Kararagi Shinigami Incident 3

Translated by: @garmadoncar

Proofread by: Cirdan Lunae

Links:

• Part 1
• Part 2

1

Upon arriving at their destination of Banan, Anastasia’s group was aghast at the disastrous sight.

Originally, they had come here due to the reports of large-scale wind damage, but――,

???: [I would have never imagined the city to be damaged to this extent…]

Laying eyes upon the same scene, Julius muttered so as he received that selfsame shock.

In accordance with his words, the major city in western Kararagi, Banan, had had its buildings destroyed, its trees felled by a great wind; it had been transformed into a wasteland where all conceptions of city districts had vanished.

???: [This here won’t do. Even my place seems ta have vanished. Tho’, it’d be fine if everyone I know’s alright.]

Anastasia: [Halibel’s place; were ya livin’ in Banan now? If ya’d told us that…]

Halibel: [Not like the wind woulda stopped if I’d said anythin’. Woulda only made lil’ Ana’s face cloud over, so I didn’t say nothin’. I ain’t someone with lotsa possessions ta begin with, so even if I lost my house it’s ‘bout the same amount of trouble as a bit of rain.]

Halibel played the fool with a wave of his hand, causing Anastasia to feel discontent.

Rather than stemming from the fact that he had not told her, it was more so discontent at how his reason for not doing so felt like he was treating her like a child; but, pointing that out would also be extremely childish, so she would do no such thing.

Regardless, the level of damage from the wind made it clear as to why it had been so difficult to obtain information.

From what could be observed, even though it was the strong people of Kararagi, there had yet to be anyone proactively engaging in its restoration. There was a need for someone to raise their voice, and to take charge of the command.

Normally, that was a task that would have been undertaken by the Mayor or someone beneath them, but――,

???: [――Ah!! Miss! It’s the Miss! As expected, I was right because it smelled like Miss!]

Then, as a loud voice tore through the ravaged cityscape, Anastasia lifted her face right away. When she looked, she saw a small figure waving its hands and running towards her from the other side of the street.

Anastasia: [Mimi! Ya had me worryin’, are ya alright?]

Mimi: [I’m doing super good! The wind blew me into the air really strong, but thanks to the captain pretty much everyone is safe!]

At the entrance of the kittengirl who had rushed towards her―― Mimi, Anastasia and the rest patted their chests in relief.

While she did believe that she could more easily rest assured when there had been no news from Ricardo based on her prior experiences, that was not to say she did not feel at all worried upon bearing witness to the extent of the wind damage. But, seeing Mimi’s energetic figure and hearing her report, she could now rest assured.

Anastasia: [By the way, when ya say that “pretty much everyone’s” safe, ya mean that Ricardo’s the only one who’s been hurt?]

Mimi: [Ohh, as expected of the Miss! Right answer on the first guess! Bullseye! Your prize is a hug from Mimi!]

Anastasia: [Yes, yes. Though I’m grateful, I’ll be passin’ it over to Julius ‘cause I’m feelin’ a bit wobbly.]

Julius: [Received. Come, Mimi.]

As Julius smiled and welcomed her with open arms, Mimi leaped at him with an “Uryahhh!!”. With a sidelong glance to that heartwarming embrace, Anastasia contemplated the terrible state of the city, and Ricardo who had likely pushed himself too far.

It was a matter which made her wish to say that he never changed no matter where he went, but this was his motherland of Kararagi, so the locations in which he pushed himself too far were actually more concentrated to this region.

Halibel: [So, Mi-chan, ya mind if we ask where the Ricardo of the essence might be? We kinda wanna know a bit more ‘bout what the damages ta the city actually were.]

Mimi: [Captain? Captain’s over with Tia! He’s keeping watch so that she doesn’t go berserk!]

Bobbing the kiseru he had begun puffing up and down with his mouth, Halibel asked that to Mimi, to which she responded in high spirits. However, included in her response was an unknown name, and a troubling phrase.

So that she did not go berserk, suggested that she was not peaceful.

Anastasia: [Mimi? Who’s that Tia you’re speakin’ of? Sounds like someone we don’t know.]

At that question, Mimi began to speak, “So, umm”,

Mimi: [Tia’s that! She made the wind blow a lot, and sent the town and Mimi and everyone else flying up into the sky; she’s a really strong woman! Right now, she’s imprisoned in a holding cell!]

Thus, she had declared so.

2

――The unprecedented great cataclysm of wind that had occurred in the Kararagi City-State’s Second-City, Banan.

With Banan at the epicenter, the large-scale wind storm had done a severe amount of damage even to the surrounding towns and villages, but even after the few days that had passed since the event, the lack of accurate information regarding the damages had led to confusion across the various areas.

