Episode 6: The Land of Bonfires

When I—Léa Cœur de Lumière—opened my eyes, I found myself in the royal palace's infirmary.

(Huh?)

A blanket had been tucked snugly up to my shoulders, and I was lying in the bed where Kotton was supposed to have been sleeping. I sat up and looked around, immediately spotting a small note.

"Thanks for watching over me. I'm heading back to my room."

It was Kotton's handwriting. When we arrived at the Bonfire Palace, we had each been assigned our own rooms. He must have gone back to his.

"...!"

I hurried to my feet and dashed out into the corridor. His room was at the back of the third floor, so I took the elevator. Exchanging greetings with several servants along the way, I ran straight there.

"Kotton!"

"Whaaaat!? Léa!?"

I knocked and pushed the door open before a response came. Kotton was in the middle of changing, caught halfway through pulling on his pants. But I didn't care about that—I threw myself at him.

"Uwaaaah. Geez. I was so scared, you knowwww!!"

"W-whoa whoa! Léa! Léa-cchi! I'm currently in the middle of—"

"Uuuu... I don't care about that... Unless you're mid-molt or something."

"...Could you please stop letting your fetishes slip out?"

That was a lie. In truth, catching someone mid-change had a certain something to it—a bit like witnessing a molting, and honestly a little erotic—but saying so would make him pull a face, so I kept quiet.

"...You met the masked me, I heard."

"Yes. And I... heard a lot of things. Have you been filled in on everything?"

He nodded. He must have had even more complicated feelings about all this than I did. Lying on the bed with me sprawled on top of him, his cheeks had gone faintly pink. Feeling his warmth made my fear quietly dissolve.

"I'm sorry, Kotton. I got lonely. When I thought you might disappear..."

"I see. Yeah. I get it. ...Is that why you came running over with your hair all messy like that?"

"Eek. Please don't look too closely at that!"

Kotton grinned mischievously, and I lightly pounded on his chest. A sweet, couple-like scene like this—with him, it just felt natural.

(Because I've already realized it.)

The two of us were surely more compatible than anyone else. Like puzzle pieces that click perfectly into place. If we got married, we'd probably build a happy home together, I thought vaguely.

(This best-friend dynamic is just too comfortable—)

I didn't feel the need to push things further. ...Not right now, anyway.

"Haa. ...I'm always making you worry, aren't I? I need to get stronger."

"Oh my. Hehe, it's fine. No matter how strong you become, the people who love you will still worry about you."

He understood that well, I was sure. After all, I knew just how much he worried about Koito Hikari-senpai.

"But I agree. Getting stronger."

"Huh?"

"Me too. And you. We both need to get stronger, or it won't be enough."

His amber eyes gazed steadily into mine. His eyes were mysterious—usually so gentle, like the stillness of a calm lake, yet sometimes a lion's fierce gleam would surface.

"Yeah, you're right."

He nodded. As I thought, we really were in sync. The two of us wanted to get stronger more than anyone right now. Because we had learned that our other selves in another dimension had lost everything.

"Hey... Kotton?"

"What?"

"Aren't you going to get cold if you don't put your pants on soon?"

"Whose fault do you think that is!?"

I couldn't help but giggle.

"Like. You're totally calm about this—what's even going on? There's a guy's underwear right in front of you."

"Hehe. We're a married couple, after all. I don't mind something like that at this point."

"In another dimension, yeah!"

"I wouldn't mind..."

I lightly touched the back of his hand.

"...in this dimension either, you know?"

"............Huh............eh............ah."

Seeing him go beet red and lose the ability to speak, I burst out laughing.

"Ahahahahaha!! What's with that face! Hwee! Hwee! Hehehe... hilarious. Kotton is... pfft, such a dummy. So cute. You know? Pffhaha... ahahahaha!!"

"...Let's see. Taking notes. Revenge list. Léa Whatshername Cheese Fondue."

"Hey! Stop adding vague names to scary lists!"

We laughed and played around in the morning light.

(Ah. Being with him forever would probably be so much fun.)

Thinking that, I breathed in this brief moment of peace until I was full.

After our audience with the palace officials concluded—we mostly just stood there bowing our heads while Aimée-senpai delivered the polite greetings—we left the palace.

"So this is... the Land of Bonfires...!"

Stepping outside, what greeted our eyes was a nation enclosed by beautiful brick walls.

"Welcome to the homeland of spirits! The Land of Bonfires! To commemorate your visit, how about purchasing some of our finest spirits? Wine that's been aged one hundred percent by spirits—the best in the world!"

"Hey! That troll's in the way—move! ...Anyone got a Troll-Waking Bell!?"

It was a lively town. Countless people walked the streets. A bard strummed a lute and sang, and numerous brooms and mops flew through the sky. And that wasn't all.

