Chapter 2
"Asterisk" - Speech
Asterisk - Speaking in whisper
-Asterisk - Dreams, flashbacks
In the central district of Asterisk, at the junction of the commercial and administrative areas, rose the super skyscraper of Hotel Elnath. This luxury hotel, frequented by VIPs and celebrities from around the world, was renowned most of all for the dome-shaped hanging gardens on its top floor. Only a few ever set foot in this garden, where streams rolled and flowers of all seasons were always in full bloom.
Even the people of a class able to stay at this hotel—including integrated enterprise foundation executives—could not enter without permission. This space was a sanctuary created specifically for a highly select group of individuals to meet once a month. Only six people in the world had the power to open its doors: the student council presidents of the six schools of Asterisk.
"Good day, everyone," an elegant voice said. "You all seem well." In the center of the garden, atop a small hill that was just high enough to grant a view of the surroundings, stood a European-style gazebo. It was furnished inside with a hexagonal table that resembled a scaled-down version of Asterisk itself.
Four of the six seats were occupied. After a polite bow, Claudia took her place in the fifth seat, wearing her usual gentle smile.
"So good of you to join us, Miss Enfield. You are most punctual, as always." The princely young man sitting to Claudia's left welcomed her with a cordial grin.
He was a beautiful youth: He sported well-defined features and sleek, light blond hair; a serene manner; and refinement in his every move. Even the impeccable whites of the Saint Gallardworth Academy uniform suited him as if it were custom-made with him in mind.
At first glance, the soft smile he wore seemed genteel, but it was akin to the one on Claudia's face: It was impossible to tell what thoughts might lie behind it.
"Well, then. Now that we're all here, shall we begin? None of us has much time to spare, after all." The golden-haired young man opened an air-window, and thereby the meeting began.
This regular assembly of the six student council presidents was known informally as the Rikka Garden Summit, named after the place where it was held. Ostensibly, the purpose of these meetings was to maintain amicable relations between the six schools and to exchange opinions for the prosperity of each school and the smooth operation of the Festa. In reality, however, it was the stage of a political power game in which each player tried to discern what the others were scheming. The meeting was moderated by the representative of the school that had earned the highest overall rank in the previous Festa season.
"Oh, but…" Claudia turned her eyes to the still-vacant seat to her right, meant for the student council president of Queenvale Academy for Young Ladies. "I think she's in the middle of her European tour. As usual, she has sent me the papers transferring her authority as moderator."
"Of course. Being a world-famous songstress must keep her very busy." "Hah. What difference does it make if that baby girl's here or not?" scoffed the young man who sat directly across from the blond one.
He had dull, rusty hair and a short, stocky build, and his unusually large eyes gleamed with hostility. He leaned back in his chair haughtily, arms crossed and face twisted into a nasty sneer.
This was his usual demeanor—at least, so far as Claudia knew. She had never once seen him smile. Le Wolfe's school uniform had an intimidating effect in and of itself, but the sinister air of this young man only enhanced it.
"My dear representative of the Crossed Swords, I'd appreciate it if you could refrain from insulting the delegates of the other schools." With a slightly vexed smile, the young blond man chastised the redheaded one.
"Insulting? I'm just stating the facts, everybody knows it. Those sluts at Queenvale couldn't run a school to save their lives. How many council meetings has that shorty missed since they voted her president? She doesn't do shit." The Gallardworth president sighed.
"What a fine vocabulary you have. You've made your point, so if you'd please stop there?" But Le Wolfe's president continued, still leaning back in his seat.
"Well, she was picked to represent those morons based on her looks, so I guess we shouldn't expect much from her besides—" He broke off when a blade of pure white touched his throat.
"I believe I asked you to stop." The blond held the sword with one hand without dropping his soft smile. Claudia couldn't stop herself from gaping in surprise. In one fluid motion, the Gallardworth representative had drawn his Lux from its holster, activated it, and swung it out—smooth enough to inspire a new appreciation of beauty. And frighteningly fast, no less.
"Ooh, now we're having fun. Wanna try me, Sir Paladin? Go right ahead, that'll be it for Gallardworth." Le Wolfe's president went on, provoking him without the slightest change in expression. Indeed, any bloodshed at the Rikka Garden Summit would result in severe repercussions not only for the young man, but also for his school.
"You're not wrong." With a warm expression, the Gallardworth president pushed the point of his sword into the other youth's throat without hesitation. The faintly glowing white blade pierced him through—but things were not as they seemed.
"Peh. Tricks like that are for babies," the Le Wolfe president said, bored even with the blade buried in his neck. Not a single drop of blood flowed from where the sword entered his flesh.
"Why, you two never get enough of each other. What a lark to see you play like this at every meeting without getting tired of it." This remark came from the young lady perched on the seat to the left of the Gallardworth president.
Or rather, it would be more accurate to describe her as a little girl. She had an innocent smile on her adorable face, her black hair done up in loops like the wings of a butterfly. But there was a mature tranquility in the way she carried herself. On her chest gleamed the Yellow Dragon, the school crest of Jie Long Seventh Institute.
"But that's enough sport for now, lads," she said brightly. "Or else I shall have a thought to join in myself." The blond youth sighed again and withdrew his sword—the Orga Lux LeiGlems, pride of Saint Gallardworth Academy—and the Le Wolfe president clicked his tongue and kept quiet.
"When Her Imperial Highness intervenes, we can only obey." Claudia giggled with her hand to her mouth as the Gallardworth president theatrically shrugged his shoulders. Meanwhile, the Le Wolfe president glowered and propped his feet up on the table.
"By the way, Claudia, I got a hold of a really interesting rumor." The glare he fixed on her had all the indiscriminate aggression of a mad dog. "Seidoukan and Allekant agreed to cooperate in developing a new kind of Lux, I heard. Care to explain?"
"Oh?"
"Mm, is that so?"
The Gallardworth and Jie Long presidents both turned to Claudia, interest plain on their faces.
"Impressive, but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised," she said.
"News reaches you quickly."
"Yeah, so? It's true?"
"Would you have brought it up at the summit if you weren't already certain?" Claudia's eyes narrowed with mirth as she again brought her hand to her mouth. The red-haired president of Le Wolfe was the shrewdest among those who sat at the table.
If they were to meet in combat, the representatives from Gallardworth and Jie Long would be far more formidable. But in a setting like this, the stocky boy was without a doubt the most bothersome.
He was, after all, the first non-Genestella student to ever attain the rank of student council president at Le Wolfe Black Institute. His conniving intellect was his weapon. He lacked strength or charisma, trustworthiness or popularity, or any other attribute that would make him suited to leadership.
What he had was a singularly devilish talent for using and manipulating people. He also had a deep-seated loathing for everything in existence, perhaps even himself. He was the very embodiment of hatred.
"However, that is strictly a matter between Seidoukan and Allekant," Claudia said. "I don't believe it concerns the rest of you."
"Not so fast, you sneaky vixen. Secret deals between schools are against the Stella Carta. What, you think the other schools are gonna just sit and watch while you get the drop on us?" He glanced around the table.
"Well, it does seem a little strange." The Gallardworth president nodded curtly without breaking his thin smile.
"I can't really say without knowing the details, but I should think that Allekant has very little to gain from such a deal." When it came to Lux technology, Allekant was not just a head above the rest, but two or three. It hardly made sense for them to seek out the help of another school.
"First of all," began the dragon-like girl of Jie Long academy, "Allekant is the only school with its own proper Lux development research facility, is it not? All the other schools, my own among them, simply use whatever is provided to us by the IEFs."
"Yes, and under our agreement, our specialists will go to Allekant to participate in joint research," added Claudia. Everyone else at the table raised their eyebrows.
"Hey, how is that joint research? That's just a one-sided handover."
