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kurishiri · 2 months ago

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14 . . . alfons main story

꒰ ִ ֺ ⊹ @ notice ⊹ ֺ ִ ꒱ this translation may not be 100% accurate or contain creative liberties due to characterization or narrative flow purposes. if you enjoy, please consider reblogging, but don’t repost these or claim these as your own!

— cw: depiction of fire.

Kate: It seems like... I have fallen for you.

When I murmured this, though...

Alfons: ...Well that is nothing short of a nuisance.

When I heard an answer that shouldn’t have come, I let out a gasp.

Kate: Alfo... w-wait, you were awake...!?

Just a moment ago, his steady breathing indicated he had been asleep, but now his eyes were open, and in those ashy gray eyes,

a hint of exasperation seeped its way in.

Alfons: So you say you ‘have fallen’ for me... it seems this has taken a rather troublesome turn.

While sitting up in a languid motion, Alfons combed his fingers through his hair.

Alfons: Whatever you’re feeling, it’s nothing but a delusion, I’d say. A hallucination.

A: You simply happened to be saved while you were in a pickle by a man who had given you pleasure, mixing that up for feelings of romance, no?

Kate: Did you just say I was ‘mixing that up’...?

(How dare he say that when he knows nothing about the feelings I’ve been going through before I came to his room...)

I felt blood rise to my head then.

Kate: ...For the record, I don’t really mind if you don’t give me an answer...

K: But I sure would appreciate it if you didn’t act as though you know what I’m feeling...!

Alfons: ...And how would you know if something like feelings, which bear no tangible form, is really there?

His fingers made their way to my chin...

Kate: T-that...

Alfons: ...Yes, go on?

...and when he pulled on it, I felt his breath tickle my lips,

causing my body to throb involuntarily in anticipation.

It seemed like Alfons had expected this reaction, as a smile played on his lips.

Alfons: Until you realize you are mistaken, I’ll be keeping all things pleasure behind closed doors, alright?

A: Were I to touch you in such a way... I’m sure I would only end up feeding into such delusions, anyhow.

Kate: ...gh.

Alfons: Alright, enough of that. Would you care to let an injured person like myself rest some more now?

His hand let go of me just like that, and he distanced himself, no longer bothering to touch me further.

He refused to listen to a word I had to say, even though he was the one who had reached out to me so persistently in the first place.

(I knew it would come to this, and yet...)

The pain in my heart was cruel.

It hurt so much, I could hardly bear it.

Kate: ...I... I understand. Have a good night...

I left the room as if running away, the door closing with a bang that rang loud and clear.

Alfons: ...Hehe.

A: I actually do like you a lot myself as well.

A: But that’s why... it would be best if this all remained a delusion.

——His whispers, having no way of reaching anyone else, simply dissipated in the air.

—— Time skip ——

Based on the information Alfons and I gleaned from having infiltrated the hotel that was exclusively for members of the ‘purification’ club,

the name Lord Goa, a member of the parliament, came up as someone heavily involved in the incidents that had occurred in the East End.

With that, William and Victor were able to perform a thorough investigation on him and his faction.

Victor: ——In regards to the ‘confidential’ letter in question, inside was a check to a company with phenomenal business conditions.

Before the members of Crown gathered in the dining room, Victor shared the details surrounding the current circumstances.

Victor: As for the contents of the check itself, there weren’t any problems.

V: That said, though, it’s fully possible this is compensation for those who will carry out their plan to set fire to the Docklands.

William: This company that handles the flow of money has long been marked as a front company, very likely connected to a criminal organization.

Alfons: In other words, it was a blatant distraction, yes?

(But, even if we know that...)

Kate: I take it this check alone wouldn’t be enough evidence to be able to dispatch the police, right...?

Harrison: Yeah, seems right.

H: It isn’t enough to prove the ‘plan to commit arson’ itself is in the works, nor does it prove that Lord Goa is a part of it.

H: And even if the recipient company of the check were involved in the plan, it seems nigh impossible they’d believe us with just this.

Victor: That is all true. But, you see, Kate, it’s exactly for times like these that we are here.

V: In order to protect the prosperity of England, we ‘use evil to condemn evil’——such is our motto here in Crown.

