novelVolume 7, Prologue: Begin Action. The_Page_is_Opened
| ← Ch.049 | Ch.051 → |
Volume 7, Prologue: Begin Action. The_Page_is_Opened.
St. George Cathedral.
Although it was called a cathedral, it was but one of the many churches in the heart of London. Even though it was not considered small, there was a world of difference when it was compared to Westminster Abbey or St. Paul's Cathedral. Of course, it could not be compared to the Cathedral of Canterbury, the origin of Puritanism in Britain, either.
In fact, the number of buildings in London that bore the name "St. George" was great. Besides the church, there were also department stores, restaurants, clothing shops, and schools. There could be several of those buildings downtown. Not only that, but there could also be more than ten churches named "St. George Cathedral". The relationship between "St. George" and Britons could be seen even from the Union Jack.
This St. George Cathedral was the former base of "Necessarius".
That was no glamorous distinction, however. The duty of "Necessarius" was to eliminate all sorts of magic associations in Britain and any magicians associated with them. In order to achieve that objective, "Necessarius" had to use magic, which was regarded by its members as filthy. Because of that, they had been viewed rather poorly by the Purists, and had even been chased out of Canterbury, the headquarters of the Anglicans, into this "St. George Cathedral".
But afterward, there had been some unexpected changes.
Originally considered a peripheral organisation, "Necessarius" was making numerous contributions behind the scenes.
These actions had allowed "Necessarius" to build its profile and power within the English Anglican Church. Today, although it looked like the Anglican Church was run by the Cathedral of Canterbury, the actual decision-making power had, in fact, been transferred to St. George Cathedral.
Thus, this cathedral, located slightly away from the centre of London, was now the nucleus of the large English Anglican Church.
A red-haired priest, Stiyl Magnus, walked down the streets of London in the early morning, feeling extremely puzzled.
There was nothing strange about the street itself. Stone apartments more than 300 years old lay on both sides of the street. Office workers, with cellphones in their hands, rushed down the old street. An old double-decker bus moved slowly forward, and workers on the street were busy dismantling a similarly old phone booth. An integration of new and old history... there was nothing unusual happening.
Nothing was wrong with the weather, either. There were no clouds in the sky this morning, but the weather changed every four hours or so; thus, there were many people carrying their umbrellas around. It was a hot day, and as London was known for its foggy weather, this aspect of summer--the ever-changing weather--was something that could not be taken lightly. The increasing moisture caused by the intermittent rainfall, together with the foehn and summer heat wave, resulted in amazingly high temperatures, so these rather enjoyable-looking tourist attractions had their own shortcomings as well. As for someone like Stiyl, who had already considered the shortcomings when he first chose to stay in this city, he did not mind it.
What made Stiyl insecure was the girl beside him.
"Archbishop..."
"Hmm? I purposely deigned to wear such simple attire today; please refrain from addressing me by that lofty title."
Dressed in a beige robe, the girl, who looked eighteen, spoke calmly in Japanese. In truth, according to regulations, a clergyman's attire could only have white, red, black, green, or purple, with threads of gold for decoration, so this girl was secretly breaking the rules.
Unfortunately, it seemed she believed that, as long as she put those clothes on, she would not be noticed in the crowd. Yet, because of her crystal-white skin, clear blue eyes, and shining golden hair--one would not be surprised if she were sold in a gem shop--no matter the circumstances, she stood out completely from the surrounding crowd.
Her hair was shockingly long; it extended all the way to her ankles, then folded up and went behind her head, through the large silver hairpin that was holding it in place, and down again to her waist. In other words, its length was almost two and a half times her height.
The world-famous din droned on in Lambeth, London, this morning, but around her, the voices felt like they had been suppressed, as if the people were in a solemn church where noise was not tolerated.
This was the Archbishop of Sector Zero of the Puritan church, "Necessarius".
Laura Stuart.
The king was the highest-ranking leader of the Anglican Church. Archbishop Laura was considered the courier of the king, and her responsibility was to take over for the busy king and control the English Anglicans.
The Anglican Church was like an age-old string instrument.
Besides the "owner", there was also the "caretaker". Take a violin, for example; no matter how good a violin was, if it was not used for a while, the strings would relax and the sound post would become decrepit, making it sound unpleasant. Laura's job was to perform in place of the owner so that the violin could be maintained in a perfect state.
But, like the situation between the Cathedral of Canterbury and St. George Cathedral, the name and actual power had now been reversed. The real power now lay with Laura.
