No Game No Life

Vol 5 Chapter 1



into such a deep sleep.

Chapter 1: Try


Part 1


“Waaaaaahhhhhh!!”


- The capital of the Elchean Federation, Elchea


The last fortress of the Imanity - The lowest-ranked among the


「Sixteen Races」


Until a mere few months earlier, it was a country on the brink


of extinction, being forced down to its last city.


However now it had annexed the large maritime country, the


「Eastern Union」, and was expanding its territory at a speed


never-before-seen.


A sharp, loud scream of agony came from the capital of a


nation that was slowly turning from a 「Nation」 to a


「Federation」.


- In an instant.


The workers within the city that were extremely busy froze for


a moment as though time had stopped completely, but it was


only for an instant, and they soon resumed their work,


seemingly as if nothing had ever happened.


Yep – it was a normal occurrence, and everyone there was used


to it.


Everyone knew that 「That person」 was probably yelling


again.


And the reason why that person was causing a commotion was


probably due to a reason as normal as it could get.


Sometimes a sympathetic atmosphere would billow over the


entire city, although everyone still had to return to their own


workstations afterward.


“Argh!! Are you an idiot? You’re an idiot! You are an idiot,


right!?”


The red-haired girl skilfully reconstructed her sentence thrice,


and yelled again.


- Stephanie Dora, commonly known as Steph.


She was the head of the Dora family, possessing the t.i.tle of a


d.u.c.h.ess, and she was the granddaughter of the late king as


well, being a blue blood princess.


She would definitely be a ladylike woman with incredible


potential in the future – however those features weren’t present


at all at that moment, and she had absolutely no way to explain


away the situation she was in.


She sat on a chair, scratching her head furiously, looked up and


roared loudly.


“…Who’s an idiot, des?”


This query was raised by the Werebeast that was sitting crosslegged


on the floor beside Steph – Hatsuse Izuna.


Her age appeared to be in the single-digit range, being a young


yukata-wearing girl with huge fox-like ears and a bushy tail.


The book in her hand was upside-down, however Steph didn’t


bother correcting her.


“I mean Sora and s.h.i.+ro, no, it’s me!! What did I say – leave it


to me – argh!! Am I an idiot? I’m an idiot!!”


She continued yelling with her arms spread wide.


“Find the real reason why the Seirens Empress is hibernating


from the library of the late king!! Leave it to me!! Isn’t this


what an idiot would say!? How many books do you think there


are here!? And, what I want to say is!”


She stopped for a count, and surveyed the bookshelves that


covered all the surrounding walls.


“Why and how would I accept a task like searching for a book


which existence is unclear so easily!!”


They were in the secret room of the late king – his secret


library.


The late king had played the role of a foolish king in order to


research and find out the contents of the games of other nations


which involve magic or supernatural abilities, as well as how


the Imanity themselves could triumph over them.


The records that he had spent his life on – the inheritance of


this great man, was all displayed in this room, covering the


walls around them.


His great work was compiled in over a thousand books,


completely filling up the library.


Even though they were already arranged according to the date


written – there was yet to be any hint of when the late king had


approached the Seirens, so they could only inspect them one by


one. Steph let out an anguished cry upon realizing that was the


task they had to undergo, which was – what had happened


earlier.


And the worst part was –


Steph pointed towards Izuna with a pained expression on her


face but no tears to fully express it – the Werebeast who was


holding a book upside-down.


“What the heck does Sora think Izuna can do? She can’t even


understand Imanity!!”


“Steph-kou, you’re really loud, des. Doesn’t it look like I’m


learning now, des.” [1] - What?


“C-could you please wait? What did you call me just now?”


“…? Grandpa said that Steph is a d.u.c.h.ess before, des.”


“Why did you have to shorten it!? It makes me feel extremely


insulted!” [2]


“…Why, des? Steph-kou.”


Izuna looked over at Steph with her head tilted.


“Ah, aaaaahhhhh, don’t insult me with your round, ignorant


eyes!? If I open the door to a new world by accident while


sleep deprived, how are you going to make it up to me!?”


Steph banged her head against the corner of a table in


frustration, however Izuna replied coldly:


“Steph-kou, stop it, let’s get to work, des. Grandpa is still


waiting for us, des.”


“…Guh…y-you’re right, there’s no use lamenting like this.”


Yes, her grandfather – Hatsuse Ino was being held hostage by


the Seirens.


Izuna was tired as well, but even she was trying her best to


learn the Imanity language, so Steph had no right to complain –


Steph took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down.


After which she corrected Izuna.


“Speaking of which, Izuna…that book’s upside down.”


“…! I-I knew that, des. I-it was on purpose, of course. Des!?”


Izuna hurriedly flipped her book right side up, while Steph


continued to correct her.


“Also, even if you really didn’t mess up it’s fine, but the


Imanity language is different from the Werebeast language, it’s


read horizontally!”


“-? There’s a difference between reading horizontally and


vertically, des?”


Izuna widened her eyes with a curious expression on her face.


“…Izuna, I’ve never asked you before, but how old are you?”


Izuna began counting off numbers from her fingers slowly after


hearing the question.


She replied with an unconfident question:


“I…I’m supposed to start counting from zero, right?”


- Steph instantly understood.


It was completely reasonable that Izuna would be so close to


Sora and s.h.i.+ro, because they were essentially the same kind of


people.


They were geniuses at video games, however they knew


nothing else other than that.


Steph sighed and pa.s.sed her another book.


“…Izuna, you should start from this one.”


“What kind of book is this, des?”


“It’s a book that I used while I was still studying to learn the


Werebeast language, it’s in a game format between the two


countries –“


“Oh, I understand, des.”


Upon hearing the word game, Izuna immediately s.n.a.t.c.hed the


book from her and began flipping through it at a furious pace.


Steph approved of her newfound motivation, and knew she was


actually trying her best.


But if she read that fast she probably wouldn’t understand


anything – Steph looked up at the ceiling and let out a long


sigh.


“A…anyway I need to search one by one –“


Just as Steph was undergoing her solemn revelation…


Grumble~~~~


She heard a noise and voice that made her revelation instantly


dissipate.


