Tatakau Shisho

Volume 7, 6: Everything is Told on the Roof – Part 2

Volume 7, Chapter 6: Everything is Told on the Roof – Part?2

Hamyuts kept thinking.

Olivia had told someone of the Violet Wish before she was caught by Mattalast. That was almost undoubtedly true.

But there were problems with that.

After she had been caught she was questioned by Minth using his Sacred Eyes. And he was able to know perfectly that she neither knew of the Violet Wish nor told anyone else about it.

It was impossible to deceive Minth’s Sacred Eyes. It was also impossible that Minth lied to Mattalast.

Then how did Olivia slip through his eyes?

She could only rely on Olivia herself. Hamyuts asked her further.

“Then, how would you have concealed the fact you’ve told someone?”

“I would have run away.”

“I’ll be able to catch you.”

“I would have stayed silent even if caught!”

“I’ll torture you and stuff like that.”

Olivia was shocked at the kind of woman Hamyuts was.

“Then I would have just killed myself.”

“I’m the Acting Director of Bantorra Library. I could just read your Book and find it out, right?”

“Right…”

Olivia kept thinking.

“There’s that thing. I forgot its name. Ar-something, Obliterating something.”

“Fiction Obliterating Cup Argax.”

“Yeah, that. I could just use that water to make myself forget I’ve told it to someone. If I forgot about it, it wouldn’t go out even in torture right?”

“…I see.”

However, when had Olivia used Argax? Currently, both the Argax used by the Armed Librarians and the one used by the Indulging God Cult were in the Sealed Labyrinth.

After Mattalast had caught her there was only a short time until she was questioned by Minth. How could she have drunk the water of Argax under his supervision?

It seemed impossible, but was not so. Olivia actually accomplished it.

During the same time, Mirepoc Finedell was tottering on the road.

Mirepoc woke about two hours after drinking punch as if it was water and collapsing. After that, Mattalast muttered something about sobering her up and brought a glass. When Mirepoc tried drinking it, it was also liquor. Was he trying to kill her?

Alcohol is scary. I’ll never drink it again. While thinking this, Mirepoc headed for her home.

“Mattalast… I’ll have my revenge… That man’s definitely a sadistic criminal…”

Mirepoc found something strange while walking: she saw human figures on top of the roof. They were Hamyuts and Olivia.

“What are they doing, I wonder…”

Mirepoc was about to try calling them using her Thought Sharing. However, her head felt dizzy so she stopped.

She suddenly recalled the past. It was something that happened a few days after everyone had heard the truth about the Volken incident from Olivia.

May 1926

“Say, Mirepoc, I have a favor to ask…”

Olivia stayed at Mattalast’s house for a while. All Armed Librarians visited her there to voice their gratitude.

When Mirepoc found some time between her work, Olivia spoke to her.

“What is it?”

“It’s a bit hard to ask, but I will lower my head and ask you… because that would require you to break regulations.”

“…It depends on what you want, but please tell me.”

Olivia started talking.

“To tell the truth, I want to erase my memories of Volken. You have some memory-erasing tool, right?”

“That…”

I can’t just take that out, she wanted to say but stopped herself. After all she had once used it against regulations herself.

Besides, Olivia had probably been assaulted by Volken. She could understand wanting to get rid of those memories as a woman.

“…I can’t ask Mattalast for that. Since Hamyuts is the Acting Director she will not approve it either. I can only ask you.”

“…Understood.”

Normally she would have rejected her saying that she sympathized with her but couldn’t do it. However, even the stuffy formal Mirepoc had recently begun to change.

She had agreed. Since she was being asked that, she thought of trying her best.

Bringing Argax wouldn’t be too difficult. The problem was doing it so that Mattalast and Hamyuts wouldn’t notice. Mirepoc activated her Thought Sharing as she stood in front of the apartment Olivia was in.

‘…Mattalast-san, where are you right now?’

‘In the middle of shopping.’