The Archbishop, who had such a large amount of power, now freely walked the streets in the early morning without even a single bodyguard near her.
Stiyl and Laura were now headed toward St. George Cathedral. At first, Laura had suggested that Stiyl meet her at the cathedral at this time. She was supposed to have waited at the cathedral, and Stiyl was supposed to have gone there.
"I possess my own residence, and I am not always bound to that old church all year long." Laura continued onward, not making any noise."Is it not enjoyable to traverse and converse?"
Around them, the office workers were hurrying around. Since this place was close to Waterloo Station, the largest station in London, it was not unusual to them for a nun or priest to be here. The number of churches in London was equal to the number of parks, after all, even though the number could not be compared to that of Rome.
"Anyway, I'm okay with it. But didn't you call me to the cathedral because you wanted to talk about something that outsiders aren't supposed to hear?"
"Such a narrow-minded man; why brood too much about these minor things? Can you not appreciate this time with me? Even though a Father who hears a woman's repentance gains a feeling of 'relief', why does he not open his heart?"
"..." Stiyl frowned and asked, "Can I ask a question?"
"Do you have to be so cautious? Fire away."
"Why does your Japanese sound so stupid?"[1]
"... ?"
The Archbishop of the Anglican Church looked like someone who had been told that her shirt was buttoned wrong. She initially froze, and then her movements stopped completely. She then blushed while saying,
"Ah... eh... ? Is... is it aberrant? Is 'Japanese' not supposed to sound like this?"
"Pardon me, but I don't really understand what you're trying to say. You're trying to speak the ancient language, but it just doesn't feel right."
The people around them, clad in Western clothing, were probably unable to understand Japanese, but Laura felt that the commotion around her had now become laughter.
"Ah... ehm... I learned my Japanese from many sources, such as literature and television programs. I even asked a real Japanese person for aid before..."
"Eh, may I know who that 'real Japanese person' was?"
"Uh... that guy named Tsuchimikado Motoharu..."
"Please don't consider that dangerous guy, who lustfully lets his own stepsister wear a maid uniform, an ideal Japanese person. Asia is not that fascinating, you know."
"To... to believe there was such a thing... I must quickly amend my Japanese... oh, no!"
"What's wrong?"
"It is... it is difficult to alter something that I am so accustomed to!"
"... don't tell me you used such a stupid way of speaking to negotiate with the representatives from Academy City."
Laura's shoulders jumped as she said, "Do not... do not worry, do not worry... no problem, no problem..."
Her voice trembled, however, as sweat appeared on her face, her eyes swimming around.
Stiyl sighed, his breath full of cigarette smoke.
"Anyway, let's talk when we reach the cathedral."
The two rounded the corner. Kanzaki Kaori secretly frequented the Japanese restaurant located there.
"Do... do we really have to talk about this!? I cannot possibly communicate with my Japanese!"
"Enough; let's talk about the 'proper business', and not about this trivial stuff. If you aren't confident in your Japanese, we can still talk using English."
"Ri—ridiculous! Who said that I was not confident!? It is... it is just that... my physical condition today is rather hindering!"
Laura said, at a loss.
"And regarding the proper business... before we start..."
From under the robe over her chest, Laura pulled out something that looked like two pieces of notebook paper, as well as a black magic marker. As one who specialised in using runes, Stiyl immediately knew what she was going to use it for.
"Chiu chiu chiu~"
Laura tried to imitate the strange sound made by the magic marker as she drew on the paper. During several important ceremonies, when Archbishop Laura stood in front of the crowd, she looked too noble to even be mortal--but now, the Archbishop was like a girl randomly doodling on her notebook in the middle of a lesson.
If possible, I wish she could maintain that noble image.
Stiyl thought, dangling his cigarette and frowning. He really did not like that sound.
"Chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu chiu~"
"... excuse me, may I ask what you're doing?"
Stiyl asked, gritting his teeth and trembling slightly.
Although his temple had gone blue, Stiyl decided to remain patient.
"Just a little precaution. Here."
Laura drew the same image on each piece of paper and gave one of them to Stiyl.
"Ah— ah— can you hear me?"
Stiyl felt that the voice just came from his mind. He turned to look at Laura, whose small mouth was not moving in the slightest.
"... is it a talisman for communication?"
"Our thoughts can be conveyed to each other without the prerequisite of speech."
"Hm."
Stiyl looked at the card. It seemed like Laura had created these talismans because of his suggestion to not allow the people around them to eavesdrop.
"Why does that voice in your heart speak so stupidly as well!?"
