“I… C… E… The hell does that mean?”

“InComplete Error. Basically, they’re failures ‘cause they weren’t completed.”

“But, didn’t he have a ton of combative and destructive power. They even called him a “Super Build” or something.

“Just because they’re failures doesn’t mean that they’re not powerful. In fact, sometimes that power is exactly what made them a failure to begin with. Of course, sometimes it’s less about power and more about having a really bizarre ability no one’s ever seen before. Yeah, for example, there was actually one in your country at one point, and, while he was there, he…”

From “The Soldier of Ruin”

By the time Ritsuko had gotten home from school, her mother’s expression was pale.

"Ritsuko, take that out. Now.” Ritsuko stiffened at her mother’s words.

"…T-take out what, Mom?"

"Don't play dumb with me. I know what you’re doing. You’re taking all that ice out of the refrigerator every day, right?” Her mother's eyes were sharp, and a shiver went down Ritsuko's spine. But even so, she protested.

"N-no, not really. Juice maybe"

"Juice, Oolong tea, whatever. None of it’s been taken.”

"Oh… well, that's cause— "

"Don't you always carry around that portable thermos? You’re filling it with ice so that it doesn’t melt. I’m right, aren’t I?"

"......"

"It's in that sports bag isn't it?"

When her mom reached out her hand, Ritsuko panicked, and took the bag into her arms

"Y-you can't! It’s all I have left" she screamed.

"What are you talking about? That stuff is poisoning you!"

"B-but it’s not! They said so on the news!”

“Yes, they did, but it’s clear that it can’t be good for you, besides—"

“But were happy to eat it all the time before, didn’t you?!”

“Ritsuko, listen to what I’m saying!”

“No! Never!” Ritsuko turned around and broke into a run. But she was in the house, so her only option was to run up the stairs and into her room.

She shut the door and locked it right in front of her mother, who was following her.

“Ritsuko, Ritsuko! Open the door!” Ritsuko could hear her mother fervently knocking on the door.

For a moment, she sat in the middle of the room in a daze, cradling her bag, but, eventually, she pulled a thermos out from inside it.

With a trembling hand, she gripped the large silver cylinder.

“Y, Yeah… of course not, there’s no way it’s bad for me!”

She tried forcing the lid open so hard that she couldn’t open it properly. Her fingers slipped on the container’s lid again and again until, somehow, she managed to remove the contents. The small bag looked like it was suspended in ice water. It’d been there since early in the morning, so most of the ice had melted by now.

“……!”

She put her fingers in the cold water and took out the bag with two fingers. It felt nice and cool. The bag was translucent, so, through it, you could see the faintly emerald green contents.

She awkwardly opened it.

The moment it was opened, cold fumes seemed to rise from the bag, but, of course, it was just her imagination. There was no way it was that cold.

Inside was a strikingly ordinary, peppermint green batch of mint flavored ice cream. It seemed delicious, but otherwise it was just an ordinary, not particularly noteworthy batch of ice cream. There wasn’t very much in the bag either.

“……” Like a lost child on the verge of tears, Ritsuko gazed at the ice cream longingly.

Even now, she couldn’t forget the wondrous and deeply moving experience of eating it for the first time.

She was happy to be alive, and that wasn’t a joke or an exaggeration. Really. She truly thought that.

“Ritsuko, Ritsuko! Don’t you get it? That man was a monster! He wasn’t a normal human being! The stuff that he made can’t be good for you, I’m sure!” Her mother’s screams could be heard beyond the doorway.

“…………”

She’d taken it out, but Ritsuko didn’t have the courage to try the ice cream again, so it was still just sitting in her hands. But she couldn’t just abandon it either. In a way, having it on hand reminded her of the joyous feeling she’d had eating it, as it lifted her spirits. It was almost like a talisman, or a charm.

But even if she’d told her mother that, she probably wouldn’t have listened. She would have thrown it out the moment she had a chance.

If her mother was going to take it away from her, and she couldn’t come up with any other solution, then all she could do right here and now was to eat it……!

“……U…u”

If she put it in her mouth, it would surely melt away softly as an aromatic and slightly stimulating mint flavor would gradually fill her mouth. It would be a rich yet refreshing sweetness that would dance atop her tongue.

Of course.

Of course, it had to be delicious.

But—

“….Uuuu”

But, she too, like others before her, couldn’t bring herself to put it to her lips. She was too scared —her courage nowhere to be found—

“Uuuu…”

As the ice cream in the quivering girl’s hands steadily made contact with the heat in the air, it slowly melted, and that gentle mixture would soon be gone forever.

“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuu……”

With tears flowing from her eyes, Ritsuko was assaulted by a furious knocking sound—

* * * * *

…Well, take a look at that. Any bets on how this one’s gonna turn out? ‘Cause my bet’s on ‘not so good.’

It has the sort of idiocy that could make you laugh. Sure, it’s not without the occasional heart-wrenching romance, and hell, its even got some pretty flashy fight’s mixed in —gore included. But, honestly, does any of that really matter?

This story is about an artist.

It’s also about a crook,

It ends up involving a kind of frozen dessert,

And it even includes some bizarre things.

However, there’s one way to put it that’s better than any other.

And that is, that this is the story of a fool.

…In short, it’s not a story I’d call ‘straightforward.’

Nothing goes well our main character. There isn’t a single decision he makes that leads to any sort of progress. Not one of our actors knew what he was trying to do, and ‘cause of that, he didn’t take a moment to think about the consequences of his actions. With everything going on, the eerie bubble that clings onto things like a shadow missed everything. All those humans missed it too. Hell, they didn’t even try.

But, well, even then, it’s not worth worrying about, so it doesn’t matter either way, right?

Come, come, the story’s about to begin. Don’t worry, you can just pay on the way out. Good kid or bad, everyone’s welcome! You wouldn’t wanna miss out on this once in a lifetime chance! This unsightly, awesome, seemingly pathetic and bizarre tale is weirdly ordinary and strangely complex. However! Don’t let that color your expectations my friends!

And so, let our story begin…

Huh? ‘What kind of story is it?’

Come on now…

How’d you get this far without knowin’ anything? Naturally, this is the story of the rise and fall of our very own Peppermint Wizard—

[1] Toisora on discord brought to my attention that this section seems to be related to a book Kadono confirmed he was working on in 2010. The Book is titled "The Soldier of Ruin" and would feature Akio from chapter 4 of Boogiepop and Others. At the very least, this means that the Akio mentioned in this section is the same Akio from the first book.