Hagure Yuusha no Kichiku Bigaku Volume 7 Prologue

It is an eerily cold silence.

At night the JPN Babel Student Council room is like a silent world.

In the darkness a silhouette of a person is cast from a single light source.

A square liquid crystal display fills the room with superfluous light.

It is JPN Babel's student council president's, also j.a.pan's COc.o.o.n representative's -- Hikami Kyoya's personal computer. Real-time updates are constantly appearing on the screen.

It is current displaying the status of the special autonomous region established in j.a.pan for the people who have returned from the alternate worlds.

At the top of JPN Babel is Kyoya, who is responsible for coordinating all matters in the special autonomous region. Therefore Kyoya must compile the various information related to the special autonomous region.

While Kyoya is looking at the monitor, his smile quietly deepens.

Then he mutters:

"Movement, and I believe he......"

Hikami Kyoya is examining the gathered intelligence.

He is primarily looking at a series of events that took place in the evening two days ago to early morning yesterday.

These are the records of the special antonymous region -- a huge artificial island floating in Tokyo Bay.

That night, Kyoya requested some kind of "substance" to be transported to the special antonymous region.

It is a substance that has manifested in this world, a lower dimension. The substance is from a high-dimensional life form -- the j.a.panese Government researched and cultured cells under the utmost secrecy.

Kyoya had already obtained them, the so called -

or .

He even had to steal to get them.

However, the j.a.panese government can not condemn Kyoya's act.

After all, COc.o.o.n is responsible for co-ordination and management of all technology and abilities learned from alternate worlds.

He was named a permanent member to the new United Nations -- the G7 -- although COc.o.o.n a.s.sisted in establis.h.i.+ng the special antonymous region and Babel in j.a.pan, the j.a.panese Government isn't allowed to research or develop other world technology.

Therefore the j.a.panese Government's experiment is in violation of the rules set forth by COc.o.o.n.

Basically the shouldn't exist.

Even if they were stolen, it cannot be made public.

"Can't let the cat out of bag, they still have to continue keeping it a secret ... ..."

In order to transport the at any cost, beforehand Kyoya arranged several decoys to distract the enemy.

However many of these decoys were destroyed –- furthermore to maintain the utmost secrecy, only a few had known that they were decoys to begin with.

The j.a.panese government does not want the existence of to be announced to the world. Therefore recapturing the through any means is to be expected. Kyoya has never denied that the j.a.panese government's involvement is a possibility.

However the j.a.panese government's intelligence capability is quite extraordinary to have already locked onto so many decoys.

Even the nearly impossible to expose decoys have been attacked one after another.

In addition, they even attacked anyone potentiality linked to a decoy.

Only individuals or groups on equal footing with COc.o.o.n would have the ability to do that.

However COc.o.o.n doesn't need act in such a roundabout manner to condemn Kyoya's unauthorized actions. They can directly enforce punitive damages on Kyoya.

More importantly, Kyoya did not yet violate any laws in COc.o.o.n's eyes.

After all, Kyoya's "scheme" is predicated on the truth being concealed from COc.o.o.n.

This type of feat took considerable skill.

Therefore there may be only one possible answer.

Kyoya firmly believes that -- Crimson Twilight will act.

They should already be aware that Kyoya perpetrated the robbery.

However Hikami Kyoya's smile is still as bright as before.

"I'm very sorry, the have already fallen into my hands."

Kyoya is calmly reflecting over the current situation.

Re-examining all of the chess pieces on the board -- including his own.

In the first place, other than COc.o.o.n it is impossible to find out about the current situation.

The top secret research regarding high-dimensional beings betrayed COc.o.o.n's overall plan on alternate worlds. Thus it is impossible for the j.a.panese government to spontaneously confess to their crimes.

Moreover from Crimson Twilight's standpoint, it should be better if Kyoya has the rather than COc.o.o.n.

After all, compared to the heavily fortified COc.o.o.n headquarters, stealing the from JPN Babel school is much less difficult.

Kyoya is naturally fully prepared and ready at any time for a counterattack.

However, this is an indisputable fact that has already been perceived by the enemy.

