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Hidan no Aria - Volume 15 - Chapter 4

Published at 3rd of July 2019 05:31:27 AM


Chapter 4

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Chapter 4: Dangerous High Road — Graf Zeppelin

The Louvre, a former French castle, was the largest art gallery in the world. The exterior was just as elaborately decorated as the Palais Garnier from last night but sparkling in the morning sun– it could be seen that it was much, much larger. From what could be seen through the windows. the interior was opulent. As was to be expected of a palace.

「Let’s enter through the Porte des Lions. It is an out-of-the-way entrance unknown to tourists, so we will not have to queue up to get inside.」

Meiya and I were guided inside by the casually attired Jeanne who wore the ordinary looking high school girl’s uniform.

Why were the 3 members of DEEN here, you may ask…?

Meiya had shown up that morning at Jeanne’s apartment and insisted that we come. In accordance with the divine messenger who governs the fortunes of war, we did so.

My associations with ESP users have definitely increased, to the point that the Hotogi Miko might say I was『patronising』them. That is not something that I can ignore.

The situation could turn at any moment, but I counted on Meiya’s power of blessing–we went anyway.

But… why are you doing that…?

We stalked through the luxurious interior, Jeanne on my right arm and Meiya on my left.

Every now and again, Jeanne would shoot a sharp glance toward Meiya, who returned a pleasant smile.

… What the hell!?

Even for Japan, her clothes are comfortably loose and flowing. Tightly clasping my arm, her overwhelming fruit-like flesh, large milk balls–that is to say, her huge breasts– sandwiched my arm. This is the third time this month that I’ve been in such a Breast Hell. For such instances, I’ve memorised all the prime numbers up to 100, and I began to recite them like a mantra in order to endure it and avoid accidentally hysterising.

But does this situation… possibly have something to do with the fortunes of war?

I wonder if this is the repayment due in exchange for my little scene with the legendary scramasax.

The person in question– Meiya–meanwhile, chattered, completely caught up the tourist experience.

「59, 61, 67, 71… S-should we go this way…?」

「Yes. As for what may follow, we must depend on the Lord’s guidance. One never knows what might happen.」

「Well, seeing as we have come all the way to Paris, we should at least see the Mona Lisa.」

I, Meiya, and Jeanne said, respectively– the more knowledgeable Jeanne pointing out things as we walked.

The Winged Victory of Samothrace, the Venus de Milo, then we saw Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece, the smiling Mona Lisa.

We spent three hours doing this and walking around, but… nothing happened.

The Louvre certainly has an inexhaustible supply of things to see. No matter where you looked, there was a piece of art. It was already lunch time, but we haven’t even seen a third of what was on display–

Are we going to pass the entire day like this…?

Is that really alright?

As Butei, the number of opportunities we get to see works of art are few and far between. In RAPIER, they are practically non-existent.

So, taking advantage of this opportunity to cover it for the rest of my life…

……?

…!?

Am I seeing things?

There in the corner, listening to a lecturer on Ancient Greek sculpture… there was what appeared to be a group of French schoolgirls on a class trip.

And amidst the group of young ladies was a small girl with a face that I seemed to recall.

There, on the other side of Myron’s white Discobolus statue was the small girl I was watching.

「Oi, Jeanne, Meiya. Is that…?」

At my prompting, they both looked away from the Aphrodite of Knidos.

As the girls moved to the next hall, they saw the person I was looking at–

「…!」

We all gasped and looked at each other. The we looked back at the girls.

Wearing a skirt and jumper combo, the tiny girl excitedly taking down notes in a notebook…

K-Katze Grasse…!

–It was Regiment Hex’s Katze Grasse.

What are the odds on that!

I thought that it had to be a case of mistaken identity, but there’s no way that the three of us couldn’t have made the same mistake. But the hair, height, and face were Katze’s. Most convincing of all, however, she wore an eyepatch over her right eye. Instead of a swastika, however, it had a flower design on it.

「Meiya, this is a great service you have done.」

Jeanne said in a low voice.

「Is this… a result of your power, Meiya?」

「I’d like to say so… but it’s really impossible to say for sure. Meeting your bitter enemy is a coincidence that is certainly uncommon– but this is a typical result of my『Luck Reinforcement』」

Meiya’s eyebrows slanted upward as she scowled at Katze… but we shouldn’t start a fight right at this moment.

「Could either of you use you magic to suddenly capture her? Change her into a frog, or something?」

「Tohyama. With your meagre knowledge of magic, you should not speak of it. It is painful to hear. Right now, magic is of no use to us.」

「Today, the ririirokane particles are dense, so it’s a bad day for magic. However, that pest will be under the same restrictions. Luck Fortification– however the divine blessing of God is not subject to the influence of irokane… but dangerous all the same.」

「If you can’t use magic… then we can use force! Meeting her like this is a one in a million year chance.」

I reached my hand inside my jacket to my shoulder holster–

「Stop, Tohyama! This is an art gallery. There are a lot of civilians here!」

「As much as I want to exterminate this pest, let’s follow her. We could kill them all one by one, but if we find their den, we might be able to round up the entire lot of cockroaches at once.」

Jeanne and Meiya stepped closed and restrained my arm.

Their den… Regiment Hex’s headquarters, their『armoury』?

Until now– we haven’t been able to determine how many fighting witches there, and if we take Katze down here, we won’t know where the next opponent might come from.

What’s more, we won’t gain the benefit of locating their secret base.

Alright, to avoid damaging the irreplaceable pieces of art, I’ll change my mind and follow her instead.

「…」

Following her into the hall of Roman Art, Katze continued to eagerly take down notes from the teacher’s talk.

She seems… very studious.

I suppose that’s about right. By age, she should be a student. At least in the normal course of events.

However, by appearance, Katze is worse than the rest of the students on the trip. While the rest had finished taking notes and began posing for photographs, she was the only one still furiously taking notes on the art.

Then, not noticing the group of Chinese that bustled in behind her… bumping into her, her writing implements were knocked out of her hands to the floor.

Flustered, Katze moved to pick up and gather her pen case and notebook, but…

No one in her class moved to help her.

It… doesn’t look like she has any friends.

…She must be all alone.

On her own home ground, Jeanne looked up from searching the young girl’s uniform on her mobile…

「That is Strousbourg’s Foret Noire Girl’s School’s uniform. It is a commuter school for young ladies. It is well known for both high educational values and tuition.」

She whispered to me.

