Campione! - Volume Ex - Chapter SS

Fragment – And Then to the Hero World
.

「Yo Godou. I came to play♪」

「Go home right away.」

「Oi oi-!? Your headquarter is a place of repose that that won’t refuse anyone who come right!? What’s more, when it come to me, I’m the best friend of Kusanagi Godou, your eternal rival!」

「Shut up. All of those are your own claim.」

Godou spoke curtly.

Several years had passed since he used this Temple of Infinite Time as base. During that time, it had welcome many guests but,

This was his first visit.

The blonde Italian youth, the king of the sword, a handsome man and yet a matchless idiot──.

「Certainly the management policy here is to not refuse anyone who come but, just now, there is additional policy of ‘except Salvatore Doni’.」

「Uwah. That’s a petty line like that isn’t like you at all!」

「Then I’ll let you rest here just for ten minutes. After that go home quickly.」

「What are you saying? I came intruding here properly bringing the sleepover set. Let me relax here for two or three days.」

Doni should be arriving here at the end of a long journey across the diverse worlds, but.

Red aloha shirt, shorts that reached til his knee, and sunglasses. He arrived in front of Godou wearing such joke appearance. Right now he was making a carefree laugh at the beautiful garden of the temple.

But, on his back were a rough bag and a sheath that was holding a long sword──

Godou who had known him for so long understood.

Putting aside his appearance, Doni’s heart and body showed no openings. While he was acting natural that made him even looked defenseless, if this man was approached by danger he would instantly draw out his sword and brilliantly respond.

Doni, or rather this idiot was acting suitably in his own idiotic way──

He was going into a journey with resolve. Perhaps.

「……Damn.」

Godou cursed. Even if the guest was an idiot like this, if they wished to stay then he wouldn’t refused them no matter what. The rule that he levied on himself was unpleasant.

He walked ahead with the feeling of biting a sour grape and led Doni to the guest room.

「Anyway it’ll be just for one night okay?」

「We’re friend aren’t we? Shouldn’t you reword it there with 『It’s fine even if you want to stay here for ten years you know, my friend』?」

「Who will say something like that, you damn idiot!」

.

「And, why do you come until this kind of place?」

Godou asked bluntly.

「You called going around the diverse worlds here and there one by one as 『troublesome, tedious』 and completely avoided it right?」

In exchange, Doni would fight the gods who manifested on earth before anyone else.

Godou and Black Prince Alec, and then John Pluto Smith who was also a fairy king tended to be “absent”, so the chance for Doni to fight inevitably increased.

Doni who was shrewdly enjoying his life smiled broadly.

「It’s nice of you to ask, as expected from my best friend.」

In the garden of the temple, there was spring and also waterway.

A wooden table was placed in the middle of such refreshing scenery. The two men were drinking red wine that was brought out from the kitchen by themselves. Of course they would pour their own drink. Pouring wine for this idiot or the reverse was something he wouldn’t accept for anything.

The snack was assorted cheeses that he chose randomly and bread, salt and pepper, and olive oil only.

It was a really rough drinking bout without any presence of woman.

「Actually, I got an encouraging news from Alec.」

「From that guy? So such a rare event exists. That guy is blatantly avoiding you right? He would say things like 『Our talk won’t mesh with each other it’s tiring』.」

「Even though he said things like that but when it’s time to talk he would blabber on and on smoothly. That’s how Alec is.」

「That’s also true.」

They drank a glass of wine one after another with their common acquaintance Black Prince Alec as appetizer.

Doni happily drained up the red liquid and mentioned a certain place name.

「Hey Godou. Do you know about Hyperborea?」

「More or less. If I’m not wrong it’s the name of a country that came out in Greek mythology……I think.」

「It seems that recently Alec visited there.」

「You mean, the mythological world?」

「Yep. Mythological world Hyperborea. Actually the one who pried open the corridor connected to there, was that Madam Aisha it seems.」

「The traces of damage from that person occasionally comes out even after she retired huh……」

Godou unconsciously got a faraway look and cursed.

Even now she should be sleeping at the Valencia of the world of King of the End Mithra.

Staying behind over there was her who was turned into a “sleeping beauty” even though she was a Campione and Lancelot who could hardly be called as a god now. And then Leonardo and Monica who obtained regional and spiritual bonds with that world through the holy grail.

There shouldn’t be any considerable factor that would stimulate the history’s corrective force.

As though to prove that, since the “retirement” of Madam Aisha, the occurrence of space distortion had quieted down completely but──.

Recently it was happening frequently here and there in the diverse worlds again.

Perhaps some kind of change was happening in the body of the sleeping Madam Aisha?

「And, what about Hyperborea?」

Godou urged Doni to continue even while feeling anxiety.

The carefree Campione who was born in Italy answered easily.

「That place might become an 『arena』 someday. Alec predicted that. Humans like us and gods would gather from “outside” and rampage over there──yeah.」

「……Arena?」

Godou felt unease hearing that disquieting word.

In contrast Doni was smiling cheerfully and said something fishy.

「That’s what he said. I too want to try visiting there no matter what. Do you know the way to go there Godou?」

「No. Ask the prince that beforehand.」

「His guard was a bit up toward me. That guy Alec, he kept silent in the middle.」

「Well, of course he would.」

There must be a reason why he didn’t want a man like Salvatore Doni to approach.

A reason from the mythological world Hyperborea. Godou was making a disinterested face in front of Doni while secretly deciding.

(Perhaps I’ll try going there somehow one of these days.)

Also, he would have to gather information from the Black Prince himself.

(Even so what does he mean by arena?)

Mythological world Hyperborea.

A mystery lurking in a sanctuary that he hadn’t seen. Salvatore Doni whose eyes were sparkling in expectation. In front of these, Godou’s wariness and curiosity were awakened together.

.

Hero world Hyperborea.

Later on this mythological world would be described as 『a garden and also arena where the gods and godslayers were jumbled together』 by Alexander Gascoigne.

The origin that led Kusanagi Godou there was his reunion with his “best friend” Salvatore Doni.