"I would think most princesses wouldn't select a hamburger joint to eat at, right?"
"That's just a stereotype. The evidence is right in front of you. It's pretty common, really."
"So that's how it is..."
Ayato munched on his fries, and leaned against the back of his chair.
The same flavor as when he was young. Indeed, the same flavor the world over. It filled him with nostalgia.
"––A friend told me about this place."
Breaking the silence, Julis spoke regretfully.
"A friend?"
"I do have friends; it's just that they're all back home."
Ayato suddenly recalled.
"Oh! That letter from before, that was from your friend, wasn't it?"
"Wha––!?"
Ayato's words caused Julis to choke, and, pale-faced, she patted her chest frantically.
"*cough* *cough* ahem! H, how did you know?"
"You really are an honest person."
"..."
Julis blushed fiercely.
One moment completely white, the next completely red; her complexion sure was busy.
"A-anyway. I found this place on that review site. What did you think?"
"What do I think? Someone sure has free time if they can upload a review of a place like this."
"Why's that? Wasn't the food pretty good?"
Julis appeared thoroughly perplexed.
...She seemed less and less like a princess by the moment.
"Anyway, I was wondering. Would you mind if we changed the topic to something a little more serious?"
"Hmm, what's that?"
Finishing her hamburger, Julis seemed quite relaxed and content as she returned Ayato's gaze.
"It's regarding the attack on you earlier."
Ayato recounted in full what Claudia had shared with him earlier. Seeing as she hadn't forbid him from disclosure, he didn't think there was any harm in sharing what he knew with the person in question.
Not that he made any mention of his promise to protect Julis, given the cold reception she'd given previously.
"I see; somebody's working for another school."
Julis mildly sipped her soda, seemingly unsurprised.
"I must be their final target, seeing as how they were willing to expose themselves this time around."
"Seeing how things stand, it'd be best if you kept someone by your side when you go out or duel somebody."
"I refuse. Why should I change the way I live my life just because of some petty crook?"
"...To be sure."
Such a reply was well within expectation.
"The only one allowed to decide where I go and what I do is me."
"-As fearless as ever, I see."
Suddenly, from behind Julis, a large shadow appeared.
"...Lester, huh? Eavesdropping is quite the nasty habit, don't you know?" Julis responded.
Ayato looked up in surprise. To even meet in a place like this on their day off; it seems they were fated to run into one another.
"It's not like I wanted to hear it. I just overheard as I was passing by."
Unsurprisingly, trailing behind Lester were his two lackeys.
"I heard that you were recently ambushed by a mysterious attacker. My guess is someone holds a grudge against you."
"I've never done anything to warrant that."
Julis reply was calm, but Lester still looked stunned.
"It's that very attitude that rubs people the wrong way."
"Whatever. If that's all it takes to set people off, then I will happily be their opponent."
"Heh, what boundless confidence. Well then, seeing as that's the case, then why don't we fight right now?"
"How many times do I need to say this before it finally sticks? I haven't the least desire to duel you again."
"Screw that! Hurry up and agree to fight me!"
Lester struck the table with force.
As the loud crash permeated the room, it fell silent.
"L-Lester-san! Fighting without permission isn't going to turn out well!"
"T-that's right, Lester! If you make a disturbance here, you'll draw out the Stjarnagarmr!"
Cyrus and Landy desperately tried to hold him back, but their cries fell on deaf ears.
"Intimidating others like this isn't good, you know?"
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"Shut your goddamn mouth."
Lester never even glanced in Ayato's direction.
"That's not such a good idea. Don't you know? Julis was attacked twice in the last couple days."
"And?"
"If you start something here, you'll likely be seen as collaborating with the attacker."
That sentence pushed Lester into a furor.
"Don't screw with me! How dare you compare ME with that cowardly pissant!?"
Lester held Ayato up by his collar as he roared.
"Fine. It really seems you're the one who needs to be taught a lesson first."
"I have no desire to duel you either."
"Ha?"
"I have no reason to."
Casting Ayato aside, Lester clenched his fist and punched the table.
This time, the poor table split in two.
"First you try to compare me with that yellow-bellied weakling, and then you have the nerve to try and back out of this? Don't you have any balls?"
"It's as you say."
Ayato answered, uncaring.
"Bastard...!"
"Lester! C-calm down! We know how strong you are! You always destroy your opponents honorably, without tricks! There's no need to listen to the words of this gutless wimp!"
Lester held his fist aloft, ready to come crashing down, as Landy held him back with all his strength.
"Th-that's exactly right! Everyone knows! Everyone knows you aren't the kind of person who'd ambush someone during a duel!"
Cyrus aided as best he could.
"Grr....!"
Lester seemed unable to restrain his rage for a moment, as he glared at Ayato with a look that could kill. Finally, however, he turned and exited the building with a swagger.
"Fuuu..."
"You really can't be underestimated."
As Ayato wiped the cold sweat from his brow, Julis laughed delightedly.
"Huh?"
"...It's nothing, forget about it."
Julis gave a wry smile and stood. She picked up a napkin and wiped Ayato's mouth.
"You missed some ketchup. Really, what a strange person."
✱
By the time they started to head back, it was already dusk.
"Thanks for today Julis. I had fun."
"O-oh, is that so... Er, um, how should I put this? I was just returning a favor. There's no need to thank me."
As the sun set, the two of them slowly walked over to the subway station.
Approaching their destination, they noticed a commotion in that vicinity.
"Hmm? Something going on?"
