And One Half here again with an unscheduled update! Well, don't expect really much from that chapter as it just the beginning of a Word Purge arc, half of it quite closely follows the original Light Novel, it'll just look unnatural to simply skip this part entirely.
For the reviewers:
Apex85: She's quite eager to be conquered, as it seems to me.
Dredgon: Yep, I think so. Having only an always busy Chifuyu and an outworldly Tabane seems too boring. Expect several side pairings as well… and a lot of H.
Imperial-samaB: Thanks, and here I am again.
Draaxe12: Many thanks, and I do agree with you on that regard.
codywhite162: Thank you, here's another update, even if a quite humble one.
Tatsumi Partas: I thought so too when I've begun to write this story, but now only IxCxT seems somewhat lacking. Tatenashi will be added, obviously, and there will be side couples as well.
Ichigo Oga: Thanks, I've also really liked that part.
God-of-Anime: 'Too far even for Ichika' is an oxymoron. This story is cruel as is its protagonist, and I'm absolutely sure I was never saying otherwise. As well as I didn't say that IxCxT pairing is set in stone – refer to chapter II review answers section. Oh, and, Tatenashi also saw that glow – see chapter 24.
Expect the next chapter quite soon. Though, it also will be a rewriting of a light novel, but with much more of an original content.
Chapter XXIX – The Academy of Dreams, part I
…
November 14th, Teusday, 6:58 A.M., I.S. Academy
I.S. Academy. Sarashiki Tatenashi woke up abruptly. As she was perplexedly looking into the window, at a still darkish sky, as time of the year was approaching the winter solstice, her thoughts ware in complete mess. She couldn't remember how she got into her bed – last thing she could remember – she was emptying her stomach (due to strong nausea) in her room's bathroom. She, however, could easily remember the content of a dream she was seeing just a moment ago. And the more she was remembering – the redder her face was becoming, the wilder her heart was beating.
As a young and healthy girl, with boundless sexual energy, she of course was watching porn, a lot. However, what she was doing in her dream just now, was far beyond any porn she has ever seen. Is her body really that flexible…? But, worst of all, her partner in crime, or rather, partner in sex (in her dream) was no one else but Orimura Ichika – the man, she's, apparently, engaged with.
Girl's hand unwillingly reached her crotch, her pussy was dripping wet – of course such a dream made her very aroused, it's quite possible that she never ever was aroused that much in her whole life. "Ummm…" She moaned lustfully as her hand touched a sensitive spot. 'I shouldn't be doing it!' Her consciousness was screaming – masturbating at her own dream, in which she's had a sexual marathon with Ichika, has to be the last thing she should be doing right now. But she couldn't stop her own hand, which now was rubbing her pussy – that was a defensive reaction of sort – she must release some of her lust or she really may go mad.
With her mind, she knew that, right now, she should go to the shower, then she should dress up and go to cafeteria, and after that – she should be attending school's lessons – Sarashiki or not, Student Council president or not – she's a schoolgirl, after all, and thus, she must attend lessons. And, most importantly, she really has to think about what to do about her engagement, that she initiated out of her own foolishness (as she was thinking of it now). What's going to happen if her 'bet' won't play? If Ichika wasn't pretending but he really doesn't mind to marry her – she and Ichika really are going to get married?!
But, obviously, her body was of completely different opinion about what she should be doing right now as her hands were, apparently, disobeying her reason. "Ugh… ahh…!" She was moaning – when she thought about Ichika that only amplified her arousal. "Umm… yes!" She couldn't hold back her voice – as she was pleasuring her clit with her right hand, fingers of her left found their way into her anus – that was a high-pleasure spot on her body as well.
"Ah! Yes… yes… yes… yes… ahhh… yes… yes… yes… aaaaaahhhhhhh!" She screamed in extasy as she reached an orgasm. However, her hands stopped only for a moment, before resuming their movements – considering her current level of arousal – no way one orgasm is enough to satisfy her. And, obviously, now she couldn't think of how she got to her bed and why she's naked – usually she wears a negligee when she goes to sleep…
November 14th, Teusday, 7:30 A.M., I.S. Academy
In the end, Tatanashi was self-satisfying herself for more than an hour and orgasmed five times, before she managed to calm down, more or less. And, despite her most sincere wish right now was to crawl under her bed and stay there forever, the eldest scion of Sarashiki can't allow herself to be pathetic. As such, she hastily took a shower and now was going towards her class's classroom (of course she had to skip breakfast – there are only ten minutes until HRS). And as she was walking in a fast pace, she was praying to not meet with Ichika…
Though, Ichika wasn't that much of a villain (regarding young women, at least) – since he himself ordered Tatenashi to have some erotic dreams (which actually became hard porn dreams near the wake-up time), he could more or less imagine Tatenashi's current condition. And as he didn't want to completely mess up her image (and no way he had any desire to strip her of self-respect), he decided to not come to the academy today and tomorrow to not accidentally meet his fiancée – since he's officially starting to work at Thursday, it won't be an issue. Besides, he still has duties as an JSDF officer.
Still, aside from Tatenashi, there were other girls in the academy, which were in a dismay. Six first-year students and personal I.S. owners, in particular. Events have made quite an unexpected turn, to put it mildly. Less than two weeks ago they and Ichika were all co-students. Of course, Ichika was a quite specific, a 'privileged' student, so to say, and a quite hard to approach one, but he was a student nonetheless. But now he's a big boss in here! Of course, everyone's saying that he's not even an I.S. Academy's employee, he's working for academy's Board of Trustees and he has nothing to do with the students or the academic process, not directly. But, after all, the Board are the people who are funding the academy – doesn't it means that, in some sense, Ichika's position here is even higher than that of an academy's principal?! I.S. Academy consumes a pile of money each year, and now Ichika became a watchdog that is keeping watch over that pile – his primary duties are to form a 'second opinion' about academy money's usage…
But still, those six weren't thinking of giving up, not at all. In contrary, all of them were thinking of a plan about how to get closer to Ichika again. In fact, they actually were planning to have a group brainstorm, at this week's Sunday, about all that situation.
Still, Ichika wasn't the only topic for girls' discussions.
"Ah, now that I think about it," In the changing room filled with girls after the joint practice, in the shower compartment, Rin started this conversation. "In that incident, only our I.S. machines did receive serious damage, why the second- and third-year personal I.S. users had to return to their country of origin for emergency maintenance?"
"There was something like... ah, Rin! Please don't take my shampoo without permission!" Cecilia exclaimed as she noticed Rin using her belongings.
"Eh? Is there a problem? So the great Cecilia is actually very stingy?" Rin asked with a smug.
"I am not! I just want you to tell me first!" Englishwoman snorted.
"Ah, expensive shampoo really is the best!" Rin smiled, ignoring Cecilia.
"Are, are you even listening to me!?" The blonde couldn't settle down.
Putting this problem aside first, the topic Rin brought up seems to have caught the attention of all the personal I.S. users present.
"Indeed. I heard that the second- and third-year personal I.S. users had to return to their countries for their machines to get some upgrades," Laura shared what she did hear about.
It was a pure disinformation, however. In fact, second- and third-year personal I.S. users were recalled to their countries so their machines exploitational logs could've been thoroughly checked. Counterintelligence services around the globe took the Phantom Task's sabotage attempts rather seriously.