“-Steph-kou, I’m hungry, des. Bring food, des.”


As though a switch within her had been flicked, Izuna spoke


suddenly to Steph and closed her book with a loud smack.


She was motivated, energetic, and wanted to save her grandpa.


But despite that, she actually said – bring food.


Izuna requested that with her huge round eyes that didn’t carry


any malicious intent.


The young female Werebeast scratched her large ears with her


feet while continuously waving her bushy tail from left to right.


Steph was forced to make a decision upon seeing her


unbelievably cute appearance.


One, forget everything and just collapse.


Two, make food for this inexplicably cute creature.


After struggling with herself for some time – her sleepiness


finally succ.u.mbed to Izuna’s cuteness.


“A-alright… you can’t do anything with an empty stomach


anyway… I’ll just make something simple to eat with the


ingredients I have at hand.”


“Mm, I really want to eat fish, but I’ll restrain myself, you are


forgiven, des.”


Just like that, Steph dragged herself slowly out of the library.


…Coming back to the main topic, you all still remember that


this is Elchea, right?


At that time Steph could have just collapsed without a care in


the world and leave Izuna’s meals to the chefs in the kitchen,


however she had completely forgot about this selection. Steph


lifelessly trudged out of the library, while Izuna followed her


with her tail still waggling, and no-one bothered to remind


them about it.


Part 2


Let’s switch the scene – to twenty thousand meters in the air.


Sora began thinking at an alt.i.tude almost three times as high up


as the Himalayas.


How should he describe the scenery in front of him?


- First, please imagine a Rubik’s cube.


Then hand this Rubik’s cube that requires a certain level of


intelligence over to someone that is pretty far off from that


certain level of intelligence.


After being forcibly taken apart by a pair of pliers, the splinters


of the Rubik’s cube would then be splattered all about the


floor.


Now resist the urge to complain, and repeat those previous


actions about a thousand more times.


So? Do you get it now?


The scenery was arranged in such a fas.h.i.+on – which was the


scenery around Sora.


“Welcome to my hometown located on the back of the


Phantasmas, the floating city – Avant Heim.”


With her back facing the small mountain of splinters of


Rubik’s cubes.


Jibril introduced her 「City」 with a sweet smile on her face,


while Sora responded dumbly:


“Um, I’m pretty sure that all the cities I know of at least have


roads in them.”


The scenery around them was knitted and woven with


countless gigantic cubes stacked upon each other.


In the eyes of a renowned artist, there would probably be some


meaningful theme to it.


However, regretfully, the eighteen-year-old mortal virgin Sora


could only describe it with one word.


Which was – chaotic.


“Anyway, Jibril – let me say this about the Flügel.”


“…「Un.o.bstructed s.p.a.ces」…are important…”


- Sora and others began working at the same time as Steph and


Izuna.


To discover the true conditions to awaken the Empress of the


Seirens – so, in order to carry out comparison and evaluation


with people that had underwent the same game, they had went


to the one place in the world that stored the most information.


Which meant – the city of the Flügel, Avant Heim.


“Ah, Master, don’t stray too far away from me, as the air here


is somewhat thin.”


Sora and s.h.i.+ro nodded complacently after hearing Jibril’s


words.


Also Sora had absolutely no idea of how they should proceed


from there.


“…Right, if only the Flügel stay here, there isn’t a need for


public transport services at all…”


In the 「City」 below them, there weren’t any doors,


windows, nor roads. To be honest, beings that could move


about without any form of restriction didn’t need those


things. Although they could understand that, the fact that the


entire place was constructed with huge, countless cubes denied


people any sense of perspective, and since they had nothing to


compare the place to they couldn’t gauge how exactly big it


was.


“…It’s not like a city…it’s more like a jigsaw puzzle…”


s.h.i.+ro expressed her easily understandable thoughts, after which


she mumbled while looking up:


“…The sky is…blue?”


At twenty thousand meters up the place should be at the doors


of outer s.p.a.ce, so they shouldn’t be able to see blue skies at


all…


“Avant Heim is a Phantasma ranked second among the


「Sixteen Races」. This race is ranked even higher than the


race that is the source of the Elemental Galleries in this world –


the Elementals, and they are organisms completely independent


from all normal forms of reproduction. To put it simply…


Avant Heim is another world entirely, that’s all you need to


know.”


Even though the air in the atmosphere didn’t seem to be


enough for her Masters – Jibril still continued to explain.


“”Hmm…I see – I don’t get it.””


Sora and s.h.i.+ro nodded as one with the same focused


expression.


“No matter the Flügel or the Phantasma, you lot completely


refuse to work along terms comprehensible by others, and that


for some reason makes us feel relaxed.”


After a line of sarcasm, Sora looked towards the horizon, and


saw something under a particularly tall tree – could it be that


his eyes were deceiving him… probably not, there was


something underneath that appeared to be a dragon skull, and it


was decorated lavishly and carefully as well, then left there in


the open just like that –


“…Jibril, I don’t understand the art direction of this city at


all.”


“What!? This place will eventually be the throne of the


Masters, to think that you’d actually dislike it, it really makes


me disappointed…”


Hearing Sora’s grumbling, Jibril replied somewhat dispiritedly.


“Speaking of which, you should probably save this girl


right?”


Sora spoke while pointing towards –


“Aaaaahhhh, the sun! The sun! I’m going to melt! I’m going


to melt, burn and evaporate!”


Plum was crouching down with her body scrunched up into a


ball and her hood covering her face while crying continuously.


“Ah, I’m sorry… I completely forgot about you, are you still


alive?”


“I’ll be dead in a few seconds! My power is decreasing


drastically!!”


For a Dhampir like Plum the sunlight was fatal to them; and


she appeared to be barely fending off the sunlight with her


magic, but that magic itself seemed to be siphoning off even


more of her energy.


“That’s it, Jibril, it’s not good to keep Izuna and Steph


waiting, so just fly us over to the place where all the


information is concentrated. Also, for Plum, it would be best if


it’s indoors –“


“OK, so please grasp my arms, and then –“


She appeared somewhat nervous – but yet her expression was


simultaneously unreadable as well, and she grasped onto Sora


and s.h.i.+ro’s arms and spoke:


“…Masters, I understand that it’s extremely rude for me to


raise such requests – but could you please agree to two requests


of mine?”


