Act 1

Start of a Study Case

Chapter 8

Pseudo-Reunion and... Pseudo-Interview?

Saya felt sleepy.

It was with unimaginable amount of willpower that she was able to escape the hold of her blanket this morning.

She was tempted – so very tempted – to submit herself to the bed as its prisoner and continue sleeping without a care for this world.

But… no. No matter how badly Saya wanted to doze off and dream, she had to go for class today.

Farewell, blanket…

It was the second day in the second trimester of her first year of high school. She had already skipped the first day, another absence might cause trouble.

That meanie teacher, Yatsuzaki, would bonk her head again. Probably with some detentions for good measure.

Detentions are bad. Evil.

With this reasoning, Saya had halfheartedly left her haven in the female dorms for the torture room known as her class.

It was no exaggeration. She had only been in this school for four months, and the lessons were either something she already knew or not worth learning.

Social studies? Boring and mostly useless in a combat academy. Moral studies? Important in principle, but didn't matter in theory within this era of corruption. English? Not even worth mentioning, she could finish the exams while half-asleep.

Mathematics, physics and chemistry? Dear old Dad's a science researcher, and his teachings probably had more weight than anything the teachers here could provide. Natural science and [Meteoric Mana Engineering]? Dad's specialty.

Physical and combat education? The one lesson which shouldn't be boring, became dull and repetitive when most of her peers just couldn't measure up to her standards, barring three people – two of whom were too shady to show off their skills in the class.

In short, all of the mandatory subjects of the Seidoukan Academy were almost completely pointless. And useless classes were the bane of her existence.

Sleep… maybe I could still sleep before the class began?

It wouldn't be too hard, for her to sleep again. As a means to pass the time, it was worth doing.

And with that thought, as soon as she reached the class, Saya bolted toward her seat, slumped on the chair and slammed her head on the table before her.

Good night…

Saya lost track of the time by then. She didn't know, and honestly didn't care, when the class would begin by that point.

All she knew was, her sleep was suddenly interrupted by something beyond her wildest dreams.

"Is it really you?"

Her eyes snapped open through pure reflex. The soft, familiar voice sent shivers throughout her body enough to jolt her awake.

…This voice.

It sounded slightly different than Saya remembered. The voice was a bit deeper – though it was hard to tell due to how soft the whisper was.

But Saya couldn't not recognize it. She hadn't heard it in a long time, but her memories of it were far, far too precious to ever forget.

The one who made her childhood so colorful– a friend, a rival, a partner, a sister, a treasure, and so much more––

Kiri!

Recognition compelled her to raise her head as fast as humanly possible and snap her neck to her right.

Her bright, scarlet irises met pale, periwinkle blue ones. Saya could see her face reflected on those polished blue.

Those eyes…

It felt like her heart leapt to her throat. She had always thought that idiom was a stupid way to describe sudden excitement or giddiness, but now it felt it couldn't be more appropriate.

It really is you…

Her heart pounded so much she felt ache on her chest. Euphoria had hit her so suddenly, her body's muscles tightened up in shock. Even smiling was difficult: her face became too stiff.

"Saya…"

The hushed whisper of her name, disbelief clearly affecting her friend's usual eloquence, made her ears tingle. Saya wasn't sure if she liked or disliked the feeling, but it was surreal.

Could this be a dream? It wouldn't be the first time she had daydreamed about meeting Kiri again. It would be such a shame if it was, though…

Saya forced herself to look away from those petrifying eyes and focused. She needed to size up the girl, to confirm whether or not this was a dream.

"…"

…Okay, definitely not a dream. But she is really different…

The last time Saya saw Kiri was 6 years ago. Back then, she was still a little girl only slightly taller than Saya herself with ghastly skin tone, large eyes with pale blue irises, as well as flowing long hair in deep purple – colors resembling different shades of periwinkles.

Kiri was a lot bigger now. Compared to herself, her friend was 25 cm or so taller, boasted wider shoulders and hips, longer arms and legs, and a much larger bust... though proportionately speaking, it wasn't particularly small or large upon Kiri's body.

Puberty definitely hit Kiri like a truck… how unfair…

Though, there was one thing which was out of place. Why did Kiri dye her hair? Saya had to admit the snow white hair looked pretty, but her friend used to love unkempt, natural beauty. Dye wasn't something the old Kiri would do unless she had good reasons to.

Have you changed… or did you do it out of necessity?

Saya had a feeling it was necessity, but she shouldn't and wouldn't presume about anything, especially about her friend. And while she was certain this student next to her was Kiri, there was still a small possibility the girl was just a look-alike.