Eh…? Despite the fact that you’re a terrorist, you do the unlikely thing of commuting back and forth, Katze?

********************************************************

Due to the high concentration of ririirokane, the use of magic to track her wasn’t very effective…

So, putting the tailing skills I had practiced in INQUESTA to good use, I kept her in sight as I followed.

Meiya left to secure a car to track her when she left the building.

In the meantime, when it started to get dark, the Foret Noire students–they appeared to receive some kind of instructions from their teacher before they broke up into groups.

The seemed excited by what they planned to buy in Paris, then they formed groups with people they liked and left.

But…

Katze was left alone by the entryway.

Then, looking around to make sure everyone was gone…

「Tch!」

She withdrew a Marlboro cigarette from her pocket and lit it smoothly, puffing on it.

「It looks like she is killing time, but… what it is she actually doing?」

Jeanne wondered, suspicious, to which I replied:

「Who knows?」

From my experience of being alone at East Ikebukuro High, I understood.

If your classmates see you doing something alone, it’s embarrassing. Such are the secrets of a loner.

After a sufficient amount of time had passed since everyone left, Katze took out a mobile and called someone.

Unaware that she was being followed, she went to the Louvre’s courtyard and descended a staircase leading underground.

Then, while Jeanne called Meiya…

Katze went down to the underground car park that stank of exhaust fumes and walked over to a row of tour busses.

Reaching them, Katze boarded a khaki coloured vehicle–

…An Sd.Kfz. 2 …!

It was a scaled down version of the motorbike with one front wheel and two tank treads in place of the rear wheels once mass-produced by former Nazi Germany.

As expected, it lacked a swastika… but it had the white shield on red background with the rough figure of a black cat emblazoned on its side.

It appears Katze has switched from schoolgirl to leader of Regiment Hex…

Wearing googles and a helmet, Katze started up the Sd.Kfz. 2 accompanied with a noise like a tractor, and pulled out–then right at that moment…

Disguised in sunglasses, Meiya pulled into a separate entrance to the car park in a deep crimson Alfa Romeo Giulia Spint GTA. I was a bit irritated that it was such a conspicuous car, but there’s no helping it. We followed after Katze.

********************************************************

The Sd.Kfz. 2 seemed unable to top 50 KPH, and as it was an even more conspicuous vehicle, it was easier to follow.

Following Katze in our Alfa Romeo, we left the retro, downtown area of Paris and headed southeast, and leaving the residential suburbs behind… we reached the rural countryside.

Katze appeared to be headed directly southeast.

Because our vehicle was faster, we kept our distance and several times stopped on the side of the road to take a visual sighting as we followed her.

Then… borrowing the opera glasses Meiya kept between her breasts, Jeanne said:

「Coubert Airfield. She has gone inside.」

She confirmed Katze’s destination.

There was a fence surrounding the small airfield. The runway was too short for anything other than a Cessna to land, and it appeared to be a place for balloons and blimps to come and go.

And in one corner… there it was. With Regiment Hex’s emblem on it, there was a hard-sided blimp of the type uncommon nowadays.

Overall, the silver-grey airship looked like a 70-metre long version of the Hindenburg.

Borrowing the opera glasses, I took a look for myself…

From the airship, there appeared two small blonde girls in a tight-skirted military uniform who clicked their heels and saluted Katze. They seem to be her subordinates.

In this secluded airfield, there was a huge Nazi presence. They even have weapons.

Alighting from her Sd.Kfz. 2, Katze entered the airship’s large gondola…

Then stepping over to an immaculately white tablecloth, a small dark-skinned girl approached and served a salad and seafood dish that she began to eat. She was still wearing her school uniform but had changed her eyepatch to the one with the swastika.

The other girls inside the airship cabin were wore Walther P-38’s. Altogether, there were 10 of them.

At the back of the gondola, there was an opening to a storage hanger where Katze’s Sd.Kfz. 2 was stowed.

It looks like they are getting ready to take off.

「From what I saw of the storage bay… they have the ingredients for chemical weapons. They must have bought them here in Paris. They’ve got to be planning an attack on Rome.」

「…What should we do? If they take off, we won’t be able to follow them!」

「If only I had a rocket launcher.」

As Meiya and I hurriedly passed the opera glasses back and forth, Jeanne put on glasses before saying:

「Over there. The hatch where the Sd.Kfz. 2 was stored. It is not particularly well-made, so we could sneak aboard.」

She said as she looked toward me.

She regarded me with a tactician’s eye, looking like a military commander.

「We can infiltrate, Tooyama-san.」

Meiya also looked at me.

Wh-what is it? I saw it.

「If we’re going, you should go. Isn’t is ‘Ladies first’?」

But Jeanne shook her head at me.

「Although the ririirokane is dense, it will not always be so. If the particles disperse after we infiltrate, then there is the concern of the fellow witch Katze detecting us.」

「That airship is entirely unable to make a direct flight to Rome. Won’t it have to stop at least once at a Swiss or German base.」

「If our luck holds out, this is our chance to discover the location of their armoury, Tohyama.」

The two of them explained in tandem why I should be the one to go.

「If that is where you end up, please call us and we will be there in a short time.」

Then Meiya pulled a cereal bar out from between her cleavage. Is that supposed to be lunch?

Oh… dammit!

This is a pain.

But having found the enemy ship thanks to Meiya’s ability, it would be a shame to let them slip out from under our noses.

Besides, I can’t just overlook the ingredients for chemical weapons. It would be bad if they used them to make gas weapons to use against Rome. Stopping such violence is one of a Butei’s jobs.

On top of all that… while enjoying Meiya’s good luck, there’s a chance that once at their base, I may be able to find out the location and recover some of Aria’s karagane. Discovering Katze was such good fortune.

As the engines reached full power, the airship’s mooring cables began to rise.

I don’t think that there’s much time left before take-off.

「…As soon I think it’s getting dangerous, I’m pulling out. I’ll bill you for any transportation costs.」

I reluctantly left them with those words–

As I stepped out of the Alfa Romeo.

********************************************************

Dodging through the blind spot of tents and storage containers on the airstrip, then, taking a chance, I dashed over to the airship.

Luckily it appears that I haven’t been noticed… equally luckily, the hatch at the back of the gondola was able to be opened by hand. Thanks to Meiya, I was able to get inside.

