Part 2
Little Garden, Outer Gate Number 54545’s Stage Area, The Arena before the [Tablet of the Sea of Stars].
Kasukabe Yō had just arrived in the area and the sparkling sculptures of glass flowers that decorated the area around her made it one of the most beautiful places within [Kouen City]. But it wasn’t merely those glass pieces that made the corridor such a beautiful place. It was the addition of precious gemstones that gave off the twinkling light of stars that made the place take on a dream-like quality.[30]
This corridor also served as an area to commemorate the generations of crafters who had helped in the building as well as maintaining of the North Side Territories for various monuments in remembrance of the crafters that had been gathered in this place.
And if Yō were to come through as the champion of the Game such as the <Duel of Creators> during the Birth of the Fire Dragon Matsuri, she would obtain the rights to carve her Community’s name and Flag onto the Corridor of Displays. Aside from that, if one won in a Game hosted to compete within the technique and art of crafted masterpieces, they would also obtain the right to display their accomplishment in the stone pedestal of the Corridor of Displays.
Looking around at the countless precious masterpieces showcased around her, Yō started to feel a sense of doubt taking seed in her heart as she tilted her head.
(……Is it really possible for me to take part in this Game?)
Just as mentioned earlier, the North Side is where Gifts of refining metals, manufacturing by crystallizations, alchemical arts and the like circulated widely. And perhaps it was due to the climate of this region, the population of Humans were dense in these areas. The fact that the race of Humans didn’t possess much power was one that everyone knew well. As long as the birth is an ordinary one, it wouldn’t be too much to say that Humans ranked at the lowest rungs of the power ladder. But in the North Side, the talent of creating Gifts though the techniques of Human or Spirit alike were highly prized treasures there.
Hence the creativity of Humankind in developing techniques and skills received high praise and the North soon became a place that made it easier for Humankind to call it their home. Amongst them were Communities that have left their mark on the [Tablet of the Sea of Stars], having had their strength recognized and receiving high praise from [Salamandra].
And those who were now gathered in the arena were all fierce competitors who would wish to leave their mark of their accomplishments behind for generations to come. In a large collection of strong competitors, would it really be a good idea for herself to be mixed in amongst them……Yō started to ponder such stuff as she stared blankly in front of her.
(Just visiting this Corridor of Displays has already been quite a pleasant experience for me. Even for the Community, I shouldn’t allow any smear to get on our reputation……right?)
Yō tilted her head as she started to give it some thought. Having been brought up in an environment that lacked much interactions with others, Yō didn’t know much about these sort of things. Just shortly before, Yō might still be able to ask Calico Cat’s opinion about it, but he’s no longer by her side. Having been injured in the battle against the huge Dragon, he had decided to retire and spend the rest of his life in [Underwood]’s Great Tree.
(……)
Yō continued to stare at the displays with a distant look in her eyes.
That was something that was decided after they had both sat down to talk about it.
Calico cat had been born on the same day as Yō and he’s an old cat who has seen through fourteen winters with her. It could even be said that he’s closer than her next of kin.
And precisely due to that reason, Calico cat was very worried with Yō’s capability in interacting with other Humans more than anyone else.
“Ojou, you aren’t alone anymore, you need to learn how to live amongst humans in society from today onwards.”
Having been told of such a thing by Calico who was heavily covered in bandages, Yō couldn’t bring herself to deny it. After all it was a separation that would have to come sooner or later. Though she might feel lonely, but the rejection of such a request would have been equivalent to betraying the other.
So Yō hid her sadness as she handed Calico cat over to Garol of [Six Scars] while entrusting the future care and treatment of the wounds to them. The people of [Six Scars] who were also future allies in their Alliance had also readily agreed to her request to care for Calico Cat while treating him like one of their own.
Having received the assurance from others that the environment of the Great Tree would contribute to a speedy recovery, the human and cat then set off on their separate paths. Hence from that day onwards, Yō had to reach her own conclusions.
For if she couldn’t do that, she wouldn’t be able to face Calico Cat squarely with pride.
(Nn. Garol-san had already given me encouragement by making known his support for me. I must do my best as well.)
Yō clenched her fists tightly.
He who had claimed to be her father, Kasukabe Koumei’s friend, Garol had really helped the [No Name]s a lot. But he never brought up any talk of his past with her father and had only left this line for her when they were about to go their separate ways—
“Currently, I can’t say anything about it. But if you really want to know Koumei, you will need to chase after his footsteps. Only then will you understand what kind of man he is.”
The next two months following that day, Yō had tried her best to search for a trace on her father’s whereabouts but had come up with nothing.
Leticia had also been adamant with a reply of ‘Its fine to just wait for now’. And so she had come to visit the Corridor of Displays to look at the [Tablet of Sea of Stars].
(It’s said that there are only a handful of Corridors for displays in Little Garden and I had thought that it might be a place to start searching for my father’s crafted pieces……But it sure seems like it’s not that easy after all.)
Troubled by the lack of results, Yō crossed her arms. There was still another method for her to get a lead. And that was to participate in the Game while registering the [Genome Tree] as the specific Gift to be used while observing the reaction of the crowd then.