With that in mind, Saya returned the whisper, as softly as she could manage.

"…Kiri?"

The girl's eyes widened slightly. It was a minute gesture, but there was recognition in it.

A moment later, her lips curved into a gentle, endearing smile.

"Lange ist es her, ich habe dich wohl warten lassen, mein alter Freund?"

Saya blinked.

The voice was Kiri's, no doubt about it – puberty didn't seem to affect her smooth, naturally high pitch too much – but why was she speaking German?

Not to mention, the words… Saya was more than a bit distracted right now, so she wasn't paying full attention, but did Kiri just say…

'It's been a while… I guess I kept you waiting, my old friend…?'

"...!"

Understanding dawned on her mind. If she wasn't happy earlier, she definitely was, now. No, it would be more accurate to say she felt more joyful than she had been for years.

It's Kiri, alright. Somehow casually conversing in German, the language Saya had spoken the most for the last 6 years since moving to Berlin.

She doesn't have to go that far… we can communicate just fine…

Perhaps it was presumptuous of her to assume Kiri learned German only for her. However, Saya was sure about herself playing a part one way or another in her friend's decision.

I suppose that's just how Kiri is.

If her friend would go that far for their reunion, then she was obliged to do the same.

"Viel zu lange. Ich hab dich vermisst."

'Far too long. I miss you.'

Saya felt a small part of herself was being too forward, too bold with her choice of words.

But, a larger part of herself didn't care. After all, it was true.

They had been separated for 6 years, but it felt far, far longer.

And I miss you. No past tense.

Hearing her reply, Kiri's smile became slightly more melancholic.

"Ich habe dich auch vermisst…"

'I also miss you…'

Those words made Saya feel happier than she would admit. The fact Kiri also didn't use past tense made her feel appreciated.

She didn't miss the faint signs of annoyance which suddenly marred her friend's eyes, though. It was not directed at her, but it was annoyance all the same.

Kiri let out a sigh, before she continued.

"Es gibt so viel zu erzählen... aber nicht hier."

'There's so much that I need to tell you... but not here.'

Ah. So, that's the source of Kiri's annoyance. Her friend didn't appreciate the fact they were here, in the midst of class.

Now that the thought crossed her mind, Saya felt painfully aware of the stares of everyone in the class, too. Their prana, projected through their stares, felt awful.

Tch… what a way to ruin the moment…

On hindsight, it was a good idea for Kiri to speak German. As far as Saya knew, only Riessfeld would understand their exchange, and she shouldn't care less.

With an understanding nod, Saya replied.

"Ich verstehe. Unsere Wiedervereinigung ist schließlich eine private Angelegenheit."

'I understand. Our reunion is after all a private matter.'

How frustrating. It had already taken a lot of willpower for Saya to restrain her urge to just leap and hug her childhood friend as soon as she was sure it was really Kiri.

She wasn't afraid of invading her friend's personal space – Kiri never minded, as far as she could remember – but a matter of privacy, she could agree with.

It didn't make it any less… unbearable. Saya could still feel her own prana stirring in a disorderly manner. She always got twitchy when she wanted to do something, but couldn't.

I…

"Aber... kann ich dich wenigstens umarmen?"

'But… can I at least hug you?'

Surely, a hug or two wouldn't be a problem? They were the center of attention already.

Unfortunately, Kiri shook her head. Saya bit her lip at that.

"Bitte?"

'Please?'

It was probably very childish to plead like that, but Saya really wanted a hug.

At that however, Kiri's lips twisted into a mischievous smirk.

"Oh, glaub mir, ich werde dich so oft umarmen du wirst um Gnade flehen... aber nicht jetzt und vor allem nicht hier."

Unlike the soft-spoken words of before, Kiri spoke faster, each word pronounced with a smoother accent, and with a far, far more playful tone.

'Oh, trust me, I will hug you so often you will be begging for mercy... but not now and especially not here.'

…Now Saya felt relieved they were speaking in German. If the rest of the class understood that, it could lead to several misunderstandings.

Though… being hugged until she was forced to plead for mercy? She couldn't say the thought didn't have some appeal… although embarrassing…

Not to mention…

Saya had to bite her lip. If this was anyone other than Kiri, this question could be easily misunderstood too…

Because the two of them needed to talk in private–

"Ich freue mich schon drauf. Treffen wir uns in meinem or deinem Raum?"

'I'm already looking forward to that. Do we meet in my room or your room?'

To her friend's credit, Kiri merely chuckled.

