After so long I finally got back my bearings after the whole wooha with the new year, lunar new year and moving my house
Magic in Life chapter 5 let's go!
10 September 20XX 4th day of waning period
Ena Seishuiin.
Also known as [Hime-Miko of the Sword] had arrived today in the quaint and ignorant grounds of Jounan Academy. At that very moment she was currently walking towards the clubhouse for the tea ceremony club that Yuri Mariya and Shizuka Kusanagi is in for reasons unknown. My guess is to meet Godou on the behalf of another group to win the favour of the only King in Japan that is known to the world.
I had offered to lead her to the clubhouse and she apparently saw no reason to reject this offer. This was located in one of the rooms of the Japanese style building constructed between the high school and the middle school building housed the activity areas of cultural organizations such as the tea ceremony club, the flower arrangement club, the Japanese dance research club, and others, and was commonly dubbed the "Japanese block."
Ena was a dangerous person and such a person must be observed first before taking steps to either get rid of her or control her. I could just leave her alone but that was a choice I had instantly shot down upon seeing her sword.
"That sword of yours…. It is the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi, is it not?"
"Hmm…Your spirit vision is quite strong. How come Ena never heard of you till recently? Ena thought that such a person would be bragged about to the world by the European organizations."
"Unfortunately for the world, I prefer to keep to myself and both my family and my organization respects that."
"Is that so? Would you like to see Ena's sword then?"
"Really? That would be great honour to me." I wasn't lying when I said this. It wasn't often that you get to see a divine weapon that wasn't about to be use in a battle. Or in a Campione's case, wasn't often that you get to see a divine weapon that was not about to be used to inflict heavy bodily harm to your person.
Ena opened the cloth bag holding the sword and pull out a little bit of the sword from its black lacquered sheath. Even then, the magical power that was released was not to be underestimated. It would not be noticed by the rest but with little distance between us, I could feel that power within that divine artefact roll off in waves.
I used [Wisdom] to get as much information as I could on the sword since it was already revealed and I was not disappointed by the results. However I was still disappointed in myself that I could not resist the lure of the aura that the sword was exuding and unconsciously activated [Wisdom]. I must quickly remedy this before it gets my cover blown or gets me killed.
The Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi. It is a sword that was once wielded by the God of the Sea and Storms in Japanese mythology, Takehaya Susanoo-no-Mikoto and given as a gift to Amaterasu-omikami to settle an old grievance between the two deities. It was found within a tail of the slain body of Yamata no Orochi and as such has serpent slaying abilities added on the fact that it was a god of [Steel]. The sword itself was a broadsword, 3 shaku 3 sun 5 bu long. (1 shaku is 30.3 centimetres, 1 sun is 3.03 centimetres and 1 bu is 3.03 millimetres so the sword should be 101.505 centimetres) The blade was black as the night and seemed to absorb all light even under the sun.
"Your eyes are quite pretty when your spirit vision kicks in, you know?"
"!"
My breath hitched as I darted a small distance away from the voice that had spoken so closely to my ear. Focusing on what was in front of me instead of the knowledge flowing through [Wisdom], I saw Ena standing in front of me with her hand ready to draw her divine sword.
I took a look at myself and saw that I had taken a stance and was about to attack another person. The glee of [Gungnir] could be felt pulsing through, waiting to be called out and used to end the enemy in front of me. I calmed myself and lowered my fist as I allowed the adrenaline to run its course, ordering the Authority to dismiss its killing intent. My heart rate slowly returned to normal before it had been sent into overdrive by my survival instincts.
"Sorry about that. You caught me off guard while I was focusing on your sword."
"No, no. This is also partly Ena's fault as well. There are different types of spirit vision so Ena shouldn't have gotten close to you while yours was active. But what Ena said was still true; your eyes are really pretty when your spirit vision is active."
