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No Game No Life - Volume 4 - Chapter 2




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CHAPTER 2 
STRATEGIST 
 
—The beach. One of the top two destinations for rest and recreation, competing only with the mountains. A place where, come summer, throngs of people will gather instinctively, like insects to light. 
—In reality, it’s a setting where the sand stuck to your feet stubbornly refuses to leave your body, your sunburned skin torments your flesh for days to come, and the salt breeze corrodes your hair every second. When you think about it, it’s a landscape whose appeal was absolutely mystifying; a place meant strictly for people with lives. However—even a place as loathed as this can take on a new meaning in a different set of circumstances. 
“Hhh… Wiiin… ? ” 
Under a Japanesque parasol, Sora reclined on a bed woven of grass with a glass in his hand. At his sides were several animal-girls, apparently servants of the Shrine Maiden, who fanned him with giant leaves. Their short, little Japanese-style coats—apparently Eastern Union swimsuits—opened wide at the front, offering glimpses of their breasts and lower bodies as they slipped smoothly out from under what little coverage the cloth offered, in contrast to their furry ears and tails, more dazzling than the sun. Waving the glass in his hand, Sora thought to himself—this was heaven. 
“…King Sora, you seem quite content under this sun… Rather high and mighty, aren’t you?” 
“Yup! Thanks to Jibril’s mysterious sunscreen, formulated with optical spirits or something! But never mind that—” 
Sora answered Ino’s cool voice in a suspicious tone, without looking over. 
“Old man, I’m keeping you out of my vision, okay, but don’t tell me you’re wearing nothing but a loincloth again?” 
“Sir, what an odd thing to say… What shall a man wear to the sea but a loincloth?” 
The brawny elder, wearing only—just as Sora predicted—a loincloth, gave him a quizzical “Hmm?” look. With a displeased sigh, Sora pointed to himself and mumbled: 
“Look, Gramps. Look at me. What do you see?” 
“—Sir, you are of that persuasion?” 
“You trolling, old fart?! Shorts and a shirt! This is perfectly good swimwear!” 
Sensing a voice tinged with disgust as the old man retreated a few steps, Sora sat up shouting. But Ino just shook his head, Dear, dear . 
“I see a man ashamed to show his meager body. This is quite prudent, Sir. It is good courtesy to hide that which should not be seen.” 
“I have no interest in being some macho douchebag like you! And don’t say ‘meager’! After that FPS match with Izuna, I realized my physical fitness is actually important and started working out a little, believe it or not!” 
His venom spent, Sora clucked his tongue once in irritation and lay back down. 
He kept silent about how he himself had been surprised that his limit for crunches and push-ups was fifty. 
“…Anyway, screw you. Where’s everyone else?” 
“Women take time to get ready, Sir—pardon me, is this news to you?” 
“I’m trying to say I hate sitting here talking to a macho old fart! Have you heard of sarcasm?! Have you?!” 
Squinting and yelling, Sora turned his gaze behind him. 
“Yooo, Shirooo, are you done yeeet?” 
“…Mm, just…a little longer…” 
Shiro’s voice emerged from the trees at Sora’s back. There was some rustling or something going on back there, but in any case, it seemed she was having trouble changing by herself. 
“What would be the problem with simply changing in the changing room with the other ladies?” 
“You said it. In fact, that’s just what I said, until I got chased the hell out… by you !” 
Sora and Shiro could not separate. Changing was no exception. Under this self-evident truth, at his usual pace, as nature would have it, in the most natural way, Sora had attempted to follow Shiro into the girls’ changing room—then got chased the hell out, and here we were. 
“Let you peep on the bare flesh of the Holy Shrine Maiden? Even if Tet forgives it, I never will.” 
“Dude, the Shrine Maiden was all, ‘’Tis no matter to meee’—!” 
Suddenly a sense of humiliation overcame him for having bowed to the intimidation of a muscled old fart in a loincloth. 
—Was it too late to rush past Ino? Sora painted the plot in his mind, yet— 
“…Here you bitches go, please.” 
“Hmmm…Izuna, my dear, you’re so darling no matter what you wear!” 
At the the young girl’s salutation and the sudden transformation of Ino’s voice into that of a sweet old man, Sora turned. Izuna was the first to show up fully changed, and Ino softly sighed, laying a hand on his chest. 
“When I heard the swimsuits were chosen by Sora —I was worried at what sort of disgrace might be forced upon you.” 
“You ignorant old fart! For starters, everyone knows a little girl is supposed to wear a school swimsuit!” 
Izuna toddled down the sand, waving her big tail. Her swimsuit was from Sora and Shiro’s world…an old-school swimsuit. Naturally, until now, such a thing had not existed in this world. It should also be noted that synthetic fibers such as polyester were not available, even in the Eastern Union. However, school swimsuits originally, before the war, had been made of silk. Using the disturbingly detailed information recorded in the tablet, Steph had recreated the garb most admirably. Steph—the highest of props to you. 
“…But you really did manage to keep it quite modest.” 
“Once more I tell you: Old fart, you are ignorant. What sort of romanticism is there to be had without taking culture into account?!” 
—Yes, Izuna, on top of her school swimsuit, wore a jacket-like garment with dangling sleeves and an open front like those of the surrounding Werebeasts. Animal ears. Little girl. School swimsuit. All fused with the culture of the Eastern Union—! 
—This— 
—was Sora’s—“answer”… 
Standing before Sora, Izuna spun around as if looking behind her. 
“Is this okay, please?” 
“ C’est magnifique … You were already so cute it’s not even fair, and now you’re a frickin’ cultural heritage.” 
Ino watched Sora flash a thumbs-up and a fine-young-man smile. 