The propeller began turning, and the silver air ship began to rise–

Having infiltrated the dark hanger, I closed the hatch quietly behind me.

「…」

In the airtight storage area, the Sd.Kfz. 2 was covered in a grey, vinyl sheet… and there were lockers ranged in rows.

Almost all the lockers had a number lock on them, but I opened one that looked like it was meant for emergencies.

Inside, it was filled with a bunch of simple parachutes.

Taking one, I hid under the Sd.Kfz. 2’s vinyl sheet.

I’ll stay onboard for part of the way…

Determining the enemy’s position, inflicting sabotage, then running away would be a great coup.

Taking a taxi back will cost hundreds of Euros, but it’s fine as long as I get back. I’ll take the ride back to『The Arc De Triomphe』. Jeanne and Meiya can squawk over the bill.

Thinking to let them know that I had successfully infiltrated, I took out my mobile… but my service faded as we rapidly moved out or range. Because they use the same informational infrastructure, my GPS stopped working as well. Weak radio waves at high altitudes– we’re higher than the radio towers.

Katze and her followers… then put on an LP record and began to sing happily.

The song is Wagner’s『Die Walkure』. It was Hitler’s favourite piece of music.

********************************************************

The Sd.Kfz. 2 was still giving off heat, so it was warm underneath the sheet… and since I was trying to keep my breathing shallow to keep quiet, I became tired. The ship shook in the wind, but rather than keep me awake, the cradle-like motion lulled me to sleep.

The airship swayed for about 3 hours as I dozed…

No sooner was Meiya was gone, than my usual bad luck asserted itself.

…!

Inside the hanger… a light came on. Someone had entered from the crew area.

I peeked out through a gap in the sheet…

「I am going to change. If the ship shakes, you will be executed.」

Saying something in German to someone behind her, Katze entered. On her shoulder rode a large crow.

Then, opening her locker, she took out a black Nazi uniform and *Flap!!* *Flap!*

It flew over the Sd.Kfz. 2 cover–that is to say, over top of me.

Then coming to a rest atop the locker door,

…!

She suddenly began taking off her school uniform…!

It appears that they use this area as a locker room as well. And that’s her locker.

Maddeningly, it occurred right in front of my very eyes–

Katze’s lacking and still developing physique was exposed in front of me.

Using all my willpower, I concentrated on her back, unsettled as she fastened the straps of her bra to hold her tiny breasts.

I saw them since she turned to the side while dressing, and their small size matched her childish face. They were about the size of Hiraga-san’s.

Entirely unaware of my gaze, Katze took no heed as she fitted them into the bra cups. They made a meagre swell in the red lace underwear. Even though she’s a middle school age of less than 150 cm and possess the corresponding figure, she’s wearing such a sexy thing.

That disparity, however, was lost on my Hysteria Mode. The fine adult red underwear and slight hips caused my blood pressure to soar outrageously.

That is to say, it did me no favours in this situation.

I had to watch to monitor my enemy’s movements, but not knowing I was there, she had just started changing clothes normally. It was almost as if I was peeping. Actually, I was peeping. Sometimes, I used to go with Mutou when he tried to peek and confirm the girls’ measurements, but this… was way more dangerous for my Hysteria Mode…!

.–*Ka-thump!*…

It happened…! It just happened. Should I stop looking?

But I can’t do that. But I also realised that doing nothing would be life threatening.

So, I fought my rising blood pressure as I continued to watch Katze’s strip tease–

From her ride on the Sd.Kfz. 2, her underwear had ridden up, and she used her short fingers to fix it… once in place, she put on the black witch’s hat that appeared to be Regiment Hex’s field cap.

Then she began inspecting herself in the mirror inside her locker door. She must think herself cute, and she put on a manufactured innocent smile.

No, she was actually cute. Much more than she had any right to be.

As I thought, the barbarous Katze, when alone could be kind of cute… But if I think that about an enemy, it would corrupt me and the danger of hysterising double.

It’s an aweful shame that she’s 100 times cuter now, isn’t it? No, that the opposite of what I should be thinking!

As I was pondering my terrible marks in Japanese– there was a rumble.

A sudden gust of wind rocked the airship, causing Katze to stagger.

Then there was a *Splat!*

The small buttocks in red lace underwear then landed on top of my face where I had been looking out…!

「Idiot! I told you not to shake!」

Katze shouted at the crew in German–

「–!?」

She began feeling about with her hand.

C-crap!

As you might expect, sitting on me was not very comfortable, and she began to feel my face through the cover.

Then there was a sudden fluttering.

The crow took off from the locker–

And pecked me right in the eye!

「Ouch!」

I let out a cry.

「–To-Tohyama!?」

I’ve been found out…! Magnificently so.

What’s more… I don’t know where in the sky I am.

You might think that terribly reckless, but it was Jeanne’s strategy. That worthless strategist.

Katze leapt away from the Sd.Kfz. 2–

From the locker, she pulled out a similar golden P08 Luger to the one I had destroyed on the Shima Hari.

Well, there’s not much else I can do at this point. Drawing my Beretta, I showed myself from underneath the cover–

「The walls have ears, and the windows have eyes, Katze. Especially for a girl that has reached a certain age, she must be careful of the gazes of men.」

Despite the fact that I had been peeping, I remarked that『peeping was bad』in the smooth tones of Hysteria Mode.

「How did you get aboard the Graf Zeppelin NT? How stupid are you?」

「It is as you say, but it was not part of my own strategy.」

「Forced march?」

「Something like that.」

「I can empathise. Such things happened in a war time Nazi Germany.」

Using her fingers to whistle, Katze then shouted in German–

–The crew bustled in.

There were several girls, all wearing Nazi uniforms.

Seeing me with a gun in my hand, she must have told them that there was an intruder. Then a few of them quickly rushed to place their bodies in front of Katze, shielding her.

As for my Hysteria Mode–

It was fairly strong. Due to my earlier peeping.

I didn’t want to admit it, but this girl’s questionably thin body…

Was the reason I had gone into full Hysteria Mode.

「Now then, what shall I do?」

Katze said, half to herself–

「In accordance with the ‘Hex’ part of Regiment Hex– it is a unit of girls. Our own brand of military discipline called『Anderhaft』1 universally applied, excludes all men. You must leave. Immediately.」

Standing in the gondola while it was mid-air, Katze gave off a sadistic smile.