"There might be a better way to say this, but it sounds like an invitation to steal their technology."
"Truly, Allekant's generosity knows no bounds." Claudia's smile never wavered.
"Yeah, I'd love to hear what the other concerned party has to say about it," the Le Wolfe president sneered.
"You guys at Allekant are okay with this?" All eyes turned to the student seated directly across from Claudia. He had been silent this whole time, sitting there with his shoulders hunched in anxiety. Now he shook his head, confused.
"Um, I wasn't told anything about it—that is, uh, I only signed off on it, and…I don't have any details…" With his medium build and height, small eyes and black hair, nothing about him made much of an impression. His tinted eyebrows gave him a timid look
. All in all, he was an easily overlooked figure. But on his chest he sported the Dark Owl, Allekant's school crest, the symbol of wisdom.
"You weren't told…?" the Le Wolfe boy said.
"You're serious?"
"Uh, yeah…" At a loss, he scratched his head.
"Even for Allekant, they make a mockery of your position as student council president," the Jie Long president exclaimed
. "And you accept this?" The six schools each had their own particular campus culture, but Allekant had several unusual aspects to its internal organization.
The students were divided into the research class, who specialized in R&D and development, and the practical class, who applied the fruits of that labor in combat. Hierarchically, the former group had superior standing.
The research class itself was divided into factions based on specialty, and these groups were in constant heated competition with one another. The power struggle was heavily influenced by the performance of the practical-class students, who fought in the Festa with the products developed by the factions they espoused.
The leader of the strongest faction therefore held all the power at Allekant. The function of the student council president was little more than regulatory, coordinating the competition between the factions—in other words, a figurehead.
"Well, um…," Allekant's figurehead dithered. Unable to bear his discomfort, Claudia gently spoke up for him.
"I'm afraid you've all misunderstood something. This is not a secret pact or anything of the sort. Rather, it is an official partnership between Seidoukan Academy and Allekant Académie. We will publicly announce the details in due time." The Allekant president signed in visible relief.
"So you're sticking to your story that this is a fair deal?"
"It is. In exchange for the use of Allekant's facilities, we will be responsible for seventy percent of the research and development costs."
"Speaking of Seidoukan, I caught wind of a row among some of your students—and no small affair at that," the little Jie Long president interjected nonchalantly.
"They say you went so far as to mobilize Shadowstar. This wouldn't have anything to do with your arrangement with Allekant, now would it?"
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," Claudia replied, perfectly placid. Of course, these two events had everything to do with each other.
Simply put, the joint research agreement was compensation for the Silas Norman incident. Employing a student of another school to attack his classmates was a blatant violation of the Stella Carta.
If it were made public, Allekant would certainly have faced punishment and suffered a blow to their reputation as well. But simply outing Allekant had no benefit for Seidoukan.
So Claudia had proposed that Allekant share their technological expertise in exchange for Seidoukan's silence.
"Blackhearted and a bald-faced liar." With that, the Le Wolfe president turned away from Claudia, declaring the end of his interest in the subject. Le Wolfe's intelligence organization was notorious, well-connected with the darker corners of Asterisk, and the best of any of the six schools. In the matter of Silas, it was reasonable to assume that they had a good grasp of what had transpired. After all, the conclusion to the affair took place in the redevelopment area, practically their backyard.
Did Le Wolfe's student council president drop the subject so readily because he wanted to save it for later negotiations or because he had other schemes in mind…? He was not someone to be taken lightly. But Claudia had no desire to poke that hornet's nest here.
"That concludes that discussion, then?" She brought the conversation to an end with a bright smile.
"Hmm. I suppose we might just as well revisit it after seeing the announcement. So, today's agenda—" The Gallardworth president attempted to bring the meeting back to order, but there was another interruption.
"Um, excuse me. May I say something?"
"Oh, it's you this time. What is it?" The one who had sheepishly raised his hand was the nondescript boy from Allekant.
"So, er, the thing is… This is a little sudden, but there is something that I'd like to add to the agenda, if we could…"
"Well, then. What is it?" the dragon girl snapped. The Allekant representative, appearing to shrink slightly as the others turned their gaze on him, looked around the table for a few moments before he haltingly began.
"Uh— I would like to propose that we discuss…the usage of artificial intelligence in Asterisk, including the matter of rights."
"Artificial intelligence?" The Le Wolfe president scowled suspiciously.
"Yes. That's right. With the recent advances in meteoric engineering, there has been tremendous progress in the field. It won't be long before we see AI that possesses something close to human sentience—that much is beyond doubt. However, it's unlikely that any country will be able to address the subject with legislation in a timely manner. We need only to look to the history of our own kind, the Genestella, for an example. And that's why I propose that, since we are relatively unfettered, we take in AI as a sort of model for the rest of the world…"
"Are you talking about welcoming sentient machines as our fellow students at Asterisk? And granting them the same rights as humans?" the Gallardworth president asked in mild astonishment.
"Yes. And if possible, having them participate in the Festa…"
"Dumbass. That's insane." The Le Wolfe president coldly shot him down. "I don't give a shit if you eggheads want to put machines in school uniforms. But if you're saying they should fight in the Festa, that's a different story."
"I agree," Claudia said. "This proposal seems awfully far-fetched. There are so many problems that come readily to mind. The age requirements for the Festa, for instance. If we apply the thirteen-to-twenty-two requirement literally, wouldn't they be obsolete by the time they can participate?" "And how will you determine if they possess sentience?" Gallardworth asked. "I think you'll have to begin with establishing standards for that. Well, I imagine that some sort of regulations will become necessary in the future."
"So all of you are against the idea? How dreary." Puffing her cheeks out in a sulk, the little girl crossed her arms and looked around the table. "What, Jie Long is in favor of this crap?"
"But of course. It will make things more interesting, I think." The dragon girl consistently acted solely on personal whims. Despite her duties as a representative, she prioritized her own will with hardly a second thought for the interests of the school. She even seemed to enjoy herself when things took a turn for the chaotic. The reason a person like her could remain student council president, it was said, was her overwhelming prowess in combat.
Each school had its own method for selecting members of the student council. Seidoukan, for instance, held elections; at Le Wolfe, the top-ranked student had the right to name the student council president.
And at Jie Long, the selection process was a simple tournament. The strongest of the self-nominated candidates become student council president. All this meant was that in Jie Long, the largest school of the six, there was not a single student who could stop her. In any case, Seidoukan, Gallardworth, and Le Wolfe voted nay.
Even with Jie Long, there were only two votes in favor, including Allekant, who had proposed the idea. "The transfer of authority papers from Queenvale indicate that they vote with the majority," the Gallardworth president said. "So that makes four votes against. The proposal fails."
"I see… Too bad." The Allekant president's shoulders fell, although this outcome had been perfectly obvious. Allekant, of course, stood to gain the most from his own proposal. It never could have passed without prior discussion.
And at any rate, the Rikka Garden Summit did not have the final say in the decision. Above the gathered student council presidents, there was an administrative committee whose members were selected from the respective integrated enterprise foundations backing the six schools.
Even if a measure passed here, it would be taken up by the administrative committee, where the will of the Rikka Garden Council was given some weight but was not absolute. This proposal would definitely have been rejected there. But the Allekant president wasn't done…
"Then it would be acceptable to you if such machines were used strictly as weapons only, whether or not they're sentient?" he mumbled, still hanging his head, and the atmosphere around the table tensed.
"What exactly do you mean?" Claudia asked. "Well, think about it. They won't be granted rights as students, and they have to be treated as machines regardless of sentience. Isn't that what you all just said? Even if they do look human, machines are machines—just tools. And in the Stella Carta, there are no terms restricting the usage of tools—that is, weapons."
"So you wanna use automated Puppets as weapons?"
"Hmm. Indeed, there is no clause in the Stella Carta to forbid this."