“…I can’t say I follow, but you have my honest praise for not seeking lasciviousness in my granddaughter.” 
—Then. 
“U-umm…I-I’m done changing.” 
“Oh, Steph. Wowww, you did some fine work ? ” 
Turning toward Steph’s shy voice to commend her—Sora froze. The red-faced Steph had preserved the lacey, girly image of her normal clothes as she wore a bikini-style swimsuit decked out in frills and a pareo, squirming and shifting her eyes as if she didn’t know what to do. As far as Sora knew, Elkia had no swimsuits like that. In Elkia, a swimsuit meant—you know. Those full-body drawers that passed for swimsuits in the dark ages of seventeenth-century Europe. That was why he had asked Steph to make some proper swimwear. From the look on her face, it could be surmised that Steph had conformed to the swimsuit design Sora and Shiro had ordered for her as well. Sora froze like a rock—but not for the bikini. Rather, it was the ample volumes that threatened to spill from its top that stunned him, sending figures bounding through his brain. 
“—It—it can’t be. Eighty-nine, fifty-eight, eighty-nine…a power level of fifty thousand—?!” 
“H-how did you—? I mean, no! What are you talking about?!” 
Sora shivered at the unexpected boob force indicated by the meter in his brain. What could explain this? Had he all this time overlooked it as a consequence of the undue diligence of Mr. Steam?! 
“…Mm, mmgh… How can Steph be so high-level ? ?!” 
“Er, uh, I—am I? I-I wouldn’t say that…” 
Steph squirmed as if not entirely displeased. Sora opened his mouth to utter another word or two—but was stopped short. 
“Please excuse me, Master. It took some time to ‘weave’ the appearance you requested.” 
“Heh-heh-heh, you mustn’t worry, dearie. Keeping a lad biting his nails while waiting is what a good woman does, don’t you know?” 
At the two voices, everyone turned—and in that instant, the needle on the meter in Sora’s brain was pinned at maximum. Sora and Ino, before they could think, followed their instincts. Which told them it was their duty to throw themselves on the ground then and there. Where they’d turned were—indeed—two goddesses. 
Two goddesses—of whom one was Jibril. Her long hair, which reflected light and changed color, fanned by the breeze in the seaside sunlight, grew all the more brilliant. A sculpted beauty, worthy of being called the ultimate, at which any sculptor’s heart would break at first glance. Covering this masterpiece of a body was the swimsuit Sora had specified. For Jibril, who showed plenty of skin regularly, he’d intentionally picked a one-piece, woven with string across her midsection. From a largish shawl wrapped like a pareo around her hips extended her faintly glistening wings. The halo turning above her head took all this divine splendor and made it still greater. Her beauty was such that it stole away any room for doubt she’d come from the sky, rendering the reality beyond question. 


 

*   *   * 
Two goddesses—of whom one was the Shrine Maiden. Her golden hair and ears and tails, and her fair skin, lit by the sunlight, could only be summarized as—an aureole. 
Lines somewhat more reserved, but if Jibril was the ultimate—the Shrine Maiden could only be the supreme. Her soft skin, usually wrapped in a kimono, was now wreathed in the consistent theme of a swimsuit resembling a short Japanese-style jacket. But through her languid manner of dress suggestive of a club hostess, a “butterfly of the night,” her shoulders peeped lithely, lustrous. Her golden hair and two tails, scintillating as they slowly waved with each step on the sand, and the bewitching smile that arose on her face, convinced one of the existence of the fox spirits that were said to live forever and ascend to the divine—no mere spirit, but a deity who stood above them all. Tears streamed down the faces of the two earthbound men. They did not know why, yet without understanding anything, they prayed. 
“…I, Ino Hatsuse, have finally learned the reason I was borrrn—!” 
“Ohhh, god! I don’t know who or where you are, but, friggin’ inspired god who created Jibril and the Shrine Maiden for us in this world—ahh, make me your disciple…” 
A new religion was rising up. Steph and Izuna, having witnessed one of its key tenets, felt obliged to interject. 
“—Excuse me. I recognize that it’s a hard comparison to stand up to…but can you really treat us this differently?” 
“…? Didja all get sand in your eyes, please?” 
Izuna, looking back and forth between Steph and the two still prostrate, looked puzzled. 
“Oh, Master, you honor me more than I deserve, but please raise your head!!” 
“Hmp, don’t stand on ceremony, lads. You may as well savor the blessing of my seaside attire!” 
Jibril lowered her head to the ground at the sight of Sora’s state as the Shrine Maiden crowed with laughter. At the women’s urging, Sora and Ino rose tentatively. Faced again with the divine radiance of the two, Sora and Ino turned their gazes toward the sky together. 
“…Somehow, it feels like I’ve already experienced more than enough.” 
“…I must concur. My heart fills with the feeling that I have done my bit.” 
“…Shall we go back now?” 
“…For once, our opinions coincide, Sir.” 
—Apparently it was philosophy time for the two men. Though ever at odds, in this setting alone, there was no bad blood, no wall between the races. The two simply, as fellow men, looked up to the sky together and nodded with the same feeling in their hearts. 
—Why must there be fighting? When the world is so very beautiful— 
“Hey, hold on there! What do you suppose you came here for?!” 
Upon the two walking the path of enlightenment, Steph’s voice rang down like a clarion. 
—What indeed. 
“…Why was it again?” 
“I am afraid, Master, that by my recollection, it was to visit the city of Siren.” 
…Oh, that’s right. Sora finally remembered. 
