Chapter 1

Volume 18: Star-Spangled Martial Law– Trans-Am, Chapter 1: Scarlet Goddess ― Heroine-jacking

Hidan no Aria Volume 18: Star-Spangled Martial Law ―― Trans-Am

Chapter 1: Scarlet Goddess ― Heroine-jacking

[START TEXT]

「–At this moment, we stand at a turning point of Fate.」

It was Aria’s face–

But it was the Blazing Scarlet Goddess, not Aria, who said it.

「And you are witness to it, Tohyama.」

The anime-like voice resounded from atop the Nogi Shrine’s torii. As for known techniques at her disposal… she has an insta-kill laser and Imaginary Jump1. She could also use the Hiten Hyoumen to transport matter through space and time.

Added to that, her body is Aria’s

That means that if we were to fight– I would have to defeat her without hurting her.

Even if I could do that, the Scarlet Goddess’ real body, who is controlling Aria remotely is still unhurt.

The defensive power of this paranormal enemy transcends all other defensive strategies–

Thinking back, it all started with a bicycle-jacking, then a tanker jacking… But I never imagined there would be an Aria-jacking…!

To face this threat, I had nothing but a gun and a knife.

The Scarlet Goddess’ fighting spirit reached up into the sky, causing all of the trees and the ground to tremble–

A dully glinting rhinoceros beetle shot off like an arrow into the winter sky.

I was reminded of the night where I was attacked by Bewitching Blade, saw a mouse run away, and wanted to escape myself–but in Hysteria King Mode, I just barely managed to hold my ground.

「Ever since Hong Kong, I’ve been idle. We’re free tonight, so let’s stretch our wings a bit.」

While a savage smile was on her face, the scarlet aura around the hijacked Aria–twined itself around her twin-tails with a *Whoosh!*. They spread out wide. Their lifting power causing her to float lightly above the torii.

The power of flight– I remember Aria using it to escape from falling from the ICBM after the battle at I.U.

…?

This raised a question in my mind.

The fact was that both Aria and Kou were only able to use a part of irokane’s power consciously.

There is only one other girl who can do that. Riko.

According to Sherlock, Riko’s rosary contains a different alloy of irokane than hihiirokane.

But despite retaining constant ownership, she never displayed any ill-effects or signs of possession.

In theory, as a hyper-Stealth existence– Riko is closer to the ideal of the『Hidan no Aria』.

It’s effect is all but unnoticeable, but Riko has mastered irokane. How did that occur?

Even with Hysteria Mode, I was not able to deduce an answer–

INQUESTA says that if there is any doubt remaining, there are any number of ways for you to fail. In this case, it seems like a maze with no escape. It seems like a perfectly locked room, but there is a slight breeze. There is a hole somewhere.

In this battle– I have to find that hole.

Let’s go!

「Tohyama. I want to use you in battle. So killing you would be bad. I know that. I know that, but I want to fight. You might last a few minutes, or a few seconds, but you would put up a fierce fight. You– when I think about the pleasure of a『real battle』, I can’t hold myself back.」

And there’s another thing. This enemy has no recourse.

Drawing out a theory from observation, the Blazing Scarlet Goddess is governed by emotion. She constantly pursues the gratification of Love and War, disliking boredom. Even with transcendent ability, the spirit is human-like. Added to that, the power ebbs and flows. After possessing someone, in particular, after a period of『idleness』, she is not at full power.

–Despite bearing the name of a goddess, she is not a flawless being.

It looks like I am going to have to fight a super-powered ESPer. It’s not my exact specialty, but I have fought and arrested a number of ESPers in the recent past.

–I’ll do that. This night will be the same too. Making the impossible; possible, as Enable.

「So, Tohyama. for just a little while… let me flirt with danger. I’m at my limit, but I will hold back my full power.」

「You don’t have to hold back. As Riko said, self-denial is bad for the body. Just don’t do anything to hurt Aria.」

I don’t know how I am going to fight, but I will figure it out as we fight. It will be the same as always.

Seizing the opportunity to pre-emptively seize the initiative with an invisible flash bullet– I moved in a split second.

「Kinji–」

The Scarlet Goddess always called me ‘Tohyama’, but she used my name. It was Aria’s voice. Aria was calling out to me.

「–I love you.」

…!

I knew it was the Scarlet Goddess was impersonating Aria, but even so–

My Hysteria Mode was rattled, causing my Invisible Bullet to miss.

The flash bullet was deflected slightly and exploded behind her.