That was a first for me…. I hadn't really taken a good look at myself when [Wisdom] is active so I wouldn't know how my eyes look like either than the hollowed triangle that I know would be present. It was also the first time someone has praised me in quite some time so I wasn't really sure how I should respond.
"Uhm…Thank you….I guess?" my voice was unsure and was sheepish at best. Ama no Murakumo was already sheathed and kept in the cloth bag by this time but Ena seemed particularly intent on staring at me, I could even hear something like "jiiiiii" coming from her and it was quite unnerving to be stared at like this. Perseus had done something similar but he had killer intent in his eyes so there was nothing wrong there but I could not imagine why Ena Seishuuin would look at me like that.
"I-is there something on my face, Ena-san?"
"Oh you can just call me Ena and I was just wondering. You are part of the Kranjcar family and the Bronze-Black Cross yet you have the appearance of someone of Asian descent, mind enlightening me there?" That was pretty blunt of her but I could tell that she was just like that from conversing with her so no harm done.
"Well I am of Asian descent but I was adopted into the Kranjcar family." Speaking of which, I still don't really know where I stand within the family tree. Was I adopted by Liliana's Grandfather or was I adopted by her parents, no one actually explain this detail to either of us as a matter of fact.
"Then as an Asian person to another, would you help me win the heart of the King if Ena ask you too?" This lady really doesn't hold back on her intentions, does she?
"Then I am afraid you have come to the wrong person, Ena."
"Is it your loyalty to your organization and family?"
"I am just a mere observer in the scheme of things, nothing more and nothing less. I am more than happy to leave it up to you girls to fight out who gets Godou in the end." Or at least till I officially enter the scene then I might start pulling some strings.
"Then can Ena say that you would not interfere in my plans?"
"I guess you can say that." Then again, my words should not be trusted at all in the first place.
"Very well then, shall we continue on to the tea house?"
That ended the conversation and I smiled as I gestured for Ena to follow me. She is quite the amusing person to speak with to say the least and would be a dangerous person to make an enemy of, especially with Ama no Murakumo on her side, the sword that defends it wielder by taking in the opponents' power as its own. If I would to fight her, I do not think I would come out it with both my arms intact, not with how inexperienced I am with my new Authority.
.
.
.
When we had finally reached the Tea Ceremony Club house, I was already late by quite a margin but it did not really matter to me. The rest of the walk was kept in silence as I processed the knowledge that I received earlier on while Ena was busy taking in the scenery. I was about to leave her to her own devices when Ena had taken upon herself to return the favour of bringing her to her destination in the form of giving me a blessed origami of a frog that was folded on the spot.
The Japanese have a belief of giving origami frogs to people leaving their home for whatever reason from time to time in hopes that the person receiving the origami frog would safely return home. This belief came about due to the fact that that the word for frog, Kaeru, sounds exactly like the word for return, also Kaeru only with different intonations. Only one tiny difference in this case is that Ena Seishuuin was a Hime-miko, one with powers so making a small protection charm was well within the range of her abilities.
"You're fine in my books so here is a charm to help you return to where you choose to belong to." She had said that as she rested the recently folded origami in my hands, the same origami was now kept in my wallet.
To help me return to where I choose to belong to….
The only place that I would want to return is only by her side and I don't even know where that is. I am willing to do anything to help me achieve my goals and if a small charm is able to help me no matter little it may do, who was I to reject it. People really should not look a gift horse in the face.
Regardless, when I finally returned back to my class I was given a scolding in front of the class for my tardiness by the teacher which I just smiled off without trouble. What was the bigger threat was the way that Liliana had been staring at me…or should I say glaring in this case…Yes glaring would be more apt. The way she was glaring was quite dangerous for me, something that promised damage that was both physical and mental and if looks could kill then I would have been dead a few times over already before being brought back to life again just so she could put me through what she had planned for me.