“…What is it, it’s rare that you’re this serious.”


“- Please don’t be disappointed, and please believe.”


…Sora didn’t understand her at all.


And Jibril merely spoke this one sentence, then shouted: “That


thing over there.”


“Y-yes!?”


Plum who was referred to as “That thing over there”, replied


with only her eyes showing themselves from beneath her hood.


“I don’t mind leaving you behind here – so could you please


hurry up?”


“Ah, I’ll be there right this instant, don’t leave me –“


Plum hurriedly stood up and dashed over, and in the instant she


grabbed onto Jibril – the scenery changed as well.


Part 3


There – it was probably within one of the cubes they had saw


from a distance earlier.


The place they were in was even more solemn and immense


than the Elchean National Library Jibril had hogged for herself


– it was a humongous library.


The high-perched ceilings appeared to stretch up to ten stories


high, and the interior was designed like an ancient ruin, with


stone-made pillars and stairs, intersecting corridors and curved


walkways with intertwining vines growing all over them.


And – those things that looked like 「Pillars」 were actually


bookshelves.


On the other hand, there was random memorabilia scattered


around the entire place as well, and stairs and walkways


arranged in impossible fas.h.i.+ons like a surrealist M. C. Escher


painting were all over the place – and what lit them up was,


gigantic fixtures of painted gla.s.s that were definitely not on


any walls, as well as infinite amounts of floating lanterns.


It was a dream-like yet elegant place – but it was a


blasphemous library completely incomprehensible to the likes


of the Imanity.


But leaving that aside for now, Sora spoke while pointing up at


something:


“…Jibril, that was probably your doing, right?”


It was probably the effect of the large amount of air that Jibril


had transported for the sake of Sora and the others.


The library (of sorts) appeared to be ravaged by strong winds,


and large amounts of books were dancing about in mid-air in


spiral patterns.


However Jibril looked over at that with a smile on her face and


spoke:


“Don’t worry about it, Masters, the owner of this place is


the creator of the 《Book Equality Law》.”


Sora looked up at the dancing books, and remembered why


Jibril had took over the Elchean National Library – or rather,


the reason why she had left Avant Heim.


Due to the fact that they had collected too many books, the


books were overwhelming Avant Heim – and they chose to


deal with it by pa.s.sing the 《Book Equality Law》 in the name


of eliminating unnecessary books.


“Her books are the Flügel’s books, I am a Flügel, so her


books are my books.”


Her triple conjugations proved her Takes.h.i.+ idealism, and she


continued with a smile on her face: [3]


“Even if this small accident here was caused by me – or was


it on purpose? I believe that she has to consider all these factors


before she can 「Decide」, but of course she is extremely kind


and tolerant, being able to forgive my mistakes, of course.


Even if there are books within the stash there that cannot be


copied, reproduced and are the only remaining copies in this


world, that’s how it is ♥”


So she could only damage those books because she owned


them as well.


- Speaking of which, regarding the 《Book Equality Law》


from earlier, Jibril really couldn’t forgive its existence.


After which –


“Aaaaaahhh~! The books! All the books I haven’t


finished~~~~!!”


Everyone looked towards the source of this outcry.


While the one standing there was –


“…Whoa…”


Even s.h.i.+ro couldn’t help but cry out in awe, and the person


standing there was – an extraordinarily beautiful young girl.


The halo spinning around on her head, and the wings stretching


out from her waist suggested that she was a Flügel just like


Jibril.


However the pattern drawn in the air by her spinning halo was


even more complicated than Jibril’s.


The largest difference between them was that she had a single


horn protruding from her jade-green hair.


Her wings that appeared to be woven from streaks of light


flapped in the air, and her appearance as she did so appeared


unbelievably sacred.


But her appearance as she was flying about and struggling to


collect all the books that were flapping about in the air, as well


as her expression that hinted she was about to cry, was


completely different from Jibril’s icy cold demeanour when


they had first met – instead she was extremely cute.


- Phew, phew…


She panted intentionally, then landed beside Jibril and spoke:


“Ugh~ Jii-chan you’re mean-nyan~”


A saddened expression appeared on her face which


immediately s.h.i.+fted to an angelic smile.


“Is this what I think it is-nyan? Is it those pranks that people


play on their loved ones-nyan? Aww~ Jii-chan I haven’t seen


you in so long~~ nyaaaaa!?”


Jibril brilliantly teleported away in order to dodge her flying


lunge towards her.


Upon seeing her crash into a pile of books, Jibril spoke blandly


from behind Sora:


“- Masters, I’ll introduce her to you, she’s the one that


approved the dastardly 《Book Equality Law》, the head of


the 「Council of the Eighteen Wings」 of Avant Heim, the


「Full Representative of the Winged」 that has the right to


make the final decisions regarding the country’s affairs –“


She sighed and continued –


“Azrael-senpai.”


- She introduced the motionless girl with half her body buried


in books to Sora.



“…How should I put this.”


“The Flügel…are interesting…”


That girl was the full representative of the race that was ranked


in sixth place, brought death with them wherever they went in


the past, and used to be G.o.d-killing weapons?


Sora and s.h.i.+ro mumbled to themselves, having had their


expectations completely crushed.


- At this time, the young girl that was buried in the pile of


books earlier, maybe because she had teleported, she had


already hugged Jibril tightly while rubbing her violently with


her cheeks over a span of time so short that no-one present had


noticed.


“Nyan~ Jii-chan is so mean~ I haven’t seen you for so long,


but you’re still as cold as ever~~~~ but! That’s fine too!!”


“Azrael-senpai is as annoying as ever as well.”


Jibril spoke with a smile on her face despite having her cheeks

violently jerked about.


- Although Jibril would usually reply sarcastically, this time


she outright insulted her, which was rare.


“Nyan~ I’ve said I’m not your senpai, call me nee-san,


neeeeee-saaaaaannnn~~!!”


