Campione! Vol 4 Chapter 6
Chapter 6 - Knights Oath
Part 1
Even after hearing that name, G.o.dou could make neither heads nor tails of
it.
I totally have no idea, what kind of G.o.d that is."
"That is not surprising. This is a name that even the Europeans have
forgotten, an ancient name of the G.o.d. As a j.a.panese, it would be
shocking if you did."
Liliana explained.
It had been an hour since they separated from Athena, and G.o.dou who
had been under the effects of the drug, walking unsteadily, had since been
brought back to the guest room in Dianas house, and was lying on the
bed.
And then began Lilianas lecture.
"This divinity, in modern times, is lesser known, but with regards to history,
it bears quite an important meaning. He is Sol Invictus, known as
Heliogabalus, reigning over the Roman Empire."
"Eh? Not Greece?"
Though he had previously heard that Perseus originated as a hero from
the east, why was the Roman Empire suddenly mentioned? Liliana
continued explaining to G.o.dou, who was totally confused.
"Isnt Apollo the sun G.o.d of Rome? If its Greece, shouldnt it be Apollo..."
"No, thats not the case. Indeed, Jupiter and Neptune were both ancient
Roman G.o.ds too, however - there were no records of similar sun G.o.ds
being conquered in the ancient times. Using modern terms, it would have
been known as the start of a new religion."
"Youre saying a new religion started in the Roman Empire?"
"Thats correct. The religious ideologies of the Romans, to put it nicely,
were tolerant, to put it in a not-so-nice manner, would be to say that it was
messy. Compared to the indigenous G.o.ds of Rome, the new religions that
came out of nowhere were more popular with the people... Regardless,
their G.o.ds were a combination of the original and the Greek."
"In other words, Rome was a country which housed countless G.o.ds."
Thinking back, in some countries, Jupiter was replaced by Zeus, and
Neptune by Poseidon.
It was not all that different from the religions in j.a.pan that G.o.dou knew of.
"I feel that that way of thinking is not wrong, if we consider the one who
has appeared before us, Perseus. The pioneer of Italy, with his origins of
his birth in ancient Rome, all these point towards the answer of the mystery
- and with that, how is it?"
Liliana asked him again, and G.o.dou looked at his right hand.
The golden [Sword] that rends the G.o.ds, he reaffirmed whether he could
use that trump card - he could feel nothing.
"Not yet. With what you have already told me, its still insufficient to use the
[Sword]..."
"T, that had been within my expectations. As I thought, with merely the
conclusion through such a concise teaching method is impossible, isnt it."
We probably have to use the usual method, dont we?
G.o.dous thoughts drifted towards that direction, and the silver-haired knight
promptly said,
"Understanding a G.o.ds nature, is quite similar to studying history, as you
are only studying a certain country during a certain time period, which is
actually quite meaningless. If you do not study all the history leading up to
that point in history, but rather only the specific portions, you will not be
able to obtain the deepest understanding."
I see your point. G.o.dou nodded.
She had said it like a history teacher, but it was convincing.
"Which is why I thought that, if you want to understand the origins of the
divinity, you have to at least know the basic knowledge.... Ill do a brief
summary first, then well return back to the main topic."
If it were Erica, shell probably say something like, What a pain, that
method. Since theres such a fun method, lets do that instead.
G.o.dou was slightly touched by Lilianas diligence. What a brilliantly shining
heart.
"Then, lets begin with the history of the Indo-Europeans? After becoming
an ethnicity in a corner of Caucasus, they soon began to move towards the
east... to the plains of India and Iran. In the process, the very first myth of
the Indo-Europeans was born from within their mouths."
"Hold on a second.... this is your concise summary?"
From the calendar, that was something that had happened around 3000 to
2000 BC...
"After that, what kind of episode^^^ are you going to continue with, may I
ask?"
"Let me think. After that would be when the Indo-European ethnicity were
moving to the east, they separated at India and Iran. Then, with the
Semites, they created the Ugaritic mythology, and also the ancient
European civilizations that created gigantic stone structures, the divinities
that they - "
"The scope of your lesson is too long! Too long, definitely too long!"
If there were weekly lectures of two hours, it would at least take two years
to finish teaching.
Liliana reb.u.t.ted, looking distressed,
"W, we dont have a choice! You have to first understand that history, and
then about the East Asian countries and Greece, followed by the Roman
Empire, and finally you would be able to gain a perfect understanding!"
Is that the case? No wonder Erica had said, what a pain all the time.
At this rate, he would have to suggest using that. Every time his eyes
made contact with Lilianas, he considered that possibility.
This cant go on, neither of us can even look at the others face. Carrying
on in this situation is really painful.
Ultimately, the both of them fell into silence. While thinking hard in their
minds, they occasionally glanced at each other. Every time their eyes met,
they would become unbearably embarra.s.sed.
Nevertheless, it was at this time when the final blow had landed.
"Kusanagi-sama, Liliana-sama - just earlier, we had received a message
from Perseus. Please come with me."
The door of the guest room opened, and came the voice of the maid Karen
Jankulovski.
A rare serious expression could be seen on that little devils face.
At the entrance of Dianas house, it seems that a medal that was pierced
with an arrow had been left there.
And that medal was now on the kitchen table.
It was made of white stone. On its surface, the shape of a wings spread,
flying bird was carved. Seeing that, Liliana tensed up.
"The mark of the one who reigns over the sun in the sky. Without a doubt,
this medal is the symbol of Perseus."
"At the same time, it symbolizes the icon of Ahura Mazda, his secret was
exactly the same as what Lily had sensed...."
The two witches, Liliana and Diana, were murmuring to themselves.
Then, Karen who had been waiting at the side lowered her head, and
made a request to G.o.dou.
"Kusanagi-sama, please go ahead and touch it. Doing that, you will be able
to hear the words of Perseus... When I had picked it up earlier, it gave me
quite the shock."
"Ah, ok."
G.o.dou reached out his hand, testing it with his touch.
At that moment, the voice of that handsome man could be heard from the
white stone medal.