—Indeed. As Jibril had said, they hadn’t come just to swim. They’d come because Plum had indicated that a boat from Siren would arrive to pick them up. After all, the city of Siren—Oceand—was at the bottom of the sea. Jibril, neither having visited nor able to see it, was unable to shift there. Thus, Plum was to be their guide, but— 
“So where the hell is Plum?” 
“I-I’m here…” 
“Whoa?!” 
Sora jumped at the little voice coming from his feet. How long had she been there? Almost imperceptibly, two eyes peeked out of a crate by his feet. 
“…Uh, is that you, Plum? The hell are you doing? This is the beach.” 
“P-please don’t be unreasonablle… Th-this is the most I can dooo?” 
Plum answered, producing one of the patterns that arose when she used magic—and tears while she was at it. 
“Master, direct sunlight is lethal to Dhampir. Even with that box around her, she must bend light or she will—” 
At Jibril’s words, Sora remembered the “illness.” So given that it was transmitted by sucking blood, that meant that the Dhampir herself couldn’t get out in the sun? 
“The greeting vessel from Oceand is to come at night , you knowww? Why are we here in the middle of the day…?” 
—Indeed. The boat was supposed to pick them up after the sun set. Plum, groaning, Why did we have to come here when the daylight is like the flames of hell—? 
“But d00d, it’s the beach. You want me to skip past the swimsuit scene when we’ve got this crew? Are you nuts?” 
—Though even Sora would have excused himself if he didn’t have Jibril’s mysterious sunscreen. 
“Hey, come to think of it, Jibril. Won’t that sunscreen work on Plum?” 
“Unfortunately, Master, for Dhampirs, it is being exposed to the sun itself that is lethal.” 
At Jibril’s unqualified ruling-out of hope, Plum provided a correction. 
“Uh, no… If I weave a more powerful rite, I’ll be fiiine…but, you know, it’ll use a lot of power…” 
Considering how tired she’d looked when she had first come to them, basically she was saying that walking straight through this blazing sun would wear her out to that point. 
“Y-you seee…Sirens’ blood just isn’t enough to, uh, d-do anything biiig…so.” 
Whooosh , Plum peeked out of the box with a nice smile. 
“If I could! Just lick the feet of Queen Shiro one more time, I’ll have no trouble with that riiite…eh-heh-hehh!” 
“Denied. You just squat there.” 
At the swift stroke that cleft her proposal in twain, Plum let out only a moan as she plonked her crate closed again. 
“…Hey, for being Rank Twelve, isn’t Plum just too frickin’ weak?” 
—This was something he’d always thought about the vampires postulated in his own world, but still… 
“Dhampirs amplify their power with the blood they intake—the strength of its soul,” Jibril answered. “If they ingest blood befitting the height of their natural aptitude for illusion and stealth—for instance, the blood of Elf—they become the vilest of assassins. In the Great War, they were, in fact, something of a threat.” 
… Ah , Sora thought, remembering that first night. Allowing that she was off her guard, even Jibril had fallen prey to Plum’s tricks for a time—but. 
“—Now look at them, right…” 
Sora mumbled, squinting down at the crate as his feet. Seeing that she was still trembling even inside the crate was almost sufficient to bring tears to one’s eyes. 
“—I’ve been thinking this for a while, but aren’t Elf and Flügel a little too different in power for being just one rank apart? I mean, you’re saying this twerp can drink Elf’s blood, but she’s gonna vaporize if she drinks yours, right?” 
Sora indicated the crate at his feet as he posed the question. 
“Yes, for that is just where the ‘separation line’ lies in the ranking,” said Jibril. 
“‘Separation line’?” 
“Simply speaking, ranks up to Seven are ‘living things,’ whereas higher ranks are ‘living beings.’” 
“…Huh?” 
“You might understand it best by thinking of ranks up to Seven as those possessing physical bodies, who reproduce by ordinary means, and are generally defined as ‘living things,’ whereas the higher ranks are energies or concepts that have acquired will, or in other words ‘living beings.’” 
—Hmm, then it was simple. It was the line at which common sense no longer applied . Sora understood. 
“While we’re on the subject, what about one above you, Jibril—Gigant, was it? What’s the power relationship look like with those guys?” 
“…Well you might ask. I should say a single standard Gigant might be a feat to slay alone. If we aim for certainty, I should desire five companions. What, there are plans to slay one? ? ” 
“No, there aren’t. Stop sparkling your eyes!” 
The dejected Jibril could destroy Elf, highest of the “living things,” alone, with a single blow. But it would take a party of six like her to bring down one individual of Rank Five. 
—The races Rank Seven and below, you could say, did a pretty good job surviving the Great War. Especially Immanity, I mean, us—that is. 
“Speaking of us… Heyyy, Shiro, aren’t you done changing yet?” 
Suddenly remembering that she was taking quite the long time, Sora called into the trees behind him. 
“……Mm.” 
In response to Sora’s voice, Shiro poked just her face out from the shade of a tree. Sora realized she seemed hesitant to come out for some reason. 
“What’s wrong, Shiro? You can’t stand the sun after all? You don’t have to if it’s too tough, you know.” 
Though he’d put on Jibril-brand sunscreen, Sora himself was not fond of sunlight. On top of that, Sora knew Shiro hated sunlight even more than he did—and thus sympathized. But then Shiro shook her head from side to side and finally, hesitantly, stepped out from the trees. 
“…Hmm, well, that is something.” 
“Dearie me, if you aren’t the cutest little one.” 
“…Shiro, you’re damn pretty, please.” 
As Ino, the Shrine Maiden, and Izuna each dropped their individual comments—Sora was simply frozen. Standing there was, clearly, the same sister he’d always seen. 
—The same—and yet. 
“—…Huh?” 