Azrael flew about in the air, drawing a figure-eight around


Jibril.


“Jibril isn’t a particularly good case but is it really ok for the


full representative of the Flügel to be someone like this?”


“…Nii…you have the right…to say that?”


s.h.i.+ro looked coldly at Sora, however everyone present ignored


that line.


On the other hand, Jibril spoke coldly while being pestered,


hara.s.sed, and having her cheeks rubbed:


“Azrael-senpai, I gave a request for today, please allow the


Masters to browse the library –“


“I refuse-nyan~ unless you call me Nee-san, I’ll deny all


your requests~ ♪”


Jibril replied in frustration:


“If you explain why you’re rubbing my cheeks, and allow the


Masters to browse the library, I’ll consider it.”


“Because Jii-chan is cute! Explanation over, and I’ve allowed


them-nyan!! Alright, now call me Nee-san ♥ -“


She spoke while lunging towards her, while Jibril teleported


away from her outstretched hand.


“So Masters, I’ve already acquired her permission, please


browse this place freely. This is the personal library of the


「Representative of the Winged」, among which countless


books have been acquired through the cursed law by taking the


books of others, so there’s not a single place with more


information than here.”


“Y-you’re mean!! Jii-chan went back on Nee-san’s promise


with you-nyan~!?”


Azrael appeared devastated, and her voice was layered with


immense shock.


Jibril replied with a flawless smile once again.


“I said that I’d consider it, and after some consideration, I’


m not going to ♪”


“Waaaah~ Jii-chan never used to cheat others like this-nyan~


- and whose fault is this-nyan?”


- Glare~~~~


Her tear-filled eyes shot over to Sora.


The power in those eyes appeared as if that gaze alone could


kill.


“Nice to meet you, I’m Sora, this is my sister s.h.i.+ro, please


take care of us.”


“…Take care…”


Those two completely ignored her gaze as they were used to it


from Jibril.


Upon seeing their reaction, Azrael let out an interested “Oh?”,


while Sora pointed at Azrael.


“What does she mean by Nee-san? Jibril, you’re the sister of


the full representative of the Flügel?”


“Yes-nyan ♥”


“Nope ♪”


Both of them replied without hesitation – and with truly sisterslike


smiles – they replied with completely opposite answers.


Jibril sighed and continued:


“The Flügel cannot reproduce, we have no sisters, no brothers


and no parents, there is only the order in which we were


created.”


“…Ah, so that’s why you call her Senpai.”


Which means, she was a being created even earlier than Jibril.


“Also, Azrael is the 「Representative of the Winged」, not


the 「Representative of the Flügel」.”


“…Is there a difference?”


“She’s merely the 「Senator」 of the 「Council of


Eighteen Wings」 with nine members, herself included.”


At this mention, Sora recalled what she had said earlier.


He remembered that before Jibril belonged to Sora’s posse,


she was a member of the 「Council of Eighteen Wings」.


“Basically she has the first say only when emergencies occur,


and another 「Right」 -“


Which meant – Jibril shook her head and smiled bitterly.


“She’s not great nor brilliant, so you don’t need to respect her


in any way.”


“…You’re really mean even to your own kind, huh, you


really haven’t changed at all…”


Probably because she was unhappy with her response, Azrael


puffed up her cheeks in reb.u.t.tal.


“That’s not how it is-nyan!! All of us were created by Artosh,


so our father is Artosh, and the earliest to be created was me,


Nee-san! The last one to be created, Jii-chan, is my imouto!


Isn’t this an unspoken fact-nyan!?” [4]


Upon hearing her words, Jibril’s bitter smile turned into one of


mockery, and she continued:


“- She raised a suggestion like that during one of the


meetings, which was completely rejected by all of the members


of the council, that’s how pitiful her intelligence is.”


“Be~cause~ if I don’t do that, Jii-chan won’t ever call me


Nee-san~ nyan~!”


“Everyone knows that, which was why they turned it down,


unless you’re telling me this is the first time you’re hearing of


this?”


Jibril’s tone was as cold as ever, while Azrael hugged her once


again and began showing off her little sister with a smile on her


face.


“Jii-chan she is~ among the children created in the Great War


she is the 「Final Unit」-nyan ♪”


She laughed cheerily, while Jibril on the other hand sighed


deeply in frustration.


“The children created in the later stages, since they were


created when Artosh-sama was at full power, have a power that


is completely indescribable by children like me created during


the middle stages of the war-nyan~!! However~ the strong


children were all fighting on the front lines – so everyone died


in the 「Final battle」…”


Azrael’s spirits momentarily dipped, and if the person she was


hugging happened to be an Imanity, that person would


definitely burst like a balloon. She continued while hugging her


only surviving sister.


“Jii-chan is the only final-stage unit that survived after the


「Battle」, and she’s the 「Final Unit」 as well-nyan!


She’s everybody’s imouto, and what a cute imouto she isnyan!


It should be made a law to call her that, so why doesn’t


everyone understand?”


She once again began flying about in figure-eight shapes


cheerily.


Jibril squinting her eyes in disgust was a rare sight as well, but



“…Jibril…to deal with her…disturbing…precious


recordings…”


s.h.i.+ro spoke while lifting up her smartphone, and began taking


a video of the angels.


On the other hand, Sora was pondering another question.


He closely observed Azrael’s innocent and cheerful smile –


“…This is a pain, at this rate I’ll need to change the plan…”


He mumbled to himself disappointedly.


- Glare.


Hearing his softly spoken words, Azrael kept smiling – but


then looked towards Sora with a powerful gaze.


“- So, are you the one that s.n.a.t.c.hed my beloved Jii-chan away


from us-nyan?”


“Huh, to say a virgin s.n.a.t.c.hed a lover from someone, your


question is pretty hard to answer.”


Sora replied indignantly, with his head lifted and chest


protruding, at the same time appearing dignified, tragic and


powerful.


Azrael stepped closer.


“Oh -….”


“…Huh?”


It was impossible to react to that, as it was a step that ignored


all boundaries of distance.


The step itself took multiple instants before Sora and s.h.i.+ro


realized what was happening, and they cried out in surprise.