It seems that it is necessary to speed up the pace for the whole scheme.

Granted it doesn't hurt to figure out what the problems are. At least the leaders.h.i.+p role rests in his own hands.

Basically, there doesn't appear to be any hitches in Kyoya's plan.

Reluctantly saying so, probably only one individual const.i.tutes an element of uncertainty -- and Kyoya is unable to predict the latent nature of that enemy's action.

Kyoya said in a pleasant tone the name of that uncertain element:

"I've got a head start Ousawa-kun ... ... What will you do next?"

Kyoya is smiling from ear to ear gazing at the gauge on the computer screen.

The gauge shows the degree of progress made on his current project.

After obtaining the , officially the scheme enters into its second phase. Also, the second phase is now on the verge of being completed.

According to the original plan, tomorrow the curtain drops on the third phase.

At that time no one will be able to stop Kyoya.

Not even COc.o.o.n's strongest -- Michael Arcruid.

Naturally using the same logic, it is possible to stop Kyoya at this stage.

If COc.o.o.n finds out about the current situation everything will go up in smoke.

Kyoya will lose all his power and status in COc.o.o.n, and maybe even lose his precious life.

Even if he luckily got away with the robbery, from now on he will not be able to do whatever he pleases.

Naturally Kyoya has his reasons for selecting such a risky plan.

That's because of Ousawa Miu.

Kyoya discovered a major "secret" concerning Miu.

The Norn screening named her as the "True Hero" Ousawa Akatsuki's little sister.

However that fabricated ident.i.ty was merely for her to exist in this world.

Hikami Kyoya is very clear.

Her true ident.i.ty is that she grew up in a alternate world of Alayzard as the Demon King's daughter -· Myuu.

Many teenagers have been summoned to alternate worlds for more than 30 years now. However, the case of inhabitants from alternate worlds coming to this world has never been officially doc.u.mented.

A very rare case of tenancy.

Miu is undoubtedly a very rare object to study.

However, that was fundamentally regarded as nothing, after Kyoya become aware of a gargantuan secret.

Let alone Akatsuki, even Miu doesn't realize her secret.

That is -- Ousawa Miu is in fact an ultra high-dimensional being.

Ultra high-dimensional beings have the ability to manipulate all phenomenon. Once you obtain this kind of ability, undoubtedly you can dominate the entire world -- This is what the "Y Plan" entails.

Kyoya has the chance to achieve COc.o.o.n's ultimate goal.

A once in a blue moon chance.

Hikami Kyoya will absolutely not miss this opportunity.

To obtain the ultra high-dimensional Miu and grasp the absolute power inside her.

When that moment comes he will transcend everything, becoming an existence on an equal footing with G.o.d.

"Well......"

Kyoya muttered to himself while turning off the computer.

When the monitor on his personal computer shut down, the room became wrapped in complete darkness.

The next moment, the sound of the student council room door opening could be heard.

At the same time, the ceiling lights turned on, lighting up the room.

Another member of the student council walked into the room.

It is Uesaki Ryohei, the secretary of the student council.

"Oh, Kyoya you're still here?"

Ryohei noticed Kyoya's presence.

"It's already so late. What are you doing here? At least turn on a light."

"I was just thinking about a few things."

Kyoya replied with the usual smile.

It was like his previously intoxicated with power expression was a lie judging from his ability to immediately appear clam.

Therefore......

"Hmm I see. The student council president indeed works really hard. There are always a lot of things to worry about."

Ryohei shrugged and walked towards his seat. He seemingly accepted what Kyoya said.

Ryohei's response as well as his reaction gave Kyoya a sense of satisfaction.

It also appears that Kyoya didn't look anxious or complacent. He remained as cold as ice, exuding a sense of normalcy.

Even though he is about to realize the ambitions that he had aspired to for many years, there is still no change to his normal calm demeanor.

Then Ryohei suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, that's right. Before the start of the new semester concerning the system update, you're going to ......"

"Naturally it will be conducted as planned."

Kyoya seemingly answered matter of factly--

"-- It will officially launch tomorrow night."

Plain rice tastes the best immediately after it's cooked.

Regardless eating it as is, enjoying it with a raw egg covered with natto is also very delicious.

