“……………”
—To fulfill Percher’s wish, the boy whose name is Jin Russel wasn’t strong enough at the moment.
She had already known that for a fact.
No matter how extraordinary the comrades of [No Name] were, the most important person—Jin, the leader is still too immature. The problem that Rin had pointed out would not have been a problem if the wish were to be a normal one. But Percher’s wish—-is one that would be a heavy burden of making enemies out of real gods.
If the secret wish that she harbored in her heart were to be leaked……it wouldn’t be too surprising if Jin Russel were to cancel the contract or even seal Percher away for good. That sort of insecurity caused Percher to be unable to tell the [No Name]s of her yearning.
And it did not take much effort for Rin to see that insecurity in her.
Rin gave a charming smile[5] as she crossed her arms before her chest.
“But it won’t be that way for us. Although we may have been beaten in our own game by the Community of Jin and the others before, the battle this time will be a Game of a larger scale than before. And if everything proceeds as smoothly as planned……the world of Little Garden might just be totally thrown into chaos for real.”
Resting her hand on her puffed up chest, she continued to look at Percher with confidence in her eyes.
That strong will in her gaze was really intense and seemed to shine in Percher’s perspective. As one of the authoritative figures in an organization to have such a clear target in mind and the resolve and attitude to pull along her comrades in the chosen path, it really made Percher’s loyalty waver.
“But……My ownership is still with Jin……”
“Isn’t that simple? We just need to take Jin along with us and it’s all solved right?”
“Wha……?!”
“I’ve discussed with Aura and Graiya Oji-san before and we feel that we still need another boy around the same age as His Highness to be paired as his friend. I would say that Jin’s brains is quite good and he would fit perfectly to help our His Highness who lacks the knowledge of common sense in life skills. More importantly, we can also prepare many Demon Lords suitable for [Genier Contractor]—In the first place, his Gift will only be utilized to its truest potential when he comes to our side.”
Rin added happily.
Jin’s power was indeed a Gift that was indeed one that is specialized in the enhancement of sealed Demon Lords that are under his control. Leticia had also said that such a Gift was also quite renowned. Even in Little Garden where many Demigods and Gods roamed, it could be considered as one of the most unique Gifts.
Legend has it that [Genier Contractor] is a Gift that is conferred to [Solomon, The Spirit King] who sits in the Four Digits for having achieved the accomplishment of sealing seventy-two Demon Lords.
If he had defeated all those seventy-two Demon Lords by himself, that would make him run for second placing in the rankings for defeating Demon Lords.
And the ancestors of Jin Russel had cleared one of the trials prepared by [Solomon, The Spirit King]—the which had a part of the Gift as the prize.
Rin who knew of all that had also seen the true value of Jin Russel even if he was still developing in his Gift.
“The trials which were prepared by [Solomon, The Spirit King] has already been completed without leaving a single trial left undone. What’s left is only the defeating of the seventy-two demon lords which can be left to others to handle. And that makes Jin’s Gift incredibly desirable—even if some rough measures need to be taken, it might just be worth it.”
“……”
A sharp glint could be seen in those child-like eyes of hers but that sort of atmosphere had been dispersed almost immediately.
For Rin had suddenly stood up, preparing to leave the open air café.[6]
“In any case, I guess that’s the end of today’s persuasion. Percher-chan also needs more time right? I will be taking my leave first, and I will leave His Highness to you today, Thanks.”
“Heys, wait…wait up!”
“Nay~I’m not gonna wait♪ But no worries. I will be back to sway you over to our side for I feel that it would be for the best for both parties. Ah~and don’t forget to keep the real identity of His Highness a secret—this is also for the best for both of us.”
Rin gave a spin, causing her short skirt to flutter, as she turned to disappear into the crowd. While at the opposite end of the table in the open air café, a cup of unfinished drink was all that was left behind.
The girl who had appeared just like sudden storm had just left after having been satisfied by its destruction.
(……to return to the Demon Lord Alliance?)
Percher pressed her hand on her chest as she felt very uneasy about it.
She who is the representative of the eight million vengeful spirits—the collective of spirits killed by the plague of Black Death.