But to appear in the Game where many famous blacksmiths and sculptors had signed up to vie for glory, it still gave her the feeling of uneasiness. If it were only a blemish to her name and becoming a laughing stock, it might have been much easier to bear but she didn’t want to bring shame to [No Name] again because of that.
*Plonk!*
Ouch. That hurts. But Yō still couldn’t think up of a solution. She who couldn’t arrive at a plan could only reach up to take the sharp yet blunt weapon that had been dropped on her head.
(……what is this?)
That was a blunt weapon that took the appearance of a cross while its topmost was a rounded piece. From the shape of it, it would be more similar to a ‘hammer’ than a cross.
……No, isn’t it literally a hammer?
(This is really dangerous. If it weren’t me, a person might have been grievously injured.)
Yō looked around her but it’s a really impossible task to find the culprit amongst the crowd that milled around the Corridor of displays. Tilting her head quizzically, Yō thought to herself that perhaps in the craftsman city of [Kouen City], hammers dropping from nowhere might just be a common thing. Just then—
*Plonk!*
Another strike came flying at her.
Yō gripped the hammer in her hand tightly. Once might have passed for a coincidence but twice would make it clearly intentional. Moreover for the person to escape Yō’s five senses that were as sharp as a wild beast, that would make the throw truly unusual.
(……)
She quietly took on a battle stance. Since there’s a second, a third wouldn’t be that surprising.
Closing her eyes to focus on her hearing, Yō prepared herself for the third wave.
Yō wasn’t that forgiving to laugh while receiving some unknown attacks. Izayoi had said that the market rate for him was to return things tenfold. Whereas for Yō, she would want to return it a hundredfold.
Preparing to sense the hammer that would fly out from the crowd at her—
“…..Are you alright?”
“?!!”
Yō almost leapt out of her skin.
Suddenly having a stranger striking up a conversation with her, Yō had almost fallen to the ground in her surprise.
And that was to be expected for in the state where Yō had heightened her senses to the maximum, for this female stranger to approach this close would have been impossible. But it was a fact that the young lady[31] stood before her and it could be said to be a flawless sneak attack.
“Uh, um……”
Yō’s mouth was half agape as she looked at the girl who seemed to be the same age as herself.
Then, she was stumped by surprise once more.
The young lady had a sweet baby face with a slightly wavy twin tailed hairdo, her curvaceous body-line didn’t seem to match the age that she appeared to be from just the face alone. Although her height did not differ greatly from Yō’s, her breasts were filled out like those of a grown woman. The black and blue laced Gothic Lolita outfit boldly revealed her legs and part of her breasts, making her look very attractive.
The bold choice of dressing would have made others to think that she’s trying to lure men to fall for the temptations but those eyes of hers were pure and innocent while defenselessly revealing large parts of her body. Be it guys or girls, anyone would definitely have their pulse set racing at the sight of such a girl.
But with such an overly tempting and attractive appearance, it had instead triggered the caution in Yō’s heart.
(This child……isn’t human?)
Doll-like—A demon in the form of a girl. That was the line that flashed through Yō’s mind.
The girl did not notice Yō’s caution as she moved closer look at Yō’s face:
“……is your head fine?”
“Ah, Nn. It’s fine. But who are you?”
The girl gave a slight nod.
The girl’s every action was incredibly cute and just that slight nod already compounded to the overall cuteness. Even if it’s Yō, she would also be unable to beat up such a cute girl. So possessing that level of understanding, Yō—
*Swish!*
“!”
Only gave a chop with her hand with a strength that wasn’t too little … just enough to smash a boulder.
“Let’s call it quits like that.”
“……Nn.”
The mysterious girl nodded her head. It would seem that she had given it some self-reflection.
Yō sorted out her thoughts as she planned to make a self-introduction but the girl was a step ahead in taking the initiative.
“You are joining the Game too?”
“……Game? You mean the <Duel of Creators>?”
The girl nodded her head as the pair of pure and innocent eyes stared at Yō fixedly.
Though Yō’s a laconic person, this girl seemed to be even more reserved with her words. It’s truly Yō’s first time to have met such a strong opponent for she had never met a girl who’s more laconic[32] than herself.
Yō, who haven’t decided whether to turn up for the event, nodded her head while replying:
“……Nn. I will be joining.”
A smile spread across the girl’s face.
“Great. With this, I can complete the promise I’ve made to Koumei.”
“Eh—“At the moment when Yō was left speechless—
The girl vanished without any warning.
“—That must be a lie right?!”
Vanishing into thin air. That’s right, just vanishing.
It wasn’t by disguising her scent or a rapid get-away nor was it taking to the skies. Such biological disguises would not be able to fool the senses of Yō.
The girl who had suddenly appeared had also simply vanished before Yō without a trace.
(How did she do that……No compared to that……)
Koumei—That was the name which people who are close to her father Kasukabe Koumei used to call him. Then, the girl might have been referring to her father by saying the name ‘Koumei’.
(Could it be……that I’ve actually found a lead on my father’s whereabouts?)
Yō gazed towards the arena from the Corridor of Displays as her eyes were no longer clouded with the troubled look of earlier.
Looks like she had finally found a reason to appear in the ring.
While looking out for the figure of the sweet looking girl, Yō made her way to the registration office.
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