"But in any case, the consensus among the higher-ups is that this divine artifact must not fall into the hands of other ambitious schemers."
Amakasu put away the book he had been holding.
At that moment, Ena Seishuuin suddenly felt as if she were being watched.
It was not the sensation of being observed by ordinary sight, but something produced through magical means.
"Mr. Amakasu, we're being monitored right now. It's an exceptionally refined long-range visual observation spell. How do you plan to handle this? If the other party has already arrived, I don't mind engaging them directly."
She pulled the bag resting beside her closer.
Since it was a real blade, it had to be wrapped in a cloth bag under modern social norms.
However, it was not the divine sword Kusanagi no Tsurugi, but a standard-issue sacred blade she had applied for from Sayanomiya Kaoru. Before obtaining the divine sword Ama-no-Murakumo, this had been the weapon she used most of the time.
Ever since her battle with Satsuki, Ena Seishuuin's understanding of swordsmanship had undergone a complete transformation. She had finally realized that relying on the divine sword Kusanagi no Tsurugi also meant being constrained by it. Leaning on that inhuman power, her progress in the realm of the sword had stagnated for far too long.
She lowered into a half-crouch. Her breathing relaxed. Her arms hung naturally down toward the mouth of the cloth bag. She emptied her mind, focusing solely on perception...
Her keen five senses spread outward, as though merging with the surrounding environment. Every inch of land, ocean, and grain of sand seemed to become part of her body. Ena felt like a beast returning to nature, her instincts sharpened to an extraordinary degree. Even if someone were spying through sorcery, she would detect it.
She subtly adjusted the direction of her body.
The gaze overlooking the crimson torii gate shifted and fixed itself upon her.
Silence spread as both sides observed each other in a wordless standoff. Seconds ticked by. More than ten seconds passed...
Then, abruptly, the overlooking gaze vanished. Ena could no longer sense any presence.
"It left..."
She frowned.
"Did it achieve its goal? Or did it retreat after realizing the difficulty? How troublesome. Which is it...?"
Amakasu scratched his head.
"Well, at least these past few days of standing guard weren't completely fruitless. We've confirmed that someone really is coveting this place."
"We're in the open while they're in the shadows. To be safe, Mr. Amakasu, you should report the situation here to your superiors," Ena suggested, scanning her surroundings as she relaxed her stance.
"Agreed. There's also the matter of the bomb buried here. The other party may already know about it. It might be better to dig it up and hand it to an expert who enjoys playing with explosives."
"What?"
Ena turned to look at him.
"Are you serious? We've been guarding a bomb all this time?"
"Yes. I don't quite remember the exact yield, but its effective damage radius is twenty-five meters horizontally and twenty meters vertically. The area isn't large, but the explosives have been specially modified. They can penetrate defensive magic and cause a certain degree of curse power disruption. Even a first-rate magus caught within range would be killed instantly."
"..."
Ena could not help feeling relieved that no one had attacked during this period. With her close-combat fighting style as a Hime-Miko, she might very well have been taken out along with her opponent by that bomb.
Though she served Susanoo, the significance of this divine artifact was directly tied to the Child of God. It was far more important than she was.
Meanwhile, Amakasu took out his phone and reported the situation to his superior, Sayanomiya Kaoru. As for whether Kaoru would inform Erica, that was beyond his authority to decide.
Neither of them yet knew what kind of fierce struggle would unfold over the Ama no Sakahoko.
...
Alexander Gascoigne was an extremely busy man.
His female nemesis had once added a superfluous footnote to that description—To be precise, he simply wants to work and makes himself busy of his own accord—but in short, he was very busy.
After all, he bore an absurdly grand title.
A god-slaying Demon King who kills gods, and Supreme Commander of the secret society Royal Factory!
It was not a position he had sought, yet somehow it had come about naturally.
As one who stood above others, he believed he must carry out work and conduct himself in a manner befitting his status. That was his aesthetic and his principle.
It had been twelve years since he became a Godslayer at the age of sixteen.
Behind his relentless activity during that time lay precisely this mindset.
Thanks to it, the name of Black Prince Alec had become widely known as one of the Demon Kings of this new era.
Incidentally, the reason he was called Prince was simply because, compared to the Demon Kings of the older generation such as Marquis Voban and Luo Hao, he was noticeably younger.
Even so, despite being a man constantly entangled in affairs, he would still carve out time once a year to go on vacation.
For reasons unknown, wherever his itinerary took him, troublesome incidents would inevitably arise.
Rescuing ordinary citizens on the brink of annihilation by profound sorcery. Digging up ancient secret treasures he had learned about by chance. Being pestered by a certain female acquaintance who gave him headaches.
