Part 5
The world could be divided into a few different groups.
Depending on the basis one used to divide things up, the coloration of the world map would change, but the following was one of the possible divisions.
There was the magic side which was an aggregation of the occult, mysterious, and miraculous things that had affected the world in various ways since ancient times.
There was the science side which had existed since ancient times but had only started to have its presence known in recent times when it began rapidly repainting the common knowledge of the world.
And there was a third side that was greatly affected by the other two but was not strongly aware of their existences. That was the normal side.
Until very recently, it could have been described as peaceful or quiet, but that had become more difficult due to World War III.
But while that war had left many scars behind, normal people had a strength that let them return to normal lives.
"My husband is away from home for his job, and my daughter is living in a dorm. I don't like how empty the house seems, but it is nice not having to worry about when they'll be getting back," said a woman named Misaka Misuzu.
She was a wife and a mother of one child, but she was also a college student. After acquiring the abilities and rhythm required to function as a housewife, Misuzu had breached the exam barrier and headed back to the life of a student.
It was a November night, but the indoor pool of the fitness club was kept at a nice temperature.
Another woman was immersed in the water next to her.
"My husband has so many trips that it seems like he never actually settles down in the house, and that's kind of scary."
She was Kamijou Shiina. By coincidence, she was also the mother of a single child and the wife of a husband who was away for his job.
Incidentally, their children were in Academy City giving off sparks. Their husbands were not from the shounen manga-like science side or magic side. Instead, they were from a different kind of "other side", like something from a business magazine where they took part in a money game where they did not know who the other was. However, the wives who looked younger than their actual ages had nothing to do with that. What was important for them was to float in the water and carry out their anti-aging aerobic exercises.
Misuzu glanced down at the wristband-shaped equipment she had borrowed from the fitness club to see if she had reached her target level of exercise.
"But why did you all of a sudden come here today? You hadn't been coming for a while now…"
"Yes, yes. Well, I was worried about something or rather… (Really, Touma-san suddenly went missing, and then I saw him at the edge of a report from Russia. And then when I asked Academy City about it, they wouldn't give me a straight answer.) …and so I didn't really have the energy to spare for any hobbies."
Part of what she had said had been spoken quietly and quickly, so Misuzu had been unable to catch it, but she just put on a very Japanese vague smile in response.
Meanwhile, some kind of switch seemed to have gotten flipped within Shiina, and she continued to speak to herself.
"(And then today, Academy City suddenly contacts me to tell me he's returned. And when I called them again to check on the situation, they wouldn't tell me anything at all. Really, what is going on? This is because of Touya-san's blood in his veins, isn't it? Heh heh heh. Oh, dear. I think I might end up throwing a Blu-ray player at Touma-san as well. Heh heh heh heh heh.)"
Misuzu saw a frightening shadow start to appear behind that smiling figure, and she backed away.
There were fathers and children who had been thrust into the center of a fight that would decide the fate of the world without anyone knowing, but the completely normal people who held those people's reins may have been a hidden element that could easily influence the history of mankind.
Part 6
"Fiamma of the Right."
After a short break, Birdway started speaking again.
After everyone was focused on her again, she continued.
"He was the leader of God's Right Seat, the true dark side of the Roman Catholic Church, but he was a heretic. Unlike the other members, he alone did not take actions within the category of Christianity."
Kamijou's expression stiffened slightly.
But there was something other than pure hostility in that expression.
"However, his strength was real. In the beginning, he had various restrictions in place, but he managed to rid himself of them during the confusion of the coup d'etat in England. After that, almost no one could stand up to him. Many different forces played a part in World War III such as Academy City, the Anglican Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Russian Orthodox Church, but Fiamma of the Right held such power that he could easily be added to that list."
It was not an issue of nation vs. nation.
Those groups were alliances of multiple nations. And Fiamma of the Right's name could be added alongside them.
Kamijou Touma recalled just how terrifying he had been.
Accelerator, the #1, imagined just how terrifying he must have been.
Hamazura Shiage, a mere thug, was not even able to imagine how terrifying he must have been.
