Campione 02 Page 6

  However, his cellphone began to ring when he returned to his own room.

  Godou glanced at the display, the caller's name was "Unknown."

  Furthermore, a foreign phone call? Should he just ignore it? But then there was a huge risk. Perhaps one day he might open the door to his home to find that fellow appearing and saying 'I came over because you didn't pick up the phone.' That would be the worst scenario.

  Godou prepared himself and pressed the button to pick up the call.

  'Suddenly hanging up the phone, that's too cruel!'

  "You bastard. Anyway, why do you know my home and cellphone numbers?"

  'You're such a fool. Isn't it natural to know a good friend's phone number?'

  If this was a face to face conversation, then he'd probably be doing things like winking as well.

  Blonde hair, blue eyes, tall and handsome. A bright expression on his proper face, and extremely friendly. The appearance of an elegant gentleman, but in reality, the strongest warrior possessing a body of steel—

  Godou recalled the image of the one who called himself his 'good friend.'

  "Hey Salvatore Doni, we don't really count as friends you know, and I don't remember ever telling you my phone numbers."

  'Hmph, you're the fellow who didn't even want to exchange phone numbers or mailing addresses. Thanks to you, I had to order my subordinates to investigate. And from now on, please do not use "don't really count" to describe our relationship. Didn't I say already, that we are great friends?'

  "If that's what you think, please look up the dictionary definition for the word 'friend' one thousand times before you call again."

  Salvatore Doni.

  The twenty-four-year-old Italian, as well as the Sixth Campione.

  He possessed massive influence centered around southern Europe, and had defeated four pillar gods. In terms of age and experience, he would count as Godou's senior.

  However, Godou had no intention of using honorifics with this guy.

  Godou himself found it unbelievable, since he would usually interact with elders with the appropriate attitude and word choice.

  However, it was entirely different when facing this man. From the depths of his heart, a certain subtle feeling of opposition prevented it.

  'Hey hey, the one who doesn't understand friendship is you. That is totally shameful for a Japanese.'

  "What does nationality have to do with it?"

  'Of course it does. I remember that "write letters to enemies, and predict the thoughts of friends" is a Japanese saying. It was written clearly in some Japanese literature I read before."

  "Uh... is that really so?"

  Godou felt that there must be some mistake in Doni's words. In reality, Godou did recall something similar lost in the depths of his memories. If it was really true, could this guy actually be correct?

  'It's possible, after all our relationship is not the type which improves after a fight to the death. —At that time, how many times did our fists pummel each other, and how many rounds did our blades clash together violently?'

  "What blade clashing? I only got stabbed by you... No, I just got sliced by you."

  To Doni's enthusiastic words, Godou simply responded coldly.

  This man is full of exaggerated delusions and a total medieval chivalry romantic, better stay away from him.

  'You were truly great that time. Overcoming unavoidable death and fighting me with fierce burning battle spirit—I responded with all my strength.'

  "Going all out on a lower level opponent like me, you really lack the magnanimity of an adult."

  'We both felt it during that battle right? Ufu, that this man before me will be a worthy rival for eternity. —As fated opponents to battle to the death repeatedly. How could you not have felt that?'

  "Didn't feel a thing! Not even for an instant!"

  '—And thus, my eternal rival. With love and respect please call me Salvatore. How about it, you can even call me by my pet name [Toto].'

  Though it was extremely tiring to talk to this guy who was impossible to argue against, Godou still forced himself to respond in the negative.

  "I'd rather die than use your pet name!"

  'Hoho, you're still such a shy boy. You know you want me, but still treating me so coldly... I know, this must be what they call tsundere in Japan.'

  "You have seriously misunderstood Japanese culture! If that's all you're going to talk about, I'll be hanging up now?"

  Godou totally felt that he had already wasted too many words with this idiot, and was about to hang up.

  'Please wait, my friend. Today I just wanted to give you a warning. Do you know of the one named "Sasha Dejanstahl"?'