- In that instant.


A silent shock emanated from Jibril’s body that caused the


library to quake.


Sora had initially suspected that she had used magic, however


after hearing what the two said after that –


“…Senpai, if you even so much as touch a hair on my


Masters’ heads – I’ll just say you might want to reconsider it.”


“Really now~ Jii-chan you don’t need to be so tense~ there


are the 「Ten Pledges」 anyway-nyan.”


- Sora realized, she had merely unleased a slight bit of


「Malicious intent」.


Just how much did Jibril restrain her power under normal


circ.u.mstances –


As they got an extremely small glimpse of Jibril’s 「True


power」, Sora and s.h.i.+ro felt cold sweat running down their


cheeks.


And Azrael didn’t seem to mind that 「Slight malicious


intent」, instead she turned around to face Sora.


With those jade-green eyes – eyes that were impossibly


different from Jibril’s – she spoke while glancing at Sora:


“I wish to make something clear.”


“- Yeah, what is it?”


- Her gaze this time, was completely incomparable to her gaze


from earlier.


A sudden crus.h.i.+ng sense of malice filled the room, causing the


air in the library to freeze, giving them the impression that the


very universe itself was being affected.


If they were to answer incorrectly – they would die


immediately.


This world has the 「Ten Pledges」.


Jibril was awaiting their orders by the sidelines.


- Despite this, they were unable to relax.


Azrael’s gaze gave them that impression, after which she


spoke:


“As long as you command it, Jii-chan will call me 「Neechan


♥」 right-nyan?”



…?


False alarm – no, Sora felt a sinking feeling that gave him the


impression that as long as he were to relax, his very soul would


escape him.


The very reason why he was barely standing was because s.h.i.+ro


was clutching his hand in fear.


However, Azrael ignored him and continued emotionally.


“E-even like she licked the feet of the E-Elves, she could like


mine – or shower with me or something! N-no, I won’t force


her to do something like that!! For example you could allow


me to watch or something –“


- How could she have known that? Sora felt suspicious,


however he took out his smartphone from his pocket and


replied:


“…If you want videos of Jibril showering, I have videos –“


“I’ll bet the Flügel’s race piece for that! Give it to me-nyan!!”


- An impossibly loud sound could be heard in that twentythousand-foot


high alt.i.tude.


“Azrael-san, please calm down, you don’t have the right to do


that. To bet the race piece, you need to consult the decision of


the「Council of Eighteen Wings」 right? I think your request


will be unanimously denied once again ♥”


“U-ugh~~…! – Nyan?”


Jibril’s tone of voice didn’t carry any sense of apprehension


despite her adding a small (giggle) at the end of the sentence,


however Azrael –


“Wait a second-nyan… noises of gears rumbling are coming


from my head! My brain is currently working at light-speeds,


it’s the most active it’s been in my, Azrael’s twenty-sixthousand


years-nyan!”


- Azrael let slip her incredibly long lifespan just like that while


appearing as though considering something.


Finally she raised her head up all of a sudden, seemingly


having got an idea.


“- Right-nyan!! You…your name is Sora right!?”


“Ah, yes.”


“I’ll be your possession as well-nyan! My judgement dictates


that if that happens I can shower with Jii-chan!!”


“The worst idea you’ve had in twenty-six-thousand years,


great job on that hard work, Azrael-san.”


Jibril smiled a smile that couldn’t even be described with the


adjective cold, as it carried hints of disappointment as well, and


she mocked Azrael.


However – s.h.i.+ro glanced silently over at her brother.


Azrael had nonchalantly raised her personal freedom as a


condition – just as Jibril had said, she wasn’t the representative


of the Flügel, and so even if they were to acquire her, they


wouldn’t acquire the Flügel race.


Although it would be no easy feat to play against the Flügel.


Azrael even hinted that she would 「Intentionally lose」, also


it would be a rather beneficial decision to have her as an a.s.set.


Also her brother’s intention included absorbing the Flügel as


well.


On this train of thought, s.h.i.+ro looked over at her brother as


though to confirm her suspicions –


“…?”


She found that Sora had completely lost interest and had


calmed down, after which she looked over curiously at Azrael.


Her face still had that enchanting smile on it – an overly perfect


smile.


“…Ah…” – understanding what her brother’s expression


meant, s.h.i.+ro nodded slightly.


Sora sighed unexpectedly, turned around and walked away.


“…It’s rare of you to say such things, but this sort of thing


should wait until next time…”


“Eh~~… Jii-chan’s naked body –“


Azrael refused to give up, and Sora grasped s.h.i.+ro’s hand and


spat.


“…I bragged to Steph earlier that I would acquire three races,


but now I’ll have to apologize to her.”


Looking over at Azrael, Sora – glanced at her with a truly


disappointed gaze and said:


“- This one’s useless, Jibril alone is fine.”


Ignoring Azrael’s squinted gaze, Sora and s.h.i.+ro proceeded to


the mountains of bookshelves.


“So Jibril, we can browse the books here right?”


“…Yes, Azrael-senpai has approved of it.”


Sora nodded and surveyed his surroundings.


Books, books, books… it was a giant city made up of nothing


but books.


And within his line of sight, he could see that on the back of


countless books, there was – writing of multiple languages he


didn’t know.


“Since my original expectations were crushed, it looks like


we’ll have to tough it out… forget it, let’s try our best, s.h.i.+ro.”


“…Mm.”


The two agreed and disappeared in the piles of books, while the


two Flügel watched them go in silence.


Part 4


Azrael sat cross-legged on one of the piles of books and put her


head in her hands.


“Mm~ I wanted to use myself as bait to get Jii-chan, could it


be that the bait was too big-nyan?”


She coldly revealed the reason why Sora’s expectations were


crushed.


No doubt, Azrael’s thoughts were completely different from


her demeanour, as she didn’t believe nor trust Sora.


To get Jibril back, all she wanted them was to fall into her trap.


- As for why Jibril called them her Masters, she had no interest.


“…You really haven’t changed, Azrael.”