And this body had come into existence for the sole purpose of fulfilling the wish of those spirits who have died with much resentment in their hearts.
What should she decide on then?
The lonely girl who couldn’t find an answer to that question could only sit at her original spot.
(I….what should I choose now…..?)
Part 2[แก้ไข]
—[Kouen, City of Brilliant Flames], Commercial District of the North Side
Pinning his eyes on the guy with the “混”character on his back, Izayoi was happily immersed in the endless pursuit as he ran along the roofs of the buildings.
The afterimages of Izayoi could be seen flitting over the heads of the crowd as it shot off towards the alleys in the blink of an eye and easily outstripped the military police squads who were dispatched to secure the area.
Noticing the commotion overhead, the passers-by of the Commercial District were crying in surprise:
“Wuoooh?! What’s that just now?”
“It seemed like a figure of a human just flew over our heads!”
“There’re also the military police squads in pursuit. Could it be the rumored ‘Kamikakushi’?”
The strong wind that swept through the Commercial District caused the people to speculate on what they had just seen. For they could only see Izayoi even if they weren’t able to see the guy with the “混”character.
And though the military police squad had chased from behind, they were unable to lay a net to surround an unseen opponent, hence only resorting to chasing after the back of Izayoi.
(If only Mandra, that fellow can widen the net of his men to surround the area, things would be much simpler……)
But it was difficult for them to accomplish that when matched up with an invisible opponent. Moreover, the opponent’s footwork wasn’t worse than that of Izayoi’s. After all the opponent was still a Demon Lord, albeit being a third rate one.
But even so, it was still possible for Izayoi to catch up to him if he gave his all into the pursuit.
However, if Izayoi were to put his full strength behind his every step, the residential structures that weren’t stable enough would most likely be blown away. He had previously destroyed a tall building that way when he had used it as a foothold to exert his full strength.[7]
Basically, all structures in Little Garden are built with a defensive Gift to reinforce its sturdiness but if Izayoi were to use his full power on them, it would be a different matter altogether.
(Having said that, continuing this endless chase isn’t going to solve things as well.)
Initially enthusiastic about the chase, Izayoi had now sobered up completely.
He had thought that the game of tag would be complemented with the use of Gifts similar to the “虚度光阴”. (Passing time in an idle manner. Direct translation for the skill that causes time to stop for the opponent) However, that kind of interesting stuff seemed to be limited to only that one time and the rest of the chase was purely a game of tag with him needing to hold back on his strength.
Looking from Izayoi’s perspective of his dislike for repetitive labour, this sort of situation could only be described as really boring.
It did cross his mind to kick a building to shoot the fragments like the pellets of a shotgun……but he had used this trick on Kuro Usagi before and it wouldn’t be interesting to use it the second time. Then, that would leave only 1 option left—
(Oh well, I guess there’s no other way around this. I will apologize to Mandra later.)
Izayoi clapped his hands together as he gave his silent apology before injecting his strength to his legs while he continued to dash forward.
A full-power dash would have caused the buildings or streets that had been used as his foothold to collapse.
But if it were to be a full-power jump—The worst case that could happen would just be the destruction of a building.
Although that could still be counted as quite a severe damage, but if it were to be the price to catch the ‘Kamikakushi’, such a thing would be just a small sacrifice that the victims would surely be understanding regarding the damage.
On the other hand, Demon King of Confusion had not realized the dangerous thoughts that had formed within his opponent’s mind as he sweated buckets while focusing on the run. He was busily flitting from the walls of the narrow alleys and making small hops on the tops of the trees. He would even dare to use the hanging lanterns and electrical wires as his footholds for his skills in making his body as light as a feather were as good as acrobats.[8]
But being the one gifted with the array of versatile techniques, it was only him who understood clearly how bleak the situation was for himself due to the impossibly relentless pursuer who was unshakable from his tail.
(Absurd, this is absurd! That smelly little brat is really absurd! If this continues, I can’t even fathom the idea of meeting Kouryuu to challenge him to a duel!)
Compared to the hatred towards his nemesis, it was much more important to keep his life intact. And the Demon King of Confusion continued to run