Hearing Victor’s words, my head shot up.

Victor: I bring you an order from Her Majesty the Queen.

V: ‘Stop the arson incident in the Docklands, and condemn the faction of the ‘purification’ club which Lord Goa is a part of.’

His jewel-like eyes, filled with a darkness more deep than the dark itself, glimmered with a bewitching light... and it sent shivers up my spine.

Victor: ——By the way, Alfons.

All of a sudden, Victor turned to look at Alfons.

Victor: How is that wound from yesterday’s mission faring?

Alfons: I simply found myself a tad too caught up in a practical prank and made a blunder, if you will.

Kate: Wh—no, that wound is...

[1] I should be the one taking responsibility.

[2] He covered for me. (+4 / +4)

[3] ... (stay silent)

Kate: He ended up covering for me, so...

Alfons: I just so happened to be in a position to block the bullet.

(As if. There’s no way Alfons just ‘happened’ to be there when he was in the inner part of the room right before he was shot.)

(And he is still covering for me, so as to not make my situation worse.)

(And yet, he distances himself like that…)

I wish he wouldn’t be so kind, and yet I couldn’t help but feel happy too.

(…He is a liar, and a cruel person to boot, through and through.)

As ordered by Victor, the ones who were going to carry out this mission were:

Alfons, Lord Elbert, Roger, and for some odd reason, Jude and Ellis.

Victor: When it comes to the Ports of London, Jude is the one who’s most familiar with that area, I take it?

Jude: …Hah, ya can bet yer bottle I’m the most familiar outta this bunch.

Victor: And Kate? Do you think you’ll be able to go with?

V: I imagine going on missions day after day would tire you out, so don’t push yourself.

Kate: …No, it’s fine. This is my responsibility as fairytale keeper, so I’ll go with.

(…I truly am a fool, aren’t I.)

Here I was, going on about how it’s my ‘responsibility’ and whatnot, but my true feelings laid elsewhere.

(Even though Alfons does nothing but push me away… I don’t want to take my eyes off of him.)

After all, I had thought to myself that if I wasn’t looking at him, he would end up just up and disappearing somewhere.

(…And this feeling, just as Alfons said,)

(was a delusion——that’s how it needed to be, and yet…)

——Now that I had realized my feelings for him, I had no way of knowing how to bury this love to the grave.

In the Docklands, illegal immigrants were going to be punished by an ‘eternal fire.’

On the night the plan was going to take place…

Dirtied man: Who’s there!?

The silhouettes who were squirming about in the darkness of the port city made a stir upon the sudden arrival of visitors.

Jude: How goes it, ya lot? We’ll be here a while.

Ellis: I’d say there are around——seven? If I had to guess.

Dirtied man: Tch, they said if there are any witnesses the reward’s as good as gone. Get ‘em!

The men who had seemingly been spreading oil around wielded weapons and ganged up, lunging for the two.

Jude: Hah, swingin’ around those steel pipes… how ya all pulled the short end of the stick, not even gettin’ yer hands a gun.

Dirtied man: Wah!? W-what the—!?

Just when I thought Ellis jumped high enough to be above their heads,

the men’s wrists seemed to become bound by a rope unseen to the naked eye, restraining them.

Dirtied man: W-what the hell did you do!?

Ellis: Shh, quiet down a little… we don’t want to disturb the neighbors.

Jude: If ya lot were gonna be playin’ with fire for some bees and honey, ya may as well have all hit the hay instead, ain’t that right?

With that, Jude poked the restrained men’s foreheads with his index finger.

And the next moment, the men, who had just been shouting, collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Kate: …I take it those were their abilities?

Elbert: That’s right… Ellis has the ability to restrain the movements of those whose head he touches. And Jude can put others to sleep by touching their forehead.

Alfons: What a golden pair for interrogation and assassination, dare I say.

Jude had said, ‘If I wanted to get rid of illegal immigrants, I’d aim here,’ while marking down some places,

namely a corner of a residential area, an alleyway that lined the pubs, and the port city, and so Crown went to detain the to-be arsonists without a hitch.

(And this is the last place Jude had marked.)

(It would be nice if we could stop the incidents altogether though…)

Elbert: How is the perimeter looking, Roger?