Azrael’s expression twitched slightly upon having her name


called directly like that, and she replied calmly:


“Jii-chan can even talk back to people such as me and Artoshsama,


so it’s impossible that you would serve under mere


Imanity-nyan. As long as it’s by the pledges, sealing one’s


intentions or making one a puppet should be easy-nyan.


Anyway those two must have won by pure luck, so you’re


being forced to follow them, right-nyan? To be honest –“


She looked directly into Jibril’s eyes.


“- Jii-chan has changed.”


Jibril replied Azrael’s words with a cold smile.


“Yes, I have changed…whereas you can’t.”


“…”


“As for how I was defeated in that challenge, you have


nothing to say – my expectations were all for nothing.”


Jibril smiled faintly in betrayal, and continued coldly:


“…The reason why I defied my late Master (Artosh) and you,


is because – I just can’t take your personalities anymore – too


stubborn, so…”


She hesitated slightly, should she say it? Or –


Jibril decided to go with it.


She knew Azrael would take offense more than anyone.


Despite this – she decided that she would tell her, so she did.


“Which is why we lost, and until now – you still won’t


change.”


Hearing these words, Azrael’s smile completely vanished.


To be honest – Azrael’s expression was like a cold puppet.


No, it was a completely different existence with Azrael’s


appearance – and it spoke:


“- 「Final Unit」, hast thou discovered the 「Answer」?”


Jibril looked at that existence with a gaze of pure hate, and she


spoke to it, almost spitting her words:


“- Yes, or more correctly, I found it long ago, it’s just that I


didn’t have concrete evidence.”


“…”


“So now I must help the Masters find what they need, so –


that’s it.”


Jibril turned away, leaving behind the silent existence.


- …


“…What do you think-nyan?”


- You had to ask.


“…Yes-nyan, but what if you’re wrong?”


- You don’t have to ask, you know already.


“…That’s right-nyan…”


- 「First Unit」, I completely trust in your decision, not just


me, but everyone else.


“I know, nyan…”


I know… she told herself that repeatedly.


Azrael was speaking in reply to – the will of the Phantasma


(Avant Heim) residing within her.


Azrael merely looked at the people who were searching


through the books –


She could only ask again when they made a move.


Part 5


“…No, we won’t make it at this rate.”


Standing before a gigantic pile of books, Sora realized that


their efforts were futile after a mere half-hour.


“s.h.i.+ro, how many languages of this world have you learnt?”


“…Only…the Imanity, Werebeast and Elven languages…”


s.h.i.+ro mumbled nonchalantly, and Sora caressed her head


lovingly.


For Sora who could barely learn the Imanity language, that


stunning learning pace just simply couldn’t be described with


「Only」.


But, despite that –


“Jibril, which languages are these?”


“It’s the Dwarven and Demon languages, I can vaguely


understand them…”


…Right, the only one that could understand all the books there


would be Jibril.


Even though s.h.i.+ro could learn foreign languages at


incomprehensible speeds, the books here alone were in the


millions, so relying on this few people to search for


information here would be impossible, which was obvious


from the very start.


“…Jibril.”


“Yes.”


“There’s no time, if we take too long, Ino’s life will be in


danger. Even if we have a lifeline, if the Seirens think we’re


genuinely running away, we’ll be in big trouble – can’t you get


some help?”


They had no time to sit here and slowly gather information, as


they needed to challenge the Empress once more as soon as


possible.


Because of that – Sora had originally intended to rely on


Azrael to gather help –


However his hopes were crushed as soon as he realized Azrael


didn’t have any intention of the sort.


The expression Sora saw on Azrael’s face, wasn’t that of a


knowledgeable Flügel – nor was it something like Jibril’s who


was a collective of both curiosity and intelligence, nor was she


a trigger-happy person.


It – was only –


“…I can get help, but I fear it may not be what you’re


expecting.”


Yes, that would be Azrael’s intentions, but –


“There’s no other way, so let’s do what she wants since we


don’t have the time to just sit here – s.h.i.+ro.”


“…Mm.”


- Sora made a once-in-a-blue-moon fidgety gesture – he


nibbled on his fingernails, and s.h.i.+ro replied as well.


“- Since your original expectations were crushed, we can only


adapt to the situation at hand, so we’ll need you to cooperate.”


“…OK…”


Part 6


“Hey, Azra…el?”


Sora decided to call upon Azrael, but froze momentarily


instead.


- Probably because she had turned the scenery in the Eastern


Union or the things within her knowledge into reality.


She was just like the j.a.panese hikikomoris Sora knew – which


included Sora and s.h.i.+ro themselves – exactly like that, she was


buried in a kotatsu-like thing, with her head covered within a


blanket, staring at a projector (television) that had only static


on it –


“…What is it-nyan…? What is it so important that you have


to bother someone useless like me-nyan?”


What a waste of energy – Azrael made the surroundings on her


appear dark and gloomy in an attempt to accentuate her


sadness.


Faced with her overly exaggerated acting skills, Sora instead


felt admiration, after which he spoke with a deadpan


expression:


“- Ah~ um, you know about the hibernating Empress of the


Seirens right?”


“Nyaaaaa…that idiot that was influenced by fairy tales and


pushed two races including herself to the brink of extinction in


the span of a single generation, leaving even the sh.e.l.lfish


speechless? Everyone knows-nyan~…”


Azrael replied under her blanket.


- While looking at her halo that was spinning about above her


blanket, Sora continued while experiencing indescribable


feelings:


“Y-yes, that’s her, we’re looking for the records of the


conditions she set before starting her game.”


“…If that’s you want, Jii-chan knows as well-nyan! It’s


「She will continue hibernating as long as she hasn’t fallen in


love」-nyan.”


“Yes, but – that’s fake.”


Hearing her words, Azrael’s eyes lit up with a sharp glint as


though forgetting her previous depressed act.


“Oh! Is that why everyone lost-nyan? So what’s the actual


conditions-nyan?”


- That fellow was a Flügel after all.


“That’s what I want to know, so I’m looking for all available


records of people that have carried out games with her, and the


exact words the players were told for comparison.”


“Oh~….”