"Eh? Wait... wait a minute, Stiyl! I'm now speaking in English!"
Although she was not making any sound, Laura looked panicked, scaring the cat sprawling in front of the not-yet-open restaurant. Stiyl sighed. The authority and magnanimity that an Archbishop should have were now all gone.
"Then there might be an error when the message is exchanged. Although it's weird, it doesn't affect our conversation. Let's get down to proper business."
"Ah... uu... ahem ahem, okay, let's start."
It seemed like Laura wanted to say something more, but she swallowed it and went to the main issue.
"Stiyl, have you heard of 'The Book of the Law'?"
"It's a spellbook. If I remember correctly, the author is Edward Alexander."
Edward Alexander--also known as Crowley.
Some said that he was the most decorated magician of the 20th century, and some said that he was the worst magician of the 20th century. As his actions and demeanor exceeded everyone's imaginations and common sense, he had been chased out of several countries. He had managed to provoke the creative desire of several artists, but had also managed to increase the hostility towards him from all magicians. A truly legendary man. According to history, he died on December 1st, 1947. Some even felt that the world had been relieved when he had died. All of this showed the number of controversies and problems that he had caused.
When such a powerful magician died, there would naturally be people who would declare themselves his disciples or heirs. Up until today, the magic system that they had created continued to cause headaches for the organisation that was still specifically targeting Crowley--and as was the case with other legends, the rumours that he was still alive continued to roam about.
"If I remember correctly, however, isn't the original 'Book of the Law' still being kept inside the library of the Vatican in Rome?"
In order to allow the girl called Index to memorise the 103, 000 magical texts, Stiyl had accompanied her around the world to protect her. Although he had not seen the contents, Stiyl was still able to remember where the one hundred most famous texts were."You're right. From 1920 to 1932, Crowley carried out his activities on the island of Sicily, in Italy. It is believed that 'The Book of the Law' first appeared then." Laura spoke as if she was reciting what she had memorised from a history textbook."Stiyl, do you know what makes this book special?"
"..."
The characteristics of the book.
"If we first ignore the reliability of this work, there are several legends about it. Some believe that Crowley summoned the guardian angel Aiwass, learned the 'Angelic Technique' that no human is able to use, and recorded it in 'The Book of the Law'. Some believe that when 'The Book of the Law' is opened, the Christian age will end, and humanity will proceed to a brand new age... In the former sense, an angel who doesn't think is unable to teach humanity anything, but we're rather concerned with the latter's views. However..."
According to the English Anglican Church, it was assumed to be a magical book containing many powerful spells.
But on hearing that, one would wonder: why was it an "assumption"?
Index should have memorised "The Book of the Law" already. So the reason was...
"I believe you know that nobody can understand that book? Although all magical books are written in codes, this book is still an exception. Even Index has given up on reading it, and Sherry Cromwell, who specialises in interpreting these codes, has failed to do so."
That was right; no one was able to interpret "The Book of the Law". According to what Index had said, based on our current limited knowledge, nobody could interpret it; thus, she could only memorise all the undeciphered codes of "The Book of the Law".
At that moment, Laura smiled happily, saying, "Then, if someone who can decipher 'The Book of the Law' were to appear, what do you think the consequences would be?"
"What are you talking about... !?"
Stunned, Stiyl stared at Laura. She did not look like she was joking.
"There is a Roman Catholic nun by the name of Orsola Aquinas. She only knows how to decipher it, however; she has yet to read its contents."
"What's going on?"
"Orsola seems to have found a way to decode it by reading the incomplete copies. Right now, she only has the index page, the preface, and several other pages."
The original copy of "The Book of the Law" was now being kept under strict security, so ordinary people should not be able to get their hands on it easily. Except for people like Index, it was dangerous for anyone else to read the original.
"Right now... the Roman Catholic Church is lacking in manpower due to a power struggle. They might try to use 'The Book of the Law' to regain a foothold. Those people probably view it as a blueprint of some new weapon..."
According to reports, the three thousand people who formed the Gregorian Chant had been defeated by an alchemist, and although the Roman Catholic Church was still the largest Christian sect in the world, their power had weakened. In order to protect their place at the pinnacle of the Christian sects, it was possible that they would use the knowledge in "The Book of the Law" to design something to replace the Gregorian Chant and so cover the loss in their fighting power. That would not be surprising.
"No, they will not use 'The Book of the Law' to build up their fighting capability. At least in the short term, the Roman Catholic Church will not attack anyone for 'The Book of the Law'. You do not have to worry about that."
