The Roman Catholics surrendered easily.
As Orsola had bluffed that she had a 'secret weapon', Kamijou couldn't just go near them just like that. Thus he was only in charge of tying their hands and feet. The entire ship was made of ice, there was nothing that could be used as a rope. In this hopeless situation, Kamijou could only undo the men's belts and use them. Kamijou really hoped that there wouldn't be a second time of doing such a disgusting thing as removing a man's belt.
Once Kamijou confirmed that the men were tied securely, Orsola finally let out a sigh before removing her hand from her sleeve. It looked like she was even more nervous than what she let on. Orsola turned towards Lucia and Angelene and said,
"We're here to save you."
Hearing her voice, both of them backed away.
The nuns seemed to be wondering why Kamijou and Orsola were here.
Kamijou thought, such a radical duo. The short one was Angelene, while the tall one was Lucia… or that should be it. Angelene was blue with shock, her teary eyes staring over, grabbing onto Lucia's waist. In contrast, Lucia's white face was slightly blushing due to defiance against an enemy, looking for weaknesses. She placed a hand on Angelene's shoulder, while Angelene was clinging onto her tightly.
Both of them were wearing a similar type of black habit as Orsola, but with yellow sleeves and skirts attached. Was this the clothing of the workers? In contrast to the short sleeves that Lucia had, which revealed her slender white arms, Angelene's wide sleeves only revealed her fingertips.
"…Here to save us? Do you think we'll believe that nonsense? We're here in this place because we lost to you."
Lucia continued to let out a low voice full of wariness. Angelene, though, was terrified to the point of her teeth chattering, such that Kamijou was more worried about Angelene's condition than Lucia's antagonistic pressure on him.
"We… didn't come here because we want to ride on this ship. Actually, we were being hunted by Roman Catholics for some ridiculous reason, so our primary objective is to leave the ship."
There was no point in hiding it, so Kamijou just revealed everything.
"According to Agnese, you know the key magic spell to get away from this place. They need your help to get away from here. So she wanted us to save you before some weird punishment."
"Sis…Sister Agnese said that…?"
Hearing the familiar name, Angelene's face became a lot more cheery, the frightful look slowly dissipated. She was probably such a lively kid.
However, Lucia tidied her slightly short sleeves, pressing down on Angelene's head from above.
"Sister Angelene, those are the words of an infidel. Can you please consider the possibility that it may be a trap?"
"So…sorry! But…but…those people have just seen Sister Agnese. Maybe she may have…"
"That is why I'm saying that that's only our wish! They know our relationship with Sister Agnese, so they could have lied to bait us!"
While Lucia continued to press down on Angelene from above, Angelene's body became smaller and smaller, and she would sometimes glance at Kamijou once or twice.
(Damn it, I could have just asked Agnese to write a letter.)
How are we going to explain this? Kamijou sighed. In truth, it was just as what they feared; Kamijou and Agnese didn't really have such a good relationship. There was no harder way to do this than to talk it out.
At this moment, while Kamijou was still frustrated, Orsola said,
"Then, why do you think we're here?"
"Eh?"
"Just as you feared, this is the base of the enemy. We came here by beating the guardians. What other benefits do you think we'll gain by risking our lives and coming all the way here besides coming to save you?"
Orsola again glanced at the men that were tied up and chucked into the corner.
"…About that…"
Lucia looked somewhat lost before she could finally utter a word.
But before she could arrange her thoughts, she stopped midway.
"We can't possibly be here just to be enemies with you, right? Even if we don't care about you, we can't even guarantee our own safety. In this situation, why do you think we came all the way here, and even using Agnese's name to save you? I can't think of any other reason."
Orsola glanced at a corner of the room.
The men that Kamijou tied up were over there.
"—"
Hearing Orsola's words, Lucia didn't say anything.