Roger: …Two blocks away, there’s one at four o’clock.

Elbert: Their companion, perhaps?

Roger: Nah, I doubt it. It sounds pretty darn suspicious… and it’s heading straight this way.

Alfons: Coming to see what’s going on after hearing something suspicious is very much a fool’s errand, is it not.

A: Do leave this careless, poor witness in my care.

Saying that, Alfons left the storage room.

(——!)

—— Scene change; outside ——

While hiding myself in the shadows, I peeked outside…

Alfons: Good evening to you. What a lovely night it is, no?

…where I found Alfons, who had just discreetly touched the back of what seemed to be the witness’ neck.

Alfons: “You saw nothing that went down here. You are on your way home, dearly needing some sleep.”

I could hear how his whispers resembled that of a lullaby as they rode the zephyr of the night.

(He could have shown them something to scare them, or threaten them away, and yet...)

Whenever he used his ability, he always spoke words that calmed the heart.

(And if I asked him why that is... I’m sure he would say something along the lines of ‘it would be a load of trouble if they made too much noise.’)

—— Scene change; storage room ——

Alfons: Goodness gracious... I would have preferred them to choose a less conspicuous place at the very least.

By the time Alfons returned, Jude and the others had tied the perpetrators up with a rope.

Kate: ...I guess with this, we managed to stop the incident.

Spreading the map with the marks open, I made sure we didn’t miss any spots before letting out a sigh in relief.

Roger: Well, that’s assuming Jude hasn’t missed a place.

Jude: The hell ya gettin’ at?

Roger: And I’m going to make sure the number of people here match up with the heartbeats I’m hearing——

Just when Roger interrupted over Jude...

Kate: !?

Along with an explosion, a flame started from within the storage room.

The fire crawled outward on the floor, the heat burning my skin.

(W-why all of a sudden...!? I thought we had all of the perpetrators——)

Alfons: It would appear the oil scattered all over the ground has vaporized and some sparks have ignited this.

Kate: D-did you just say ‘some sparks’!?

Roger: As curious as that is, first things first, we gotta put out the fire. Elbie, let’s bring over the fire extinguisher from the carriage.

Elbert: On it.

Jude: Tch, there ain’t nothing worth more trouble than these scumbags burnin’ to smithereens before makin’ them spit out the tea.

Ellis: Jude and I will take the perpetrators out of here.

Making quick judgments about their current situation, the members of Crown started to move.

(I should help where I can as well...)

The next moment, I tried to run as though being struck by something, when...

(——Huh?)

What I saw before my eyes was an unbelievable sight, causing my feet to stay rooted in its spot.

Alfons: Kate, if you inhale any more smoke, you may end up burning your lungs. So if you could move a bit more——

Kate: Wait just a minute! Over there...!

Beyond the burning flames, when I squinted my eyes...

There, I saw a young boy crouched on the floor, his face filled with fear.

Alfons: ...Ahh, so that’s how it is.

A: It would seem while all his friends were captured, he was hiding with a bated breath, I reckon.

Kate: W-when you say ‘friends’...

K: Are you insinuating he was directly involved in executing the arson...!?

Alfons: Have a look at the boy’s feet.

When I did, I saw that scattered about his feet, illuminated by the flames, were what appeared to be matchboxes.

Alfons: That boy is said ‘sparks.’

A: I reckon he was hiding in the shadows, biding the right time.

(But why would such a child... no, I don’t have time to think about such things.)

(Right now, somehow saving him takes priority...!)

Kate: Stay right there! And be sure to stay low and try not to inhale the fumes...!

Alfons: ......... [surprised]

(At this rate the fire will block the way out... but if he jumps in just like that, he’ll suffer from severe burns.)

(I’ll need to somehow open a path for him to escape through...)

When I looked around my surroundings, my eyes stopped on some sandbags that were piled atop one another adjacent to the storage room.

(That will do...!)

Kate: ...gh!

I jumped straight in, somehow managing to hold the heavy sandbags and throwing them amid the flames.

Then I ran back, lifting up another sandbag.

(Urgh, it’s so heavy...)

Alfons: What in the world are you doing?