White fireworks illuminated the space behind the Scarlet Goddess.

「–Haha! Hahahaha! Love blossoms like a flower–!」

The possessed Aria stepped forward into the air in front of the torii.

Her small body flew, no, skipped through the air.

With a *Crack!* Cr-crack!* there was a slight flash of rainbow coloured light beneath her feet. Stepping out with her pumps, it was like some kind of invisible, cube-shaped stepping stones were materialising.

The Scarlet Goddess descended with a bounding motion as her haor-wings swayed–

–My heart was captivated and she was beautiful.

With the refined expression of an actress, and the elegance and grace of a dancer.

She performed those movements with Aria’s lovely figure.

Back when Son crossed the sea of girls by stepping on their hands like lily pads in Hong Kong, her glamorous actions captivated me. But this time, the Scarlet Goddess is doing it with her own power.

『The Gods dwell in beauty and splendour』my Nii-san said a long time ago… Possessing a beautiful girl, the Scarlet Goddess flaunted the glamour of a beauty that resides only in gods.

As if held back from moving, I watched her descend through the light shining behind her–

Overcome by this impossible sight, I couldn’t move.

I boasted Hysteria King Mode, but a king is a human, after all. Before a god, they are all merely human. I have fully realised that. I have witnessed it for myself.

–*Bang!*–

The sound of a gunshot snapped me back to reality from my reverie.

With a *Crack!*, silver light sparked beneath the possessed Aria’s feet, causing a slight loss of balance.

「…!?」

The report was that of a .45 Long Colt bullet.

The gun was a Colt SAA– A Peacemaker–

「John chapter 1, verse 51… Ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.」

…Kana…!

「–It seems that Holy bullets are effective. Now, then Scarlet Goddess-san. This is a place where gods are worshipped. I wonder if one more is just too many?」

Kana rushed over without a delay, wearing a casual vertically striped jumper and jeans– ascending the stone steps leading up the back of the torii that the Scarlet Goddess had descended.

On an ivory-white leather gun belt strapped diagonally across her waist, rows of silver-tipped bullets glinted.

As she pitched forward to catch her balance on another invisible cube–another original Invisible Bullet rang out with a *Bang!*.

「Wah!」

The Goddess was forced to fly down and landed a short distance from me.

「Nii-s… Kana, you came.」

Standing 2m to my left Kana–my Nii-san in Hysteria Mode had come to save me, but…

My Nii-san’s transformation takes some time.

He braided his long hair and changed clothes, among other things, and it had to be before Aria transformed into the Scarlet Goddess.

That means that my Nii-san had already become Kana. Why?

「–It has been a while since last we met upon the sea, Scarlet Goddess. The woman who intrudes upon mine own amusement.」

In addition, Patra also appeared there. My Nii-san’s fiancee.

A descendant of one of the Three Most Beautiful Women in the World: Cleopatra, she is a beautiful woman in her own right…

She made a disproportionately sullen expression.

All of a sudden, it hit me that my Nii-san had probably asked her to come and became Kana at some point.

It seems that they were playing some kind of adult game I don’t fully understand, but, in any case, thanks to that, I’ve been saved.

The rhinoceros beetle that escaped the earlier rustling of the trees was probably hers– and the scarab-like beetle came to a complete rest atop her ring. Her familiar likely informed her of what was happening.

「–Kinji. I will use all my power. Please retreat.」

Taking a step forward to take nominal control over the situation–the quick-draw gunman, Kana, said adding another beautiful face besides Aria’s and Patra’s.

「I cannot. There is another issue entirely at play. I absolutely cannot leave.」

「I wonder, Kinji… is this your rebellious phase?」

With a slightly puzzled expression, Kana said this, tilting her head like a small bird. There was no tension in the motion.

「It’s nothing like rebellion. You might have… seen me just a bit overwhelmed just now, but I can fight. I’ve gained half your strength in the last year.」

That being the case– Kana had tried to kill Aria once before.

This time, she might want to end the situation by killing her. Just like Tamamo.

「…I understand, Kinji. But the Scarlet Goddess is a lot for you to deal with. I will not kill her. Instead, please get her within 177.7 cm of my centre of gravity. Do not worry about what it is that you are worrying over. I am a Butei, after all.」

Seeming to see through my intentions entirely, Kana promised not to kill her–

「…Understood.」

–I will trust her for that.

Well, she appears to be an older sister–but is actually an older brother–,and an older brother is an older brother after all.

