The exchange of attack and defense drew a circle.
The pool on top of the building's flat roof had lost its water.
That was why Toby and Noah used the circular poolside as their battlefield.
They swung their blades to send out and deflect attacks.
"—"
Lights flew and they changed positions to move around that circle.
The clashing of trion was joined by the footsteps of approach and retreat.
The high-speed exchange was not solely reliant on repeated attacks from the left and right. They would also approach and deter their opponent from the knee or slash from the shoulder in a motion resembling a tackle.
They strung together their techniques to continue the fight and two people watched them after leaving the poolside.
They were Kitora and Mikumo.
Their eyes followed Toby and Noah's movements.
At times, Mikumo's eyes could not keep up. That was due to focusing on the movement of the blade tips instead of the boys' positions.
But he did ask a question while viewing their exchange.
"Why?" he asked. "Why are Toby's movements working now?"
.
Has he become a "fan"?
Words that had been told to her by others came to mind.
It could have also been a result of watching the fight.
That was how I came into the habit of calling him by his first name.
Sighing at the memory, Kitora clicked her tongue.
"Figure it out," Kitora said to Mikumo.
But she knew that was the wrong way to look at this.
...To be more accurate...
"There's no need to figure it out."
She understood.
There was a simple reason why Toby's attacks were working on Noah.
...He's defending now.
At first, Toby had only been focused on hitting Noah with his attacks.
He had been impatient.
But on the battlefield, you had to do more than just defeat your opponent; you also had to survive.
Attack and defense. Any who fought on the battlefield needed to wield both those elements at once.
It could be a pain, but it was important.
If you were prepared to block a counterattack when making a simple attack, the defender would have a much harder time striking back.
Conversely, if you were prepared to counterattack when making a simple defense, the attacker would have a much harder time attacking.
Attack and defense were not separate concepts. Combining them would give them both greater variety.
But what happened when you were missing one or the other?
...With no interceptions or counterattacks, you become a lot easier to predict.
No matter how difficult the action, if there was nothing hidden behind it, it was easy to respond to. You only had to focus on that one action.
That was the trick behind Noah's "predictions".
Toby would understand that now. So...
"He's sharp."
Toby's actions were quickly working out how to combine attack and defense.
.
...I'm so sorry! No...!
Toby felt hair starting to stick to his skin as he sent Scorpion toward Noah.
This was more than just an attack. He was thinking about what to do after it was deflected, so he was prepared to spin his body.
It was an attack that could be immediately transformed into defense. It was difficult to do so with his hips solidly behind it instead of acting out of hesitant uncertainty.
But this would be how he fought forevermore.
He could not forget what he was doing now.
Attack and defense.
If he had been true to the fundamentals, he never would have forgotten this.
But he had forgotten.
When faced with a strong opponent, he had grown impatient, prioritized defeating them, and forgotten to protect himself. Leaving it to his Side Effect had caused some stalling in previous matches.
The problem had been harsher by facing people like Noah himself and Tsukiko Squad's Shana which rendered defense meaningless.
He thought it was that battle which had messed up his sense of defense against strong opponents. He had gained a habit of only avoiding the lethal attacks.
And that was how Seikai had predicted his actions.
He had been in such a hurry to defeat him that the splashing of the water was enough to read his actions.
...But...
He had a companion who had pulled him back from that.
That was the point of the previous training.
When Toby had been ready to let it end, Noah had sent an attack toward his face.
Toby had intended to let it hit him, but he had dodged it.
His training and experience had given him a sense for avoiding danger.
And it had activated despite his intentions.
The balance of defense had still existed inside him.
Noah was probably the most relieved. And Toby would be the second most relieved after remembering what was inside him.
But, thought Toby while exchanging attacks with Noah.
...Couldn't No have just told me?
Would it have been meaningless if he had simply been told it?
Or had Noah trusted that he would realize it on his own?
Toby did not know.
But there was one thing he could say now.
"How about it...!?"
