Act 1

Start of a Study Case

Chapter 5

Blooming Rose Observation

"I, Julis Alexia van Riessfeld, accepted the duel request of Amagiri Kirika."

The atmosphere between herself and her opponent had immediately tensed.

Julis could feel it as soon as she finished her formal acceptance of the duel request.

"Heh heh heh."

Whether the chill she felt was because of the dense, cold fog around them, or because of something else hidden beneath that unnerving giggle, Julis didn't know, but she was leaning toward the latter.

No, on second thought, it was definitely because of Kirika. Even through the Lux glasses, Julis could see it. The gaze behind Kirika's own lenses had become predatory.

Even with the distance between them – roughly 10 meters, which was the standard range for duels between the students – Julis felt Kirika was much, much closer.

On instinct, her right hand reached for the holder on the left part of her skirt uniform.

Feeling the intimate weight of the hilt-shaped Shining Type Armament within her grasp was enough to restore her confidence. Without wasting any second, Julis pressed its trigger as she drew the weapon out.

It only took an instant for the emerald manadyte on the weapon's tip to react, and her Lux [Aspera Spina] was formed. Her personal weapon; a blade made of thin, flexible, crimson-dyed sword of materialized mana.

Satisfied at its activation, Julis posed her blade at her opponent, her stance just as refined as practiced.

At her challenge, Kirika faced her with an expression that reminded Julis of a hunter sizing up its prey.

"Crimson red blade in the form of a royal rapier, huh. Quite fitting for a princess."

The way the soft voice described her was a little surprising. That was… unnecessarily eloquent of Kirika.

Before she could comment though, Kirika straightened her posture, and hid both of her arms behind her.

Julis had to raise her brow this time. It was an unexpected and rather strange pose.

Then, Kirika suddenly outstretched her arms, her entire body forming a cross... with a small, sapphire-like gem in her right hand.

It was obvious what it was, but that only created more questions.

A blue manadyte… did she hide it under her sleeves?

Manadytes were naturally green, but their color could be changed through certain processes.

That meant Kirika's manadyte were customized. What was more peculiar was, it was just a manadyte.

Nothing else? Is that supposed to be her weapon?

In order for a manadyte to materialize into various weapons as a Lux, the manadyte had to go through certain processes to 'memorize' a certain element pattern to form materials of various forms and quality.

After that, they were attached to activation tools, which served to agitate the manadyte and materialize its full form. Her own Aspera Spina had a moderately-sized one in the form of a hilt equipped with handguards, for example.

Julis was curious, but she had a feeling Kirika was not done yet.

Her hunch was proven right soon after; the manadyte in Kirika's hand suddenly glowed. A sign of it receiving mana.

"…Eh?"

Legitimate surprise made her eyes widen. In an instant, the gem had transformed into a sword.

'Beautiful' was not a word Julis would use for a weapon, but what Kirika held in her hand resembled a ceremonial tool in her kingdom more than a weapon.

It had an elongated cylindrical hilt, and a double-edged blade which became narrower the closer it was to the tip. The entirety of the sword was composed of saturated, translucent blue identical to an actual sapphire.

How could a simple manadyte became something like that?

…No, not transformed.

Upon closer inspection, Julis could still see the manadyte inside the sword's hilt, although it was nearly obscured by Kirika's fingers.

The manadyte had not transformed. It simply had materialized a sword in its entirety, the hilt included.

Ah, that's how it is.

What Kirika did to the lake earlier clearly showed that her ability to control her body's prana was superb, and she had no problems manipulating its interaction with the surrounding mana.

Anyone with that level of personal ability wouldn't need activation tools to materialize their weapon. They could simply switch the manadyte on and off with their prana.

Julis tensed her muscles, preparing herself. She could already imagine the number of advantages that would offer, both in and out of combat. There was little doubt Kirika could think of more, being the owner of such an ability.

"Let's duel."

Her thoughts were interrupted by the meek, yet powerful declaration from her opponent.

It was clear now that it was the true beginning of their duel.

