Chapter 4
Part1
---In the Great Hall of the Vampire's airborne citadel
The airborne castle looked better after the make-over by the residents of [Underwood]. However, the great hall was now filled with the injured refugees and the bedrooms were long occupied by those with grievous wounds. Whereas, those who were lightly injured were given towels for blankets and they huddle in the corners where space was available.
The heavily injured of the fire dragon squads lay in the courtyard to nurse to their wings while harbouring feelings of self-reproach.
And among the injured was the figure of Izayoi. A bed had been prepared for him by Jack who prioritized the retrieval to rush him back to the airborne castle. An apt description of his current appearance would be that of a person who is riddled with sores and puncture marks.
The bones of his fists were pounded to bits, his organs were seriously damaged and the loss of blood was already beyond the point of critical stage.
It was already an incredible feat for him to survive in that state. And the members of [No Name] ---Lily and Shirayuki, who spotted his form riddled with wounds, gave a small cry.
"Iza, Izayoi-sama……!"
"My lord……!"
They probably travelled over together with Leticia. And behind them were the other children of the Senior group. Seeing that [Ouroboros] was finally making its move, the Community headquarters would not be a safe location anymore and it made more sense to have them at the front lines to support their Community in the war efforts.
And witnessing the dire state of Izayoi's condition was enough to rob them of their tongues. As the supporting members of the Community, the children were greatly shaken by the defeat of Izayoi who was one of the strongest combatants in the Community.
There were lads who were trembling and looking pale, girls who covered their mouths as tears rolled down their cheeks. But of the Senior group, Lily’s reaction was swift and decisive.
"Get…. Get me a tub of hot water and lots of bandages. And bring the blood producing medicine and the unicorn’s horn over!" [22]
"Aye, ah,"
"Quickly! It’s still possible to make it in time, everyone, get them on the double!"
Lily sprinted over to Izayoi with a handkerchief. Although there were simple treatments and immediate response given to all who were sent in, the body had yet to be sanitized. The people in charge of the emergency procedures were just too busy to deal with that detail and Lily used her handkerchief to wipe away the blood from Izayoi’s face.
"Everyone, get over here now!!" Lily turned back to shout to the Senior group who stood rooted in shock.
" " " " Ye, Yes, understood!!!" " " "
PaDaPaDaPaDa!!! The Senior group ran over to Lily. And during that time, Lily prepared the necessary tools to be used in conjunction with the unicorn horn while giving Izayoi’s body a final cleansing of those spots of blood.
A thin film of tears was misting her sight as she spoke quietly, "……Shirayuki-sama, there’s still hope for Izayoi-sama right?"
"Hm," giving a fast reply, Shirayuki joined Lily with a damp handkerchief to help with the cleaning of Izayoi’s body while watching Lily work. Wiping the tears from her face as they fell from her eyes with her hand, Lily continued to carry out her task at hand.
---what a strong little girl she is. Shirayuki was impressed as she formed a new opinion about Lily. And in her gaze was something close to respect for this little girl.
Although Lily was still at the age where many other kids of her age would still be happy to be fussed over by their mothers, Lily had been managing the housework of the whole Community and taking care of the farmlands. Even the others below her station were clinging to her like younger siblings to an elder sister. And facing the tragic situation in the Community, she had been moving forward fearlessly. An ordinary girl would have fainted upon seeing such a large amount of blood and wounds. Though the treating of wounds might not be much of an accomplishment, it was more than enough when said to be done by a mere ten year old girl.
Her inner strength and the radiance of her soul was something that even a Divinity holder like Shirayuki could not ignore.
(…… My lord. You can’t let this endearing little lady cry like that.)
Silently making her retort at Izayoi. But there were other matters on Shirayuki’s mind.
Let’s just say it here---- Shirayuki never thought much about Izayoi in the first place. The first impression was solely based on their first encounter but the fact is that her judgement for his character was ranked in the lower ends.
She had always thought that Izayoi was one who possessed a great talent from birth and a completely overweening attitude but was one who would easily suffer a setback when faced with an opponent who was stronger than him.
……however, that was not the case in reality.
Izayoi had battled. Not only did he not run in the face of such strong opponent who stood above him in terms of talents and he had gambled his life in the battle to save his comrades. Ultimately ending in defeat.
