There was no way a calamity-lord-class entity could be transported on a means of travel used by civilians.
Senano realized that when she saw the helicopter that had come to pick them up.
“Waa, could that perhaps be what they call a helicopter? I’ve only heard of it once before.”
Not caring that the wind was tossing her hair around, Ei stood beside her with shining eyes, looking up at the helicopter.
Judging only by that appearance, he really did look like nothing more than an ordinary girl… no, an ordinary boy.
“Am I really allowed to ride in this?”
It was an entirely ordinary question.
And yet Senano had accelerated her thoughts almost as much as she did in battle.
(I can think of several possible reasons why a calamity-lord-class entity has taken a liking to me. For now, I need to be careful not to break the stance I’ve kept up until now――)
Her counterpart was connected to an Aberrant Entity that, if it felt like it, could wipe out Japan in an instant.
That was why Senano had sharpened her nerves over each and every action.
And on top of that, Senano had to deliberately act as strong-willed as she usually did.
“Yes, that’s right. We’re heading back now. Watch your step.”
“Thank you very much.”
Saying that, Ei crouched down in front of the helicopter.
When Senano watched to see what he was trying to do, it looked like he was about to take off his shoes.
“Ei, you don’t need to take them off. Get in just like that.”
“So that’s how it is. …Ehehe, I’m getting a little nervous.”
Smiling as if to cover his embarrassment, Ei took Senano’s hand and climbed into the helicopter.
Even after taking his seat, Ei kept looking all around restlessly.
(Looking at him like this, he’s just some sheltered young lady… no, he was a boy. Huh, I’m going to be living with a man!? I feel like I’m going to lose my mind!)
“Senano-san, when does this fly?”
“Honestly, calm down. Here, eat this.”
Putting on a calm front so that her inner thoughts would not show, Senano took out a caramel.
It was a reasonably high-end one she ate as a reward after finishing work.
“What is this?”
“Caramel. …No way, you’ve never had it before?”
“Caramel? Is it a dish made by boiling down wild vegetables?”
“No, it isn’t. I don’t know much about wild vegetables, but there’s no way this would turn out like that.”
As she said that, Senano tossed one into her own mouth as a demonstration.
Watching that, Ei copied her and put the caramel into his mouth.
The instant he did, Ei’s eyes lit up, and holding his cheeks, he looked at Senano.
“W-What is this sweet candy!? It’s delicious…!”
“I see. Then that’s good.”
With the excited Ei and Senano smiling as she watched him, the helicopter slowly began to rise.
By the time they had risen high enough that the abandoned village had grown small in the window, Ei looked around in wonder.
“Waa… we’re flying. Just like a bird.”
“I never thought there’d be someone in this Reiwa era who’d react like that.”
“Is that so? But it’s so close, you know? To Osora-sama.”
“Osora-sama…?”
“Yes.”
Saying that, Ei naturally pointed out the window.
“Even now, Osora-sama is watching us and smiling.”
“!?”
Senano hurriedly checked the instruments.
There were no abnormal values.
After that, she timidly looked out the window, but all that spread there was the blue sky.
“…Don’t scare me like that.”
“? Did I say something strange?”
Ei tilted his head.
“Osora-sama is pleased. It seems they liked the caramel. Senano-san, thank you very much.”
“…Huh?”
She could feel the color drain from her face all at once.
Had she just done something terrible?
(The senses of the pseudo-medium are connected to Sorayodo no Oohito…? D-Does that mean if Ei takes an interest in something carelessly, there’s a possibility that Sorayodo no Oohito will start moving in tandem…? Should I have asked beforehand about what he eats…? No, I’ve already fed him convenience store food and even given him treats. Even though it was such an ordinary action, don’t I need to submit a report on this…!?)
A calamity-lord-class entity taking an interest in something.
It was not rare for that in itself to become a disaster.
Senano reflexively covered her face with both hands at her own carelessness.
“Is something wrong…?”
“Not really… I was just thinking about dinner…”
“Dinner? At this time of year, mizu and warabi are delicious, aren’t they?”
(TL Note: Mizu/Elatostema involucratum is a wild plant found in the mountains and warabi/Pteridium aquilinum is also a wild plant.)
“…That’s true.”
(Does this mean I can’t order delivery pizza? After this, is Sorayodo no Oohito going to start appearing in the skies above pizza places all across Japan…?)
There was a possibility that a single one of her actions could destroy Japan.
She already could not help feeling anxious about the life ahead.
“Oh, it seems like fog is coming in.”
“We’ve gone into the clouds. Otherwise, we can’t get there.”
Senano pulled herself together and explained it to Ei.
Even while doing that, she kept an eye on Ei’s every movement, but there did not seem to be any particular change.
She could not feel the sound of cicadas, nor the summer heat.
“There…?”
“We Holders have a base in the Ou Mountain Range. Look, we’re about to pass through the wall.”
The helicopter flew on as if sliding, and soon broke through the fog.