He had regained enough of himself to ask this question.
He was weak.
He was quick to lose his confidence and show off his weakness to gather concern when comparing himself to others.
But now he was here.
"Am I getting through to you...!?"
He did not fear how he would be judged.
He could stand to remain focused on himself. And…
"...!"
He sent an attack to Noah.
Noah would swing both his blade and its holder, sometimes join them together, and receive Noah's attacks, but now...
"Yeah. ...You still have a long way to go."
That was harsh, but that was definitely what the smiling voice said.
"Let's go somewhere with more space."
Because...
"This is too small for you now, Tobio."
When he heard that, Toby blocked Noah's attack.
And just as he caught Kōgetsu's tip on Scorpion's blade...
...Oh?
Noah continued toward him.
He was pushing, but he was prepared to take another action. So Toby jumped. And Noah used Grasshopper's acceleration to push further.
Toby's body floated up.
It hovered.
And Noah leaped after him.
He arrived to his right in midair.
The two of them had left the roof on which the pool was located and were now in the air above the city.
Toby looked back and saw Noah's black hair floating out in the night sky.
At the same time, he also saw the expanse of festival lights appear below them.
Did he want to join them?
.
People were moving here and there throughout the festival space. Those in the large building heard something in the sky.
It was a strange noise.
The loud sound caused some people to exchange a glance, caused others to suspect an attack, and caused yet others to...
"Hey...!"
...find the source and point at it.
Up in the night sky, two swimsuited Border members were illuminated by the festival lights.
Toby and Noah both held their primary weapons.
"...!"
And they unleashed several clashes in midair.
"Oh," everyone cried as they looked up to see the two of them land on the roofs of the two rows of festival stands that formed the central row.
However, they did not stop there.
Above the hustle and bustle of the people producing the festival music, Toby and Noah maintained their landing momentum to run forward. They accelerated along the festival stand roofs with Toby to the base and Noah to the city.
"—!"
They sent out and returned attacks and defense as they ran.
The two agents scattered light and ran above the festival without fearing the attention on them.
.
"Tobio! Let's have a race!"
"A race!? What kind of race!?"
"Right!" Noah smiled. "A race to the Forbidden Zone. Whoever gets there first wins!"
That is simple enough, thought Toby.
He was covered in water and showing signs of ware. His body had grown accustomed to the tension from the previous training and the fall off the building, but he was still mentally worn out.
But he nodded all the same.
"Yeah!"
With that, he accelerated along the festival stands below his feet. But...
"...Oh."
Noah sent an attack from the right.
This was more than just a race. It was training too. In that case, thought Toby as he raised his weapon.
That weapon was Scorpion.
It was his Trigger. It had been reformed with a slightly different design and its strength had been solidified, but he only used it as a blade here.
And he began an exchange of blows.
He seriously targeted his opponent's body and legs to slow him down.
Of course, his opponent was doing the same, so he also had to defend and strike back.
Shattering lights flew and solid sounds split the air.
"...?"
Suddenly, he felt like the surrounding music had synced up with their movements.
But he was not just imagining it.
A dozen or so people were running along the stands on the outer edges to their left and right. He saw those boys and girls were carrying speakers.
"Dog boy! Goggles boy! We will accompany you!"
It was a band. That concert band played during their free time and it was mostly made up of C-Rank Border agents from what Toby could see. They normally asked Suzume, Shashin or Shana for help and had received some odd training by those three.
They were currently dancing and singing at good speed while running alongside the two boys. And...
"Ah...!"
A three-girl aria filled the air.
And that was not all.
People were lined up and running along the pathways below them and the roofs parallel to them.
Those boys and girls were C-Ranks and a boy in the lead looked up at them.
"Awdry! Shor! What are you doing!?"
Some from behind called up to the boy.
"Hey, his name changed remember!? We are free to call him Lobo now!"
"Oh, right! Hey, Lobo! Shor! My question is the same!"
.
