An Ancient tome

The first picture depicted Caesar Augustus, Roman emperor of Rome and founder of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, standing tall against the backdrop of a vast sea. His face was stern and imposing. Beside him stood three men dressed in military uniforms. Two of the soldiers bore swords, spears and shields while the third carried a staff topped with an eagle statue. Behind them was a fleet of ships carrying a horde of Romans marching towards what I supposed was Gaul (France).

Next was Constantine the Great, Christian Emperor of Constantinople and the Eastern Roman Empire. Standing beside him was Saint Peter, Archbishop of Jerusalem. Next to him were four armed guards holding torches and weapons. Above them was a ship sailing across the ocean.

Then came Charlemagne, King of the Franks, Holy Roman Emperor and First Pope of the Catholic Church. He stood tall in front of a group of Germanic warriors wielding battle axes, shields and swords. He was flanked by two men bearing halberds and spearheads.

The fourth pictures showed Vlad Tepes, Prince of Wallachia (today known as Romania), ruler of Transylvania, Hungary and Bohemia (now parts of Austria and Czech Republic). He was accompanied by several men wearing chainmail armor and carrying pikes and lances. He stood atop a hill overlooking a valley below, watching over thousands of Saxons, Bretons and Picts who marched toward him. According to legend, he impaled his enemies alive on stakes and roasted them in ovens until their bones cracked apart. He was well known as the source of many stories about vampires, due to his cruel methods during battles and his penchant for drinking human blood.

After Vlad Tepes, it showed one of the most famous personage among all the historical figures: Alexander the Great. The picture portrayed the Macedonian king sitting on a throne, facing the camera (or the painter; I was certain there was no camera at that era). Around him were five men clad in full body armor, each man holding a shield and sword. They were standing side by side in formation. Alexander was bare chested with his arms crossed, looking down at his subjects with cold eyes.

The sixth personage shown was Julius Caesar. Like Alexander, he was also depicted seated on a throne, though he faced away from the viewer. I kept flipping the pages and I found Napoleon Bonaparte, Vladimir Lenin, Grigori Rasputin, Josef Stalin, and finally Adolf Hitler.

They were all famous rulers, emperors and kings. All of them were fierce and ruthless conquerors of various lands. They led their armies into battle with courage and ferocity. Some of them committed atrocious crimes against humanity just because they wanted power. Yet despite all their atrocities, they remained immortalized throughout the ages.

What was the book trying to tell? What did it mean to see all these great leaders together in a single place? Why are all of them gathered here in this book? And how come this tome contained pictures of Hitler and Stalin? Were they still using this ancient form of book publishing during the period of World War II? Was it some kind of history book? Encyclopedia of Great Rules perhaps?

No, somehow it was too elaborate and detailed for that. Something told me this was not meant for historians or scholars. No, this was not a mere textbook. It was more like a grimoire, a magical manual of sorts. And if it was so, what kind of magic was involved here?

Magic related to the occult? Magic involving summoning demons? Or maybe necromancy?

It didn't make sense. What did all those famous figures have in common? Why did they appear in the same book?

As I kept thinking, I reached out for the next page to flip. Another picture caught my attention immediately. It was an illustration showing a crowd gathering around a single man standing atop a podium. The man was giving a speech. The caption beneath the image read: 'Karl Marx.'

A sudden flash of inspiration struck me. They were all famous orators! They controlled large masses of people through words! Their speeches were powerful enough to influence millions of hearts and minds. These men were great oratorical masters; they knew exactly how to manipulate people's emotions and stir up hatred towards their opponents.

These were political leaders after all. Political power was based on popularity, and these men possessed charisma that made them popular amongst their peers. Many of the world's greatest dictators rose to power precisely because they were charismatic speakers.

But..

But what if there was more to it...?

What if the ability to speak was only a front, and there was another factor that allowed them to gain authority over others? To command them to do things their way?

I closed the book and turned my attention to the book cover again. It was an eye symbol embossed with gold leaf and surrounded by geometric shapes. An eye, a mark of divinity. It reminded me of an anime I once watched where the main character was bestowed with godlike powers to control humans and turn them into his slaves through direct eye contact. That was the reason why the protagonist wore a mask—to hide his identity and avoid being identified by the public. Was the book telling me that all those famous figures possessed such divine ability?