"Ich habe nicht gerade viel mitgenommen als ich hier eingezogen bin, mein Raum ist also etwas leer. Deswegen wäre deiner wahrscheinlich sehr viel besser geeignet."

'I didn't really bring much when I moved here, so my room is a bit empty. That's why I think yours would be better suited for it.'

To be honest, Saya would prefer to see Kiri's new room. But that was that, this was this.

"Mein Raum also..."

'My room then…'

Saya halted. She could hear footsteps echoing in the hallway, outside the class.

Judging from how Kiri rolled her eyes toward the class entrance, she seemed to notice too.

These long strides… Yatsuzaki.

The meanie teacher was about to arrive… how unfortunate. Their chat would have to wait.

But… there was one more thing. The one thing she absolutely must say to her friend.

"Kiri."

For the first time in what felt like forever, Saya truly felt like smiling.

"Willkommen zurück."

'Welcome back.'

Kiri appeared stunned for a moment – it was cute to look at.

Then, the gentle smile from earlier returned to those lips.

"Ich bin zuhause~!"

'I'm home~!'

Saya felt those words had healed something within her soul.

Kiri's presence had soothed her in ways she couldn't describe.

More. This wasn't enough, nowhere near enough.

But... classes…

And just like that, Saya felt her mood plummet from its zenith.

"Oi! Hurry back to your seats!"

The hoarse voice of Yatsuzaki Kyouko loudly resounded as she stood at the class entrance.

Her green eyes swept over the entire class with a sharp glint, before it settled on one individual.

"Hoo, is that Sasamiya I am seeing in the back?"

If only I was a Strega...

With the ability to shrink. Preferably to microscopic size. This wouldn't be so much of a hassle.

"Why were you absent yesterday?" The meanie barked. "It's the first day of your second trimester."

Hum. There was no need to hide the truth, Saya supposed being nonchalant about it was for the best.

Saya nodded to herself. "I overslept."

Yatsuzaki's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Again?"

"Yes."

The tall woman frowned, and slowly made her way to the front of Saya's desk, dragging her bat across the floor.

"You already know what comes next, right?"

Of course. Even so, Saya still felt apprehensive of it. So like always... she closed her eyes.

*THUMP*

The sensation of a fist hitting the crown of her head was honestly part of her routine at this point.

It hurts more than the last trimester...

It wouldn't have hurt so much if she had used prana to defend herself, but that wasn't a good idea.

Yatsuzaki would have just bonked her head again. Maybe even with the nailed bat. And two hands.

"I am not even going to bother chastising you." The meanie sighed. "Since this is a new trimester, I will let you off with just that."

Saya opened her eyes, now slightly tearful due to the pain, and looked up to Yatsuzaki's surprisingly calm face.

It was almost unbelievable. No detention? "Really...?"

"But," Yatsuzaki's eyes and voice became dangerous, "expect the usual punishment if you are absent again."

A chill ran down Saya's spine. Detentions were truly evil. They were worse than useless classes, by far.

Though... if Kiri is here...

At the corner of her eyes, Kiri gave her a glance with a nostalgic smile.

Perhaps the classes wouldn't be so bad, after all...

Kirika was unsure if there was even a single word which could describe all of her feelings at the moment.

Lightheadedness, the sensation of a weight being lifted off her shoulders. Homesickness, a nostalgia so powerful even her prana reacted to the memory. Giddiness, from being able to surprise her friend with a bit of German talk.

Above all, the overwhelming warmth, the overpowering happiness, born from the wonderful realization which came from a simple fact: 'I'm home, for she is here with me'. A friend, a rival, a partner, and a sister in every way which mattered – someone precious.

Sasamiya Saya.

Even now, after the class had begun, Kirika had to resist the urge to glance toward the seat on her left. It still didn't feel real, even though it was obviously reality.

The surreal feeling was probably partially caused by Saya's appearance – 6 years seemed to change almost nothing about her looks, at least without proper inspection.

Saya still looks like a cute doll... though the growth problems seem to be less of an issue now.

Saya might retain her lithe figure and her height barely grew – she's currently 150 cm or less – but there were a lot of weight hidden in that small frame now. Kirika could hear Saya's muscles tense up when their eyes met earlier; it's easy to assess them from there.

The muscle tissues of Genestellars were much stronger than a normal human's, and their basic structure didn't change much as they grew. Yet Saya had trained hers intense enough for its structural sounds to change, but specific enough for it to remain hidden from sight.

Knowing her, she probably trains them in such a way it wouldn't be seen even when shirtless.