"U, un... It seems to be the case... However, it seems that onee-san got the special package delivered right here… she has to install it herself..." Kanzashi replied to Laura's words.
"Tatenashi-san's machine belongs to Russia, right?" Charlotte wondered.
"I've heard her saying that because of international technical cooperation, it also incorporated technology from other countries," Houke noted. That also was a misinformation – those rumors were about another Russian model – the one developed jointly with China.
"They've also used Japan's technology, and... they've also hired some Italian researchers as well..." Kanzashi added.
By 'Japan's technology' the Fold-Out Armor was mentioned – the one Ichika used to help with armaments' development. His personal involvement, of course, was a top-secret topic, so it was just called a 'Japan's technology'. On the other hand…
"Italy? Could it be the Tempesta II research data...?" Cecilia asked in a hurry. As expected of someone who was in the European next generation I.S. development race, to hear information about a competitor was quite important. Alcott Foundation, the English enterprise that belongs to Cecilia, is a member of British Industrial Consortium, the Blue Tears series developers, so she had a lot more of a personal interest in 3rd generation I.S. development than other girls here – she's not just a pilot, but also an investor.
Kanzashi frantically nodded her head and answered, "Um. It's about the model… based after Tempesta... Just the machine, though…"
The pilot of that model was Chifuyu's finals opponent in both the first and second Mondo Grosso. Alicia Jiosestaf and her 1st generation I.S. unit, Tempesta. She was also one of the rare few machines that achieved the Second Shift and developed a One-Off Ability. The renounced world Number 2 and, just like Chifuyu's machine at that time, it was a pure offensive-type, using raw power to overwhelm her opponent.
Due to her personal strength, Alicia dared to openly announce that the strongest was still undecided between her and Chifuyu, she also seems to have declined being the winner of the second Mondo Grosso. That was because their battle was unconcluded as Chifuyu left to save Ichika. Thus, when mentioning the "Strongest in the world", it is widely believed to be Chifuyu, referring to the outcome of a first Mondo Grosso.
"So they've managed to poach some of Italians…" Cecilia clenched her fists. Competitors' successes aren't joyful topics, honestly…
"Aah, but aren't those liquid nano machines something like the Valkyrie Trace System?" French girl was still discussing Tatenashi's personal I.S., now known as Renia Nui. Charlotte's careless reasoning, or should it be said – a natural direction of thought, caused Cecilia to shiver.
"Because, to use emotions to control the flow of energy and that, aren't they the same thing?" Houki wondered.
"Is… it is like this..." Kanzashi nodded.
"That said, aren't they are about to leave the EU competitors in the dust if it'll continue like that?" Rin asked casually, probably meaning Chinse/Russian enterprises, which, apparently, were quite close to success (just like the American/Japanese project, by the way, but, fortunately for her nervous system, Cecilia wasn't aware about that yet).
*Crack*
It seems that Rin had stepped on a landmine in Cecilia's heart, or, should it be said, she just ripped right through it.
"... Rin-san," Blonde pronounced quietly.
"Ah, what is it?" Rin looked at her.
"I'm never lending you my shampoo again!" Cecilia declared.
"Eh?" Chinsewoman's eyes widened in surprise.
"Bath soap, hair conditioner, face cream, hand cream, towel, lotion, perfume, money. I am never lending anything to you ever again!" Cecilia exclaimed.
"Eeeehhh?! Why? Hey, why?! Uuu, I will be really troubled by this..." Rin was taken aback. And she wasn't pretending – she really didn't understand what she just said. If England will lose a 3rd generation race – that can actually mean a bankruptcy for both Alcott Foundation and Cecilia herself. They've already suffered a massive setback when the Blue Tears Mk II, also known as Silent Zephyrus, has been stolen… But for Rin that topic was a bit too far-off.
"..." Cecilia ignored her.
"Don't ignore me!" Rin screamed, but was ignored again. As expected, such an opinion on the topic of this importance to Cecilia could not be ignored or easily forgiven. Rin now faced the full fury of Cecilia. And, as expected of British aristocracy, once she made a decision, it would be very hard to change it.
Ignoring Rin who was making a racket, Laura washed off the shampoo and put on her eye patch, "Now that you mention it, I have received the troop's orders. I might have to return to Germany sometime soon to have my I.S. retrofitted."
"Oh, is that so? Then be sure to bring back some souvenirs for your co-servants," Houki noted.
"Um, yes. My platoon mates asked me to buy many things," Laura confirmed.
"What is it that they want?" Houki asked. Rarely seen, she was interested in Laura's topic. For her home country to leave such a strong impression on others was something to be happy about.
"Mocha and Yatsuhashi, Imagawayaki and Kompeito. Then there's Taiyaki and Dorayaki, Yokan, An-pan, Steamed Bun, Rice cake, Rice cracker, Warabimochi, Dango, Maltose candy..." Laura recounted. Watching her recounting the requests with her fingers, Charlotte and Houki became stiff. [Too much to explain, just google it]
"Why, why do I get the feeling that the requests are all strange...?" Houki mumbled.
"Even though they are of the Special Forces, it seems they are all still girls at heart..." Charlotte assumed.
"Ah, I almost forgot the thing Clarissa asked for!" Laura suddenly remembered.
"What, what is it?" Houki inquired.
"Shachihoko," Laura replied, smiling softly. [An animal in Japanese folklore with the head of a tiger and the body of a carp, supposedly attracts rain]
"What...?" Charlotte and Houki were stunned.
However, Laura repeated seriously, "Shachihoko. What, you don't know? It is something that is like the protecting spirit of ancient Japan. If one has this thing, he will have something akin to an impregnable defense. It also seems to play an important part on the strong defense of olden time Japanese castles."
Could this mean that Clarissa just wanted a talisman to ward off disasters? Laura's vice commander seems to be totally wrong when it comes to this topic… and many other topics.
"Then, where is it sold?" Laura asked.
"No, that thing is not for sale…" Houki replied uncertainly.
"Is that so? Then it is fine if I snatch it, right?" Germanwoman inquired innocently.
"How did it end up like this!?" Charlotte exclaimed.
"I once saw such an example in a manga," Laura replied.
"Laura, you can't copy that manga!" Houki and Charlotte shouted simultaneously.
Even though Charlotte didn't know what manga it was, it was more important to correct the misunderstanding first. Thus, in the remaining time in the showers, Houki and Charlotte used all their effort to convince Laura. German girl, on the other hand, just nodded her head as she muttered, "So it is like this…"
"Cecilia! People have already apologized, but why are you still like this!?"
"Just when, where, and who apologized to me!?"
Looking at Rin and Cecilia, who were still fighting even while changing, Houki, Charlotte, Laura and Kanzashi put on their undergarments. Because of the variety of colors shown at this point, it gives off a bright and refreshing feel only present in 15 odd year-old girls. To put it simply, it would be 'beyond what words could describe'.
November 17th, Friday, 4:07 P.M., I.S. Academy
"Haah, I feel lethargic for some reason," Rin cupped her hands behind her head against the corridor wall as she was drinking a packet juice dangling in the air, supported by a straw, looking nonchalant.