The sky over Tohoku was clear, and the distant string of peaks in the Ou range sank into a pale blue.
That whole area was a blank that did not exist on any map.
It was the sealed high-altitude approach-route-restricted airspace 【Enri Severance Zone】, cut off from ordinary air routes.
The sound of the rotors eased slightly.
“You’ll be able to see it in a moment. If it’s your first time seeing it, you might be surprised.”
Saying that, Senano pointed downward out the window.
Ei obediently followed that and pressed up against the window.
Almost at the same time, the aircraft cleared the mountain shadows.
The next moment, the view was repainted in Enri.
It was an impossible city built in the valley.
A city structure arranged in three tiers along the fault line. On the uppermost tier, groups of observation towers stretched on like lanterns floating in the sky, and the lights of syntax control blinked faintly.
On the middle tier was a city district of white roofs arranged at even intervals, and an old Japanese-style tower rising in the center. Bathed in sunlight and reflecting it back, that tower looked like a pillar linking Enri to the sky.
Streets extended in four directions from the tower, and scattered human figures could also be seen.
And then, the lower tier.
That region, sunk in fog, spread out with no light reaching it.
The syntax-sealing furnaces pulsed red-black, and the haze rising from the labyrinth disposal district settled at the bottom of the city.
It was as though the city itself were treading upon the abyss of Enri.
The helicopter began to circle and entered one of the entryways, 『Kaimon』, unfolded in the shape of aerial stairs. There, code authentication and emotional charge confirmation exclusive to Holders were mandatory.
To Ei, who was gazing intently out the window, Senano struck the coolest pose she could and said:
“Welcome to Kaien City.”
Kaien City──the front line of those who weave Enri, seal Aberrant Entities, and accept bonds that are not human.
■
【Enri Agency Seventh Management Section Application Document】
Document Code: EN-FEED-8773-REQ01
Classification: Application Related to the Consumption of Preference Items (Target: calamity-lord-class pseudo-medium)
Submission Date: Reiwa ██ Year ██ Month ██ Day
Submitted by: A-rank Enri user Mikama Senano (ID: SE-0731)
Relevant Managing Officer: Assistant of the Seventh Management Section, Mizorogi Kurima-sama
Target Entity: Aberrant Entity EN-8773 medium candidate individual A-E1 (common name: Ei)
■ Subject
Application for Prior Permission Regarding the Consumption of Light Meals and Preference Items (commonly called junk food) by the calamity-lord-class pseudo-medium 『A-E1』
■ Purpose
The purpose of this application is to observe and ascertain the effects of psychological, emotional, and structural linkage before giving commercially sold preference foods such as pizza, hamburgers, french fries, and carbonated beverages to the medium 『A-E1』, who possesses a connection to the calamity-lord-class Aberrant Entity 『Sorayodo no Oohito』.
■ Background and Reason
The individual in question has had extremely little contact with general social culture, and with a single piece of caramel, displayed abnormal excitement and made reference to 『Osora-sama』.
As a result, the possibility has emerged of emotional linkage through gustatory sensitivity between 『Sorayodo no Oohito』 and 『A-E1』 (tentative designation: sensory mediation).
For future observation and containment plans, it has been judged necessary to determine in advance “what we can feed them without Japan ending.”
At present, the individual is unaware of the existence of “pizza” and “hamburgers,” and emotional responses upon consumption have not yet been confirmed.
At the present stage, there is a real risk that at the time of placing a delivery order, the target may point to the sky and say, “Osora-sama is pleased by pizza.”
■ List of Foods Requested for Provision (all commercially sold goods)
Pizza: Margherita, teriyaki chicken, etc. Predicted compound response involving texture, sweetness, and saltiness
Hamburgers: cheeseburger, teriyaki burger. Predicted satisfaction response deriving from protein sources
Carbonated beverages: cola, ginger ale. Confirmation of responses caused by carbonation stimulus and sugar content
Potatoes: salted potatoes, garlic flavor. Predicted response involving chewing sounds and salt preference
■ Proposed Safety Measures
Strengthen measurements of Enri Density and thought-waves before provision.
Carry out sequential observation and recording for each bite.
If the response reaches abnormal values, immediately suspend the test and submit a report.
“If they look up at the sky,” Senano is scheduled to immediately smack caramel into their face (unofficial, but realistic as a practical measure).
■ Final Objective
To safely observe the gustatory sensitivity traits, cultural adaptability, and dangerous emotional triggers of the calamity-lord-class medium, and to use that as reference material for future living-environment construction and for the prevention of any possible “preference disaster.”
■ Closing Remarks
…To put it simply, we have entered a worldline where “a single pizza may cause a natural disaster.”
With that understood, please grant permission for me to feed it to them.
To add further, I am bad at cooking, so I believe delivery still carries the lower risk.
Please give this your consideration.
Submitter Signature: Mikama Senano (SE-0731)
〔Assigned to the Zeroeth Lockdown Zone / Leader of the calamity-lord-class Observation Team and Chief of Living Assistance〕