She thought he was inside but was wrong. However, she needed some insurance that he wouldn’t come back.

‘Yukizona-san would like to consult with you about work.’

Mattalast replied to her in his thoughts.

‘Is tomorrow no good? I’d like to return home as quickly as possible.’

When he returns home, what will he do to Olivia? Mirepoc thought of needless things.

‘He told me that if possible he would like you to hurry. Do you mind?’

‘…Hmm, got it, I’ll go.’

Yukizona wanting to consult him was true. However, he was actually in no hurry. Mattalast would probably be heading back to Bantorra Library just like she wanted.

Mirepoc entered the apartment. At that moment, she happened to pass by Hamyuts. It was unexpected. Since it was her free day, she was supposed to be at home enjoying her hobby of sewing.

“Hey, Mirepo.”

Mirepoc faltered for a second wondering if she was busted.

“Today’s weather is so good. I feel great.”

At the time Hamyuts was in a strangely good mood. Did something happen?

“Is something the matter, Director?”

Even when Mirepoc called to her there was no reply. Hamyuts walked down the stairs enjoyably.

Mirepoc knocked on the door with her head tilted. Hearing Olivia’s reply, she came inside.

“Olivia-san, I’ve brought what you asked for.”

“…Ah, right, thank you.”

For some reason Olivia was pale. Had she spoken to Hamyuts? I’d better not pry into other people’s business too deeply, thought Mirepoc.

“If you pour water into this and think about the memories you’d like to erase, when you drink the water they will be gone.”

“Oh, it’s fairly simple.”

Saying so, Olivia took a jug and poured from it into Argax. At that moment, Mirepoc saw Olivia faintly smiling. Since these were painful memories she wanted to erase, she felt a strange uneasiness.

Olivia muttered something and drank the water of Argax.

“…Hmm? What is this?”

After drinking, Olivia looked around her. She looked at the object she held in her hands mysteriously.

“Seems like you’ve forgotten. You’ve erased your own memories using Argax.”

“…Really? My memories? …What does this mean?”

Olivia was confused. Mirepoc calmly admonished her.

“It’s because you have erased memories that you don’t need to remember. You have nothing to worry about.”

Although still puzzled, Olivia nodded.

Mirepoc hurried out of the apartment before Mattalast came back. She entered the Sealed Labyrinth again and returned Argax to its previous location.

Present – December 29, 1926

Oh yeah, that happened, Mirepoc thought while looking at Olivia on the roof.

Olivia had acted somewhat strange during that time, but there was probably no need to worry. Both after then as well as now she lived comfortably.

More importantly I should go. Mirepoc turned on her heels and hurried on the road back home.

Did her actions have any meaning? She had no idea why Olivia had smiled and why Hamyuts had a good mood. She never came to know the reason for it throughout her whole life.

Hamyuts thought for a while and then hit upon something. Olivia had used one of the Armed Librarians so she could get Argax. Telling the other Armed Librarians about what happened with Volken was probably both to gain their trust as well as another part of her plan.

She had read Mattalast’s actions and used one of the Armed Librarians. What an elaborate plan.

While Olivia was staring ahead, Hamyuts kept thinking.

Olivia had erased her memories of the Violet Wish in advance before getting questioned by Minth. She did so in order to protect the person who’d succeeded the Violet Wish.

Hamyuts understood this far, but still some questions remained.

Why had she instigated Yanku and Kyasariro to revolt? There was plenty of a possibility she would have been killed during that rebellion. If she were then her Book would have been excavated. If that happened, all of her plans would have crumbled down.

It was a contradiction. Why had she taken actions contrary to her previous plans?

“…Oh right, she forgot.”

Hamyuts immediately had a flash. There was no contradiction after all.

Olivia had erased her memories pertaining to the Violet Wish. She forgot the very fact she had known about it, to whom she passed it along, and even the fact that she entrusted her will of rebellion to that person.

