Magical★Explorer - Chapter 8

The Incident 1

I let my back sink into the sofa and place an iced coffee on the table. When I took a look at my smartphone screen, I let out a small sigh.

I thought I spent a lot of time at that store, but the meeting time is still much ahead. I was guided around the store for a while.

I look around at the merchandises but I wasn’t able to find anything that piques my interest, their design didn’t really clicked with me too so I bought some items that seem necessary for enchantment magic instead.

………Anyway, I’m bored.

In my surroundings there are several students on their spring break, a salaryman, and an office lady having a drink. Is it because this cafe is next to a luxury hotel, there are a lot of people that seem like they came from a different world from me. For example, people in the surrounding area are wearing some kind of uniform or a suit but here I am, wearing a plain cloth and sticking out like a sore thumb. The group of students sitting nearby are also speaking using polite language.

The male foreigner sitting nearby seem like he is working. A large bag was placed under his table and on the table was a bundle of paper filled with letters I had never seen before.  He’s frowning with a crease on his forehead while staring at his documents. The woman sitting nearby is operating her smartphone with her pocket book opened. The drink in front of her is already empty but she showed no sign of leaving.

When I return my eyes to the table in front of me, and saw that I already drank more than half of my iced coffee, a sigh escaped me again.

I am wasting time here.

It would be good If I have some magic book on me. No, it’s too late now. All the books that I considered useful were already sent to Marino-san’s house.

Then, should I go shopping for some? That might be a good idea.

After I finish this coffee let’s head back to that store and take a look around.

The ice had already melted into the coffee. I poured everything down my throat then stood up and leave the cafe.

When my shopping trip smoothly ended,I got my hands on an alchemy book.

I head back to the cafe I was relaxing in before. The clerk might think “This guy again?” but the meeting place is in the lobby of the luxury hotel next door so it is better than moving to another cafe.

Needless to say, this place got an air-conditioner, comfortable sofa and I can get a delicious cup of coffee for just a thousand yen.

If I was still  in Japan I wouldn’t dare coming to such a luxurious store. Back then I would order a drink only up to eight-hundreds yen. This would have been one of the places that I would never approach. But right now my standing is slightly different.

“Hanamura-Teito hotel, huh…..” (TLN: Hanamura imperial hotel, if you prefer.)

The towering silver building in front of me, a building that the other buildings in the surrounding area have no choice but to bow their head to. The hotel that was built for the wealthy, a hotel that is dazzling with its modern design which also exist in harmony with nature. That beautiful garden next to the hotel, I wonder how much money it would cost just to maintain it.

“Hanamura Group, eh.”

Speaking of Hanamura Group, they’re influential people in the magic and financial world. The chairman’s words seem to hold enough power to influence the entire country. Hanamura Marino is a person that left the house but she is no doubt one of its members. She is also one of the pillars of the magic world. Her magical prowess is a real thing and she also has influence over the magic world with large number of assets she possessed.

Even though Hanamura Marino alone already possessed such power and wealth, I wonder what will happen if her main house is also being added to the picture.

I just become the son of that Marino-san. If you think about it, my mother should also be a member of Hanamura family. Even when the game has become reality I still don’t know much about his mother. I can only guess that his parents had ran away.

“…………Well, let’s head to the cafe.”

I muttered, but when I look around at that moment. it happened.

What my five senses delivered to me first is a flash. then immediately follows by the sound of an explosion . The thing that hits me first the hot wind. Black smoke and burnt odor are spreading around while the surrounding fell into chaos.

I was speechless.

Scream and cry echoed from the surrounding people as they  are running away from the black smoke. I could only look at the cafe where the fire broke out.

Several people are coming out of the cafe. Those who walking while holding their arms, those that carry another person by their shoulder and those who used their handkerchiefs to cover their mouth.

‘I have to get away from this place too.’

As I turned my gaze away from the cafe, I found a person that is sticking out.

“…..What’s with him, that foreigner.”

Among the people that are running away in panic he was calm.  His face doesn’t show bitterness nor does it distort in fear. I can not see any emotion from it, just like workers doing their routine work in a factory.

Not only his expression, his action is also out of place.

He didn’t go toward the place that people are trying to escape to, instead he is heading to the hotel next to the cafe like he has some objective in mind.