That lasted till the school day ended so yeah, it was pretty tiring on my end when all I did was do my second good deed of the day after doing my first good deed of the day. So as the last bell rang, I turned to face Liliana who had her words at the tip of her tongue, ready to fire at a moment's notice. She looked ready to fillet me with words and I was only saved from the tirade of a lecture when she spotted something out of the corner of her eye.
Kusanagi Godou was at his own seat beside us, anxiously staring at a piece of paper in his hands.
A private letter written on Japanese paper.
On it were the words "Please come to the Tea Ceremony Club House for a visit after the conclusion of today's lessons." Written using a brush in extremely beautiful calligraphy, it carried the signature of Seishuuin Ena.
Even without the signature at the end I could already tell that it was Ena who had written the letter. With her arrival, it was only a matter of sooner or later where she would call out to Godou to request a meeting or she would come find him herself.
Even though Ena might look ditsy and seem to be one that would come directly to class shouting that she wanted to see Godou thus indirectly driving more hatred towards him from the rest of the male population like in a clichéd love-comedy manga, she actually had quite a grace to her person, that much I could see from her. No doubt as a Hime-miko the proper way to greet a King or a God had been ingrained into her since young so no surprise that she would send a letter asking to meet Godou beforehand. It must have been during lunch where the group of us were at the roof, this was only further solidified by the fact that I had been hearing whispers of a mysterious beauty walking around the school during lunch while in class.
Naturally after seeing the letter, Liliana had reacted and responded in way that befitted her.
"This smells suspicious. I do not have any information on this person and as your knight it is my duty to protect you, as such I would accompany you to meet this person." She had said to Godou.
"Ah, yes. Though that sounds a little too exaggerated." It would seem that Godou is trying to dissuade Liliana from following, probably to stop trouble from occurring by cutting off the source and preventing any dangerous substances from interacting with each other.
"Not exaggerated at all. Of course, I need to pay attention, especially when you are lacking in crisis management awareness. ...You are always one to make others worry." And of course that idea is shot down immediately much to Godou's evident disappointment.
Fortunately for him and by the whims of whatever higher being that exist, Erica had already gone outside with the girls in the class being the ever charismatic person that the Diavolo Rosso is. It was quite a boon for me too since this was an event that I did not want to be made into a big business because of Erica's personality. Erica would have made a big deal about it, followed us using her "position as Godou's first wife" and proceed to bring things into her own pace. This would have clashed with Ena and most likely results in a death match between the two of them when they meet due to the way that they did things at their own pace, not wanting to be controlled.
"Joel, you head back first. I will be accompanying Kusanagi Godou to meet this Seishuuin Ena." Being the kind elder sister, Liliana tried to send away "the little brother with minimal combat skills".
"Nah, I think it is better for me to follow Lily nee-sama and Godou nii-sama this time around. It is just a feeling but I rather regret doing than not. Besides, I also want to see the person that dared to call out a king like this, must be a pretty gutsy one without fear of death."
Apparently convinced by my logic, Liliana nodded her while the two of us ignored the protest of Godou who was still besides us. As such Godou was accompanied by me and Liliana on his way to the "Japanese block" of Jounan Academy.
"So this is where the tea ceremony club holds its activities. It is my first time here." Me and Liliana had never really saw the need to come to the Japanese block due to the lack of nessacity.
"I don't come here often either. The only time I came here was when the cultural department held its club introduction fair." On the other hand, Godou also appears not to get out much, even before he became a Campione not that I can talk myself but that is beside the point.
The Japanese block was constructed as a long and narrow single-story building capable of housing of the traditional Japanese cultural groups. The first step into the building and I could already feel the thrum of Ama no Murakumo in the air. [Gungnir] seems to remember this feeling and was struggling to appear in my hands. It was difficult but I managed to keep it under control though it made me wonder how Godou was feeling in such an atmosphere.
We took off our shoes and placed them into the shoe cabinet before walking inside. Not far along the corridor was the tea room which was roughly twenty square meters in size, and there were already six occupants inside.