Basically there is no subst.i.tute for piping hot rice.

However, there are very few cases where such common sense is overturned.

Sus.h.i.+ is one of them.

However, to properly make home-made sus.h.i.+ is not an easy task.

After all, there is a relatively high technical threshold to make sus.h.i.+, not every housewife has a sus.h.i.+ chef's skill.

Although the bulk of scattered sus.h.i.+ materials can be directly purchased from the supermarket, eggs and peas silk processing still holds a certain degree of difficulty.

The market does sell sus.h.i.+ platters, but they are less appetizing.

Having said that, a relaxing way to enjoy sus.h.i.+ at home still exists.

The answer is ......

"Ah ha ha ~ hand-rolled sus.h.i.+ ~ "

Cheers coming from the living room reached Onizuka Kenya's ears.

Onizuka was standing in the kitchen.

He braved the snowy vapor from the stainless steel stock pot smoke on top of the gas stove.

"d.a.m.n... ... Why should I tire myself like a dog? ... ... "

Gazing at the slowly rising steam, Onizuka can't help muttering.

Onizuka is cooking miso soup they way he likes it which is with a clam taste.

Since he lives alone, there is no reason to make miso soup at home when he could always just have instant soup cups.

Not to mention the hand-rolled sus.h.i.+, Onizuka never even had the idea to eat hand-rolled sus.h.i.+ before.

However, Onizuka is making hand-rolled sus.h.i.+ and miso soup for tonight's dinner.

This is definitely not what Onizuka's menu typically looks like.

There was a certain reason why it had come to this.

"Ken-chan, Ken-chan, I do not want to shake the fan."

An overly familiar voice calls Onizuka with a little bit spoiled tone.

The girl was a freeloader that was temporary living together with Onizuka.

She is Tiana · Randohauze.

"If you insist on eating hand-rolled sus.h.i.+ by all means then just obediently fan it."

That's right!

The whole episode started with Tiana, who was obviously a foreigner, said on a whim "I want to eat good sus.h.i.+", but then she didn't seem like a foreigner as she started to say "I absolutely must eat sus.h.i.+ with clams and miso soup". This kind of j.a.panese cuisine is more than what most j.a.panese adhere to. Onizuka already experienced one of Tiana's outbursts. With her stubborn personality that left no margin for error, no matter how reluctant his heart was Onizuka could only concede.

In the past, it was unthinkable for Onizuka to let a girl lead him around by the nose.

Although he was gradually accepting his fate of being lead around by the nose, Onizuka couldn't help think it was exasperating.

....Ahhhhhhhh....What the h.e.l.l am I doing? ....

Be that as it may, Onizuka is still somewhat moved.

Even though he hates the ha.s.sle more than anything else.

Now he is even willing to cook for someone other than himself.

"I probably took the wrong medicine."

After making the bitter remark, he once more concentrates on the stainless steel pot on a gas stove.

However the time and effort only required a minimum amount of trouble despite being home cooking.

Do-it-yourself sus.h.i.+ is made as follows. First pour the right amount of sweetened vinegar with the boiling rice. Mix unitl it's well-distributed, then add the supermarket bought ready-made sus.h.i.+, and finally roll it in a layer of nori. As for Onizuka's process for cooking miso soup, next you add the split sand clams to the boiled water, then mixed it with miso soup stock, and at last it is completed.

"Oh, by the way Ken-chan, don't forget to turn off the heat before you add the miso."

"Who do you think you are? Mind your own business, I do not need your meddling."

"Well ... ... This is a little strange to say, but why doesn't this home have a hair dryer?"

Tiana expressed her inner doubts.

Taking advantage of a hair dryer blower feature would reduce the temperature of the rice more efficiently than their fanning.

However, since the day before yesterday the Onizuka's home is without a hairdryer.

The reason is simple ......

"Did you forget? A certain idiot threw it and broke it."

"That is also because some pervert was spying on someone's body."

To Onizuka's displeased voice, Tiana, not to be outdone, immediately retorted with sarcasm.

The now broken hairdryer was cheap anyway, bought when Onizuka first began living in the apartment.