He has decided to trust his younger brother. Trusting me, my Nii-san allowed me to join the battle line, and trusting him, we began to formulate a battle plan.

「However, Kinji, you can’t fight bare-handed. Why haven’t you drawn your gun? Guns are the pinnacle of man-made melee weapons. The Tohyama are also uniquely gifted to use them to their full advantage, aren’t we?」

「Well, G-3 said the opposite a while ago.」

Kana urged me to draw my gun… but I was afraid that the Scarlet Goddess might say something strange while impersonating Aria and make me misfire again. However, I refused.

「Then we’ll meet in the middle. I’ll leave protecting my front to you.」

Saying that– Kana shook her long brown braid–

Several pieces of blue metal, dark as midnight, fell from it.

In shape, it consisted of 25 pieces arranged like an accordion blade2 up to its tip– like the tail of a scorpion. A chromium alloy that Kana uses when serious.

–*Whipsh!*–

With a flourish, Kana took up a low guard position.

In a movement almost too quick for the eye to follow, a milk crown3 made of sand with Kana at the centre was stirred up.

With a radius extending 1.777 metres, this『ring』, more accurately termed a『sphere』is Kana’s killing range.

It enjoys a reach much greater than my knife and can attack from any angle. With the scythe able to be used as a baton, Kana’s attacking range is almost perfectly globular.

Unlike a sword which attempts to cut the enemy in a planar attack range, everything that enters the sphere of influence is either『caught by the balded edge』or『sent flying by the back side』– this weapon, Scorpio, integrates both offense and defence.

That must mean–Kana is challenging the Scarlet Goddess to close-quarters combat. That is a bit of a surprising choice.

But even now, my Nii-san… is making a very casual suggestion that I use my butterfly knife.

As a general rule, I have inferred that my knife is not an ordinary bladed implement. I recall it had a supernatural reaction on the Annabelle and Rampan Castle, and it is not unlikely to be related to irokane.

How exactly it works is unclear, but it seem to be part of Kana’s strategy. This knife fight.

(In any case, against the Scarlet Goddess, guns, blades, and bare hands are not likely to make a large difference.)

With a metallic ring, I drew my knife into my hand–

This is the first time since the time on the armoured deck of I.U. that the Tohyama brothers… or is it siblings, stood together?

「Two Tohyama warriors? It is an impressive sight. But what will you do? You can’t kill my body.」

Looking back at us, the Scarlet Goddess struck Aria’s flat chest with both hands in a sneer.

「True. But we could cut off one or two limbs. We are merely human, so we might be『a bit overzealous』. I have a technique that is a bit–radical.」

Grinning while giving that response, Kana spoke ominously of some offensive technique.

「What’s more, Scarlet Goddess-san. When I am fighting for Kinji… I am not gentle.」

*Nudge!*… Holding Scorpio in a low guard, Kana–

Closed the distance by a centimetre while speaking.

I understood that the power of Hysteria Mode had pervaded her entire body.

But unlike the power that burns like fire in me, it was rising like the tide.

Her posture was relaxed, but from her hard expression you would not mistake the fact that she stood on a battlefield…but you can see that her powers of concentration were rising with every moment.

Her face– it was so beautiful that it seemed everything around her had gone still.

Her style as well was far and away better than any woman on Earth.

Despite being made-up and not actually a woman, she was unreasonably beautiful–and it seemed that the Scarlet Goddess was losing ground in the domination of the atmosphere.

The Gods dwell in beauty. This is a personification of that statement, and she is not inferior to a god.

–Now then, about Aria–

She’s been entirely possessed now, but I’ve been fighting the Scarlet Goddess ever since I.U. By a curious set of coincidences, all the players here are well-known to me. Only the deceased Sherlock and Shirayuki are absent…

「I will bring the Scarlet Goddess in. Within 177.7 cm, Kana.」

「Please.」

177.7 cm– that is, within the range of Scorpio. It means that before urging me to fight with knives, Kana already had a plan to take down the Scarlet Goddess with her scythe.

She plans to apply her scythe to Aria’s neck like a shinigami, taking the body hostage, is that it?

「–Oi, Scarlet Goddess! I’ve changed my mind a bit on something. Aria is always bullying me. And if I defend myself, it gets 100 times worse. But right now, Aria isn’t herself, so I’ll repay it tit-for-tat. But I won’t kill you…!」

With a final bluff *Whoosh!*– I rushed forward and to the right.

