{Shoya Sasaki's POV:}
It's now the 16th of July and I've finally hidden my Emperor's Sigil. As for Kuro, she doesn't have PE today, so, as long as she doesn't take her shirt off, for whatever reason, no one will know.
The school day ended uneventfully and I went home. Both yesterday and today, I didn't even bother to talk to Maki, much less take a glance at her, though I noticed her gaze occasionally.
"We're home!"
I announced as Kuro and I returned home.
We both went upstairs and changed. Well, Kuro was in Kei's room, which is also her room, and I changed in my room.
In the process of changing...
[How're you doing, Shoya?]
A voice spooked me.
I dropped my vest, which I had in hand, and stared blankly at the floor.
"A... Altair?!"
I haven't heard this voice for a whole month. Well, a month and 10 days, if you want to be specific.
I haven't heard him ever since he took over my body and battled Aden-Lada. It's a surprise hearing him.
"What have you been doing this whole time?"
[Rehabilitation.]
"Rehabilitation?"
I repeated, foolishly.
[Yes. That switch consumed most of the mana that I saved up. If I don't have enough mana, then I won't be able to keep a stable form within you. That's why I had to rehabilitate.]
"I guess that makes sense."
Altair chuckled.
[Anyway, I have a present for you.]
"A present?"
I looked down as my shadow, it elongated and suddenly became slightly lighter as it made ripples like water. A katana emerged from it.
"What the...?"
I unsheathed it. Its blade was black.
[The name of this weapon is Erebus.]
"Erebus..."
He means those gauntlets and scythe I used.
[It's a weapon that can change fo--]
The katana melted into a cloud of shadows and shrouded my hands, creating thin, matte black, glove-like gauntlets.
[Ah, you can change form already?]
I didn't answer him.
The gauntlets become a cloud of shadows once more and elongated in a thin form, before expanding into a sharp blade at the top.
A scythe with a black blade.
[Two forms already?!]
"Huh, it was that easy."
[Easy?!]
I changed the scythe back into a katana and smiled, staring at some place in the air.
"Just kidding."
[God, you gave me a fucking heart attack.]
"You don't even have one."
[Doesn't a mana nexus count?]
"If that's destroyed then you die, so, yeah..."
I conceded.
"Anyway, this isn't my first time wielding Erebus."
[Really? It isn't?]
"Yeah, the scythe and gauntlet forms are ones I've used before."
[Oh, then it's plausible, I guess. Ah, anyway, Erebus has two more forms that you can use.]
This one weapon can change form a lot.
I'm curious.
"What are they?"
[It's unfair if I help you. In the past, I wasn't able to talk to hosts like this. I won't be biased toward you.]
"I'm pretty sure I'm the first to use this."
[Second.]
Altair answered almost immediately. The immediate silence after that made this moment seem awkward.
"Uhhh... Yeah, sorry for the mistake."
[It's fine.]
I feel like I touched upon a subject I shouldn't have. Well, it's not like I can fix it.
There was a slight grumble. My stomach.
"Man... I need to ask Yuki-nee how long dinner will take..."
---
{Anastasia Kou Sabre Reishville's POV:}
[4 days later]
It's the 20th of July and it's currently 7:09 am. Calira is helping me get ready since she finished dressing a while ago.
"Finally, the necklace."
Calira laid a thin silver necklace on my collarbone and connected it.
"There. You have now finished clothing, Lady Anastasia. You look beautiful."
I looked in the mirror in front of me.
Yesterday, I decided to cut my hair, since it was too long, and now my hair is merely mid-length. I styled it into a ponytail for the occasion. I've been thinking about a side-tail style but that would be too informal for the occasion.
I wore black see-through fabric from my neck to my collarbone. I wore a black yukata with dark chrysanthemum patterns. From my shoulders, fur trailed down, comfortably covering my shoulders and chest. It was a part of the yukata.
I had a flower patterned fan which matches my yukata.
I didn't wear any added makeup or accessories since I think it's better his way.
I turned to Calira.
"I think you should compliment yourself too. You look stunning."
"Your praise is not worth being used on me."
Calira responded.
Calira's dress was far simpler than my chrysanthemum-patterned yukata. It was an azure-coloured silk dress.
The strands of hair, near her right ear, were behind her ear. Though it was a small difference, I felt like it gave her a big change. She had vague red marks around her eyes and her eyelashes were slightly longer.
Calira held a black and gold purse in hand.
The girl was also wearing a gold sword earring, one that I gave her. She wore the right earring and I wore the left one.
"Well, let's go and see Akane and the others."
Calira nodded.
We went downstairs, to the entrance, and saw Akane, Sebastian and Yumeko waiting for us. The first to notice us was Akane.
"Ah, Anastasia! Calira! You're finally done!"
Akane was also beautiful.
She hadn't tied up her hair but she did the same as Calira. She purposely wanted people to see the silver shuriken earring she had. Yumeko was wearing the other half.
Akane wore a pitch-black dress, which had white lycoris patterns all over it. She wore something similar to elbow satin gloves and had a black purse, hanging from her shoulders.
As for Yumeko, she didn't wear a dress but a suit. She wore a black suit with a black shirt and a white tie. She looked cool with her side bang clipped backwards to show the earring.
Sebastian was the simplest of us all. He wore a tuxedo and a rose in his pocket. I hate to admit it but this idiot is looking good in almost anything due to his natural good looks.
"Now that all of us are here... We hurry up and get there. We better not be late."