Her face didn't seem to change much. Her scarlet-laced eyes were still very large, to the point the rest of her smooth facial features didn't have much of an impression. Even that perpetual half-lidded look and stiff lips remained the same as before.

Still, there was no telling how much Saya had changed on the inside. It had been a long while since Kirika last saw her: surely, she had experienced many things.

I wonder… what kind of 'you' have you become?

She couldn't wait for their private conversation later.

I also want to show you what kind of 'me' I have become.

There were many, many things for them to catch up about.

The two of us have waited together for long enough.

A lot had happened in the last 6 years – ever since Saya moved away, ever since Haruka disappeared.

The effort Kirika put forth to find her lost elder sister had brought her to many places, carried her through many experiences, until it brought her here.

There were things she had to forget and leave behind. Yet, she never once forgot the promise made with her friend, to wait together for the day of their reunion.

It didn't go the way Kirika had planned it, but these circumstances were beyond her ability to predict and anticipate.

To think we would meet again here…

To meet her beloved friend within the city she hated the most in the world, inside the classroom of a school she enrolled merely as an afterthought… how ironically amusing.

The 'miracle' called coincidences truly do have their part in the lives of everyone, eh? Assuming this is coincidence.

Kirika doubted this reunion was or even could be planned way in advance – but she would not dismiss the notion.

Throughout her experience, there were at least two individuals who had the necessary resources and the intellect to plan this out, now three with the addition of Claudia.

Though Kirika could discount the president out of possibility – and the other two likely didn't have the luxury of time necessary to pull this off.

After all, if the crafty blonde knew about Saya, there wouldn't even be any need to look up information about Haruka for the second invitation.

Because if Claudia had shown me Saya was in her school, I would have accepted her first invitation.

If Saya was the bait, Kirika would have bitten it hook, line and sinker. With a lot of back up and contingency plans, but she would still be baited.

That would make for a funny sight, too. Claudia fishing me up with Saya.

While Claudia might have assumed 'Saya might not be enough to sway Kirika' – someone as thorough as the president should have mentioned Saya at least once to test the waters.

In short, there was no need to question this coincidence being a fact…

But I do need to question why Saya is here, in Asterisk City.

It wasn't as if it was out of character. Saya didn't exactly hate the Asterisk – she was quite unlike Haruka and Kirika herself in that regard – but she wasn't fond of it either.

Unless that had changed, Saya wouldn't enter this city without a good reason to. It might have something to do with her father's job, as a Meteoric Mana Engineering researcher.

To be fair, my presence here is far more questionable to her. After all...

Her prana stirred, ever so slightly. A hint to the depths of her hatred.

I do hate this city.

Kirika was in this city to look for Haruka, but it was rather unlikely Saya had learned about their sister's disappearance since their separation.

Truly, the two of them had a lot of overdue things to talk about. So many, she couldn't be sure if she could count them all.

But first, there are a few things to take care of.

Before the chit-chat with Saya, she had to talk with two people whom had already made an appointment with her – Julis and Shirou.

Apologizing and explaining herself to the Princess was a lot more important than the Shinobi's farce, but she had already agreed to play along with him, so she would.

Come to think of it... I wonder what went through Shirou-kun's head when Saya and I were chatting?

Kirika was tempted to look back to his seat. While Shirou didn't understand German, he could read context and the emotions exchanged through a conversation – it wouldn't be hard for him to guess who Saya was to her.

If the Shinobi did, he must be feeling very incredulous at the moment. The guy had put a lot of effort trying to recruit her in months, and it turned out there was someone whom he could have used to easily recruit her right under his nose.

Though, his incredulity might be outweighed by excitement – now he had the excuse to interview both her and Saya after all – Kirika was 100% sure he was going to ask a lot of questions later.

He is interesting like that.

Shirou's reaction was predictable in this case, but what about Julis? Now Kirika was tempted to glance to the right of her seat.

Most likely, Julis would be surprised. Not enough to be a shock, but enough to give her a pause. After all, the transfer student who had somewhat garnered her attention and a classmate of hers turned out to be old friends.

It was extremely likely everyone in this class had thought of Saya as just 'another average student'. Judging from how the entire class – Julis and Shirou included – were so surprised when Kirika scolded the princess yesterday, it was clear no one here had encountered or expected a Japanese student speaking in German.

In turn, this meant Saya had been rather reclusive in this class – no one knew she could speak German, and no one even knew where she came from to suspect she could. Assuming Saya hadn't changed her 'ethics' – or lack thereof – she wouldn't bother exerting the effort to excel in any subject, either. It was unlikely anyone would take note of her, Julis included.