At exactly the same instant, Kana ran forward and to the left, while Patra remained behind, completely surrounding the Scarlet Goddess.

–My responsibility was offense.

In an instant, Kana and I reached a position for a pincer attack on the Scarlet Goddess, then we pivoted and drew the guns we had said that we wouldn’t use and closed in on our enemy.

In response, the possessed Aria–

「Oh, how exciting! This is just what I wanted!」

Voicing genuine pleasure, she blew us a kiss.

I raised my gun, intending to shoot the space beneath her feet like Nii-san had if she retreated–

I pointed it at the slightly distorted cube of space behind her that was about 30 cm on a side.

The cube cast no shadow beneath it, but inside of it there was another dark cube.

I understand it intuitively. That interior darkness is a shadow. A solid shadow. It defies common sense, but that cube’s shadow is solid.

I had a bad feeling… but a case of nerves never killed even a mouse. Wondering what it was– I drew closer to the strange cube, kicking off to reach the Scarlet Goddess.

「Do not touch it, Kinji Tooyama! That is a tetradimension cube and a trap to annihilate anything that damages it.」

Patra warned, and I leapt over it just in time.

As I passed by it, I fired a 9mm bullet… and a smaller, black bullet–no, a solid shadow of a bullet appeared within it.

*Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!*

The Scarlet Goddess clapped her hands and more of the impossible shapes appeared around her.

They appeared on Kana’s side, one after another. 4, 8, then 16, the cubes filled up the space, there apparently being no limit to her supply.

They are probably something that Aria shouldn’t touch accidentally.

「Haha! Good, Tohyama! Just like back on I,U,– this is an Aru=kata battle. Guns are Aria’s trademark, after all.」

Gliding past those annoying cubes, she finally closed distance with me–

From her torn skirt, the possessed Aria drew both her guns.

Then, in the next moment, the arrangement of cubes shifted with a *Poof!* They surrounded Aria and I like a fighting ring.

I was bewildered by the manoeuvre that ignored traditional notions of distance and movement, but I couldn’t freeze. They are like landmines floating in the sky.

「Now then, shoot! Keep shooting, Tohyama!」

*Bang!* *Bang!* *Ba-Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*

Like that other day, Aria and my arms interlaced, and our Beretta and Governments began a point-blank exchange of fire.

「–Uoooooo!」

Using my guns to pin her down, I tried to push her toward Kana who would use a blade on Aria’s body.

Trying to use it on Aria’s hair clips covering her horn and trying to sever them.

She was using her twin-tails to fly, and I tried desperately to push her within 177.7 cm radius. As the fight progressed, I began to lose room to move gradually.

…?

There was something strange about the Scarlet Goddess’ shooting, as the close-quarters fight progressed.

Her blood-lust was affected, and she shot her bullets at widely scattered targets.

All about us, the cubes continued teleporting like some kind of strange art. The cubes began collecting and storing the stray bullets inside like watermelon seeds. Why are they doing that?

As soon as I noticed that:

「Now then, Tohyama, what if I do this?」

–*Po-po-po-po-poof!*

All of the cubes simultaneously changed position, then all the bullets from the very first one I fired rushed toward me from all directions.

In spite of being trapped and held still, they seem to have retained their kinetic energy.

Some of the bullets passed close to Aria, but none of them struck her–

「–!」

The Beretta Kinji Model was converted for fully automatic firing, and I used all of my remaining bullets to meet them with Cannon. But for those I couldn’t intercept, I needed to dodge.

The enemy barrage was thinner in Kana’s direction. Without any indication as to how the cubes were teleporting, I high-jumped through the air and a hail of bullets to tumble next to Kana.

「…!」

But that was a failure. In more than one way.

Firstly, even with Hysteria King Mode–

I was unable to manoeuvre the Scarlet Goddess within Kana’s range.

Then there was our position.

Right now, we are no longer in position for a pincer attack, but the Scarlet Goddess, me, and Kana are all arranged in a straight line.

The Scarlet Goddess saw that, and I began to worry–

「Right then, let’s wrap this up, shall we?」

Using both of Aria’s hands, she raised them to『properly distance』4. Then she turned toward us.

This is… a laser…!

It was an angle and distance ranging posture.

Supporting my theory, the pupil of Aria’s eye began to glow scarlet red.

–It’s coming…!

She wants to take out me and Kana in one shot. She has captured both of us again, while only taking it half seriously. We probably won’t survive if she hits us in the abdomen.