To some, those who challenged a hopeless battle were nothing but fools.
After all, the victorious were kings and the losers, the invaders.
The prerequisite of righteousness is to be victorious. And this lad, Izayoi, is only so arrogantly fixated with victory due to his unwavering belief in his self-righteousness.
---But this lad had thrown himself into a battle which he had no chance of winning.
Knowing full well that he would taste the humiliation of defeat, Izayoi continued to battle selflessly.
As one of the holders of Divinity, Shirayuki was apologetic for her misjudgement of character. And towards her lord who displayed extraordinary courage and determination, she offered her highest praise.
(Don’t die on us, my lord. Because the one who will defeat the Demon Lord is one----who always hold the courage anywhere, anytime to use all their might to land their strike.)
Shirayuki’s instincts were telling her that there would be a time that they would need this lad’s power once again.
And seeming to confirm that feeling of hers, the airborne castle shook violently.
"……the shockwaves from the battle are reaching here as well……?!"
If she could, she would have wanted to help with the fight as well. However, this was a scale that was beyond a Divinity Holder. Hence, Shirayuki could only help with the preparations on the support side while praying for her comrades who are battling for their sakes.
At the same time.
Kasukabe Yō was invited to join Sala at the command room. The previously uninhabited airborne castle was now filled with furnishings and decorum from the city of [Underwood].
And besides Yō and Sala who were in the room, there was a guest member of the [Draco Greif] alliance--- Coppelia. Sitting on a chair as she could not walk even if she wanted to, Yō blinked in surprise upon learning the news that Coppelia had remained in [Draco Greif] all these time.
"Coppelia, long time no see, but why would you be here?"
"Well, there isn’t anyone in the Game Controller post for [Draco Greif] so I’m just standing in for them. Although we can say that the perpetual motion machine is completed, it’s still not at the final form that I hoped it to be. And I reckon that it would be more advantageous to belong to a large scale Community when searching for my father."
Right, Yō gave a wry smile as she remembered the incidences that led up to Sala’s promotion.
She---Coppelia, was someone whom they had met during their stay with the [Draco Greif] while arranging the talks for the formation of their Community's Alliance. She was also a doll who controls the [Third Perpetual Motion Machine].
Finding her trapped in a Game of Paradox by chance, they of the [No Name] had used a slight cheat to clear the game and that is how it is up till this point.
"If I knew that there would be such a game, I would have studied harder in school."
"Miss Kasukabe. Please forgive my rudeness, but the [Third Perpetual Motion Machine] isn’t something of a simple structure that can be found in a compulsory education. It wouldn’t have mattered whether or not if you are a hardworking student then."[23]
"That’s …… Mah, you’re right."
Although that wasn’t what she had meant, she did not try to clarify that as there wasn’t the time to talk about those stuff. There was a need to prioritise the report on KuroUsagi and Asuka’s situation and the battle at [Kouen City] after all.
After Sala and Coppelia heard the full report from Yō, their expressions darkened as they folded their arms.
"We’ve got the gist of the situation…… but, that’s troubling. The condition of [No Name] is much worse than I had expected."
"Yeah. There’s no way for us to help them if we do not know the location that they were thrown to."
"……Mhm. It’s not only KuroUsagi and Asuka. Even Pest and Willa are also missing in action. Will they be able to participate in this Game?"
"If they are not at the location when it activated, they won’t be able to participate later. The current Game stage is special one. After all, this is a large scale stage that borrows the Authority of an entire star from [Perseus]. We can just count it as the transference of everyone to an entirely different world from that of Little Garden."
"Is, Is that so? Then is Garol-san around, maybe we can still ask a bit about this [Genome Tree]."
"Uhm…… Although that is also important, Garol-dono is also one of the few surviving members of the first battle against Azi Dahaka 200 years ago. If it weren’t for the negotiations that sent him far away, I would have liked him to join us for the battle……"
And Sala lifted her head suddenly, seeming to have realised something.
"…… No, wait, that’s it! There’s also another one who can solve all these problems! If it is him, it might just work out!"
"Who do you mean?"