Though, my conversation just now with Saya might make Julis consider reevaluating her.

Whether or not that would actually happen depended on how interested Julis was about the person known as 'Amagiri Kirika' however. And Kirika wasn't even sure why the princess was interested on her, let alone how deep the interest ran.

The princess had stated about being 'friendly acquaintances' with her, which was more or less accurate. The two of them just met yesterday, but they had learned quite a bit about each other – and both of them had found the other interesting enough to continue interacting.

This, in and of itself, was interesting – judging by information from Shirou, Julis had displayed absolutely no interest in forming any sort of relationship with anyone here ever since her transfer into this school a year ago.

So, why the interest in me? A transfer student whom she just met?

Kirika would be the first to accuse herself of being 'out of the norm' – from a stranger's perspective, her appearance was unusual for a Genestellar, and while her ability to hide her emotions was only above average, she didn't express anythingthrough her prana residue.

Most Genestellars were constantly exposed to the residual prana projected by their kind. It influenced them to the point individuals who didn't leak prana – such as ordinary humans – would alienate Genestellars on an instinctive level, though exceptions did exist.

Genestellars who knew how to suppress their prana such as Shirou and herself would feel even more unnerving to most of their kind. It was why the Shinobi from the Yabuki clan only did so in combat – unlike her.

And it's just the 'surface' of my existence.

But Kirika didn't think any of her surface traits would be deemed interesting by someone like Julis. The princess was the type who judged people like puzzles: learning each characteristic piece by piece before deciding whether or not she wanted to try and finish the whole set.

It has similarities with my own perspective, but distinct enough to earn its own classification.

Put simply, Julis wasn't a shallow person who judged by appearance or apparent behavior alone, but her standards for deeming someone worthy of interest was quite high. This was the most likely explanation as for why the princess had dismissed social attempts from the class.

With that in mind, why exactly 'Amagiri Kirika' was deemed as a puzzle worthy of attention by Julis? This was a question with several methods to answer, and also one with several possible answers.

Normally, she would love to take the time to analyze her own characteristics which had been consciously or subconsciously displayed so far, from Julis' point of view. However, now there was a change of plans.

Because Saya is here.

As much as Kirika wanted to, she couldn't take her time and spend it too much on Julis or Shirou. She had to talk with Saya as soon as possible, and since her choice of location was Saya's room, 'as soon as possible' would be after today's classes.

That meant she only had breaktime to converse with the Princess and the Shinobi. The interlude between the classes only lasted for half an hour – she doubted it was enough time to talk extensively with the two of them in succession.

Most likely, Shirou-kun would try to interview me and Saya as soon as it is break time, while Julis would try to drag me along somewhere private for the talk.

Which meant the most pragmatic step to take was: deal with the Shinobi's farce as quickly and efficiently as possible, then leave the class with the princess. Saya might be confused by that turn of events, but it could be explained later.

Kirika found herself glancing at the clock on the wall above the Lux board which Yatsuzaki Kyouko was using to project videos about the combat applications of physical phenomena affected by the presence of mana.

I should use the remaining time to plan my script out...

Julis was... unsure about what to take in from the conversation she had witnessed.

If she was astonished the day before, when a foreigner from the East gave her a scolding in her own language, then Julis was positively awestruck seeing not one, but two of them smoothly conversing with the same language in an outwardly casual, but heartfelt, reunion.

Kirika did mention about having a friend who lived in Berlin, one whom she planned to visit... who would have expected that friend would be a classmate in a school you transferred in, literally two continents away from her supposed home?

That means they don't keep in contact with each other...

Which was quite odd; judging from their conversation, it was beyond clear that the two of them, Amagiri Kirika and Sasamiya Saya, were childhood friends who were more than just a little fond of each other.

She couldn't claim to know Sasamiya very well; the blue-haired girl was one of the few students who didn't bother trying to socialize with her, or anyone else for that matter. Julis could respect that – this pathetic excuse of an educational institute was no place to make friends.

Julis could, however, recognize the girl was not what she seemed to be.

Sasamiya was, to put it bluntly, almost a delinquent – she was frequently absent from classes without clear reasons, often came late in the days she did attend classes, and almost always fell asleep in the midst of lessons nevertheless.

Yet in spite of that, she consistently passed all the necessary exams, written or practical, including combat. Although her scores were barely passable, Julis could tell Sasamiya wasn't putting much of an effort, either.