There had never been any reason to forbid it. A combat Puppet controlled by a person was one thing, but an automated one that could perform only simple tasks would be no match for a Genestella on the battle stage. You'd have a scrap heap in the blink of an eye. But…what if a Puppet was programmed to have the same level of cognitive ability as a human being?
"I see. So this is what you really had in mind," Claudia said, laughter in her eyes.
That first proposal was bound to be rejected. It had been the Allekant president's plan all along to lead the conversation to this juncture. This young man was no mere figurehead after all.
"Well… All right. I suppose we need to discuss this more seriously," the Le Wolfe president said, sighing for the third time at this meeting. The Allekant president courteously bowed his head.
"Thank you very much. Now I'll be able to report back with some good news."
The July sun stung his skin, unrelenting even in the late afternoon.
Sweating lightly, Yukio ran through the courtyard, trying to thread himself along the shadows of the trees
. "Oh man," he panted.
"I don't think I'm going to make it." He could just see the brooding face of Julis, who was especially strict about punctuality.
There was a reason for his tardiness: their homeroom teacher, Kyouko, foisted class chores on him. He hoped that Julis would understand if he explained.
It had been two weeks since Yukio had agreed to become Julis's tag team partner and officially registered for the Phoenix.
They were immersing themselves in training every possible day.
After all, he had never fought in a tag match before, and he still knew almost nothing about the rules of the Festa. He had a mountain of things to learn.
Julis seemed to have no experience with a tag match, either, so the two of them were figuring things out as they went.
But they did not have the luxury of time.
Only one month remained until the start of the Phoenix.
"At the very least, we have to learn to fight together at close range, or she could end up roasting me along with our opponents…"
He left the courtyard, and just as he was about to run across the corridor connecting the middle school and college buildings, Yukio suddenly felt someone else's presence.
A girl emerged suddenly from behind a pillar. He slowed down in a panic, but it was too late. The girl noticed him a moment after and looked at him in surprise. A collision seems unavoidable. Faced with no other option, Yukio tried rather forcefully to change direction.
A maneuver beyond his capacity sent motes of light flying like sparks from metal, and a pain akin to an electric shock jolted through his body, but he still accomplished it. His relief, however, was short-lived.
Somehow, there in his new evasive trajectory was the girl's face.
"Huh?"
"Eek—!" This time, there really was no avoiding it. Yukio and the girl spectacularly slammed into each other.
Fortunately for both, Yukio had managed to slow down considerably and the impact was not so severe.
Still, he had just run into a girl with all his weight. He broke his fall and got up immediately to see the girl now seated on the ground.
"Hey, are you all right? You're not hurt?"
"Oh yes… I'm…fine," the girl replied in a tiny voice and looked up at Yukio with a bashful smile.
"I'm really sorry!" Yukio bowed deeply in apology and peered at her again. Seeing that she had no obvious injuries, he let out a sigh of relief with his hand to his chest.
In the same moment, he came to the grave realization that he was seeing too much and immediately averted his gaze. The girl had one knee raised and her skirt had flown up completely. The clear sight of her underwear and its cute pattern burned into his eyes.
His face spontaneously went red. Noticing the problem with a gasp, the girl hurried to fix her skirt and hugged herself tightly, trying to curl into a ball. Her tearful, timid demeanor was reminiscent of a small animal. She seemed unaware that this had the effect of accentuating her generously sized breasts.
Again, Yukio had no idea where to look. She was wearing a middle school uniform, so Yukio deduced that she was younger than him. Her large, round eyes and small, pointed nose made a charming combination.
While her entire body emanated a shy quality, she was quite a beautiful girl. She wore her silver hair tied up in two pigtails at the sides while the rest spilled down her back. Unusual hair colors—he thought of Saya—were not uncommon among Genestella.
He guessed that the girl was one. The shapeliness of her body was obvious through her uniform, and she wore a scabbard at her waist that appeared to house a real blade.
"Um…anyway, I'm sorry. I was in a hurry, but I should have been more careful." Yukio extended his hand to her, his gaze still averted.
The girl stared at his hand indecisively for a few moments, then hesitantly took it. Now on her feet, the girl brushed dirt from her uniform as if to hide her embarrassment and bowed curtly.
"N-no, I'm sorry, too. I can't seem to shake my habit of walking without making a sound. Even though my uncle always scolds me for it…"
Hearing that, Yukio drew a breath in sudden realization. True, he was in a hurry, and he could have been more careful.
But this was the first time he had failed to notice someone until they had come so close to him. But it was more than that. They had collided precisely because they had both moved in the same direction in an attempt to dodge the other. But if she could move like that…
"Um, is something wrong?" The girl tilted her head inquisitively when Yukio suddenly grew quiet.
"Oh, um, it's nothing… Wait a second. There's something in your hair." A little dry stick, about the size of a pinkie finger, was tangled in her lovely silver locks.
"I do…? Wh-where?" Bewildered, she grabbed at her hair, but she couldn't see the stick. She kept feeling for it in all the wrong spots.
The flustered girl was strangely adorable, and part of him wanted to watch her a little while longer—but he couldn't.
"Here, hold still." Smiling awkwardly, Yukio reached out and gently removed the piece of branch, careful not to pull her hair.
"Th-thank you." Her face was so red that he thought it might begin steaming at any moment. She lowered her head, unable to say anything more.
Then she peeked up at Yukio and immediately looked back down at the ground as soon as their eyes met. "Um, so…" As he stood there wondering what was next, a voice boomed from the direction of the middle school building.
"Kirin! What are you doing over there?!"
"Oh! I'm sorry, Uncle! I'll be right there!" The girl tensed, then gave Ayato a rushed bow. "S-see you later…!"
"Uh, okay."Yukio glanced over to see a man on the far side of middle age standing at the entrance of the middle school. The girl ran toward him.
While the man had a sturdy build, he did not seem to be Genestella, as Yukio could not sense any prana or spirit pressure from him.
The girl had called him "Uncle," but it was not easy for unaffiliated people, even family members, to gain access to the campus.
So he might have some connection to the school.
Yukio was absentmindedly pondering this—until he remembered what he was doing here and checked the time. As he'd feared, it was now well past when he'd promised to meet her.
He felt a cold sweat run down his back. Just as he began to break into a dash, he received a call on the mobile device in his pocket. With an ominous premonition—or rather, a near certainty—he opened an air window to see the irritated face of who else but Julis-Alexia von Riessfeld glaring at him.
"Burst into bloom—Livingston Daisy!" As her imperious voice rang through the training room, swaths of flame burst into the air around Julis. They swirled like tornadoes and coalesced into disks—more than ten of them.
The projectiles were chakrams of searing heat, their fiery blades spinning.
"Go!" Shedding sparks, the disks rushed at Yukio, who awaited the attack with his sword ready. Almost too swiftly to see, the giant, single-edged sword with jet-black and blue markings on its blade sliced the first wave of chakrams in half, and they dissipated like blown-out candle flames.
In the meantime, however, more had moved around to fly at him from the left and right. He had to marvel at their perfect coordination as he took a backward leap to dodge the whirling blades.
As if they had anticipated this maneuver, still more death disks fell upon him from above with tremendous speed.
And there were three more rushing at him from the front, with another trio close behind. A layered attack with varied timing. It was an outstanding feat just to control over a dozen objects moving in three dimensions.
That Julis could manipulate them with such precision was a testament to her skill, not to mention an exceptional spatial awareness.
Yukio twisted to dodge the attacks from above, then turned and channeled his momentum to swing at the chakrams flying at him from the front. But instead of cutting through the projectiles, he struck with the side of his blade, sweeping them away.