As she tremulously left the shade of the trees, the girl was like a jewel. Her long hair, whiter than snow at normal times, had been combed out neatly and tied at the back. Illuminated by the sunlight, it was no longer like snow—but a petrifact, a diamond. From her white bikini and red hoodie, which seemed to symbolize her hair and ruby eyes, peeked her skin— 
“……Bro-ther…?” 
—which, just like her cheeks, carried a faint vermilion flush. 
“—Wh-what? Uh?” 
At the unnatural feeling of having been completely entranced by his sister, a questioning groan escaped Sora’s lips. But at that groan, Shiro’s face clouded with worry. 
“…I, don’t…look good, after all…?” 
As Shiro mumbled with her eyes lowered and receded back toward the trees, Sora finally came back to his senses. In a panic—to the extent that he himself wondered what he was getting so flustered about—he shook his head. 
“N-no, that’s not it!! I was just amazed at what an unbelievable beauty you are, Shiro—I mean, y-you know your brother already knew you’re a flawless beauty! I already…knew, right? What?” 
Shiro disregarded Sora as he tilted his head wondering what had surprised him so much. At his side, Jibril and Steph, likewise entranced, beamed. Their expressions betrayed their hearts leaping in their chests. 
—Shiro cast her gaze downward shyly and, almost invisibly, smiled in relief. 
“Oh. That’s…good…” 
…… 
“Indeed my master is wise… It is a feast of which my eyes are unworthy. ? ” 
“It’s not like that! It’s not like that! It’s quite normal to react to cute things, I sayyyy!” 
Her skin glistening, Jibril smoothly sighed, Hff… While Steph again clenched her head as if in some kind of turmoil. 
“…Brother…?” 
“Y-yeah? Mm, hmm, you look great! That’s my darling sister!” 
Reacting to Shiro who’d walked up to him, Sora struggling to regain his composure. Shiro, her hair mussed by her brother, nodded once as if finally satisfied. 
“—Th-that’s right, Plum, when specifically is your welcoming party or whatever coming?” 
Sora, feeling awkward somehow and then remembering his original purpose, questioned the Dhampir. At Sora’s words, everyone turned their eyes to the crate—to Plum. 
Her face emerging slightly from the crate, Plum responded. 
“Umm, around when the date changes…they’ll arriiive.” 
“—Hmph, that’s quite a long time.” 
Disbelievingly, Plum grumbled. “That’s why I said you didn’t have to come this earlyyy…mghhh.” She said only this—perhaps unable to bear the sunlight—before retreating into her crate once more. 
“Well, ’tis no real loss, is it?” Thus brushing off any inconvenience, the Shrine Maiden answered elegantly, at some point having rolled onto the grassy bed upon which Sora had been reclining, as she was fanned with giant leaves by her servant girls. “Why not think it a long-deserved holiday and rest your bones as you wait. What is life without a bit of leisure?” 
Grinning and scratching his head, Sora exchanged glances with Shiro. Shiro nodded once. 
“Now that I think about it, this is the first time Shiro and I have ever been to the beach.” 
Then, looking around at the eyes of Steph, Jibril, Izuna, and Ino, Sora smiled. 
“Why don’t we give this fun thing a try?” 
 
—A blinding white beach. A sea that reflected the sky like a mirror. Through a sky so blue it looked like nothing so much as a primary-color ink spill, the rays of sun spilled down, and the distant clouds flowed. In a place where the only noise was that of the rippling waves and the roar of the sea, sprays of mist soared through the air. It was here, at a party, frolicking in the shallow water wetting her legs, that Shiro served a fabric beach ball. 
“…Steph… Pass.” 
“I just have to bounce it on, yes? Here, pass, Miss Izuna!” 
Steph deftly set the pass from Shiro high in the air toward Izuna. However, Izuna simply caught the ball as it flew toward her: Fump. 
“…? I don’t get the damn rules, please,” she muttered in bewilderment, her head tilted. Unlike Steph, who’d gotten the idea, it seemed Izuna didn’t grasp the point. 
“Uhh, it’s not really a game , is the thing… Well, okay, let’s say this. You can’t grab the ball. You have to pass the ball to the next person only touching it once, and if you can’t, then you lose —right?” 
“…Understood, please…” 
Watching Izuna’s nod with a warm and fuzzy look, Steph rambled, blissfully ignorant. “How nice… It’s wonderful to play a game like this where we can just relax once in a while, isn’t it?” 
Yes, blissfully ignorant of the fact that Sora’s and Shiro’s eyes, as well as Izuna’s, had sharpened to the keenness of blades. As soon as rules had been set out and explicated, what we had here—was a game, pure and simple. 
—Which meant— 
— I’ll, kick your ass—! The three other than the maudlin Steph thus bared their fighting spirits entirely openly… 
“…’Kay, then…I’ll, go, first…” 
With these words, Shiro, having been given the ball, quietly exchanged glances with Sora. 
—Shiro took the ball and casually dipped it in the water. 
“…Here…Steph, pass…” 
And so the fabric beach ball, with only its bottom wet, was tossed to Steph without spin. And to be clear— in the precise moment there was no wind . 
“Yes, yes, passing it ooon!” 
Silent diplomacy streaked through the air, but Steph set for the return without recognizing this. The ball that Shiro had sent rigged—if Steph set it without moving— to go slightly off course . As a result, the ball passed by Steph to Izuna had spin. 
—But weighed down by the water absorbed just at its bottom, the ball’s course swayed irregularly. 
“ ? !” 
Izuna, however, read this instantly. Launching off the ground in a spray of water, she caught up with the ball and received it. Only received it. By the measure of Izuna’s arms, it was a light return. But through Izuna’s little body, the ball had acquired the overwhelming force of Werebeast. 