There was a hidden apathy in Sasamiya's person. A severe disconnect between herself and her surroundings – there was nothing, at least in this school, which she actually considered worth investing her attention at.

Anyone with such disconnection could not possibly be 'normal'.

Julis could tell because she had seen it before – whenever she had the displeasure of meeting the executive agents of Integrated Enterprise Foundation who supervised her brother's government and her country.

To an uncertain extent, they were similar. There was absolutely no interest when assessing their surroundings, lacking any sort of deeper or meaningful attachment. The difference was, if the IEF agents 'looked down' from above, Sasamiya was simply 'indifferent' to her level.

Ultimately, that was why Julis had decided not to try approaching the enigmatic girl, even though Sasamiya was different from the vast majority of her peers – who were unworthy of any sort of interaction.

On hindsight, perhaps it is not too surprising for her and Kirika to be friends...

Their outward behaviors were largely the same. Mostly quiet, seemingly stoic, and apparently apathetic to their surroundings. Yet the moment they recognized each other, they dropped that facade as if it was a mask they wore out of habit rather than any actual need of it.

It was a startlingly familiar sight. One she could never forget.

"..."

Julis felt like staring at the two childhood friends chatting next to her would draw out too many memories for her liking. Yet, she couldn't stop herself from staring, taking in everything exchanged between them. Their words, their expressions, their emotions.

It was not until Kirika and Sasamiya ended their conversation that Julis was finally able to look away. Just in time too, since Yatsuzaki Kyouko entered shortly after they exchanged their sentiments.

'Welcome back' and 'I am home'... huh.

She didn't miss the implied meaning behind their choice of words. Their home – was the presence of each other. There was a powerful bond between the two of them, the kind which was rare to even form in this day and age.

How... enviable. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Julis had no other words to describe it.

*RIIIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGG*

Julis felt her eyes widen in surprise. The bell? It's breaktime already?

Am I truly so engrossed in my thoughts that I actually lost track of time?

It was vaguely annoying. She had spaced out in the last two days more often than in the last few months, and all of them involved a certain transfer student.

I really need to talk with her.

Amagiri Kirika. The foreigner from the East had proven to be far more interesting than Julis had ever expected, and her reunion with Sasamiya had only reinforced that.

Right. Kirika had also said to 'wait for the break' earlier. That meant the transfer student had planned to talk.

If so, it seemed the girl actually had reasons to avoid and run away from her yesterday, annoying as it might be.

Well... I will decide if those reasons are good enough.

With that in mind, Julis stood up and faced the table to her left, where her subject of thoughts was sitting calmly.

As if she had been waiting, Kirika craned her neck to return the stare with a blank gaze of her own.

The emotions behind those eyes were impossible to figure, but Julis at least understood the intent to talk. Time to leave the classroom, then–

"Oi oi, Princess, don't leave just yet!"

Her irritation flared. Julis knew this voice – it was the nosy boy who sat behind Kirika – Yabuki Eishirou.

With a sigh, she sent a glare to the tall boy behind the transfer student, who only grinned unrepentantly in response.

"Are you talking to me?"

Of course, Julis knew who exactly he was calling for, but she'll be damned before she responded to being called 'princess' by strangers.

"Of course, who else? We still have an overdue appointment, Princess." The boy's smirk matched his teasing tone.

She couldn't stop herself from scoffing. "Ridiculous. I have never agreed to anything of the sort."

"Ignoring me doesn't mean rejection! Silence means agreement!"

"Then I will clarify it for you. No."

"Too late! I am afraid I am going to ask you, the new chick, and the chibi over there to answer a few questions."

Completely ignoring her replies, Yabuki cheerfully pointed to her, Kirika, and Sasamiya as he spoke.

How troublesome. Actual journalists from her homeland were less pushy in comparison to self-proclaimed ones like this boy.

I wish I could forget how the other half lives...

But she supposed this was an opportunity, in a way. After all, Yabuki was trying to interview the two people she had deemed interesting as well.

It depended on Kirika and Sasamiya's willingness to be interviewed, but if they accepted... Julis supposed this time, this one time, she would humor him.

With that in mind, Julis darted her eyes back to Kirika, who stood up from her chair and turned around to stare at Yabuki.

"A student related to journalism...?"

The whitehaired girl asked softly, though judging from her choice of words it was more of an observation than a question.

Julis opened her mouth to confirm–

"Yes. His name is Yabuki Eishirou."

To Julis' surprise, Sasamiya had stood up and left her seat to face them and answer first. The blue-haired girl then continued:

"The newspaper club always keeps an eye close for anything which might sound interesting."