"Why?"
"Hoho, it is a secret! I am not leaking it out."
Seeing Laura speak with such confidence, Stiyl could not help but frown and think of the possibilities. Had the English Anglican Church signed an agreement with the Roman Catholic Church, thereby banning the use of "The Book of the Law"?
... If so, why would the Roman Catholic Church use Orsola to decode "The Book of the Law"?
"Looking at your expression, it seems like you are still not reassured. Really, did I not tell you not to worry?"
"But then..."
"Okay, okay, stop nagging. Even if the Roman Catholic Church wanted to use 'The Book of the Law' for whatever purpose, they could not do it now."
Before Stiyl could even ask why, Laura continued on.
"Because 'The Book of the Law' has been stolen by Orsola Aquinas."
"What did you say... by whom!?"
Stiyl could not help but shout. The office workers around them, who had been heading toward the train station, turned around to look at him.
"The work I want you to do after this will be your mission. The organisation that committed this criminal act should be the Amakusa Catholics in Japan."
"Amakusa..." It was a Christian sect in Japan.
Stiyl's colleague, Kanzaki Kaori, used to be the leader of that sect. Stiyl himself, however, did not consider it to be a Christian sect; the Amakusa Catholic Church was infused with too many aspects of Shintoism and Buddhism, to the point that the basis of the Christian faith was long gone now.
"The Amakusa Catholics are a lot smaller than the other religious factions in Rome, Britain, Russia, and other countries. The reason why it is still able to exist is Kanzaki. Now, after having lost Kanzaki, their pillar of support, it is not unthinkable of them to steal 'The Book of the Law' in order to gain new power. After all, 'The Book of the Law' is capable of destroying the balance of the Christian religion."
If Orsola Aquinas and "The Book of the Law" were to fall into the hands of the Amakusa Catholics, they could use it anytime--in fact, it would be weird if they did not use it at all.
"But!" Stiyl exclaimed rudely, "Isn't 'The Book of the Law' hidden in the depths of the Vatican library? A small organisation like these power-hungry Amakusa Catholics can't possibly have the capability to get inside! I was protecting Index as I entered the Vatican library, so I'm positive that there are no blind spots down there! The only thing that can describe the security is an iron wall!"
"Actually, 'The Book of the Law' is not inside the Vatican library."
"What?" Stiyl's expression was blank.
A horse carriage used for sightseeing passed by Stiyl as the horse neighed, the license plate hanging behind the carriage.
"In order to organise an international exhibition, the Roman Catholic Church sent 'The Book of the Law' to a Japanese museum. It is like the Laterano Church in Rome, where it is believed that the 'Son of God' bled while walking up the 'Holy Path'. You know why those things are being shown to the common people, do you not?"
Every few years, the Church would showcase important historical or biblical items to the public.
The reason was simple: these were the tools to attract donations and believers. After losing their largest fighting force, the three-thousand-strong Gregorian Chant, the Roman Catholic Church must have been trying to strengthen itself through as many ways as possible, including the development of new spells and training of its members.
It was most effective to recruit these new believers in places where there were few Christians; because of that, Japan was the perfect target. But because there were few believers there, the support that the Church could give to agents in Japan was much less. It seemed like the Amakusa Catholics had timed this well.
"That's stupid... bringing out such a dangerous thing to show it to the world, and even losing it in the process--the Roman Catholic Church has really disgraced us Christians."
"Hoho, I believe the Roman Catholics have a deeper understanding of that than us. Even if they had a geographical advantage, for an item of the Roman Catholic Church to be stolen by a small sect in the Far East, I guess it means that the Roman Catholics have been discredited."
"Haiz, does this mean that they're asking us for help?"
"No, those guys want to settle this their own way. I worked really hard to get this information. To them, that kind of secrecy may be a sort of saving grace, but I really want to scold those guys and tell them to stop dreaming."
"Hm? Does this mean that we aren't getting the 'Book of the Law' and Orsola back for the sake of the Roman Catholics?"
"They are not spilling the beans, but if Orsola Aquinas can really decipher the 'Book of the Law', we are involved in this one way or another."
"... you're trying to do them a favor? Do you think that those 'noble clergymen' even understand the act of repaying a good deed?"
Stiyl said with disdain.
In Stiyl's impression, possibly because they had once controlled Europe entirely, the Roman Catholics--besides the believers who knew nothing about magic, of course--were rather arrogant, especially those stubborn hard-liner priests and bishops. Forget about going against them; even if one tried to help them, they would snobbishly say, "We're not so pitiful as to need to accept any assistance."