That sounded farfetched but possible. Who knows? Maybe that's how they gained their status. Perhaps they were born under special circumstances and blessed by the heavens themselves.

My mind wandered back to reality. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was already 5:00 PM. I promised Koyuki to pick her up at 6:00 PM sharp. There was no time to go back home and changed so I decided to head directly to 'Daishi Ramen'. I would continue reading the book tomorrow, I thought as I placed it back on the book shelve and exited the bookstore. Little did I know that somehow the book had ended up in my school bag. At that time, if I took another look at the book shelve where the tome was located just now, I would have seen that it was no longer empty. It was now filled to the brim with paperbacks and novels..

***

"Kou-kun!" Koyuki exclaimed happily when she noticed me entering the store. "You're early today."

I nodded and grinned at her. She was still in her work uniform. Her apron was tied around her waist and the sleeves of the white shirt were rolled up past the elbows. Her hair tied back neatly in a ponytail. A pair of thin rimmed glasses sat perched on top of her small nose. I noticed some of the customers were ogling at her. I couldn't fault them though. Despite working as a waitress, Koyuki looked very feminine and cute.

She said, "Please wait a moment while I go changed," and hurried off towards the back room.

I waited patiently for her return. While waiting, I looked around at the customers dining at Daishi Ramen. Most of them were youngsters, some were students from our school. It seemed that the ramen shop became a regular hangout spot for them. After a few minutes, Koyuki returned wearing a blue skirt and matching blouse. As expected, the male patrons continued staring at her.

She smiled at me and gestured to the door. "Let's go."

We walked outside the restaurant and headed towards the bus stop. There was a single police officer stationed nearby. Must be the one assigned to patrol the neighborhood. I'd make sure to thanks Detective Inspector Saito the next time I see him. We boarded the bus going downtown. On board the vehicle, we sat next to each other. My arm touched hers briefly. It felt good and I let it linger there for a bit longer. She didn't seem to mind.

The ride went by quickly. Once we alighted, I extended my hand to help Koyuki down from the bus. She slipped her hands in mine and pressed her body against my side. She was breathing hard. Was she feeling nervous about our date? Or perhaps she was just excited?

"Kou-kun, would you like to have dinner first?"

"Sure, where would you like to go?"

"My treat, so let's go somewhere nice."

I nodded. I didn't really have any preference. As long as it was a place we could talk in peace, I didn't mind.

"Then, how about having dinner at a restaurant near here?"

"Sounds good to me."

We decided to eat at a Chinese restaurant located along the main road. It was a small restaurant with an open air terrace. Inside, there were a few tables and chairs lined up. The interior was decorated with a simple, rustic design. We took a seat on a table in the corner. During dinner, Koyuki told me about her day at work. She also talked about her younger brother and mother. I found out that her little brother was still in elementary school and lived with their mother while she worked part-time to support them.

"Do you like your job?" I asked.

Koyuki nodded. "It's okay. I like serving customers. Sometimes they'll order weird stuff, though. Like this one guy who asked for a whole fried chicken and some vegetables."

"That must be tough. How did you deal with it?"

"I just smiled and told him that we don't serve fried chicken there. But he didn't seem to understand. He kept asking why we didn't serve fried chicken. I asked him if he was from another country and he said yes. He looked kind of strange. Anyway, he ended up leaving without ordering anything. That was the first time that happened, but I've heard that sometimes people do crazy things when they're hungry."

"Wow. You really have to smile even when you're scared or angry? That's pretty impressive."

"I'm not really that strong, though. I guess I just got used to it."

"There must be some other customers who are giving you a hard time, right?"

She hesitated for a moment before answering. "Yeah. There's this one guy who comes to the store often. A pervert. He likes to touch my legs and sometimes he'll grab my butt. I've told the manager about it but they don't do anything. It's annoying but I guess I have no choice but to tolerate it. I trudge on with a smile and pretend that nothing's wrong. After all, he's a regular customer."

"You're working at a ramen shop, not a bar. It is not something to be tolerated. If I were you, I would hit him so hard, he wouldn't even know what hit him."

Koyuki looked at me in surprise. "That's not what I meant. I mean, I just let it pass because he's a regular customer. Plus, I don't want to cause a scene or anything. But I will make sure to report him to the police if he ever touches me again."

I nodded. "Reporting him to the police will help protect other girls from the same fate."

"I... I don't mind if Kou-kun was the one touching me though..."