Much like how she looked like, the way Sasamiya spoke was rather drawled, despite her sharp and to the point choice of words.

"Is that so."

Kirika gave a brief response while her eyes briefly glanced at Sasamiya, before settling on Yabuki again.

"I don't mind. What about you, Saya?"

That was slightly unexpected. Julis had thought Kirika would be uncooperative with the idea, but it seemed she was okay with it. Too trivial, perhaps?

Sasamiya merely shrugged. "If you don't mind, I don't mind."

Again, Julis wasn't expecting that submissive response. It seemed their dynamic was not as simple as it might seem...

On the other side of the conversation, the newspaper boy's grin grew more unrepentant at the lack of objection, and he quickly pulled out a notepad and a Lux pen out of... somewhere.

"Let's officially begin! Are you really Japanese?"

Kirika raised a brow at that question, but she nevertheless opened her mouth to answer.

"100%."

"Despite your looks? Interesting." Yabuki twirled the pen on his right fingers once. "Where, how, and why did you learn German, then?"

"In my home. Hired a teacher to give me a crash course. So I can follow after someone." Kirika replied without missing a beat.

Follow after someone... must be Sasamiya.

Julis couldn't help but feel incredulous at how easily Kirika shared her private matters, but it was not important at the moment.

"Hoh, now that's a flag. I have a pretty good guess as to whom though, so I wouldn't ask."

If it was even possible, Yabuki's face became more brazen than it already was, and he eyed Sasamiya.

"You two obviously know each other. What's your relationship?"

Sasamiya and Kirika shared a very brief glance at each other – Julis was sure she would have missed it if she wasn't paying attention.

It was Kirika who answered. "We are childhood friends."

"The mainstream trope, I see!" Yabuki chuckled.

"Let me guess. Sasamiya moved away some years ago, and you two haven't kept in touch. Then the two of you transferred without knowing a fated reunion awaits here!"

"Fated reunion..."

Sasamiya seemed fixated on that word, before she raised a thumb-up.

"You've said something good, Yabuki."

"I aim to please!"

Julis nearly groaned when Yabuki gave Sasamiya a mock-bow, before he turned his attention toward her.

That made her raise an eyebrow. Didn't he intend to finish his questions to Kirika first?

Those few couldn't be all, unless he planned to keep switching targets between questions.

"Now, Princess, would you like to confirm a rumor surrounding you and our new transfer student?"

Now that, had her attention. There had been rumors circulating around the class since this morning, about her duel with Kirika.

Of course, a duel involving any of the Page Ones was bound to attract attention, but no one should have been around to witness their duel yesterday, courtesy of the fog Kirika set up beforehand.

No one, but the attacker who had tried to ambush me, anyway.

Why did the attacker spread rumors about this? For the attacker's perspective, there should be no benefit in leaking that fact out, though it wasn't necessarily a detrimental action either, depending on their plans.

Regardless, Julis would answer truthfully about the matter.

"If you are asking about the duel I had with Kirika, then yes, it happened. What of it?"

...

"Did you hear that...?"

"The Princess really did duel the transfer student!"

"But neither of them seems injured... was it just a spar?"

...

This class... everything which had something to do with her were apparently worth gossiping about, huh? Julis didn't bother resisting the urge to sigh.

"Is it true?"

It was surprisingly Sasamiya and not Yabuki who asked the question. Julis turned her gaze to meet hers.

"Is it true?" The girl pressed. "You and Kiri had a duel?"

Sasamiya's scarlet eyes narrowed sharply, and what was definitely prana flared in the air.

If this was anywhere outside class, Julis would have assumed the girl intended to attack her.

Why?

Julis had to gauge her reaction. "It is true. You haven't heard?"

"What's the result?"

Sasamiya didn't lessen the intensity of her glare. What did she want to hear, exactly? Julis decided to elaborate.

"Someone interfered in the thick of it. We never did settle the matter."

At the admission, Sasamiya snapped her neck to Kirika's direction, and the two of them seemed to communicate with their eyes for a moment.

Suddenly, Kirika's lips curved into a cheeky smirk not unlike Yabuki's. It was so uncharacteristic on her usually blank face, it was almost startling.

For some reason, that seemed to placate Sasamiya, and the blue-haired girl visibly relaxed.

Julis made a mental note to ask Kirika later about how did they communicate with just that.

"Well, well. I see someone is jealous."

Yabuki interrupted the silent talk between them with his usual frivolous tone. He clearly had figured something out... but what did he mean by jealous?