They knocked into each other in midair, altering their trajectories. The chakrams grazed past him, slicing his training gear with a slight burning smell— but nothing more. "Whew…" Ayato exhaled and readjusted his stance with his greatsword, the Ser Veresta.
"Unbelievable. You always pull off the most ridiculous stunts like it's nothing at all." Julis glared at him with mild exacerbation.
"Now, I'm highly interested in how you'll avoid the next round." And as she spoke, a dozen more chakrams of fire swirled around her.
"I'm not sure I have any tricks left that will impress you except my shikai power with the Ser Veresta, Julis."
"No? Then what will you do?" She carefully spread out the chakrams on all three axes to prepare for her next attack. While she was actually arranging an intricate battle formation, there was a beauty to it that called to mind a flower garden.
"Well… How about something like this?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Yukio generated his spirit energy into the Ser Veresta as ice started to form around it.
"Reign over the Frosted Heavens Amonusenmaru." Yukio said as he swung his sword with ice toward the young woman. Keeping his body Apart, he rushed fiercely into the garden of fire.
"What—?!" Caught off guard, her reaction was momentarily delayed. She hastily moved the formation, but it was obvious that she couldn't catch up to his speed.
Yukio danced his way through the flames and was quickly closing his distance when he noticed it—the gleeful smile on her face.
"You fell for it! Blossom, Gloriosa!" Suddenly, magic circles appeared at Yukio's feet, and pillars of flame burst out to block his path.
Five pillars surrounded him, as if he was captured in the clawed hand of an enormous monster.
A fixed ability?! Stregas and Dantes often had certain powers that could be activated only when specific conditions were met.
Such abilities, it was said, were often used as traps.
Case in point: this.
"Heh. Finally, I win." He heard her triumphant voice from beyond the flames, but couldn't see her face. The pillars turned inward toward Ayato, pointed like talons, and closed in to crush him in their grip. Even then, Yukio calmly ordered his breathing in an instant.
"Amagiri Shinmei Style Middle Technique—Ten-Thorned Thistle!"
Changing his grip to hold the greatsword in his right hand, he twisted dramatically and made a rotating sweep.
Then, after he had swung through with his right, he transferred the sword to his left and spun again with a backhand slash.
Two sets of streaks ran through the pillars surrounding him, and in the next instant, all five had been extinguished.
Paying no heed to the residual flames sizzling against his skin, Yukio swiftly closed the distance. As Julis stood stunned, he thrust his sword at her chest—and in that same instant, a shrill alarm sounded in the training room.
(The Next Day)
"Huh?"
"I, Kirin Toudou…challenge you, Ayato Amagiri, to a duel." In response, both Ayato's and Kirin's school crests glowed a bright red
. "Why do I have to fight you?!" Ayato shook his head in confusion. Kirin only moved forward, looking miserable.
"I don't want to fight you, either. But we have no choice."
"No choice?"
"I have a wish. And to make it come true, I have to do as my uncle says…" Her voice was full of barely contained emotion. But just barely—she could not entirely hide her sorrow.
"Please. If you decline, this will be over. Please." Yukio thought for a few moments, then looked straight into Kirin's eyes.
"If I decline, what about you?" "Huh?"
"What'll happen to you?" Kirin turned away from his searching gaze.
"I… That doesn't matter. No one can change anything for me."
"Then I can't back down, either," Yukio declared evenly. He knew it was completely absurd. To duel the person he was trying to help —that went beyond even defeating the purpose. Still, he couldn't just stand idly by and do nothing for a girl who would describe the scene of moments ago—such unfair treatment—as something that no one could change.
"I see… You're so kind, Mr. Amagiri." With a weak, sad smile, Kirin reached for the scabbard at her waist. "Then I have no choice. And I will not lose." In that instant, he felt goosebumps rise all over his skin.
His body seemed to move of its own accord as he took a giant leap back from Kirin. Her expression—conflicted, on the verge of tears—never changed as she smoothly drew her sword. He had guessed this earlier, but it was not a Lux.
The construction was a modern style, but it was unmistakably a Japanese katana. There was no mana response, so she was not a Strega, either. He could feel a highly refined prana from her, but that was not what had made him jump back. A sharp and cool force, something akin to the presence of a sword, emanated from Kirin, who held her katana pointed straight at him. Yukio had never before sensed anything of the kind.
"Well…I can't exactly yield, either," Yukio murmured, then touched the school crest on his chest.
"I accept your challenge." He channeled prana into his body and focused it. His instincts told him that he could not face this girl without his full strength.
His prana heightened, and sparks of light materialized around him, followed by magic circles. He ignored the sharp pains that shot through him to imagine the binding—the cage and shackles that held him, the power swelling from his inner self to rend them apart…
"By the sword within me, I break free of this prison of stars and unchain my power!" Instantly the magic circles around him were blown away. His sealed prana was released and strength flooded his body. Kirin's eyes widened as she looked on, but the blade she held did not waver.
"Kirin, don't cross blades with that Orga Lux. It will cut through your katana and everything else," Kouichirou called out, as Yukio drew the Ser Veresta from its holder and activated it. It seemed that Kirin's uncle was quite knowledgeable regarding the sword's powers. Still, one of the advantages of this Orga Lux was that even full knowledge did not make it any easier to face.
Yukio held Ser Veresta in the same fighting stance as Kirin, mirroring her. Let's try a light intimidation move to see what she can do…
"Here I come!" Kirin said curtly, interrupting his thoughts, and in the next moment, her blade was rushing at his chest. Half a gasp left him as he jumped back reflexively, and just when he'd barely evaded the first stroke, her katana swept relentlessly upward in pursuit. She was fast. Extraordinarily fast. Yukio tried to block the second blow with the Ser Veresta, but in the last instant, Kirin's blade changed trajectory.
The katana inscribed an arc in midair to evade Ser Veresta and flew down toward his right forearm. Yukio released his right hand from his sword to dodge the strike, then with his left hand alone, repositioned Ser Veresta while drawing back from his opponent. Kirin changed her stance, now holding her katana high.
"You're very strong, Mr. Amagiri. I'm impressed." There was genuine praise in her voice.
"Well, same to you…" Yukio felt a chill on his spine. He had expected her to be a formidable fighter, but now he realized that in terms of speed, she was just as fast—or even faster—than he was with his full power. "
Oh man, now what…" He seemed to have landed himself in even more trouble than he had imagined. The gazebo in the corner of the courtyard was the one place on this campus where Julis was able to find calm. During the lunch recess and after school, and whenever she had some time to kill, she came here. Recently, she had found herself socializing more, but habits would not change so easily. And after that exchange with Saya the day before, she was eating alone today. She finished her lunch early and headed out of the courtyard, checking the news on her mobile.
"Hmm…so the Holy Grail has found a user…," she murmured to herself.
"They probably won't fight in the Phoenix, but still, that could be trouble down the road… And this scythe fighter from Le Wolfe sounds interesting, too… Hmm? Breaking news?" She noticed an alert scrolling across the air-window, which she had shrunk to the size of her palm. "Kirin Toudou in a duel? Now, that is big news. Who's her opponent…?"
Just then, she heard cheering nearby. She looked toward the source of the noise to see a large crowd gathered beyond a connecting hallway.
"Hmm?" Julis thought she caught a familiar name amid the shouts, and an unpleasant premonition came over her. She pushed her way through the crowd to reach the front, and what she saw there made her doubt her own eyes.
"Wh-wh-wha—?!" Her voice rushed out before it even knew what syllables to make. The boy who was her tag team partner was there fighting Kirin Toudou, of all people. That imbecile! I just told him yesterday not to get in any needless duels before the Festa—! Julis was about to cover her face in frustration when a familiar figure caught her eye. A certain boy who had placed himself in the perfect position to observe the fight was merrily operating a handheld camcorder. Julis stalked right up to him and grabbed him by the collar.