Kirika's face had a gentle smile, but her ravenous gaze took away any impression of mercy or sincerity conveyed through it.

Suddenly, her opponent elegantly posed the gleaming blade forwards – much to her own surprise.

The pose mirrored her own stance with her rapier.

Julis narrowed her eyes. Even without words, that gesture couldn't mean anything else other than a challenge.

Unfortunately, Julis was not so easily tricked. That was a rather bold attempt to bait her into melee range, she had to admit.

"Taunting me, are you?"

Making it clear that she saw through the bait, Julis concentrated her mind on the prana within herself.

Kirika had tried to taunt her into melee range. That meant, she was most likely well-trained in close quarters combat.

Then!

She simply had to attack from a distance.

"Come into bloom!"

Chanting her favorite catch-phrase, she poured her prana to the sword in her hand.

Kirika's eyes narrowed sharply behind her glasses, but Julis didn't pay heed to it.

Even average Genestellars could tell when [magic] was being performed, anyway.

"[Longiflorum]!"

Swinging her blade like a baton, Julis shouted the name of a lily flower.

In the next instant, the prana released through her Aspera Spina immediately went through a transformation.

The coldness from the fog around her was immediately replaced with warmth, as four circles made of supernatural flames manifested in the air around her.

It was far from her strongest magical attack, but Longiflorum was the most suited technique to tread the unknown depths of an enemy's skill and abilities. With that in her mind–

Let's see how you handle this!

Julis focused her entire attention to the enemy ahead of her.

Reacting to her thought process, the rings of fire turned into trumpet lily flowers made of flames, streamlined and sharpened to form deadly spears.

The process barely took a second before the flaming projectiles violently propelled themselves toward Kirika with all the momentum of small rockets.

"…"

Much to her surprise, there was no hint of worry in her opposition. Kirika took a step back, and swung her left arm, as if she was slapping thin air.

Julis frowned. What was she-

"!?"

Without any warning, the rocketing flame flowers suddenly burst into fiery explosions – midflight, nowhere near Kirika's position.

"H-How?"

Her Longiflorum flowers were supposed to react when it came into contact with solid bodies or mana signatures it didn't recognize, such as the prana within an enemy's body.

Since Julis had taken into account the mana-infused fog around them, the projectiles should not explode prematurely. But they clearly did. It was as if they had hit an invisible wall–

No! I mustn't let my guard down!

Julis wanted to chide herself, but there was no time. With a movement that was more of a blur than anything else, Kirika had already run past the scattering flames.

She was terrifyingly fast. Within a blink of an eye, the white-haired swordswoman was already right before Julis, her two hands gripping the crystal sword in front, poised to stab.

What speed!

Julis could almost feel her own pupils dilate as the blade was only inches away from hitting her school badge and possibly even impale her chest, but she wouldn't allow either to become reality.

"Bloom!"

Her Aspera Spina was not exactly the best type of sword for defensive counters, meaning she had to dodge.

Leaning her body so far backwards that she lost her balance, Julis watched as the crystal blade missed her face by a hair's breadth.

Kirika was't deterred at all however, she merely raised her sword with both hands, ready to pin her down with an overhead slash.

However, Julis was already aware her dodge would make her fall onto her back. That would leave her at the mercy of her opponent.

So, she had no intention to let it happen.

Now!

"[Strelitzia]!"

As soon as she finished her chant with a different flower name, her body directed prana from her back and her feet, and wings made of fire sprouted forth from the prana released.

Now with a pair of large wings near her back and a much smaller pair on the sides of her shoes, Julis accelerated above the ground with a burst of flames from both pairs of her wings, widening the distance between her and Kirika.

The swordswoman's face showed surprise, but she was otherwise unfazed by the sudden counterattack from Julis' feet. Kirika merely jumped away from the flames by a few meters, unscathed.

Julis wanted to scowl at that, but Kirika's expression stopped her.

"…Wings?"

Her voice, eyes and face in a perfect sync of a restrained, yet definite surprise, Kirika's posture straightened as she stared at Julis.