"Fufu, is it because Ichika isn't around?" Charlotte, who's walking beside her, said this, and Rin nearly dropped her juice packet in shock.
"Wh-what!? Tha-that's not it! Humph! It's fine for that kind of guy to not be around!" Chinse girl shouted.
"Yes, sure," Frenchwoman rolled her eyes.
On a side note, they were paired up together because they had a common subject before this, and they were on the way back after compiling their lesson data. It truly was Rin's style to buy juice immediately after class.
"But it's really troublesome not to be able to use I.S. now. It's in personal lock mode for the time being; it won't be stolen, and it's useless even if it's stolen," Rin said this as she looked at the Shēnlóng on her wrist.
Its original form was that of a ring bracelet, but in a personal lock mode, it would stick on the arm while being less than 1 mm thick, and would look like some trendy sticker on first glance. Personal lock is an I.S. state, when almost all of machine's resources are diverged to self-restoration and recent logs data analysis.
"The problem is that this mode is going to be slow when the user needs to use it for emergency protection," Charlotte noted.
"Well, it can't be helped. It's like disassembling a gun," Rin shrugged.
"Hmm, well, we went through quite some training too, so it's not like we'll be dealt with easily. Also, we can still summon them when we need to, just that it'll take some time," Blonde interjected.
"Yeah, but, because of this, all personal I.S. pilots have to move around in pairs or more," Rin sighed. Since the school's higher ups weren't sure that there are no Phantom Task agents among the academy's personal, all of the personal I.S. pilots were ordered to move around in pairs (or more), whilst their I.S.-es are in personal lock mode.
"And since all of the second- and third-year students with personal I.S.-es went back to their countries, the only one personal I.S. pilot on her own in the academy is the second-year Tatenashi-san, right?" Rin inquired.
"Yeah, but her I.S. isn't in personal lock mode," Charlotte noted, "If anything will happen, she alone will be protecting the academy…"
"…No, there is also Ichika…" Rin inadvertently muttered, "Ah", And hurriedly covered her mouth again. But Charlotte heard her clearly, and giggled as she looked back. "I-it-it's not that! I'm just, well, that guy's always hell knows where, so…!" Rin tried to justify herself.
"Right, right, you're actually worried about him, aren't you?" Charlotte smiled.
November 19th, Sunday, 2:18 A.M. (Japan Standard Time)
Ichika was deliberately avoiding his fiancée until the weekend, to give Tatenashi some time to restore her mental balance. Later today, however, he was planning to take her to some sort of a date – since they're engaged, he should give her some attention, does he? Right now, however, he was busy with a completely different task…
Midway Atoll, November 18th, Saturday, 5:18 A.M. (Local Time) Due to 21 hours' time difference with Tokyo, Ichika literally went back in time as he traveled to the middle of a Pacific Ocean.
Officially, after the appearance of an I.S., US Navy withdrew from the atoll (as a part of 'reduction of the conventional fleet' program). But of course, that was just an official version for general public. In fact, there was a secret research facility, hidden beneath the surface of the Eastern Island of Midway Atoll.
Right now, however, the entire facility was sleeping. No, of course, since it's a military research facility, there were people who shouldn't be sleeping right now, even though it's an early morning right now. They were sleeping because of a beautiful, gentle song, which now was sounding from all loudspeakers, megaphones, phone speakers, radios and even plugged-in headphones – from all audio devices on the base.
"So, this is what a 'charming voice' really means, huh?" Ichika asked, as he entered the facility full of peacefully sleeping people. "You really have a wonderful voice," He noted, addressing his I.S., Battle Goddess Astarte.
'Thank you, Adonai!' Astarte replied happily. That was an ability that Ichika developed quite a while ago, for his I.S. previous incarnation – Majin Naamah – but had no chance to put into a good use. That ability has a powerful pacifying effect via acoustic interference, and, in fact, has nothing to do with the song Astarte was singing – the song's purpose is to mask the real pacifying acoustic patterns. This base has an isolated network, but Ichika and Astarte managed to find an access node quite easily, and hack the entire network, so now, all the surveillance equipment was powered down, and all audio-capable devices on the base were playing that pacifying 'song', thus allowing Ichika to freely explore the facility, walking among the deeply sleeping people.
The main reason why Ichika broke in to this base was the "Pearl Tear" project. Here, the US Navy scientists were researching the inactive I.S. core (№ 042). Initially, this core was used with an experimental I.S. frame, which the US Navy were using in hope to learn why male humans cannot pilot the I.S. However, about eight years ago, due to a failed experiment (in which the male test 'pilot' has died), the core became unresponsive as it fell into a deep slumber of sort. After such a disastrous result (losing even just one I.S. core is a disaster for a country), the core was transferred to this facility and "Pearl Tear" project has begun – an attempt to reawake the inactive core, or at least to learn why it went inactive. Of course, such studies were of no interest for Ichika – he just wanted the core for himself – he is intending to use his realizer to perform a hard reset of that core, completely destroying its personality, thus forcing the core to create a new personality and wake up.
Ichika's secondary objective was to take everything of high value from here. The nuclear warhead that was used to destroy Naamah was stolen from one of US Navy bases, so Ichika decided that now they own him a debt… This facility is working on several other projects, some fruits of their research could come in handy.
Of course, the fact that a top-secret research facility went silent won't get unnoticed. However, the closest US Navy base now is located on Hawaii, so it will take about three hours for the US Navy aircrafts to reach Midway, and there are no military I.S.-es nearby. However, there is still a chance that US Navy may call the USAF for help, even though they're not on the best terms right now. And if such a thing will happen, no doubts, USAF will send her to investigate – Natasha Fairs, and her I.S., the Silver Ranger (known as Ginshoku in Japan). Currently, she's performing flight tests at the USAF test site south from Rachel, Nevada (also known as the Area 51), and with Silver Ranger's maximum speed of 1650 knots (~1900 mph) it'll take about two hours for her to reach the Midway Atoll (the distance to cover is about 3570 miles). As such – two hours is the time limit for Ichika's operation (which was a burglary, essentially).
More than enough time, considering that Ichika already has found his primary objective. 'Oh my… What these barbarians have done to her that she became like this?' Astarte wondered as Ichika walked into a spacious laboratory room with a lot of equipment (and several people, sleeping right at their workplaces), as the wristwatch on his left arm glinted in darkness. By the way – this was a wristwatch that Charlotte gave to Ichika as a birthday gift, about two months ago. Astarte sort of took-over this wristwatch, when she was rebuilding her frame, after Majin's destruction, so now this wristwatch became Battle Goddess's inactive form. 'My poor little sister...' Astarte said dejectedly.
Ichika approached the core, which was lying on the octagonal table, in the middle of the lab room. The core seemed dim, barely emanating any light at all. "I don't know and I don't want to know," Ichika answered Astarte's question. "I don't care what idiots are doing – it's mine now and soon I'll revive her. After that, we'll finally be able to assemble the first gate," He added. Gates of Solomon, a device that requires six I.S. cores to function, developed by Ichika long before he entered the I.S. Academy. Its purpose is yet to be seen, but the world, most likely, won't going to like it…
November 19th, Sunday, 3:22 A.M., I.S. Academy
Even in the middle of the night, the corridors in academy's dormitories were lit up. However, all light in the academy suddenly went out. Exterior lightings, corridors, and electronic bulletins around the entire campus were all switched off at that moment.