A cold sweat crept down my neck, and with a *Swish!* of air, the back of the sickle was hurriedly pressed against it– for some other reason that you would think, pulling me back.

In my place, Kana stood in front of me.

「Kana…!」

Her expression betrayed no small sense of worry, and she held the scythe directly in front of her body, aligned with Aria’s right eye.

Seeing that position– I knew that she had the same idea I did and wanted to do the same thing I had done with the scramasax to counter the laser.

However– there is no guarantee that Aria’s laser shares the same qualities as Son’s.

What’s more, as a mitigating factor, part of the scythe’s interior is hollow. It’s dangerous…!

「Haha! Kana, you are a beautiful woman. Regardless of man or woman, I will take the entire world captive by Love. So… now as a symbol of my Love–I will engrave it upon your face!」

With a sneer on her face, the light in the possessed Aria’s right eye intensified.

The light was brighter than Son’s. It is definitely more powerful than Son’s…!

「Kinji. This might be the last thing I teach you. No matter the enemy, they will always be defenceless at the moment of attack. If you attack then, you can defeat them. Please remember that.」

….No, Kana!

From my recollection of the fight with Son, the light had just about reached the same level, and taking her huge scythe– she drew it across her body.

「I will make up for the loss in Hong Kong here, Tohyama.」

It seems the Scarlet Goddess knows she can shoot through it, and there is no sign of aborting fire.

The light grew noticeably stronger–there is no way she can stop firing now.

No matter who she shoots at, they will be hit.

In the beginning she was aiming at me. I should get out from behind Kana, and she can shoot only me.

I don’t have anyway to stop the Scarlet Goddess. But Kana might. Kana needs to survive.

In tenths of a second, I came to that conclusion and rushed out from behind Kana–positioning myself to protect the major organs in my torso from being shot, imitating G-3’s Organ Through.

–*Whoom!*–

The scarlet laser cut through the darkness–

–Heading straight toward me. As I predicted it would.

…!

In Hysteria Mode, my vision of the world became ultra slow–

I expected to be hit at any moment but wasn’t.

The laser beam didn’t travel straight as I thought it would–but rather started to curve.

About 3 m ahead of me. It sloped down and to the right, striking the ground.

「…!」

Floating in the space in front of me– there was a『lens』with a 1 m radius.

But it was ephemeral. It was likely an ESP construct.

On the other side, I saw space warp in a similar but distinct technique from Hiten Hyoumon.

After the 0.1 seconds of laser fire ended, my sense of time returned back to normal…

「…Some kind of『Gravity lens』? So that puppet mistress decided to butt in?」

Amidst the hot air created by the laser, the Scarlet Goddess scowled at the one behind Kana and I as we stood bewildered.

Patra stood there–

Perspiration standing out in the midwinter air, eyebrows furrowed, and with ragged breath, she stood with both hands extended before her.

It seems Patra used some kind of ESP technique to protect Kana. However, this technique seems to have taken an order of magnitude greater power than any other technique and exhausted her in one go.

「–I’ll kill this trifling person!」

Like a child who had their game taken away from them–

The relative calm that Scarlet Goddess had expressed until now was lost, and small, golden grains of light appeared all around her. I remembered seeing that back in Hong Kong. Kou used Imaginary Jump back during the tanker-jacking…!

But Kou seemed to require a considerable amount of concentration, but the possessed Aria seemed to do it off-hand. At the same time, she drew her jet black Government and drew a circle in the air in front of the muzzle of the gun. What is she going to do this time?

「…!」

A small sandstorm blew up the sand in front of the torii and Patra, forming a number of small shields of Amenhotep in floating in the space in front of here. 5, then 10, then more formed to shield her–

–*BANG!*–

The sound of gunshots completely differing from normal gunshots and seemingly at Mach 3 or 4 rang out–the bullets reaching a speed impossible for .45ACP bullets. It all happened so quickly that neither I nor my Nii-san had time to fire a shot.

With a *Papapapapa!*, they impacted the shields, and on the other side there was a *Bam!*–

A bullet impacted Patra’s forehead…!

「–!」

Without making a sound, she fell directly in front of Kana who had turned to look–

–*Poof!*–

Completely ignoring distance, the Scarlet Goddess appeared in front of Kana. She had teleported!

In her hands, she held an unsheathed short sword in an underhanded grip.

Raising it over head, her intended target was clear–to slice her face from forehead to jaw.

「–Kana!」

In that moment–

Kana retreated, seemingly fumbling to strike back.