Azrael stared into s.p.a.ce for a moment, after which she replied


coldly:


“About that, if you’re looking for records, they’re placed in a


certain somewhere, look for it yourself, and I’ll inform you


again if you have a definitive goal.”


But – no doubt, she was different from Jibril.


“Yes, but there’s too many books, we don’t have time, so


where are all the related records –“


“I don’t know at all-nyan! Ahahahahaha~”



“Because of the 《Equality Law》-nyan~ After lending those


books out countless times, even I don’t know where they arenyan~♪”


“Do you understand now? Master, this is exactly why I left


my hometown.”


Probably because she had forgotten she was supposed to be


acting depressed, Azrael laughed cheerily while Jibril was


completely solemn.


“…Since you all live to collect books, you should at least


keep them properly…”


“Hmm? That’s wrong-nyan, our aim is to collect


「Knowledge」, 「Books」 are actually nothing to us-nyan. I


even think that as long as we can memorise the contents of the


books, throwing them away is fine as well; but since the people


who haven’t read them would be angry, we didn’t do thatnyan~”


“Do you understand now? Master, this is exactly it! The


reason why I left my hometown.”


Jibril smiled a smile that indicated she would strike at any


moment as she explained to Sora once again.


- Sora now understood, all she was focused on was


「Knowledge」-


「As for what that meant」…Sora couldn’t restrain his


laughter, however he didn’t bother explaining it, and instead


asked Azrael:


“So, what should I do?”


“Hmm~ just let the people that are in charge of the books’


locations to search for them! There are some others that are just


as close-minded as Jii-chan, so as long as they’re willing to,


you should be able to get all of them-nyan~”


“Mm, so I’ll leave it to –“


“I’m not in the mood-nyan~”


Seemingly wis.h.i.+ng to appear sad once again, Azrael spoke


while burying herself under the blanket once more:


“I can allow my cute imouto’s toys to wander about


everywhere, but I have no obligation to take care of you all. I


have no value in being your companion, and even Jii-chan


called me an idiot, so I’m very depressed now-nyan~ I’m very


hurt-nyan~ So I don’t want to do anything-nyan~”


Sora slowly pa.s.sed her his phone.


“Even if I show you videos of Jibril in the shower?”


“----------No.”


“If you agree now, I’ll throw in the offer of her calling you


「Nee-san」 then?”


“---------------------------N…no deal.”


Azrael replied while sweating furiously, as though she was


engaging in mortal combat with something.


She squeezed out her words while breathing heavily, seemingly


undergoing some brutal training.


“I-I’m very~~ hurt now-nyan – something like that… ah, no,


I’m not dismissing Jii-chan as something beneath me-nyan! It’s


just that I’m too hurt, so I need something more than that – um,


you should know…what I mean right?”


Cheh – Sora grumbled silently.


He saw that amongst Azrael’s deception and lies – only her


devotion to Jibril was real, which was the reason why he


played his trump card but to no avail.


At this rate, his actions would be limited.


Facing an opponent such as the Flügel? Having the opponent


have the upper hand in a game still yet unknown to them? –


What a joke.


“- To be honest, I don’t care what happens to you, so if those


stupid fish, mangy mutts and bald monkeys want to go extinct


just let them, at the most we’ll just get a few more books


describing their downfall-nyan. For me, it’s advantageousnyan.”


Her gaze fell upon Sora.


“To someone immortal like me…people like you who die in


the blink of an eye don’t even deserve the value of a 「Fairy


tale」. You want me to help? Why do I have to-nyan?”


- But he couldn’t let her have the upper hand, as if she did it


would be all over.


If Azrael insisted on playing mind games – bring it on.


“So that’s how you really are, which is why I said you’re


useless, can’t you even detect my mockery? 「Dead


man」.”


Sora replied with determination but at the same time in pride –


and hearing his words, Azrael’s expression changed.


“A tool used by no one, a puppet with no value, I’ll a.s.sume


that’s a pretty enjoyable life you’re living there.”


“-…”


“It’s fine, since when we’ve taken over the world, people


like you would definitely say something like 「Please allow


me to join」 right? Because you all only know how to follow


along with where the wind blows. Jibril, we’ll think of a way


ourselves, so let’s go find your friends one by one –“


Sora stood up and turned to leave.


“…You dare to pick an argument with me, don’t tell me


you’re running away now?”


- She took the bait, Sora smiled to himself.


“Argument? Hah! Only equals can argue with each other.”


“Oh… I didn’t think that you’d be so self-conscious about it,


you’re worthy of some commendation after all.”


“- The one that’s on the lower rank is you of course, did you


get up on the wrong side of the bed today? Airhead.”


“….Very good-nyan, who’s afraid of who-nyan.”


After which she raised her hand and announced.


“「Kill and plunder for the things that you desire, for that is


tantamount to the decree of heaven」-nyan!”



-…Hearing her extremely cra.s.s words, Sora and s.h.i.+ro halfclosed


their eyes.


“…What kind of words are those…?”


“Ah, Masters, that’s a Flügel idiom so it’s fine if you don’t


know it.”


“No, that’s not what I meant.”


“Not an argument – but we’ll play a game-nyan, it’s just that


–“


Ignoring Sora and Jibril’s conversation, Azrael snapped her


fingers.


“「All of us」 will play a game together with Jii-chan’s


friends that you’re looking for, then you can ask for their


help.”


- In an instant.


Everyone present was teleported with a force that even Jibril


couldn’t resist.


And what they saw after the scenery had changed was –


- A long banner with the words ‘Kuuhaku「」 Autograph


and Handshake Fan Meeting’ written on it.


Countless Flügel were setting up the place –


“…We were tricked -!!”


As almost a hundred gazes fell upon them simultaneously, Sora


understood instantly.


- She merely pretended to be provoked – which means, he lost


in the mind games department.


But, as compared to this, the gazes that were upon him nearly


made Sora and s.h.i.+ro black out.


However – the questions that were festering in his mind caused


him to stay conscious.


It was a card that none of them had expected.


Although since Sora had already shut his ears and was prepared


to faint, he didn’t hear any of it.


It was probably the sound of a girl yelling for help, and the


sound covered the entire area like an explosion.