As for her followers… one by one, they drew black Luger P38’s.

From the way they held their guns, I could tell they were no amateurs. They are soldiers with military training.

Now, with the odds 10 to 1…

Butei Regulation 9 makes fighting difficult. Then there’s Hysteria Mode.

Due to its constitution, it makes me hesitant to fight against girls.

I will have to solve this problem with words. Even if it’s in Japanese, my meaning will come across.

I thought that, but then the enemy that wouldn’t understand any words– the crow, flapped its wings.

He dive-bombed me. Brandishing his talons, I saw they were light purple–

–Those talons are poisoned.

I perceived that with my Hysteria Mode enhanced sense of vision and fell back toward the hatch.

*Bang!*

Katze fired, grazing my bulletproof uniform.

*Bang!* *Ba-bang!*

With a dry sound, some of the other girls fired with quite good aim.

*Clang!* *Cl-clang!*

Sparks flying from the hatch in the floor, I reluctantly shot back–‘

No matter where I turn, all around me, I am surrounded by bottles of poisonous chemical, so I was hesitant to fight here.

The crow was large and quick, almost daring. It was wary of my gun but seemed unafraid.

Truly, the most difficult thing to deal with… is this crow. This killer bird must have received a lot of training.

There’s nothing I can do about it. It’s not a habit of mine to hurt animals– girls, even less so.

Like Katze had said, I have to get out.

Tucking into a roll, I kicked open the hatch at the back of the hanger where I had entered.

Then ait ruched into the storage bay, confusing Katze’s followers. and as she shouted at them–

I pulled myself up onto one of the airship’s rear suspension points, escaping both the crow and the line of fire.

********************************************************

The Graf Zeppelin NT was already flying a night cruise in the post sunset sky.

The exterior was made of cloth stretched over a frame, and I climbed up a ladder on the side–

I reached the top that was covered in solar cells and looked down below to check. But I had absolutely no idea where we were. With my bad luck, there were only clouds beneath me.

This high up in the winter, the temperature was below freezing. Perhaps because the route had to cross over mountains, our altitude was over 6,000 metres. I felt short of breath.

I remembered the time I had ridden on the optical stealth bomber, Galleon, but this time I was on a much lower tech vehicle… Upon a second look at the silver fabric, however, I could tell that it was synthetic–bulletproof fibre. Feeling the framing, it appeared to be formed of carbon fibre, strong but lightweight. Although its design was classical, the Graf Zeppelin NT was made with all the latest in scientific progress.

But even so, it was still an airship. It can only make a speed of about 80-90 KPH.

The air currents swirled furiously, but in Hysteria Mode, I didn’t waver.

Now then, I recently pilfered this…

Standing atop the centre of the airship, I took out the parachute I had hidden behind my back–

Then, with a *Flap!* *Flap!*

The large crow appeared…! Using all its strength to fly alongside the airship, it ripped the parachute from my hand.

I avoided the poison claws by the skin of my teeth, but as for the parachute– I had let go of it.

The bag containing the parachute fell, and slid down the sloping side of the airship, and I watched it tumble down to disappear amidst the clouds.

That crow! That was what he wanted. Clever bastard.

Reluctantly, I let off a warning shot to scare him off– and the airship in the night sky entered a cloud. Hampered by the fog, my field of vision was obstructed, and I lost sight of the crow.

Clicking my tongue in annoyance, I turned toward the back of the ship, where at the edge of sight–

Katze appeared, making her way through the fog.

She was about 30 metres away.

It appears that the commanding officer herself has come after me, following me up onto the airship. She’s just as bloodthirsty as Aria.

「Wahaha! You did well, Edgar!」

Katze stood, wearing a Nazi uniform and a parachute on her back… talking to Edgar, the crow that had come to rest on her one arm, while she took hold of a lifeline wire in the other.

Then, Oh, yes. With how strong the wind is, the 1 cm long skirt will not hang down as she walks. Even in the gloom, the red cloth stood out.

My Hysteria Mode slightly intensifying, I said–

「It’s a good airship. Now as well as then, the Nazis are the best scientists.」

For the time being, I complimented her in return for all the things I had seen.

「It was so expensive though, so I don’t want to wreck it. The cost estimate for another didn’t go down at all.」

She had already said something to that effect. In Hong King.

「Speaking of Hong Kong– I owe you something. You shot me in the head, after hijacking the tanker.」

Then in response to my grumbling–

「You are famous, after all, and I still don’t know what it was you did. I’ve never seen anything like it.」

Famous, huh?

That’s not good. Someone, whether inside or outside school, has been selling my information.

「Now that the topic has come up… I heard something from an old Abwehr officer. 2 After Bandire– didn’t you invite Meiya back to your room? Did something good happen? Something involving those indecently sized breasts?」

「You know all too well. There was never been anything between us. For now.」

Intending no disrespect to Meiya, I did not deny it too firmly–

Katze’s face then was entirely filled with rage.

「I… hate nothing more than the sight of men and women flirting! No matter how much milk you gain from those breasts, you should leave Meiya alone. Associating with her will only worsen your luck! I also declare that a woman is not merely her breasts.」

Saying something unintelligible, nevertheless I understood that Katze disliked Meiya.

And at the end there, it seems that she has a problem with breasts… she must have a complex about them.

「I am not of a mind to associate with women, but I will tuck your advice away in my brain for later. Even so, however– my luck is bad. It would frighten you If I told you just how abysmal it is.」

「That’s a good way of thinking. Now then, Tohyama. Before I carry out your sentence of falling, I have one question to ask. Is『Kinji Tohyama』your real name?」

「What would you do with it if I said it was?」

「I like to memorise then names of the enemies I kill. They’re fun to remember.」

Uh-huh. You are an S-rank after all.

「I wonder about that. Every time I remember a fight, I wonder『Did I really have to fight?』」

I gave Katze a small wink to stop her in her tracks–

Then I drew my DE in my right hand and my butterfly knife in my left.

Seeing me do that, Katze attached the lifeline wire to her belt.

With her right hand she took the Luger P38 from her waist, and in her left she had a diamond encrusted dagger with a carved mulberry hilt.

Then, with a cheery face, she said:

「I seem to have forgotten about 1940 for a moment.」

–*Bang!* *Bang!*

Her words seeming to tear up the Tripartite Pact between Italy, Germany, and Japan, she suddenly began shooting.