"Seems youve fully recovered, G.o.dslayer! I too, have also had a full
recovery. Then, its about time for us to settle our duel. I will strike you
down, and then Athena after that. Are you prepared?"
If I told you to wait, how long do you think you could give me?"
What method should I use to answer him?
He was at a loss of what he should have said, hence he had just blurted
out whatever he had thought of.
"A warrior is always on the battlefield. Instantly rejecting the challenge, I
cannot admire your imprudence. However, its fine... The moon tonight is
beautiful. I shall wait while savoring the sight of the moon. Once you have
prepared, come to the place where we had fought last night!"
Looks like there was not going to be a problem.
Perseus sounded as though he wanted to draw in as large an audience as
possible to watch their duel, he had to think of a way to change the venue -
while G.o.dou was thinking, Perseus continued,
"Then, I shall await your arrival Ah, one more thing. I do hope you arrive
early. If I have finished my moon-gazing, I will head straight for your
location, but as I thought, the place of a duel, if it is not the one both
parties have agreed upon, it just wont feel right. I bid you farewell, for
now."
His voice could no longer be heard.
No matter what they tried, there were no replies. G.o.dou sighed deeply,
theres no way to postpone it further. What should I do? How can I win
against that mighty hero?
While G.o.dou was ransacking his brain over this, Diana said,
"Kusanagi-sama, you do not seem sufficiently prepared.... I have a request
to ask of you, would you please go outside for a while? Between us girls,
we have a matter of extreme importance to discuss."
Being asked that by the oldest (of them) landlord, G.o.dou complied.
While worrying about what to do, the lost G.o.dou left, sighing.
- Really, what should I do?
Part 2
"Were running out of time, shall we begin the meeting? What methods
should we use to allow Kusanagi-sama to achieve victory, lets start the
meeting to decide that!"
"I have a suggestion. If Liliana-sama uses [Instruction], then everything will
be resolved."
"That, is actually quite a good idea. Lily, is it ok if we leave that to you?"
"T, theres no way I can agree with that!"
Of the three persons remaining in the dining room, Diana had started off
with the pending problem and Karen had replied with a simple and concise
solution, and with that it felt like the discussion had ended.
And that was when Liliana started shouting like she was in her death
throes.
"I, with Kusanagi G.o.dou, ki-kissing and applying magic through it, its
unthinkable! Forget it, I cannot approve of that!"
"Earlier in the day, didnt you say that you will be helping him to the best of
your ability?"
"L, let me make this clear first. That was referring to anything besides
kissing! T, that.... how should I phrase it, thats not something a maiden
should be doing, I think. I... and Kusanagi G.o.dou, arent anything like
boyfriend and girlfriend, or lovers, we dont have such a relationship..."
Her face was fiery hot, she did not have any idea what she was saying,
and her head was in a mess, but Liliana did not forget to retort.
"Furthermore, there are two other witches here, it doesnt have to be me!"
"I am unable to use [Instruction], hence you will have to count me out."
"Although I can use it, but I think itll be better if Lily does it, because the
one Athena had granted inspiration to was Lily after all. Having knowledge
directly gained from that inspiration, a greater depth of understanding than
others, wouldnt it be better to be pa.s.sing on that knowledge to
Kusanagi-sama?"
"Su, suitable mages from other places can be brought here, and then use
[Instruction] on him..."
Even Liliana herself knew that she was being unreasonable, and did not
finish her sentence.
What reasons did the three witches have for staying by Kusanagi G.o.dous
side? In a fight against a G.o.d, no matter how many mages they were, they
would not be of any help.
Unless they were mages of the highest rank, they would only be dragging
the Campione down.
Hence, even if they knew that the G.o.d and the King were fighting, they
would not come. A convention of the magical world, hence the mages that
lived near Naples did not come.
And another thing to be mentioned was the special characteristics of
Verethragnas ten forms.
There were conditions to be met in order to activate them, which were best
kept secret.
Diana and Karen, they could be forced not to speak by Lilianas authority,
but anyone else... He was a reckless person, hence they had to stay and
help no matter what.
"Liliana-sama, please hear me out. I feel that you are making an
unnecessary resistance."
To the Liliana who was repeatedly soliloquizing to herself, the sound of
Karens voice broke her out of her trance.
"Now, all thats left is for you to say, Ill do it. If you still insist on not doing
so, besides showing everyone that you cannot read the atmosphere, you
will also be thought of as an obsolete woman..."
"Indeed, thats right - in the first place, Lily, why are you so against it?"
The youngest maid had finished her attack, then pa.s.sing the baton to
Diana.
"I feel that Kusanagi-sama, whether it is his personality or appearance,
hes not bad, as a man. Only just one kiss with him wouldnt be a problem,
dont you agree? Hmm?"
"Theres a problem! A big problem!"
Liliana resisted in a loud voice against tine senior witcli wlio was liappily
discussing lier personal matters.
"It is nothing much, a kiss. If you pretend that you are giving a goodnight
kiss to your father-sama, and quickly get it over with, it would be fine."
"I agree. Or pretending to be having some skinship with your boyfriend.
That would be ok too."
"Thats why, I cant do it! I, if I have to give up my first kiss, it has to be to
my destined partner in love, that I have decided!"
Liliana protested vigorously and loudly.
She had only just finished saying that when she realized her folly, and
wanted to cover her face in regret.
Once, she had revealed the secret in her heart to Erica, and the usually
graceful and composed Erica, had immediately burst out in roaring
laughter.
[.... T, that was too much, Lily. If anyone saw me laughing like this, my
rating as a lady will plunge for sure! B, but youre really, a maiden thats
extinct in modern times, as I thought!]
Erica had said something along those lines, what kind of response would
these two have?
Liliana anxiously awaited their response, Diana and Karen did not say a
single word, merely silently looking at her - they were not smiling?
Slight surprise could be seen on their face, and then their faces had an
expression that seemed to say, Aahh, as I thought.