He started walking toward the place we planned to stay at, Hanamura Teito Hotel. From the hotel people are panicking and scrambling to leave the hotel. Then when I look at the cafe again, I am bewildered. Several people were surrounding the cafe with their smartphones using it to call others some people even use their phone to film the scene.

Aren’t they worry that there will be another attack after the first explosion?

That strange foreigner keep walking toward the hotel where such people are starting to gather.  He went against the flow of people and entered inside.

I decided to follow him from behind.

The inside of the hotel is noisy. The customers and receptionists are confused, angry voices were heard from the surrounding. There’s a man wearing a suit who is making a call. An elderly couple speaking about something to the staff. A child who is looking around while crying and his mother who holding his hand as if to protect him. The suspicious man walk pass the pair of mother and child and head into the corridor.

When he went deeper into the hotel for a few minutes he finally stopped.

In front of him is a door, beside the door is a red-haired man in a suit. They seem to be speaking with each other with a small voice so I can’t hear what they’re talking about.

As I tried to get myself a little closer, I heard a small explosion from the other side of the door.

I can hear the red-haired man in front of the door clicked his tongue. They seem to be talking about something as they went into the room together.

I secretly follow behind them.

The room they entered is a large party room. Did they have some kind of buffet party here? There’s a big table that seem like it was there to place food and dishes on, but now the food and dishes are scattered on the floor. When I take a look, I see several men in a suit, surrounding someone.

Noticing the nearby table, I lifted the tablecloth and dive under it.

I concentrate and try to hear what they’re saying.

“You damn traitors!”

Seem like an enraged young woman is shouting at someone. “Returning our kindness with malice, you people lacked what important for a human being, you guys” are nothing but trashes.”

While I listening to her endless barrage of insults I slowly lifting the tablecloth. Then, when I saw what in front of me, my voice nearly leak out.

Three people are being surrounded. A man and woman with long ears are standing in front of a girl as if they are trying to protect her, everyone has a wand in their hands.

In front of me is a woman with blue eyes and long blond hair in a half-up hairstyle. Her eyes lifted up due to anger, she also have slightly pointed ears that is currently quivering. That appearance.. there’s no mistake…..

(Isn’t that one of the main heroines!!)

The initial version of Magical Explorer has twelve heroines (Including main and sub heroines) that can be captured. Among them there is one who is especially popular. One of the main heroines,  Ludivine Marie-Ange de La trèfle. Because of her hard to remember name, her friends and the gentlemen (players) called her Ludi.

I still remember the pleasant feeling when I was berated by her in the game. For those who have a special kind of fetish, hereby referred to as Ludisease patient, being able to call her by her full name is a must. Needless to say, I am able to say her full name.

In the popular old light novel there are heroines with a hard to remember name like a tsundere with pink hair and tiny breasts or a vampire girl that can change her form into an adult woman who happen to love mister donut. Why the hell do I able to remember such a long name and still remain hopeless when studying for exam?

Well, what kind of heroine was Ludi, you asked?

She’s a woman with androphobia. No, it’s more like she is not only hate men but  all the human itself. Simply put, she is a cool-type heroine who often use harsh words when addressing others (especially men). Therefore, when you try to get closer to her, she usually said something like “Get away from me” with an angry voice. However, that was only at first. After you complete a certain even and gotten closer to her, her attitude will turn 180 degrees around.

Yes, she will turn DereDere before you know it.

She is like a sour fruit, but you can turn her into a sweet one by trigger a certain event and solve her worry.

Additionally, her reaction to men other than the protagonist somehow getting harsher instead. She even treated Takioto Kousuke lower than an insect. But that seems to provoke the gentlemen’s desire to monopolize her thus came her extreme popularity. Later on in the DLC even with twelve additional heroines her popularity was never overshadowed.

Though, why does she hate people (and especially men) so much?

(Is this the cause?)

Ludi and co who are being chased after took out their oddly shaped guns. At the same time, the suspicious man who I secretly  followed from the cafe also readied his gun.

“My lady, you are making a mistake. We never betrayed you… We have never been on your side in the first place.”

A skinhead man answered Ludi.

From assessing the situation, it seems like these guys used to work for Ludi.

Ludi’s face warped in anger while grinding her teeth. She is being cornered to the wall by the approaching men, her eyes show no sign of giving up.