I narrowly dodged them–

Katze. You are coming at me with a gun and blade?

Then I will stand up and face you. I will show you the strength of the Japanese people that even Hitler looked down upon!

I wonder if Katze has practiced fighting atop the airship.

Even with the slope, she is stepping easily between frames as she comes closer. Edgar took flight as well.

But– I was in Hysteria Mode.

Thanks to the fact that she did not care that her skirt flipped up as she raised her legs as she ran, despite the cold, my blood flow never slackened. This petite girl really is cute.

*Bang!*

From my familiar Desert Eagle came a sound like a distant cannon’s roar– and for the first time, Edgar faltered. Discerning the difference between a crow and an eagle, the clever fellow wheeled about in the air to escape.

「Edgar, come back! This guy, I–」

I sprang toward Katze, intending to catch her dagger in a sword break lock with my butterfly knife–

But Katze turned and did something unpleasant.

Switching her hold on the blade, she changed to an underhanded grip and slashed to cut at my neck.

But it was slow, and I simply evaded it.

「If it is an important blade, is it really okay to not use it?」

–*Snick!*

Stopping the point of my knife short of Katze’s chest, I cut the harness of her parachute.

Then, with the same pickpocket technique I had previously used on the day I met Aria–

I stole the parachute from her in passing.

I’m not as good at it as Watson, but once my enemy became so angry, I decided on this plan.

Using the skin of the airship as a trampoline, I put some distance between myself and Katze–

「Sorry.」

Because I had taken something off of a girl’s body, I felt that I had to apologise.

「Uh…」

I was evidently her superior in close combat, and Katze groaned.

「Hey now. Isn’t is frightening since you lost this? Let’s go inside. I’ll even get off like you want. You might want to get some extra clothes. Even I’m getting cold.」

I warned her, wearing the parachute on my back–

「Do… you think I’m weaker than you? You’re scared, aren’t you?」

「You’re still so arrogant?」

「I slipped! Uh… um, that’s why I was slow! I’m not scared at all!」

Katze severed the lifeline with her dagger.

Such a proud girl…! She’s a German version of Aria.

「Your legs are shaking, Katze.」

「I-it’s the cold. Jack Frost has always given the armoured division trouble.」

Heh. She’s an obstinate one.

But you can’t so anything else, can you?

I want to stay a bit longer and take care of you, but I really should be going.

I don’t know where I am, but I must beg your leave.

Then, stowing my weapons, I stepped toward the side of the airship–

「–Are you running away?」

Believing that I was retreating, Katze lunged at me…!

Without taking the time to ponder the danger, Edgar dove headlong into suicidal dive with her master.

With the two of them against me, I lost my balance and still struggling with Katze–

We tumbled off the top and down the side of the airship.

While holding Katze close so that she didn’t fall, I grasped a part of the airship’s framework skeleton with the other–

「This is all your fault, Tohyama…!」

Katze– tried to make a grab for my parachute.

From inside the gondola, I heard the voices of the girls cheering Katze on.

「… Now… Why don’t I just take this then?」

With my one hand grasping the airship frame, and the other occupied holding Katze, she unclasped the fastener on the parachute. Then–

「Idiot! Fall into Hell alone!」

Grabbing a hold of the side of the airship herself, Katze pulled on the strap on the parachute.

But after having taken the parachute from me, her hands, numbed with cold, had slowly begun to slip and lost their grip on the frame.

「Waa!」

She let out a cry–

And Katze fell.

The parachute was just barely left hanging on my shoulder. Katze had no such luxury.

Violating Regulation 9 would be something I’d regret–

「–!」

So, I immediately kicked off the airship and dove into the sky.

Shrieks of despair went up from the girls inside the gondola–

But they were lost in an instant.

They were now far above me, and I secured the parachute harness to my back as I chased after Katze.

I need to catch up… Just a bit further!

I don’t know how high up we are, but in any case, a woman cannot be abandoned.

Head down, I continued to plunge further.

I passed the witch’s hat the Katze must have lost.

Then I saw Katze, the expression on her face frozen in sheer wonder.

A little more… A little more and I can reach Katze with my hand…!

–I caught up with Katze amidst the fog like clouds.

「That’s… mine!」

Hey…!

Despite the fact that I had come to save her, Katze still tried to snatch the unopened parachute.

Then, in shock–I ended up taking it off myself and put in on her back.

This… stupid girl…!

As I held on to Katze. I angrily reached up to deploy the parachute. But because of the air pressure, I wasn’t able to do what I wanted to. When I grabbed Katze’s belt, she kicked me, and in that instant, I lost my hold.

「–Sieg Heil!」

The rush of wind stretching her smile further Katze pulled the cord.

Thinking she had only saved herself, the parachute opened. I was in free fall, and she was right above me.

–However…

I came to an abrupt halt.

「Urk!」

From fairly close by in mid-air, I heard Katze exclaim.

The shock was transmitted to my pelvis via my belt. The same must have happened to Katze.

A moment earlier, I had connected my belt to Katze’s with a wire.

Katze dangled beneath the open parachute, and I hung below her, arresting my fall.

In the thick cloud cover, I scrambled up the wire and grabbed on.

「–Sorry. Don’t worry, I can’t see anything above me.」

I held on to Katze’s slender legs. My right hand on her right leg, and left hand on her left leg, I resisted Katze’s determined efforts to shake me off.

「H-hey! What are you doing, grabbing a girl’s legs!」

Katze yelled as I dangled beneath her, but the next moment–

*Ka-thunk!* *Slide!*

「–!」

「…!」

I had thought that we were still pretty high up, but we crashed into the ground at high speed.

If it had been flat, it would have been instant death, but the ground slanted down, and we slipped down.

As tumbled down violently, I became aware of ice being thrown up all around me. What the…!

*R-r-r-r-roll!*… *R-r-r-r-roll!*… *R-r-r-r-roll!*…

… Then…

After sliding tens of metres… I came to a stop, face down.

Maintaining a shaky hold on consciousness, I cracked open my eyelids– the night was black as pitch– but I was on a blueish white slope, canted at a considerably angle… Then I flopped myself over.

Whew…! Heaving a sigh, it came out white.

I’m in a very cold place.

Wh-where…? Am I…?