—That was enough to send it hurtling at Sora with terrifying speed. But Sora, seemingly unfazed by this, thought to himself: Well, hope you don’t think it’s gonna be that easy! In the trajectory of the ball that had been only received by Izuna but was nonetheless flying at him as if spiked by a pro volleyball player, Sora intentionally fell dramatically into the water, raising an aqueous pillar. The projectile penetrated the pillar, but by the time it reached the collapsed Sora, its speed was negligible. From this unreasonable position, Sora somehow set the ball with his feet and sent it over to Shiro. 
— Now thoroughly soaked, the ball had gotten quite heavy . 
“…Mm—Steph…go, for it…” 
Shiro just barely managed to set up the wet and abruptly heavier ball for Steph. 
“Uh, h-huh?!” 
Yes— with incomparable precision to a point Steph could just barely reach . To a position from which, even if she got it given the angles of entry and escape, Steph— 
“Uh, I’m sorry, Miss Izu—” 

—managing to keep it in play, inevitably sent it careening a considerable distance from Izuna. 
—She couldn’t get it. With the ball flying off in some totally wrong direction, there was no way she could reach, yet— 
—At Sora and Shiro, subtly raising the corners of their mouths as if to say and that’s the game , Izuna ground her teeth. 
“…Don’t screw with me—please!!!” 
She launched off the ground. She landed— impact . The water that had been at her feet now explosively scattered to reveal the sand beneath at the shock of her step—but flying as if to outstrip it, as if gliding over the ocean, Izuna caught up to the ball and, still at that speed, swung her arms. The shock wave of her swing was enough to raise a wave—but— 
Powww— 
Water sprayed as a fine mist from within the ball, which exploded in Izuna’s hands. Sora raised his voice. 
“GG, you lose!” 
“—?…! Th-that’s not fair, please! You bastards, please!” 
“ If you don’t pass it on to the next person, you lose… Izzy… Using, all your strength, was your downfall.” Shiro answered, exchanging a light high-five with Sora. 
That’s right: if Izuna, a Werebeast, hit the ball, heavy with water, with all her might , at that moment, the ball, unable to bear the shock, would rupture, and she’d be unable to pass it on to the next person. Once she realized that had been Sora and Shiro’s aim all along, Izuna still argued. 
—But what if the ball hadn’t ruptured then? “…You people… Don’t you even have the concept of playing just for fun?” Steph muttered, doused by the wave produced by Izuna’s step and subsequent swing… 
“Huh? Not for games , nope.” 
“…Lol…wut?” 
“Isn’t the damn point of games to kick ass, please?” 
At the three immediate answers, each incredibly immature in its own way, Steph gave herself over to the wave— 
Meanwhile, the Shrine Maiden, who had been watching from a distance, spoke up in wonder. 
“Well!…You beat Izuna at sports. ’Tis a feat, aye… Your disregard for the spirit of the rules is as remarkable as ever, but even so, I must ? ?!” 
—Her words broke off. At the instant sensation of someone behind her, the Shrine Maiden promptly moved her hands to her chest. But however unhinged Werebeast’s reaction times may have been, the blink of an eye wasn’t fast enough. Having suddenly had her swimsuit pilfered, the Shrine Maiden did the best she could to hide her breasts as she directed a sharp glare at the culprit. 
“—Goodness, just what are you after, my dear pigeon !” 
Jibril received the look while playing with the swimsuit she had stripped from the Shrine Maiden. 
“According to my masters’ literature, in a situation such as this, a ‘nip slip’ is the law of fate !” 
“Ohh, I see… In which case, we can of course expect you to fulfill this fate, eh? ? ” 
Still hiding her chest, the Shrine Maiden softly lowered her center of gravity. As the Shrine Maiden unmistakably assumed a fighting posture, Jibril only laughed at her merrily. 
“Indeed, to this I object not. However, if you suppose that a little dog with no power but to crawl the earth is capable of taking anything from me—I must suggest that you reconsider your position. ? ” 
“Heh-heh! ? You talk, don’t you? But you’ve got it wrong. I’ve got more powers than crawling the earth. ? ” 
Still smiling, but with sparks of hostility flying so fiercely it seemed you could see them— 
 …… 
“Oh, Shiro, you don’t know how to swim?” 
“…Huh, Steph…you, can?” 
Steph balked at this new revelation about Shiro, who had seemed capable of anything. But with Shiro gawking at someone who could swim— 
“…Holy shit, please.” 
“No less should be expected of Miss Stephanie. From administration to cuisine to needlecraft… And then to think you can swim. But, if I may ask innocently—for what reason is it necessary for animals that live on land to be able to swim in water?!” 
“Gramps just made the point of the century! Land animals should live on land!!” 
—The whole crew, apparently bereft of anyone who could swim, spoke as one. Steph, with a wry smile, took Shiro’s hands. 
“You’re all hopeless. It’s more fun if you can swim. Here, I shall teach you.” 
“…Mnghhh…” 
“Come now, I have your hands; let’s try kicking to start.” 
Drawing Shiro by her hands, Steph soothed the unenthusiastic girl and tried to teach her the basics. 
—But— 
“Whoaaaaaa!” 
“Eeyaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!” 
Suddenly, a massive wave arose and carried them all straight to shore. 
“…Uwp…ah…B-Brother…” 
“Wauugh, Shiroooo!” 
Shiro swept to shore by the wave, Sora ran in a panic and lifted her up. Hugging her panting brother, Shiro muttered. 
“…Brother…I’m, gonna, learn…to swiiim!” 