One was Mariya Yuri, and beside her was Ena Seishuuin, the one wearing a uniform that Liliana and Godou had never seen before. The other four girls sat a little distance away from them, and were all most likely members of the tea ceremony club that we had never seen before.
—Uh, with one exception. That was the wonderful little sister of our group, Shizuka Kusanagi.
"Onii-chan? Joel-Sempai? Why did you two come to a place like this?" she exclaimed from where she was seating.
It was quite common for cultural organizations like the tea ceremony club to have both middle and high school members in activities together as far as I know. It was probably expected for Shizuka to be surprised. However, she was not the only one surprised by the sudden intrusion, as Yuri Mariya also glanced over with doubt.
"G-Godou-san? Why are you here?"
"It was me, Ena, who called him here. Now that all the guests are present, let's start the tea party. It also seems like an uninvited guest has arrived, but welcome anyway." Ena, the only person who was not wearing a Jounan uniform, suddenly spoke.
Hearing these exchanges, Liliana frowned unhappily. Just as Godou was about to speak, she had already bent down to sit in front of the two Hime-Miko. Not surprisingly, she had taken the proper traditional Japanese sitting posture of seiza. When in Rome, do as the romans do and Liliana took it upon herself to drill into my head the local traditions while learning them herself.
Godou and I sat on each side of Liliana also in seiza and it was when we had settled down that Ena looked to me with a smile.
"It has only been a while but once again I thank you for earlier on." It would seem that no matter how ditsy a Hime-miko is, she will still be overly polite at times.
"You have already returned the favour so I see no need to thank me again. Unless this is your way of getting me into you debt?"
"Of course not, though Ena is not really familiar with the city so perhaps I would like to ask whether Ena may trouble Joel-san for a tour around the city."
A tour around the city? With a person that she just met a few hours ago? One that she knows is part of a foreign Magic Cabal? Even when she has a friend like Yuri Mariya? If that does not scream hidden motive then I don't know what will.
"I do not see a reason why not. We should arrange a time and meeting place after this." I could see Liliana sending me a look from the corner of my eye during this, one that said "I hope you know what you are doing."
"Indeed… I must say though, is that Kusanagi-san's younger sister over there? Hmm mmm, what a coincidence. How should I address her?"
"No, there is no need for that. She doesn't need to join us over here."
"No! Please let me join in."
Even faster than Godou's refusal, Shizuka furiously declared. In a manner inconsistent with the spirit of the tea ceremony, she had rapidly approached and plopped herself down right next to Godou, and created a face-to-face situation opposite Ena and Yuri.
As things began to take an increasingly odd development, Godou opened his mouth to question.
"So this... how should I address you?"
"Just use my name directly like what Joel-san is doing."
"Just Joel would do, Ena. I find honorifics quite stuffy." It was weird to me to hear someone tag an honorific to the end of my name, I was just not used to it and tried to dissuade people from doing so if possible.
"Then Ena would do as such. Now, please continue, Kusanagi-san." Following the small interruption, Godou looked like he had a little bit trouble continuing on.
"So…You're a student from another school, right, so why are you borrowing the tea ceremony club's room." Straight to the point like always, as expected from Godou
"I had requested to use this place from the club president over there." Ena glanced towards the club member over in the distance. The club president in question seemed rather kind but timid, and was smiling in a slightly awkward manner.
"If you just wanted to speak with me, some other place will do." Godou must be starting to feel cramped in the tea ceremony room.
"That would be a waste of this rare opportunity, so let me serve you some tea I personally brewed." More evidence to Ena's upbringing as a Hime-miko. She looked back at the electric thermos and iron kettle behind her. It was not exactly the most tasteful tea implements from what I know, but it could not be helped in an amateur school club. The proper equipment and process would usually involve boiling water in a ceramic pot over fire fed by wood place in a sand pit in the middle of room which can be covered up by the tatami matting when not in use.