With the scale of the damage being the only thing ascertainable from the meager information available, various relief efforts had been sent into the affected area; enlisted among them was the name of Anastasia’s private beastperson mercenary group, the Iron Fang.

Considering the duties usually sought from a mercenary group, it might have seemed unsuitable to dispatch them into a disaster zone, but the one who had arranged that, the Mayor of the Third-City Ivada, Orgo Hayata, with a sharp mind that belied his eccentric appearance, was the first to recognize the possibility that the wind cataclysm might have been the work of man.

That behind the curtain of this great wind storm, was interposed the will of one who concealed extraordinary power.

Thus――,

???: [――What is it, human? There shouldn’t be anything so funny to look at here. Or perhaps, have you come to laugh at me in this state? Is that really so funny, I wonder… It isn’t funny!]

Anastasia: [Even tho’ I ain’t said nothin’, what a darn strange girly.]

With those words, Anastasia gave a wry smile to that possessor of dreadful power―― the white-haired girl who proclaimed herself as such, who still had yet found herself locked up in a holding cell.

Almond-shaped eyes, and a projecting voice that seemed to linger in the ears; with both elements seeming to be strikingly combative, she was a person who left an impression of beauty and sharpness. She appeared to be either younger than or around the same age as Anastasia, so it was hard to believe that she was the origin of the dreadful wind disaster that has caused the disastrous scene of Banan.

Echidna: [I was also dubious, but it seems there is no doubt about it being this girl, correct, Ricardo?]

Ricardo: [That’s right. I also traded blows with her… or rather, we had a contest of endurance. ‘N in the midst of all that, she sent a stupid number of buildin’s up into the sky.]

Mimi: [I flew around a ton in the crazy wind! Wanna do it again sometime!]

Ricardo: [Gimme a break, will ya? My body’s been seriously roughed up.]

Ricardo responded to Echidna’s question, worn out by Mimi’s uninhibited comment.

Bandages were wrapped all around Ricardo’s body, and his right half had sustained particularly serious injuries. He had just lost one of his arms in the battle against the Witch Cult a few months prior, so upon seeing him so beaten up once again, Anastasia had a mountain of things she was itching to lecture him on, but she would have to contain herself for now.

Ricardo: [This here’s someone’s mansion… I believe the owner’s named Riften Magorge. He’s famous for holdin’ the position of the Fierce Merchant.]

Echidna: [On top of being a great merchant of Banan, he also ought to have taken on the duties of Mayor. He has had no acquaintance with Ana before, but it sounds like he is quite the important person. If he were here, one would think that the post-disaster operations would be going a bit smoother, but…]

Ricardo: [Seems like nobody’s able ta contact Riften-san. There’s also talk that he got caught up in the wind storm while in transit.]

Anastasia: [I see. Tho’, it’d’ve been better if he was alright.]

Unexpectedly, the cause for the heightened chaos in Banan after the disaster was the absence of the Mayor, so Anastasia made a mental note that the utmost priority was the need to put forth a representative.

Then, she suddenly felt concern for Julius and Halibel, both of whom had been keeping silent until now. Ever since the two of them had entered the holding cell―― a room within Riften’s mansion, the Magorge Palace, and laid their eyes upon Tia, the one being held captive there, their mouths had remained closed.

Thus, Anastasia voiced “Julius?” to her personal Knight, and,

Anastasia: [What’s the matter? Yer eyes are stuck lookin’ at that girl. She’s a beauty, so have ya maybe been enchanted?]

Julius: [――No, my apologies. No matter how beautiful someone might be, to think I would ever set Anastasia-sama aside and become enchanted. Only, she is… this personage, is a different matter.]

Anastasia: [――――]

Julius had responded in earnest to the persiflage she had appended, and hearing him deliberately revise the way in which he referred to Tia, Anastasia narrowed her pale turquoise eyes.

It was not apprehension about her Knight having a change of heart. It was precisely because she was aware of her Knight’s nature.

Thus, before Anastasia’s eyes, Julius kneeled down before Tia, who was sitting on her folded legs atop the tatami, and with slight sentiments of reverence upon his gentle facial features,

Julius: [In such a place, in such a manner, I did not think I would be able to meet a Great Spirit as esteemed as yourself. For the rudeness of my delayed greeting, I deeply apologize.]

Tia: [Huh? You can tell what I am? Impressive. Not that I’m praising you, though.]

Julius: [It is an honor to receive your praise. After all, I am but a man who has been granted the lowest seat of Spirit Knights.]

Tia: [Didn’t I just say I’m not praising you…!]

As Julius politely revered her, Tia shouted at him with a stern glare.

