Satisfied for the moment, Yuuma prepared to ask his next question. Before he could, however— “No.” “That is incorrect.” —Sawa and Valac spoke in unison. Yuuma blinked several times. “Incorrect…? What do you mean…?” “This isn’t my internus,” said Valac. “It is the internus of the demon that resides within you.” Yuuma’s eyes went wide in surprise. Of course, Yuuma knew he was inhabited by a demon as well, since he was able to use the Quick Action vires. That boy’s voice, which he had heard several times in his head lately, was probably the demon’s. But if this beach was the demon’s spiritual world, why was that demon currently nowhere to be found? Yuuma peered around carefully, but there was no one else present. It was just the three of them. He did discover something else, however. Yuuma gasped loudly. The space across the ocean, about a hundred meters away along the gently sloping beach, looked like a completely different world. The sky there was a light pinkish violet, and a thicket of shrubs, like dark thorny briers, sprouted densely from the ground. A large object floated in the space between the land and the sky, like two massive gears, one on top and one below, interlocking in slow rotation. Gears, yes—but the pattern of the teeth was so fine and intricate that it looked like a work of art modeled to resemble a flower. “Is…is that purple space over there your internus, Valac…?” Yuuma asked. The demon in his sister’s form nodded softly. “Correct. Connecting two internuses requires the hosts to be spiritually close, but you and Sawa are twins, of course.” We’re not that close, Yuuma wanted to say, but he resisted the urge. There were other things he needed to ask about first. “So then…just why did you call me here? Or no, I guess you came to me. But still…” “Isn’t it obvious? I wanted to meet your demon.” “…” It didn’t seem that obvious to Yuuma, but now that she said it, it was hard to think up another good reason for Valac to be here. Up to this point, Yuuma hadn’t spared much thought for the relationships between the demons, but Valac and Crocell seemed to have been on good enough terms when they met before, so maybe the same held true for Valac and the unknown demon inside Yuuma. Besides, Yuuma wanted to meet his demon, too. He let his eyes roam along the beach once more, but there was still no one else present, just the three of them. If this space was the demon’s internus—in other words, its mind—then it had to be here somewhere. However… “Umm… Maybe they’re somewhere else right now. Why don’t we go look for them…?” Yuuma suggested, turning toward Valac again, but the demon spread her hands out in exasperation. “There is no somewhere else in an internus. It doesn’t matter how far you walk, wherever you are will always be the center of the world. Meaning, your demon must be here as well. They are merely hiding.” “Hiding…?” Yuuma glanced to the left and right once more and even down at his own feet, but he couldn’t see anyplace where a person might hide. It wasn’t like the demon could burrow into the sand or under the sea, was it? “Okay, but where?” In response, Valac lifted her right hand into the air. Her fingers were pinched together in a circle, as if she was holding something. A glass suddenly appeared between her fingers, as if out of the blue, triggering a reflexive gasp of wonder from Yuuma’s lips. The basin of the glass, which was shaped like an inverted triangle, was filled with a pale yellow liquid and brimmed with crushed ice. The drink looked as if it had been chilled to the perfect temperature, beads of condensation streaking down the outside of the glass. Based on the color, it was probably pineapple juice. Yuuma’s mouth suddenly felt parched. He gulped loudly. “This is an imago world,” said Valac. “Nothing is impossible if you wish hard enough. Obviously, the world itself cannot be altered in any way you wish, but making little things like this appear or disappear, or making it so that you cannot be found, is a simple endeavor.” “So you’re…going to make that disappear?” Yuuma asked. Valac sighed in exasperation and handed over the glass. “Enjoy, Yuumy.” “…Th-thank you.” Despite feeling a belated rush of embarrassment, Yuuma’s thirst got the better of him and he took the glass in both hands. It was cold like ice. It was hard to believe it was just a product of imagination. He