Why? She felt sad for herself, who had admitted this with her very own
mouth, but Liliana Kranjcar felt that she was usually seen by others as a
rough but heroic female knight, so why did the two of them have such an
expression - ?
"U, umm, that... I used to think that that would be nice, but actually, I didnt
really mean it that seriously...."
It was clear to anyone that this was an attempt to cover it up, finding
excuses, causing her to become even more nervous.
I see. I understand now, Lily! In that case, let me divine the
compatibility between you and Kusanagi-sama!"
"N, no need to go that far."
Liliana refused Diana who had suddenly suggested that.
This witch whose age she refused to tell, seemed to have been a love
fortune teller as a side occupation, and had told every couple that they
were perfectly compatible, and that they would definitely obtain happiness.
Who would believe this kind of nonsensical fortune telling?
"Destiny, is it..."
Even Karen was muttering to herself with a serious expression.
Not her usual little devil expression, but the opposite, giving off a
foreboding omen. No one knew what she was scheming then.
"Liliana-sama, what is the ideal scenario of your destined love?"
"I, if you ask me that suddenly, I dont know how I should answer either....
anyway, if you really want me to say it, it would be a situation where
everything is out to prevent the relationship between them, but no matter
their distance, no matter how many times, the powerful bond of their love
would bring the two of them back together."
Liliana hesitantly answered the sudden question.
Because these were the usual materials used for her fantasies, she could
recite it with ease.
"Then, what about love between people of different backgrounds? Like the
love between a King and a knight, for example."
".... T, thats not very popular nowadays, you cant say that its destined."
This topic, was it a metaphor for Kusanagi G.o.dou and her relationship?
I wont be falling for it, Liliana calmly said to herself - while in a corner of
her mind, there was an intense thought of crossing social position and
traditions, considering that cla.s.sic relationship that struck her emotionally.
"A young man, rumored to have had his way with many women, had his
heart stolen by a simple girl-next-door in a chance encounter, and thus
changed his entire lifestyle for her.... what do you think about this
scenario?"
"Its too convenient to be true. Such words from that kind of playboy, who
could possibly believe them!"
Liliana shouted, rejecting that scenario instantly.
- With all of the women before you, everything that Ive had with them was
never real. Besides you, I need no other.
With an expression so serious that it was scary, the scenario and the
youthful face which said that to her in her imagination, why was he an
Asian, and why did he look so much like that boy she had been with for
these two days?
"The two of them, while escaping danger together, helping each other,
slowly becoming friends that do not dislike each other, and unwittingly
became so close that no other person could wedge in between them, what
about this scenario....?"
"That is merely the suspension bridge effect! Because of the unusual
circ.u.mstances, they lost their ability to make cool-headed decisions!"
In the mind of Liliana who was still strongly resisting, appeared the memory
of the crises both yesterday and that day.
The two of them, against a G.o.d, escaping the predicament...
She who was a knight had worried for him, and had wanted to protect him.
What about him? He should know how to take care of himself, shouldnt
he? Though the both of them were worried for each other in different ways,
but with time, they would be able to solve all problems... and it felt like the
both of them were rather compatible.
Furthermore, for a failed knights sake, he had promised that G.o.ddess -
This was a debt she had to repay. Even if she had to offer her body.
On that subject, she had wanted to ask him, but had forgotten,
whether Kusanagi G.o.dou had wanted to win against that hero - Perseus.
If his answer was yes, then he would be needing all of Lilianas
knowledge.
However, he had never said that he wanted to win, or that he wanted to
use the [Sword].... does he mean to bear this entire burden by himself?
- Thinking that, Liliana suddenly felt an inexplicable feeling burst forth.
□ KyunD^^^ Like little needles painfully p.r.i.c.king her heart - rather than
painful, it was unbearable, but it contained the slight tinge of a feeling of
sweetness. This was the first time she had felt such an unimaginable
emotion.
An uncontrollable throbbing in her chest. A thumping heartbeat that wont
stop.
"I, Im going to see him for a bit! Im worried about the effects of the drug -
no, only slightly concerned, its only that, dont get any weird thoughts!"
At this rate, she could no longer restrain herself.
Her mind full of thoughts, Liliana walked towards the guest room that
Kusanagi G.o.dou used.
"Certainly. Have a good evening. "^^^
"Well then, were counting on you, Lily."
(By the way, this girl, she fell for it! was written on the faces of the
scheming maid and the witch who dressed younger than her age as they
smiled maliciously, but let us leave that aside first.)
Liliana arrived at the guest room that Kusanagi G.o.dou should be residing
in.
Opening the door - she found herself looking at an empty room, as though
it were natural to be so. There was no mistaking it, there was not a single
soul inside.
She hurriedly checked the rest of the rooms in the building in a panic, but
he was already gone, nowhere to be found within the house. The young
Campione had vanished from Dianas abode.
Parts
G.o.dou, who ultimately could not find an answer, boarded a public bus.
If it had gone on as it was, most likely the situation would have quickly
escalated to using that method of transferring knowledge.
The numbness in his body fully gone, G.o.dou seized the opportunity when
the witches were discussing to slip out of Dianas house, and boarded the
bus towards Santa Lucia district.
Aboard the bus that traversed the night of Naples shakily, G.o.dou was
agonizing over something.
Though he had already used that method many times in the past, and it
might be a little too late to be saying it, but indeed, it was a method he
hardly agreed with.
Sometimes he felt that it would become too complicated with Erica and
Yuri, perhaps that was one of the reasons.
I have to sever the connections I have with this place, or else.... Fighting
without having used that method, the difficulty was approaching
impossible from next to impossible. He felt as if he had already lost
before it even started.
Absentmindedly, he gazed outside the window.
The night was beautiful, but you could only truly understand that beauty
when seen from higher ground.
.... At any rate, the duel with Perseus was already a fixed point in the
future.
If he ran away, Athena would happily smile and cause Mount Vesuvius to
erupt, it was a risk he would not take. If it came down to that, who knows
how Naples and the surrounding region would end up like.
In a situation where he could not use the [Sword], how should he approach
the fight?