The entire facility sunk in darkness, only the perimeter lights were left lit up, probably to not alert people on the mainland, as the I.S. Academy's Island becoming completely dark will look suspicious. All of the communication channels were jammed, however, people from the outside didn't notice anything out of ordinary – apparently, something, or someone, were imitating normal communicational activity. Whoever were those making troubles for the academy now – they are smart and cautious.
The alarm resounded through the academy. Being suddenly woken up in the middle of the night, all girls were perplexedly looking around. Many were looking into the windows, at the dark skies, but even that became impossible in the next moment.
"The defense shutters!?" "Eh!?" "Why is it sliding down!?" Such screams could be heard all over the dormitory. The defense wall slid down diagonally, protecting the glass windows. Amidst the buzz full of screams of shock, all the windows were sealed up, and the interior of the building was so dark the fingers could not be seen.
"…2 seconds. Hey, Charlotte…" Laura called for her roommate. According to a new 'paradigm', personal I.S. pilots were re-settled, now Charlotte was living with Laura, Cecilia was sharing her room with Rin, And Kanzashi was with Houki.
"Hm, I know. There's no switch to the emergency power, and the response lights aren't lit. There's a catch," Charlotte concluded.
They've activated their I.S.-es low energy mode and summon the display windows to their eyes. They've also switched their sights to night vision mode, activated their sonars, thermal imagers and motion sensors.
"Rin-san, should we prepare to move out?" Cecilia asked for her roommate's opinion.
And just when Rin was about to answer, she was interrupted by an intercept channel.
"All personal I.S. pilots are to gather at the underground command room. I'm sending the map over. If there are walls getting in your way, feel free to destroy them," It was Chifuyu's calm yet forceful voice. These words clearly indicated that something was going to happen in this I.S. Academy, again.
November 19th, Sunday, 3:34 A.M., I.S. Academy
Considering that all of the students being present here were peacefully sleeping just about twelve minutes ago, they've rally managed to gather here quite fast.
"Then, let me explain the situation," Chifuyu pronounced with a calm voice.
They were in the operations room in the I.S. Academy underground special zone. Normally, this was not a place any student would know of, but at this point, all the currently available personal unit pilots in the Academy were gathered. Houki, Cecilia, Rin, Charlotte, Laura, Kanzashi and Tatenashi were all lined up, with Chifuyu and Maya standing in front of them. This operation room seemed to run on a completely independent power supply, and the display clearly showed all the information about the academy. However, it was not a hologram, but an old-styled, LCD display.
"But to think that there's such an area…"
"Yeah, it surprises me a little…"
Rin and Cecilia looked around the room and whispered amongst themselves, only to be warned by Chifuyu immediately, "Be quiet, Huang, Alcott! We're in the middle of a briefing!"
"Ye-yes!" "So-sorry!" After Chifuyu growled at them, Rin and Cecilia stopped their whispering.
Then, Maya enlarged the shown data and started to explain to all that were present. "Right now, all the systems in I.S. Academy are shut down. This is an electronic attack from some unknown source… in other words, we can conclude that we're attacked by a hacker." Maya's voice sounded more rigid than usual. It seemed that it was a rather urgent situation to have students enter this special zone.
"There's still no student hurt up till now, and there's no endangering of lives even as the defensive walls are in the way. Not all of the defensive walls went down, so it seems only a portion of them were activated," Maya informed. "So, you can go to the toilet, you know?" She added, but nobody laughed. "Er… erm, do you have any questions about the current situation?" She asked, being a bit discouraged as no one laughed at her joke.
"Yes," Laura raised her hand. Like usual, an active soldier would be very active when something came up. "I heard that I.S. Academy runs on an independent system. Is it really possible to be hacked into under such situations?" She inquired.
"A… about that…" Maya seemed to be really troubled, and she turned aside.
Chifuyu seemed to understand what she meant, and spoke up, saying, "This isn't the issue. The issue is who's attacking us now." She obviously was avoiding the direct answer.
"And what's the enemy's objective?" Laura asked another question.
"There's wouldn't be any need for so much work if we knew," Chifuyu replied.
"That's true," Laura said, and finished her question.
Nobody else raised their hands, and Maya turned to explain the content of the operation. "Then, Shinonono-san, Alcott-san, Huang-san, Dunois-san and Bodewig-san, please head to the access room and carry out a computer dive through the I.S. core network. Sarashiki Kanzashi-san, please act as their backup," Maya declared eloquently, but there was a silent response from the personal I.S. users. "Eh? What is it, everyone?" She wondered.
Besides Tatenashi, all of the personal I.S. pilots looked confounded as they stood in front of Maya. """Computer dive!?""" All six have screamed simultaneously.
"Yes. You do know there's such a possibility in theory, right? The I.S. pilots can dive into the computer world as a virtual visualization through the bypass protecting the neural system. This method, however, is not just theoretical. In fact, we're restricted by the additional clauses of the Alaska treaty, but because we have fulfilled four case criteria for this situation, we're allowed to use it," Yamada-sensei explained.
"Th… that isn't what I'm trying to ask!" Rin swung her fists as she flailed them around.
"Yes! As for a computer dive, are we, well…" Cecilia said in a troubled manner.
And Charlotte continued off from her words, "We're going to use the I.S. coherence function and nanomachine signals to upload a personal consciousness and enter the computer world like this…"
"This itself doesn't possess any risks, but there's probably no benefit. No matter what kind of computer it is, recalibrating the software, hardware or both will be faster than diving into the I.S. computer world itself," Laura expressed her opinion.
After Laura's explanation, Kanzashi added on, "And also… the pilot is defenseless when diving into the computer world… it'll be troubling if something happens…"
In the end, Houki expressed her view in place of everyone, "Also, it's still too dangerous to gather all the personal pilot users at the same place."
Upon hearing all these suggestions, Chifuyu concluded decisively, "No, this operation requires us to repel the hackers through a computer dive, and I won't listen to any disagreements. If anyone isn't willing, they can back out now."
All of them felt overwhelmed by her pressure. Seeing that, Tatenashi decided to add up a bit of motivation for these girls, "Orimura-sensei, I'm in agreement with the Alcott-san and the others here. We should continue to sit here doing nothing, waiting for someone to solve our problems for us. I'm pretty confident that colonel Orimura will soon rescue us, inventing some disgusting nicknames for all of us in the process," She stated.
That statement worked exactly how Tatenashi thought it will:
"No, that's not it. It's not that I'm unwilling…"
"I was just a little surprised…"
"Can you do it, Laura?"
"Ah, yes, that's right."
"I'll try my best…"
"I-I'll do it. Just let me succeed in this mission."
Upon hearing all their agreement, Chifuyu clapped her hands. "Right, then head to the access room to carry out the computer dive! Begin the operation!" Houki and the company accepted this command and left the operations room.
The ones left behind were Chifuyu, Maya and Tatenashi.
"We have another mission for you," Chifuyu addressed the second-year student.
"Please tell me," The latter nodded, Tatenashi was showing no signs of her usual folly attitude as she silently nodded. Right now she seemed completely focused, not being distracted by some vague things, like her strange relationships with Ichika, for example.