Normally, Julis would take some satisfaction from being able to surprise her opponents, particularly stoic ones such as this particular opponent. But for now, she only felt relief from successfully avoiding an early defeat.

As the distance between them reached 18 or so meters, Julis fixed her position into an upright position, and landed her feet to the ground. Not missing a beat, she also cut off the prana released from her body to dispel the large wings on her back.

Strelitzia was an incredibly useful technique, but it consumed her prana reserves continuously. There was no reason to keep the wings unless they were necessary.

That being said, against an enemy as fast as Kirika, she would the need extra acceleration to avoid her – thus she kept the smaller wings on her feet.

Kirika seemed to notice them as well, from the way her eyes darted downwards.

"That shape, the 'bird of paradise' flower?"

Julis raised a brow. She recognized the shape of her flame flowers?

Then, as if she just completed a piece of puzzle together, Kirika let out a delighted 'aha'.

"I see. You are a Strega, commanding flames using imagery of flowers."

For some reason, Kirika grinned as she pointed that out.

Any self-respecting Genestellar could piece it together – even among their kind, a race of new humans with phenomenal physical abilities and ability to interact with mana, someone like Julis was a rarity.

Magic-users – known as [Strega] for females, and [Dante] for males – Genestellars who could link mana in the environment with their own flesh and blood, which granted them certain abilities to bend the laws of physics beyond mana interaction, or in fantastic terms, magic.

Although very rare to develop and only made up 3.6% of all Genestellars, Julis felt it was not anything special. They could perform magic, sure, but magic was simply additional abilities for one to use. Magic-users didn't have increased prana capacity or anything.

In other words, whether or not owning magic would help you become stronger, it depended on your skill and experience in making use of them.

Still, for Kirika to immediately recognize the motif with which Julis imaged her magical flames, that meant the swordswoman not only knew about magic visualization–

"You are well-informed about flowers, too?"

It was not really a question, Julis could tell by this point. However, Kirika's face brightened, her grin eased into a cheerful smile as she nodded with more enthusiasm than before.

"Of course. They are part of what makes nature beautiful, aren't they? More people need to appreciate the simpler things, such as the unseen, but certain growth of a small bud of flower."

Julis felt her heart leapt.

Those words…

A wave of nostalgia swept over her heart.

"You like flowers, Orphelia?"

"Yes, I love them so much! They are part of what makes nature so beautiful. I wish everyone can appreciate the simpler things, like the growth of a small bud. We cannot see it, but we know it is trying its best to bloom into a beautiful flower…"

…It was almost exactly what Orphelia had answered her with.

The realization made her feel melancholic, but Julis steeled her focus. The one before her was not Orphelia, her best friend.

It was Kirika, who maybe – just maybe, at the moment – would become her friend, but at the moment she was an opponent in a duel.

Still, do all florists share the same feelings for flowers, or something? For two different people to answer so similarly for one question…

It gave her mixed feelings, but it was definitely a wonder.

"I agree with you, but now isn't time for chit-chat. Come to bloom!"

Julis resumed the fight with another chant, and although she appeared relaxed, Kirika too raised her sword to eye level with her right hand.

"What is it this time, princess? Daisies? Anemones? Primroses?"

There was no hint of mockery in Kirika's inquiry, and perhaps she was just listing off the flowers from the top of her head.

However, it certainly felt like she was taunting her. Was this another of Kirika's peculiar quirks? What an odd fellow.

But now I know how good you are. There is no need to hold back!

"[Amaryllis]!"

As if responding to the large amount of prana she released, the air let out a loud roar as a huge flame flower the size of a small room bloomed into existence.

Kirika's smile didn't falter.

"I suppose the flower of pride would fit a fireball that big." A smirk. "Though did you know, Julis? In Japan, that flower means being shy. Are you that nervous approaching me?"

Julis had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. That was an even more obvious attempt to taunt her into getting closer.

Though, it was rather surprising. Kirika had accurately guessed the reason behind the technique's name. Seems the Japanese girl was somewhat knowledgeable about the Victorian language of flowers.