But faced with Shiro, as if the seawater had gotten to her, mumbling this determination with tears in her eyes, Sora confronted those responsible for the massive wave, raising his voice. 
“Hey there! Maybe you should consider moderating—I mean, at least obeying the laws of physics…if you don’t mind?” 
The voice he’d raised, though, trailed off at the sight before his eyes. That sight being: crisscrossing the distant horizons of the sea, two…monsters. 
“Hee-hee, though your words be grand, this is all we could ever expect, isn’t it, isn’t it? ? ” 
Jibril taunted this as she cut across the water. Just below her, the body of the Shrine Maiden, leaping from the ocean floor, turned scarlet as she stretched out her hand. 
—The hand of the Shrine Maiden, who’d gone so far as to use her bloodbreak, was nevertheless dodged by Jabril by the slimmest of margins. But the Shrine Maiden went on—bounding and dashing over the surface of the water— using her hands as a bra . The Shrine Maiden, apparently having lost not only her swimsuit top, but now even her hanten , had become so overwhelmed with something akin to a murderous rage that she’d lost the will to hide and was pursuing Jibril to get her swimsuit back. 
“Heh-heh-heh! If I were you, I say, I’d prepare for the worrrst…I’ll strip you to your bum in front of eeeveryone!” 
The Shrine Maiden. The agent plenipotentiary of Werebeast—the strongest among Werebeast, was she? Running atop the water—on the water!—and sometimes, albeit just for a moment, even on the air . The Shrine Maiden, dunking herself again and again in the sea, bathing in the water and wind, changing in appearance each time from scarlet to gold— 
“…Th-that’s…our Holy Shrine Maiden, holy shit, please.” 
—but the one thing that was certain, as even Izuna watched in disbelief, was that no one could intervene. Sora decided to write it off as a natural calamity and looked away. 
“Hmm… What a fine sight.” 
At these words, Sora turned to see Ino, and he followed the old man’s gaze to find not only those who had been swept to shore—Steph and Izuna—but also, sopping wet from the wave that had clearly soaked the entire beach, the Shrine Maiden’s servant girls. Huddled together as if their swimsuits were suddenly transparent, they presented a vision that transcended words. 
“Huh… All right, then. It’s still unforgivable to nearly drown Shiro, but this is marvelous ,” Sora commented, returning to the beach with Shiro still in his arms. 
“Yeees, a feast for the eyes, is it not, Your Majesty?” 
“Yeah, if we just didn’t have you here, it woulda been perfect.” 
This Sora muttered to the muscular old man who wore nothing but a loincloth, doing his level best to keep the geezer out of his line of sight. 
Watching everyone frolicking, caressed by the waves, Steph smiled warmly. 
“Hee-hee… We’ve been working so hard for so long…” 
The brilliant rays of sunshine, the white sand. Returning to the tide, she lightly kicked at the water, splish, splash . The waves lapping at her feet, the wind blowing from the ocean, as if chasing away her daily toils— 
“…Everyone needs a break now and then, don’t they?” 
Steph whispered with a deep sense of relief. At the pleasant scent of the salty air, she wondered to herself when had been the last time that she had taken it easy like this? It must have been before Sora and Shiro came—no, before her grandfather passed away. Feeling that she had not released her tension for many years—she took a deep breath. 
“I’m so glad we came…!” Steph declared, seeking assent from no one in particular. 
 Bee-bee-bee-bee-beep 
“That’s a wrap! Good work, everyoooone!!” 
As Sora thus called with half-open eyes …shuffle, shuffle… they came like zombies, trudging back from the sea. 
“…Nghh… My hair, is all stiff…full of, sand…” 
“Hff…I do apologize, Master, but I simply cannot bring myself to find an affinity for the sea… The salt breeze gets in my wings, and I know not what to say of the discomfort.” 
“My tail sucks up the water and gets all heavy, please… It’s a pain in the ass, please.” 
“Hff, enough is quite enough if you ask me. Who came up with this baffling ceremony of bathing in the sea?” 
“O Holy Shrine Maiden, I apologize. I should not have allowed you to become involved in this farce of King Sora’s.” 
Despite the troupe’s sudden transformation, not unlike actors having just finished a performance, there was one member— 
“…Huh? Wh-what?” 
—unable to follow. Steph, watching dazedly, stood alone in the sea. 
“—Mm? What are you doing, Steph? We got the footage. It’s fine. You can come out now.” 
Sora said this while disabling his phone and tablet, which were mounted on beachside trees. 
“…Huh? What? What do you mean?” 
“—Mm? Huh, you mean you were actually enjoying it for real?” 
Having moved into the shade to towel themselves off, everyone looked confused. 
“…Uhh, sorry. Let’s see now, Steph… The truth is…” 
Sora, apparently certain she had been aware the whole time, spoke as if recluctant to say it. 
“…No one here actually likes the beach…” 
—…Mm-hmm… A large, deep collective nod from the group. The Shrine Maiden, who seemed the most uncomfortable of all of them, spoke as she groomed her golden fur. 
“I gave this ‘trope’ Mr. Sora spoke of a whirl…but it’s still a mystery to me… With all this sand in my tail… How do you reckon I shall get this out?” 
“Lord Shiro—it is time!” 
Jibril, her eyes flashing, handed something to Shiro. 
— Props was the response indicated by Shiro’s thumb, her eyes gleaming the same. 
“…Shrine, Maiden…you should, try…this brush, and this, shampoo.” 
“Oh, is that so? Well, let’s give it a try, then.” 
“…Fluffy, fluffy…hee-hee…” 
Shiro, having deftly gained an excuse to fulfill her desires, smiled darkly as she buried her face in the Shrine Maiden’s golden tail. And, before you knew it, Sora was at it, too, with the same contents in his hands. 