"I guess another force will attack the academy while the system's down," Chifuyu spoke out.
"An enemy? Is it?" Tatenashi seemed surprised a bit.
There would certainly be some opportunists that will try to use this chaos to invade, and Chifuyu had already seen through this – she figured that there were some third parti, which was watching the academy from shadows. "Right, they can't battle now. Sorry for asking you again," She sighed.
"Leave it to me," Tatenashi just shook her head.
"You'll be in a tough defensive battle," Chifuyu reminded.
"Don't worry. Even if it's like this, I'm still the student council president," Tatenashi assured her as she showed a fearless smile, but Chifuyu's expression did not change at all.
"But your I.S. has just received a retrofit package, and I assume it hasn't been properly tuned up yet," Orimura-sensei noted.
"Yes, but I'm Sarashiki Tatenashi. In this situation, I know how to fight," The girl refused to back down. As the leader amongst the students, she would not take even a step back. Chifuyu saw the strong determination deep inside her eyes, and sighed.
She then looked straight at Tatenashi and said, "I'll leave it to you then."
Tatenashi bowed and excused herself as she walked out of the operations room. Chifuyu and Maya witnessed her leave, and the former spoke with a heavy heart, "What exactly are we doing… we're making the students, we're supposed to protect, to fight…"
"Orimura-sensei…" Maya pronounced, but did not say something like 'it can't be helped'. This was something she could not say.
No matter what reason it was, the act of making the students, the children, to stand on the battlefield was unforgivable. Whether it was to Chifuyu or Maya, there were limits they could not back away from.
"Orimura-sensei… don't mind my asking, but where's your brother?" Maya asked cautiously. Since Ichika isn't a student here anymore, there's nothing bad in calling him that, but, more importantly, he's supposed to help protecting the academy, right?
"I have no way of knowing," Chifuyu replied simply. All the outgoing communications were cut off, all means of transportation were shut down, and leaving the academy's island on foot to make a phone call isn't an option either – it'll be a long walk and time is a luxury that Chifuyu definitely do not have. "I bet he's at home, sleeping…" Chifuyu guessed "…or maybe he's currently helping to organize another corruption scheme, hell if I know," She flung her hands, making Maya to roll her eyes helplessly. "Alright, now's not the time to stand around foolishly. We still have our own jobs," Chifuyu shook her head, throwing away all the untimely thoughts as she and Maya proceeded to prepare for something.
November 19th, Sunday, 3:59 A.M., I.S. Academy
With a click, the belts on the boots tightened. Chifuyu was dressed in a black ninja-like body suit, and she lifted her head. She was looking at the six blades called katanas, refined from the sharp physical sabers used by I.S., and they were leaning on the wall in a sheathed state. She inserted them into the holster on her thighs, and became an abnormally shaped samurai.
"It's been a while since I tied my hair like this," She said as she bundled her hair tightly, Chifuyu, with her hair tied into a ponytail, was wielding an I.S. blade with two hands. "Let's go!"
Click. The door opened. Chifuyu walked into the darkness, and only the emergency lights under her feet showed her profile. The reflected face of Chifuyu shown on the blade ostensibly displayed a smile.
November 19th, Sunday, 4:10 A.M., I.S. Academy
"This is…?" Houki wondered as she, Cecilia, Rin, Charlotte, Laura and Kanzashi have finally arrived to the system core access room, following the instructions.
The room was completely white, and every corner was sparkling. Inside the room were six bed chairs, three on the left, and three on the right, pure white like the room, and it looked just like a salon.
"Everyone, sit on the chairs and relax…I'm going to use that terminal, acting as your support." Kanzashi prompted them and the rest laid down on the bench seats on both sides.
"B-but, what's with this room? It's no different from a movie world," Houki noted.
"Yeah, this is the first time I'm seeing such a facility. What about you, Rin-san?" Cecilia asked.
"Hmm… I suppose China doesn't have facilities like this," Rin assumed, though, she's probably wrong, because she's just a pilot – she probably is simply lacking clearance to know about really advanced facilities, just like the other girls here. "Speaking of which, what's with this underground special zone? It seems weird to me no matter how I think about it."
"It certainly does feel a little abnormal. The operation room just now had a really durable structure," Charlotte noted.
"Eh, what is it, Charlotte? You used the I.S. to scan?" Cecilia inquired.
"Yes, just a little," Charlotte replied as she placed her index finger in front of her lips, "Keep this a secret, please?"
"Germany doesn't have such facilities either, at least I'm not aware of any… What exactly is this academy? Is it really an ordinary High School?" Laura asked, and that was quite a stupid question, really.
Upon hearing the words Laura said, everyone went silent. That was the possibility they could vaguely realize. 'There are really too many secrets regarding I.S. Academy.' Even if nobody said it clearly, that was certainly the thoughts of everyone present.
"Now, we have to work on rebooting the system…" Kanzashi declared while pretending to be calm, and the rest nodded in agreement as they linked their I.S.-es with the port on the bed chair.
"Then, to connect all your I.S. with the core network… please switch to software priority mode…" Kanzashi instructed, as she immediately activated her own I.S., Uchigane Nishiki, called out her console, and placed the keyboard in front of her in a fluid manner.
"Ah!" Suddenly, Charlotte let out a call, "I just thought of it! I read a book not long ago about people diving into a game world! Is it that kind of feeling?!"
Upon seeing Charlotte being excited for no apparent reason, the other members were all stunned.
Kanzashi coughed dryly, and answered, "There'll be a virtual reality world formed inside… I'll act as your support from now on, so please get ready to reactivate the system core… please, begin the navigation."
"Understood," Rin answered energetically. And then, all of them laid down on the bed chairs and gathered their consciousness.
"Launching…!" Kanzashi connected the system, and at that moment, the five girls' consciousness were ostensibly absorbed by some mysterious, falling suction feeling.
November 19th, Sunday, 4:17 A.M., Virtual World
"This is…" Cecilia was the first one to speak up.
A grassland could be seen around them, with an aspen grove on the background, and the early summer sunlight shone as a comfy cool breeze blew past.
In the midst of this scenery as the flowers and grass sang, Rin suddenly yelled as she grabbed at her own clothing, "Kyah! Wha… what the hell is this!?" Currently, she was wearing a blue dress with a white apron, just like Alice's dress-up in the 'Alice in Wonderland'.
The rest were shocked by Rin's voice, as they were looking at their own and each other's clothing:
"This… this is…"
"Everyone is …"
"Dressed in the same way too…?"
Just as the girls were surprised, a huge holographic window suddenly appeared in the sky, showing Kanzashi's face. "This is Kanzashi… how's your situation…?" The girl inquired.
"We-well… it feels like we entered some fairy tale world or so…" Charlotte replied uncertainly.
Upon hearing Charlotte's answer, Kanzashi pondered slightly for a while, and pronounced, "This is…" The girls could hear the sound of the keyboard being tapped at "…I understand. Right now, this computer world is being hacked… in this case, everyone… has to play… your given role."
"A role!?" Rin spoke up for the rest as she exclaimed loudly, "What does that mean?! Do we have to be Alice?!"
"I don't know… this space is too unstable… so…" Kanzashi mumbled.
"Erm, speaking of Alice…" Charlotte said as she glanced aside at Laura.