That line of thought made Julis smirk. If Kirika insisted on taunting her, then two could play this game.

"I have no reason to know about your country's floriography." Julis said bluntly, "And Amaryllis means so much more than simply pride. Are you just a textbook florist?"

Julis had expected Kirika to be riled, but contrary to expectations, the swordswoman chuckled.

"Yes... that I am." A wistful smile of acceptance. "I don't really know that much about the oral lessons about flowers passed down by true gardeners on your side of the world."

Kirika closed her eyes for a moment. But before long, her large blue eyes snapped open.

"But, it seems you are one. Do you mind teaching me more?"

A bright smile which could probably brighten an eclipse. Julis couldn't help but compare it to a little girl who had just been given a new toy.

In all honesty, Julis didn't really mind that request. But–

Seeing as taunting you doesn't work… well, I did say it's no time for chit-chat.

"I can tell you more about it. If you survive this!"

Julis directed the rapier in her right hand at her opponent, and with that, the fireball launched itself. But like before, Kirika didn't look alarmed at all, she merely bent her waist and stood ready.

However, Julis knew now that the swordswoman had legitimate reasons to be relaxed – Kirika's speed was incredible. Dodging a direct hit of Amaryllis would be easy matter for her.

So of course, Julis had no intention of hitting her directly.

As soon as Kirika was about to move, Julis clenched her fist, and yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Explode!"

"…!"

Upon command, the fireball exploded into several smaller, but still considerably dense flame petals right in front of Kirika.

Even if it was difficult to make it hit directly, it would be impossible to dodge it if the fireball violently burst at close range. If caught in that explosion at point-blank range, Genestellar or not, she would not be able to move for a while.

Still, Julis wasn't completely convinced of her victory yet. The visibility was now lost due to the raging flame as well – it did clear up the fog, but the glasses Kirika gave her made them a non-factor – meaning she had to keep her guard up.

"Hum… not bad, princess."

Julis didn't even manage to respond to that sincere-sounding praise before the flame petals were suddenly torn up crosswise – revealing Kirika's figure in-between, unharmed by the flames as it went past her.

The swordswoman made a soft smile as she pushed the frames of her glasses upwards with the ring finger of her free left hand, as if it was her way of saying 'not enough firepower'.

She felt she should be more surprised, but at this point Julis had more or less accepted that Kirika was definitely not someone whom she could easily defeat. It was likely [Meteor Arts] technique, which could cut her flames.

At the very least, she is above Lester in terms of threat level.

That obnoxious boy had very bad compatibility against her, but he was unmistakably a strong fighter. However, when compared to Kirika, Lester barely counted as a threat at all.

"…Hah?"

All of a sudden, Kirika's cheerful expression suddenly disappeared.

Her eyes widened in a way that screamed 'fear' and her mouth gaped as if 'panic' took over her.

"Julis, watch out!"

Kirika's voice was less a warning and more of a shriek that startled Julis.

The swordswoman suddenly threw her crystalline sword blade-first – with a speed that resembled her own Longiflorum projectile than anything else, aimed toward her.

Taken aback, Julis found herself deflecting the incoming sword by reflex alone – the impact was surprisingly heavy, but it was nothing she couldn't handle.

"Don't resist."

Before Julis could even make sense of what happened, a hand grabbed her sword arm and forcefully tugged her body forward, causing her body to lose balance again.

"Wha– "

The next moment, Julis could feel the same hand had swiftly moved past her stomach and was now pressing against her right waist. The entire arm had firmly grasped her body, preventing her from falling.

Julis only managed to understand what was going on when she saw strands of white at the left corner of her vision. She tried to turn her head, but a mouthful of white hair prevented her from seeing anything.

Still, it made it clear that it was Kirika who had caught her body singlehanded.

"Y-you, what are you–"

*CRACK*

Julis raised her voice by reflex, but a loud cracking noise suddenly pierced her ears from behind, silencing her.

This noise…?

