Demon King Daimaou: Volume 11 Page 2

  (I can hear you just fine. It doesn’t feel like there’s any kind of jamming) Akuto replied. He was already pretty far away.

  “Hey, that’s not fair! I wanted to be the first to contact him!” Fujiko jumped on Yoshie’s back and pushed her face into the goggles so that she could join the conversation. Yoshie staggered forward, just barely managing to avoid falling over.

  “Hey! If you want to talk to him, use your own student handbook,” Yoshie complained. “And anyway, Akuto can hear multiple telepathic calls at once without needing any kind of device...”

  “Oh, that’s right. Akuto! Can you hear me?” Fujiko leapt off and began her own call, but this time, somebody jumped on her to interrupt.

  “Mugyah!” Fujiko moaned. It was Korone who was pressing up against her with all her weight.

  “We just got word from the palace. What happened now seems to be related, they say.” Korone sent her own telepathic message.

  “H-Hey, get off me...”

  “The name of the tribe is the Marlai,” Korone said calmly, ignoring Fujiko.

  “The Marlai have a strange history. They live in the depths of the jungle, on an island far to the south. The land technically belongs to the Empire, but its existence is kept secret. The reason for this, supposedly, is that the first tribe leader carries the blood of the royal family.”

  “What? I had no idea...” Yoshie said, and then looked over to Akuto Sai, who was standing nearby.

  “That’s crazy...” Even Fujiko, who was still struggling with Korone’s weight, let out a surprised and confused gasp.

  “Surprisingly, it all got its start with a theme park...”

  ○

  (Surprisingly, it all got its start with a theme park...)

  Akuto heard Korone’s voice echo in his head as he approached the school building. He was already forced to step over low bushes and high grass to get any closer.

  He recognized the area as once being the yard outside the cafeteria, but now it looked like the entrance to a jungle.

  “A theme park?” Akuto asked, and Korone continued her explanation.

  (That’s right. During the dawn of the Empire, there was a plan to turn an entire tropical island into a theme park. But the plan failed. The reason is unknown, but since the reason was kept hidden, some great secret must be involved.)

  (Kept hidden? The data isn’t around anymore?)

  (That’s right. What I’m telling you is information I learned from one of the oldest of the royal guards. Which means that the secret is that a member of the royal family was involved in this theme park.)

  (The royal family, getting involved in a theme park?)

  (It was more than just a theme park, you see. There are rumors which indicate the following: “A relative of the imperial family is having so much fun at the jungle-themed park that they refuse to return home. He has called himself the ruler of the Marlay, and begun to live the life of a primitive.”)

  “That sounds like somebody’s idea of a joke...”

  Akuto looked around. After hearing this, the jungle around him seemed to take on an aura of madness.

  “It’s only later that they realized it was no ordinary theme park, probably. Anyway, be careful. We don’t know what’s lurking there.)

  “I understand that, but you know...” Akuto sighed.

  —Who could honestly take a theme park seriously?

  That was what bothered him. From what was going on, these Marlay were probably behind this, but that was only if you believed the rumors were true.

  —But why would anybody want to do this, anyway?

  He pushed through the branches and found the entrance to the school, then went inside. His thought had been to first go to the highest place in the school. If somebody was behind this, they’d probably made their base at the center of this, or its highest point. That was just how humans worked.

  The floor of the school was broken here and there by roots. The trees must have been very powerful. He looked around the area as he climbed up the stairs. As he got to the top floor, he saw no signs that anybody had touched the plants. Which meant that nobody had been there since those trees had grown.

  “So I guess I’ve looked everywhere, then...”

  He was in the top floor lounge, where the ceiling was made of glass. With the jungle around him, it felt like he was in a greenhouse. The air was warm, and the scent around him was calming. The afternoon sun was shining slanted through the ceiling, forming a gentle curtain of light as it passed through the leaves. If the situation hadn’t been so serious, he would’ve felt like taking a walk with a cold drink. But the voice he heard the second he stepped into the lounge wiped the smile off his face.