"It’s the one who told us about the situation of your side and invited [Queen Halloween] to lend us her help. If it weren’t for the help of [Queen], there wouldn’t be any way to move this airborne castle all the way to the North Side in the first place."
"Is that so? Sounds like a really incredible person to me."
"That’s not all. He’s also someone who has deep connections with the [No Name]. After all, he’s"
"Did you call me?"
Ha? The three other people in the room gave a gasp in surprise.
It was not known when the guy in question had arrived. But wearing a round bowler hat and a tuxedo while having another short jacket over his tux, the old gentleman sat on the high chair in the room that was empty moments before.
With an appearance of a seventy year old, his wrinkles and hair which became white with the passing of years was pretty impressionable in itself. But the gaze was startlingly sharp and it felt like something unhuman that seemed keen enough to see through everything.
"……Croix-sama. I’ve told you many times not to appear so suddenly. It’s not good for our hearts."
"The silent approach of the Grim Reaper..... No, we shouldn’t be praising him about that!"
Facing Sala and Coppelia’s reproach, the old gentleman, who was known by the name of Croix, gave a smile and a shrug of his shoulders, "Well then, sorry for my rude interruption. I just love seeing the look of surprise on others. Besides, were you going to ask me about something?"
"Ah, yes. This is the current [No Name]’s main force, Kasukabe Yō. May I ask that you assist her for a moment?"
HouHou? The elderly gentleman opened his eyes to look at Yō.
Yō lagged a bit in her acknowledging nod. And from the attitude of Sala towards this old gentleman, he should be an important elder in Little Garden. Otherwise, the [Floor Master] Sala, wouldn’t have been that stiff in her formalities.
They watched at each other for a moment of silence.
Then the old gentleman suddenly laughed, "I won’t know what you want if you do not speak. Is there something that you need from me?"
"Erm, that……say, who are you, gramps?"
"Aiya, excuse my rudeness. I forgot to say my name. I’m Baron Croix. Moreover, I can be called as one of the predecessors of your Community."
"Predecessor…… then, you are one of the original members of [No Name]?"
"That’s right. And it’s more of being one of the founders I guess. I’ve known your father for a long time too."
The unexpected words from Croix caused Yō’s heart rate to rise.
Although she was equally surprised by the information regarding her father, if this elderly gentleman was a predecessor of the [No Name], the things that she wanted to know from him would be a mountain load of questions.
Although she wanted to start her questions from the part on her father’s information, Yō reined in her curiosity to ask in the order of priority.
"But where have Croix-san been all these while? Weren’t you caught like Leticia and sold in the slave-market as well?"
"How would that ever happen? There’s no value in this old body for the auctions…… But come to think about it, please tell me the details of Leticia’s enslavement."
"Please behave yourself, Croix-sama."
Keho Keho, Sala gave a few fake coughs to pull the topic back to focus.
"Croix-sama was sent to the Outside world after the battle three years ago. I heard that it is all thanks to Faceless-dono…… or more accurately, the strength of [Queen Halloween] that managed to summon him back into Little Garden."
"The masked person? How did she do that?"
"It was done by using this item."
Taking off his bowler hat, Croix reached his hand into its cavity to feel about for a while before pulling out a nekomimi headphone.
Yō blinked her eyes as a surprised look came over her face and she tilted her head in wonder, "Nekomimi ……headphones? And that is not the pair that I own?"
"Yes. But it's not an entirely different object. Because this is something that models the very popular item in your time and it is of the same series. …… And just mentioning on the side, this is a really hot item that is being advertised as an assessory endorsed by a certain idol in the time that I lived in."
"…….?"Not understanding the gist of his words, Yō tilted her head to the side.
Croix sieved out the important points of his words as he gave a wry smile, "to put it simply, these headphones created a "situation that should be in the future, but happening in a different time" sort of microscopic mini paradox. ……. Did you know this? Little Garden collects many systems of these paradoxes. Then, by using those paradoxes in reverse, one would be able to determine precisely the location in the time flow where I currently reside in."
"It acted as a Gift that stabilized the space between the two flows of time. It's a phenomenon similar to the summoning of heroes in order to retrieve them from the flow of time," Sala added and Croix nodded in affirmation.