Since it had already been used for a few years, it was nearly at the end of its lifespan.

Then the poor hair dryer was conveniently picked up by Tiana and thrown at Onizuka's forehead. After the hair dryer hit its target, it landed hard on the floor and broke.

Afterwards no matter how many times it is pressed it won't turn on.

"If you cut corners now, the distinctive flavor of the sus.h.i.+ will be greatly affected ... ... Hey! you have to just accept it."

Tiana sighed and continued to fan.

"But having to fan is boring... ... we are s.p.a.ce aliens!"

"Stop with these childish antics! Even if you must play, you shouldn't speak into the spinning electric fan so close!"

"This is the lair of the bored devious lion star people!"

"....Okay, okay, I know you're a visitor. I would love to play along with you. Oh, by the way...keep fanning."

A little joking around. This is the first time in his life cooking miso soup.

After some time ......

"Almost right."

After the appropriate amount of time, Onizuka turned off the fire.

Then put the miso seasoning into the pot, stirring it back and forth with chopsticks.

This should be the right recipe. Just to be sure, Onizuka scooped a small amount into the ladle to taste.

The clam's distinctive sweet flavor suddenly spread throughout his mouth.

Its flavor isn't bad. For a beginner it could be considered quite good.

Onizuka stuck his head out from the kitchen, looking towards the living room.

"The miso soup is finished, you over there-"

Only half of the words had to be said.

"Aha, Perfect timing, I just got here a moment ago."

Tiana responds with an innocent smile.

Onizuka's veins suddenly burst out on his temple.

"...... Hey."

"Is there something wrong, Ken-chan? Your appearance is even more ferocious than normal."

"....Where has the vinegar rice gone? "

On the table was an empty platter.

The rice was missing.

Tiana still looked at ease.

"Eh?" Really! did you ask me? I just got here."

"Don't give me that nonsense! One person ate all the vinegar rice! "

"This one... ...the temperature was suitable for the vinegar rice, you must personally eat it to know. "

Tiana sticks her tongue out.

Of course when Tiana offered to help, Onizuka already considered the risk of her eating the vinegar rice.

Therefore Onizuka's solution was to wait until the last moment to bring out the sus.h.i.+ ingredients.

He never imagine that Tiana couldn't wait for all ingredients to be on the table and was capable of wiping out all of the vinegar rice in one breath.

"I'm sorry. I was careless."

"Give me a break! One person eating an amount which is the equivalent to six bowls of steamed rice, still dares to say that was careless?"

The Onizuka household rice cooker could only cook a maximum of three cups of rice.

However, For Tiana's gluttonous stomach clearly three cups of rice was inadequate.

So Onizuka boiled three cups of rice and made Tiana responsible for fanning it, then again quickly prepared three more cups of rice.

Carefully considering all the time needed before it would all have been ready to eat.

Fortunately the sus.h.i.+ material is safe and sound.

Making more vinegar rice shouldn't take too much more time.

"...... Well, you lost."

"Don't be so angry. I know I'm in the wrong, so I left the best part for Ken-chan. "

"The best part? Where is it? I don't see it?"

The platter on the table was completely empty.

There wasn't a trace of the vinegar rice.

Onizuka looked puzzled.

"Really slow, it's here - this · la ~"

Tiana winks her right eye.

At this moment Onizuka finally understood Tiana's meaning.

If you look closely, on Tiana's right cheek is a grain of rice.

Murderous intent burst forth in his mind.

"......"

Onizuka silently reached out–

"What the? It's really strange that you're actually not mad. Yeah. Well, that's good. There's no need to be modest, Don't hesitate to eat it--Huh?"

....He grabbed Tiana's collar and started dragging her.

Through the opened window that was just repaired yesterday, he threw Tiana out onto the veranda.

He shut and locked the windows, and drew back the curtains.

Locking Tiana out of the house.

"Come on! Ken-chan there's really nothing to be ashamed of ... ..."

Isolated on the veranda, Tiana Randohauze sighed helplessly.

Actually ignoring a grain of rice on a girl's cheek is simply outrageous.

In a way isn't this disrespectful to the farmer?