In the end, he could not think of anything beyond that, it was back to
square one for him.
- While considering those points, the public bus had stopped at a certain
stop. G.o.dou hurriedly got off the bus.
Nearby, there was both a train and a tram station, and they both stopped
at somewhere nearby Santa Lucia harbor. Though it would only have
required one stop on the train, but it would be better to tliink of sometiiing
as lie went tliere.
From Dianas liouse he had taken a map of the city, and had left
afterwards.
" If only Erica was with me, then I wouldnt have needed to think this
hard over this.... wait, what am I saying!"
He saw a public payphone on the road ahead -
In an instant, he thought of calling Ericas cellphone number, and he yelled
out.
Up till now, he had always been saying not to use that method, yet if he
were to call for help, and got Erica to come over - it would mean a decisive
defeat for him.
However....
"I cant think of anything good, what should I do!?"
It was like when a writer had written nothing, and the deadline was almost
up. G.o.dou walked on, muttering, and before he knew it he was at the
coastal road.
The smell of the tides drifted into his olfactory senses.
The murky black sea stretched out before him.
Facing a certain direction from the Santa Lucia harbor - east, to be precise,
one could see the coast, an outline of an arc, and the many buildings that
were constructed beside the coast, the harbor, and the many anch.o.r.ed
vessels in the harbor itself.
Even further, one could see the ruins of the wrecked Egg Castle.
It was not far from the place where the golden haired hero was awaiting.
G.o.dou heaved a deep sigh, with a feeling of oh, whatever, prepared to
head there, and at that time.
".... Youve not yet finished the preparations for the duel, may I ask where
do you plan on going before then?"
A cold voice, from behind him.
G.o.dou cautiously turned around. He was not sure since wlien, but tine
fairy-like Liliana Kranjcarwas behind him.
"How did you find out where I was...?"
"I derived your approximate location using magic, and then using flight
magic, flew to the general vicinity. If you wish to escape from a witch like
me, youll have to work harder."
Liliana explained concisely, and she seemed disappointed,
G.o.dou sighed again, his knowledge of magic was simply too superficial.
"Lets go there together I would like to speak with you."
While saying that in a frightening tone, Liliana walked in the direction of the
sea.
The coastal road during that time, had quite a fair bit of human traffic.
There was a large greenified park nearby, and also many open-air stalls
and small stores side-by-side, a street rife with activity.
It would indeed be inconvenient to be conversing on the road with so many
goers.
.... As I expected, is she here to preach to me? G.o.dou suddenly
reminisced about being scolded by an intelligent-looking Yuri, and he
made up his mind.
He would simply ignore those words, and find an opportunity to escape
later.
Liliana who was oblivious to the thoughts currently flowing through
G.o.dous head, asked,
"Kusanagi G.o.dou, do you wish to win in that battle ahead?"
"A, about that, of course Id like that to happen, if it were possible. Because
I am someone who hates losing at anything."
G.o.dou replied while thinking.
He did not want to lose, but life would be easier if he could win by simply
having a reason of not being able to lose.
Remembering those sports programs on television, every time, tlie
moment the j.a.panese representative team appeared the entire crowd
would cheer and applaud. During those times, G.o.dou would feel the sense
of irony; the crowds cheering and roaring their support were excited and
light-hearted, and on the other hand the partic.i.p.ants had it really hard with
the stress.
"If thats the case, then why did you not try your best, for the sake of
victory?"
"Although, I really did want to try my best..."
Some things were out of one individuals control, left to fate. If it had been
within his ability, then he would have done the most he could to find that
chance at victory, but - reality was not so kind, G.o.dou thought deeply.
In the end, if he did not have the a.s.sistance of Erica or Yuri, he was only a
half-a.s.sed Campione.
He was called a King, yet he was powerless.
"You yourself should know what you need to do, to give me a command is
all that is required. Perseus - the serpent-slaying hero that came from the
east, Mithras. Just a bestow on me the knowledge of his secret will do."
Mithras.
Just only hearing the name and a few bits of his background, was
insufficient to understand his divinity.
Not knowing that would mean not being able to fight, he understood this
very well. Even so, Kusanagi G.o.dou could not bring himself to do it.
"I do not intend on doing so. Its true that Ive obtained an inexplicable
power from a G.o.d, but I am not someone who likes using that power, nor
do I want to order others around to do things for me."
G.o.dou finished saying, but Liliana shook her head.
"Ive already said this before, the duty and responsibility of a [King] is only
to do battle with the G.o.ds - the you of now is someone who is preparing for
battle against a [Heretic G.o.d], fulfilling your responsibility, hence it is you
whom we must obey, the possessor of our loyalty."
"Its fine even if you dont take tliat kind of tiling seriousiy now. Im only
taking up this troublesome task because Im the only one here who can."
If there were someone else willing to do it, G.o.dou would happily give up
his spot, there was no need to over elevate himself.
"Because theres no one else willing to, thats why I am, thats how simple
the reason is, and the situation now is because of my own willfulness,
although I also dont really like being called a King - "
In the past, Kusanagi G.o.dou had denied the fact that the Heretic G.o.d
Verethragna was a hero.
After that, for some reason, he himself was told that You are a King, it was
truly ridiculous. What that delusional youth G.o.d had said that time, right
now, G.o.dou was feeling the same way as he did then.
If someone said he was a King, then a King he was.
A King, isnt that a t.i.tle for someone who had accomplished exaggerated
amazing feats? The him of now was living in an environment where he was
called that.
"For someone like me, I definitely do not wish for people to recognize me
as a King. Nor would I want to be treated as one. I know very well what
kind of person I am, no matter what others call me, I have no intention of
changing myself!"
To call him stubborn would not be wrong, to call him childish, that would
not be wrong either.
G.o.dou had that degree of self-knowledge, why does he not display it -
Liliana almost said that out loud. She froze for a moment, then emitted a
small sigh.
"Honestly... Youre such a hopeless person. A big idiot."
It was as she said.