  "Just in name only. Isn't it the strange old Devil King who lives near you?"

  'Well, it's actually the Italian peninsula and the Balkans respectively. If you look at the map, I guess you could say it's close by. That old gramps really doesn't have a personality that one could easily live with, but recently it seems like he's no longer there.'

  "I don't even know if it's a castle or a dungeon located in some place!"

  Godou casually imagined the great elder Devil King and how he would speak, but somehow it didn't fit.

  'Oh, that's called classical style. I don't think that kind of life is bad actually, but old Mr. Voban doesn't agree, that person has very few desires other than gluttony, and doesn't care much about things like land or architecture.'

  Another unexpected character commentary.

  ...Come to think of it, whether Kusanagi Godou or Salvatore Doni, both were [Devil Kings] and fearful existences to others. However, both had idiosyncrasies that were rather unbecoming for a [Devil King], so perhaps it wasn't too surprising after all.

  'Before he became king he lived as a vagabond, and led a tough life always short on food for almost two decades. His life was turned around when he defeated either the monstrous wolf Fenrir or Garm.'

  "Isn't Garm the hellhound in Norse mythology?"

  'You are correct. In some places he is also known as Garmr.'

  —These were definitely things that fellow Erica would know.

  Godou gathered his thoughts as he listened and answered briefly, but if he went over to ask that girl, it would only turn into a situation where she would force unnecessary knowledge into him.

  Apparently before Doni became a Campione, he was an unsuccessful Templar Knight. Completely opposite to Erica's genius talent in both magic and swords, Doni's only asset was his unsurpassed skill with the sword, but his talent in magic was zero. To a Templar Knight who required skill in both swords and magic, it was equivalent to a mark of failure.

  'Well, this probability is higher. Though the god he defeated first is unknown, it is known that the Marquis Voban's first authority could summon several hundred wolves to do his bidding with the power of the [Legion of Hungry Wolves]. Due to this, he must have killed some kind of wolf god.'

  "Several hundred of them, that number is really..."

  'Subsequent authorities included transforming people into salt with a stare, calling forth storms to blow away towns and roads, and turning the people he killed into something like zombies or ghosts to be used as obedient slaves.'

  Truly Campiones are the worst. Godou sighed.

  Both Doni and himself were the same—people who possessed unreasonable special abilities.

  "Anyway, so what does this troublesome old gramps have to do with me?"

  'Aya, sorry, I almost forgot. Since this old gramps should now be in Tokyo, there was something about shopping, and also something about staying out of his territory...'

  "Who would do something like that! So why did he come to Japan!?"

  Godou yelled loudly, and really felt like scratching his head.

  ...Heading towards troublesome developments again. Give me a break.

  'Hohoho, I can tell you, but there's a condition—if you beg for assistance from me who is your friend, older brother, as well as the hero Salvatore, then
I will immediately...'

  "I definitely refuse! I don't need you to tell me!"

  After refusing, Godou tried some other questions.

  "That old gramps has defeated quite a few gods, right? Also, you've killed Irish and Norse gods before, right? How many are there in total?"

  'If you add up both our kills, probably over ten. Is there a problem?'

  "No, for each god you've defeated, it means one less for me to fight."

  Who knows how many gods there were all over the world. The fewer left to fight the better. Godou spoke as he worried about his own situation.

  'Haha, what are you talking about? Even if the other Campiones and I defeat all the other gods, battle will come when it comes. This kind of calculation is pointless.'

  "Why? If you guys kill them all, then they can't fight any more, right?"

  '—Even if we kill gods, they are not erased entirely. As long as mankind exists, and myths perpetuate, killed gods can resurrect. Never forget that.'

  Doni was speaking in a rare serious tone.

  Dark battle spirit and joyful feelings were quietly stored in his heart. Though he looked outgoing and frivolous in appearance, he was a man with a warrior spirit, living for the sword and dying for battle.