As for the question that got no reply, it was due to an alternative of creating a scenario such that the other party was unable to reply, instead of trying to convince the other party. Deep inside, Kamijou was really amazed; this was really a powerful negotiating tool. They didn't even need to make any concessions or excuses to shut the other party up; this didn't feel like Orsola's usual method in handling this.
She stealthily whispered to Kamijou,
"…My job is to convince those people who do not know about God in the pagan lands."
Maybe relying on this kind of language was her specialty.
Lucia looked like she was searching for something, as she exchanged glances with Kamijou and Orsola. After that, she said,
"What you mean is that without this value of helping others, you wouldn't have bothered with us?...you're really opportunistic, huh?"
"Sister Lucia!"
Angelene moved her wide sleeves as she continued to tug on Lucia's waist. The taller Lucia sighed tiredly,
"I got it. Your words make sense. Also, Sister Angelene, didn't I tell you that it's itchy if you pull the cloth near my thigh?"
Hearing her say this, Kamijou turned away for some reason.
Maybe they were all girls, so they were not really mindful about it?
Seeing Kamijou blush as he turned his head away, Lucia scowled.
"What are you thinking about?"
"No…nothing! Nothing at all!"
Kamijou tried his best to change the topic back.
"No…oh ya, I do want to get away from this weird ship as soon as possible. Basically, how do we do it? The necessary tools were confiscated, right?"
"No…no problem. If it was as easy as confiscating our tools, they wouldn't do this to their fellow Roman Catholics just to prevent this escape spell from being used…"
"Sister Angelene, if you're really serious about this, then I'll reward you with a pat on your head."
After saying this to a sullen-looking Angelene, Lucia casually said,
"Let's make this clear, no matter whether we swim or move on a rescue boat, we can't get away from the security of the 'Queen's Fleet'. And once we're found out, we'll be the target of many huge cannons."
"…Hold on. You two did escape from here, right? Did you fly away from here or something?"
"Even if we do that, we'll be fired at by anti-air cannons…it's too troublesome to explain it. We'll perform it to you. Sister Angelene."
"Yes, Sister Lucia. Ah…that, no matter your intentions, thank…thank you very much! Almost, this spell almost got broken with our minds."
Angelene wanted to say her thanks, but frantically got back to work upon being prompted by Lucia.
Lucia and Angelene's palms were touching each other, but their palms weren't sticking tightly. On looking closely, they seemed to have considered which fingers were to touch each other and which ones weren't.
"Normally, the tool used to cast magic is by a special item that the caster finds suitable to use…"
Orsola said in a somewhat impressed tone,
"But they used the clothing that's used to contain them as a temporary tool. In this spell that has two people's power in it, to cast a different magical power as the original, resulting in a completely different magical effect. For them to actually think of this in this confined situation is…"
This was probably like using a normal and unnoticeable item like a spoon or a shoelace and maximizing its use such that the user could escape from an impenetrable prison.
Just as Kamijou was thinking about this, something happened.
Lucia and Angelene raised their hands that were on each other; it looked like an international dance. After that, their fingertips touched the cupboard that was made of ice that was giving off a white light bulb glow.
Like a pupil in the eye expanding, a large hole 1.5 meters in radius appeared on the translucent cupboard.
"This is one of the spells that uses the ice ship. It can be used to open such a hole, and through this hole, the seawater can be solidified to form an underwater pathway down to the bottom of the sea, and escaping from here."
"W…we cut off a bit of the ice to check the composition. The 'Queen's Fleet' specializes in sea surface defense, but it's hard for it to defend against what's inside the sea…IT HURTS!"
Once Angelene scowled, the huge hole on the cupboard closed up. The palms of both girls separated, as sweat flowed down Angelene's temples.
She shook her head slightly.
"The…binding clothes really added on a counter-spell."
It hurt, Angelene muttered as she pressed against her temple. The gold ring was tightly secured around the nun's headdress.
"This can be solved by destroying part of the binding function. Magic was cast on the sewing and weaving of the cloth, so by following the pattern and destroying them in order, there'll be no problem."