The slope was covered in a lot of white things that were made of ice.

The faint reflection of the Moon off the clouds caused a slightly blue reflection– it’s a glacier.

I collected the wire and carabineer that had disconnected upon landing and taking my mobile from my pocket… Although it wasn’t broken, it wouldn’t work either. It’s too high up here too.

Straining my eyes gazing out into the cold fog, I faintly made out a glittering mountain ridgeline.

The mountains… huh…

One problem came up after another.

Taking care to slip down, I pushed myself up…good. Nothing seems broken.

Of course, due to the impact, my whole body hurt and bruised, but compared to Ranbyou’s hazing, it was nothing.

Rather, in the dark it’s cold enough to freeze. The clouds seem to reach up into the clouds, so I’m quite literally ‘caught up in the air’. It’s not a place to aimlessly wander about.

In despair, I searched for the warm glow of a mountain hut–

But of course, I had no such good fortune… but a bit further away, Katze lay sprawled, still connected to the parachute strewn across the ice.

「…」

Ice crunching under foot, I walked over–

I expected to find her dead, but when I checked and looked her over, she was alive.

This girl is tough. But that’s to be expected from a soldier in FEW.

「Katze!」

「…Uh…n…」

Stirred by my voice, Katze’s eyes fluttered…

「If you lie here, you’ll catch cold!」

Because of the cold, my Hysteria Mode had vanished, and I didn’t use a particularly gentle tone.

–It’s good that we survived the fall, but we’ve still got a life-threatening crisis on our hands.

Katze is wearing her mini-skirt Nazi uniform, and I have my Butei High uniform. They don’t exactly offer much protection against the cold. If we stay out in the wind, we’ll freezer to death.

So… I caught hold of the parachute cord and pulled it close as a shield against the wind.

Then I covered myself and Katze with it.

Doing that— I formed a makeshift tent.

Since it was on the airship, it was fireproof, but it’s insulating properties were negligible. Since there was a lot of it, I was able to not only cover us with it, but also wad it thickly underneath us.

In the darkness of the makeshift tent, Katze bolted upright suddenly.

She lit an LED light attached to the bottom of a lighter.

「…」

「…」

The two of us sat cross-legged opposite each other… without a frame to the tent, the cloth draped over our heads. It was about as big as a runner life raft, no, rather about the size of a sleeping bag.

We stared at each other for a while, but despite the near proximity, we said nothing–

「Tohyama. Just now… why did you save me? Are you an idiot?」

Katze asked, frowning.

I had chased after Katze when she had fallen without a parachute…

She must be asking why I jumped off the zeppelin.

「I was just following Butei Law. Even in France, A Butei is forbidden to kill.」

I answered brusquely, and Katze remained silent.

「… Where do you think we are?」

This time, I asked Katze a question.

「… Where are we?」

「The Western Alps. We were headed to Torino, and we much have fallen out onto Mont Blanc」

… Mont Blanc…

From what I know, this is the worst possible location.

Mont Blanc is one of the largest mountains in Europe, separating France from Italy.

The altitude, if I recall correctly, is about 4800 metres. That’s why our time in freefall was so short.

Neither Katze nor I had anything further to say concerning the situation.

Stuck on Mont Blanc, midwinter, without climbing boots, a pickaxe, let alone a tent or winter clothes… That was the situation.

Coming back alive was hopeless.

「…」

「…」

But sitting here, saying nothing, only made the gloomy feeling worse.

I wanted to do something to break this mood.

We should talk about something to distract ourselves from the cold. But I felt that there was nothing to say.

But after a long period of silence…

「Katze, are a student in a normal school?」

I recalled seeing Katze in the Louvre art gallery, and Katze appeared to realise what I was talking about.

「Tch!」

She clicked her tongue–

「Can’t you talk to people?」

I quipped as she seemed at a loss for words.

I held no malice for my reticent enemy, despite the fact that she had stolen my parachute and tried to kill me… so when Katze wasn’t looking… *Grab!*

I caught her close under my arm in a headlock.

Her small, attractive face registered total shock.

「–Ow ow ow-ow-ow! Let me go! Let me go! Let… me… go…!」

Katze shouted, as I employed the simple, but painful technique.

For no particular reason, Ranbyou had done it to me often, so I understand the sharp pain.

But perhaps because of the cold, Katze did not put much behind her words of protest. Feeling bad… I let her go.

「…Hmph…!」

Calm once more after rearranging her black hair…

「–Take that!」

In a flurry, Katze grappled with me, unmindful of her miniskirt, moving to immobilise me with a full body lock.

「Ow! Ow! Ow! Let go! Let go! Let go!」

This time, it was my turn to say those words.

This is a ground version of the Grapevine Stretch!3

And this Nazi witch is applying it fully…!

********************************************************

Even so, the cobbled together tent exceeded its makeshift nature…

As the night wore on, it became colder and colder. Even sealed in the fireproof fabric, we sat shivering as our body temperature fell–This is no good.

Inside the tent, it dropped below freezing and felt like it was 5 or 10 degrees below.

Mont Blanc is no joke. Japanese winters are cold. By comparison, the New Years’ I spent as child in Aomori– when I visited the Hotogi Shrine and the snow just kept piling up was trifling.

While fighting off the drowsiness brought on by cold… 2 AM passed.

… *Pachin!*

Something struck the outside of our makeshift tent.

…?

I thought it might be ice, but it was a softer sound.

It can’t possibly be a human knocking, can it? That’s what I thought.

A faint hope rising in my chest– I peeked out from under the parachute.

Outside was an unbroken panorama of snow and completely engulfed in silence… but no one was there. Instead…

「…!」

Wings covered in frost, making it look like a sort of heron, a crow swooped down to land nearby on the icy slope.

Edgar…!

It’s the large crow that Katze keeps as a pet. It followed Katze when she fell from the airship and must have flown around until it found us. Even in the moonlight, it must have been hard to do.

Half dead in the cold… *Hop!* *Hop!* *Flop!*

With the last of its strength it hobbled over and then jumped and lay sprawled on the ground next to where I was watching it.

It had tried to kill me with its poisoned talons, and it was a killer Nazi bird, but… I can’t hurt an animal.

It must have come, anxious about what had become of Katze, and I admire its loyalty.

So, I brought Edgar inside the makeshift tent.

I took the frozen Edgar… and wrapped it up in the folds of the parachute.