"That reminds me. Sasamiya, when you first joined the school, you made a request to leave Asterisk. How'd that go?"

Sasamiya made such a request?

Though Asterisk was physically located on Japanese soil, it was sovereignly its own land. As such, one who wished to leave the city first had to make a proper request to the immigration and emigration center.

In the case of a local student studying in one of the combat academies – the Japanese ones, to be specific – the process was apparently made slightly easier to help them cross the borders. They simply had to request their schools.

If she did request it... it was likely to visit Kirika.

Sasamiya threw a glare to Yabuki's direction. "...I haven't gotten permission yet. Why do you ask? "

"Nothing~" Yabuki replied with a sing-song voice. "It's just, if I'm not wrong, that request to leave no longer needs to be granted–"

Then it happened.

Kirika had her gleaming sapphire sword in hand to point toward Yabuki's throat across the table separating them, while Saya had moved to the boy's left side to point a pistol-like Lux at him.

The movements of the two girls were incredibly fast; Julis didn't even see them draw their weapons out. It was both alarming and impressive.

Julis couldn't help but notice, while Kirika's expression became blank – though she could swear there's a hint of amusement – Sasamiya's frown was worse than it usually was.

To his credit, Yabuki had closed his mouth shut as fast as the two girls threatening him had drawn their weapons.

It was Kirika who spoke first, her tone smooth as usual.

"Don't make fun of her."

"Grr."

Sasamiya followed up soon after with an angry-sounding growl.

"Alright, alright, I get it. My bad."

Yabuki raised his arms in surrender, prompting both girls to dispel their weapons – Kirika's sword back into its gem state, Sasamiya's pistol dematerialized back into just a small handle.

As soon as the weapons faded from view however, the boy's cheeky smile returned.

"You two might look calm, but you have quite the temper, eh?"

The blue-haired girl glared at him again, but Kirika responded first before another argument could spark.

"Make of it as you will. Are you done?"

It was curt, but Julis could tell Kirika was referring to the interview which was cut short by the boy's own tactlessness.

"Well..."

Yabuki's eyes glanced at Sasamiya, who seemed ready to draw her gun again if he said the wrong thing.

"Seems I have overstepped. Shall we continue for another time? It's breaktime now anyway, so we should use it."

That seemed to be the right thing to say, as Sasamiya had stopped glaring at Yabuki and turned toward Kirika.

"Kiri. Let's chat in the canteen."

Julis was ready to step in their conversation if the transfer student had forgotten their appointment, but Kirika leaned closer to Sasamiya while covering her mouth from view–

"–––––––"

"...?"

Kirika whispered to Sasamiya's left ear, and by the looks of it, it was not a short message.

I can't hear it at this distance...

Even with the enhanced hearing of a Genestellar, there were limits which Julis couldn't surpass. From her five senses, her olfactory abilities were the most developed, not hearing.

The blue-haired girl's expression went from a very mild confusion with a raised brow, then to incredulity as her eyes narrowed, and finally reluctant acceptance as she... pouted?

It's kinda cute...

In a strange, inexplicable way, it reminded her of her family – her real family, not the estranged brother whom she only shared her blood with.

Sasamiya then turned to meet Kirika's gaze, and they seemed to silently communicate with their eyes again, before the shorter of the two of them sighed.

"Haa... fine. But I am expecting an explanation, Kiri."

"Thank you, Saya."

To be honest, Julis wanted to ask just how they were communicating, but she knew it was none of her business.

Besides, her business with Kirika began now.

"Amagiri Kirika."

It was the second time Julis had called out the transfer student's name, and she hoped like the first time, she had pronounced it correctly.

Fortunately, that seemed to be the case, as both Kirika and Sasamiya turned to meet her gaze.

One pair of blue eyes was simply staring, the other pair of scarlet was glaring at her.

Julis decided to ignore the latter to focus on the former. "We have a lot to talk about."

"It really isn't much," Kirika shook her head, "but it's something to talk about, nonetheless. Let's go."

And... that's it! Please share your thoughts about the chapter!

To be honest, this chapter was finished quite a while ago. I delayed its update because I wanted to finish Alternate Reincarnation Chapter 20 (my other Main Fic) so I can update them at once, but as it stands... the end of the year does not seem to translate to the end of my real life work.

Regardless, I will try to update that one as soon as I can, and you can expect me to continue for this one soon after... New Year. Maybe even later, if I am unlucky, but I am trying to be optimistic, hue hue.

With that said, thank you for following the development of "Asterisk Winter"!