Setting aside Tia’s anger for now, learning that her identity was that of a Great Spirit, Anastasia successfully connected the dots between Banan’s destruction and her presence as the origin of it. If it was a powerful Great Spirit, then it would have easily been possible to generate gusts strong enough to level a city.

However, beside Anastasia as she thought this, Halibel inclined his head with a “Hmmm?”,

Halibel: [I’d thought she was a girl with a curious air ‘bout her, but it all just clicked now that ya mention she’s a Spirit. Tho’, what’s botherin’ me is somethin’ different ta Julius.]

Ricardo: [Golly, Halibel. Are ya tryna badmouth one of our own? If ya do things half-hearted, playin’ as a lone-wolf, we’ll teach ya just how scary the pack can be.]

Mimi: [Yep yep! We’ll teach you, and take all your money!]

Halibel: [Ohh, scary, scary. Haven’t paid my tuition fees in a gosh darn while, and ya won’t be findin’ no loose change in my pockets. But, even so…]

Tia: [――?]

Giving a wry smile to Ricardo and Mimi’s interjection, Halibel sent a sharp sidelong glance over to Tia. Noticing his gaze, Tia wore a suspicious expression, and Halibel spoke.

Halibel: [Yer body’s structured in an awfully unnatural manner. There’re tons of deadspots both big ‘n small, ‘n they move ‘n disappear ‘n just don’t seem ta settle down at all.]

Tia: [I don’t know what you’re trying to say, but are you picking a fight? If that’s the case――]

Halibel: [What’s this now, ain’t ya seemin’ ta be missin’ somethin’? The Mana’s flowin’ in that sorta way.]

Tia: [――Hk!]

That instant, a gale began to rise within the holding cell, causing Anastasia’s long hair to blow wildly.

With eyes sharpened, and teeth bared, the fact that it was a wind that had sprung forth from Tia, was instantly apparent from how all warriors present immediately stood to guard Anastasia.

Julius, Ricardo, Mimi and Halibel, all stood on guard for Anastasia. Tia cast an intense glare upon Halibel, who stood calmly among them,

Tia: [You, do you know the whereabouts of my Light Sphere?]

Halibel: [Hmm? Nah, ain’t got a clue. Why’d ya think that?]

Tia: [You just said! Didn’t you just say how I was missing something!? The rest of you heard it as well, didn’t you!? It’s this guy! This guy has my Light Sphere…!]

Halibel: [Zoinks, seems like I stirred the hornet’s nest. What’s goin’ on here, Ricardo?]

Ricardo: [She was sayin’ somethin’ ‘bout lookin’ for an object called a Light Sphere. Tho’, we couldn’t really grasp the gist of what the Tia lassie was sayin’, so we decided to just put her here ‘til someone capable of conversin’ with her came.]

Before Tia, who brimmed with enmity as she bared her teeth, Halibel and Ricardo exchanged those words.

No details had been revealed, but Tia was searching for something, and had mistakenly thought that it was in Halibel’s possession. Then, the reason why Tia had ravaged the city likely also laid therein.

Anastasia: [In other words, someone ran off with somethin’ important to Tia… the Light Sphere. While searchin’ for that thief, ya went on a wind rampage absolutely everywhere, ain’t that ’bout right?]

Tia: […That turn of phrase, “ran off with”, I don’t like it. Doesn’t it make me sound like a fool? Whoever stole it did so by a cowardly method. It seems like they knew they could not win in a contest of strength, so they got sly. Humans are experts at that, after all… Like they could ever be an expert, damn coward!]

Anastasia: [I see… By the way, ya sure ya didn’t take it, Halibel?]

Halibel: [Well, I’ve done been in the Empire this whole gosh darn time right ‘longside y’all, lil’ Ana. Don’t’cha think it’d be impossible for me ta steal that thing from Tia-chan, even if I used a clone?]

Anastasia: [――――]

Halibel nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders, but since Anastasia knew what he was capable of utilizing his clones, things might have gotten a little complicated, so she would withhold that information. Nevertheless, she knew that Halibel was not a suspect. His statement just now had been purely to inform Tia.

Anastasia: [At any rate, we’ve got Tia-san’s goal, but to destroy one town after another ‘cause of that’s intolerable. Even if she’s a Spirit as Julius says, that ain’t somethin’ we can overlook.]

For Anastasia and the other humans to make a Spirit abide by the laws of the Kararagi City-States felt a bit strict, but there was no other way to measure something like this. If she was going to enact outrageous deeds that crossed the line drawn by the law, then they would have to respond appropriately.

Julius: [Anastasia-sama, to manifest herself in such a detailed human form means that even among Great Spirits, Tia-sama possesses extraordinary power.]