Lucia picked up an ice pen, which did not seem to function anyway, off the table.
Destroy? Kamijou turned to stare at his right hand.
"Then…wouldn't my fist be faster!?"
Just as he said this, a slow impact hit him on the back of his head.
Turning around, Orsola had a hand on her face and a clenched fist as she said,
"Alright then, you don't want those two to be completely naked, right?"
"IT HURTS! Okay, it's my fault! I'm sorry! But why are you so angry—IT HURTS!!!!"
Seeing a smiling Orsola swing a few punches, Lucia and Angelene tilted their heads in confusion. They used the ice pen to poke small holes onto the binding yellow sleeves. In this situation when only the walls and ceiling were glowing and the middle couldn't be seen clearly, this precise work seemed very tough. But Lucia and Angelene were doing it without hesitation.
"An underwater pathway, so is it like a slide? If it's slow, won't the 'Queen's Fleet' catch up?"
"No, ac…actually, it's rather fast. The fastest…is…is about 300km per hour."
"The average speed is 90km per hour, because friction will slow us down."
On hearing this, Kamijou's face turned green. Wouldn't 300km per hour be like the Shinkansen? Would their breathing be alright? He was really mindful about how to reduce the speed. But since Lucia and Angelene were so energetic even after trying this, there shouldn't be any problem. However, he really didn't want to use this spell that used some supernatural theory. He glimpsed at his right hand for a while. It was alright as long as he didn't destroy the path…
Kamijou's eyes were staring at the movement of the nuns' hands.
"Anyway, as long as we have that, we can escape from here immediately. Right?"
"…Actually, it's a lot more complicated."
Angelene replied,
"This underwater pathway is made by seawater, so we need to get to the bottom of the ship."
"We'll make a hole at the bottom, and use the seawater to make a channel pathway. Once we get down, we need to seal up the entrance at the ship. By getting away from the bottom of the ship, it'll be hard for the 'Queen's Fleet' to catch up with us."
It seemed that they couldn't relax though. In contrast to Kamijou, who was sighing, Lucia and Angelene looked rather optimistic.
"Sister Lucia, we must bring Sister Agnese along with us."
"If possible, I hope that it won't be just her, but Sister Agnese remains our top priority. If she doesn't move, the other Sisters won't move. OI, SISTER ANGELENE, YOU CAN'T OPEN A HOLE THERE!"
Lucia frantically grabbed Angelene's hand.
Maybe she was letting her guard down slowly, as her movements were somewhat rough and she was showing more emotions. Though it was a small change, one could feel the expectations hidden in her.
"Whe… when can we meet up with Sister Agnese?"
"It's not so simple. She may be working secretly."
At this moment, Kamijou wondered if he should say something.
He remembered Agnese's words.
"I have a symbolic purpose."
She definitely wanted to go and save Lucia and Angelene herself, but those words sounded very cold, as if she was a bystander.
"Not bad, huh? In order to maintain this comfortable life, I have to make everyone work."
Most likely, these words had been said more out of pity and compassion than care for her comrades. To Lucia and Angelene, who wanted to stand alongside her, these words would hurt them all the more.
"To me who's enjoying the treatment of being like a guest, Sister Lucia and Sister Angelene efforts should be considered a waste."
Kamijou thought, Why has it become like this?
Because Lucia and Angelene were slowly revealing a smile on their faces, this made it even more heartbreaking. Normally, smiling was a good thing. They were smiling because of the goodwill in their hearts, and not out of malice.
"…I'm sorry, but Agnese most likely won't be coming along."
After Kamijou said this, Lucia and Angelene froze.
The emotions that they had been showing up till now was dead.
It was like a sprout, that had emerged from the ground with much difficulty, suddenly being trampled on.
"Wh…why?"
The first one to speak up was Angelene.
"But didn't you meet up with Sister Agnese? She requested you to save us, right? O…erm, where did Sister Agnese go?"