He should apologize to the farmer.

Frustration aside, Tiana reluctantly took the rice grain off herself, and ate it.

"Fine, now what to do......"

Of course, one way is to break the window, but the window just got fixed and she would also feel somewhat guilty at heart.

-Well, it can be difficult for adolescent boys to act in front of girls.

As a mature woman, I should be lenient and forgive him.

Boil, stir into vinegar after the meal... he probably would have cut it.

Anyway, after he boils some more rice he should cool down a bit. It shouldn't take longer than 30 minutes, I can be patient.

"How should I spend the time waiting?" Tiana looks around the corner.

"Huh? The futon that was hung out during the day was forgotten."

The veranda railing was draped with the futon.

It was the futon that Tiana just bought.

Onizuka usually doesn't have any visitors. Therefore his home isn't equipped to accommodate visitors' needs.

Since Tiana intends to stay there for awhile, she had to purchase a few necessities to be able to live there.

This futon was just used and bought at the store yesterday, and since it was such a beautiful sunny day today, Tiana especially hanged the futon on the porch.

Therefore.....

"Ah, the fluffy baked feeling from the Sun is gone."

Touching the futon draped over the railing, Tiana was unable to hide her disappointment.

However, it can not be helped.

After all, it was all started by Tiana who suddenly said "I want to eat the sus.h.i.+", while she was forcibly pulling Onizuka out shopping.

After returning home from shopping, Tiana was in good mood and anxiously awaited for the sus.h.i.+ to be made. She had simply forgotten all about the futon hanging on the railing.

"...... Hmm, Come to think of it, I also forgot a very important thing ......"

The puzzled Tiana was about to remember something, she tilted her head–

Suddenly a strong wind blew through the balcony.

This is a commonly seen phenomenon for a spring night.

Tiana was lost in her thoughts, the high winds blew around her side ponytail.

"Ah ......"

The wind gust caused the futon to slowly start to slide off the railing.

The whiteness of the futon in front of her eyes was helplessly falling towards the ground as if it were being swallowed up by the darkness of the night.

However......

"-Oh."

Tiana cried out and quickly stretched out her right hand trying to grab it.

The futon stopped falling.

It was floating in midair for a brief time before it was close enough for Tiana's hands to reach.

Instead of using magic to create a strong wind to blow it up, there seemed to be a thread hooked to it that pulled it up.

The futon is attracted to Tiana's hands, as if by telekinesis.

"That was da-dangerous, because Ken-chan especially bought this futon for me."

Tiana said so while gripping the edge of the futon-

-It wasn't simple magic that Tiana used just now.

Rather those who returned from alternate worlds twice, get a specific ability from the alternate dimension that only they are able to have.

This special abilities included all of the four elements, fire, water, earth, and wind, coupled with elements of light and dark to develop "element magic". Combined with the ability to control s.p.a.ce and gravity "physical magic", these returnees have radically different abilities as different as black and white.

This is the concept where a human being gets closer to a higher dimension being.

This differs from the understanding of the common principles of magic. Individuals with these abilities in COc.o.o.n and Crimson Twilight are the strongest simply because of this.

They have an overwhelming advantage.

Just when Tiana pulled back the futon-

An electronic sound suddenly rang out from her pocket.

She took out the cell phone while saying, "Yeah, yeah", Tiana pushes the call b.u.t.ton.

"Yes, Randohauze."

"h.e.l.lo there, Tiana you sound energetic."

"Oh, not you leader, what happened?"

"That... ... What do you think?"

A mischievous smile could be felt from the other end of the phone after that little banter.

The other is the leader of the world's most powerful terrorist group Crimson Twilight - Cecil Endheart.

From her tone it seems she is waiting for Tiana to answer.

Therefore Tiana bowed her head. I wonder what,

"Ah ......!"

Tiana is shocked upon realizing what had happened.

"I'm glad, it seems you finally remembered."

The superior tone of Cecil increased her smile.

"No, no, no, I didn't forget. If I remember correctly, it should be called ... ... Yes, !"

"It's the

. In addition, you can also go to the meeting place designated earlier now, I was unfortunately slow to antic.i.p.ate this."