"What is the meaning of this, Yabuki?!"
"Whoa, what—?! Oh, hey, Princess." Eishirou looked up from his camera in surprise but then quickly pointed it back to the fight. "Sorry, but I'm in the middle of it—"
"No, you're going to tell me what's going on!" Julis forcefully turned Eishirou away from the spectacle, camera and all. "I've got a bone to pick with you for feeding Sasamiya drivel about me and Yukio. And I won't hesitate to roast you like a chicken."
"Okay, okay. Your wish is my command, Your Highness." Resigned, Eishirou let out a long sigh and awkwardly scratched the scar on his cheek.
"Well, not much to tell. It all started in this hallway— Whoa!" He suddenly leaned in toward the fight, and Julis automatically turned to look. Yukio dodged Kirin's stroke by a fraction of an inch. The katana had swung upward just in front of Yukio's forehead, close enough that a few pieces of his hair floated away in the breeze. Julis exhaled in relief and wiped away a bead of sweat on her forehead.
"Man, this is great," Eishirou gushed. "You don't see a match like this every day—not even in the Festa. Amagiri was completely hiding his strength."
"But it doesn't look too good for him." "Well, no surprise there. Even if he does have the Ser Veresta, he's still up against the Keen-Edged Tempest." As Eishirou said that, Yukio crouched to avoid a viciously fine sword stroke that went just above his head. Yukio swung the Ser Veresta from that position as if to sweep at Kirin's feet, but she had already moved, a breath ahead of his attack. From her backward leap, she instantly sprang again to close the distance and swung down before Ayato could regain his stance. He dodged the strike with a roll then pushed himself back up with one hand. Even if one wasn't close enough to see the sweat on his brow or the strained expression on his face, it was obvious that Ayato was at a disadvantage.
Julis had a hard time believing it. He had clearly released his power, and she knew firsthand his abilities in that state. They had been training daily, and she was finally able to follow the way he moved and wielded his weapon. Even so, once he got her within his range, he could beat her in an instant. As far as she could tell, Kirin was not fighting him with anything less than her full strength. Still, it was amazing to Julis that she could fight so well against Yukio
"And all this without their blades meeting even once…?" Indeed, Kirin had evaded all of Yukio's attacks without using her sword to parry or block. That was the correct strategy against the Ser Veresta, a sword famed for cutting through anything in its path. Kirin was fighting not with a Lux, but with a conventional katana. If she tried to parry with that, it would be ruined instantly. The amazing thing was that Kirin managed to avoid the Orga Lux even when attacking. Of course, Yukioo was trying to block her attacks with the Ser Veresta, but she appeared to be changing the trajectory of her strokes in the last moment— without slowing the speed of her blade. "But then again, it looks like Amagiri doesn't seem to be handling his sword that well," Eishirou said.
"Take away that disadvantage, though, and who knows?" Julis was surprised at this assessment. "Not handling it well? The Ser Veresta?"
"I don't know anything about the Amagiri style, but I'm guessing it was never meant for a sword that big. A sword like that demands big, wide strokes, and you can't maneuver very easily with it."
"I see…" Julis hadn't noticed, since Yukio's technique was unusually fast to begin with. Now that Eishirou pointed it out, though, the Ser Veresta was much too large for the way he moved. In light of its destructive power, that wouldn't seem to be such a shortcoming at first glance. But against an opponent with the skills to take advantage of it… Those thoughts went through her mind, and then Julis looked up at Eishirou in sudden realization: He can see all that…? Even for Julis, who was ranked fifth at Seidoukan, it was still difficult to completely follow Yukio's movements at his full strength. So it was dubious that very many among the assembled crowd had a good grasp of the fight. True, it's easier to follow his movements as a spectator than as an opponent, but still… Either Eishirou had very sharp eyes, or— Julis cut off her own thoughts. "Wait. Never mind that. How long have they been dueling?"
"Huh? I think it was just four or five minutes. Why?" The color drained from her face. That meant Yukio could remain at full strength for only three more minutes at the very most. It was bad enough that his full strength was now public knowledge, but if people knew that it came with a time limit…that would be the worst possible scenario. Julis thought for a moment about barging in and nullifying the duel, but such an action would have serious repercussions for herself.
"Oh, hey, it looks like Amagiri going for it now," Eishirou remarked. As if he had read her thoughts, Yukio, who had been entirely on the defensive, began to attack. He stepped in past the katana attacks, even more closely than before, and swung the Ser Veresta straight across. Still, Kirin was one step ahead of him. Dodging with a light step, she brought her blade down diagonally, faster than Yukio could pull back his weapon to block. He barely escaped, but his uniform was cleanly sliced open. "Ooh, this doesn't look good for him."
"He was barely holding on as it was," Julis argued. "I wouldn't think going on the offensive was such a bad decision." Eishirou shook his head.
"That's not what I mean. He's giving himself even less margin for error to dodge her attacks."
"Again, I don't think that's a bad thing. That means he's keeping a good track of what his opponent's sword is doing."
"Well, normally, I'd agree with you, buuut…"
"Just what is it that you want to say?" Julis fussed at him. Eishirou gave her a knowing smile.
"He fought Your Highness right after he transferred, but he hasn't really been in any other duels, right?"
"And what does that have to do—" Then Julis finally understood what he wanted to tell her. She looked back in a panic toward the duel. Yukio had just stepped closer inside Kirin's reach. With a shout, he swung down the Ser Veresta, but it cut through nothing but air. In the next instant, Kirin countered with a one-handed thrust that grazed the left side of his torso—again, the blade missed him by less than the previous attack did. The extended edge flashed, then it turned to slice upward at his chest. With a grunt, Yukio leaned back to dodge the attack, and as he recovered his stance—
"End of duel! Winner: Kirin Toudou!" He stared blankly as the AI announcement rang out. He apparently had no idea what had just happened. But then, as if catching on, he looked down at the left side of his chest.
"… Oh."
Yukio's school crest had been sliced perfectly in two. "Ugh, he is just unbelievable," Julis muttered and rolled her eyes skyward. This was the obvious result of him losing sight of the crest and trying to dodge Kirin's attacks while accounting for only the meat of his body in his calculations.
"Yup. That's a pretty common mistake, you know, for people who learned to fight on the outside but aren't used to dueling here." Eishirou gave Julis a helpless smile and patted her shoulder. "
Hmph. Finally, Let's go." Kouichirou nodded with the air of a man who had been certain of the outcome all along. With one glance at Kirin, he walked back toward the school building. He seemed to have already lost all interest in Yukio.
"Y-yes. Coming, Uncle!" Kirin sheathed her katana and bowed politely to Yukio.
"Um, I…I'm sorry!" And then she was running after her uncle with her dainty steps.
"Wai—" Yukio began to call out to her, only to think better of it. He had lost. He did not have the right to interfere. That was the rule here, in this school—this city. As he let out a long sigh, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to see Julis glaring at him, looking every bit as furious as she had yesterday. Except that she was right there in front of him, instead of in an air-window
. The difference in impact was tremendous
. "I have a great many things to say to you and questions to ask. But first, let's get out of here. You must not have much time left." She was absolutely right, and when Julis pulled him by the hand, Yukio went obediently along with her.
"And once we're somewhere safe," she went on, "You are going to tell me everything. Starting with what possible reason you could have for dueling the number one ranked student at this school!"
Kirin plodded behind Kouichirou, her head down. The restricted passageway they took led to a campus gateway for the exclusive use of those with connections to the school. There was no one else in the passageway and no sound but his shrill, brisk footsteps. The sound came to a sudden halt.
"That took you longer than I expected," Kouichirou rumbled, without even turning to face her. Kirin flinched. She tried to reply, and her mouth only fumbled without forming words.
"I—I'm sorry, Uncle," she finally managed, in a voice so faint it almost disappeared into the air.