“Yayyy-yooo, now I’m gonna do Izuna’s—” 
But Ino towered in the young man’s path. Looks were exchanged in an instant—two men face-to-face. “I shall tend to Izuna. Here, here, Izuna, this way.” 
“…Gramps, why don’t you take care of your own damn tail?” 
“To be groomed by you, Sir, would defile Izuna. Why do you not do something about that meager body of your own?” 
But, paying no attention to these two, Izuna toddled straight in front of Ino , and plopped down. 
“Get this shit done, please.” 
“…………………………………………” 
“…Old fart, that thing you’re doing with your face makes me want to kill you without you saying anything. Is that some kind of special Werebeast power?” 
In response to Ino’s expression, which seemed moments away from audibly echoing with a sound like owwnnnned , a vein bulged on Sora’s forehead. 
… Fshh , a wave splashed over Steph’s legs. 
—It seemed the time when anyone had been aware of her had come and gone… 
 
—The sun was creeping below the horizon. 
“…Hee-hee, it’s so beautiful…hee-hee-hee…” 
Sitting with her arms around her knees on the beach, Steph, having apparently fled into her own little world…was smiling. 
—Then suddenly Sora spoke. 
“ ? I’m bored.” 
At this one phrase, the gazes of all collected on Sora. 
“Hng, only bastards quit while they’re ahead, please.” 
Izuna expressed her discontentment at Sora’s words; Sora, who had been whiling away all this time until sunset with Izuna and his DSP, shogi , tic-tac-toe, and other distractions that made one question why they’d bothered to come to the beach in the first place. 
“Uhh, no, I didn’t mean I’m bored of playing games with you.” 
Rising, Sora addressed the nearby crate. 
“Hey, Plum, where’s your welcome boat?” 
““Ah!”” 
 Voices rose at this reminder of their original purpose, which almost everyone had forgotten, and Plum meekly poked her face out of the crate. Plum—who must have been working her magic the whole time judging from her face, which was so exhausted as to harken back to their first meeting—answered: 
“Nghh, I—I told youuu, it’s coming around when the date changes, didn’t I…?” 
“But, I mean, my DSP and tablet are practically outta batteries. I’m pretty much done here.” 
“That’s why I told you we didn’t need to come so earlyyy…” 
Nghh… Plum whined, her exhaustion clouded with dissatisfaction. 
“Nooo, I’m bored. I wanna go now. Otherwise I’m going home,” Sora said like a spoiled child. 
“How can you be so childiiish…?” 
Sora ignored the petulant Plum and exchanged glances with the Shrine Maiden and Shiro. The Shrine Maiden—who since getting out of the water had been thoroughly fluffed up in the shade by Shiro—and Shiro, who had been doing the fluffing. 
—Both nodded subtly and muttered together. 
“Right you are, lad…I must say this is getting tiresome.” 
“…Mm…I’m…tired, too…” 
“Whaa… You, too? How can you be so…?” 
Ignoring Plum, who seemed consumed by sorrow, Sora opened his mouth. 
“Jibril.” 
“I am here.” Jibril materialized from the void at the first mention of her name. 
“Have you pinned down the location?” 
“Yes, Master. I believe that the location you and Lord Shiro calculated is accurate.” 
— Calculated? Sora took out his tablet for Plum, who didn’t seem to understand what this was about. On the map of the plots of neighboring areas of the Eastern Union was displayed a rough estimate of the position of the city, which Shiro had traced back from such factors as the slight amount of trade conducted by Oceand. Looking over to the real-world position—beyond the horizon—Sora spoke. 
“All right, I guess we’re ready— do it .” 
“ ? Your wish is my command!” 
At Sora’s words, loosening her expression into a joy she could not conceal, Jibril knelt and executed his order. 
“Huh, wh-what are you going to dooo…?” 
Plum nervously voiced the same question Ino wanted to ask. Ino’s Werebeast intuition was blaring an alarm. Identify it. As circumstances require, stop it. These bastards are up to no good. So Ino glanced at the Shrine Maiden. Seeing her slowly nod, No problem , he sighed in relief. But then—at the Shrine Maiden’s snide expression adding, But watch out , Ino went pale. Sora lifted Shiro and offhandedly announced: 
“ We’re bustin’ in. Everyone get back.” 
As the two edged away from the beach, Jibril turned to Sora and Shiro. 
“—Master, are you certain it’s all right?” As if unable to wait, yet, for form’s sake, squirming, she sought final confirmation. 
“Sure. In any case, it’s gonna be constrained by the Ten Covenants, right?” 
The First of the Ten Covenants. 
—In this world, all force of arms and bodily injury are forbidden. 
“Any action that’s considered to be malicious or an exercise of force of arms is canceled by the binding power of the Covenants—looked at the other way, actions without malice are not canceled . Which means that, if an action is executed, that means ‘Lord Tet’ himself has put down his seal of approval saying it doesn’t violate anyone’s rights—so.” 
With these words, Sora raised his thumb with a bold smile. 
“Do what you can do for the win.” 
At this reply, a solemn bow as if receiving the word of heaven. But, contrastingly, making a sloppy smile, Jibril stood. 
“Eh-heh, eh-heh-heh-hehh, how many years has it been? Geh-heh-hehh, I cannot waiiit…” 
As Jibril whispered with a drunken expression, her surroundings suddenly distorted. Clearly light—no, space —seemed to wrench and warp. 
—The Ten Covenants. This was a world in which the exercise of force of arms and bodily injury was forbidden by absolutely binding Covenants. Ino supposedly understood it more than well enough, yet the scene made his skin crawl. 