Under the countless approaching gazes, Sora asked in a


trembling voice:


“Hey, Jibril, what…is this? What is this-aaaaahhhhh!”


Sora yelled while frantically hugging s.h.i.+ro whose eyes were


already rolling up into the whites, while Jibril clapped her


hands once and replied:


“Ah, I forgot, in order for them to deal with the Eastern


Union, I took the Masters’ 「Bible (Observation Diary)」and


pa.s.sed it to them, in order for faster transmission of


information –“


Jibril giggled and continued:


“I even gave them complimentary autograph vouchers,


handshake vouchers, date vouchers and sleepover vouchers,


don’t forget all the various and dream-like special items –“


“Don’t use that sort of dirty methods!! Like that even if


repeated buyers increase, the buyer penetration rate wouldn’t


increase, right!?”


“…I see, I wanted to say that we would sell a large amount of


copies but there seems to be an eerily small amount of people


here, so that’s the reason. Next time I’ll think of an even more


profitable method – or rather, a more effective way of pa.s.sing


information.


Jibril’s face was full of determination, and she began furiously


writing down stuff on a notebook, however Sora continued:


“Wait a minute Jibril! You have to report to me when you’re


doing things like this!!”


- No wonder Azrael knew a suspiciously large amount of


information regarding them.


But since the reason for that was due to their own comrade,


how were they supposed to win at their mind games?


To make it clear, the hundred Flügel present there were all Sora


and s.h.i.+ro’s 「Fans」.


Looking over at them once more, Sora almost fainted again,


however Jibril smiled –


“No problem, Masters, you’ve won this time.”


“Huh? What?”


- Jibril spoke while looking sharply over at Azrael.


“~~~~~~~~~~~~~~”


“~~~~~~~~~~~”


“~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~”


“~~~~~~~~”


- That was probably the Flügel language.


The two of them were conversing in a language that Sora and


s.h.i.+ro couldn’t understand.


But for some reason –


The hall that was filled with a woman’s screams of help since


earlier…


The atmosphere suddenly changed, and what replaced it was a


suffocating silence.


“- Um~ Jibril-san? I have a bad feeling about this, what are


you guys talking about?”


“Ah, sorry Master, we’re done talking so I’ll tell you now.”


Jibril turned around.


“Just as Azrael-senpai said, we’ll recruit these people’s help


to find our information.”


Jibril spoke with a smile on her face to the trembling Sora and


s.h.i.+ro.


“Essentially speaking, we just have to defeat all of them in a


game ♪”


“Jibril, do you know how much effort we put into just


defeating you alone – who can beat such a large amount of


Flügel?”


“…s.h.i.+ver.”


The two were demophobic and anthropophobic in the first


place…


Not to mention that they had to face off almost a hundred


Flügel in Materialization s.h.i.+ritori, so they would definitely not


be able to survive.


Just imagining it – made Sora and s.h.i.+ro’s faces pale in fear.


“No, that means 「Defeating all of them at once」, luckily


the opponent’s demands aren’t that huge.”


“Yep, you just need to play against everyone here-nyan.”


“If you win, everyone will help you collect the books that


you’re looking for. If you lose, I’ll let the Masters choose


whether you want the autograph or handshake events. These


are the conditions we set down earlier.”


d.a.m.n –


The hall was filled with women’s voices crying for help once


more, and Sora and s.h.i.+ro were at the verge of fainting.


“Jibril…do you want us to die…?”


“…Jibril…we…trusted you…”


The siblings were trembling non-stop like newborn deer.


“Please relax – the Masters won’t lose, and –“


Jibril looked over at Azrael.


Azrael clapped her hands once.


“We can’t possibly play s.h.i.+ritori with this many people, so


let’s play - 「Red light, Green light」.”


“- Jibril, let me ask you again – do you want us to die?”


“…Tremble.”


Playing red light, green light against the Flügel?


They could fly and teleport freely, so if there was a place


beyond their grasps…


That was basically hinting at 「The afterworld」.


While Azrael cut off his train of thought.


“But the normal version of red light, green light is too boringnyan,


so –“


“In conjunction with the nature of the Flügel – we’ll use a


「Word Game」 to play it.”


Jibril raised up her palm as she said this.


On her raised palm, just like a vortex –


Forty-six characters woven from light appeared on it.


Sora knew those characters – those were the forty-six –


katakana.


Jibril threw those characters over to Azrael.


“Hmm~? Are these the letters of your world? Are there


consonants?”


Azrael closely pondered the characters, then began moving her


hand about in a complex fas.h.i.+on.


- Although Sora couldn’t detect magic, the ground began to


shake about as if something was hoisting it up from


underneath, so they guessed that there was a gigantic spell


being activated.


“Alright, I’m done-nyan, so let’s get started-nyan?”


As she said this, the katakana – the forty-six characters from ア


(a) to ン (n), on Azrael’s hand – converted to light…


And they dissolved simultaneously, automatically distributing


themselves individually amongst the hundred Flügel females.


After ensuring that all the characters were a.s.signed, Azrael


then said:


“The rules are simple, I have just transported the characters to


a certain location on each of the women present.”


- Forty-six characters, and with the partic.i.p.ants almost entering


the hundreds, there was no way to tell who had which


characters.


“The game is Red light, Green light, so for your convenience


I’ve specially banned teleportation from being used within the


game.”


- After that…


“If you both get caught by these children you lose, and if you


manage to evade them for an hour it will be considered a


victory.”


“As long as you touch the s.h.i.+fting characters – that is if you


manage to do it while not getting caught, the characters will be


transferred to the Masters.”


Jibril spoke with a smile on her face as if to continue Azrael’s


explanation.


As she finished, she threw two characters over to Azrael.


“When characters combine they become 「Word Spirits」.”


Azrael raised her hand as an example, and the two letters -


「コ (ko) 」 and「タ (ta) 」, began spinning around on her


wrist, and she said:


“After you touch the 「Word Spirits」, their meanings will


become reality – no matter whether it’s a concept or an


object, you can even s.h.i.+ft their states at will.”


“”Oh.””


In the instant that she said that, Sora and s.h.i.+ro – saw th



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