"I have no intention of helping those guys who corrupt the Church and cause it to splinter. We have a much bigger problem."
"What?"
"Kanzaki Kaori is missing."
After Laura spoke succinctly, Stiyl immediately turned around.
Kanzaki had originally been the leader of the Amakusa sect. Now, although she had already left the Amakusa, she still cared for them. Once she knew that they had caused such a problem and were now in conflict with the Roman Catholic Church, the largest Christian sect in the world with two billion believers, how would she respond?
Kanzaki was a Saint, one of less than twenty people in the world that possessed the Stigma. The power that she had was almost equivalent to a nuclear bomb. If she left the control of the English Anglican Church and directly attacked the Roman Catholics, what consequences would there be... ?
"Knowing her, she will do anything. It would be okay if it were an ordinary person, but with her power..."
Laura sighed heavily.
"I hope that you can clean up the mess before Kanzaki does something seriously bad; that is your main priority. I do not care what you do, whether it is saving 'The Book of the Law' or Orsola, telling the Amakusa to surrender, or forcing the Amakusa or Kanzaki to surrender."
"You're telling me to beat Kanzaki?"
"If there is such a need."
Laura said clearly and forcefully, "Once the rest of our members are done with their missions, I will be sending them to Japan and Rome. I hope that you can do this on your own, however. Go to Academy City first."
As if spitting his doubts out, Stiyl blew the white smoke of the cigarette out of his mouth. He was not worried about having to do this alone, the magician Stiyl just was not suited to working in a team. Besides his character flaws, the flame magic he used was a huge problem; if he was not careful and used his full power, the comrades around him might end up getting swallowed by flames and smoke.
His Innocentius became stronger the more runes there were. It may be unreliable, but its power could not be belittled. The 3, 000-degree-Celsius fire could move about freely. To pursue its enemies, it could even melt iron easily. To enemies, it was like a god of death. Besides that boy's right hand, there was almost no way to stop Innocentius. Using that terrifying magic, Stiyl had destroyed several magical societies on his own.
So, working alone was not a problem.
"Isn't this a problem on the Church's side? Why bring in the Science side?"
"Index."
Laura said a person's--no, a tool's name.
"Since it concerns a magic book, especially the original 'Book of the Law', we need all the technical knowledge we can get. I have discussed it with Academy City, so you can bring 'that' around- but there is one condition, and that is to bring the guardian along."
"..."
"What now? It's rare to work together with 'that'; why are you so unhappy?"
"Nothing."
Stiyl seemed to have suppressed many feelings within him, as the expression on his face suddenly vanished.
"... that guardian, is it the Imagine Breaker?"
"That is right. You should be able to make use of him. Oh, do not kill him though, since he is borrowed property."
"Bringing people from Academy City into a battle between magicians, wouldn't there be a problem?"
"Regarding that, we can settle it with a few tricks. Of course, the conditions that the other party has given us are unavoidable, and I do not have the time to negotiate with them."
"I... see."
Stiyl could not understand what the leaders of Academy City were thinking, nor could he understand what Laura, who was standing right beside him, was thinking. Maybe they had carried out a few deals under the table. Anyway, these were not things that a minion like Stiyl should interfere in.
"Oh, Stiyl, bring this along."
Laura pulled out a small cross-shaped necklace from the sleeve of her simple robe and tossed it to Stiyl. Stiyl caught the symbol of belief with one hand and asked,
"A tool? Although it doesn't seem to be enhanced by any magic."
"Just a little present for Orsola Aquinas. If you meet her, immediately find the opportunity to give it to her."
Stiyl did not understand what that meant, and Laura had no intention of explaining. This was a "Don't ask, just do as I say" scenario.
At that moment, the two stopped.
Having walked for ten minutes from the extremely large London train station, a church that did not seem to have the right to be called a "cathedral" was in front of them.
St. George Cathedral. A dark holy city filled with a terrible history of witch hunting, religious trials, and even the famous Frenchwoman Joan of Arc.
Walking in front of Stiyl, Laura grabbed the handle of the heavy door.
"Okay."
Laura pushed the two heavy doors aside and invited the priest in.
She did not use her rune card this time, instead opening her small, peach-like mouth and speaking in a clear voice,
"Regarding the details, we will talk about them inside."
Notes
1. ↑ In the original text, the author purposely uses something that sounds like old Japanese for Laura's dialogue.
| ← Ch. 049 | Ch. 051 → |