「… Edgar, your master is still alive. Oi, Katze… there’s someone here that would be glad to see you.」

I said, as I held it out to her–

Just a bit ago, Katze was curled like a cat, restless in her sleep and shivering…

But now she wasn’t shivering anymore. She wasn’t moving at all.

This… isn’t an effect of the cold. Her strength has simply run out.

「Oi, Oi!」

I raised my voice, but she didn’t answer.

From her expression, I could tell she was unconscious. Even her runny nose had frozen.

Touching her cheeks, I shuddered at how cold they were. This is bad. She’s almost frozen to death.

「…!」

As a final resort, I pulled the unresponsive Katze close–

As I sat there, I draped myself over her like a mantle, using my own body heat to warm her.

I also took the opportunity to put Edgar under the back of my jacket.

But… I could do this for 1 hour, maybe 2…

Then an indescribable drowsiness would overtake me.

Before the night is over, I’ll lose consciousness as well.

Laying down to sleep and dying on a snowy mountain isn’t merely superstition.

Usually, human beings can’t sleep if it is too cold, but… it you lay down in the cold, it can sap your strength to the point where you never wave back up. The cold will weaken with the natural thermoregulation that occurs when you sleep, and when it is worn out, internal body temperature will continue to fall until it results in death…!

********************************************************

……

「…!」

I opened my eyes.

Th-thank goodness! Although I carelessly drifted off to sleep, it appears I just managed to avoid death.

I saw light filtering through the cloth of the makeshift tent.

It was warmer too. After I lost consciousness, the Sun must have risen and saved me.

Edgar was still at my back, but Katze was gone. Having survived the night, it appears she went out.

I shifted to look at my watch, but *Yank!*

Both my wrists… were handcuffed. They have a swastika on them.

Katze! Why the heck were you carrying something like this…!?

Shifting around as best as I could… I made my way outside–

Dazzling. The unobstructed Sun shone down, making everything sparkle.

The dry wind was cold on my skin, but you could probably get a sunburn.

Squinting my eyes, I looked around at the surroundings– but there was only the glacier and black boulders like ice covered pyramids. At my feet a faint white mist like dry ice streamed by. It looks like the heat of the sunlight is melting the ice, causing the evaporation. Below the sea of clouds… nothing man-made could be seen.

「Guten morgen, Tohyama. You are a prisoner of war. Please accept it and don’t give me any trouble.」

Turing toward the voice behind me…

Katze stood with her Luger P08 in her hand, grinning. She was smiling.

She looked fairly well, but… this girl is awefully ungrateful. Springing something like this on me.

However, her tone of voice is somewhat softer.

Upon waking, she found herself being held by me to keep her warm… and that appears to be the reason for her slight softening. Even so, her manner of action is unchanged.

Even handcuffed, I think I can still reach my Beretta… but holding it in my hand, I can tell by the weight. The bullets have been removed. From my DE too.

「Your bullets have slid fa~ar down the glacier. I’ll take the guns later, but for now you can carry them because they are heavy.」

「Hmph…! Go ahead and shoot while we’re on the mountain! You’ll cause an avalanche and kill us both!」

I said as I turned me back… intending to make my exit.

「Italy is that way, Tohyama. It’s a long way to human civilisation, and there’s a checkpoint. You don’t have your passport, do you?」

Katze said, and I turned back to look at her.

Now that she mentions it, I did leave it back in Jeanne’s apartment.

Holstering her gun, Katze looked at her watch while as she took her bearings off the Sun.

「Which way should I go then?」

「On the French side of the mountain is a town called Chamonix. I’m taking a path the avoids the border patrol. Visiting a checkpoint is a bit dangerous for me.」

Apparently unable to determine an accurate direct, Katze clutched her own hair while reorienting her watch… It appears the she knows some outlaw paths.

I wonder if she is telling me about it as thanks for last night?

Even I know… although we’re enemies, it’s foolish to try to walk down this harsh mountain alone.

So, I went with Katze… and side by side, little by little, we descended the glacier.

「Oh. Come to think of it, Katze. He’s not a prisoner, so I’ll hand return him to you.」

Remembering the crow behind my back, I shifted my shoulders and rummaged about… Even with my hands in handcuffs, I was able to take him out and pass him over to Katze.

Then–

「…? …! Edgar!」

Unwrapping him, her eyes widened in surprise as she cried out and hugged him to her chest.

Then, her whole face beaming–

「Thank goodness…! I thought I’d never see you again, Edgar! Thank goodness…!」

Then… she began to sob… tears of joy.

Katze’s face was different from her usual expression– she looked like an ordinary cute girl.

「…」

No matter what flag she carries, she is still human, I suppose. But she gave me no words of thanks.

「Ahaha! Edgar, when we get back, I’ll feed you a pretzel. Ahaha! Thank goodness! Thank goodness!」

She clasped Edgar in both hands as cried in happiness–

*Tap!* *Tap!* She spun, stepping something that looked like a waltz.

「Oi, Oi, Katze!」

Thinking she might slip and fall, as soon as I raised my voice–

It happened.

「–Wah!」

Katze cried out and suddenly disappeared. She must have fallen down.

「–Katze!?」

Thinking it might have been a cliff, I rushed over in a panic…

Near where Katze had vanished, there was a 1 metre wide crevasse in the ice.

Because of the fog swirling around our feet, it was hard to see… this crack in the ice…!

It was a huge crack in the depression of the glacier. Katze had fallen into one of these natural pitfalls.

It was probably 10 metres deep, and the icy walls were dark…

Still holding Edgar, Katze had gotten stuck about 4 metres down.

「A-are you alright!?」

「Tsk…!」

Katze tried to climb up but slid back down the icy walls of the crevasse. She couldn’t get out.

Her movements actually made her gradually slide a bit further down.

I pulled out the wire from my belt… but what the heck!? The belt winch was broken. It couldn’t pull out any further than a hand’s breadth before it retracted.

In such a situation, I’d usually use both hands to pull it out winding it around my hand and elbow, but…

Due to Katze’s handcuffs, I can’t do that.

「–Katze, give me the key so I can take of these handcuffs! If you do that, I can use the wire…」

「No! You’re my prisoner, and don’t forget it!」

Even from below the ice, she remained obstinate– slipping further. She fell tens more centimetres.

