第十三回：群雄拆图天意难铺，粉发受囚巾帼归城
The year is O.E 794. The three kingdoms of 【Rei Ditu】, 【Tui Tie】, and 【Dusi Kuodo】 have devoured and parted this land in a stagnant peace.
Yet all is not well in the Ci-byss. Calculated turmoil roils the streets, cheating charlatans prosper, and the young can find no escape from this hell.
Perhaps the pillars that hold up this world are long rotten.
Perhaps the 【Hereticate】 is right.
Perhaps we do need to kill a "dragon".
But who will have the courage to stand against the skies?
If there is even a small droplet of hope,
it lies in those who disregard this world's norms.
Daju lays down her ink brush, having written all that she wanted to write.
"Wasn't it morning, just a moment ago?"
The writing room inside her teahouse just went dark, like night had suddenly decided to enshroud the city in dark premonitions. Yet no calculations predicted bad weather today.
Looking outside the teahouse window on the third floor, the sky had suddenly become leaden with fast-moving rainclouds. They swirl in spiral patterns most unnatural, choking the blue sky of its color.
Then, like everyone else in the Ci-byss, she heard it.
It was unmistakably,
resoundingly,
terrifying.
Her city so close to the origin of the dragon's outroar, Daju falls back on the ground clutching her thumping chest.
All manner of thoughts and anxieties overrun her mind with the now pouring rain and thunderstorms.
Had something gone wrong while retaking the iron mines...?
Or were the ryuu punishing her for thinking wrongly...?
For aiding the 【Hereticates】?
For harboring heretical thoughts herself?
That's impossible.
The ryuu don't have that sort of power.
Not even the one she was seeking could read minds.
Stay calm.
Stay calm.
【The Strategist's Job Is To...】
Wait for Cousin to come back.
If someone has an answer to what is going on...
... it would be the 【Hereticates】 she bet everything on.
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In the far South-East of 【Dusi Kuodo】, the "Prefecture of Condemnation", 【府ｘ開】.
A fat duck in cyanic robes is kneeling towards the pouring sky in obeisance. Wings outstretched towards the sky in kneeling position, it kowtows to the sky repeatedly. Not minding the heavy downpour, it makes gargling duck noises that none may know the meaning of.
The ryuu's intentions came clear as day to the 【Inspector-Magistrate】.
The stability of this land has been threatened.
The blood of those who go against their betters must flow, and enrich the soil once more!
If only it had kept those rude 【Hereticates】 from days ago,
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spilling their blood now would greatly appease the ryuu above!
Regrettable, the duo are probably dead now.
Nobody survives in the borderlands for long.
Not with the kingdoms of 【Rei Ditu】, 【Tui Tie】seeking any and every way to gain an advantage.
Tu Feiya's mind suddenly snaps to a certain orange catgirl【taisho】.
How long had that hag been around, already?
She is an anomaly.
And anomalies are a threat to stability
Behind Tu Feiya, three sisters wearing white stand arms crossed in the rain. Drenched and grumbling, they wait before an altar lined with offerings now completely wasted by the rain; their faces partially shaded in the momentary darkness that covers the land. Without affection, they await the 【Inspector-Magistrate's】 next regrettable orders.
Or when the fat duck finally comes to its senses and sends the much less waterproof trio back inside.
To their disgruntlement, this will not happen for some time.
The praying will continue.
Until morale improves.
(It won't.)
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A little north of the borderlands region, beyond the flowing river and forested barrier of 【Rei Ditu】.
A walled prison keep had been erected in the middle of the forest, just to house a sole 【Hereticate】.
Abnormal tempests buffet the stone walls outside of this dark prison; in its most secure cell, a short-haired woman speaks to her prisoner.
"It seems that I will be busy, very busy from now on~
Can't play with you, celestial matters you see~"
She tilts the chin of the kneeling pink haired girl whose arms are spread apart and wrapped in heavy chains.
"You should give up, I already had the violent one bound for 【Tui Tie】, as a gift you see~"
The long-haired pink wrenches her head to the side, tearing her face away from the weirdo's grasp.
"I would take you with me, if only you were more obedient~~
Don't you wonder about that black-haired catgirl of yours~"
"Neko-chan isn't a pet."
The pink-haired girl finally spits out a line.
Her tormentor pats the glaring side of the pink-haired girl's cheek, like one would to a domesticated animal.