She explained, it was the day before yesterday that Cecil gave her the

a.s.signment.

Even if we wanted to remedy it, a degree of damage is already done.

"Umm... ... Leader are you angry?"

"Nope, I'm not angry."

"...... Really?"

"Well ... because like I told you the other day, I gave priority to the "other matter"."

Cecil paused for a moment, then continued to talk:

"You are somewhat more impulsive than some, but you're not a selfish person. At most it's just your instincts telling you how to proceed to the next step. Since the "other matter" is more important, you gave priority to something different than what I asked. It means that you thought that this was the right thing to do. If you gave priority to that request, ignoring what is right in front your eyes, even if you ended up succeeding, I wouldn't have been particularly happy. The reason is simple, because this is not what I particularly enjoy about your style."

That being said, Cecil took a breath and slightly lowered her volume.

"-But then again, your methods still need to be addressed, and cannot be brushed aside."

"That's mean ... ..."

"Hmm. The incident seems to be masterwork of Hikami Kyoya. Not only did he outwit the j.a.panese government, he even made a fool of COc.o.o.n. It's not unexpected that the

should already be in his hands."

"The enemy's in fighting may not necessarily be a good thing for the us, but Hikami Kyoya's betrayal seems a little too bold."

"Perhaps Hikami Kyoya believes the

have that kind of value. In any event, we can't miss this great opportunity to ... ... Wait, are you interested?"

"Of course. as long the

are in Hikami Kyoya's hands, it would be nice if they were taken, right?"

Confronted with Tiana's inquiry, Cecil on the other end of the line returns with an "oh" and nod.

"Kaidou is inside JPN Babel. I can ask him to send the school's layout as well as a plan of approach to you."

Motoharu Kaidou is also one of the members of "Crimson Twilight". When the familiar name hit her ear, Tiana suddenly very much wanted to meet up.

"Oh yeah, Kaido-chan is currently a student JPN Babel."

"That's right, but I don't know whether its fortunate or unfortunate that his ident.i.ty has already been exposed. Also he has caught the eye of Nanase Haruka, the Vice President of the Student Council and public morals chairman. At most, he can act as a diversion for the enemy."

Cecil concluded.

"Tiana, I entrust the capturing of the

to you. I'm merely asking for results I won't pay any attention to your methods, so do whatever you want."

"--How should we handle Hikami Kyoya?"

Suddenly in a low quiet voice Tiana threw out a question.

Then an even colder voice answers the question.

"For that guy to even betray COc.o.o.n - who knows what's going to happen? In order to avoid complications, ask him to leave as soon as possible."

".....and never come back?"

"However, he does have some home-court advantage over there. It's not necessary to force him by yourself. After all, the j.a.panese government researched and cultured the

. More then likely there will be some technical problems, plus Hikami Kyoya will unlikely keep them at hand. After obtaining the

, if in pa.s.sing some noise reached COc.o.o.n, they will naturally offer to deal with Hikami Kyoya."

"...... Makes sense."

"What's more, if Kaido is at your side, then even if something really goes wrong, as long as it's against Hikami Kyoya, he can be easily beaten if it's two-to-one. That's if it comes down to it -"

At this point, Cecil's tone slightly changed.

"If you feel abduction of the

is too difficult, withdrawal won't do any harm. If things get out of control with Hikami Kyoya, any commotion can sink him. He put himself into this situation, so he should know that pretty well. It'll be ready for preventive measures. To sum up, if the need to retreat arises then immediately retreat. You must by all means not miss that opportunity."

"I understand. But on the other hand, if circ.u.mstances permit-"

Tiana paused slightly.

"Then I can kill him, right?"

"Its only natural. Those who obstruct our freedom and and the will of the people, should be eradicated."

Even if the other is COc.o.o.n, who is positioned at the peak and supervises the world.

We don't have any reasons to make concessions.

There is no reason to retreat, not a tiny bit.

Only those with absolute faith can grasp the truth.

Any person who obstructs our freedom and the will of the people, will not be forgiven.

Because we are "Crimson Twilight".

If my eyes can't see the truth.

Then who will tell me–from now on, what am I supposed to believe?