Though Lucia didn't say anything, she was staring at Kamijou with probing eyes as well.
"Agnese…"
Kamijou decided to get straight to the point.
"…She said that to help you, she has to cause a distraction. Right now, the ones in most danger are you two. If someone is to be rescued, it'll be you two. This … 'Queen's Fleet' … right? She went straight to the flagship."
"What…she went to the flagship?"
Unexpectedly, the one making this shocked reply was Lucia.
Either out of anger or anxiety, her white face was now paler.
"QUIT JOKING AROUND!!! WHY DO YOU THINK WE RATHER RISK OUR LIVES AND THINK OF A WAY TO ESCAPE FROM PRISON? IT'S TO PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING! IF YOU'RE SAYING WHO'S IN THE MOST DANGEROUS SITUATION, OF COURSE IT'S SISTER AGNESE!!"
"Wait…"
Kamijou thought of something.
He felt that there was a misunderstanding between him and the two nuns, as both of them looked a lot different from before.
Again, Angelene looked like she was about to cry.
"Don't you know what this… this 'Queen's Fleet' is?"
"This is…isn't it to monitor the fleets around the Adriatic Sea?"
"But Agnese did say that this is an excuse to outsiders."
Orsola frowned, and said,
"…I heard that it's a labor facility to imprison people who did something disadvantageous to the Roman Catholic Church…"
"How is it possible?"
Lucia seemed to be gasping for breath as she said,
"…The 'Queen's Fleet' is an escort fleet meant to protect a large scale magic and ritual center called the 'Queen of the Adriatic Sea', the same name as that of the flagship. We're tasked with manual labor in order to do the preparations. If it was just for surveillance and manual labor, there wouldn't be a need for such a large facility, right?"
"The Adriatic Sea…?"
Kamijou repeated this again.
Indeed, when he had met up with Agnese, it seemed like she did say this.
"This… what the heck. You're saying that this gigantic fleet is just the prelude to that whatever Adriatic Sea? What kind of magic is this ship going to do?"
"We don't know…only the supervisors know the details—the Roman Catholic officials who were assigned to the 'Queen's Fleet'."
"We…we know that the large scale spell 'Queen of the Adriatic Sea' will be activated on the flagship, and the key to activating is another spell called the 'Appointed Time of the Rosary'."
Angelene looked like her fingers were snapped as she said,
"A…and, the 'Appointed Time of the Rosary' requires Sister Agnese to be used."
Hearing this, Kamijou was shocked.
He was wondering whether Angelene wasn't used to speaking in Japanese, and thus he had mistaken her Japanese.
But,
"We don't know the specifics, but she's definitely required. At least her brain would definitely be damaged. In contrast to the 'additional work' that's saddled on us, the scale and methods are of a completely different level. Sister Agnese…may end up being a body with 'only' her heart beating."
Lucia's words were certainly chilling.
A chill flowed up Kamijou's back, straight into the middle of the brain.
Having a symbolic purpose, and under good conditions with a certain level of freedom…what did Agnese mean when she said that?
"However, if you're the intruders, I can make use of that."
Agnese's words appeared in his brain.
He should have noticed it earlier.
He could finally understand the hidden meaning in those words that seemed like some random mumbling to herself.
"If it's me alone, it'll be hard to settle this troublesome problem, but it may be faster if I'm to make use of you."
The troublesome thing wasn't the alert situation. When Agnese went to look for Lucia and Angelene, if she wanted them to escape, those two definitely wouldn't agree.
He should have noticed that earlier.
Regarding the incident involving The Book of the Law, it was definitely hard to say that what Agnese did to Kamijou and Orsola was of goodwill. But even if it was her, she had the authority to think for others.
To Lucia and Angelene, the 'Queen's Fleet' was the prelude to the 'Queen of the Adriatic Sea'.
The key to activating this large scale spell was Agnese. If she was to escape with Lucia and Angelene, the pursuers would come after them.