"He was skilled, I'll give you that. But don't let yourself take so much time with a student who's not even in the Named Charts—even if he is an Orga Lux user. Your reputation will suffer," he went on curtly, still facing forward. "In the next round of ranking matches, number seven will probably challenge you. He's an Orga Lux user as well, but you will defeat him quickly, not like today. Three minutes, no more."
Then Kouichirou turned around at last. He took out his mobile device and opened an air-window displaying the data on the aforementioned student.
"Look through this data later. We'll take care of most of the Page One students within the year. That's the first step. Then your ranking at Seidoukan will be secure. That Enfield girl should be the only one who will give us trouble."
"Yes, Uncle," Kirin replied quietly, her head down. "And…I saw the midterm test results. Less than ideal, I have to say." He opened a new air-window and pulled up Kirin's test results from the previous month. All her scores were above average, most near the top of the class, but the dissatisfaction was plain on Kouichirou's face. "Didn't I tell you not to slack off in your schoolwork, either?"
"…I'm sorry." Kouichirou clicked his tongue in annoyance and seized Kirin by the hair, forcefully pulling her head up to face him.
"You listen to me. I expect more than brute strength from you. You will be a first-ranked student to go down in the history of Seidoukan. Don't you forget that…ever!"
He held her by the chin to peer coolly into her eyes. "You're a slow-witted brat good for nothing but swordplay. But I can make something of you. Don't you ever forget that, Kirin. Without my perfect plan you won't get anywhere."
"Yes, Uncle… I know…," Kirin answered weakly, her eyes still downcast. "Hmph," Kouichirou snorted. "If you do, you'll never disobey me again. Never talk back to me, not a single word. You will do nothing but follow my plan." He shoved the girl away, and she fell to her knees. Sneering down at her, Kouichirou straightened the lapels of his suit. His gaze was filled with disgust, as if he looked at a smear of filth rather than a member of his own family.
"So far, everything is going according to my plan. Do everything in your power to make sure it stays that way. After all, the moment this plan is achieved is the moment when your wish comes true." With a nasty smirk, Kouichirou headed for the gate, leaving Kirin there on the floor. The high clacking of his footsteps faded into the distance.
"Yes. I know…," whispered Kirin, alone on her knees in the dimly lit passageway.
"So that girl is ranked first in the whole school? Is that true?" "
Why would I lie about that?" Julis snapped.
"And to think you don't know who the top-ranking student is in your own school! How clueless can you be?" She was clearly irritated, but she plopped a cold, wet towel on Yukio's forehead as he lay on the floor. The cool sensation was a relief. He was now feverish and practically immobile after having broken his seal for so long.
They were in Julis's personal training room, which he had gotten to know quite well by now. This was the only private place they could think to take him, though with that gaping hole in the wall, it wasn't exactly private
. "Well, uh…I'm sorry." With no excuse for his ignorance, he could only apologize. But Julis scowled even more fiercely. She seemed to be in a truly foul mood.
"Um, so you're mad at me…right?" Yukio asked timidly
. "Oh?" She impaled him with a glare.
"You say that as if you know you've done something to make me angry."
He had done a whole pile of things fitting that description. He did not say so. Instead, he named the item that was probably at the top of the list:
"Well, I did get into a duel." After all, she had just told him the day before not to do that. He had already explained the gist of the situation, but the fact that she had not said a word in response made him only more nervous. He was bracing himself for her to unleash a maelstrom.
"I don't care about that anymore."
"Huh?" Her reaction took him by surprise.
"That man, Kouichirou. His behavior is abhorrent. Uncle or not, he has no right to treat her like a tool." Her voice was calm and quiet, but pure rage blazed in her eyes.
"If you had done nothing, I would have lost all faith in you. And if it were me who happened upon that scene, I would have done exactly as you did." Julis was speaking from her heart, her unclouded honest feelings. I like her very much. Yukio couldn't help but smile.
"Thanks. That means a lot to me." As soon as he told her how he felt, though, a blush began to spread across her face.
"Wh— You have no reason to thank me! I—I only…" The rest of her sentence trailed off into an unintelligible mumble.
"Anyway, that's not what I'm angry about!"
"Um, then what…?" Seeing Yukio stumped, Julis let out a small sigh.
"I'm in a bad mood because you lost," she mumbled, turning away.
"What?! But that's—"
"I know! I know how selfish and unreasonable that is and that your opponent was number one, undefeated in Seidoukan. Even so, I thought you had a chance…!"
"Julis…" He had no idea that she thought so highly of him. He wanted to live up to her hopes. If only he could—
"But apparently, Kirin Toudou is so strong that even you can't beat her," Julis said.
"It hurts to admit it, but she's better with a sword than I am." This was an indisputable fact. Her shy demeanor seemed at odds with that incredible swordsmanship, but for speed, precision, everything—she matched or exceeded Ayato at his full strength. He could hardly imagine the training she must have endured.
"I see…" Julis leaned back against the wall with a sardonic laugh.
"But I suppose I should be praising her. After all, she's only thirteen years old—in her first year of middle school. She enrolled this April, and on her first day, she dueled the student ranked eleven and won. In her first official match, she defeated the former number one. Saying she's got potential is an understatement in the extreme."
"Th-thirteen?!" Yukio nearly jumped up in surprise and winced at the pain when he tried. She wore the middle school uniform, so he'd known that she was younger than him—but he had not guessed that she might be a first-year in middle school. That made her prowess even more inconceivable. Not just her sword technique, but the way she moved, how she judged the range of the opponent's attack, all the immediate, tiny judgment calls she made in the midst of battle—in every possible aspect, Kirin operated at an immensely high level. And she's awfully well-developed for thirteen… His brain conjured up images of her physical proportions, which seemed rather advanced for her age. Yukio violently shook them out of his head.
"Hmm? What is it?"
"Oh, um, nothing," he said, brushing off the inquisitive look from Julis.
"Anyway, do you know any more about her?" Julis scowled again. "Sounds like she's piqued your interest." She was right, so he nodded, though he had no idea why this seemed to put her in a bad mood again. "W-well, yeah. Kind of."
"Hmph. I see. Fine," she said, sounding almost bored, then took out her mobile and opened an air-window. It displayed the names of twelve students— the Page Ones, those on the first page of the Named Chart.
"As I said earlier, there are a number of fighters stronger than me. If we restrict the conversation to students at this school, there are three, I believe, against whom I currently stand no chance: you, Claudia, and Kirin Toudou."
"Claudia, too?" It was unusual for Julis to openly admit falling short to Claudia, Yukio thought.
"I don't like it, but that's the reality. She's strong. She may not look it, but she's our second-ranked fighter."
"Wow…I had no idea." He remembered hearing that she was a Page One, but he hadn't known where on the page she fell.
"You really… Well, you didn't know who number one was, so it shouldn't surprise me that you didn't know number two, either." Nonplussed, Julis shrugged, then flicked at the air-window to set it spinning.
"Claudia Enfield, known as the Commander of a Thousand Visions, Parca Morta. She uses the Pan-Dora, an Orga Lux with the power of precognition."
"Precognition? You mean she can see the future?"
"I don't know much more than that. They say she's the only one able to wield the Pan-Dora," Julis went on, looking grave. "Rumor has it that she can probably see into the future by twenty or thirty seconds or more. But that's only speculation by those who have seen her fight."
"That would make her incredibly strong." If she knew all of her opponent's moves, even just twenty seconds ahead, she had to be close to invincible.
"And that's why there are almost no students who would challenge Claudia. I don't want you challenging her to a duel, either." Yukio laughed nervously and scratched his cheek, but something occurred to him as he watched the air-window spin like a top.
"Wait… If Kirin is first and Claudia is second… You're ranked fifth, right? You're not including third and fourth on your list?"