"One-tenth of the Land of Bonfires' population is trolls, and three-tenths are human."

"Huh. What about the remaining six-tenths?"

I asked Aimée-senpai. That's when it happened. With a flapping sound, something landed on my head.

"Oh my! Well, well! You folks are visitors from outside, aren't you!"

Perched on my head was—a plump, pillowy duck.

"Have you decided where you're staying yet? If not, might I suggest our pride and joy—the Duck Inn? We have the finest water basins ready for you!"

My eyes lit up as I shouted.

"A d-duck... is talking!!"

I shouted, but my voice was easily swallowed up by the crowd's bustle. The sheer number of people and animals was overwhelming; Danae, who had low stamina, was clutching desperately at the hem of my clothes, her eyes spinning.

"The Fire Ritual starts in the evening, right? What's everyone doing until then?"

Koito-senpai asked. Aimée-senpai, our leader for this trip, answered with a smile.

"Free time until the afternoon! Feel free to explore. It's not often you get to visit the Land of Bonfires, after all. ...I'll be busy with greetings and scouting various locations, though."

"...Aimée. Then... I'll go with you. ...Too many people here... I might throw up..."

Danae's eyes were spinning. This crowd was too much for her frail constitution.

"Nah, it's fine. It's just going to be stiff conversations anyway. Léa. Could you look after Danae?"

"Of course, Onee-sama!"

I wanted to contact the Sheep Witch before the Fire Ritual began. But how could I naturally split off on my own? Just as I was thinking that, Nana spoke up first.

"Okie dokie. Then let's head out too, shall we? Kotoha-saaan!"

"...Huh?"

Nana hugged my arm tight. Everyone's eyes gathered on us at this sudden development.

"Wh-wh-what are you doing!?"

Koito-senpai was flustered. And I was equally flustered.

"Hm? Oh, we were talking about it a little while ago. Like, we wanted to go on a date? Or well, more just hanging out? The two of us, that is. ...Right, Kotoha-san?"

Everyone's gazes turned to me.

"...Y-yeah. That's right. I wanted to get closer to her. We'd made plans to hang out."

"Hmmmmmmmmm."

The cold voice made me snap to attention. Léa was looking at me like I was garbage.

"...A date. How nice for you, Kotton. Have fun."

"...Please stop saying that while grinding your heel into my foot."

Staying here any longer was a bad idea. I shot a glance at Nana, and she gave a small nod.

"Well then, we're off! Everyone have fun too!"

She pulled my arm and we left the group behind.

"K-Kotoha... you're leaving...?"

For a moment, I caught a glimpse of Koito-senpai looking lonely, and guilt hit me hard.

Fleeing as if making their escape, Kotoha and Nana retreated into the back alleys and immediately set off toward the Sheep Witch's residence. Skilled at gathering information, Nana had apparently already pinpointed the location.

"Still, Kotoha-san, you're quite the smooth operator, aren't you?"

Nana grinned teasingly as they walked.

"Léa was pretty mad, you know. So you two really are, like, a thing?"

"We're not. ...She was just sulking because we couldn't hang out normally."

Léa was a smart person. She had definitely noticed there was more to their actions.

"Plus, Danae seems to really like you too."

"...No, she's just using me as an outlet for her desires."

It wasn't that she liked him—she was just looking at him weird.

"Ahaha. Don't be too hard on her, okay? Danae's not actually a bad person."

That's what Nana said, but Kotoha thought of her as someone on "this side."

(The same side as me and the Black Demon Lord... The side of people with "darkness" mixed in)

When she'd transformed with Maji Sword, she was cloaked in the power of darkness, so he wasn't wrong. The type of person who walks down dim nighttime roads, intimate with death and chaos. Good or bad? Bad, probably.

"She always prepares birthday presents without fail, and when someone catches a cold, she comes to visit. She loves cats, and her Ringphone album is full of nothing but cat photos. But she's too afraid of saying goodbye to actually keep one."

That was surprising. He only knew her surface personality. There were probably a lot of sides to her he hadn't seen yet.

"And—ah, this should be the area. The witch's house."

"Huh? But... there's nothing here."

It was a strangely wide-open vacant lot. Being at a high elevation, it offered a beautiful panoramic view of the Land of Bonfires. He looked around, and suddenly, a shadow fell over them.

"Wha—!?"

"—I thought the bonfires were being noisy. So it was thee."

A massive block of bricks floated in the sky above. Looking down at them from a window in the beautiful cubic structure was the Sheep Witch.

"We're gonna get crushed—!"

The enormous brick mass descended directly toward them. Kotoha reflexively covered Nana's body, but there was no impact. The bricks rained down like a shower over the vacant lot and assembled into the shape of a house in the blink of an eye.