He had nothing to say in defense, G.o.dou felt a little guilty.
"Because youre so fixated over that, thats why youre hesitant about
giving me an order?"
"Well, yeah... no matter how vital it is, being forced to do that kind of thing
with me, you wont like it, right? Giving you an order to do that, is definitely
a mistake."
G.o.dou was a little embarra.s.sed.
He was not the type of person to force others to what they did not want,
but rather someone with a spirit of steel, nor was he an insensitive guy.
The confident and brave him, had such a good-for-nothing side to him -
Liliana was a little surprised.
"You leave me no choice... Then, let me tell you the method to solve the
problem."
With a light sigh, Liliana slowly said.
She revealed a shy yet gentle expression to G.o.dou.
Like this, she no longer seemed the fairy she usually was. With her
softened-down chivalry and her beautiful face, she seemed just like a
normal, gentle girl.
In that moment, G.o.dou felt his heart being stolen by that expression.
Immediately, he regained his composure.
What kind of method is that? He quietly awaited her answer.
"That is...." Liliana lightly whispered, her voice so small that he could not
hear, and when he moved his ear closer, then - G.o.dou had a big shock.
At the next moment, a warm feeling could be felt from his lips.
.... Liliana had kissed him, and when he returned to reality, it had been a
few seconds.
"In other words, well just have to do this... I only have to kiss you."
After their lips had parted, Liliana said, blushing.
"Be, because you had said that there was no one else besides you who
could battle against a G.o.d that you volunteered yourself, if thats the case,
then I am the same, besides me, no one else can support you, thats why I
have decided to lend you my aid to the best of my abilities.... And I dont
dislike it."
"Eh?"
"That is... what we just did."
Is that true? Are those her true feelings, from the bottom of her heart?
Looking at the embarra.s.sed face of Liliana, G.o.dou was at a loss.
"It is a situation where even if you become an inhuman tyrant, you will be
forgiven, and yet you still worry about the surroundings. Also you are
careless at times, I feel that is a positive point, on the contrary."
No, the part about becoming a tyrant, its better if there isnt a possibility of
that happening.
G.o.dou was a little guilty, if he misused the authorities of Verethragna, he
would become just like those madmen Doni and Voban.
"It is because of me that we have fallen into this misfortune, but yet you did
not blame me, not even a word. Whats more, to protect me, you sacrificed
yourself, in front of Athena...."
Misfortune, huh.... Objectively, that was not wrong.
However to Kusanagi G.o.dou, misfortune like this was like
bread-and-b.u.t.ter, he would not even spare a worry for it.
"Choosing someone like Erica to serve at your side, I feel that you dont
have an eye for people, but as you are still young, it is difficult to fend off
the wiles and tricks of that vixen. If you start to change now, there wouldnt
be any problems... I shall help you!"
Eh? She didnt deny the rumor of me being a philanderer?
This was something he did not want to be accused of the most - at G.o.dou
who was thinking that, Lilianas face tensed up.
"The knight of the [Bronze-Black Cross], Liliana Kranjcar, swears that from
now onwards, you shall be the master of my sword, and to you I shall offer
my body and loyalty. Will you accept my oath?"
"To the extent of offering your loyalty, Im not that kind of awesome
person."
Hearing her declaration of her decision, G.o.dou thought.
Regardless, if he did not give her a proper response, he would not be fit to
be a man, and thus he nodded his head without any hesitation.
"If you will help me, and become my comrade, Ill be the first to give you a
warm welcome... though Im sure that Ill be causing you trouble, often -
even so, is that fine with you?"
"I dont mind. Ive already made up my mind, to endure the troubles."
The two of them gazed at each other.
G.o.dou and Liliana finally went back to being able to look each other in the
eye.
"Im sure that youll become a master worthy of my troubles, I look forward
to it."
"Dont look forward to that too much, but Ill try my best.... Although thats a
hard promise to keep."
"It would be best if there were results to show, but if youre willing to do
your best, that is already enough. Areas where you are lacking, I will help
you, lend you my a.s.sistance... With this blade, I will protect you, if you
have need of knowledge on the G.o.ds, I will pa.s.s them over to you."
"Ah, aah."
The moment pa.s.sing of knowledge was mentioned, G.o.dou started to feel
embarra.s.sed.
In other words, he was going to do that with her.... he was thrown off by the
surprise attack earlier, but still, that would not be good -
Sensing that G.o.dou was wavering, Liliana let out a panicked voice.
"D, dont misunderstand, Im doing it out of my duty as a knight, only that!
Im not like Erica. I wont become your lover in order to take advantage or
something like that!"
"T, thats right. Of course I understand!"
"Thats right.... Kusanagi G.o.dou, I have a request to make as a knight.
From now on, in order to lend you my aid, I plan on staying by your side as
much as I can, so please rectify the people around you, and restructure
your att.i.tude, is that ok?"
"Ah - Ok. I dont think thatll be a problem."
"From now on, our relationship as a knight and a King will be like a pair of
birds flying wing to wing, branches of the same tree entwined together.
There will be times when our opinions diverge, times that we do not place
our faith in each other.... but we will overcome these hardships, allowing
the bonds between us to grow even stronger - let us become a pair like
that. That is our oshidoris pledge. "^^^
"... I understand. Anyway, lets get along well, from now on."
Lilianas oath earlier, there were many unsuitable terms and phrases that
were used with regards to the current situation -
Although G.o.dou thought that way, he felt that it did not really matter, so he
just let it slide.
There were no problems in conversation and communication, but after all,
they came from drastically different cultures, hence if he pointed out each
and every one of her mistakes in the language, it would be too uncool of
him.
"Then, my master - 1 have a request.... Please, kiss me."
"Eh?"
The world around G.o.dou froze.
The female knight stared unhappily at her nonreactive master.
"Surely you dont expect me to kiss you one more time!? Actions like this,
are initiated by the male party!"
".... Th-Thats not it. How can we be doing it on the street?!"
"We only just did it earlier, what are you talking about. PI, please look
around you.... If its just kissing, no one will pay us any heed in this
vicinity."