"I must have told you this before, but rank doesn't always reflect strength. The third-and fourth-ranked students—number four in particular is a formidable Dante, but my powers match up well with his. If I fought him ten times, I would probably win five times. On the other hand, I can have much poorer odds facing a specific lower-ranked fighter. Number seven, for instance, is an Orga Lux user, so I'd be lucky to win three times out of ten."
Then Julis pinched the spinning air-window to stop it.
"But you, Claudia, and Kirin Toudou are in a different class. I couldn't beat any one of you a single time out of ten. That's what I mean when I say I have no chance."
"I see…," Yukio said.
"Kirin Toudou has never lost since coming to this school. Neither has Claudia. But what sets Kirin apart from you and Claudia is that she is neither an Orga Lux user nor a Strega."
And Kirin didn't use a Lux at all, but a conventional Japanese sword. She seemed very well attuned to it, Yukio thought, so it had to be her weapon of choice.
"I know I said that the rankings don't mean everything, but still, number one is special. They become the face of the school, and competition for the spot is fierce. They're challenged at virtually every official match, so only an extraordinary fighter can hold the spot. The fact that she's defended her rank with just a katana, even if only for three months—it's unheard of. In fact, the top spot in every other school is held either by an Orga Lux wielder or a Strega." Julis snapped her fingers and the air-window disappeared.
"Well, those are my thoughts on Kirin Toudou. If you're looking for more personal information, ask Yabuki. I don't deal in gossip."
"Thanks, Julis. That was plenty." Truth be told, Yukio wanted to know more about Kirin's uncle, but that was not something to ask Julis.
"Then let's talk about the Phoenix," she said.
"The Phoenix?" Puzzled, Yukio cocked his head. Julis gave him a thin smile of strained patience. "Now that everyone knows about your real power, we need a change of plans."
"Oh, right…" They had managed to keep his time limit a secret, but Yukio's prowess would have been obvious to anyone who saw him fight Kirin head-on. There had been quite a crowd gathered around the duel.
The videos were most likely already circulating.
Which meant that most of his skills were now public knowledge.
Their previous plan, which had relied on their opponents not knowing about Yukio's true strength, was now useless.
"Sorry," he apologized, dejected.
"No need to make a face like that. It wasn't going to be a secret forever," replied Julis, ruffling his hair.
"Well, it might have been better if you'd won—but there's no point in dwelling on that now."
"How would things be different if I won?"
"Well, then you would have been the new top-ranked student. That would give us better odds of having an easier spot on the Phoenix board."
"An easier spot…? Oh, you mean in the tournament matchups." The matchups were not random, but were heavily influenced by the planning committee's calculations to maximize public interest in the Festa. They manipulated the tournament in specific ways—for instance, favored teams were spread out, so that they would duel in later rounds rather than knocking one another out of the tournament early.
"I'm ranked fifth, so that has some influence, but you're unlisted right now. Even if your skills became known by fighting Kirin, without official standing to back them up, you won't be considered a favorite. If you were a former Page One, things might be different."
"Oh. I get it…"
"Even if you wanted to try for a high ranking, the official matches for this month are already over. And I doubt anyone would be interested in dueling at this point…"
It was said that the planning committee waited until the last possible minute to make the bracket, in part to prevent any dishonest conduct such as throwing matches. So it would make sense for them to take into account late changes in the rankings, but without any opponents, there wouldn't be much Yukio could do to change his.
"Well, don't worry about that too much. Just keep it in mind in case an opportunity does come up," Julis said, lightly tapping Yukio's head. The next day after class, Yukio headed to the student services counter at the Committee Center. He had to get a new school crest, since he had been broken in the duel against Kirin.
The school crest also functioned as a student ID, used at security checkpoints and to take attendance. It was too inconvenient to try to live with a broken crest. When he'd applied for a new one first thing that morning, they had told him to pick it up after school.
"Oh yes. You can get your crest in person from the student council president," the woman at the counter said in an extremely bureaucratic voice, then took out several forms.
"Please sign here and here."
"Uh, okay… The president? So I should go see Claudia?"
"Yes. We've been told she will be waiting in the student council lounge."
"The lounge…?" Yukio had no idea where it was, but before he had a chance to ask, the service window's shutter came firmly down. With nothing to go on, he decided to try the top floor of the high school building. His body ached all over, but not enough to hinder normal activity. Julis had given him the day off from training, so he had time.
"Well, all the rooms related to the student council seem to be up on that floor, so I can probably find it," he told himself. The windows showed a pleasantly clear summer sky.
Indoors, it was air conditioned and comfortable, but one step outside and it was an inferno under the scorching sun. He would rather avoid going outside until after sunset. Thinking idly along those lines, Yukio Looked for the lounge and found it with surprising ease. It was just two doors down from the council room on the corner, but even before entering, he could tell that it would be quite spacious. There was an intercom at the door, so he pressed the button to be greeted immediately by Claudia's voice.
"Welcome, Yukio. Please come in." Yukio obeyed, and whatever luxury he might have expected did not prepare him for what he saw. A small tropical paradise spread out before him. In the middle of the room was a pool, surrounded here and there by plants he didn't often see—palm trees and cycads.
The walls were all glass, letting the sun shine bright and strong. At the poolside, there was a single white deck chair, where Claudia reclined. She seemed to be at work with several air-windows. "Um, wow, this is…"
"Did the room surprise you?" Claudia closed the displays all at once and unhurriedly sat up. Yukio froze at seeing her and another woman in bikinis fully.
Claudia was in a swimsuit, which fit her surroundings. But the design of the suit was much too bold for Yukio. To be fair, it was a perfectly fine design, and she wore the bikini-style well. The figure of the woman beneath the suit, however, was so captivating that he did not know where to look. Simply put, too much of his field of vision was taken over by naked skin.
The other Woman was also in a swimsuit, which fit her surroundings. But the design of the suit was much too bold for Yukio as well. To be fair, it was a perfectly fine design, and she wore the bikini-style well. The figure of the woman beneath the suit, however, was so captivating that he did not know where to look. Simply put, too much of his field of vision was taken over by naked skin was her younger sister, Christine Enfield.
Christine has cream-colored hair that's done in two swirls at the sides of her head, coupled with purple eyes like her sister. She has a sizable bust.
"I—I see…" Claudia noticed Yukio averting his eyes and laughed softly.
"B-but there's a lake right outside," Yukio said.
"Why would someone make an indoor pool?"
"Oh, you don't know? Swimming in the lake is prohibited."
"Huh? Really?"
"This area has a high concentration of mana. Several mutants have been discovered." Mutants were animals and plants that had mutated due to the effects of mana since the Invertia. Humans had mutated, too—the result, of course, being Genestella—so it followed that other organisms were no exception. So far, however, there were no reports of mutants that posed a threat to humans, nor of mutants like Genestella whose abilities differed significantly from the original species.
"It's only a rumor for now, since no live specimens have been captured, but there are reports of a giant shadow in the water and sightings of monsters in the underground sectors." Claudia laughed.
"Scary, isn't it?" She got up from the deck chair and crept close to Yukio, spreading her arms wide and mimicking a growling monster.
"Grar!" He did not seem to find it scary at all. Rather, the motion set her breasts bouncing, which made the question of where to look even more difficult for him.
"M-maybe they were just freaked out and imagining things?" he said weakly.
"Oh? You're more of a realist than I thought." Claudia's shoulders shook with quiet laughter, but then she clapped her hands, remembering something.
"That's right. This is why you're here, isn't it, Yukio?" With that, she handed him his brand-new school crest.
"Oh yeah. Thanks, Claudia. But…where did that come from?" He hadn't seen it near her. Her hands had been empty just a moment ago.'
"It's a secret," she replied with a giggle.