"Anyway, what is the nature of the relationship between Onii-chan and this person... And why do know her, Joel-sempai?"
Shizuka interrupted with an unhappy expression. If I am not wrong, this was considered rather rude towards someone from another school, especially one who was older than she was. Godou sighed at his sister's blatant lack of manners, but it seemed like Ena did not mind. Shizuka is a really nice girl once you get to know her but she tends to be quite blunt and cold with people that she just met or when it involves her brother.
"I would also like to know the answer to that question, Joel. How exactly do you know this person?" A more polite form of 'this person' was used in Liliana's case but she was staring at me with emotionless eyes. If I was a lesser person, I would immediately have started to spill my guts and then some under such a gaze. Thankfully, I am one of the eight there were above the rest of them.
"I just met Ena today when she was searching for the Japanese block. I was late for class just now because I was leading her here." Liliana now had a look of understanding and a small smile adorned her face. Liliana does not give out praises lightly so this was most likely her way of being proud that I had done something that befitted a member of the Kranjcar family. She was a Knight and as such the act of me being late for class immediately became an acceptable thing since I was helping someone else. Her honour as a Knight would not allow her to berate someone who did an act of chivalry at the cost of themselves. Even if the term chivalry is used very lightly here.
"Joel was really helpful but that is beside the point. Yes, both I and Yuri here have something to discuss with your brother. To sum it up, it concerns the date of Ena and Yuri's marriage into the Kusanagi household."
Crash! Shizuka had fallen forward in a most exaggerated manner; one might even call it a face-fault. It was not just her, for even Godou was so surprised that he sat straight up. The rest of the tea ceremony club members who had been drinking tea while leaning their ears over to the conversation also stopped all their motions in shock. Only Liliana sat back silently with a matter-of-fact expression. Maybe she did expect such a thing to come up sooner or later, who knows?
"E-E-Ena! You and I marrying Godou-san, what are you talking about!"
"Hopeless. You've always been like this." Ena admonished Yuri who was shouting with her face all red.
Truthfully to me, the entire thing just looks like a drama, a very interesting drama.
"Actually, what Ena has been saying to this child was, the earlier she prepares herself to be taken by Kusanagi-san the better. So she seems to have become a little too self-conscious towards you—perhaps you have begun to tire of Yuri?"
"Nothing like that at all! But..."
"Excellent. No matter what happens, we will entrust ourselves to you. Yuri will definitely become a great wife, and Ena should also be useful to Kusanagi-san. Yes, though it feels strange for me to say this, but Kusanagi-san is truly someone who reaps what he sows, how admirable."
"Ena! Please watch your words, shame, shameless!"
"Even if it is shameless, this is important so there is no other way around it—Kusanagi-san, please have some tea."
Placing the tea powder into the utensil, she added boiling water and stirred it with the cylindrical bamboo whisk. Ena then proceeded to hand the container towards Godou. This appeared to be thin tea. The series of motions were performed in a simple flowing manner and did not seem to adhere to any rigid conservative ritual.
Accepting the tea, Godou brought the cup to his lips.
He obviously was not clear on the details of the ceremony, but this was not the time to be hung up on them anyway. Shizuka was frowning beside him; she clearly did not like Ena much.
Ena used the same motions to serve tea to the others. Though it was said that foreigners often disliked the taste of powdered tea, Liliana still finished her tea in a composed manner. Then she turned her sharp gaze towards the one who served her tea.
Yuri was enjoying her tea in an elegant manner but with a worried expression on her face.
The younger sister Shizuka's displeased demeanor remained unchanged even after savoring the tea.
I myself have never tried powdered tea so I refrain from putting forth a comment just that it was quite fragrant. I kept my eyes on the others, found that the tension seemed to be rising and saw Shizuka who looked like she was about to snap.