brought the glass, which was filled to the brim, up to his lips, careful not to spill. Sawa, who had been quiet until now, spoke up suddenly, as if something had just occurred to her. “Wait, is that—?” But Yuuma tipped the glass back without hesitation. The liquid that gushed into his mouth was sour-sweet and bracingly cold. The mellow sweetness seemed to suggest citrus rather than pineapple, but that only made it even more refreshing than he had imagined. He slowly savored it on his tongue before swallowing with a gulp. For some reason, however, after swallowing, his throat suddenly began to burn— “Ngh… Ngrh?!” “See, I knew it!” Sawa shouted, while Yuuma choked slightly on his own cough. “Valac! That was alcohol, wasn’t it?!” “Indeed. An American-style daiquiri, to be exact. But does that really matter? It’s not like the Yuuma out in Veras will get drunk from this.” “I guess, but still…” While Yuuma listened to the two interact, he timidly brought the glass to his lips once more. This time he took a smaller sip, rolling it around on his tongue. The bitterness that prickled at his tongue, underneath the sour-sweetness, was probably the taste of alcohol. One time during New Year’s, at his paternal grandparents’ house, they had let him have a little sip of the special holiday spiced sake, but Yuuma thought it had tasted terrible. Honestly, though, this wasn’t so bad—in fact, he kind of liked the taste. After finishing the last gulp and letting out a sigh, Yuuma realized Sawa was saying something. “…Make me one, too.” “Fine, fine, but first…” Valac lifted her left hand into the air and flicked it gently to the side, at which point a huge beach umbrella floated down from above, the pole burying itself deeply into the white sand. Four beach chairs also rose up from the dark patch of shade created beneath the umbrella. Valac sat down in one of the chairs, which were arranged in a fan shape, and flicked her hand to the side again. The empty glass in Yuuma’s hand disappeared, and four new ones appeared on the circular table that was attached to the umbrella’s pole. “Have a seat. Before your cocktails get warm.” Dumbfounded, Yuuma and Sawa plonked themselves down in the beach chairs like Valac suggested. The chairs were completely different from the aluminum frame and polyester mesh outdoors chairs at Yuuma and Sawa’s house. These chairs were a more classic design, with wooden frames and canvas seating that felt wonderful to sit in. Yuuma wondered at first why she had made enough space for four, but she had probably included one for Yuuma’s demon as well, which was still hiding out somewhere. “Um… Bottoms up, I guess,” Yuuma muttered, reaching for his glass on the table. This time, the glasses were long and thin and filled to the brim with a pale orange liquid. While there was no ice inside the drink, it still seemed to have been thoroughly chilled. Yuuma could see condensation forming on the outside of the glass. As he took a sip, the sweet citric flavor of orange immediately overtook his tongue, followed by a rich, florid fragrance and the tang of carbonation. Yuuma couldn’t detect any taste of alcohol this time—Valac seemed to have scaled it back in comparison to the daiquiri from earlier. “Wow, this is delicious. What is it?” Sawa asked. Valac swirled her own glass as she answered. “A mimosa. Long ago, it used to be called something different. A champagne à l’orange, I believe… It’s a fairly simple cocktail. You just add orange juice to champagne and stir. I thought it would suit you both better, as it’s not that strong.” “Champagne? I first thought it was soda because of the fizz.” Sawa seemed satisfied with Valac’s explanation, but something about what the demon said bothered Yuuma slightly. He glanced at Valac out of the corner of his eye. If Valac was an AI-enabled NPC from the world of Actual Magic, she would’ve been born—or rather implemented—during AM’s development period in the latter half of the 2020s. But Valac had mentioned that the drink was called something else long ago. Yuuma had never even heard of a mimosa, let alone drunk one, but he was pretty sure it hadn’t been invented in just the last few years. Yuuma took another sip before venturing a question, trying to come off as casual. “Do you know any other cocktails?” The demon nodded, as if the answer was obvious. “Naturally. The