Anastasia: [‘N for that reason, ya wanna overlook this as a Spiritual-Arts User?]

Julius: [No. Only, to make an enemy of such a Great Spirit, also comes with a high possibility of making an enemy out of the very nature that she is at essence. If it was a wind cataclysm that had assailed Banan, then…]

Anastasia: [Ya need the resolve to make an enemy of the wind itself. I see, that’s quite the tough foe.]

As Julius’s voice resonated within her ears, Anastasia closed a single eye at his warning.

She had not had many points of contact with Great Spirits―― strictly speaking, Echidna, who disguised herself as Anastasia’s scarf, counted as a Great Spirit while also being artificial, so she could not say that she had never had a point of contact, but that was a troublesome quality.

But, at the composure of Anastasia’s group, none other than Tia spoke out, “Wait”,

Tia: [I’m saying this because you’re noisy, but stop revering me because I’m a Great Spirit or whatever. I hate it. I don’t like it. I’ll start wanting to kill you.]

Halibel: [Ya better quit sayin’ stuff that’s too overly violent. Yer current position’s that of a captive.]

Tia: [The thing that should be stopped is your misunderstanding. I’m simply here doing what I want. Also, I have something to say to the female woman looking all high and mighty there in the middle.]

Anastasia: [I think that “female” ‘n “woman” mean the same thing, but what’cha got for me?]

Tia: [One town after another, you said it as if I’ve destroyed multiple cities, but this is the only place I’ve rampaged, so it was just the one time when that wolf cub stopped me.]

Anastasia: [――What’d ya say?]

As Tia confessed with her arms crossed, Anastasia raised her eyebrows, letting out a gasp.

For a moment, the possibility that it was just a ruse by Tia flashed through her mind, but she could not see any meaning in admitting that she had devastated Banan, but not that she was responsible for the other cases. Judging from her personality thus far, there did not seem to be a human element of telling worthless lies.

There was no falsehood in Tia’s words. ――That was to say, there was another cause for the several wind cataclysms that were popping up.

Then, it happened right after that thought crossed her mind.

Fighters: [――!]

The atmosphere in the holding cell suddenly tensed, and Anastasia felt a chill crawl down her spine.

Much like before, instead of Anastasia, who was unable to fight, those who could reacted to something before her. However, this time, they were joined by one other person. ――Tia.

The five of them simultaneously directed their attention outside of the Magorge Palace, strung high with tension.

And then――,

Tia: [――Tsk, they’re coming with human power.]

Declaring so in an irritated manner, Tia turned around and held her hand aloft, pointed at the wall of the holding cell. The next instant, the wind that gust forth from that hand sliced the wall apart, forcibly creating a new egress. That instant action gave no time for anyone to interfere, but there was no time to challenge her on it.

Halibel: [This ain’t good.]

Halibel spoke in a manner bereft of seriousness and urgency; however, that was a great deal removed from reality.

Through the hole that had been opened, far in the distance from the devastated townscape of Banan, slowly approaching was an enormous vortex of wind―― a tornado engulfing everything was en route.

Anastasia: [――――]

For a moment, widening her eyes at that sight, Anastasia’s thoughts came to a halt.

What flashed through her mind in that instant was the scale of damage and lives that would be lost were the tornado to reach the city, a premature pessimistic and pragmatic violence of numbers.

But――,

Julius: [――Anastasia-sama.]

As soon as her Knight called her name, the threat of those violent numbers was lost. ――No, with the notion that they had no choice but to make that threat be lost, it set her resolve alight.

Anastasia: [Mimi! Gather the Iron Fang! Julius, Halibel! Halt the tornado’s progress, I’ll leave ya to figure out how! Ricardo, I’ll be needin’ ya to push yerself again. Come with me!]

As Anastasia issued commands with the clap of her hands, everyone receiving them blinked their eyes, and immediately responded appropriately, leaping to follow the duties to which they had been ordered.

Without the time to spare to see them off politely, Anastasia stepped forward, and,

Anastasia: [Tia-san, ya mind if we rely on yer strength? Ya want us to cooperate, don’t’cha?]

Tia: [――. Are you testing me? You’ve got some nerve. I’ll praise you for that… Once we’re finished!]

Tia was taken aback, but ferociously smiled at Anastasia’s request. As Anastasia nodded at her valiance, the completely bandaged Ricardo stood up next to her,

Ricardo: [Miss, now ain’t ya lookin’ pretty darn cool.]

Anastasia: [‘Course. I’d know even if ya didn’t tell me.]

Indeed, gaining strength from the unbelievably laid back interaction as a hopeless natural disaster made its approach before them, Anastasia stepped outside through the gaping opening that Tia had made in order to protect the major city of Banan.

《To be continued》