"That’s right. The summoning we made to change that phenomenon…… is known as Paradox Shift. Anyways, a temporary isolated paradox like this would not make a difference to the larger picture be it of a small or large scale, so it will just be left aside easily. I was just lucky to be found by [Queen’s Knight] at that time. It seems that I'm not forsaken by luck yet. Hence I’m able to rush back in this time of need and Yō, it is all thanks to you."
Pressing the bowler hat atop his head, Croix gave a bow in gratitude.
Digesting the load of information slowly, Yō nodded her head a few times before lifting her head, "it means to say…… the nekomimi headphones sent out an SOS signal of sorts…… is that it?"
"If you put it plainly, it's just as you said. Truthfully, I’ve also put in place many other SOS sounding devices but never did I expect for the nekomimi headphones to be the first one to receive and establish a connection. All that effort, to put the [Bootstrap Paradox] in place to be set off at any time, had gone to waste."
Hahaha, Croix gave a loud laugh. It was really difficult to grasp what this guy was thinking.
Yō paid no attention to his laugh as she thought back to the words that Faceless once said.
(Come to think about it, during that time when the nekomimi headphones were summoned, she did say something like "there’s a weird flow of time" or sorts. Is this what she meant ?)
She said that the reason was the [Genome Tree] but it did not feel like the power that should be possessed by the [Genome Tree]. Perhaps, the reason might have been the effect of the nekomimi headphones.
Listening to their conversation, Coppelia gave a gasp in surprise.
"Croix-san. That’s not something to laugh about. If you set off a [Bootstrap Paradox], it will develop into something big and you will be punished by the higher echelons of Little Garden. What are you planning to do if you take a misstep and trigger off a [Paradigm Shift] instead?"
"Mah, don’t make it sound so bad. After all, Laplace’s terminal body was also with me and that would have guaranteed the stop of any situation that may escalate to that worst possible scenario you’ve described. ---Moreover, to bring up the [Bootstrap Paradox] when you hold the [Third Perpetual Motion Machine], that’s against really unfair right? After all, the fact that you exist is precisely because of that paradox."
Facing the sudden glint of slyness in his eyes, Coppelia was made to fall silent. Those sharp eyes were enough to give one the feeling of having their souls bared before him.
He’s not just an ordinary person, Coppelia raised her guardedness as she came to that conclusion.
Yō seemed to have noticed the uncomfortable atmosphere and she clapped her hands to change that while asking her question, "Um that… What is a [Bootstrap Paradox]?"
And faced with the question from Yō, Coppelia was surprised, "Pardon me if I’m being impolite Miss Kasukabe. I thought that you would have heard of it because of how famous it is. To put it simply, it is a paradox game that came from a real 18th Century German novel that focuses on the adventures of a noble who goes by the name of Baron Munchausen. [24]--- have you heard of that? For example, the paradoxes of ‘the bottomless swamp and the boot’ or ‘the time machine’?"
"Well perhaps the paradox about the chicken and egg is better known in Japan. You’ve heard of that right? The story where the Origin (alpha) and End (omega) is the same?" Seeing the confusion on Yō’s face, Croix stepped in to supplement Coppelia’s words. [25]
And Yō finally nodded her head as she got a grasp of the explanations.
From before, there was such a topic discussed in one of the literary works recommended by Izayoi.
Yō vaguely remembered the title of the novel to be <<The tall tale adventures of Baron Munchausen>>. And there was only one story in the novel that talked about the incident between the bottomless swamp and a boot.
"Uhm. I kind of remember a chapter regarding a Baron who was about to sink into a bottomless swamp…… and he had to grab his leg to pull himself out of the swamp---was that the story you were referencing to?"
"Yes, that’s the one. Bootstrap refers to the circular strip sewn to the back of the boot. Of course, if we were to look at it from the logical perspective, this method would not be able to achieve his aim of lifting himself out of the swamp. It is purely a work that plays upon that contradiction. Another work for the easy understanding of the paradox would be <<By his bootstraps>> written by Robert Anson Heinlein and his related time machine paradox stories.
"…? Sorry, you have lost me for that part."
Seeing Yō shake her head, Coppelia was wide eyed and dumbfounded at her reaction.