  'After all, only part of a god appears on earth for us to fight. Their true nature are myths. Even if their bodies are destroyed, as long as myths continued to exist, they will be able to rematerialize and resurrect countless times. Furthermore, it is impossible to make myths disappear unless all of mankind is eliminated.'

  "As long as myths exist, no matter how many times they will..."

  'That's the way it is. So perhaps there may come a day for you to battle Verethragna again. That god is rather famous in western Asia, and it won't be surprising for him to resurrect somewhere.'

  This was all there was to the conversation with Salvatore.

  Disconnecting the call on his cellphone, Godou felt troubled. —Let's hope it won't turn into a battle against the oldest Campione...

  Part 5

  Yuri woke up to find herself at Nanao Shrine.

  Yuri had been sleeping on some blankets in a traditional Japanese-style room of the shamusho.[8]

  She felt very dry in her mouth.

  Adjusting her kimono and hair, Yuri walked out of the room.

  The kitchen was also located in the same building and had a well-stocked fridge. Wanting to get a drink, Yuri walked towards the kitchen.

  "Ah, Yuri-san, that's great, you finally regained consciousness. ...Is your body feeling ok?"

  Amakasu Touma was in the kitchen.

  He was in the middle of browsing through dozens of documents laid out on the table.

  "Did anything strange happen—what happened to me afterwards?"

  "You were looking at that grimoire with your spirit vision as usual, and suddenly lost consciousness, so I hastily brought you back to the shrine. Aya, and the shrine leaders scolded me, sorry for bringing you trouble."

  Bowing his head, Amakasu seemed to continue with great interest.

  "And then Yuri-san's expression became very strange, did you see something?"

  "No, not at all. I guess I was just a little tired that time, and then just lost consciousness. Nothing strange happened."

  Yuri explained immediately.

  Why would a hallucination of Sasha Dejanstahl occur? This was completely impossible to understand. Meeting that old man was over four years ago. Could it really be due to contact with the grimoire from eastern Europe that the memories of the Campione were awakened? Or, or was there another reason?

  Anyway, one must not rashly jump to conclusions.

  Yuri decided to change the subject, and glanced towards the documents Amakasu was reading.

  "What are these? ...Resumes?"

  If these were meant to be private, then they should not be spread out in such a place. It would be unthinkable for a representative of the History Compilation Committee to be so imprudent.

  Having thus decided, Yuri took a look at the pile of documents.

  They all seemed to be resumes with L-size[9] photos clipped on.

  ...It looked like all the photos were of teenaged girls, and every one of them had a cute appearance. Some of the girls had a more mature and adult feel, while others were cute and innocent. There were also some girls who looked very outgoing, and others that looked quite sincere. There was a great variety of them.

  "Ah ah, this is the matter we were talking about. To pick someone qualified to be the lover of Kusanagi Godou. Truly the elite of this nation, they are all extremely talented individuals."

  Amakasu talked with quite a joyful appearance.

  Yuri casually glanced at the resumes which resembled job recruitment profiles.

  "Perhaps in order to defeat an opponent of Erica Blandelli's caliber, it would take a combination of elegance, adolescent adorability, and the friend route character. Sounds about right. However, there is also the possibility that he prefers other types. This is quite a difficult decision."

  "Amakasu-san! Is your side really planning on putting that plan into motion!"

  The History Compilation Committee member simply retracted his head slightly in response to Yuri's scolding.

  "These are necessary human resources. Unless Yuri-san has a better suggestion?"

  "Umm, ummm... If it is explained clearly to Kusanagi-san, and an opportunity is created for practical negotiations, he should be able to understand where he stands—"

  "Haha, that's not going to work. He is a teenaged boy after all."

  Amakasu laughed condescendingly with sounds of "hehe" as if trying to provoke Yuri's anger.

  "No matter how honest he claims to be, he cannot refuse if he is begged by the girl he is going out with. That's what males are like... For a boy of that age, dreams or aspirations to higher morals can never compare to the value of girls."