In short, he possessed a peculiar constitution that stirred chaos wherever he went.
...And this time was no exception.
"So this time, I've decided to change my approach."
Alec spoke firmly to his trusted retainer.
"Since trouble finds me no matter what I do, I might as well head straight to where trouble is and stir it up myself. Hmm~"
"If I recall correctly," the man replied, serving both as confidant and bodyguard, "about a month ago you were traveling in Eastern Europe. And it just so happened that news arrived of Marquis Voban's fall in Japan. The entirety of Eastern Europe was thrown into chaos."
The speaker was the so-called Ice Man.
Unlike Arianna, he was a flawless legendary knight—aside from a slight fear of heights. Now past thirty, his handsome features carried an increasingly seasoned air.
"That had absolutely nothing to do with me, all right? Who could have predicted that old man Voban would die in Japan? I've never even set foot in that region until now."
"...So?"
"So I've decided to take a trip to Japan."
As expected.
The Ice Man, well acquainted with the Black Prince's temperament, shook his head in exasperation.
"The reason you constantly run into conflicts is precisely because of that. Just when a disaster spark has finally been smothered, you dig it up with sharp eyes and deliberately fan the flames yourself. Then you complain while putting out the fire. Your twisted personality is the true root of everything."
"Hold on. Besides me, hasn't a certain someone caused plenty of trouble too?"
The certain someone the Black Prince referred to was the counterpart to his title—the White Princess, Alice Louise Ophe Nafar.
"If that's the case, perhaps you should reconsider your choice of friends. You're clearly supposed to be enemies, yet don't you think your private relationship has already crossed the line? I always get the feeling that one day you'll end up kneeling at her skirt."
And indeed, these two so-called longtime "archenemies" had once again formed a tacit alliance to investigate the schemes of the divine ancestor Guinevere.
"It can't be helped. Obtaining the Magic Holy Grail was my father's lifelong wish. Even if it means cooperating with an enemy, I will achieve that goal."
Not long ago, a portion of the curse power within him had sensed fluctuations of magic from the same source.
It was the power of the Holy Grail he had obtained after thwarting Guinevere's schemes in the past. For such resonance to occur meant that someone had once again invoked the Grail's power.
He did not know what the other party intended to do, but vigilance was necessary...
"It seems Guinevere still hasn't given up on that so-called King Arthur."
...
"As expected, things won't progress so easily."
The beautiful young girl with golden curls and exquisitely refined features let out a soft sigh.
Using her Witch's Eye, she sent her vision soaring across a vast distance, observing the excavation work from afar.
The location was the seaside torii gate that Ena and Amakasu had previously guarded.
Her return to this far eastern shore was to verify the secret she had discovered earlier. However, the local onmyōji and Hime-Miko were guarding that secret so tightly that she found almost no opportunity to intervene directly. Even without their interference, achieving her goal would first require dismantling the underground seal jointly formed by the combined curse power of dozens of people. After that, heavy machinery would have to be used to excavate it. No matter how she considered it, this was not something she could accomplish alone at present.
Not to mention the dozens lying in wait in hidden positions nearby—
Skilled warriors, ninjas, onmyōji, and shrine maidens stood ready.
The most troublesome of all was the shrine maiden capable of invoking a god's descent. During her time in Japan, she had heard quite a few rumors about that Hime-Miko of the great blade. Though she herself possessed formidable curse power, avoiding a direct confrontation with that girl was the wisest course if possible.
A noble's daughter does not sit beneath a collapsing hall. Moreover, Guinevere was one of the very few divine ancestors still active in this world. At such a juncture, proceeding step by step was always the correct strategy.
"To stake my life, Guinevere's life, at this stage is still too early."
...
Time flowed swiftly amid the actions of all parties.
The day after the school festival ended.
Satsuki accompanied Erica to Chiba Prefecture. The reason was a call they had received yesterday from the History Compilation Committee.
Originally, Satsuki had been observing what changes Athena might undergo after absorbing the relic of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. However, under Erica's persistent pulling and dragging, she ultimately went out together with her.
"What exactly is so urgent that it requires notifying you—a Demon King—to handle it?"
"They said they need me to safeguard a divine artifact. As for the details of the item itself, Kaoru said it wasn't convenient to disclose too much over the phone."
"In other words, something like the Gorgon's Stone from before? If I remember correctly, that one was handed to you by your colleagues in the Copper-Black Cross. And now you're helping this side handle something similar again?"
Satsuki sounded indifferent, merely offering a calm reminder.