“Come now, all fall back!” came the calm yet sharp voice of the Shrine Maiden. At this brief command, without connection to their consciousness, all the Werebeasts there reflexively jumped far away. 
“…Huh? What is going on?” Steph was finally brought back to the real world by the Shrine Maiden’s shout. 
She realized that she was the only one still so close to the sea. 
Thunk —space quivered with a sound outside the audible range. Warped farther as even the sand on the beach was made to forget about gravity and float into the air. Bending and twisting, space converged in Jibril’s hand. The only one there who could see magic—spirits—Plum. Yet she watched utterly at a loss as to what Jibril was trying to do. If it was as Sora had been told before…it was only natural . What Jibril was doing—was squeezing all the spirits out of their surroundings. If there were no spirits to see, nothing could be seen. It was much like a black hole. And—in Jibril’s palm, the wrung-out spirits were compacted, compressed, condensed, contracted, concentrated, and at last began emitting light. It shone clearly even to the eyes of Sora and Shiro, Immanities incapable of seeing spirits. In Jibril’s right hand, a column of light that seemed to whirl began to form. Sora and Shiro were fundamentally unable to grasp or detect the likes of magic or spirits—and yet. The halo above Jibril’s head was spinning so fast it was already just a blur. There was only one thing this could mean— 
“…Hey, uh, y-you can’t be seriouuus! Wh-whaa, you meaaan—?!” 
Finally grasping the situation, Plum scrambled to take cover, but, unable to escape from her crate, she just screamed. Yes, there was only one thing this spectacle could mean. It was something the likes of which, at the very least, Sora and Shiro had never seen. Jibril was about to exercise magic on a level that defied conventional expectations. 
Jibril’s right hand gripped it firmly, though it was too amorphous to be called a sword or spear. And—slowly raising it above her head—she smiled sunnily. 
“Very well, Master. 
“I shall proceed—with about five percent of my full power. ? ” 
At a speed that left these words far behind, Jibril’s right arm swung down. That was as much as Sora and Shiro were able to see. With a lag like that between the sight of distant lightning and the sound of the following thunder, a few moments later roared a boom that shook the earth as waves reached almost to the heavens and—almost like some kind of joke—the sea parted. Then— 
“Eeyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” 

 

“Aaaaaauuuuuuuuughhhh—” 
In the wake of the tempestuous impact, Steph—as well as Plum, still in her crate—rolled to Shiro’s and Sora’s feet. 
—That was everything they were able to perceive next. 
“Hff… ? It is such a delight to be able to put forth force.” Jibril bared a huge, refreshed smile. “I can only pray to one day be blessed again with a chance to put forth my all—one hundred percent. ? ” 
But at these words even Sora and Shiro broke into a cold sweat. Even Moses would be incredulous at how cleanly she had parted the sea…and then they remembered that Jibril had once unleashed her full power on Elf, that is, 100 percent, with her “Heavenly Smite.” And, albeit not entirely, they had managed to defend themselves somewhat — 
“…Elf…Fiel’s guys are pretty sick.” 
“…Nod, nod.” 
At Sora’s involuntary acknowledgment of their crew currently in absentia, Shiro nodded. 
Jibril, though, was unable to know what lay in their hearts. “With this I have succeeded in seeing the city of Siren. We may shift there at any time.” 
…The Werebeasts’ senses approached physical limits, but of course, Ino and Izuna and even the Shrine Maiden were incapable of seeing anything but the horizon. At this point, no one could say a word to Jibril, claiming she’d seen it as if she’d bent light itself with that blow of hers. 
—Sora looked around at the wide berth that had been cleared around the Flügel. 
“’Kay, guys, let’s go. Grab onto Jibril.” 
The appalled Shrine Maiden returned gingerly to the beach with the Werebeasts. 
“I thought myself aware of it…but, seen in the flesh, that is one cruel joke.” 
“…Nghhh… If you can help it, you really shouldn’t get involved with Flügel at allll…” Crawling out of her broken crate, Plum concurred. Fortunately for her, the sun had already set. 
Ino suddenly raised his voice in a panic. “Sir! Will you please not subject our Holy Shrine Maiden to that sound!” 
In apparent terror of the sound from the distortion of space in a long-distance shift, Ino was roaring. 
“Oh, yeah. Jibril.” 
“Yes, I understand the situation. With that—everyone please take hold…oh, please, Dora, if you’ll just interrupt your nap for a moment and come here.” 
“…Uh, huh? What’s going—wh-what is this?! The sea has parteeeed?!” 
Everyone gathered around Jibril, ignoring Steph and her lonely shrieking. 
“And now we shall shift to the metropolis of Siren—Oceand.” 
Once more, Jibril’s wings started to glow, and again her halo increased its RPM. 
“The distance is 378.23 kilometers; however, the parted sea will return any second now.” 
As if responding to her words, the sea closed up with a roar. 
“Therefore, it is surmised that Oceand lacks air.” 
“Oh, d-don’t worryyy; I’ve got a spell for breathing—” 
But, whether she didn’t hear Plum’s voice or simply ignored it— 
“Therefore—I will shift us along with all the air in a two-hundred-meter radius!” 
“—Hungh?” 
“Fall back!” 
The Shrine Maiden’s voice rang out once more. With it, the Werebeasts who had come with her to the beach—excluding Ino and Izuna—took a step away. 
—That moment. They vanished, leaving behind the high-frequency crack of splitting air. 
““Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!”” 
And a low-pressure field imploded with the rebound of the air punched out wholesale. It stirred up a little cyclone, forcing the remaining Werebeast girls to cling to a tree as they rode out the wind—but all who might have witnessed this sight…were gone. 
 



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