"Welcome. Come in, come in—to the witch's house."

The floor swelled and bulged, and furniture and implements burst forth. While Nana and Kotoha stood there dumbfounded, chairs appeared beneath them, gracefully floated upward, and carried them to a table.

"I know not if it will suit an outsider's palate, but..."

The Sheep Witch twirled her finger, and spheres of water gathered from thin air and floated, bubbling as they boiled. The moment she touched them, they transformed into a beautiful amber liquid. The liquid instantly took the shape of teacups and was presented before Nana and Kotoha.

"A-amazing...! Flying bricks turned into a house!?"

"A teacup made of tea...!? How do you even drink this!?"

Watching them gape in astonishment, the Sheep Witch chuckled airily.

"The tea will not burn thee to the touch, but 'tis piping hot once it enters thy mouth. Drink carefully."

Though the architectural style and people's clothing were medieval, this technology certainly surpassed their Academy's. It was probably a special technique used only by the privileged few called witches...

"Um... Thank you for your hospitality?"

"'Twas I who sent the invitation. Good of thee to come. Be welcome. Shall we speak long and deep?"

"Kotoha-san... are you seducing another one?"

Nana looked a little put off. She introduced herself to the witch as a bodyguard, and the witch gave a small nod. She seemed utterly uninterested in Nana.

"Kotoyorozu Kotoha. Thou hast talent. And not a half-hearted amount. Should thou study under me, thou wilt either become a legendary hero of this land—or a Demon Lord powerful enough to destroy it."

"R-really, that much? But sorry. I don't intend to become a witch..."

"Oh? Then for what purpose hast thou visited me?"

He told her everything. About his Apocalypse. About the Sight-Dampening Glasses. That he was searching for a way to remove their effect. The Sheep Witch listened to it all with interest, then murmured quietly.

"...So. Thine 'eyes' are at this level even with a binding placed upon them? Hehe. 'Tis no laughing matter."

The witch's unnaturally long fingers touched his glasses.

"Hmm. Outside technology, bound by bonfire law. It seems to have been made by quite a skilled craftsman. This metal is... unfamiliar, but... an extremely old ore. Must have cost a fortune."

"Do you think you can do something about it...?"

"That I can. Binding it with bonfire law was their mistake. 'Tis practically begging me to manipulate it. I can lift the security and falsify the data so the monitors take no notice."

"! Then—"

"Very well. I shall see to it. Though naturally, there are conditions. Witches prize fairness, thou seest."

A slight tension ran between Nana and Kotoha. There wasn't much they could offer her. Nana had mentioned she could prepare monetary compensation, but—

"Kotoyorozu Kotoha. Become my apprentice."

"Eh... No, sorry. I can't live in this land or anything like that."

"Only until the Fire Ritual begins. A mere four or five hours. Thou wilt receive my teachings intensively. In exchange, I shall falsify those glasses."

If that was all it would take, it was a generous offer. But it seemed too good to be true.

"If that's all you need, absolutely! But... why would you go that far...?"

"Hmm. It relates to my area of specialty—the root of bonfires. Their origins."

"Origins...?"

"Who created this world? What are bonfires? What wish do they hold... and how will they meet their end?"

"Their end?"

"Aye. Wishes must end. A wish that never ends is nothing but torture. Just as life without death is only suffering."

Her unnaturally long fingers touched his glasses.

"Break. Thy place is not there."

"...!"

What was this? His head hurt. He clutched his head and desperately fought the pain. A staggering amount of information was being crammed into his mind at explosive speed. This world was—filled with so many voices.

"Guuhh...!"

That wasn't all. The recoil from suppressing his Apocalypse until now came crashing down on him. This was his nature, yet he had tried to treat it as if it didn't exist. That punishment raged inside his body, condemning him like a sentence handed down.

Ahaha, looks painful. You okay?

Hang in there, hang in there!

Voices echoed. They were the same voices he had heard several times since arriving in this land.

"...Eh? What are these things?"

"What? Thou can see them? The Elves?"

He opened his eyes wide and looked around. What he had thought was just the three of them in the brick witch's house was actually packed with a swarm of tiny people, like an army of ants. They watched him from under shelves and tables, laughing and playing with each other.

"Elves. Bonfires that have become infinitesimal wills—only high-ranking witches can see them. ...Though I suppose someone like thee would commune with them without any training at all."

"...Elves... These are?"

He pointed his index finger at a small person sitting beside his teacup. The Elf smiled at him and touched his finger, then vanished with a little pop.

"Ah! Elf murder!"

"Nay, that is not so. They are wills, not lives. They vanish and are born, born and vanish. Their nature is close to quantum particles. They fill the Land of Bonfires, watching over the world."