Just like having an unbelievable object placed before her, Coppelia paused for a moment to fold her arms in contemplation while watching Yō. She then retrieved a book from her Gift Card, which was emblazoned with the petal symbolled flag, and handed it to Yō.
"This is a famous work of his. Please make sure you read it."
"……Ah, okay."
Pressurized by such an intimidating intensity from Coppelia, Yō nodded and accepted the book.
Coppelia’s intimidating expression was not an illusion at all.
Croix suppressed the urge to laugh at the scene while he spun his cane, "Mah, how should I say this. Even the gods of Little Garden view the [Bootstrap Paradox] as a problem to them. So it wouldn’t hurt to read up on it."
"I, I got it."
"Mhm. Then, is that all that you have to ask me?"
"No, that wasn’t the main problem," Sala interjected quickly while giving Yō the look. Although they had veered off from the main topic, there should be many more things that she would want to ask this person. Since he was her father’s friend and one of the founders of [No Name], he might know something about the [Genome Tree] to help her.
Taking off the necklace from her neck, she handed it over to Croix to have him look it over.
"This is the Gift that my dad left to me…… [Genome Tree], but it’s suddenly failed to function. Croix-san, would you happen to know the reason for that?"
"……Mhm?" Without taking the [Genome Tree] that was held out to him, Croix only tipped the edge of his bowler hat upward to get a closer look. It seemed that he hesitated for a moment before smiling while giving a shrug of his shoulders.
"…… Don’t worry, it’s only temporary. It will be back to normal after some time."
"Really?"
"Aah. This is a phenomenon caused by the overusage of spiritual power that exceeds the existing stored spiritual power in the [Genome Tree] itself. And in an attempt to protect you from harm, it has temporarily shut off its functions."
And a relieved look finally came over Yō’s face.
"Is, Is that so……?! Then, how long will it take to recover?"
"That will depend on the total amount of spiritual power that you have collected…… but it should be able to be back to normal in a month’s time?"
But his answer was what caused Yō’s shoulder to droop. Then, that would have meant that Yō was to be benched for the current battle. Although there was a boost in their numbers with many strong warriors arriving to help with the war, an extra hand in the combatant ranks is always welcomed.
To be told that she could only watch and pray for the others, Yō’s gaze drifted downwards with unhidden sadness in her eyes.
So Croix leaned upon his cane to stand up and took the [Genome Tree] into his hand.
"---but, it’s not like there isn’t a method to make it usage again immediately."
"Really?!"
"There is no actual proof yet, but there’s something I would like to try. May I borrow this [Genome Tree] for a while?"
"Uu, Mhm. It’s also of no use to my current self."
The current Yō couldn’t even be counted as one of the combatants and was purely a burden at this point. Getting the [Genome Tree] back to normal was her priority.
Giving a warm smile like how a grandparent would have while looking at their grandchildren, Croix stood up and walked over to Yō, "Let’s talk about your father when you come to retrieve your [Genome Tree] next time. Although the situation is pressing, there will still be time for our chat. Please wait at his……The room where little Izayoi is sleeping."
"Ye, Yes."
The old gentleman with the bowler hat winked out of existence like smoke in the winds after he spoke those words. And though there might be a troubled look in those all-seeing eyes of his, it was already an unexpected deal to be able to hear of her father’s news. Perhaps it might also give the clue that will help them out of their desperate situation.
"But, we have found a solution for the current problem at the very least."
"Mhm. Next would be the problem of finding KuroUsagi and Asuka……"
"There’s no need to worry about those two I guess. There aren’t that many strong individuals who can match up against them in the world of Little Garden. Moreover, they are most likely to make it through even if they were to meet a clone of Azi Dahaka."
Sala gave a laugh while patting Yō’s back. But little did she know that KuroUsagi had lost her spiritual powers and Asuka was teleported away without most of her Gifts. It was truly the worst possible scenario and they should start the search as soon as possible.
(I will need to discuss this with Croix-san later. Maybe he might have a plan for that.)
Although she wanted to start the discussion on the search for Asuka and KuroUsagi, Yō decided that it would be best held in Izayoi room later. After all, if it’s Izayoi, he would surely help with the strategizing.
In the midst of the chaos wrought by the battle with the three headed dragon, the trio left the room on their separate tasks as directed by their responsibilities.
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