"Basically, if Fiamma of the Right had been able to release 100% of the special power stored within his body, the world would have ended. That was why he controlled the Roman Catholic Church that feared him, joined forces with the Russian Orthodox Church, and fought Academy City and the Anglican Church… It was all for the sake of preparing the conditions needed to release the power that resided in his right arm. That is the truth behind World War III."
A war that was brought about for the sake of a single right arm.
Accelerator and Hamazura Shiage fell silent while staring into the world of magic and seeing a massive supernatural power that was hidden behind a global war.
"What was this Fiamma bastard trying to do?" Hamazura finally asked.
"That is quite simple," Birdway responded bluntly.
That war had been nothing more than one of the pieces he was using.
Birdway readily explained what was in the mind of the despot who had seen it that way.
"He wanted to correct the inequalities in the world. He wanted to stop a tragedy that had occurred due to multiple coincidences that each had such low odds of happening that they could easily be called miracles. He wanted to bring peace to the world. He wanted to make everyone happy. …His ideas themselves were not too unusual."
"What do those things have to do with that war at all? He's the one that started it, right?"
"For Fiamma, all that mattered was the completion of his right arm. He truly believed that it had enough power to save the entire world because, in a certain way, it truly was possible. …He may have become twisted in the fact that he had a power that could clearly save the world. Even though there may have been other methods of saving the world, Fiamma could no longer see any but his own."
Professional bakers might think that an oven was necessary to make bread.
But it could actually be made in a rice cooker or a microwave oven. You had to go through some special procedures and it took some effort to make the specialized tools, but an oven was not absolutely necessary. But the professionals who had a thorough knowledge of the normal method would become unable to free themselves of their preconceptions and preconceived notions.
Fiamma of the Right had held the power to save the world as if it were normal ever since he had been born, so to him, that knowledge was on the same level as the knowledge that humans walked on two feet.
"It's a shame he's gone, really," Birdway commented. "For one, because of Fiamma himself, but more importantly because studying him may have been useful in analyzing that which is sleeping in an even deeper place, but… well, complaining about someone who's gone won't help anything."
"The war is over. The world did not change. We're still in this world of inequalities, and we have the freedom to win or lose to equality. …I take it Fiamma of the Right's plan was not realized in the end," Hamazura asked as if he were checking on things one by one.
Birdway smiled thinly.
"Yet peace did not come to the world like in some cheap RPG."
"?"
"That war was for the purpose of bringing power back to Fiamma of the Right's right arm, but he dragged his surroundings into it a little too much. His side alone was the Roman Catholic Church, the Russian Orthodox Church… and I guess the Russian army as a more normal military force. The enemy side was the Anglican Church and the troops of the science side with Academy City at the center. Those were the forces that came into direct conflict. If you added in the people who were caught up in it indirectly, you would probably find that the people who were completely unaffected by the war are in the minority. That holds true for the magic side, the science side, and even the normal people who are not a part of either."
"Just having Fiamma alone come to an understanding was not enough for everyone around him to sheathe their swords…" Kamijou said. "Very few people understood his objective. Even fewer agreed with him. And it did not really matter what Fiamma was after. Those helping Fiamma, those opposing him, those with no relation to him… everyone who took part in that war was doing so in order to carry out their own goals. So, as long as their goals have not been accomplished, some of them found that the war ending would be a problem."
Those who denied the end of the war.
Those who denied the new world.
Those who did not care if they caused a global tragedy as long as they could accomplish their own goals.
"You're saying that's…?"
"Yes, that is who 'they' are," Birdway said with a smile. "We've finally gotten to the true topic at hand. World War III brought about 'them'. In the dark places of the world, 'they' wield a power that most people do not understand."
Part 7
The hot water bottle girl Fremea stirred.
She had been sleeping while sitting in Hamazura's lap with her lower body underneath the kotatsu, but she seemed to have woken up when Hamazura tried to move in order to head out to a nearby convenience store.
Fremea must have sensed that Hamazura was going to go out, because she grabbed his clothes with her small hand.
"Nyaaa…"
"I don't know if you're just half-asleep or what, but I can't understand you unless you use your abilities in the field of language to their fullest."
"Nothing to do… Bored… Stay here, Hamazura…"
"When you stay here for too long, my legs go to sleep."
"My spot."
Fremea seemed to have no intention of moving.
Suddenly, Hamazura heard some kind of commotion coming from the front door of the dorm.