"We are training!" answered Noah.
He deflected every one of Toby's attacks as he did so.
"We are training with a race to the end of the city!"
"Then...do you mind if we join in?"
Toby aimed his blade tip while also exchanging a glance with Noah.
Noah nodded. As did Toby. So...
"You guys can come along!"
"Great! ...Okay! Boys, girls, the festival's really getting started now!"
Messages popped up all over the festival. They all relayed information about the race.
"Anyone can join in once Lobo (Awdry) and Shor passes your position! If you then pass them and reach the Forbidden Zone, you win! (Note: This will only be for Border agents who have a Trigger due to the nature of the race. C-Ranks and above are allowed.)"
"Hey! What's the prize for winning!?"
"I'd love to pet their heads since they always look so fluffy!"
Eh? thought Toby.
New messages appeared all over.
"Being able to pat both of their head if you win would be wonderful! Even the 6th Ranked Attacker hasn't managed that kind of thing yet!"
"Being able to pat both of their heads if you win sounds wonderful! Even the 3rd Ranked Attacker hasn't managed that kind of thing yet!"
"You get to pat both of their heads? Wonderful! Even the 1st Ranked Attacker hasn't managed that yet!
A game of telephone had begun and a stir ran through this part of the city and the areas ahead of it.
...How did this end up happening?
As Toby wondered that, Noah smiled at him from beyond the shattering light.
I must really have changed if it doesn't even phase me anymore. Yeah, you're all free to call me Lobo now!
He showed his full set of teeth with a smile.
"Now we have to win."
"Yeah."
They took off running and several figures ran alongside them.
The ones carrying weapons were the agents down below. Toby realized they were already starting to fight each other as they ran. They were yelling at each other without a hint of sarcasm.
"You idiot! I'm not about to let someone like you take that wonderful victory...!"
"We will protect their masculinity! So don't even think about looking up there, girls!"
"Outta the way! Keeping up is hard enough as it is!"
They were making a lot of noise. And the agents on the other roofs lightly raised their hands toward the two boys.
"Please spar with us too! No points are need for this!"
Are you sure you want that?
Toby gasped at this unexpected request, but Noah responded quietly.
"I am nowhere near the best, but I won't hold back."
That settled it. Toby continued sparring with Noah, but at the same time...
"Bring it on!"
"Yeah!"
He approached the enemy.
Sekai let out a sigh once the commotion reached his ears.
Behind him there were multiple noises with the most prominent one being...
"Hahaha! Damn! I wish I could join them! I wanna pet Lobo-chan and Noah-chan! Instead I'm stuck with my captain who thinks he's cool when in reality he's really cool!"
"Kirikari, I think you should slow down a bit there. Hikigane is cool, but he is trying to remain professional here. See? He even tried to hide his sigh just now."
Sekai raised an eyebrow at the comment. He never remembered trying to hide his sighs.
Moving his eyes away from the nudist and the team captain, he looked to the black wolf and the white fox who seemed to be busy with something else. Their voices were not kept low, but it did seem like they were trying not to disturb anyone else.
When he listened in on the conversation...
"Those C-Ranks aren't suppose to be using their Triggers for a race. But I guess I can't blame them since Toby tends to get people to just go wild and Noah is showing off a bit."
"Yeah. While I am happy to see him in such good spirits, that boy is making a bit of a mess. We can play this off as more of these festivities, but that might not go over so well with the directors. I guess I'll take responsibility for this. Toby is technically under my care, so that is my fault. Kō, can you at least take responsibility for Noah?"
Feeling a small amount of pity for the two, Sekai cleared his thought. His eyes turned upward as he began speaking into the open air.
"That is interesting. I knew people were starting to join our festival, but I never imaged they would start a rooftop race for some extra fun. I guess they want to get their energy going before we put the festival tower up."
Sekai let out another sigh as he saw the race go on from the distance.
He had not seen the messages going around, but Jinsei was providing enough commentary fir him to figure it out.