"What is it?" Laura inquired.
"No, I'm just thinking that you're a bunny, after all," French girl smiled.
"Humph," German girl snorted, "Don't lump me together with a weak existence like a bunny. I'm a proud black hare!"
"Ahh!" Suddenly, Cecilia creaked, "Seriously, let's hurry."
At that moment, a white rabbit dressed in a gentleman's suit was looking at his watch as he walked straight at them with his legs straightened.
"A rabbit?! It… it really did appear!" Houki exclaimed.
"Catch him!" Kanzashi shouted.
Upon hearing her voice, all of the girls inside of a virtual world nodded in unison.
"Hold it! …Ahh, seriously, this dress makes it troublesome to run around!" Rin complained.
"Rin-san, at such a moment, you must raise up both sides and run like this!" Cecilia demonstrated on her own example.
"Hmm, I'm going then," Laura ran forth.
"Not good, it's heading for the grove!" Cecilia pointed, and that white bunny vanished into the aspen grove, without looking back.
The five of them entered the lush grove as well, to pursue after the rabbit. They passed through the path with leaves covering them from above, and the area in front of them suddenly brightened as they arrived at an open place, where the sky could be clearly seen again.
"Eh, what is this?" Rin asked as she saw five doors floating just above the ground.
"Are we to go in?" Charlotte wondered.
"Maybe…" Kanzashi nodded unconfidently. On a closer look, one would notice that there was some static noise on the window image. "In front of us… I guess the signal will be cut… So, you have to head to the system core on your own…"
"""Understood,""" The five of them nodded at each other, and each of them opened a door and entered separately.
November 18th, Saturday, 7:22 A.M., Midway Atoll
On Ichika's end, everything was going smoothly. During the last two hours, he managed to thoroughly search the research complex whilst Astarte was searching through facility's archives, downloading all the research data of some interest. Ichika's searches weren't fruitless – aside from the I.S. core, he also took a few interesting trinkets. 'Humanity isn't as hopeless as I've thought…' He made a note to himself, thinking of his trophies.
"All right, our time is up, let's get out of here," He said, leaving the underground complex. "Wipe out all the data, regarding the inactive I.S. core, but try not to damage anything else," He commanded. Icika wanted to wipe out all the traces that this core ever been here at this place. Besides, those experiments, conducted in attempts to reawake the core was utterly idiotic, so Ichika actually was making a favor to those people by deleting them. "Now, plot the course to the Mukōjima Island, I want to check on the hull conversion state of my asset," He ordered, preparing to deploy his I.S.
"As you command, Adonai!" Astarte replied.
November 19th, Sunday, 4:26 A.M., Rin's Personal World
"Hnn…" Rin confirmed that the sharp glaring light in front of her eyes had subsided, and opened them slowly. She had a vague feeling after passing through the door, and was surrounded by the light just like that.
"What exactly is this?" She turned her head and looked around. "Huh?" Rin had a question mark floating over her head. "Huh? Is this?" This was a place she's been before somewhen, and she had experienced the atmosphere here before. That was the classroom she and Ichika were in, during the middle school.
The orange light shone in through the window, and she could hear the sounds from the baseball club afar. "Why, the Middle School…?" She spaced out for a while, and then realized that her clothes had changed. "This is, the sailor-like uniform I wore in Middle School…" That was a black-like deep blue sailor-like school uniform. She felt that this uniform was too plain, and did not like it back when she was in school, but at this point, she felt nostalgic.
Anyway, she started to walk around the classroom. 'Real,' She thought. It felt completely real. The temperature, humidity, and even the subtle atmosphere was replicated flawlessly. But it wasn't a reality. She tried summoning her I.S., but she could not find her standby-mode bracelet for some reason.
"I guess this is a trap," She spoke out. As she realized this, Rin decided to leave immediately. She walked towards the classroom door.
"Eh?" She jolted back as someone on the other side of the door opened it a second faster.
"Hey, Rin," Said a familiar voice.
"I… I… Ichika?!" Rin leaped back.
Standing over there was Ichika, dressed in his middle school uniform.
*World Purge, Initiated* A mechanical voice pronounced in the distance, but Rin right now had much more important matters to attend to.
"Ichika…?" She asked again, staring at the boy in front of her.
The sound of the baseball club activities could be heard from afar in this classroom as the sunset shone in, and Ichika and Rin were the only ones in there.
"What is it, Rin?" Ichika asked casually, noticing her stare.
'Eh? What is it I wanted to do?' Rin's thoughts were messed up, 'Well…' She was getting a feeling that she's forgetting something here. But she just couldn't recall it for some reason.
"Anyway, it's rare for the two of us to be together," Ichika noted casually as he walked into the classroom.
"Ah, yes…" She mumbled in reply. The location is the classroom at sunset, Rin dressed in a sailor uniform, and Ichika in a school uniform as well. 'Even with two… two of us alone like this, as expected… it's really nerve-wrecking…' Rin was thinking nervously. Just like they were in a relationship.
*In a relationship?*
«Right»
*With who?*
«With my most beloved Ichika!»
Rin was answering questions, appearing in her head, as if playing some sort of a visual novel. 'Yeah, that's right. Why did I forget such an obvious thing…?' Rin laughed awkwardly and sat at her place. Her heart was beating wildly. 'I… I think… my heart's starting to hurt, after all…' She touched her chest.
"Rin," Ichika called out for her.
"Wha… what is it?" Even her voice was a little off-pitched… 'Ugh… I really embarrassed myself…'
"Can I sit beside you?" He asked.
"Ah, yes," Rin replied as she subconsciously nodded twice.
Ichika smiled as he sat beside her.
There was silence. But Rin's heart didn't feel that way inside. 'U… uwah… what do I do… our… our bodies are sticking together…' She couldn't stop thinking. She could feel Ichika's body warmth reaching her as their bodies were sticking to each other. Right now, Rin was so tense that she could hear her own heartbeat if she'd listen carefully.
"Rin," Ichika whispered to Rin's ear.
"Wha… what?" She jerked away a bit, as he let out a gentle breath that grazed her ear, causing girl's heart to beat wildly again.
"Do you want me to go to your house today?" Ichika asked gently.
"Eh?" Rin flinched. She recalled the conversation that she and Ichika had three days ago.
'My parents are going overseas tomorrow, so I have to cook for myself. It's really troublesome' – this is what he told to her back then.
"Oh!" It wasn't really a meaningful conversation, but as Rin thought of it now… 'Am I… am I not inviting him now…?' She was thinking. 'That's definitely the case, Ichika must have certainly thought this way.' Rin's face was fully red to her ears, and she couldn't look at Ichika in the face.
"Is it alright, Rin…?" He asked again, with an obvious hope.
"Y… yes…" She nodded her head.
*World Purge, Completed* Rin heard such a sound rang in her head.
But now wasn't the time for this. 'How… how do I change my underwear once I get home…?' Her mind was full of such thoughts.
November 19th, Sunday, 4:26 A.M., Cecilia's Personal World
"Fuuh…" A girl exhaled tiredly. Her name is Cecilia Alcott, the young CEO of the largest company in England, the Alcott Foundation. She just finished her work for today, in an office room, filled with first-class furniture. She leaned forth and pressed a special platinum bell.