  “Are you strong?” It sounded like the high-pitched voice of a child.

  “Who’s there?” Akuto shouted into the center of the lounge. He had no idea where the voice had come from.

  “I’m the one asking the questions. ...No, I shouldn’t even have bothered asking. You’re strong, aren’t you?”

  The voice was echoing throughout the room. It was impossible to tell where it was coming from.

  —How is it possible that I can’t detect her mana?

  Akuto focused on his surroundings. They were emanating a specific type of mana wave that acted like static on a phone line. The trees seemed to have a unique mana frequency that was very similar to that of the voice’s owner.

  —So whoever it is, they’re literally one with the trees, huh?

  That was probably the reason they’d filled this place with trees. Akuto readied himself for battle just as the voice spoke again.

  “I’ve come in answer to the Jeweled Branch’s call! You’re not the Empress, are you? Nonimora is here for the Empress! Bring her the Empress!”

  Nonimora seemed to be the name of the person he was talking to. And from what she was saying, she was just who Akuto had expected her to be. He had a terrible feeling that just like he’d heard, she really believed the theme park was real.

  “The Empress isn’t here. If you want to negotiate with her, you’ll need to go through the proper channels,” he said, just to see how she’d react. The answer he got wasn’t what he expected.

  “You’re the one who doesn’t understand the proper channels! The Jeweled Branch picks the true ruler! The candidates must compete to see who is superior!”

  —So she knows what she’s doing here?

  That was surprising, on some level, but at least he could talk to her.

  “By compete, you mean fight?”

  “That’s the problem with you people from the main island! Abandon your cruelty! We compete to understand each other. We can whack-whack, or we can rub-rub!”

  “W-Whack-whack?” Akuto wasn’t sure what that meant.

  The voice answered immediately.

  “You don’t know what whack-whack is?” it said.

  “N-No...”

  “Or Rub-Rub?”

  “No...”

  “How is that possible? Fine! Thwick-thwick, then!”

  “I don’t know that one, either... Actually, wait. It’s not my job to decide how you compete, anyway.”

  “That’s true. So bring me the Empress.”

  “The people of this country didn’t even know the Jeweled Branch existed. So I don’t know what I’m supposed to tell you. It would help a lot if you went to the palace first and talked to them.” Akuto decided to tell her the truth.

  She seemed, to some degree, trustworthy. At least, from the way she was talking, she seemed to be the type who wouldn’t bother with any complex plots. But he’d underestimated just how simple she liked things to be.

  “That’s too much work! You’re with the Empress, right? I can feel strong mana from you. More than a normal person.”

  “I guess I am, yeah...”

  “Are you, or are you not?! Nobody but the Empress could be so strong! Let me ask you then, is the Empress stronger than you?”

  “Well...” Akuto thought of Keena’s f
ace.

  “...I wouldn’t stand a chance.”

  “That’s amazing!” Nonimora’s voice was happy and cheerful.

  “Then let’s Thwick-thwick!”

  “What, exactly, is thwick-thwick?”

  “Hmmm... Well, Thwick-thwick is thwick-thwick. But here’s how it works. You run around, and then whoever touches the other person’s body with both hands first wins!”

  The pitch of Nonimora’s voice leapt upwards at the end. She’d probably jumped up. Akuto sensed a presence behind him and jumped forward. A broken branch fell right where he’d been standing.

  —Hmm?

  He felt a sort of premonition, and then jumped to the right. A wind blew by him on the left. Somebody had raced right by him.

  “Oooh! You dodged it!” The voice sounded happy. He looked in the direction he heard it from, but there was already no one there.

  “She’s fast...”

  Akuto tried to find her, but he kept sensing the same thing no matter which direction he looked. Whenever he saw movement and turned towards it, it was only the rustling of the trees.

  —!

  He felt a gust of wind, and jumped aside instinctively. A tan-colored shadow passed through the corner of his eye.