"Anyway, back to the topic of marrying, it should be fine even if we don't officially update the family registry right? Since marrying two people at once constitutes the crime of bigamy. But then again, it would be troublesome to explain to the children..."
Ena made another shocking statement. This woman is a troublemaker, perhaps even more so compared to Erica in some ways and you could not even tell whether she was doing it on purpose or not.
"Who decided that I need to marry you, anyways?"
"Oh come on….You already have three mistresses so what are you saying at this point."
The shocked Godou, the terrified Yuri, the calmly listening Liliana, the sister Shizuka who was glaring severely at her brother, as well as the rest of the girls of the tea ceremony club who looked somewhat awkward...
"T-three? Where did you get three from anyways?"
"Ena knows everything, there is Erica, Yuri over there and Liliana. See, that's already three people... Ah, and a local wife as well."
"All of them are just my ordinary friends. Stop talking like I'm some sort of enemy of all women!"
All the girls, apart from Liliana and Yuri, stared daggers at Goudou all while I gave a small smile. Highest class entertainment with front roll seats. Though I have to say that the slight flinching that Yuri and Liliana did was a little too obvious for anyone that was not as dense as Godou. Seriously, to say that they were only friends after all that had happened, I can't tell if Godou has a cruel streak in him or not.
Godou on the other hand however looked like he very much wanted to escape this place. His leg were twitching slightly and His eyes seemed to say 'Why is everyone looking at me with such eyes!?' Poor Godou, to be so misunderstood because of the women aiming for him.
The atmosphere was a little killer for me after that so I decided to excuse myself.
"Excuse me, something urgent just came up so you will have to excuse me." That killed the mood and Godou was looking at me like I just saved his life.
"Ena, about the tour you were talking about. Do you mind meeting me this Saturday in front of the station at noon? I will give you the tour then."
"That is acceptable. I will be seeing you then." Was it just me or does she seem happier too?
Making my way out through the sliding door behind after teasing Shizuka for a little bit, it was at the entrance of the building where I saw a glamorously eye-catching female student. Blonde with a tint of red, and carrying an extremely rare sense of glamor, it was Erica Blandelli of course.
"Third door down on the left."
"Ara ara, aren't you helpful today, Joel. Did something happen?"
"Nothing. It's just that Seishuiin Ena is up to something behind this whole farce and it involves me. I don't know what it is but I just don't like it.
"So not knowing for once baffles you, am I correct to say that?"
"What do you mean by that, Erica Blandelli."
"I don't mean anything at the slightest. Just watch out for yourself as you never know what might happen."
The blond Italian then walked pass me, leaving questions and no answers with an uncomfortable feeling churning in my stomach. Damn it.
.
.
.
.
13 September 20XX 7th day of waning period
In the house shared by me, Liliana and Karen, Liliana had just received a phone call while we were all having our breakfast. A simple meal of bacon, egg and toast with coffee as a beverage cooked by the beloved chef, Liliana. How Karen still keeps her job as a maid is a mystery to us all with how little she does around the house.
"Wh-wh-what are you talking about?" Like that the silence of the morning was broken.
"Sh-shut up! What do you want?"
"It seems to be Erica-sama, Joel-sama."
"That is a sucker bet, Karen, of course it is Erica. Have you seen anybody get such a reaction out of Lily nee-sama other than Erica or me?"
"That is true…"
"You deceived my master, and had planned shameless lechery for today. ...Fine, how do you plan to explain to me?" "…." "Suggestion?" "…." "T-that I cannot agree. Protecting the safety of Kusanagi Godou is a necessary measure." "…" "My latest work? How do you know of such a thing?"
"Karen….Did you do something again?" Looking at the maid besides me, I saw her with her cat like grin, one bigger than normal like she was a cat that just got the canary.
"'Ooh, stop! No more, please!"
"You seriously need to stop passing Nee-sama's writings to Arianna. Don't you feel sorry for her after all she had done for you?"
