so fix it, boy!!”

(Not even someone at Shigara Masami’s level could fight it.)

This was not enough to get a response from Kyousuke.

In fact, the more obvious a smile she gave him, the deeper he sank into his own thoughts.

He poked at the phone on the side table to check the time and found there were no missed calls. When a summoner or vessel had reached a certain Award level, they vanished from normal people’s memories and awareness when not in their direct line of sight. It was obvious, but that too was an issue of the rules. It was a part of the Blood-Sign rules, so there was no fighting it. That was just more proof of how easily people’s minds could be influenced.

And the White Queen stood at the peak of the Summoning Ceremony.

To repeat, people’s minds were easily influenced.

(Then what about everyone else? What’s the point of anything I’ve done? I saved them because they asked for help, but if their definition of happiness can be distorted by the white, then what do the words “help me” even mean???)

“………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………”

“Wahyah?”

Zoning out turned out to be a bad idea.

While still lost in thought, old habits moved his body. Specifically, he placed a hand on Meinokawa Aoi’s silver-haired head and stroked it as if soothing a small child.

“W-wait, this is not what I asked for! The bait! I only wanted you to bait the hook! Ahh, yes. Right there. Gently massage my scalp…ah!? W-w-wait, no, I need to resist!!”

That was not enough to silence her, so Kyousuke picked Aoi up and carried her to the bath.

While he used shampoo to roughly work up a lather on her head, the world’s oldest Joruri Method finally realized what was going on.

“Hold it! I think I’ve figured this out! You don’t know who I am, do you!? Wake up! I might look the same, but I am not the White Queen!! You really do have a hard time separating love from hate, don’t you!? What a pain!!”

“…”

She may have been lucky her black bikini was a little trickier than average. Otherwise, he might have stripped off her clothes before placing her in the bath based on his autopilot programmed at the Miniature Garden. From beginning to end, Kyousuke never really looked at Aoi. He stared into the distance while washing the bubbles away with warm water from the showerhead. Then he left the shower room on his own and collapsed right back into the double bed. It all looked like someone mindlessly constructing boxes on a conveyer belt.

The Joruri Method looked a bit dissatisfied at not being given any conditioner or hair treatment, but she still left the bath and placed a towel over her head.

She looked down at the empty shell of a summoner and breathed an exasperated sigh.

“He has it really bad.”

Shut up.

It was a surprising blind spot.

“I never thought I would be able to work part-time at school.”

Braided and bespectacled Librarian-chan spoke her soul.

Ever-expanding cumulonimbus clouds floated in an otherwise clear blue sky.

Due to all the bushes and trees growing on the school grounds, the noisy cicadas were out in full force.

August was approaching its end, but summer break was not over yet. And lately, schools had begun opening themselves up to the public after school to provide communication opportunities outside of studying. As an extension of that, this was naturally the most popular part of the school during the summer.

The pool had been opened up.

“Yes, yes. That’s dangerous, so please stop it. Fwee, fwee, fwee, fwee!! Stop lining up the kickboards to try to run across the water! I said stop it!!”

Why was Librarian-chan sitting in the lifeguard seat blowing on a whistle when she was not all that good a swimmer herself? Because she was Librarian-chan. A close observation of the pool would show boys and girls in non-school swimsuits holding waterproof packages made of thick plastic. They were book covers designed for reading in the bath.

(I know it’s a campaign to increase the reading rate during midsummer, but I still don’t like bringing paper anywhere near the water.)

In her dark blue swimsuit, Librarian-chan grumbled in her heart. This was originally a library-led event, not a pool event. During summer break, the only thing the school library had going for it was the quiet and the air conditioning. But it was a cruel world out there and everything needed some way of drawing in users.

So…

“Oh, Librarian-chan? Are you so straight-laced you wear the boring old school swimsuit at an event like this? Wow.”

“Oh, god. Why did I have to run into a classmate on the job!? This is hell!!”

“The customer is your god, so you’d damn well better treat me with care.”

The classmate was Rendou Akiya(♂). The odds of running into a classmate were likely higher than at a normal job since this one used a school facility. But that did not mean she had to like it. This classmate had his chestnut hair tied back and normally wore a girl’s uniform as a fashion statement, but today he wore a bright yellow two-piece swimsuit that used frilly cloth to subtly hide the shape of the chest and hips. And wasn’t that swimsuit the hot new product from Wet & Smith!?

“Also, a form-fitting school swimsuit really only works with a flat chest or giant tits. You can’t draw out the true charm of a school swimsuit with average proportions.”

“Well, you talk like a boy if nothing else.”

“Just look at the Student Council President! See how the threads holding on that ‘Benikomichi Fuuki’ nametag are straining and about to burst? Now that’s how you do a high schooler’s school swimsuit! Hell yeah!!”

“Wait, why is she forcing that excessively curvy body into a school swimsuit!? And that nametag is written in hiragana like it was written by an elementary school kid! That just makes it look indecent!!”

And speaking of nametags…

“Hey, Librarian-chan, what’s that on your swimsuit’s nametag? Some kind of nickname???”

“It’s my real name! Who would write ‘Librarian’ on here!?”

Librarian-chan sighed at that person whose bodylines somehow still looked feminine in a swimsuit.

“I really don’t want to pursue this too far, but which locker room did you use?”

“Do you take me for a fool, average girl? I only dress this way as a fashion statement, so I’m not going to use my appearance to shamelessly satisfy my love of peeping.”

Did this mean that someone who looked that pretty (she hated to admit it, but that guy looked more feminine than she did!!) had marched into the boy’s locker room, stripped off his clothes, and changed into that swimsuit? While battling this harsh reality in her school-approved swimsuit, Librarian-chan was worried that him using the boy’s locker room would cause just as much chaos as the opposite. And as the part-time lifeguard, it was her duty to preserve the peace of this small slice of the world.

“You can’t get in the pool without borrowing a book, so what do you want to read?”

“100 Simple Snacks Made With Pancake Mix.”

“…”

Just how high were his femininity points?

The readings were so high he was reaching the level of a young wife.

Fixing a bento out of necessity was one thing, but these snacks were an extra luxury. Not even a serious(?) girl like Librarian-chan went for handmade food. In an age when you could get decent coffee and donuts at any convenience store, why would anyone need to work with pancake mix? These thoughts were rapidly draining away the braided glasses girl’s femininity points, but she seemed oblivious of the severity of her situation.

“Well, take your time and relax. I hope this cookbook will come in handy for you. Yes, I hope the combination of sugar, flour, and lots and lots of femininity points will shatter the pride of girls all over the city. Gwa ha ha ha!”

“Y’know, we went to the same middle school, but do you have an older sister? This summer I met someone with the same family name as your nametag.”

“What!? Wait just a second! Are you making those snacks to hit on my sister? You have to be joking! I can’t imagine anything more awkward than the possibility of a family member and a classmate dating!!”

This was a very serious issue.

Librarian-chan frantically leaned out from the lifeguard seat in her school swimsuit, but she was unable to get to the bottom of the matter.

She was interrupted by a deep tremor. It came from awfully close by and was not at all something from a normal school life.

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