“Sheesh, guess cocky little rich boys like him exist in real life… And here I thought they only existed in fiction,” Takahashi said. “Akihabara is unique in that it’s still rife with a lot of Alnaethian culture,” Machina replied. All classes in their first day of school had ended, and now they were walking through Twilight Street, the biggest street in Magic Town. They were headed east for Electric Town. Their objective: gathering intel to get in contact with its leader, Korneah Seburd. Akihabara’s sky was just like Shinjuku’s—covered in thick clouds, dark as night despite it being only evening. Too dark even for Twilight Street. The three of them were wearing their uniforms and carrying their bags, like any other normal student. One would be forgiven for not realizing their average age went beyond a thousand. “I didn’t expect we would have to find the three regalia in order to open the treasury and look for the Dark Peers Records. We have a long road ahead of us. We don’t even know if the Records are in this treasury…,” Veltol said. “And one of the regalia appears to be lost, on top of it all,” Machina added. “Can’t you just open the seal with your magic? Like, just a little bam, boom, and seal’s broken or something?” “Opening the treasury by force is possible, but with such an old seal, you risk having the treasure within disappear,” Veltol replied. “Not the best course of action.” “Welp. So where do we start?” Veltol nodded at Takahashi. “Let us recapitulate.” On the other side of an apothecary’s window was an old woman making potions in a MAGTEC multipurpose cauldron. “Our objective is obtaining the Dark Peers Records. We still don’t know where they are, but there’s a chance they might be in the sealed treasury. And to open it, we need…” “The three regalia,” Machina said. “We know one of ’em, the Blade, is with the principal. She promised to help us,” Takahashi added. “Indeed,” Veltol said with a nod. “We have two missions.” He then raised a finger. “First, obtain the Crown regalia. Best-case scenario, the Seburd leader happily lends it to us.” “Yep. And that’s Korneah Seburd, who rules over Electric Town. He’s also chairman of the Seburd Company.” “I would rather stick to nonviolent tactics, but we must consider the possibility of seizing it without permission. Heh… Though, ripping the Crown from Seburd’s head doesn’t sound too bad!” “Seriously, I can never tell if your immortal jokes really are just jokes!” “In any case, first thing we should do is try to get in contact with the Seburd clan leader,” Machina said. Takahashi looked for info on the Seburds on the aethernet after school. The Seburd Company and Korneah himself were at the top of Akihabara Electric Town, so getting hits on them was easy. Although Familias were prohibited at school, both Machina and Takahashi brought theirs undercover and were now wearing them. Machina needed it in case of unexpected battle, but Takahashi only wanted it because she was addicted to the net. Veltol raised another finger. “Our second mission: search for the third regalia—the Orb—and obtain it.” “Can we even do anything about that? How’re we supposed to look for lost treasure?” said Takahashi. “…Although, that’s exactly what we’re doing with the Records.” “It might not be as hard as you think.” “Whatcha mean by that?” Machina then answered Takahashi’s question: “Hizuki Reynard-Yamada, correct?” Veltol nodded. “Indeed. Don’t you remember the conversation at the cafeteria, and the name of the third Great House?” “Ah! You’re right, the Reynards!” “Yes. That girl is a Reynard, and gathering from what Albert said, she must be the clan head. He also mentioned something about the family falling from grace, and that must have something to do with the loss of the Orb, the symbol of their power. Therein lies our clue.” “What?! So that’s why you helped her out at the cafeteria?! You planned the whole thing?! O Dark King of Terror, I kneel! We’re all but puppets dancing in the palm of your wicked hand!” “No, I simply wanted to punish that brute for ruining my udon meal.” “Oh, please, you’re just saying that! You saved a damsel in distress! That nice side of you is so cool!” The three entered a small shopping arcade at the edge of Twilight Street. The arcade ceiling contained holograms of a beautiful sunset rarely seen these days. “Been a while since I’ve been to Electric Town,” Takahashi said. “What sort of place is it?” Veltol asked. “Oh, right. The bus arrived at Magic Town, so you still haven’t seen it.” “Hee-hee. I’ve been there only once, but it really is amazing,” Machina commented. They exited the arcade, arriving at Hokoten Avenue, the pedestrian mall. “Wh-what the…?!” Veltol gasped at the imposing sight he had just laid eyes on. “Yep,” said Takahashi, “this is the flip side of Akihabara. The