Yet another sigh came out. This time with a smile following it.
"I guess the people of the city want to show off that they can still live life to the fullest even when Neighbors are an issue."
He looked back at the black wolf and the white fox. He tried to hide his expression, but they were quick to catch on.
"From the looks of things, Border was planning to put on a show for the people of Mikado City. Some extra training for their C-Rank agents perhaps? I can at least hand it to you guys... You have pride in showing your want to protect us."
It looked like both the black wolf and the white fox wanted to say something, but held it in for consideration of his position. He was grateful for that, but would not say so.
Instead, a different voice filled the space.
It was the Kuruma Squad captain.
"It looks like everyone is enjoying this festival. Kurosaki sure is nice."
I would hold my tongue on that if I were you.
"As long as you don't underestimate Shin, you should be fine."
The festival stage was a long but intermittent path.
The festival was held in the middle of the city onward. The reimagining area made a distance of about 1500 meters with many more to come and a wild wave was racing along it. More lights seemed to appear with their arrive coming up.
There were four rows of festival stands and Toby and Noah ran along the two positioned back-to-back in the center.
They were supported from the outside by the music unit that sang and danced while running after them. The rushed movement did not disturb their music and the nimbler of the non-participating agents ran along behind them to watch.
The real trouble was along the left and right pathways and atop the central roofs.
The pathways were already flooded with agents trying to participate in the festival and the roofs had become a large battlefield.
Some of them had already been drinking and others must have been feeling gloomy with such still being low ranking. They all ran along the roofs, attempted to attack Toby and Noah, were sent flying, got into fights with their fellow runners, and tried to knock them away.
But they were all laughing.
"Ohhh...!"
One group rushed at Toby.
They made a simultaneous attack. They charged in with perfect unity. Instead of just arriving as a horizontal group, some of them climbed over the others to attack from above.
Toby responded with a brief glance toward Noah.
He sent the end of an extended Scorpion blade flying toward the repeated attacks from Noah's Kōgetsu.
"...Oh."
He used the knockback from Kōgetsu attacks to repeatedly attack the charging group with Scorpion.
He did not waste a single attack.
He judged who would reach him soonest and where an attack would be most effective and then he accurately sent the attack there.
Each attack hit and carried out its role.
There were as many audible blows as there were people and the simultaneous charge was sent flying back with the same intensity with which it had approached.
The crowd scattered behind Toby like a blooming flower.
"Wow," cried the boys running on the road. "Lobo! Do that more!"
"Right! ...Who will be my next prey!?"
He knocked away everyone who accepted the challenge, he dodged every attack, and he kept moving forward.
The area came to an end.
So he jumped.
He did not have a descent path, but there was nothing to fear now.
The people following behind him, the people running alongside him, and Noah had no issue with jumping the gap.
A few of them did not quite make the distance.
"Oh, no!?"
They fell, but they only had to get up due to the nature of Triggers.
Then Toby landed on the next area's ground. Noah landed next and used the momentum to launch a heavy attack, so Toby caught it on Scorpion's blade.
The music followed them. The other agents and spectators also kept up with them.
After confirming that, Toby once more took off running with Noah.
He made attacks and dodged, but when their eyes met...
"—"
There was a smile in Noah's eyes.
...Honestly.
Just how much had Toby worried and concerned that boy?
If he tried to apologize, Noah would only tell him not to worry about it, so Toby said something else as he ran.
"I'm sorry, everyone."
He carried the clashing swords, music, and general noise with him as he ran.
"I haven't been putting on that great of a show in these recent BRW matches. But..."
But...
"I intend to kept going until I win. I would appreciate some support."
He said it.
That was how he felt now.
...I want a great match.
He did not know when it would happen, but he wanted a true fight to take away his previous distortion.
There were many great Attackers in Border and Toby intended to catch up to each of them.
But what did everyone think of him now?
...What if they say I am relying on them too much...? I mean, half of them barely know me and are just around for Suzume.