  “You dodged it again!” The voice sounded happy once more.

  —Um... What am I doing here, exactly?

  Akuto wasn’t sure. He tried to contact someone telepathically, but even though there was no jammer, the waves given off by the trees were creating too much interference.

  —Maybe I’m just supposed to catch her?

  He spoke again, just to see how she’d respond.

  “Can I use magic?”

  “Sure, go ahead!” Nonimora answered.

  “Alright then...”

  He ignored his opponent for a moment and waved his hand in a languid motion. A torrential hurricane of mana sprung up in the room.

  “Uwooooahh?” Nonimora gasped in surprise.

  The mana hurricane began to spread out, centered around him. The trees began to bend and snap. They seemed to be the type with flexible trunks, but once the wind pushed them to their limits they snapped in two and were blown over. By the time the wind stopped, the floor was covered in shattered branches and trees spreading out in a spiral, like the site of some giant’s folkdance.

  “Aryaryah?” A small child was standing there in shock. Even from a distance it was clear that she had dark skin and big bright eyes. There was something about her appearance that gave a favorable impression, regardless of your gender.

  She looked like a child, and it was hard to see if she was a boy or girl. Her clothing was like what you’d see worn by a jungle tribe, but the leather was exquisitely decorated, and there were large jewels studded here and there. It was a simple outfit, but gave her a noble aura.

  Akuto shook his head at her, a bit confused.

  “Ready to give up?”

  But Nonimora flailed her arms around in frustration.

  “I’m not giving up! I’m gonna punish anybody who doesn’t treat nature with respect!”

  Akuto furrowed his brow.

  “Nature...? You grew all these trees yourself, instantly. How is that natural?”

  “Uwooah! Now I’m mad! You people from the main island always make fun of our love for nature!”

  She threw an exaggerated tantrum. It was cute, he thought, but he couldn’t bring himself to agree with what she said.

  “You used mana on those plants to change them, and controlled the way they grew. That’s not what I’d call natural...”

  “Why do you always make fun of us like that? You people from the mainland are such jerks! How much do you even know about us Marlai, anyway?”

  “I heard you believed a theme park jungle was real and moved into it.”

  “That’s fine. But we don’t think it’s real! Our trees are the same as the things you call buildings! We know that!”

  “Huh? Then why...” Akuto didn’t expect this response. The Empire had turned magic, which was just a social system, into a religion. Only the priests and a few members of the intellectual class treated it as something transient. The rest treated it as dogma, even though the truth was public knowledge. Were the Marlay doing the same thing?”

  “...Don’t tell me that only the rulers like you know the truth, and you’re tricking the rest of them.”

  “Grr! Don’t make fun of me! Everybody knows! Even the kids learn about it in school!”

  “Well... what do you mean?”

  “Science and daily life are incompatible. Life is best the more like an animal you live. You can make plenty of food to eat. You don’t get sick and your life is easy. But people of the empire don’t think of themselves as happy, do they? It’s because you’re not having any fun in life. That’s why the Marlay got rid of the rules. The theme park was just a source of inspiration.”

  “I see...”

  Akuto fell silent. He was utterly shocked. Probably because the Empire was so huge that it seemed like the whole world to him, and this was the first time he’d felt a glimpse of the world beyond it. That, and Nonimora was surprisingly intelligent. Her way of thinking was similar to his, and in the Empire, he was considered a heretic.

  “You understand?” Nonimora puffed out her chest, stretching her body backward as she did so.

  Akuto smiled and nodded.

  “Looks like I misunderstood. I apologize. And after hearing that, I want to know more about you and your kingdom.” Nonimora’s big eyes opened even wider.

  “Oooh! You understand? Then let’s play more thwick-thwick!”

  “Sure, but you won’t get anything even if you beat me,” Akuto said, but Nonimora just nodded happily.

  “That’s fine! I just want to play it because it’s fun!”

  Before the game could resume, though, a voice called out from above.