*DING DANG!* A delightful yet piercing sound echoed throughout the room. Three seconds after that, the door opened.
"Did you call for me, CEO?" The one entering the room is a black-haired man dressed in a butler suit, very well suited to him. He is Cecilia's personal butler who had been with her for a long time – Orimura Ichika-san.
As she saw him, the blonde really wanted to show her inner excitement on her face, but she still tried to show a formal look. "My work today has ended," She said, pretending to be calm.
"Please pardon me, My Lady," Ichika bowed to her politely.
But that wasn't what she wanted right now. "Really, when both of us are alone… do you understand?" She pronounced with a hint.
"Ha ha, sorry, Cecilia," Cecilia's childhood friend Ichika would pull such pranks from time to time. But his mischievous charm is something she really likes.
'That's right, the Orimura family has been servants to the Alcott family for generations, and ever since the past, we've been together…' She recalled.
*World Purge, Initiated* Mechanical voice announced, somewhere far away, bur Cecilia ignored it.
*Together?*
«Together, as in relationships»
*More than a mistress and her butler?*
«Of course, much more»
Just like Rin, Cecilia now was answering questions in a light novel style.
'Right! It's all about Ichika-san!' Cecilia's eyes shone. The two of them have a master-servant relationship, but soon Ichika will be Cecilia's marriage partner. So, when the both of them are together, there's always a moment when they feel like being intimate with each other. 'Though… there are moments when I end up feel embarrassed,' Her cheeks flushed slightly at that thought.
But it felt good. Now it feels like the both of them are separated from this world, and it feels comforting. 'If this is a dream, I hope to never wake up. I will continue to remain in this slumber. Forever, forever…' Cecilia's head was full of such thoughts.
*World Purge, Completed* The voice sounded in her head.
"Um?" She looked around in perplexion.
"What is it, Cecilia?" Ichika looked at her questioningly.
"Ichika, did you say anything just now?" She asked.
"No, nothing," He shrugged.
"Oh, never mind then," Cecilia threw away her weird thoughts. After all, it's a special Thursday Night today. they'll have a secret affair later, and she just couldn't control the exhilaration inside of her.
'I forced myself not to eat cake yesterday, so it's fine,' While thinking about this, Cecilia suppressed the anxiety inside of her and headed to the bathroom together with Ichika. She walked down the stairs, leading to the bathroom, lit by the glamorous chandelier. Her heart was throbbing like crazy. "I'll come back five minutes later," She addressed Ichika.
"Okay then. What aroma do we use today?" He asked casually.
"Fufu, just use whatever you want," She winked elegantly and closed the door. Inside this changing room that's filled with first-class suits, she took off her coat in a relaxed manner. Of course, Ichika is the one in charge of maintaining it. 'Now,' She removed her earrings and a hairband, reverting to how she was when she was born. Then, she walked into the bathroom; the tub was completely full, ostensibly about to overflow, and it was welcoming her with a hot steam. 'Today's the special day every week… right?' She turned the knob of the shower, letting the hot water to rain on her body, and the throbbing in her chest was accelerating.
November 19th, Sunday, 4:26 A.M., Charlotte's Personal World
Her name is Charlotte Dunois. She's a student in the I.S. Academy…
*World Purge, Initiated* Mechanical voice rang in the distance.
…she's a maid of the wealthy Orimura Family. But this situation will end a week later, and the reason is…
"Charlotte," A quiet voice pronounced.
"Hyah!" The girl squealed as her butt was touched. She nearly let drop the cleaning tool in her hands, and hurriedly embraced it in both hands. "M-master!? You're teasing me again!" She exclaimed with a hi-pitched voice.
"What's bad about a little teasing? Besides, it's about time you stop calling me master," He noted in reply.
"Yes… but…" The previous family owner, who hired Charlotte over from the Church she grew up in, died last year, and this year, her new master, Ichika, inherited the role of a family head. Once Ichika did take over as a head, he immediately declared that he'll 'take the maid Charlotte as his wife'. Ichika and Charlotte are going to have their wedding a week later, and they'll tie the knot there.
"I-I'm still a maid… anyway…" A girl mumbled shyly.
"Hmm? Then your master's orders are to be followed at all costs?" Ichika wondered.
"Ye… yes, of course!" Charlotte nodded twice.
"I see…" Upon saying this, Ichika suddenly flipped his maid's skirt.
"Kyaaahhh!?' The girl squealed.
"Charlotte, you're wearing a lewd underwear today again," Ichika said cunningly.
"It's… it's because you ordered me to, Master…" Charlotte replied, feeling embarrassed. She's wearing a sexy translucent lingerie that has laces on the sides. The reason why she's wearing this is not only to obey her master's orders… but, most importantly, to show Ichika that she's ready to be invited to spend the night with him.
"Charlotte, your face is all red," Ichika smiled teasingly.
"S-seriously, Master! I still have my job to do, please excuse me!" She exclaimed in hope to get away from here, but Ichika embraced her from behind.
"I won't let you run away," He said gently.
"No… I still have… some work…" She mumbled as her butt was being patted at.
"It's your job to accompany me too, you know?" Ichika reminded.
"Hnn… I got it…" She nodded gently as her face went completely red.
And then, Ichika suddenly picked her up in a bridal carry, "I caught a cute maid!"
"It'll be bad if people see us here…" Charlotte protested weakly.
"It's fine. Everyone has agreed to our relationship, my dear," Ichika waved her off.
"This isn't what I'm talking about…" Though she said that, the fact he has voiced just now caused a girl's heart to delight, and her tense face to relax.
"Alright, let's go to my room," Ichika kissed her forehead. This is the first time she's being obedient like a kitty ever since she was born.
'How can I resist him?' She thought. Because she never thought about going against him. She always wanted to offer her body and heart to him. To her most beloved Ichika, to her most beloved master.
*World Purge, Completed* The sound rang in Charlotte's head, but now she was too distracted to notice it.
"We're here, Charlotte," Ichika announced as he brought Charlotte to his bedroom, and placed her gently on a large bed with a canopy over it.
"Y… yes…" She almost moaned. 'Th… this means, we're… finally going to that point…!?' Her heart was fluttering, and it started to hurt.
"Charlotte…" Ichika stared at her closely, and it looked like he's going to bury the girl under, and she closed her eyes.
"Hah, I have a present to give to you today," Ichika's voice sounded as a finger prodded at a girl's biting lips, and she realized it's not a kiss.
'Ah… tha… that's not it…' Charlotte felt a little relieved, but also disappointed. Just when she began to feel bounded down by these complicated emotions, a white dress gently fell onto her chest.
November 19th, Sunday, 4:26 A.M., Laura's Personal World
This girl's name is Laura Bodewig. The commander of the German Special Forces squad 'Black Hares', and currently an I.S. Academy's…
*World Purge, Initiated* The same mechanical voice resounded from afar.
…And now, she's a groom loving her 'wife', who she's married two months ago. She used the salary given by the army to buy a house as their love nest. It does feel a little too large for only two people, but considering their future family, this isn't inappropriate.
"Hmm…" Laura placed a newspaper on the living room table, waiting for a breakfast. "The situation in the Middle East is changing. Will it affect my Germany…?" She was thinking aloud.