Just as some dark thoughts threatened to settle in, he heard a sound.
"—"
He heard musical instruments. It was the brass instruments of the concert band with their speakers in hand for music using the outer edges to run with them.
That was it.
What was it they had said before?
...We will accompany you.
They were not supporting or assisting him. They were simply accompanying him down that path.
The powerful music arrived from either side to support him and it seemed to tell him not to worry about anything.
And none of it ended there. The agents below raised their voices.
"Are you done with all that depressing stuff!?"
That bright tone of voice shook Toby's heart.
...That's right.
This was a festival. It was a time for purification where anything was allowed. So...
"Right. ...I'm don't with that crap now!"
The number of fellow runners on the roof had grown. They were on the next area and people had been waiting here after hearing the commotion from the last area.
Every part of the festival was filled with fellow runners and the race continued.
Toby accelerated as he knocked away a would-be attacker with a roundhouse kick.
He fell forward, toward the goal of this race.
"Wow, just look at them go. Keeping the festival going using others was the right decision."
The voice from the top of the middle of the city's tall building belonged to Yoneya. He rested his elbow on the railing at the edge and spoke to Mikumo and Kitora who were alongside him.
"Why don't the two of you go?"
"There's no way I could keep up..."
"I wish I had wires set up on the last area.
Yoneya smiled bitterly at Kitora's comment.
"Kitora, you say that, but you've never done anything like that."
"That's right. Kitora wouldn't be that mean."
Kitora glanced over at Mikumo's smiling face.
"Kitora-san. I'm not a child. ...Are you dumb?"
"This girl...!" mumbled Mikumo while stepping back, so Yoneya rubbed his head.
"Don't push yourself, Megane-kun."
"Wh-why are you treating me like a child...?"
"Just calm down," said Yoneya while facing forward again.
The battling group was arriving on the next area, so the wave of people and its music were growing more distant.
...Ohh, they keep knocking people through the air.
Given the position, that had to have been Toby's doing.
"I'm glad Toby... No, I guess now it's Lobo. Either way, I'm glad he could recover."
"Yes. So am I. He seems like a good person," said Mikumo. "But will this change the strategy for Kotowari Squad?"
"It'll change it a fair bit."
"...Then why didn't you help with To-... Awdry's training? Don't tell me you just didn't want to have your thoughts if their team fall apart."
"Nah, it isn't anything like that. Suzume-chan makes great music and I hear Koto-chan is making some progress. After hearing what Kōchō and Kurauchi had to say about them, I just figured that I would join in as one of their 'fans'. But I'm still just a normal guy and not a trainer..."
"Sorry..."
"No, no." Yoneya smiled bitterly. "But I am glad that Toby recovered."
He viewed the music and commotion that was fading into the distance and he rested his chin directly on the railing. He stuck his hips up behind him and he thought he heard his clothes straining, but he decided to blame that on too much pointless work. He was still young.
"Anyway," he said. "To earn a high return, you need a margin of high damage."
"Um... Are you saying you are going to put Awdry and the others in danger?"
"Winning is something that matters in this world."
"But," said Mikumo, which Yoneya thought showed how seriously he took this.
...I don't take things seriously enough...
But just thinking that was not enough. Fortunately, Kitora helped out.
"We just have to slip past the high damage."
And...
"I really am glad that Toby recovered."
"I know what you mean.'
"Yeah. Earlier, I was pigging out at the buffet and was eating pizza, but it turned out to be too much for me. And when I opened up a window to vomit, Toby was running by outside using Kiyome. I was surprised since he always used Teleport instead of Grasshopper. ...I was right not to rush the vomiting. I would've been hit by a counterattack."
"L-let's not copy old video games like that!"
"Oh, yeah. There was one where you climb a wall and people open the window to ero ero on you, wasn't there?"
But when he looked out ahead.
"Oh, they're moving to the last area where the edge of the city is."