The Elves who had taken an interest in him began gathering at his fingertips and trying to climb onto his shoulders. Watching him in confusion, Nana—who couldn't see anything—tilted her head.

"Talent like thine has not existed since our nation's founding. It is likely connected to thine Apocalypse."

"My... Whisperer? It's just the power to see into hearts."

"Nay, that is not it. The true nature of thine Apocalypse is not something so simple."

The Sheep Witch looked at him with a smile of genuine enjoyment.

"Let me observe thee, Kotoyorozu Kotoha. Surely, the answer I seek lies within thee."

And so, before he knew it, Kotoha ended up becoming the witch's apprentice.

"Haaah..."

I—Koito Hikari—was sightseeing in the Land of Bonfires alone. But sightseeing alone was boring! I should've at least brought Koshiba or someone.

"Awawawawa..."

There was a girl being swept up in the crowd, flustered and flailing. A petite girl with punk-style clothes and blonde hair. I hadn't interacted with her much, but leaving her like that would be too pitiful.

"Danae-chan? What are you doing here?"

"Hiiii!! Koito Hikari!!"

What was with the "hiiii"? I thought about roughing her up a little, but I magnanimously let it slide.

"Weren't you supposed to be with Léa-chan?"

"...I kind of... got separated from her. Um. ...Did you see Aimée?"

Would that reliable Aimée ever leave her behind like this? Of course I hadn't seen her, so I shook my head, and Danae looked a little worried, her eyes wavering. It seemed there was some situation going on.

"Fine! I, Koito Hikari—whose tracking instincts are also the strongest—shall find her for you."

I took Danae-chan's hand.

"Huh? What are you—"

I jumped onto my guitar and instantly soared to about two hundred meters in the air.

"Kyaaaaaaaa!"

Danae-chan screamed, her eyes rolling.

"If you're looking for someone, it's more efficient to search from up high, right?"

"W-well, that's... true... Ugh... I thought my wrist was going to rip off and I'd die. ...Ahhh..."

I didn't really understand, but she seemed happy, so that was good.

"...Koito-san. How much... do you know about Aimée?"

"I know she's a good person. A squeaky-clean vice-chair of Chaos. In terms of popularity, she's probably the most popular among the vice-chairs. She's always on magazine covers and stuff."

"Right. Aimée is... always someone who tries hard. Fairer and more righteous than anyone."

There was a famous story. One of Vice-Chair Aimée's childhood friends and closest companions had been framed for corruption. Vice-Chair Aimée defended her friend more desperately than anyone, gathered evidence more desperately than anyone. And when she discovered that her friend's crime was real—she delivered judgment more coldly than anyone.

"Because I know she's right, I can stay on this side. I don't have to join the people who aren't wrong. Do you understand what I mean?"

I understood. I had been guided by people like Wu-chan, and my mom and dad, and that's why I was who I was today. If I had grown up watching completely different people, I probably would have become a completely different me.

What shapes us is always our past. That much was certain.

"Is something worrying you?"

She averted her gaze. I thought to myself: she's an honest kid.

"Ah, found her! Isn't that her?"

I spotted Aimée-chan and immediately dove down.

"Whoa, what the—!?"

Holding the screaming Danae-chan in my arms, I landed right in front of Aimée-chan as she emerged from a back alley. The tall, prince-like woman was stunning today, too—so beautiful it made you stare.

"Special delivery, Aimée-chan!"

"...To have the famous Koito Hikari-chan acting as my courier—what an honor."

"What were you doing? In an alley like that?"

I observed her. It seemed Danae-chan had developed some suspicion toward Aimée-chan. But in Aimée-chan's eyes, I sensed nothing shady. All that was there was the dignified conviction unique to someone walking a righteous path.

"Hehe. I was just taking a shortcut."

...She really was handsome. Quite my type, actually.

"More importantly—what brings you to escort our princess?"

"I was bored, so I'm doing some charity work. That idiot Kotoha ditched me!"

"Hehe. I see. I must say, I'm surprised—you really do love Kotoha-kun, don't you? I didn't expect you to follow him all the way to the Land of Bonfires."

"Well, of course—he's my adorable junior. I love him? As a teammate, that is."

"Ahaha. ...I've said something similar myself."

She gave me a smile that seemed to hold deeper meaning—or perhaps was just teasing.

"Hmmm? Just what are you trying to say?"

"Nothing. ...It's nothing."

But, she said, smiling gently.

"Being honest is better. About everything. Pride and reservations—you'll have them, but still."

"...Eh?"

"It's better than regretting on your deathbed."

Aimée-chan smiled like a prince. I didn't quite understand what she meant by that. But I felt like I had received words from the very bottom of her heart.

"Since we're all together, why don't we hang out until the Fire Ritual? I'll show you some recommended spots."

Somehow, I had a feeling this person was my enemy.