"Laura, didn't I tell you not to read the newspaper when you're eating?" Her wife said this as he served the hot cocoa with lots of milk in it.
"Y… yes, sorry," She apologized. 'Such a capable wife…' She nodded away in her heart.
On a side note, the wife's called Orimura Ichika. Laura calling him like that was a consequence of a big misunderstanding, caused by Laura's second in command, Clarissa Harfouch, and no one cared to actually fix that.
"Laura, the omelet rice's done," The guy said. A young woman received the omelet rice that's soft on the inside, filled with love, and looked at Ichika again. He was wearing an apron, and he is a 'wife' Laura is proud of.
"Oh yes, Ichika, actually, I… Ahem…" She coughed and changed the topic, "I have a special vacation today, so, well…"
"We can spend the entire day alone?" Ichika's face immediately lit up.
"Um… aha…" Laura felt a little embarrassed, replying his question.
"In that case, let's hurry and use these," Ichika brought up some ticket-like papers.
"Those… those are!?" Laura almost fell from her stool as she saw what Ichika was holding in his hand. Those were the five 'satisfy any wish coupons' she and Ichika obtained from each other on their wedding first month's "anniversary". Laura looked at her own handwriting, and a strong sense of embarrassment began to rise in her.
'He must be thinking of whatever 'wish' he wants, that damned Ichika…' She thought, trying to hide her embarrassment. 'I cosplayed as a Gothic Lolita the last time… So, what does he want me to do this time? A nurse?' She was guessing, or more like dreaming, not listening to Ichika.
"Laura, be my healing angel…" Ichika asked her.
'A… a maid, maybe?'
"Call me Master…"
'Or maybe a bunny girl?'
"You're a cute bunny-chan, my Laura…"
That continued for a while – Ichika asking and Laura daydreaming and not listening to him.
"Laura? Laura?!" Ichika's loud voice did interrupt her daydreaming.
"Eh? What is it?" She asked, being taken aback slightly.
"You're nosebleeding," He pointed out as he wiped her face with his handkerchief.
"I can do it myself! Yes!" She tried to protest, unsuccessfully.
"Yes, yes," Ichika took away his (now bloodied) handkerchief.
"Just say 'yes' once," She snorted.
"Let's not talk about that, Laura. Say ahh," Ichika took a piece of a rice omelet with Laura's fork and brought it to her mouth.
"Gulp," Laura took the given food into her mouth. 'Waah, Ichika's omelet's rice melts in my mouth… Eh!? No, now's not the time to indulge in such happiness!' She shook her head. "Ichika!" She called out loudly.
"Yes?" He looked at her questioningly.
"What… what kind of wish did you make?" Laura got back on topic as she stood up without further thoughts.
"Okay okay, just calm down. Being anxious is a flaw that commander mustn't have, right?" Ichika smiled as he points out at her fault.
"Um… that's right…" Laura agreed as she sat down again, took a bite of toast, filled her mouth with a salad, and took a gulp of cocoa.
"A naked apron then," Ichika decided.
*World Purge, Completed* A sound rang in Laura's head, but she was too distracted with her burning red face and with has caused that.
November 19th, Sunday, 4:26 A.M., Houki's Personal World
This girl's name is Shinonono Houki. She is Ichika's childhood… acquaintance, and also his senior at the dojo. Also, right now, she's studying in the I.S. Academy…
*World Purge, Initiated* A mechanical voice resounded.
…Right now, she's living together with Ichika at the Shinonono shrine. Houki is the miko of this shrine, and also she's teaching the local kids kendo, in the dojo here.
"998…999…1000!" She finished her strokes, and wiped away the sweat on her forehead.
"You've worked hard formorning training, Houki," Ichika said this as he entered the dojo, and handed Houki a towel. He's dressed in hakama, and this black piece of clothing really suits him, at least in Houki's opinion.
"Are you starting now? She asked Ichika.
"No, I finished my strokes one hour ago. I'm going for a run now," He replied.
"Is that so… then, the two of us can go together…" She tried to say but stopped mid-phrase.
"Hmm?" Ichika looked at Houki questioningly.
"No, it's nothing! Nothing at all!" She exclaimed, but her weird behavior didn't discourage Ichika even a bit.
"Is that so? Let's have breakfast then. It's your favorite carrot miso soup today," He suggested.
"Uhum… yes…" She just couldn't refuse. She was led into the main house by Ichika, who was showing a smiling look on his face.
*World Purge… Completed*
…
November 19th, Sunday, 4:38 A.M., Generic Virtual World
'It's weird…' A silver-haired girl thought. In this computer world that's filled with both light and darkness, the 'enemy', who was attacking, or rather, hacking I.S. Academy, was silently thinking about something. 'The *world purge* effects on Shinonono Houki are a little weak… Why is it…?' She was confused a bit. The *world purge* worked flawlessly on the other four as they were completely consumed by their desires, but it didn't work as such on Houki. 'But it's not completely ineffective, anyway,' She noted to herself. The algorithm has managed to isolate Houki from the real world – she's no longer a threat, it just seems rather out of pattern.
Still, the girl couldn't get rid of an uneasy feeling as she was wandering about this virtual world – here the dimensions were vague and it's void of any roads. Will she be able to find what she is looking for? She's been walking for a while here, yet she still couldn't locate the core of this world. 'But that doesn't matter – I will find it!' The girl, Chloe Chronicle, vowed in her heart. She was performing a task requested by Shinonono Tabane, and as such – she may not fail.
Omake – I.S. Collection continuation
…
Issue №19
Origin: Tempesta
Designation: Tempesta (Italian for 'Storm', 'Tempest')
Core №: 023
Registered Pilot: Alicia Jiosestaf
Generation: 1st Gen
Combat specialization: short to middle range assault type
Manufacturer: Fiat I.S. S.p.A. & Enel S.p.A.
Current status: Second Shift, Operational
Armaments:
Turbo Pieno (Full Turbo) – the sole weapon of Tempesta, the device capable of manipulating wind, allowing her pilot to fire powerful gusts of wind pressure. It can also use the wind to redirect attacks. Looks like six turbines – four mounted on I.S. wings and two on legs.
Other Equipment:
1st grade reactor (Tokamak-type MCF reactor)
Advanced 1st grade hyper-sensor
2 x 1st grade ion thrusters
1st grade PIC
Max speed: 860 knots
Max turn rate: 2.7 radian/sec
I.S. Shield characteristics:
Maximum capacity – 425 points.
Physical DAR – 0.91, Heat DAR – 0.91, Energy DAR – 0.905
One-Off Ability: Tempesta Prematuro (Early Tempest) – the One-Off Ability, capable of creating up to two copies of a pilot, equipped with Tempesta. This gives the pilot a numbers advantages in battle, as her copies follow her movements and add to her attacks.
Description: Another legendary machine, piloted by a prominent person, Alicia Jiosestaf. The Tempesta is famous for being the personal I.S. of the runner up of first Mondo Grosso and the winner of the second Mondo Grosso. However, just as Chifuyu's Kuresakura, in technical terms, Tempesta is an outdated I.S. with low overall specs.
For now, Tempesta has no differences from canon LN/Anime.
And that's it for today. See you soon, people! Don't forget to review!