Liliana explained shyly, G.o.dou looked to and fro around - he finally
understood.
The lively coastal street. At night. Full of couples.
And, the closer it was to the sea, the darker it was. With these conditions,
couples would naturally gravitate towards those areas, and engage in
activities like kissing -
"W, weve already gone that far, are you still going to hesitate over it!?"
"What hesitate, rather you should say that the Ethics Committee inside my
heart wont give me the permission to do such a thing!"
"If its permission you need, Ill give it to you... I, I feel that you have the
right intentions, and furthermore you are my master. Also.... I dont want to
see you lose, nor do I want to see the sight of you falling to the ground,
pierced by Perseus arrow once more."
Unknowingly, Liliana had gotten closer.
She moved her slender body close to G.o.dou, and then tightly glued her
body onto his, looking upwards at him with teary eyes.
"For my sake... and for the sake of victory, please do your best. Im
begging you."
Liliana asked, her slightly pale lips trembling.
- For the sake of victory.
The meaning of that, was something, G.o.dou had no resistance against.
Yes, he had already, by Perseus - the G.o.d with the name of Mithras which
he had never heard of, been defeated.
Liliana in a soft voice, told him that she wished for him to triumph over that
man, and she was a beautiful girl herself.
To the point that people would wonder whether she was a human or a
fairy, a slender and beautiful appearance, but was surprisingly serious,
easy to talk to, and at times come up with very strange delusions, she was
a cute girl like that.
When he had a real feeling of that fact, he had already sealed her lips with
his.
Their lips met.
When their lips parted, Liliana looked displeased, as if aggravated.
"T, thats not enough. More... please do more."
Having come this far, there was no other way but to continue.
It was the first time that he had, out of his own volition, initiated a kiss.
Having steadied his resolve, he kissed her once again, tightly embracing
Liliana.
This moment, the knowledge flowed.
- That is the incarnation of the sun, the hero from the east.
- The sword G.o.d of serpent slaying steel, as the Invincible Emperor, the
King that reigns over light.
It connected.
Between Liliana and G.o.dou, the constructed truth was connected.
Their lips parted once again, but this time Liliana was silent. The two of
them nodded at each other.
"The G.o.d that you had defeated, Verethragna, was a divinity that had an
extremely complicated background."
Liliana who seemed as though she was kissing G.o.dous neck, spoke as
she drew closer.
"Before being a Yazata of Zoroastrianism, he hailed from ancient Persia,
as a G.o.d of light and contract, Mithra, the war G.o.d."^^^
Liliana who was softly speaking into his ear caused him to feel at ease.
Just by doing that, he felt the connection strengthen.
"There was also this myth.... When Mithra punished the sinners who
defiled their code, he would take the form of a pitch-black boar, crushing
them, and the boar is one of the ten forms of Verethragna."
The cool, chivalrous female knight spoke in a dream-like, gentle voice.
She placed the entire weight of her body onto G.o.dou, and peacefully
closed her eyes.
"The reason they share the same appearance - because Mithra is the root
divinity of Verethragna, and Mithra who was originally a war G.o.d, with the
pa.s.sing of time, the divine nature of being a G.o.d of light and contract
intensified, and the one which continued his increasingly weakening nature
of being a war G.o.d was Verethragna."
A quiet voice tliat only one could hear.
Like a lullaby, or the pillow talk of a couple, slowly penetrating into G.o.dous
ears.
"From the violent aspect of Mithras soul, Verethragna was created, and at
the same time inheriting the divine nature of Indra. Indra was an Indian
storm G.o.d that was regarded in Persia as a demon, and only the divine
nature was inherited by Verethragna."
Mithra, Indra. Sacred names that somehow seemed nostalgic.
It might have been the memories that were awakened by the sleeping
divine power of Verethragna that was inside G.o.dous body. Without a
doubt, after that he had merged with Hercules that was from the east,
becoming an undefeatable war G.o.d.
"Tracing the roots of Mithra and Indra, would lead you back to the
Indo-European ethnicity in the east - the war G.o.d that was born from the
Aryans, specifically that Mithras old name was Mitra, who was regarded by
the Aryans as the most important divinity, alongside Varna. That G.o.d was
the origin of Mithra, the G.o.d who came to the west."
At this point, Liliana was suddenly silent.
What happened?
Puzzled, G.o.dou looked at the silver-haired girl who was tightly hugging
him, and she immediately lowered her head shyly, avoiding his gaze, and
said in a small voice,
"L, lets continue. What we did earlier... was not enough... that, um, if you
do not kiss me more - "
Her fair skin had turned red, from her face to her neck, and she asked in a
trembling voice.
Seeing Liliana in such a cute att.i.tude, G.o.dous doubts in his heart were
chased away, it would not be good to let her say those things to him again.
He moved his face closer, and stole her lips once more.
An awkward but forceful kiss.
At the start Lilianas body stiffened up, but soon she relaxed, and accepted
G.o.dous unskillfully moving lips, and opened up her cherry-colored lips as
though she was about to swallow the other party.
Single-mindedly a.s.saulting G.o.dous lips, unceasingly kissing each other,
their feelings deepening.
... For the purpose of catching their breath, their lips separated.
G.o.dou saw that Liliana was looking at him drowsily, perhaps he might
have looked the same. Her embarra.s.sment and ecstasy causing her body
to tremble, with her tearful eyes and tender lips, before she could say a
word, G.o.dou sealed her lips again.
- A military genius, from a combined alliance of Pompey and Caesar.
- It was said that when he suppressed the pirates of Asia Minor, he had
witnessed with his own eyes strange customs and practices.
- The pirates had to make offerings to Mount Olympus in Lycia, held
unbelievable secret rituals, and this practice had survived till the present
times, with the worshippers of Mithras.
"This was a record left by Plutarch in [Heros Legends], something that
migrated from the east to the west, from the hero that came from Persia,
this is the divinity of Perseus, he who was called the Invincible Sun arrived
in England, a rarity of a hero that crossed the lengths of the world."