It seemed the people here were not calling it quits just yet. The festival had shifted to where Toby was.
When the people running the stands realized those stands had been broken and all the customers had left, they gave up making repairs or calling for customers.
"Dammit! I'm going to charge them for this...!"
"Yeah! Let's charge the adults for this...!"
It was reassuring how they took off running with knives and rolling pins in hand. The defeated agents were still trying to recover, but when they noticed those cooks, they quickly started running again.
They sure have lots of energy, thought Yoneya. And...
...Oh.
The commotion at the head of the group had grown even larger.
They had arrived at the final stage.
Toby was in the lead.
The final area group was doing a good job of fighting back. They were all waiting at the edge with weapons at the ready. Some held Kōgetsu while others were ready with guns or cubes of trion.
They were only allowed to attack Toby and Noah after the boys had passed them. So a message opened at the moment when Toby landed.
"Mark the line...!"
With a shout from the C-Rank in command, a mark floated above Toby's head for only them to see.
A red line extended to one side. That was the offside line. And once that line passed someone...
"Commence attack...!"
Swords produced a high-speed rush of attacks and accelerating Toby spun around backwards.
He struck.
A series of solid sounds rang out and their number increased each time he accelerated. But the C-Ranks pursuing him were also numerous.
He jumped to the festival stand roofs and began running while a crashing wave of B-Ranks raced after him.
They were all using Grasshopper and some even had shields ready.
"Please spar with us...!"
And just as they caught up, a figure leaped between them and Toby.
It was Noah. He turned toward the charging B-Ranks, and...
"Well then."
He counterattacked with Kōgetsu as if he had only just noticed them.
"—!?"
The group leading the charge crumbled and those behind them were caught in the collapsing pile.
The recoil of the strike pushed Noah forward, but agents rushed toward him as well.
"Please spar with us!"
There were girls as well as boys. And there was plenty of infighting, so a lot of them were knocked away during their approach. However, they did manage to catch up to Noah.
"Special Technique: Quantity Over Quality!"
"This isn't some anime, you idiots!"
Noah was hit by the word "overwhelming".
But just as he was going to be overrun, someone pulled forward on his arm.
It was Toby. And...
"...Headfirst Fall."
With that quiet statement, he blatantly jumped a distance of several steps with Noah.
"Ah," said the C-Ranks left without a target. "You can work together!?"
"This is just a race!"
Toby pulled on Noah's arm and partially held him in him arm, but then he tossed him away.
Noah smiled in the air.
"Tobio!"
They were now side by side atop the central festival stands. The din of pursuers approached behind them and Noah smiled while water flew from him.
"You wanted to spar, didn't you!?"
With that, the two of them ran back to back. When the charging agents caught up in greater and greater number, the two boys began fighting back while occasionally swapping positions.
.
Noah smiled as he ran and attacked their pursuers.
...Thank goodness.
This was the one person who was always out ahead of him and he was glad that person had returned.
But that was not because he did not want to stand in the lead. He would do his duty and he knew what was possible and impossible for him. That had been the reason as to why he joined the Suzunari Branch.
If he knew what the result would be, nothing would faze him. He was prepared for that.
But Toby was different.
His possibilities and impossibilities were less certain and could waver. And like they had seen here, there were times when he fell below and times when he rose above.
What about now? Noah wondered about Toby.
So he ended this time in which they ran back to back and fought back together.
...I can find out with a single attack.
He had seen this during that day.
Toby had subconsciously taken a certain action.
Noah forcibly accelerated his step to reproduce that. He moved out ahead of Toby.
"...Here goes!"
He made his attack.
.
Toby realized the race was ending.
They were already on the final area and they had passed the halfway point on its radius.
Noah had moved out ahead and struck with Kōgetsu.
The first attack was a stab to the right.
He held the blade out horizontally and targeted Toby's neck with the blade more than the tip.
But Toby dodged it. He sank down and shifted into an acceleration prep stance to do so. A few second later he realized he had done that with his reflexes.