"Mh? I think I just heard Hamazura's voice from in here," said a girl's voice.
And then someone turned the doorknob without even bothering to ring the doorbell despite it being a stranger's dorm.
"Hamazura, are you he—"
Takitsubo Rikou, a girl in a pink track suit, trailed off and froze in place.
She had seen it.
Her boyfriend, Hamazura Shiage, had some strange little blonde girl sitting on his lap. That special position would make one the envy of the world's gentlemen, but if you actually carried it out with someone you were meeting for the first time, you would definitely be violating various laws and regulations. Seeing that situation, Takitsubo's sleepy eyes opened wide.
She then started crushing the front door's doorknob in her grip with an expressionless face.
"…Hamazura, what are you doing…?"
"There's something wrong with those creaking and cracking sound effects!! I didn't think you were this kind of character!! This isn't Mugino in that special makeup again, is it!?"
He said that, but Takitsubo Rikou was a valorous girl who had wandered through Academy City's darkness while the Body Crystal had been eating away at her. She may have just not normally brought her full strength to the surface or she may have never had a chance to use it given the various side effects, so her strength may not have actually been lower than average.
"You suddenly disappeared during the day, and then I couldn't contact you, and I spent so much time searching for you, and then I find you relaxing in some random room, and you're even in a kotatsu flirting with a girl that has a familiar-looking face…"
"Eh? This doesn't count as cheating, right!? This age difference is just out of the question!! And just so you know, I'm all about the big ones, so don't worry, Takitsubo!!"
"…Kinuhata always says you're super Hamazura-y, but I'm a little disappointed that it's at the level of a wild beast…"
Fremea had just been about to fall into the world of dreams, so she started speaking in order to quiet Takitsubo despite not knowing what they were talking about.
"Fgyaah. Don't say bad things about Hamazura. In the first place he may look hopeless, but he's the person who risked his life and saved me when it came down to it. …Mumble mumble…"
Hearing that, Takitsubo expressionlessly bent the side of the door she was holding.
"No one knows that better than me!!"
"Wait, Takitsubo!! She's just a kid!!" Hamazura frantically called out to his girlfriend who seemed like she was about to rip the metal door out and repeatedly beat them with it.
Then new assassins arrived.
Kinuhata Saiai and Mugino Shizuri stepped into the room as if they were pushing Takitsubo out of the way.
"Tch!! Takitsubo-san super contacted him first!! But if I'm not last, I can still avoid being a humiliating bunny!!"
"You fool!! That kind of idiosyncrasy is your department, right, Kinuhata!?"
As the two of them yelled back and forth, they charged toward Hamazura. It seemed that whoever touched him first would be the winner.
From their current positions, it looked like Kinuhata would be faster by just a bit, but…
"My legs are longer!!"
Mugino's spear-like kick mercilessly struck Hamazura's face.
"Bwah!?"
Mugino ignored her target's ridiculous shout and made a triumphant pose.
"Okay!! Punishment avoided!!"
"You have to be kidding me… This humiliation that's on a level where it'll remain in the history books has super fallen to me!?"
Mugino and Kinuhata started shouting at each other again, seemingly not noticing Fremea who was still sitting on Hamazura's lap. Most likely, their spirits would drop by quite a bit in a few dozen seconds.
Before that could happen, Takitsubo asked a question with a puzzled expression.
"Huh…? You had to touch him?"
Mugino and Kinuhata both spun around.
It was clear who was going to have to undergo the punishment.
Part 8
And the problematic time came.
Probably because Hamazura had moved quite a bit when he received that kick to the face, Fremea Seivelun awoke from sleeping on his lap.
When her gaze met Mugino's, Mugino instinctively took a step backwards.
After all, a little girl who looked exactly like Frenda was looking at her!!
"A ghost!? Has Academy City's analysis of the human body entered that realm!?"
"She sure is making herself look super young for a dead girl!! …Hm? By any super chance, is this the girl that #1 mentioned…?"
"…Nyah…"
Fremea must have still been half-asleep, because she rubbed at her eyes.
Hamazura pressed up against his nose and said, "…Ow ow ow ow. Th-that's right. Her name is Fremea Seivelun. It seems she's Frenda's little sister."