When I saw that, I remembered the thing that was written on the developer blog.

[Why Ludivine hated men that much?, there is a proper reason for it. When we came up with a setting for her, we intended her to not be a virgin. Then when we proposed that, the higher-ups told us “The complaints will come at us like a tsunami. So please can you do anything else, you can have her die by a natural disaster, reborn from a different dimension or having her body possessed by an evil-god, just PLEASE  let her be a virgin.” LoL. Well, in the end we came up with a lot of settings for her and she finally ended up as a virgin hahaha. ]

That was what the scenario writer came up with, it was like they tried to pick a fight with us gentlemen (Eroge players).

After the players got close to Ludi in the game, there was an event that revealed her past.

“ I was betrayed by the people I trusted in the past.”

she confessed that with an expression like she was about to cry. That figure of her was engraved on to my brain.

This scene must be the cause.

What should I do?

Helping her here might cause a lot of changes to the story. The organization that is hostile to her appears as enemies from early to mid game so there’s also a possibility that they will not hurt her yet.

Should I go and help her out?

No, calm down. In the first place, do I really have enough power to save her?

Can I really fight against their unknown weapons with the equipment I have? I only have a stole and my spare muffler. If this stole was pierced through then……

Moreover, will the me who never experience a real fight be of any use at all? The only thing that resembles a fighting technique I know is the Judo I learned back in my student days and I already forgot all about it afterward. Will I really be able to save her?

Furthermore, If it was exactly like the game, then the one who was supposed to save Ludi in the setting was Marino-san. Not me but Marino-san. I know that much from her line in the game.

In the case that I dash out I might worsen the situation and make it hard for Marino-san to make her move. In the worst case scenario I might head straight to a death-end. Is it better to just turn back and treat this as if it never happened?

“How about you give up already?”

The skinhead man said to Ludi. But Ludi did not shake her head.

“We have the Iron Wall Claris on our side, you couldn’t possibly break through her defense. If this is a drawn out fight you guy would be at an disadvantage, No?”

Is Claris the wand holding woman who stood in front of her? I have never seen her in the game before.

The Skinhead glanced at her and shrugged his shoulders.

“Good grief, Ojou-sama. Do you think that we didn’t come prepared?”

“What do y-……eh?”

When Skinhead said that. Something went past Ludi’s eyes and Claris fell to the ground.

Passing in front of her was a man who was standing next to Claris, a handsome guy who was supposed to be on her side. Claris seem to received a blow to her stomach and she fell to the ground while holding her stomach. The handsome guy then stomped on her.

“Aghhh.”

He stomped on her again and again until her scream stopped and her expression distorted in agony.

“No way, It’s a lie, It’s a lie, right?………..Aurelian, even you too?.”

The face of Ludi that was so strong up to now crumbled and it looks like she could cry at anytime. Her limbs are trembling to the extent that I can tell from here, even though there is nowhere to escape to she tried to run away. Then she realized she was facing the wall and look behind her. She was reminded that there was no escape.

“Kuku hahahahaha, Haaaahahahhahaa”

When he saw that, Aurelian laughed out loud. he was holding stomach and laughing at her.

“Yes, that’s the face I wanted to see! haha, that’s the reason I keep up with the selfishness of a brat like you for years. It is all for this moment !! This is the best!.”

Then the skinheads  took one step forward. Everyone of them pointed their guns at Ludi and approached her slowly.

“Oi oi, don’t you dare shoot her now, I need to have some fun before I kill her.”

That Aurelian guy said so with a smile while the men around him are cheering.

I took out my spare muffler and wrapped it around to hide my face. Then I adjust the muffler to secure my eyesight. After that I used strengthening magic to enhance my body, the muffler and my stole.

The skinhead guy is slowly approaching Ludi while Aurelian is laughing maniacally.

There’s not even ten meters between them.

A line of liquid was being made from Ludi’s eye. a drop of her tears spilled from one of her pupils.

Aa, this is such a strange feeling. The anger got to my head but somehow my mind is still clear. It is kind of contradictory but I can only put it like that.

Well then, let’s do this.

[The development might change so I can’t help her.]

[Since it’s seem dangerous, I will ignore it.]

Those choices were already gone from my mind.