Part 36: Episode 23: The Second Request - The Exploding Garden

Where do you think this explosive garden is, exactly?
Who knows? I don’t see anything likely here. Maybe it’s on the outskirts of the town?

And this time we might not know it even if we see it… We should have gotten The King to show us the way.
However, the fleeing crowd of citizens gave us a clue as to where we needed to go.

The flowers blew up!



Nageki, look! A crowd of panicking citizens trying to run away from something, like rats from a burning sewer pipe!
That analogy is a little bit mean, Miss Lourde.
…We’ll probably find the garden if we go towards whatever they’re running from.

And so we quickly headed towards wherever the citizens were leaving, unsure of what we would find.






What is this lunacy!? Do you mean to tell me blowing up gardens is common practice on this barbaric star!?
Sakuya!

Huh? Didn’t something like this happen a few weeks ago?
But I didn’t know Sakuya was going to be here, too!

It’s a nice garden… aside from the holes.
And poor Sakuya! He gets to be the bombing victim even in dreamland…

Oh, so he’s hosting a tea party here?
Geez, he should have invited me, too! (Though I’m not a celebrity.)

Do you know who did this?
I haven’t the slightest. There has been no suspicious activity. The garden blew up by itself.
So… Timebombs, set before everyone got here?

That’s some awfully meticulous terrorism for a fairy-tale world!

Have you already made enemies who would want to ruin your name on this planet, Sakuya?

I have barely been here for a few hours. How could I possibly have made enemies!?

I think Sakuya’s snobby, aristocratic attitude could make him all kinds of enemies within the space of a single conversation, but then again… none of the people here seem particularly short-tempered.

If it’s not someone settling a grudge, then who? And why?
Hmmm. Maybe they have some other, far deeper motive that we’re just--

My thoughts were cut short as another large explosion rang through the garden.
The music stops.

Wah! What! What!?
Confound it! More explosions!?
Miss Lourde, get down!

Nageki tackled me to the ground as something flew past us, causing an even larger explosion than before.

……



Grrrr… Show yourselves, terrorists! Cowards!
That’s right! Come out and fight us like men!
…Wait. Someone’s coming through.

Nothing could have prepared me for the bird that walked out of the large hole.
The music stops.




Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Yuuya!?
Salutations, mon amie! So you’re here, too?
This is no time for “salutations”! You! You insufferable mongrel! What have you done to my beautiful garden!?
Oh……
Looks like I blew most of it up. Sorry, Sakuya!
“Looks like”? What do you mean, “looks like”!?

Sorry, sorry. I had a little trouble finding the entrance, you see.
There’s a gate right over there.
Yeah, Yuuya! Why did you have to do all this?
Ahaha… I guess that’s what happens when you enjoy your job too much.
Stop laughing, you fiend!
Anyway, I’m so happy to see you! As your brother I do worry about how you’re doing, even in dream--

Suddenly, as Yuuya was walking forward, he just vanished from sight!

The music stops.

Wha……!?
H-he disappeared!?
…He just fell. Into the hole.
Y-Yuuya! Are you all right!?

There’s no reply. It’s just a hole.
What was that all about?



I wonder where he went…
It looks like a rabbit hole.
So maybe he’s in Wonderland?
Can you hear me, Sakazaki!? I want you to sit down there in the dark and think about what you’ve done!

Then Sakuya stomped off into his fairy tale mansion, fuming over recent experiences.
It looks like the exploding garden was just Yuuya engaging in a little accidental terrorism while trying to find the entrance.

Do you think that’s all, Nageki?

Yes! Quest complete! On to the next one!
The music stops.





We’ve been here for a while now.
Time does always pass strangely in dreams…
Really?
You can have a dream that seems like it lasts for months in a single ten-minute nap, after all, right?
I don’t know. I don’t usually remember my dreams.
Oh! Do ghosts dream at all?

Is that so?

Hello again! Is this the right way to the tea party?
Mr. Migrant!



To tell the truth I prefer rice cookies and coffee, but any food sounds good right now!
Unfortunately, the tea party is cancelled.
Whaaat!?
The garden got targeted by a terrorist attack.
I think it was for celebrities anyway, so a guest as ratty as you would probably have gotten thrown out!

Cheer up, mister. Common people like us are indominable! The cruel upper classes can tread on us and grind us into the dirt, but we’ll always spring back up like weeds!
…It’s not much, but here.
Oh?

Nageki hands the migrant three sugar cubes.

I picked them up in the Milky Way. They were mixed in with the stars.
I’ve heard that diamonds and sugar cubes float through the Milky Way along with the stars. These must be some of those.
Are you sure?
Yes. They’re not much, but maybe they’ll be enough for now?

The self-styled migrant jauntily flutters away.
The music stops.

…He’s always just a little bit off.
I bet whenever he goes to the store the thing he’s looking for is sold out!

I hadn’t realized there were sugar cubes floating in the Milky Way, though! If I’d known I would have looked for them while we were on the train.

Where to next?

As if waiting for Nageki to say those words, a loud fanfare sounded through the town square.

That’s The King’s cue. His Royal Highness, The King!



The bird who was blowing up the garden fell down a hole and disappeared.
Though, there are a lot of holes in the garden now…

The King is relieved. People who disturb the peace are scary.

Huh?
What just happened to The King’s head? Did I imagine that?
?????

It is time for The King’s reward. Please accept The King’s jewel.

Aaah, it’s so pretty! And blue! What’s it called?
Lapis lazuli.

He really does know everything.

Fire away, highness!
Don’t you think you should word yourself more carefully, Miss Lourde? Since you’re getting to play the heroine for once.
Should I?
The King is very troubled. It looks like it might rain, so The King is in a terrible position.
Rain?
Have you considered an umbrella, sir?
It has never rained here since the kingdom was created.

Mt. Pudding…?

I know who we’ll meet there already!

Mt. Pudding is a tall, tall mountain. The clouds at its peak might slip off, and slide down, and come to The King’s palace.
And will it be a problem if the palace gets wet?
It looks sturdy enough. It would probably be just fine in a storm, never mind a little rain…
The King is troubled. If The King’s palace gets wet…
……
………

H-he had another head just now, didn’t he!?
But he looks normal now… I think? It must have been my imagination.

Why would you start crying just because it’s raining?
The hero in a J-Pop song or a shoujo manga might do something like that. Maybe The King is a delicate maiden at heart?
Don’t worry, your highness! I will protect your fragile heart from the cruel weather! To Mt. Pudding!