Fremea seemed to notice that her name had been spoken, so she looked around with vacant eyes.
Hamazura felt that he had to introduce the others to Fremea now that he had introduced her to them.
"Oh, Fremea. This person is named Mugino Shizuri, and she…"
After getting that far, a question came to his mind.
How was he supposed to explain it?
An unpleasant sweat started pouring from his back.
He couldn't exactly say that she was the lady who got pissed and chopped her sister in half. But he also felt that it was too much to just gloss it over altogether and say Mugino was a wonderful partner for Fremea since they had both escaped from the darkness of Academy City.
While Hamazura remained frozen in place, Mugino casually spoke.
"I'm the girl who killed your sister. Nice to meet you."
"Heeeeeeyyyyy!!" Hamazura yelled out, and moved Fremea from his lap and to the side.
He then tried to grab Mugino's arm and move her to the edge of the room, but she instead got him into a joint lock. As he yelled in pain, he somehow managed to get a bit away from Fremea.
It seemed that Fremea had still been half-asleep and hadn't understood what Mugino had said.
"…What the hell are you saying, Mugino-san!? That's too fast!! You can't just come out to her that fast!! Why did you become so frank and open all of a sudden!?"
"I came clean."
"That isn't exactly something to be proud of here!! Oh, no. Fremea's looking this way. I'll go say something to fool her, so just don't make this situation any more complicated than it already is!!"
With vacant eyes, Fremea started chewing on a three-dimensional puzzle, and Hamazura had to tell her that it wasn't an apple. Mugino started watching them, but then she realized that a new form had entered the room.
It was Accelerator who had returned from the convenience store with a can of coffee.
"#1, huh?"
"I have no interest in those good-mannered rankings. Actually, why the hell are you even here?"
If it was between normal people, the conversation may have simply disappeared amongst the mundane noises of the city, but with those two, it was different. Just a few words from them sliced through the atmosphere of that room.
Mugino continued without really changing her expression.
"I happened to run into a relative of a girl I killed a while back. I told her about it, but it doesn't look like it got across to her."
"…"
"Since I've been deeply involved with the darkness, the odds of Anti-Skill arresting me or being put on trial are more or less zero. …As such, I felt that this was the only way for me to make up for my crime."
"If you want to just whitewash over it like that, fine. But if doing so drags another person into the darkness, you have your priorities backwards."
"Then I'll make sure that doesn't happen. And I'll use whatever means it takes. I have no intention to rely solely on what is good."
That was the extent of the conversation.
#1 and #4. That single-room dorm was not exactly big, but they clearly took different paths.
Part 9
In order to allow things to move ahead smoothly, Hamazura decided to have the members of Item kill some time outside.
As such, he pushed their backs while begging them to leave.
"Get out! Just get out! The bunny? I'll make sure to see that. You can count on it!! I won't let that slide. In fact, I'll have all of you be bunnies!!"
As a result, they all scattered off with truly displeased looks on their faces (including his supposed girlfriend Takitsubo).
When Hamazura returned to the kotatsu, Birdway got to the core of the topic at hand.
It began with a question from Accelerator.
"So, what exactly are 'they'?"
Everything they had discussed up until then was collected there.
In order to explain it, a lot of preliminary explanations had been necessary.
"Academy City, the Anglican Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Russian Orthodox Church, and all the other forces that got wrapped up in that conflict were merely groups that had a part in that war. As an organization that was created due to World War III, 'they' are a different type altogether."
Kamijou and Hamazura listened to Accelerator's words.
"Where did 'they' come from?"
And then the #1 asked another simple question:
"Actually, what is 'their' name?"
"Well," Birdway said, and paused for a second before continuing. "Let me warn you first. Most likely, the answer as to what 'they' had to do with World War III will probably betray your expectations."
"Are you still planning on evading my question?"
"No, I won't do that. It's just that a lot of preparations are needed before we get to the backbone of the matter. However, that would be rather painful for you, so let's leave the backbone aside for now and just start with 'their' name."
"…"
"'Their' name is exceedingly simple as it denotes what 'they' are in this world. If it was too difficult to understand and didn't convey anything to anyone, it would be meaningless," said Birdway smoothly. "Yes. 'Their' name is…"