It was familiar. The cracking noise – it was similar to the sound her Lux sword had made when it broke from being overused in training some weeks ago, but not quite the same.

More curious than careful, Julis decided to twist her body and turned her head the other way – to her right, to avoid Kirika's hair – to look behind her.

"This, this is…?"

Unconsciously, Julis opened her eyes wide.

Right behind her, there was a shield made of sapphire light produced by a bracelet on Kirika's right wrist.

Its shape was almost circular, large enough to completely cover both Kirika and Julis herself from head to toe despite their position. Her suspicion was true then – Kirika hid her Luxes under the sleeves.

But that was not the only thing Julis noticed about the shield.

It had several cracks running across its otherwise smooth feature, and she could see several shining arrows had pierced the translucent shield, albeit not completely – just barely, only enough for the arrows to get themselves stuck in the shield.

A few seconds later, the arrows suddenly faded away into particles of light before her eyes.

Julis instantly connected the dots. The arrows were not physical items either – just projectiles created by another Lux. Since they were separated from the manadyte, unlike a Lux blade, they would disappear into mana after a certain amount of time.

And they were obviously aimed at her.

Damn it… another one of those ambushes?

It had been a while since stalkers had tried to ambush her like this. Being a Page One, this was hardly unexpected.

Julis thought the dense fog around them would prevent ambushes like this, but it seemed that was just wishful thinking.

Come to think about it, if someone wanted to find me in the fog, they merely need to pay attention to the light from my flames…

But even for Genestellars, her silhouette alone would not be enough to aim accurately in this dense, mana-infused fog. That probably explained the number of arrows stuck in Kirika's shield – there were exactly a dozen – the culprit didn't want to take chances and miss.

Whoever it was, they wanted to injure her no matter what. The stalker had been watching her and Kirika's duel since earlier – probably since the beginning of the duel – waiting for an opportunity to attack her with these arrows.

The thought made Julis frown.

She was reluctant to admit it, but because her attention was focused to the duel, that plan would have completely succeeded… if Kirika hadn't decided to halt their duel and save her.

A relieved sigh stopped her train of thoughts.

"That was close. Are you alright?"

In tandem with her gentle words, Kirika's arm loosened its grip on Julis' body, and the damaged shield from her bracelet Lux faded away into light.

Julis caught herself from falling, and stood upright behind the swordswoman's back before answering.

"I am fine. More importantly, that was-"

"Definitely an ambush, targeting you. No wonder you were suspicious of me this morning."

Kirika cut her off with a strange tone in her voice.

What…?

Julis blinked. Kirika sounded different - there was something about her voice that made her feel something like a shiver.

It took her beating heart to realize that it was pure, unadulterated anger.

I knew things were going too well.

If all honesty, Kirika had been expecting something like this to happen the instant she saw Julis summoned those 'longiflorum' flame spears.

Fog wasn't the best choice to conceal someone who mainly used fire.

Still, she had hope – that somehow, by chance, her duel with Julis wouldn't be interrupted. The princess was far more interesting than Kirika had expected before the duel.

Straightforwardness. Earnest nature. Confidence. An appreciation of beauty. Quick thinking. Creativity. And of course, knowledge of flowers.

Kirika could see quite a few things about Julis. And she had to say, she liked what she got to see.

But of course, someone had to interrupt it.

She couldn't exactly say she had expected anything else, though.

This place was a playground of corruption, where wishes were granted by crushing others, after all.

There were many ways to do so, and an ambush while in a duel was simply one among many methods.

It was despicable, and it would be accurate to say 'as expected of Asterisk'.

So… why am I so mad?

Things like these were going to happen, sooner or later. It was only natural, and within expectations.

But the tension in her nerves, the pain she felt from her clenched hands, and the restlessness in her prana–

This is definitely anger.

Which was expected. But it was more than anticipated. This was not desirable and not planned.

Kirika made it a point to relax and let herself be more expressive when in fights.

But not so much that an expected interruption would annoy her to the point of affecting her prana.

Have I been too lax with my discipline lately?