He looked up to see Noah already preparing for a second attack.
That was the true attack. He was making a diagonal swing down at Toby's ducking body.
So Toby moved forward.
...If I can dodge this to the left or right...
Then he could attack Noah on the way past him.
But just as he considered that, he saw Noah move.
He let go of his second attack to the left.
"..."
His left hand grabbed the wrist that had made the right stab.
It was a forceful action, but if he pulled his right hand down...
...The horizontal attack will be pulled down to my level!?
That was exactly what happened.
Toby's ducking vision saw the trion blade dropping down toward him.
It was going to hit.
It happened just as he ducked down. His center of gravity was lowered and he could not swing his body to either side.
Moving forward would be the best plan, but that would send him right into the trion blade.
But, thought Toby.
...It will not hit me.
For some reason, that was what he thought.
Yes, he thought as he realized why he felt that way.
His actions and the flow of battle fit together.
So if he moved forward, obeyed his forward-stepping leg, and moved his body down and up...
"—"
It would not hit.
.
Noah saw it.
It was the same as what he had been told by Minoru that day. Toby passed right through something that clearly should have hit him. Or it looked that way to Noah.
During that day, it had been a metal beam.
Now, it was Kōgetsu.
Toby passed through the forcibly-lowered blade and approached Noah.
But Noah understood that Toby had not passed through the object either time, even while only seeing it this one time.
...He is using the "ideal movements" of an expert...!
Those movements were created by the speed and decision control of A-Rank level fighters like Minoru or Murakami Kō.
By using extremely precise movement control with nothing going to waste, they could evade anything and everything while still moving in to attack.
Toby had been capable of that before, but his "ideal movements" had been based on his position control and had essentially comprised of creating a launch pad for his acceleration.
This "ideal movement" was different.
Instead of just involving movement or attitude control, he charged forward while evading.
...This is it...
This had to be the territory the other experts had reached.
With this high level "ideal movement", the movement of attack and the evasion or positioning of defense were combined.
Minoru had done it with his speed and balance.
Murakami Kō had done it with his attack and defense control.
Toby did it with his great strength and reflexes.
Each optimization possessed the idiosyncrasies of the method used, but...
"Tobio...!"
He has it, realized Noah.
Toby had the power needed to face the opponents awaiting him at the top tier.
Noah was prepared to fight his own battles and he knew the others would be too.
But Toby had only just now reached that point. He had regained his original "ideal movement" and grasped something even better.
Of course, it was not perfect. Most likely, he was only vaguely aware of it and would be unable to use it as he wanted.
...But...!
Sensing hope inside him, Noah leaped back.
Pushing down the Kōgetsu blade had also been a way to prepare to jump.
While forcibly pulling back his right arm, he made a powerful jump backwards.
His left hand grabbed Kōgetsu's holder from where he had let it go into the air before.
"Let's do this!"
With Toby in front of him and the goal behind him, Noah made an attack.
He swung both Kōgetsu and its holder toward the center and spoke with strength in his voice.
"Let's finish this!"
.
Toby jumped.
He ran along the top of the festival stands.
...Make it...!
He repeatedly accelerated with Kiyome to pull away from the pursuers. And...
"Ohh...!"
Kōgetsu was closing in from the right and left.
He passed through the center.
...I can make it...!
He launched his body forward. And he fell toward...
"...Huh?"
He must have miscounted the number of steps. He had meant to make a decisive attack on Noah, but he had taken a half-step too far.
"Ah."
He fell headfirst into Noah's chest.
This is the second time this has happened... It's a good thing Suzume isn't around.
.
Noah understood what had happened, but he did not understand what was going on.
Toby had miscounted his steps because of his movement optimization. The step he would normally have used on defense had instead been used on approaching Kōgetsu and that had caused a discrepancy.
But as a result, Toby had pressed his face into Noah's chest and Noah had caught her.
"Whoa...!"