Kana was not paying attention to Patra. She was pretending to in order to draw the Scarlet Goddess in. It worked. In that moment–!

「Uoooo!」

Without a moment’s hesitation, I fired. Angling to shoot the back of Aria’s head.

All of my words and the way I have fought to not kill Aria have led up to this moment. I was confident in this. The Scarlet Goddess has also definitely worked to avoid killing me. Because Aria’s body is such an ideal vessel for possession, in the same way she also cannot harm Aria’s body.

And so, for that one instant alone, I can dictate with certainty what Aria would do.

And my prediction–was right on target.

「–Oh!?!」

Raising a sound of surprise in her anime-like voice, the Scarlet Goddess bent forward and craned her neck around to look.

She was already within the 177.7 cm range of Kana who had her large scythe at the ready–The Scarlet Goddess tried to escape, but was hindered from doing so.

The next moment–

–*Whoom!*–

Kana’s Scorpio sliced through the air.

No, it was something else.

Rather, the rear of the blade lightly grazed Aria with a great amount of force behind it. It transmitted shock to Aria’s head.

Taking most of the force, the Scarlet Goddess said:

「O….oh…! Oh!」

Staggering backwards… she fell to sit on the ground with a *Thud!*

Her eyes opened wide, and both her legs were spread on the ground.

「…Sorry. I might have been a bit strong. I guess I was a bit angry myself.」

In the background, looking past Kana, the irritating cubes began to fade.

「Th-this is a human body after all, I guess. I-if this were Kou’s body, she would be unable to survive this.」

The Scarlet Goddess… articulated with some difficulty.

I had seen countless hand-to-hand combat drills and practice in ASSAULT. A concussive counter-strike to the head affect the ability to stand.

「The accuracy of her deductive powers of Cognis are about 50-50–and even when possessed, she relies on the body’s nervous system.」

「Well, that can’t really can’t be helped.」

The possessed Aria responded–and her eyes rolled back, then there was a *Thump!* and rustle of gravel

She sprawled out on the ground.

Then all at once, her scarlet aura faded and dissipated.

「…She well shot through the forehead of mine avatar. Reki struck the same place in Daiba. Kinji, thrust your knife toward the Scarlet Goddess. Haste!」

Grumbling that, Patra appeared from behind a large tree…

She wore a coat on her shoulders and a tight mini-skirt.

As I thought, the Patra that was shot in the forehead was a sand construct… and it was already being dispersed by the wind. Kana knew that as well and pulled off a bluff.

「L-like this…?」

I said, bringing my reddish coloured knife close to Aria’s body as requested by Patra…

…It glowed scarlet.

「…Ugh…Oh…. Stop it, i-it hurts, Kinji…ah…hrng…!」

When the light hit the Scarlet Goddess, she pretended to be Aria and writhed in pain.

It hurt my heart to do it, but that trick wouldn’t work.

As soon as the knife approached the possessed Aria’s heart–

「–Now!」

With a *Snap!*, she raised her upper body and bit down on the blade.

Even Patra and Kana were surprised and pried her away from the knife…

「Y-you did well this time. Haha! But you won’t be able to use this again! S-see you later, Kinji… We’ll meet before long…」

Leaving us with those words, the Scarlet Goddess–

Now Aria, fainted.

Her brilliant scarlet aura faded to nothing… and I caught Aria’s body and held it in front of me as she collapsed…

「Now then… she will hurt an awful lot… but it will be Aria.」

Finally calling her『Aria』, Kana let out a large sigh.

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

I carried Aria back to my Nii-san’s Nogizaki condominium– One of the first things Patra did was to change Aria’s ripped skirt through whose gaps a trump-patterned article of clothing could be seen.

Afterwards, I laid her on the sofa as she slept in REM sleep, muttering「Momoman…」as she tried to eat a cushion.

My Hysteria Mode had dissipated now that I knew Aria was herself again.

The Scarlet Goddess had run away. She hadn’t been able to predict Kana’s trick before.

Despite being called a god–she was a coward. She might be worthy of the battle prowess she claims, but her personality is hardly that of a god. She’s an over-powered but cowardly ESP user.

As I watched Aria intently as she lay on the sofa, I heard…

「You held up well, Kinji. In an incredibly difficult situation. I expect as much of my younger brother.」

Kana said, spontaneously, patting and stroking my head.

It seems off. To say something like that right after a clash of superhumans.

However, it is preferable to my Nii-san, Kinichi, trying to shoot me upon entering his apartment.