Alfons crouched down beside me, meeting my eyes.

Kate: That child might not make it by the time we can put out the fire with an extinguisher.

K: So I thought to stack these sandbags to create an escape route...

Alfons: The one who started this fire was none other than that child, you know.

Kate: Yes, but... this and that are two different things!

Alfons: ......... [surprised]

A: ...haa.

A: Just what am I to do with such a straightforward one like yourself?

(Ah...)

He let out an exasperated laugh before he took the sandbag from me before throwing it into the flames.

(Alfons...)

Alfons: Let’s get it together now. The boy won’t be living through this if you stand so idle.

And so, we carried the sandbags, trying our best to go back and forth,

when Roger and Lord Elbert came running while carrying the fire extinguisher from the carriage, starting to spray the vicinity around the sandbags.

——And at last, albeit small, we managed to make a path he could escape through.

Kate: It’s fine now! So come this way!

Young boy: ...

The boy, whose face was filled with fear still, stayed crouching down, trembling.

Alfons: He’s not coming, is he. Perhaps fear has him paralyzed?

Kate: If that’s the case, we have to go and get him...!

But the moment I tried to run in, he grabbed my arms from behind.

Kate: Wh—Alfons...!?

Alfons: Goodness...

Pushing me behind him, Alfons jumped into the fire through the small escape route,

and as though he were taking a stroll, he walked over to the young boy with light steps——and touched the back of his neck.

Alfons: Come now... “you feel neither the fear nor the heat.”

Young boy: ...gh...! ...?

The fear vanished from the boy’s face, replaced by a puzzled expression.

While holding the boy in his arms, Alfons returned with the same light steps he had went in with.

Alfons: Here you are. A delivery for a most good-natured little robin.

Kate: ...Everything’s alright now.

Young boy: huhu... waaah!

Perhaps he had felt so much fear, but it seemed the illusion cast upon his heart that he ‘wasn’t scared’ had quickly worn off,

and the young boy burst into tears in my arms.

—— Scene change; lounge ——

Apparently, that young boy had been living in poverty, and having been deceived by some bad adults, he was made to take part in this evil plot.

According to Roger’s examination, the young boy suffered from minor injuries. It was then decided that he would be transferred to a special ward in the Royal Hospital to recover.

(Thank goodness...)

Fatigue hit me right after relief, and my body, feeling heavy, sunk into the sofa like a boat.

Kate: What a long night it’s been...

Alfons, too, sat down in a place a little ways away from me.

Alfons: Good lord, I don’t even remember the last time I was subjected to such physical labor.

A: And now thanks to that, I’ve been rendered sore left and right.

Kate: Hm...? Is it really alright for you not to go, Alfons?

K: Just now, everyone else said they were going to interrogate the perpetrators...

Alfons: Such things are better left in the hands of those who know how to best — namely Jude and the others.

With a dismissive wave, Alfons laughed.

And all of a sudden, I remembered the way his back was lit up by the flames as he ran for the young boy.

Kate: And thank you... for saving that child.

K: It made me really happy.

K: But... I also had a feeling you would help anyhow as well.

Hearing my words after the ‘but,’ Alfons laughed, as though fed up.

Alfons: In the face of how oppressive your sense of justice was, I ended up doing what I did... but now regret is starting to plague me.

A: How I wish I could catch the look of despair on your face upon the realization the boy couldn’t be saved after all.

(I long knew those were not his true feelings.)

Kate: ...So you say, but then you go and show illusions because you can’t stand seeing such a face.

Alfons: I see nothing can convince you otherwise.

Kate: Yes, because to me, that is the ‘truth.’

I quite enjoyed the exchanges he and I shared that resembled something like banter, or perhaps just messing around in good fun.

——Having only realized this now, I felt a pang in my heart once again.

(I knew it, I really do like Alfons.)

(...There’s no way I can simply play it off as a delusion.)

Alfons: .........

He spared me a glance before he stood from his seat.

(He’s running away again.)

With such a hunch, my body started to move.

Alfons: Now then... I think I’ll go have a drink or two.

Kate: If that’s so, I will too.

I stood up and took a step, closing a bit of the distance between us.

Kate: Please take me with you.

to be continued…

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