Olivia forgot about her own strategy. That was why she began a reckless revenge against her original purpose.

It was possible that her instigation of Yanku and Kyasariro was something that even she was not able to anticipate.

“I’ve solved everything.”

Hamyuts muttered. The puzzled Olivia stared at her from the side.

“You sank into deep thought in the middle of our conversation though. Did you understand something?”

“I got it all. Anything and everything. You’re amazing. A truly great detective.”

Olivia tilted her head at seeing Hamyuts’s joy.

“I haven’t said anything really impressive.”

“That’s not true. You should give up being a tailor and become a detective. It’s a waste of your talent.”

“Don’t say something so strange. It’s too much of a compliment.”

“It’s not too much, you really are amazing.”

Olivia furrowed her brows. She seemed to feel as if Hamyuts was mocking her.

“Well, I’m glad if I have been of use. More importantly, I should go back. It’s cold here.”

“Yeah. Thank you and sorry for taking your time.”

Saying so, Hamyuts wrapped the string of her sling around Olivia’s wrist. Controlling it, she gently lowered her to the ground.

“See ya. Don’t catch a cold.”

Olivia waved her hand and went back.

“…Well then.”

Hamyuts watched her back from atop the roof.

With this, she read through the entirety of Olivia’s plan. There was only one question left. Just who had she left the Violet Wish for?

She would probably never know it no matter how much she thought of it. Olivia used such a preposterous plan in order to hide it after all.

“…”

There was only one way to know:

Killing Olivia and reading her Book.

Hamyuts loaded a pebble into her sling and started slowly rotating it around. Olivia had her back turned to Hamyuts and went down the road defenselessly.

“Nah.”

Hamyuts threw the pebble into the sky.

She once again lost to Olivia. Hamyuts wasn’t able to deduce even one part of her plan. Only by asking Olivia herself, which was much like cheating, she finally came to know everything.

Losing the battle of minds and settling everything with violence instead… she didn’t want to be as lame as that.

“…You’re amazing.”

This will probably be her last time to be involved with Olivia. She muttered this while looking at Olivia’s back that she saw less and less of.

Olivia, a completely powerless human, had taken a part in the overthrow of Kachua. She had crossed paths with Hamyuts and escaped. And she had even created the opportunity for the outrageous battle of destroying Heaven.

While overcoming all these battles, and achieving victory in all of them, she was even able to obtain a peaceful life of all things.

“I won’t kill you. This is your victory. Your utter and complete victory.”

While feeling a slight bit of regret as well as happiness, she spoke toward Olivia’s back.

Hamyuts once again lied on the roof.

It was still too early to despair of this world. The seeds of disturbance were spreading.

If she were to wait there will definitely be something fun happening.

Making sure of Hamyuts and Olivia’s parting, the man also left the spot and headed back.

Hamyuts had probably seen through Olivia’s plan. Moreover, she purposely turned a blind eye to it.

What was Hamyuts thinking about? He couldn’t understand her. Rather than thinking of her as an enemy, she was more of an uncertain and incomprehensible element.

“…And now comes my own battle.”

He muttered. Olivia fulfilled enough of her duty. She had passed the Violet Wish to him and concealed his existence. Hereafter comes his own duty to carry it out. He will definitely fulfill this wish that he had inherited from her.

Because Olivia had trusted him, she entrusted everything to him. He had to answer that trust.

He understood well enough that it would be a difficult path. He had to challenge Heaven – the being that no person throughout all of history managed to inflict a single wound to. He would also have to fight people such as Mattalast and Yukizona when the time comes.

But he did not fear. He abandoned such feelings long ago.

He will simply advance and destroy Heaven. He walked with determination in his heart.

“Goodbye, Olivia Littolet. I pray for your happiness.”

He turned around one last time, and looking at Olivia’s back, muttered a small farewell.

Who was he? Why was he fighting and how was he living? The time to speak of this will come before long.