Kirika consciously breathed in, audibly, to calm herself.

Oh well. Luckily, Julis isn't hurt.

In other words, Kirika had free reign to hunt those responsible for her current mood.

It's unexpected… but I rarely feel angry, anyways.

Her lips curved into a practiced smile – or perhaps a merciless smirk – despite herself.

Might as well savor it. No more restraint.

"I will go after the scum. No need to follow me, I can clean up some trash on my own."

Ah… hearing herself freely speaking with contempt and disgust always felt refreshing.

Now she should go-

"Wait!"

Julis's voice raised, and Kirika halted.

Did Julis have something to say? Kirika turned to face the princess.

"What?"

…Maybe I got too hasty. That's more hostile than I intended.

Unrestrained, Kirika's single word question came out like someone whose patience had snapped.

Julis flinched, her expression resembling a mixture between surprise and concern.

"You… really are angry."

Kirika didn't miss the astonished way Julis said that. That was odd – it's true she was angrier than expected, but that was by her own standards.

From Julis's perspective, it should not be unusual. Kirika had intentionally made it clear that she was excited for their duel, and it was interrupted; it was [normal] to be mad.

I must address her comment. In a calmer manner, this time.

Schooling her expression, Kirika let her usual monotone take over. "Any reason I shouldn't be?"

Julis shook her head. "That's not what I meant. I am just not expecting it."

"In any case, don't waste your breath with chasing them, for now."

Kirika narrowed her eyes.

What are you saying?

A constant frown had always come rather naturally for Kirika.

But, scowling was only felt to her when she was actually offended.

You don't have the right to decide that, princess.

"Who are you to decide that for me?"

Kirika made sure her voice remained level. Her glare could convey everything else unspoken.

Almost immediately, the princess took a step back, alarmed. However, Julis didn't back down.

"Believe me when I say I'm speaking from experience. Once they fail to land a sneak attack like that, they will turn tail and run. Rats are difficult to catch when they put their mind into running away."

Julis explained matter-of-factly, leaving no room for argument. Kirika felt like scoffing.

There was truth in those words, but it was unlikely it was spoken from the experience of hunting these so-called rats. Julis didn't seem like the type who would actively deal with them.

Why are you stopping me, anyways?

Julis was the victim. If anything, the princess should be more offended for being ambushed.

For a moment, Kirika considered ignoring the advice. But – the picture which followed that line of thought made her halt.

If I were to go now… Julis would follow me.

That wouldn't do. If Julis followed Kirika when dealing with the trash, she would end up revealing too many things about herself too early.

Abilities, experience, mindset, and a number of personality traits... attributes which Kirika could certainly keep hidden in certain circumstances, but not when hunting people.

Moving step-by-step was important when building a relationship. Reveal too much of oneself too soon, and it might alienate the other party.

…Right. Consider the big picture. Dealing with some schemer shouldn't be prioritized over Julis.

Trying to convince Julis to let her deal with this alone might be doable, but considering the princess's personality… Kirika doubted it could be done within a reasonable timeframe.

More so because–

Those eyes… you remind me too much of those two.

Kirika knew that look on Julis's face, when concern and determination became one.

She had seen similar looks from two people she knew. Amagiri Haruka, her dear sister; and Amagiri Sakura, her late mother.

She didn't want to dissuade those eyes. The fact Julis inexplicably looked like an aged down, teenage version of her mother only reinforced that feeling.

Oh well…

"I suppose there is no reason to risk ourselves getting hurt for something worthless like chasing out some trash who will eventually show up again."

Her voice didn't raise, but she made sure to channel every last bit of her anger and venom into the last half of her sentence.

...It felt good.

Kirika expected the princess to rebuke her for the less than polite choice of words, but against her expectations, Julis merely smirked – a little too viciously.

"On that point, I agree."

Julis's concerned expression shifted into one which screamed 'I am going to pay back for this humiliation tenfold'.

It almost made Kirika chuckle.

Is that for them? Or for me? I am more or less the winner, after all.