「I understand that! I won’t run away! I promise! Give me the key!」

「…」

Katze remained silent as she slid further. Continuing to fall, her face bore a worried expression.

Then she took a key out from her chest pocket, put it Edgar’s mouth, and he flapped his wings, flying up.

Taking the key from Edgar, I hastily removed the handcuffs–

Laying down at the edge of the crevasse, I anchored myself as best as I could and let down the wire.

Then, once I saw that Katze had connected it to her own belt.

Carefully, slowly, I began pulling her up.

By the look of it, she doesn’t seem to weigh much. I should be able to do this…!

In this manner, Katze soon neared the top edge of the crack, then I said:

「… Your hand…!」

I stretched out my hand.

Katze took a firm hold of my hand in hers…

It was small and soft.

Then once she was up, she walked past me near the edge of the crevasse–

She picked up the handcuffs that I had just dropped. Then she tossed them into the total darkness of the crevasse.\

********************************************************

Afterwards, as we descended the mountain…

Katze was unusually quiet and subdued.

I wonder if she’s embarrassed at having been saved by an enemy?

She also made no attempt to try and restrain me again.

However, because I made a promise to not run away, I was walking alongside Katze.

Trudging over the pale-blue hills of ice, we leant an occasional hand to help each other.

We continued like this for what, 4~5 hours?

Then, where there was previously only ice, as some exposed rock began to appear….

…That’s…

The weather had changed, and what the concealing cloud had hidden… became visible. Signs of human habitation that I had not seen for quite a while.

「–A metal tower! It’s part of an electrical power line!」

With her hand raised to her brow, Katze spoke for the first time in a while. Her voice was… cheery.

「It’s still pretty far away…」

「Don’t complain, Tohyama. We’ll follow it to Chamonix. It’s a town that mountain climbers visit, and it has a hotel. We can get some hot soup there too.」

「Soup? That doesn’t sound half bad.」

The two of us exchanged smiles–

Then, remembering that we were enemies, Katze turned away in a huff.

But because she had mentioned soup, so my stomach growled… *Grrr!* *Grr!*…

With what appears to be the universal sign of a girl’s embarrassment, Katze’s face turned red…

She… must be hungry too.

Since I hadn’t eaten for an entire day, I sat down on a rock about as high as my waist and took out the extra cereal bar that Meiya gave me.

As soon as I had taken out food, Katze’s eye instantly locked in on it…

「Do you want some? Otherwise, I’ll eat it all.」

Raising her voice as she turned redder, Katze said:

「Do you want me to accept the charity of an enemy!? I’m the proud commander of Regiment Hex!」

But as she said that… *Grrr!* Her stomach growled as well.

「…」

「…」

Without a word, I peeled the wrapper from the cereal bar and broke off half.

Then I held it out to Katze.

With an angry expressing, she approached and with a sudden movement… took it. She’s probably going to eat it. Contrary to what she had said, the proud commander ate greedily. Turning her back to me, she ate it all at once… or so I thought, but she broke off a piece and fed it to Edgar. It was a kind action.

However, the cereal bar… wasn’t enough. It did little to help the feeling of our empty stomachs. But where our mouths had been dry, they now watered.

Despite that, my throat felt dry, I wanted milk, or at least water,– but there wasn’t any to be had. I’ve heard stories from several people about eating snow dangerously lowering body temperature.

As I thought that… Katze took out a metal flask with a swastika on it from her chest pocket. Perhaps wanting to make her chest look bigger was the reason she kept it in her chest pocket.

「What’s that? A pipe bomb?」

「Not quite, it’s just a canteen. I’m the Witch of Cursed Water– It’s the water I originally planned to use as a weapon in case of an emergency. It’s not good to eat cereal without water, so I’ll use it as drinking water.」

With a *Glug!* *Glug!*, she gulped the water.

「Hmm?」

She held the canteen out toward me. Without looking my way.

Are you… offering it to me?

You are using this precious water that is a weapon for you.

Are you giving it to me in return for the food I gave you?

Katze… although an enemy, is a proud enemy.

「…」

Without saying anything, I took it and slowly drank the exact half that was left in it.

This mountain… with Mother Nature against us, the distinction of enemy and ally are lost.

We will continue to help each other get down the mountain.

Returning the flask, Katze said…

「–I am a Germanic Frenchwoman.」

As she stared out over the French mountains, she began what sounded like a soliloquy.

「During the Great War, on the border of Germany and France– The witches of Regiment Hex entered the battle of Strausburg, risking their lives to fight to bring glory to the Fatherland. Strausburg was originally built on German land. Reaching far back into history, the fighting witches have always been German.」

As she said this, she made a bitter smile–

「However, more recently, it has become part of France. The result of the war ended the territorial dispute. The descendant of those who fought and shed their blood to protect the Fatherland have been exiled to France. They even removed the swastika graffiti from the windows of the houses. Heh heh! There’s nothing left.」

Seeing her profile as she gave a self-deprecating laugh, reminded me of the time I saw her in the Louvre art museum–

I recall seeing her mixed in with the French girls.

「At least until director Everita reached out a hand to me. She collected the persecuted German fighting witches like me and gave us a place to fight. The director was scary when she was angry, but she was actually a very good person. And an incredibly beautiful woman.」

It seems that she can’t maintain her identity due to persecution but can’t fight back publicly…

A mere shadow of what they once were, is that why they became terrorists?

Katze seems to want me to understand her plight…

But I can’t support their actions

I am a Butei. Terrorists are my enemies. I’m not like the US military that immediately steps in and kills wrongdoers, I will apprehend them by force in accordance with Butei Law. There may be some kind of pitiable reason behind it, but such extenuating circumstances are for a court of law to consider.

That is a line that must never be abandoned. At least when it comes to us.

But, well, that would make me a cold-hearted monster wouldn’t it? So, I won’t say anything.

–After all, that’s only polite to the proud Witch of Cursed Water who shared her precious water with me, isn’t it?

[END]

********************************************************

1. German for ‘other half’. Kanji say, ‘Falling in love with the opposite sex sin’. It implies that under this system, falling in love with the opposite sex is ‘wrong’.

2. NOTE: Abwehr was the intelligence branch of the Reich for the Reichswehr and Wehrmacht

3. (卍固め) The swastika symbol in the name bears no relation to Nazis but could have affected the author’s choice here. a visual pun, as it were…





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