only recipes I know are from before the war… But I probably know a good dozen or two in total.” “B-before the war…?” Yuuma blinked several times, not sure what she meant. Perhaps the world of AM—it was called Algol if Yuuma remembered correctly—had some sort of big war in its backstory. Yuuma faintly recalled hearing the word daiquiri once, though, so that was probably a cocktail from the real world. Not that it was rare for food and drinks from the real world to show up in game. Pomegranate Pavilion back in Calcina had served sirloin steaks and coffee, so it wouldn’t have been that big of a surprise to see daiquiris or other kinds of cocktails on the menu… While Yuuma was puzzling over all this, Sawa, who had already finished off her drink, leaned back in the beach chair and let out a long sigh. “Phew… Valac’s internus is pretty, but yours is way more relaxing if you ask me, Yuu. Although I am a little freaked out that those meteors might hit the ground at some point.” “They won’t,” Valac muttered, her eyes fixed on the horizon. “They’re headed for the land on the other side of the ocean.” “The other side…? Is Yuu’s demon’s internus that big?” Instead of answering Sawa’s question, Valac glanced at the empty glass in Sawa’s hand. “Forget about that. Why not have another drink instead?” “Um… Yeah, okay. Thank you.” “Actually, never mind. I think you’ve had enough.” “What? But why?!” Sawa said, miffed. Valac smirked at her. “A demon can ply you with whatever you wish in the internus. Food, drink, a home, wealth and treasures, even other living creatures. As a result, many hospes—hosts—never go back to Veras in the end.” “Humph…” Sawa stared at her glass even more reluctantly than before but dutifully placed it back upon the table. Yuuma started to feel a little uneasy as well but finished off the remainder of his mimosa anyway, figuring just two drinks wouldn’t do any harm. There was something exhilarating about the way the drink slid down his throat, in a way that differed from plain orange juice. He placed his empty glass back on the table. As he did, something about Valac’s earlier statement suddenly caught his attention. “Hey, Valac, what happens to a host’s real body if they don’t return? Do they just…lie there?” he asked nervously. For the first time in a while, the faint smile on Valac’s face looked appropriately demonic. “Of course not,” she said. “Don’t be foolish. The body becomes the demon’s property…entirely.” “I—I see…” Yuuma flinched, taking another look around. There was still no one else on the beach other than the three of them. Despite the chair and glass that Valac had provided, it did not seem as if Yuuma’s demon intended to show up. Yuuma wasn’t even sure of his demon’s name, but was its ultimate goal, just like Sawa’s Valac and Nagi’s Crocell, to take over Yuuma’s body? Maybe even these two cocktails were all part of a groundwork the demon was laying… It was a disturbing thought. Despite this, as he lay in the beach chair’s soft embrace, listening to the sound of the waves in his ears, Yuuma’s eyes began to grow heavy. He started blinking and glanced to the side to find that Sawa had already fallen asleep at some point. “You can rest now as well. When you wake again, you’ll be back in the real world.” Valac’s whisper seemed to coil pleasantly inside Yuuma’s ear, making him even drowsier. He clung to the last threads of consciousness. “But we haven’t met my demon yet…,” he managed. “Not to worry. Now that I’ve seen your internus for myself, I already know who is inside you.” “You do…? What’s their name…?” “You will have to figure that one out for yourself.” “…” Yuuma didn’t have the courage to press for an answer, but he still had other important questions. “By the way…do you know where we can get our hands on an item called a Rubellite Needle?” Valac snorted briefly in exasperation. “I hate to tell you this, child, but I, too, know very little about the world of Algol… But if it’s a gemstone you’re after, I suppose it would make more sense to search the mountains than near the sea. I believe there is a village near Lake Sumiu. Why not try asking there?” “Lake Sumiu… Where is…that…?” Yuuma said, trying to remain focused, but his eyelids lost the battle against gravity. Maybe he had heard Valac’s answer. But if he had, the memory was already gone.
Chapter 39
12 min read