Through their overlapping lips, Lilianas knowledge was pa.s.sed on to
G.o.dous mind.
Perhaps she was a little shy, she would occasionally withdraw her lips and
whisper softly, but G.o.dou did not let her speak, and pressed his lips on
hers continually.
"Yo, you cant... If you do that, Ill...."
Had he been too forceful? The troubled Liliana resisted slightly.
However, with those moist trembling lips, even while feeling embarra.s.sed,
she accepted G.o.dous all the same.
Liliana, as though wanting to suck in G.o.dous lips, opened up her own.
"This is a magic ritual.... Preparation in order to battle a G.o.d, so please
take this more seriously.... dont fool around..."
The saliva from the Lilianas mouth, moistened G.o.dous lips.
She seemed to be troubled by the sound of the saliva, sucking slowly on
G.o.dous lips, and she moved her tongue as though wanting her saliva
back.
The saliva that flowed from Lilianas lips, were sucked into G.o.dous mouth.
Through their tongues, the exchange of saliva, and both a feeling of
sweetness and knowledge filled their minds.
- The chains that tied Perseus and Mithras together. The appearance of
the hero from the east.
- From the east, came not only the hero, yes, so did the Sun, rising from
the east.
- In other words, the incarnation of the Sun that came from the east, was
the meaning behind Perseus name.
"Deeper... If we dont establish a deeper connection... I will not be able to
impart onto you, we are already more intimate than any other King and
knight, anyone else, even Erica cannot say a thing... thats why... we
can..."
Her cheeks a shade of deep red, Liliana spoke quickly.
She immediately closed her eyes and pressed her lips forward, sucking
with greater force than before.
She wanted to feel deeply, no matter how, and G.o.dou opened his lips to
embrace Lilianas, and this time, her trembling tongue entwined around
G.o.dous.
A slippery feeling like that of wet bodies coming into contact, she was
slightly restless, and G.o.dou parted from her lips for a moment.
... If this goes on, they might reach a point of no return.
Because of that feeling, the two of them stopped their kissing, and a strand
of saliva formed a thin bridge between their lips, and they looked into each
others eyes.
She used those intoxicated-looking eyes of hers to gaze at G.o.dou.
Her eyes were unfocused, something he could never imagine looking at
her usually clean and neat demeanor, adorable to the point of causing
ones back to shiver, an alluring expression of a female.
The amount of people who have seen this expression on this girl was
definitely only one.
Absolutely convinced of that, G.o.dou cast aside his confusion.
Soon, the silent Liliana lightly nodded her head, looked into his face,
sensing his desires.
"I, its fine if we do it the way you prefer, you know? I, I want to do it with
you too, faster, ki, kiss... thats why, thats why, more - "
There was no need for more words.
Yet another forceful kiss, he no longer held back.
Liliana intensely sucked upon G.o.dous invading tongue.
Their tongues entwined again and again, exchanging their saliva,
moistening their lips, each of them confirming the softness of the others
lips.
Like that, they continued their longest kiss -
Finally, G.o.dou had pieced together all of the knowledge of the divinity that
originated from Persia.
The warrior from the east, the incarnation of the Invincible Sun, the
serpent-slaying hero of steel, G.o.dou had obtained the words of power to
rend apart this enemy hero.
In the end, how much time had they spent being lost in the activities here?
She did not know how long exactly, but when G.o.dou had suddenly come
back to his senses, he quickly withdrew from her lips, but both his and
Li lianas were already fully wet.
Lilianas beautiful face had already returned to normal and was her usual
composed self again, but was still trembling slightly out of shyness.
No matter how many couples there were here, they had still overdone it.
Whether it were the other couples who were hugging each other tightly like
them, or the road-side stall staff or customers, all of them were watching
the two of them, snickering and chuckling to themselves.
G.o.dou and Lilianas line of sight overlapped.
In j.a.pan, if you engaged eye contact it would be best if you disengaged as
soon as possible, but this was the pa.s.sionate Latin kingdom.
Some people from the surrounding were whistling, some gave them a
thumbs-up, others were simply smiling at them - it had become such a
scene.
" - !?! Ku, Kusanagi G.o.dou, lets leave quickly!"
"T, thats right, Liliana-san! That guy must have waited for quite a while!"
They quickly escaped from that area, half-walking and half-running.
The destination was - Egg Castle, the battle was about to start soon. Calm
down! G.o.dou chided himself.
"H, how is it? Do you think you have a chance?"
Liliana had been considering the same, and their conversation returned to
reality.
"To be honest, I dont know. Although I have the [Sword] that can rend him,
but that guy can also seal my power, if you consider only the abilities, that
guy has the advantage."
"But you seem calm. Do you have any trump cards up your sleeve?"
"Its nothing special, but Athena has said it before, no matter what the odds
are, in a fight between G.o.ds there are no definites, hence our battle against
the G.o.d should be the same, just let me try - no, let me defeat him."
As they moved, they focused their wills on the upcoming battle ahead.
Seeing G.o.dous show of courage, Liliana shrugged her shoulders.
"You are indeed reckless, but no matter, I will a.s.sist you to the best of my
abilities, and I have one last request."
"What is it?"
"Just Liliana will do, if Im different from Erica in this way, honestly, I cant
take it."
"... Normally, adding san when you address someone is more respectful,
isnt it?"
"Thats just formality. B, because we already have a relationship where we
have done those kind of things, theres no need to be so formal, right!?"
"I, I got it. Then, I shall call you that from now on...!"
Lilianas stuttering had caused him to recall the earlier events, and the pair
advanced towards the battleground where the One who came from the
East, Mithras (Perseus) awaited.
Part 4
The devil king of east Europe, Marquis Dejanstahl Voban.
He had struck down Apollo who possessed many varied authorities,
obtaining the authority of wolves, [Legion of Hungry Wolves]. And
Salvatore Doni had obtained from the Celtic G.o.d king Nuadha, [Ripping
Arm of Silver].
Their personalities were extremely similar to their authorities, overly suited
for each other.