"This is this and that is that, Joel-sama. Joel-sama is also quite something, not telling this faithful maid that you had a date today. I could have helped you prepare you know?"
"Date? Now just what are you talking about?" Seriously? Since when did I have a date? I thought that was Godou's and Erica's territory
"You know what I mean. Your meet up with that Seishuiin Ena woman."
"Wha…What gave you the idea that it was a date? I am just taking her on a tour of the city. How does that make it a date?"
"Oh come on, Joel-sama. She specifically asked for you when she had so many people to choose from, she clearly likes you and just wants to go on a date with you. For all your intelligence, you sure are dense at times, aren't you Joel-sama?"
"….No comment, Karen. No comment."
"Seriously that Erica, does she have any shame." Liliana had just gotten off the phone and her expression were like most of the time after she had spoken with Erica, miffed and embarrassed.
"What were you talking about Lily nee-sama?" Better not to ask why she was in an unpleasant mood just in case she goes into her lecture mode and starts listing me every characteristics of the person known as Erica Blandelli and how I should go about to avoid her and her unscrupulous ways.
"Erica is going on a date with Kusanagi Godou and she wants me to stop following him for today."
I knew it! You see Karen, dates are the territory of Erica and Godou, not me!
"I don't see what is wrong with that request, Lily nee-sama. Nobody likes to have their date interrupted by others after all."
"I know that but this is Erica and Kusanagi Godou we are talking about here, who knows what will happen and what Erica will do to him if I am not there to protect him?"
This made me send a knowing look to Karen that she returns too, we then looked to Liliana and just sighed at her. Poor girl.
"What is that look and sigh for."
"Are you sure you are not just jealous of Erica-sama for going on a date with the King, Liliana-sama?"
"Je-je-jealous!? What have I got to be jealous of Erica of? It's not like I li-li-like the King or anything!"
It is so cute that she is trying so hard to deny it.
"It is not good to hold back on yourself, Lily nee-sama. Anyone can easily tell that you like Godou nii-sama."
"Th-th-that….This conversation is over!"
She then went back to her room, slammed the door and locked it. Most likely venting herself through writing her stories with her and Godou as the lead characters.
"Well that's that. Now then, I will be heading out. Karen, please help me keep an eye on Lily nee-sama. She probably wouldn't eat her lunch if you don't force her to so be sure to use any methods possible."
"Certainly, Joel-sama. Please have a safe trip."
The problem at home was settled, now to go and see what Ena Seishuiin is up to.
.
.
.
.
Walking out on the road towards the station brought in a whole new heap of problems as apparently I had unknowingly dressed up exactly like someone called Izaya Orihara and coincidently look a lot like him to a certain extent as I was told. I was asked by a lot of people to take pictures with them, a few of them were quite pushy and overly enthusiastic and if I had not left the house early then I would most definitely have arrived late at the station.
Ena had called the day before after receiving my number through the History Compilation Committee about the tour and we had arranged to meet up at the station entrance. The station was a popular meeting point and it was the centre of the city's business and entertainment district so it made sense to meet up there.
In the end I was somehow able to escape the fate of being asked to take picture after picture and was finally able to reach the station just a few minutes before the waiting time. It was then that I saw that Ena was already there, wearing the school uniform that she had worn the other day, Ama no Murakumo being held in her left hand in its cloth bag and sheath.
"Yo did you wait long?"
"Not really. Ena had also just arrived recently."
"Even so I have made you waited so allow me to treat you to lunch later on, is that alright with you?"
"If Joel is insisting on it then Ena sees no reason to refuse such an offer." Ena then let out a giggle, a sound like the tinkering of bells.
We started to walk around the whole area and it was quite amusing to see Ena even more cheerful than how she was the last time I saw her, how was that even possible when she was perpetually happy all the time I don't know. But things only really got swinging once we had a serious talk.