"…A secret, huh?" He got a bad feeling about that and decided not to pursue the matter.
"I was surprised, though," she remarked.
"I never imagined you would duel Miss Toudou."
"There were reasons why I didn't have a choice at the time," he said succinctly, guessing that Claudia already had a good grasp of the circumstances.
"You mean…Miss Toudou's uncle?" Yukio looked up at her with a short intake of breath. "Claudia, you know about him?"
"Of course. He is quite a bit of trouble." Claudia slowly went to the pool, where she dipped her foot into the water. Yukio had no choice but to follow.
"Mm, that feels very nice. Do you want to come in, Yukio?"
"But I'm in my uniform."
"You could rub some oil on my younger sister's back for me ."
"Um,sure."
Yukio would place the bottle down on the table next to Christine and then get the ends of her bikini, at her shoulders, and grab the bikini before pausing as he realised Christine didn't even say he could undress her.
Christine glanced back at Yukio with a teasing smirk before shifting on the spot and nodded. "Go. For. It~ Just make sure you get every spot~"
Yukio swallowed heavily before he pulled down the sides of her bikini, just enough to expose her flawless looking back, before reaching for the oil bottle again and squeezed a healthy dose into his right palm, placed the bottle back on the table and then rubbed his hands together, getting the oil spread between his hands before he straddled Christine and placed both his hands on her shoulders and began to gently massage them. He smiled when he heard Christine softly moan in pleasure from his ministrations and began to rub harder. Once he was sure that her shoulders were nice and oiled, he began to lower his hands and gently rub circles on her back.
"Mmm that feels good." Christine commented, her eyes closed as she relished in pleasure and the feeling of Yukio's gentle yet firm hands massaging the knots that were in her back. While she wasn't a physical fighter, and granted she didn't do many physical activities other than light training and stretches, she still somehow managed to acquire tight knots in her back so it was a relief when Yukio started to massage her back. "Your hands are like magic sweetheart~"
"Heh, thanks babe." Yukio chuckled after hearing Rias' complement, his hands gliding across Rias' back softly yet firmly.
After a few minutes of gently massaging Christine's back, Yukio pulled his hands away and wiped his forehead with his arm and admired his work, said work being Christine's glistening back.
"There...all done Christine." Shiro told her and got off her back before standing up and stretching.
"Well, I mind! Anyway, Claudia, can we—" She covered her mouth and laughed at his impatient prodding.
"Yes, I know. Miss Toudou's uncle, right?" Then her usually cheerful expression soured.
"Her uncle, Kouichirou Toudou, works for Galaxy, the integrated enterprise foundation that backs Seidoukan Academy. His position there is manager of the Seventh Division's Educational Research Office of Integrated Entertainment Operations. He supervises scouting operations in the Far East. The Educational Research Office is effectively in charge of our school's scouting, which has a strong influence on our performance in the Festa. He holds considerable authority."
"So he's a bigwig?"
"Hmm, not quite, I think. Better to say he's a candidate for an executive position," Claudia replied with her forefinger at her chin.
"And Mr. Toudou does seem fully intent on gaining an executive seat. He seems to be very actively using his niece for that purpose. I hear that he's completely in charge of choosing the opponents and schedule for her duels."
"Using her? I knew it. So she is being forced to fight against her will—"
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Claudia flatly contradicted him.
"She seems to have her own reasons. The more noteworthy thing is his tactics. It is true that if a student he favors does well, it could serve as a foothold for a promotion. But it's rare for someone to become so invested in a single student. The risk of harm to one's career if the student fails is too great. And because she is his family, the criticism would be far greater. Even so, that is exactly what Mr. Toudou is doing."
"He must be very confident in Miss Toudou's skill," Ayato said. Claudia nodded happily.
"Good, Ayato. Very insightful. I'd expect nothing less."
"Well, she did kind of destroy me in the duel."
"Oh? I thought it was quite a match," Claudia offered, clearly fishing. Ayato did not answer, but only smiled uncomfortably. "Well, in any case," she went on, "I doubt Mr. Toudou will have much luck achieving an executive rank—regardless of how his niece fares."
"Why do you say that?" he wondered. She had only just said that Kirin's performance could become a foothold for a promotion.
"Mr. Toudou is too focused on personal concerns."
"Huh?" "Individuals who are selfishly motivated can climb only so far in the IEFs. Not just at Galaxy—the same is also true at the others, like Jie Long and Frauenlob."
Claudia scooped up water in her hand and let it trickle down. The thin streams sparkled in the sunlight, making Yukio squint.
"Only those who undergo several stages of a mental adjustment program to completely eliminate their self-interest can ever reach the rank of CHIEF executive. That's why there are virtually no examples of wrongdoing involving executives. They have tremendous authority, but they exist only to serve the enormous beast that is their integrated enterprise foundation."
"You know a lot about it," Yukio remarked. The inner workings of IEFs, especially pertaining to important personages such as executives, were generally top secret.
"Yes. My mother is one."
"Your mother?" Yukio said, startled. He had guessed that Claudia was from a well-to-do family, but not that she might be the daughter of an IEF executive. Given the world they lived in, some might say that placed her in a higher social class than Julis, an actual princess.
"It can be very entertaining to see executives gather in one room. They all seem like the same person. I couldn't tell which one was my mother." Her voice rang with laughter. Is that something to laugh about? thought Ayato.
"Oh, by the way…" Striking her palm, Claudia abruptly changed the subject.
"I have heard that Miss Toudou is the daughter of the head of the family of the famous Toudou-style school. Did you know that, Yukio?"
"Oh…I didn't, but I recognized that style the second we started fighting."
The Toudou style was one of the most flourishing swordsmanship schools of the day. With an emphasis on spiritual strength and strict discipline, it was recommended for the mental training of young Genestella. There were many Genestella among its students, and it had several satellite dojos abroad. It operated on a vastly larger scale than Yukio's Amagiri Shinmei style. And if Kirin was the daughter of the head family of the sword style, that certainly did something to explain her skill. Claudia breathed out and sank her body into the pool as if letting herself be washed away. Then she dove deep like a fish with hardly a sound and surfaced toward the middle of the pool.
"So, what will you do now, Yukio?" There was something teasing in her voice. Knowing perfectly well that she wasn't expecting an answer, Yukio only shrugged in reply.
...
"Kirin Toudou…"
He wasn't sure why, but she was on his mind a lot. Of course, there was the issue of her uncle, but there was something else that stuck in his mind. It felt like there was something he had in common with her… but he couldn't say exactly what that was. He reached the dorm in hazy contemplation and only then noticed that something was wrong. There was an odd level of commotion, a strange tension and excitement.
"Did something happen…?" But as he took a step closer, the students around him began to murmur.
"He's here…"
"That's Amagiri…"
"So he's the one…"
"But why…?" Yukio couldn't hear everything, but he sensed in their voices a conflicted mishmash of
curiosity, jealousy, and pity.
"Huh? What?" He was looking around in utter confusion, when Eishirou popped his head out from the crowd. His expression was that of a boy who'd just been having the time of his life.
"Oh hey, Amagiri, took you long enough. You've got a guest."
"A guest? To see me?"
"Yup. I showed her to the visitors' lounge. C'mon, get going."
"Uh, okay…" Rushed by Eishirou, Yukio headed to the visitors' lounge at the end of the common floor. Feeling stares following him the whole way down the hall, Yukio recalled that something similar had happened to him before. After his duel with Julis, when he came to the boys' dorm for the first time, he had been treated like this.
Then he realized: That means… "Oh… Please come in," a sweet voice called when he knocked. I knew it, he thought as he opened the door. The person perched somewhat nervously on the sofa of the visitors' lounge was none other than the top-ranked fighter of Seidoukan Academy—Kirin Toudou herself.
...