If the ambush hadn't happened, then while Julis was distracted by the thrown [Fallen Aurora] manadyte, Kirika had ample opportunities to wreck the princess with her [Amagiri Shinmei Ryu] (天霧辰明流; Heavenly Mist Bright Dragon Style).

Still, there was no reason to point it out, and it didn't seem Julis had any thoughts about continuing their duel. This duel had served its purpose.

There was no more reason to be here. Kirika supposed it would best to pick up her transformed weapon and return now.

"Let's return to our dorm, then. We cannot continue our duel like this, anyway."

Kirika glanced at Julis's feet, still decorated by flame wings. Apparently noticing where her eyes were staring, Julis let out an 'oh'.

The princess promptly dispelled it, and the flames dissipate into small sparks of prana. In the same breath, she deactivated her Lux rapier and stored it back to her skirt holder.

"I have no objections. But, are you okay with leaving that lake as it is?"

Julis pointed her thumb to the lake behind her back, beyond the fog, as she said that. It seemed she thought it would be trouble if it was left alone.

Normally, the princess would be right. If the lake continuously produced fog capable of jamming computer signals, it could escalate into a large-scale problem that couldn't be ignored by the school.

It was even more so significant on modern combat academies, which relied upon the network established by the main servers and the badges in order to monitor and organize the students.

But Kirika shook her head. That was not the case here.

"It's alright. To begin with, artificially-induced mana reactions like that would not last long unless I remain in contact with it."

Kirika had just catalysed the reaction which affected the flow of mana within the lake for it to produce fog, and without her as a metaphorical catalyst, it would only last temporarily.

Heeding her words, Julis' expression looked as if the gears inside her head were turning.

"Artificially-induced… do you mean, the mechanism behind it is similar to the way mana has affected our climate?"

Kirika decided to smile at her inquiry. That was both a very accurate analysis and a very welcome change of topic.

Since the Invertia, change of seasons had become unnaturally hectic. Even tropical countries could experience seasons which should only happen in subtropical geographies and vice versa; to say nothing of the everchanging intensity in those seasons themselves.

Her technique to create fog using bodies of water infused with mana was indeed using the same process as the process happening in the mana-concentrated atmosphere; more specifically, the process related to the water cycle.

"You could say that. Natural phenomena like those are several orders of magnitude larger in scale, however."

Even though Kirika said that, Julis opened her eyes wide in astonishment.

"Even if it's on a much smaller scale, to replicate the effect using only your own prana to control the water's mana… I suppose it is not impossible, but this is the first time I've ever seen anyone with that level of prana skill. How did you learn it?"

Julis sounded both impressed and curious at the same time.

"We could talk about it…"

Kirika was all too happy to converse about subjects related to combat and training, but for now-

"…next time. Now I need to go back to the dorm, I still haven't seen my room."

The walk back to the female dormitory was surprisingly uneventful and silent.

Behind Kirika, Julis seemed to be content with silence as the two of them made their way through the still incredibly thick fog. The Lux glasses made them a non-issue, but it didn't seem to make the princess less careful with each of her steps.

Not that Kirika would chide Julis about it – not many Genestellars could feel comfortable when ominous mist shrouded everything around you, especially when it was infused with high concentration of mana. It would interfere with a normal Genestellar's senses.

Luckily for them, while the fog had covered the lake and the small forest behind the female dorms, it hadn't quite reached the front yard, and Kirika could practically feel Julis relaxing beside her when they reached the garden where they agreed on a duel earlier.

"I see the fog has thinned around here."

In response to Julis' comment, Kirika took off her glasses and neatly put it back to the casing inside her pocket.

As if on cue, Julis quickly did the same and handed her set of glasses back to her with her right hand.

"Here. Thank you for letting me use it."

Nodding to accept her gratitude, Kirika quickly took it from her hand.

"It is for our duel, after all. No need to thank me."

"Err, about our duel…"

Julis visibly hesitated, and her words trailed off.

It took the princess three seconds before she continued.

"Regarding just now, um… thank you. For saving me."