"This kind of matter will most likely involve gods again. You'd better be mentally prepared."
"As a Godslayer, dealing with gods is only natural, isn't it?"
"It is natural. But if my memory serves me correctly, someone nearly died 'naturally' at the hands of a god not long ago."
"...That was just an accident. Who would have thought that the Great Sage Equal to Heaven possessed such an unfair Authority—actually strengthening himself based on the number of Godslayers present?"
"As the former Red Devil, you should observe every piece of information that might aid you in battle. The word 'accident' should not exist in your vocabulary. And if the situation turns unfavorable, retreat is also an option. Your Wind incarnation at least allows you to disengage instantly and maintain an undefeated record. You should have set up a spell or contingency in advance to trigger that Authority."
This time, Erica found herself without rebuttal.
Her Wind incarnation allowed her to teleport across boundaries in an instant. Logically speaking, if the situation became dire, she could have withdrawn from the battlefield entirely. Yet because of certain convictions and choices, she had neither used it nor made preparations to do so.
If not for the Ram incarnation's near-death revival ability, she might have truly suffered this time.
However, Satsuki had no intention of pressing further. After all, she possessed countless methods to bring Erica back. Even if Erica had truly died, it would not have been a major issue for her.
Still, there was one important question she had to ask.
"Forget it. Just be more careful next time. By the way, who's driving us to Chiba this time?"
"Pfft. Satsuki, did Arianna leave that deep of a psychological scar on you?"
Erica could not hold back her laughter.
After the two of them walked to the nearby road, a common silver domestic sedan pulled up lightly and stopped by the curb in front of them.
Through the vehicle's frame, Satsuki's Tenseigan saw the person seated behind the steering wheel.
The future commander of the History Compilation Committee—Hime-Miko Sayanomiya Kaoru.
"My ladies, I'll be driving you there this time."
She looked at them with a refined smile upon her delicate face. She was dressed as usual in men's attire—a white shirt and tie, suit jacket and trousers.
"Miss Kaoru, when did you obtain your driver's license?"
"Mm, I only just happened to pass the exam recently. After all, if I'm going to take cute girls out for fun, driving is much more convenient. In the past, I occasionally went out using someone else's license."
Her handling of the steering wheel was smooth and practiced, her demeanor that of a seasoned driver.
Yet her words carried the faint air of an outlaw.
"By the way, Satsuki, since you're so adorable, would you be interested in going on a drive with me sometime? If you travel with me, I'm sure I'd achieve quite impressive results."
Before Satsuki could answer, Erica spoke first.
"Satsuki is the most important person to me. If you're looking for a target, Kaoru, you'd best give up!"
"Oh my~ Is that so? What a pity."
Though Kaoru wore a regretful expression, she quickly returned to her usual composure and focused on driving steadily.
After roughly two hours, the three of them arrived at their destination.
Once they stepped out of the car, they saw Ena Seishuuin and Amakasu already waiting.
"Since everyone is here, I'll explain the situation," Kaoru said without hesitation, immediately entering work mode as both a Hime-Miko and a senior member of the History Compilation Committee.
She began recounting the mysterious legend concerning that Child of God.
Ototachibana-hime entered the sea embracing a great blade. The blade drifted to a place that was neither land nor sea. A floating island then emerged—
"Come to think of it, Kazusa and Awa truly are lands deeply connected to Yamato Takeru and Ototachibana-hime."
Unexpectedly, it was Satsuki who nodded first.
Everyone looked at her in curiosity, and she explained,
"When I was preparing for our class history project, I happened to read about it in my grandfather's collection."
Ena nodded as well and recounted the story of Ototachibana-hime.
"The shoreline called Hashirimizu, where Yamato Takeru and the princess set sail, still exists in Kanagawa Prefecture. Shrines enshrining Ototachibana-hime can be found on both sides of Tokyo Bay—in Kanagawa and Chiba."
It was a tale of Yamato Takeru learned in childhood.
According to the map, the events took place roughly around what is now Tokyo Bay.
However, no one present seemed particularly surprised.
Since everyone already understood the historical background, Kaoru omitted further explanation and moved straight to the main point.
"The blade of a prestigious lineage, together with its noble bearer, sank into the sea. The place it drifted to was an island with neither sea nor land. When the blade reappears in the world, the noble will awaken once more... That is the situation."
"If all of this is true..."
Erica, unfamiliar with Japanese mythology, suddenly interjected.
"Since this concerns a divine artifact, the deceased noble is irrelevant. If I'm not mistaken, the real focus this time is the whereabouts of that blade, correct?"