"I know~ It riles you up, that's why I say that you see~"
Having gotten what she wanted out of the prisoner, the cloyingly sweet woman exits the room, heavy door locks sealing the room's only entrance from outside.
I must have been here for too long, Oracion thought to herself.
As violent droplets of rain pitter-patter on the high cell window behind her, she heard a soft mewing accompanied by the jingling of a bell. Then, that sound leapt off the high window, landing softly in the mud puddles below.
How can there be a housecat in the middle of a forest?
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Somewhere in the lands of 【Tui Tie】.
Hooded figures cloaked in mauve oversee a cruel and unusual scene. Despite the rain, circular rings of mobs have gathered around unnamed figures trapped in nets. Constantly hurling abuse at those stuck in the middle, they occasionally beat the captives with sticks before continuing to hurl more abuse. Occasionally a fight will break out between two rings, which starts with the usual hurling of insults into questioning their dedication to 'the cause'; then breaking into fights of sticks and stones.
"What do you think?"
A small hooded girl looks upon the execution grounds favorably, biting into a bun dyed in red. Next to her, a small flat plate of the self-same red liquid is presented to her by bowing servants. Cruelly using the stained plate as dipping, she drenches the half-eaten bun with more dripping red liquid, placing it close to her wide open mouth to savor.
Just for a little moment more.
"Its a good taste, but..."
A golden bolt laced with shining light punctuates the air, reminding all present the horrific majesty of dragon-kind.
"Rex Conductorem demands more!"
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Now.
We return to the lovely story of cute and funny girls who go around exposing...
Hey!!
Aya-chan!!
Wake the duck up!!
I was already wide awake by the fourth slap. Madi-san apparently believes that the best cure for fainting spells are multiple slaps to the face. I don't want to know where she learnt that one from. Some corrupt veetuba no doubt. Ahh, It must be nice to be so carefree and oblivious.
The last thing I remember before passing out is that you managed to offend a 『kami-sama』of this world! Truly, 『sasuga』[1] Madi-san, I will never cease to be amazed by how you simply cannot just lay low for a while, like Cultivator Ying, who is clearly pretending to be asleep on the chariot base now!
"She's yappin'! She's yappin! Clear!! All clear!"
Madi-san clacks the knuckles of her two fists together, as if she were operating some medical device that she has zero qualification to use. What would I give to have one of those and put both electrodes to the sides of Madi-san's head right now.
"..."
Madi-san raises an eager open palm in the air,
"I really will choke a biichii if you try that."
Glaring at her with one eye closed to prove that it is me, the great detective Aya-chan who is speaking, Madi-san withdraws her slapping motion and shrugs her shoulders, satisfied with a good job well done.
The back of the chariot is completely drenched. Our umbrella is missing, the central pole snapped in half with a suspicious char where I surmise the lightning struck. One small consolation is that our other NPC guys are riding in formation behind ours, though I wouldn't know if we lost anything to that unnatural lightning before I passed out.
It is still drizzling slightly, the thick grey clouds before have let up somewhat, but the sky is still overcast and gloomy. Scanning around the skies for strange luminescent snake-like objects, I can only let out a sigh of relief that everything was truly "all clear".
"I doubt that's the end of it."
Neko-chan is slumped over in the front seat, a fatigued hand in covering her face. "We just barely made it out alive."
"Imagine not using BASH to fix your level lists... Whatever happened to level scaling, Todd?!?!"
Neko-chan doesn't even have the strength to rebuke Madi-san at this point. She just silently huffs in Madi-san's insanity to let it be a complaint for another day.
"Land ho!"
Madi-san suddenly shouts, shaking my shoulder.
In the distance, the walls of our host city slowly comes into view. A small wave of relief washes over me, as I slump down into my seat, eyes still scanning the overcast sky.
As we wheel into the city gates, I finally take a good look at plaque hanging outside the city, announcing her name to the rest of the land.
I am not sure how it is supposed to be read.
『hoku』?
『boku』?
Or maybe...
『濮阳』?
Is that how it is read?
I wonder if there is any significance to the city's name.
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GO GO AND LEARN NIHON WITH AYA-CHAN!
[1]『sasuga』- Is more a figure of speech than anything, it means that "I should have expected you would say/do" that. Like if someone leaps out a bedroom window, you would say "Sasuga, Kxxzo!", while clapping brilliantly like an archdaemon in business outfit.