「But now that the Scarlet Goddess has awakened… You cannot continue your relationship with Aria.」

Kana then puffed out a sigh– and I hung my head in disbelief.

「You’ve done more than you realise, Kinji. Don’t you see that it would be bad if you stayed with Aria? If you do that, the Scarlet Goddess will appear again.」

「…That wouldn’t happen just because of me…」

I protested, turning red, but Kana ignored it.

Kana was talking as if Aria and I had done shameless things together.

All things considered, though, we had only risen to the level of receiving chocolates to commemorate our partnership.

「If it’s only about crossing the line of『Love』, we should be fine for the time being. But unless Aria breaks the Butei Charter and kills someone, there is only the slightest stimulus of『War』to please the Scarlet Goddess.」

「But Aria… She might have to fight such a battle, won’t she…?」

「There is no absolute guarantee. I don’t want to restrain Aria herself, and I don’t want to kill her unless she asks:『Kill me』. I don’t know about anyone else, but Butei Law, Article 4 says Butei are self-reliant. Unless I am asked, I don’t want to interfere–but whatever happens, I think Aria should deal with the Scarlet Goddess herself.」

Kana expressed her somewhat risky opinion…

However, it’s preferable to Tamamo who declared that she would become an enemy upon the expiration of a time limit. While there are other options available besides killing Aria, I should avoid asking her for help in the future.

That being the case–

「…I am unable to restore that blade. Henceforth, it shall function as an ordinary blade.」

Patra said as she examined my butterfly knife on a table, then folded it and returned it to me.

「Kana… what did you give me? I was told that the knife was important… but I’ve always had it.」

I showed the knife to Kana who winced a bit and forced a laugh.

「Ahaha! That thing is a thing given to the Tohyama Family by the Hotogi Shrine a long time ago, a remounted aikuchi5 irokane-killer. In resonance with hihiirokane, it somewhat reduces it’s power. If it’s small or weak in effect, it can stop its effect entirely. It’s an amulet to prevent Hihihiirokane related disasters. Sherlock wanted it, but until he died– I planned to leave it with you to hide it.」

「I knew it had something to do with irokane… Rather, you wanted me to have it because of its powers as a charm. Because I was going to be involved with irokane related disasters.」

Thinking back, when he gave it to me, I noticed the red plating and thought it was to prevent reflections… Recently, I had begun to doubt that.

「The Hihiirokane presence in the surrounding area is too large. Sherlock, Son, and Aria… they all had a large enough mass that cannot be suppressed without something on the level of Irokaneayame.」

「Irokaneayame– Does Shirayuki’s sword have something to do with this?」

「It is made from the left over material from the creation of Irokaneayame and was forged in a more primitive process. Rather than the unlimited number of uses that Irokaneayame enjoys, with each use, it’s power weakens–In the end, it’s disposable, first-generation irokane jammer. That is to say, in contrast with the artificial irokane of Irokaneayame that is harmless no matter how long you carry it… the irokane-killer has a ti~ny bit of real irokane–」

「Wha-?」

Shocked, I dropped the butterfly knife.

In summary, that mean th-this is a knife made of irokane alloy?

What a dangerous thing to give to your younger brother, Kana!

「I-It’s fine. It only takes a microscopic amount to irokane to effect the human body, but you’ll definitely be fine.」

「…What do you mean?」

「You’re a Butei and a woman-hater when it comes to love, so you’re resistant to its effect. You were always an emotionally detached child, so the irokane has nothing to work on.」

「…」

She said that, and I was at a loss for words.

I’m a Butei prohibited from killing, and what’s more, emotionally detached from love–

Does that mean Kana counted on my incompatibility with love when leaving it in my care?

「However, the irokane-killer is unable to be employed again. The Scarlet Goddess channeled all of her power into it, satisfying the resonance at once.」

Patra said, and opening the knife grip――

Sure enough, I saw that the colour had been drained from the blade. It had become a normal steel dagger.

…It would appear that this disposable weapon has been used up, huh? By the Scarlet Goddess.

「That’s about it… All that Patra and I know about irokane. Sherlock probably didn’t know much more. This is all that was learned from『A Study in Scarlet』as a way to save Aria… but nothing was found.」

Kana said as I turned to look back at the sleeping Aria–

「If you want to fight for Aria, we need to rely on someone who knows more about irokane. Someone who knows more than me– I know of 2 such people.」

Kana said, and Patra gave her a slightly surprised look.