The problem was how he was swinging Kōgetsu closed.
That movement caused him to embrace Toby.
"Ah."
The attack from the Senkū Kōgetsu beyond Toby.
The unleashed slash flew toward the group approaching them from behind. And as a result...
"Eh?"
The power launched them all horizontally toward the end of the area.
Oh... Kinda forgot we made it so they became impacts...
.
Everyone saw it happen.
A wave of people was blasted above the festival being held in Mikado City.
They were just high enough to skim along the festival stand roofs, so the festival itself was not damaged.
And as those people flew through the air...
"Dammiiiiiiit!"
"I should've gone in from the side!"
"But this way we got to see his face pressing into his chest! Great material!"
They sounded satisfied and those who were not hit saw who reached the Forbidden Zone before anyone else.
It was Toby.
Earlier, that boy with the bouncing hair had been held in Noah's arms along with the Kōgetsu blade and the holder
But when he landed softly on the ground, he set down Noah who he held in his arms.
They realized everyone had come to a stop.
The group playing music from their speakers stood unmoving on the left and right festival stands and the dancers remained motionless while up on one leg or doing a handstand.
How would they end this?
As everyone watched expectantly, Toby moved.
He placed Noah in front of him and relaxed his shoulders. And...
"You arrived first, No."
Because...
"It was you who brought me here."
"Then, uh..."
Noah observed their surroundings.
Despite his attention, everyone remained entirely motionless and simply watched. So...
"...I feel like this was supposed to be the other way around."
He placed his hand on Toby's head.
After only a few seconds, he rubbed his head before moving back and looked to everyone else.
"Everyone," he said. "Let's enjoy ourselves tonight."
Everyone responded to those words and the current situation.
They raised their voices and stomped their feet as one.
"—!"
A roaring cheer shook the night.
"What!? Jin! This cute girl character is a busty blonde! I went out of my way to let you have her first but you haven't finished her route yet!? Are you sayin' I can have her!? ...You want me to wait!? Fuji is more important, but you can't let me have her!? Are you a monster!? Or are you taking your faith too lightly!? As divine punishment, I'll send you an e-mail with all the endin' dialogue copied into it! What? I just have to choose 'yes' for all the choices with that company's games!? You idiot! I've been stuck in an infinite loop of 'Let's become one → Yes → It would be a shame to do that now!' What!? Calm down and choose 'no' to continue!? You aren't really suggestin' I choose to reject a something so damn good... What? How'd I get this far with that attitude? You think I should be playin' games rated 'kids only' instead of 'adults only'? Hmph, the only option left is to check the Internet!"
...Ikoma-sama only gets more...worked up as times goes on... thought Shobu.
It was currently eleven at night, which was the time Seikai had mentioned. The hallway was only filled with a faint heat and the main garden only sent a damp chill toward him in the air.
...Wh-where are...the guards...?
They were not there. The management sign should have displayed a person called Rusu, but Shobu did not know if his and the guards' absence was normal or if Seikai had done something.
But without them there, he could not figure that out.
...I-isn't this...a bit like cheating...? ...Or a lot...like it...?
He walked to the main garden as he thought.
Even with all the cheating ways Yuki had told him about, it still felt a bit wrong to be doing something like this.
Part of it was simple curiosity about the garden at night. It had been so dense during the day, so what would it be like at night?
During elementary and early middle school, his class had camped out at a city farm district for a field trip. The air had changed at night back then. It had been an artificial arrangement, but he remembered hearing the sounds of nature.
Would this be the same?
This main garden had much more dense vegetation than Mikado City's usual one.
He walked excitedly on and took each step by the wall while trying to keep his footsteps as quiet as possible.
"...Wow..."
He quickly realized this had to be amazing.
The sensory information arriving from the main garden was chilly and effervescent. It was like countless small, freshly-washed fruits were floating in the air and dripping water.
He was aware a smile had formed on his lips as he continued with a quickened pace.
"Yes."
He entered the main garden.