The urge to smile tingled Kirika's lips. Julis really was far from the prideful person she had suspected her to be this morning.

"You aren't going to count that as another favour owed, are you?"

Kirika half-expected Julis to reply in the affirmative, but the princess only let out a chuckle.

"I am not that rude. This morning, I dismissed you as a particularly odd stranger, so I handled it like that. But now that I have duelled you, I don't think it is appropriate since we are, at least, acquaintances now. Friendly ones, at that."

Julis spoke slightly faster than usual, and she even smiled in a somewhat proud fashion when she said the word 'friendly'.

Could it be… this princess actually doesn't have any friends?

It was terribly rude to assume so, but considering her personality… in all honesty, Kirika wouldn't put it past her.

It was even possible that Julis didn't even have a partner for the Phoenix Festa yet.

After all, Julis was straightforward; so straight that the line practically bent over.

…With such a delicious prey, how could Kirika resist the temptation to tease her?

"Is it part of the common culture in Lieseltania to get to know each other better through duels? How spartan."

Kirika had intended her words to be a joke, but it seemed that it was only funny to one of them; Julis looked equal parts horrified and ridiculed.

"Wha- how do you even reach that conclusion? My nation is nowhere as barbaric as that! In the first place, aren't you the one who asked to duel me?"

Julis crossed her arms, and the pout in her face was basically screaming 'girl, not funny'. Her cheeks were even slightly puffed – not quite like a child, but definitely not like an adult.

Kirika had no idea that kind of comical expression could naturally form on Julis' face. It reminded her of a mochi – Japanese rice cakes often decorated with cutesy expressions. Julis was quite adorable like that.

Giggling lightly, Kirika opened her mouth.

"May I pinch your cheeks?"

"What?"

Julis was only able to raise a brow to the sudden change of topic.

It seemed elaboration was needed.

"Your pouting face is like a mochi. No one should be that adorable at your age."

"A-ador-"

Faster than Kirika could blink, Julis reddened and cut herself off.

"I, I am not adorable! And what is a mochi?!"

The princess was approaching the 'too loud for Kirika's ears' threshold of volume, but she supposed that reaction was worth it.

Still, as enjoyable as playing with Julis was, it was about time to cut it short.

Kirika hadn't seen her room yet, and her luggage – which was sent earlier through courier – would need to be tidied before evening fell.

That, and avoiding being seen with Julis by the other students would be wise for the time being. Any of those students could be the ambusher.

Considering the situation, it would be better if Kirika didn't escalate the rumors between her and Julis by getting seen with the princess in the dormitories.

I guess I'll end this just like in the class, then.

For the 12th time today, Kirika smiled. This time without any restraint, and only for Julis.

As Kirika had expected, it stunned Julis enough for the princess to stop mumbling and stare.

Just like this morning. Am I really that good looking? Or is it the smile?

When Kirika remembered how Julis was always in a daze after taking a good look at her, it seemed both were the case.

Julis was naturally earnest, so taking advantage of her like this was a bit mean, but Kirika didn't miss that chance.

"I will treat you to one, some time. See you later, Julis."

And with that, Kirika turned and walked away, unceremoniously leaving the princess at the gate.

There were four seconds of silence before Julis yelled.

"Wa-wait! We are not done yet! Hey! Don't ignore me again!"

This time, Kirika couldn't help but giggle as she made her escape.

Done! How was the chapter? Leave your thoughts in the reviews!

Sorry that the chapter had taken so long! There were several, unexpected, and fairly annoying obstructions in my process of typing this chapter.

Two of the most significant ones I want to mention, is my lack of experience for writing combat scenes, and because I failed to schedule myself properly. Shopkeeping, trying to apply for a visa, and reading light novels took up most of my time.

However, I don't want you to hold back in your criticism because of that, and I don't want to turn them into my excuse, either. Also, if it is okay with you readers, I want you to state your overall opinion for my OC, Amagiri Kirika, so far.

Anyway, thank you for following the development of "Asterisk Winter" so far!