  “Ackie!” He couldn’t see her, but Keena was up above their heads. He looked up just in time for someone to grab the jacket he was wearing from behind. Keena put the jacket on, and then revealed herself.

  “If you know you’re going to be naked, then just keep your clothes on...” Akuto sighed, but Keena just pouted.

  “I can’t get out of the palace wearing clothes.”

  “The palace!” Nonimora shouted, “If you live in the palace, are you the Empress?”

  Nonimora must have had surprisingly sharp intuition, because she’d deduced that the Empress was Keena. Most people wouldn’t assume that from looking at her.

  “Yes, why?” Keena asked, a little surprised.

  Akuto considered trying to deceive her for a while, but with these two, that was probably impossible.

  “I was just talking with her. This is Nonimora, of the Marlay. She’s a candidate for Empress.”

  “Oooh,” Keena looked over at Nonimora. Nonimora looked up at Keena with wide eyes. She was the first to speak.

  “Wow! That’s just what I’d expect of the Empress! Complete and total nudity!”

  —Was THAT what she focused on?

  Akuto sighed, but Nonimora continued on, oblivious.

  “If you walk around naked, it must mean you’re telling the people to return to nature, right? That’s amazing!”

  —Well, at least they’ll probably be able to work this out peacefully... Akuto felt a little exhausted, but also relieved. But even as Nonimora smiled, she started running towards Keena at full speed.

  “Okay, back to our game of Thwick-thwick! This time it’s the Empress’s turn!”

  The first person to touch the other won, and you were allowed to use magic. That’s what Nonimora had said. In a place with nowhere to hide like this, the sport wasn’t that much different from magical combat. Just like he’d expected, Nonimora began to fire mana at Keena from all directions as soon as she started to run. Her plan was probably to tackle Keena while she dealt with the attacks.

  “Kyah!” Keena screamed. Akuto instantly moved in front of her, knocked the balls away,
and then blocked Nonimora with a mana shield.

  “Uwoooah?” Nonimora tried and failed to push through the shield, before giving up and falling back to regroup.

  —I was acting on instinct, so I wasn’t holding back. Did I go a little too far...? Akuto asked himself, but Nonimora grinned.

  “Uwooah! This is great! Wow! You’re a lot stronger than you were before!”

  “Glad to hear it. But listen. The empress isn’t cut out for this sport. I am, but she’s not.”

  Nonimura looked disappointed, but dropped her combat stance.

  “Aww. That’s no fun. Nonimura likes to exercise.”

  “The Empress doesn’t even know what’s going on here. Can you explain? I’d like to hear it, too.”

  Akuto told Keena what he’d just heard.

  Nonimora added some things here and there, but in the end, they didn’t get much information about the selection of a new emperor or empress.

  “So whoever the Jeweled Branch reacts to needs to be the Empress, right?” Keena said.

  “That’s right. And it’s said that the Jeweled Branch decides this, but in the end, it’s just a tool, so whoever uses it is the Emperor or Empress. But first, that person has to be chosen,” Nonimora nodded.

  “Well, I don’t really care about being Empress...” Keena said, disinterestedly.

  “Huh?” Nonimora looked at her in surprise.

  “I said I don’t really care about being Empress.”

  “No, no. You can’t quit the job that easily. Well, of course, if you want rid of it I’ll gladly take it from you,” Nonimora said, before crossing her arms awkwardly.

  “Did you come here because you wanted the title of Empress?” Akuto asked, confused. Nonimora didn’t seem like much of an invader to him.

  “The Marlay aren’t greedy like that. The question is what the Empress does with her title. And Nonimora, no, the Marlay, have a duty we have to fulfill.”

  “A duty?”

  Nonimora hesitated for a second, before nodding and opening her mouth to speak.

  “That’s right. The Marlay have protected the Faceless Power for generations.”

  “Oh, I remember the old guy in the royal guard talking about that. He doesn’t know what it is but it’s really strong, he says.”