It was just after lunch where we went to the nearby park to rest for a while before continuing now to see the rest of the city. I had just left her on her own to buy some beverages from the nearby vending machine and when I had returned, lo and behold, the punks that had tried to hit on Shizuka the last time were now trying to hit on Ena. She might just take out Ama no Murakumo to make a statement so I decided to step in.
I tapped the shoulder of one the two guys and shouted when he turned to face me
"DIVINE BUSTER!" As I sank my fist into the face of the first guy I heard a nice and loud crunch and saw a good spray of red.
"Bastard you're the guy from last time! Things wouldn't go your way this time!"
I fail to see how they think they can beat me when the two of them are already down one man so I ended it there and then when I saw he was about to charge me.
"STARLIGHT BREAKER!" and what a satisfying nut shot it was to hand out.
After a while the one that got his face punched in finally got up and began to drag his friend away who was still clutching his crotch, running away with their proverbial tails between their legs.
"That was close. You look like you were about to draw your sword back there." I said as I handed Ena her drink.
"Ena would like to think that it was not needed with Joel around."
I gave a small laugh and decided that it did nobody any good to keep the farce going so I made my point there and then.
"Seishuiin Ena, you know that I do not trust you, right?"
"Yes I could see that since the day we met, yet you still took me on this tour. Ena finds that strange, would you care to explain?"
"I had nothing better to do and I could not see any harm in doing it but I should be the one calling strange. You have a friend like Mariya Yuri, why would you call upon me to give you this tour instead of her?"
"Yuri has problems of her own and I would hate to bother her for something like this."
"Then couldn't you have asked someone from the History Compilation Committee instead of someone from a foreign organization like me?"
"If I say Grampsy and I wanted to know you better, would that satisfy you?"
"Grampsy? The head of the Seishuiin family I presume?"
"Not really but in a way that is true too but the one I call Grampsy is the one known as Takehaya Susanoo-no-Mikoto."
She has contact with a real god and yet no destruction is caused.
"Is he a Heretic God that had broken free of his myth and has not been slain by a Campione?"
"Not really but he had fought with the one they call the King of the End resulting in him suffering huge damage and making him flee to the Netherworld to heal. Once he was there however he felt no desire to return to being a Heretic God and decided to help out us mortals from there instead."
"And you are saying the Takehaya Susanoo-no-Mikoto wants to know me better?"
"Yup. Ena also does not know the reason for this so Ena also wants to get to know you better. You don't have to trust someone to know them after all. But what has you so suspicious of others, Ena wants to know."
"Let's just say that we live in a devious world, one where everyone wants something from you. There is always a catch to everything, and if you want to survive the only one you can trust is yourself. It's not just criminals who lie, and steal; but other normal people also do that knowingly or unknowingly. You always have to watch your own back when you don't have family and friends to protect you."
"That is a quite weird statement to say when you still have your family and the friends with you."
"Pfft… my family does not trust me at all the only ones that do are my sister and the head of the family. My friends...I don't know if you can even call them that when they don't even know the truth about me. So at most it is just the group that surrounds Godou that I know I can trust."
" I see…So you're just like Ena then because other than Yuri and Grampsy I don't think I can trust anyone else. The family sees me as tool to further the family name and the other Miko fear me for my power."
"...you...humph the world really does work in strange ways, no coincidences just the inevitable they say."
"?" Ena then tilts head in a way that might be called cute with a clueless look that made me stop my breath for a second or two. Taking a deep breath I then continued.
"Since the both of us have so little people that we can trust then I ask you of this, Seishuiin Ena, would you trust me and allow me to be your friend? I cannot promise that I would trust you immediately but I can unless try to trust you but for that to happen would require you to trust me, so would you be willing to do so?"
"….Please take good care of me then, Joel Kranjcar."
"Same to you, Seishuiin Ena."
Might be a little abrupt but I felt that it was a nice end before the fighting comes
Please do tell me your thoughts on how you think it was
It helps the writing process