antithesis of Magic Town! The city of lust and vanity!” Also known as Electric Town. “It’s huge…!” That word would come up first in anyone’s head, so it wasn’t surprising that such an exclamation had unconsciously left Veltol’s lips. After all, the gigantic wall seen from Magic Town was itself another city. There were buildings with houses built on their rooftops and ramen shops right beside them, and directly behind those shops were more buildings—tightly packed structures of various sizes, extending horizontally and vertically. The whole town was just one building, the most densely populated place in the world. Near the end of the City Wars, the former territories of Lu Xel and Akihabara merged. Then came an influx of war refugees and people exiled from Magic Town. During this chaotic time, they and the citizens of Akihabara—which was not under Lu Xel’s control—constructed and expanded buildings at their own discretion, without proper planning. The result was this massive conglomeration of residential and commercial structures. Holographic ads of all sizes plastered the wall facing Hokoten Avenue, alongside a multitude of outdoor air conditioning and laundry units. It was compressed chaos. Monumental, in a way. The complete opposite of Magic Town’s beautiful townscape. It was the modern-day Kowloon Walled City. Van Vern reborn. This was Electric Town, the other half of Akihabara. “Just seeing it from outside gives you a sense of how densely packed this area is… I can only imagine the labyrinth it is on the inside. Conquering this fortress and gathering the information we need will require some serious strategy.” “Heh… Please, Velly. I’m a super genius hacker babe. Gathering intel is my profession, my specialty.” Veltol nodded. “Indeed. I trust you.” “Anywho, it’s intel we’re missing, so we’ll have to go to where all the intel is. But this place is true pandemonium… They say it’ll take you a whole day to get out if you end up lost. An experienced guide is absolutely essential.” Takahashi grinned darkly, and the other two gulped. “So…what do we do?” Machina asked. “Follow me. I know exactly where to find intel in Electric Town!” The inside of Electric Town was even more chaotic than it appeared from outside. The paths were narrow and dark. These weren’t streets—they were hallways. Hallways littered with trash, people, and stalls, upping the density even further. The rich colors of the aether neon and the risqué illustrations on the holographic ads were even more in your face than the sights along Shinjuku’s Kabukicho Street. Buildings were connected by holes in the walls, with improvised corridors and narrow stairways that didn’t feel the slightest bit planned. Adding to the total chaos were the QR codes plastered everywhere, which forced one’s Familia to open ad sites just by looking at them, unless they had installed an ad blocker. And Machina had not updated hers. “Eek! So many ads, and they’re all for such lewd websites! Argh, I keep trying to close them, but more just keep popping up! What are these, invisible pop-ups?!” As the name suggested, Electric Town was home to electronics stores of all kinds: laptop stalls, shops selling old-school wireless devices, contractors for illegal add-on modding, and collections of undecipherable electrical equipment. There were many tiny towns inside Akihabara Electric Town. “Is this really…the place?” Veltol muttered as he descended the dark stairway, so long it seemed to reach the underworld. This one particular establishment was at the lowest level of the city. “Yep, we’re here.” “Heh, interesting. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I suppose. Or rather, only those who venture into the dungeon gain the treasure…” Veltol slowly pushed the door open. “Welcome home, Master!” A bell chimed as the timeworn door opened, and the trio was met with a girl in a frilly dress complete with a headpiece, apron, and short skirt—a modern-era maid uniform. She received the group with a smile and a sugary-sweet greeting. Needless to say, all the girls who worked here spoke as if their every word were followed by a heart symbol. The shop’s interior glowed with aether neon in an alluring pink color. With ten tables seating four people each, it was fairly spacious. This was the maid café Helheim, the establishment at the lowest level of Electric Town where Takahashi had taken Veltol and Machina. A pink-haired maid showed the group to their seats. A retro electricwave song was blasting at full volume for the customers’ enjoyment. “Flawless taste. Koharuko Orimoto’s ‘Asunaro!’ is a great choice. That’s how you know you can trust these folks.” “If I may, Takahashi,” Veltol interjected. “Hmm? What’s up?” “Not to doubt your judgment, but…how are we going to gather intel in a place like this?” Veltol’s question seemed quite reasonable, but Takahashi replied by wagging her finger. “Tsk, tsk. So naive, Velly. All sorts of people visit maid cafés, and according to my research, maids love gossip! Don’t you think that’s reason enough to gather intel at a maid café?! You know how in video games you always gather intel in bars? Maid cafés and bars are basically the same thing. They even serve booze here.” “If you say so. For a moment, I thought we’d come here for mere entertainment. Forgive me for doubting you.” “Ah-ha-ha, no way! Of course not! No, no!” Takahashi averted her gaze and whistled awkwardly. “Th-this is quite the place… I was expecting something more like a cafeteria with very polite waitstaff… Just making sure—will we be okay here? This place is, um, safe, right? In many ways, I mean. Actually, what sort of establishment is this in the first place?” Machina asked. “Don’t worry about it. We’re kinda like their masters, see, and the maids have to attend to us.” “Seriously, is everything okay here?!” “They’re not quite like the maids I know,” Veltol commented. “Nah, these are real maids,” Takahashi replied. It went without saying that details had been distorted by the game of telephone across time. The effects of the Fantasion were staggering. The collision of these two worlds brought traces of their respective cultures and traditions, leaving future generations with warped, incongruous information. “This is the face of Akihabara! The good ol’ classic-style maid café! The authentic tradition! By the way, this is no lewd establishment. It’s totally family-friendly,” Takahashi explained while pointing at a poster on the wall that read NO TOUCHING THE MAIDS. “It certainly has a special aura, though I can’t put my finger on it… Very special, yes.” “Y’know, Machina, you really say a whole load of nothing sometimes.” Machina ignored Takahashi’s remark and opened the holodisplay of the device attached to the table. She then opened her eyes wide at the sight of the menu. “…You’re kidding me! Takahashi, what on Alnaeth are these prices?! This isn’t anything like fine dining!” “Machina, you…you gigantic dope!” “Whoa?! Wh-where did that come—?” “You don’t understand! This is the price to pay for dreams!” “Dreams…?” “Yes, dreams! The dream of having a cute maid waiting on you hand and foot! The opportunity for a little fantasy, something different from the everyday! This is the thrill of maid cafés! It’s here you get to experience the extraordinary!” “We had maids and butlers serve us all the time without the need to buy any dreams, though,” Veltol noted. “Indeed, although it’s been a while for me,” Machina added. “What?! O-oh, right, you guys used to be royalty! I always forget, you two are dreams in the flesh!” “Don’t they have maid cafés in Shinjuku?” Machina asked. “They’ve got some knockoff maid cafés, but they’re totally different from the real ones. I used to frequent this one place with a friend after school, but my friend kept harassing the maids, and then they freaked out and told us to stay away from them, so now I’m kinda banned.” “Stay away…” The words reminded Veltol of what had happened during lunchtime. That was the last thing the gloomy, lonely girl said to him back at school, which was her entire world. “You should stay away from me.” The words pierced Veltol’s chest like tiny thorns. “Lord Veltol, is something the matter?” Machina shot him a worried glance, immediately noticing he was lost in thought. “No, I was just remembering what that Hizuki girl said. It’s been on my mind…” “Do you mean when she said to stay away from her? She seems to keep people at a distance, avoiding any contact. I doubt she’ll be open to talking with us outside school.” “And the upside is we can see her at school, so it’s not like we need to force her to talk to us, y’know? We still have time left in our exchange program,” Takahashi said. “Right. I think we should stay on her good side; it can’t hurt to get to know her better. She doesn’t strike me as a bad person, either,” Machina added. “This is a small city. We’re bound to bump into each other sometime,” Veltol said. “Yep. Okay, time to call our maid! Oh, hold up. Looks like we can request a specific maid… Cool, let’s go for the one with the biggest tits.” Takahashi rang the bell on the table. “Here I come!” A maid approached them from the back of the café, smiling ear to ear. “What can I get…for…y-y-yo…” Her smile stiffened as soon as she saw the group, and her voice grew hoarse. “…y-y-y-you—youuuu…?” They knew her. “Hmm?” “Oh?” “Buh?” They all knew each other. Their maid had two different color eyes—one scarlet and one golden. Her blond hair was tied up in pigtails, and the nameplate on her chest read Yamada. It was Hizuki Reynard-Yamada herself, wearing a maid outfit.
Chapter 19
13 min read