  "Precisely, that is why you cannot ignore the wishes of a girl and force her to play the role of a lover or anything like that!"

  What Yuri feared was the History Compilation Committee using its authority to force this mission upon a hapless young girl or miko from some wizardry family.

  That kind of tyranny was definitely unacceptable. To the excited Yuri, Amakasu calmly replied.

  "How could that be? Don't worry about the will of the person being selected. They will be carefully chosen from volunteers. Relax."

  "Ah!?"

  "After all, the title of the Campione is very effective. Whether personally or the interests of the clan, there are numerous advantages to becoming the lover of the first Devil King of Japan. Lack of volunteers is simply not a concern."

  Amakasu smiled in an extremely satisfied manner.

  Yuri was shocked. Could there really be so many selfish volunteers appearing one after another—

  The Latin beauty Erica Blandelli who called herself the lover of Kusanagi Godou and passionately approached him completely unabashed.

  Strangely enough, Yuri did not feel repulsed by Erica's presence.

  At most it made her feel awkward at times. Though Erica could be very calculating, she was always open and straightforward—perhaps due to that relaxed and candid personality.

  No matter what, Erica could place herself in danger without hesitation for the sake of Godou.

  After the battle with Athena, Yuri understood that perfectly. However, what about the other girls planning on approaching Godou in order to make use of his power and status?

  "Still, still not allowed! If he gets close to girls with those kinds of intentions, what kind of bad influence will they bring? It's not easy for Kusanagi-san to have an opportunity to start a new life, what is going to happen!"

  Yuri could not help yelling, feeling that this was a dirty matter.

  "However, there will be a ton of people trying to use him for his powers anyway. If we don't do it, someone else will. Unless Yuri-san yourself will keep watch over this young man by his side."

  "But
, but, if that's the case... However for me, I don't think Kusanagi-san has a good opinion of me."

  He probably did not have a good impression from all that nagging from me.

  Though Yuri was a complete stranger to the subtleties of the male heart, however, she felt that her conclusions were correct. Since she had always been distancing herself from others in an obvious manner, it was natural to think that others thought the same.

  Shyly, Yuri bowed her head.

  Probably, my face was blushing all red, the color of a fully ripened persimmon.

  "On the other hand, perhaps it is Yuri-san who dislikes Kusanagi Godou?"

  "Dislike!? Not at all. Though Kusanagi-san and Erica's actions are inappropriate, I do feel that he is friendly, generous and a person of good character. He is not arrogant despite possessing that level of power, and being humble is one of his virtues ... So, I don't dislike him at all."

  "Hoho, it really is like that. Then please maintain current relations for now. Blushing shyly, your head bowed down, yes yes, very good. Extremely cute."

  "Ah, Amakasu-san, what are you talking about?"

  Amakasu suddenly took out his cellphone and snapped a picture of Yuri with the camera.

  Yuri could not understand the intentions behind his actions.

  "Reference material. The other Committee members will definitely approve at the next meeting. Anyway, the power of Yuri-san's photo will surely blow away the competition."

  "Uh? What do you mean?"

  "Isn't it true that Yuri-san doesn't wish for unscrupulous girls to approach Kusanagi Godou? In that case you must develop good relations with him, isn't that right?"

  "That's why I said, I am not..."

  "Nothing to worry about. We the History Compilation Committee will lend you our full support, and so, please win over Kusanagi Godou with full confidence!"

  The declaration shocked Yuri like a clap of thunder.

  "Win, win over!? I don't intend to have that kind of relationship with Kusanagi-san!"

  "Hohoho, still not being honest. Whatever, this will be a perfect ingredient to flavor the dish, let's just leave it at that."

  Amakasu gave a fearless smile as he spoke with incomprehensible words.

  "Let's put it this way. We wish to massively increase Yuri-san's influence over Kusanagi Godou. Our hope is that whenever he is tempted by Erica Blandelli, or when he is falling into darkness drunk on the power of his authority, you can persuade him and guide him down the right path."