Nearby, a group of students were fighting. From their direction came the sound of much swearing and insults. There looked to be more than ten people involved.
There was a crowd of onlookers watching the situation, but the vast majority of people simply walked on as if the matter was none of their concern.
"Le Wolfe students. I should have known; they're always doing moronic stuff like this."
Le Wolfe Black Institute, allegedly the most warlike of the six schools. Their school customs prioritized victory over all else, their official policies likewise.
For this reason, many of Le Wolfe's students were rather boorish individuals. Of those who grew up in the worst parts of the slums, the majority ended up at Le Wolfe.
"It looks like a gang dispute...Oh, wow, they've started to go at it."
The leader of one group rushed at the others; both sides held weapons aloft.
The individual members of the two groups split off and began individual battles.
"...This is bad. We're surrounded."
"What?"
As Ayato was about to answer, he was suddenly charged from behind by a dagger Lux-wielding thug.
"That was close."
Sidestepping dexterously, Ayato dodged the attack. It was abundantly clear that his target had indeed been Ayato.
Furthermore, at some point, the gang fight had ceased to be.
Instead, Ayato and Julis now found themselves surrounded by those very same Le Wolfe students.
"Those Le Wolfe blockheads often use this style of sneak attack to ambush others. For example, the way they were using that 'fight' as an opportunity to surround their true target, using the excuse that they were 'pulled into the commotion'. This is my first time experiencing it firsthand, though."
Julis spoke while calmly dodging her attackers.
It seemed their 'fight' was just for show.
The members of what had originally been two groups had now consolidated into a single large group. From within their ranks, piercing glares targeting Julis and Ayato could be felt.
"...How is it that trouble always finds us?"
"Because these bastards are always doing things like this, so even on the off-chance that they're caught by the Stjarnagarmr, they'll be able to explain things away."
They would, of course, still be punished, but that punishment would be rather light.
"Does this mean that the people who attacked Julis were from Le Wolfe?"
"Hmph. No, they're just thugs-for-hire. As long as you have money, they'll do anything. That of course includes all of this."
As a Lux arrow flew past her, Julis bared a fearless smile.
"It looks like they're all just trash."
"So? What should we do about this?"
Though he already knew what her answer would be, he felt it best to ask nonetheless.
"Isn't that obvious? This is self-defense. Let's give them what they want."
"Please try not to go overboard."
It looked like this fight was for the purpose of forcing Julis to expose openings.
That guy was definitely hidden here, waiting for his opportunity.
"Don't worry. For guys of this level, there's no need to let my guard down just to take care of them."
Julis' surroundings burst into flame.
"...At least aim for medium-rare, and not well-done, pretty please?"
He hoped their attackers got the message.
✱
Honestly speaking, these Le Wolfe students weren't anything special.
The moment they saw flames appear, they retreated into the subway station in disorder.
As they retreated, they heard cries of "That's the Gruene Rose!" and "I-I never heard anything about this!". It seems they hadn't been informed of their target's identity.
"Hmph. That wasn't even enough for a warm-up."
Julis brushed her hair to the side, utterly ignoring the pile of bodies that littered the floor, and turned her gaze to Ayato.
"-And what the heck was that?"
"W-what do you mean?"
"That utterly repugnant performance during the fight! You couldn't even deal with opponents of that level?!"
Julis' wrath was deserved.
Unlike Julis who had easily dealt with her attackers, it was all Ayato could do to avoid injury.
Though individually they were weak, their numbers had been enough to keep him tied up.
"Even if you say that, that's the limit of my ability."
"...
Julis was stunned speechless for a moment, before finally sighing.
"I guess I'd raised my hopes too high."
The disappointment in her voice was evident.
Ayato forced a smile.
"Forget it. Let's interrogate these guys while we have the chance."
Julis looked over the fallen students before lifting a student with a pompadour to his feet. This was the one who'd been the leader of the group.
"Hey, just how long are you planning to sleep? You'd better get up unless you want to see what fire does to your hair."
"Aaaaaaaaaah!"
Her threat worked. The student opened his eyes.
"Make this simple. Who hired you?"
"I-I don't know! I just received the commission; I don't know anything else. I don't even know why!"
"The guy who hired you; what did he look like?"
"He was dressed all in black, very large, very tall. I didn't see a weapon, though!"
"And his voice?"
"V-voice? I-I don't remember."
"What did he say?"
"He didn't speak a word. He'd written his request on a piece of paper which he handed to me along with the money."
"On a piece of paper...? What did it say?"
"It said this was the initial payment. The rest of the payment would hang on the outcome."
"Outcome..."
As Julis pondered his words, the student suddenly shouted.
"T-that's him! That's the guy!"
"!"
As Ayato and Julis turned to look, the shadow raced away.
Though they'd only caught the briefest glimpse, it was undoubtedly their black-clothed attacker.
"Stop!"
Julis started to chase after him.
"Julis, let's corner him!"
Julis glanced backward in response, but never stopped moving her feet.
She seemed to have lost her head. Normally, Julis wouldn't engage in such actions which skirted the boundaries between bravery and stupidity.
In other words, she'd finally showed the opening her attacker had thus long been waiting for.
"What?!"
As she entered a narrow alley, she realized too late her attacker was lying in wait, his axe at the ready.
Though Julis dodged his attack, further in still was yet another attacker, waiting in ambush.
He held in his hands an assault rifle Lux.
"Ugh...!"
Facing that torrent of Lux small arms fire, Julis tucked into a roll that carried her past.
Unbelievable reflexes.
(Now!)