「There’s nothing else to be done, Patra. Unless we want an advent of the Scarlet Goddess in front of the Supreme Court. Kinji is already 17. He’s about to the point when he will have to face adults.」

「…The Supreme Court…? What? What are you saying, Kana?」

I furrowed my brows and turned to face her–

「Is that alright, Kinji? No matter what you say and I hear, I can’t turn back.」

–Until now, Kana had never looked directly at me…

But now that he looked at me, he validated that he saw me as a man.

「What are you talking about, Kana? I will not turn back now. Who and where are these people?」

「One of them is in London. They are the world’s current, preeminent armchair detective, Minuet Holmes.」

「…」

Aria’s sister?

「The other is Kanae Kanzaki. Kanae learned about it from Minuet. Either party has yet to break their silence. I believe that getting either of them to talk would be a Herculean task…」

Aria’s mother, Kanae-san, knows? About irokane?

「If you want to save Aria, I suggest you start by meeting Kanae Kanzaki. If you tell her about transforming into the Scarlet Goddess, she probably won’t play dumb. Now then….by…. the… way…」

Dodging an entire barrage of questions that I had asked, Kana swiftly changed the topic–

「This jumper was expensive. It was a Pal’las Palace limited edition. It was much my favourite.」

She switched topics in her usual breezy manner.

Using her beautiful hand to sweep across the vertically-striped jumper across the large breasts whose underlying structure I neither knew nor wanted to know of.

「This happened when I decided to fight that person to help Aria… I got dressed in a hurry to fight in these clothes and they got a bit frayed here.」

The soft tone in her voice that she had up until now in the conversation had vanished–

「…S-sorry.」

Realising that there was nothing to be gained by questioning Kana further, I just simply apologised. Then she showed me the frayed hole on the side of the jumper.

「It’s frayed, yeah?」

It seems strange that my older sister (actually my brother) would feel this way, not depressed enough to commit suicide or despair, but willing to throw themself into a world war with the Scarlet Goddess–

「U-understood. I’ll pay you back for it.」

I responded by saying what Kana wanted me to say.

Kana isn’t greedy, but she won’t refuse a payment for helping another Butei.

「Wonderful!. Now then, I have a request. Can I meet Cromaetel-san?」

–Wha!

Literally springing straight up from the sofa–

「Kinji Tooyama, why would you not want to transform yourself into beautiful woman? Become her once more, I am sure she, Kana, and I would be the best of friends.」

…Patra…!

I didn’t even tell anyone except my Nii-san=Kana, but now she exposed my embarrassing secret!

「I can’t do it! I’ll never do it! Never!」

I shouted as Kana and Patra loomed ominously over the sofa.

Their eyes glittered like two predators with their favourite meal before them…!

「As an Onee-san, I’ve always wanted an imouto!」

「You have Kaname!」

「Kaname is cute, but Cromaetel is beautiful, and there is always room for dessert! So now then, I must insist! Come on, Kinji!」

「I have garments that I can lend to you. Now then, change for me! Fuhihi!」

N-no! And now–!

Kana casually restrained me, as Patra placed a long-haired wig on my head, working together as a perverted couple– m-maybe it was something they used in their adult sort of games.

But cross-dressing as a sibling, then becoming close friends is a bit much!

Then, ah, oh, the black-haired wig was placed on my head. It’s coming! The countdown to Cromaetel’s arrival in Japan is ticking down.!

「…S-s-stop it…!」

Did my cries reached the heavens–?

「…n-… sto-… no…Croma-….hrngh…!」

Kana was still embracing me–

And now, *Zzz!* *Zzz!*… she began snoring.

Th-thank goodness! Saved by a hair’s breadth–

Kana’s long period of post-Hysteria Mode sleep had arrived.

I was impatient for it, I knew it was close.

I looked like the Kana-Cromaetel sister team-up she wanted was not going to happen, and even Patra seemed to lose enthusiasm for the Cromaetel transformation…

Aria opened here eyes with an expression of「?」upon seeing the wig on my head.

D-don’t look at it, Aria…! This is the afterlife…!

[END TEXT]

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1. Kanji say ‘teleportation-existence-within-field-of-view’. Also known as Somersault Cloud.

2. Accordion blade

3. Milk crown

4. This is a trick that school children use to distance themselves when they arrange themselves in ranks for assemblies. LINK

5. A kind of ‘tanto’ (knife) with the blade guard at the top of the hilt is flush with any sheath it is placed in. (i.e. without a hand guard)