"The 'Queen's Fleet' has a lot of things to do."
Indeed, Agnese did say this before.
"Only the higher ups know about the specifics."
If this was true, when she decided to go to the flagship, had she really intended on causing a distraction? I gave up on everything just to help her comrades.
Kamijou thought, how was she feeling that time?
"You just said that we have to think of plan during this time… aren't you captured as well? Then come and escape with us."
In this critical situation, what were her feelings when she heard those words?
Also,
Even so, she had continued to hide her emotions. When she led Kamijou and Orsola to Lucia and Angelene, what was she feeling?
"Is this an appropriate line for a man who challenged 250 nuns?"
The feeling hidden in this casual tone.
Understanding the wish that Agnese couldn't say, Kamijou was at a loss as he stood around.
Beside the ear of this useless boy.
Clang!! An explosive sound of ice being blasted could be heard.
The ice wall seemed to have been broken from outside. The wall that was far away from Kamijou and company dropped like a raindrop. Like broken glass and wreckage, the remains of the ice wall flew away at a terrifying speed above Kamijou and the rest, who were lying down on the floor.
"…It hurts!?"
The reason why Kamijou would say this wasn't because he fell down, but because a sharp pain could be felt in his ears.
"What going on now…!!"
The sound seemed like it came from afar, as if he was wearing earmuffs while listening to others.
"An…attack!? From where…!?"
Angelene said in a trembling voice. She was under the protection of Lucia, who had leaped over to save her. Lucia gave a suspicious look as well, and this wasn't without reason, as this ship was surrounded by the same ships. Was it even possible for an attack to come from outside?
Orsola, who was lying on the floor as well, lifted her head up in realization.
"Don't tell me…"
She was looking at the other side of the broken wall—the night scene 5 stories tall.
"…This is friendly fire from the other ships!!"
NO WAY!? Kamijou wanted to shout.
"But this is their ship, right?"
"No."
Lucia seemed to be in pain as she said,
"The material of the fleet is seawater. As long as the Adriatic Sea doesn't dry, no matter how dry it is, they'll have no problem in repairing and building this ship!!"
On the other side of the destroyed wall, a flash could be seen.
It was the flash of a large number of cannons being fired at them.
It was different from an ordinary cannon shot. The cannon shots flew over like small waves.
"—!?"
The sonic boom reached instantly, as if it was thunder.
Kamijou couldn't take action, the numerous cannon shots not only destroyed the room, they destroyed the entire ship. The dim glow of the cracked wall vanished, and the tied men near the wall dropped down. Just as Kamijou wanted to extend his hand out to save them, the ice shrapnel that was created by the destruction of the cannons hit him in his temple. With this hit, the strength in his limbs was lost.
As this was a firing within the fleet, the ships around Kamijou and company were firing cannons at them without hesitation. The mast was destroyed, the cabins were destroyed, but on the outside of the destroyed wall, one could see that the other ships were freezing the seawater to repair the ship.
Except this one.
The auto-regeneration function seemed to have ceased, as the ship tilted heavily.
Grabbing the ice floor with all her might, Orsola said,
"It hurts…the cannons' structure seem to be based on the legend of St. Barbara…"
"Eh!! That means it's magic. Then I can use my right hand!!"
"You can't possibly block all the cannon shots that are aimed at this ship!!"
A larger sound from an explosion could be heard, as if it was trying to block off all the other sounds. The sound of the colliding cannon shots struck like rumbling thunder. Though Kamijou was on the floor, the shockwave from below caused him to float him up. The entire ship was tilted sideways because of the continuous cannon fire. The pillar supporting the entire room seemed to have shattered.
As the vision was tilting together with the walls and floor, SWOOSH!! The sound of gravel colliding could be heard. It was the sound of things being dropped into the water.
They were sinking.
As Kamijou sensed this, the ice ship was blasted into smithereens like a small model being smashed by a hammer.