" - These are good examples, hence I theorize that a Campiones
authorities are a reflection of the possessors personality and skill, and
then compatibility level, other than that it would be for the purpose of
absorbing the ma.s.sive divine power into the human body of the Campione,
hence there is no choice but to sever certain parts away. I feel that it is
during this process that the authority would go through allocation
adjustments."
Those were the thoughts of Erica Blandelli hours ago that were stated,
while on the vessel.
The high-speed craft was moving through the Tyrrhenian Sea at night.
In the cabin of the twelve-meter long high-speed craft that weighed twenty
tons, she explained to her audience that consisted of Andrea Rivera and
Mariya Yuri.
- After being messed up by Salvatore Doni.
The injured Erica had, with great pains, undid the knots on Rivera and Yuri.
Regaining their freedom, they had hastily went off in pursuit of Doni.
But it had been too late, the [King of Swords] who had already prepared a
high-speed craft and crew in advance had embarked on the journey long
ago.
At any rate, they had to reach Naples as soon as possible. Erica, Yuri and
Rivera rented a suitable vessel and departed immediately.
Their destination was tlie location of tine battle between Kusanagi G.o.dou
and the [Heretic G.o.d].
When Donis spell was broken, they had verified the situation through the
phone, contacting the responsible party for resolving the incident in
Naples, the witch Diana from the [Bronze-Black Cross].
Diana had told them as well, the one a.s.sisting G.o.dou was the Great
Knight Liliana Kranjcar.
Ability wise there was no doubt that she was highly-skilled.
But the fact that she was not beside G.o.dou at the moment left Erica
anxious to no ends. However, no matter how anxious she was, she could
do nothing while on the boat.
Erica, who wanted to get rid of that uneasiness, had simply started on that
aforementioned topic she had thought of.
"Miss Ericas a.s.sumptions have no basis, nor is there any supporting
evidence, hence there is no meaning in it, academically speaking.
However, as a personal opinion, it is a rather sound theory."
The serious Rivera had refuted her and agreed with her at the same time.
Yuri who was at the side wanted to say something.
"May I interject a bit? Regarding Sir Salvatore and Marquis Voban, what
Erica-san had said made sense... but how would you explain G.o.dou-sans
situation?"
"Now that you mention it, hes almost fully capable of utilizing all ten forms
of Verethragna."
"Yes. You say that personality and compatibility levels are what affects a
Campiones authorities, but I dont think that he is at that level..."
Yuris voice trailed off, and she tilted her head slightly.
Erica nodded her head, in actual fact, that problem had been bugging her
for these few months.
"Thats true. What Yuri had said is not wrong, but if you put it this way,
maybe it would make sense... In simple terms, because of G.o.dous
generosity, a personality that treats anyone as a good friend, that is why
he is able to use all of the forms."
Without a doubt, he was a youth who treated everyone friendlily and
familiarly.
But to the people whom he had opened his heart to, he was extremely
bighearted, to the point that people would think hes an idiot. He was
always sincere to and trusting of others, the memory of him being severely
messed around by Lucretia at the start of the vacation remained firmly in
her mind.
Another good example was, he got along well with that Genaro guy.
Rude and rough, violent and cunning, and a fanatic of j.a.panese children
cartoons, a depressing man who could debate furiously about anime, that
kind of person could actually get all familiar with G.o.dou.
"I see, thats one way to look at it... Well, theres no way that this issue can
be proven, pursuing it would be meaningless, although it is quite an
interesting topic."
Rivera answered seriously, and Yuri nodded in agreement.
"Thats true. If it was just as Erica-san had said, then a lot of inexplicable
things could be explained."
The Hime-Miko smiled.
Till now, whenever they spoke of G.o.dous safety, everyone had sunk into a
gloomy mood, but the atmosphere was slowly lightening up, perhaps it
might be due to the recollection of his pure and kind personality.
"Yuri is too naive.... Though I dont dislike that part of G.o.dou, because its
cute, and teasing him is also fun, but isnt this a big problem?"
"Problem?"
"That guy doesnt just treat guys that way, he treats girls in the same
manner, if the other party is a female, even if he did not strike up a
conversation or deepen their relationship by his initiative, the female side
would slowly adjust her pace to suit his and shorten the distance between
them. Remember the situation when we had Lucretia."
If the other party was a girl that did not dislike him, and was even aware of
his presence
This situation was a little too dangerous, even if G.o.dou did not approach
her, she would of her own accord approach him, and he would not reject
nor distance away from her.
Throw in a few misunderstandings and a bit of luck, and adding the factor
of an encounter with a divinity...
"T, that... If its G.o.dou-san... ah, no, its because its G.o.dou-san that the
danger of him stepping into a strange situation...!?"
Yuri seemed like she had thought of the same problem Erica did, and
became very fl.u.s.tered.
After that, what she worried about was Liliana Kranjcar - Ericas rival and
childhood friend, the report that she was currently a.s.sisting G.o.dou at his
side.
It was hard to imagine something suspicious happening between that
old-fashioned maiden and G.o.dou.
But her heart was throbbing strangely.
If something complicated develops between G.o.dou and Liliana, what
should I do. Erica, the devil who liked to tease others, revealed a slightly
unhappy expression, her brows locked in a frown.
References
1. t The katakana used is episode. It sounds weird, but I cant bring
myself to change it.
2. t This is an sfx that expresses the tightening of ones chest.
3. t Karens exact words are
;!)LC^U^UfCo 1/^-^X6-3 U^l/^o , which I cant find a proper
replacement for in English. The former means Understood in a very
formal manner, and the latter is a greeting when you are seeing
someone off.
4. t This is a really difficult paragraph. Almost all of the phrases she
used is pretty much descriptive/definitive of a married couple - the
birds flying wing to wing, the entwined branches of the same tree.
Oshidori - MM is a mandarin duck, and at the end she used
M^CDMU , which is the oshidoris pledge - which refers to the
closeness and good relations between a married couple (or something
like that).
5. t http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism