Saya and... Lester? What are you two doing here?
"You're keeping Ayato to yourself under the pretense of practice. This violates my prohibition against monopolistic behavior and is in clear violation of guidelines for fair and equitable practices. I demand you do better."
"...What does any of what you just said have to do with me?" Julis responded blankly.
Saya, expression as unchanging as always, advanced another step.
"Don't try and fool me. Explain. Stealing away with Ayato to this secret location after school, and indulging in behaviors inappropriate for normal conversation; I've heard it all already."
"D-don't just calmly make up things about people! We've just been preparing for the Phoenix! Where on earth did you hear that from?!"
"I've promised to keep my source's identity confidential. The most I can offer is their initialsー E. Y."
"Yabuki, you bastard!" What was the point of hiding his name in that way?!
"Furthermore, Ayato wouldn't normally go to a place like a training room. And at lunch, pretending like you just 'happened' to sit right next to him; how fake."
"What!? T-That was really..."
"And for five straight days. That's just too much."
"...W-Well, then I have something to say to you as well. Sasamiya, you're always waving around those 'childhood friend' credentialsー"
Saya and Julis began to butt heads as they argued back and forth.
"Let's just ignore them."
Ayato sighed, and turned to his classmate, even now forcing a smileー Lester McPhail.
"Congratulations on a complete recovery, Lester."
"...Fortunately the injuries left by that asshole weren't all that severe."
Lester frowned unhappily, but responded in turn.
After the incident a few days ago, Lester had been sent to the hospital. Fortunately, he hadn't suffered any grievous injuries. Although perhaps it was more appropriate to say that Lester's possessed an inhuman vitality?
"So, what brings you here today? You even came with Saya."
"I just happened to run into that midget on the way here. She looked lost, but since our destinations were the same, I brought her with me."
At this point, a piercing shriek came from Saya, who interrupted her argument with Julis to stare in their direction.
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"Just who did you call a midget?! Then again, what you said about showing me the way was true enough. Thanks for that."
Saya bowed her head in gratitude for all of one second before resuming her argument with Julis.
In other words, life as usual.
In any case, in order to reach this training room from the match arena, one only had to head straight out of the school building. It was inconceivable that someone could get lost along the way. Saya definitely lived up to her reputation.
"...Well, your destinations were identical after all. Anyway, that reminds me. Lester, what brought you here?"
Lester's frown deepened, and he looked away.
"...Uh, how do I put this? You know, the thing with Cyrus... it's about that. Whatever, I'm just gonna come out and say itー you really helped me that time, and uh, I thought I should thank you..."
Lester turned and bowed his head.
"A, anyway. Thanks! That's all!"
"Whoa, hold up a second! Lester!"
Having achieved what he'd come there to do, Lester turned to leave. Ayato called his name in a hurry.
Although his manner of conveying his gratitude was terribly clumsy, he'd come expressly for that purpose. On this point, he was much like Julis.
Given that they'd gotten off on the wrong foot, he couldn't miss the opportunity to patch things up with the current Lester.
And Ayato thought he knew how he might go about it.
"Hey, just now we were discussing how we badly need training partners. Lester, if you wouldn't mind, would you do that for us? That includes you as well, Saya."
"Training partners?"
"Eh?"
Lester, Saya, and Julis were all astonished beyond belief, and could only stare helplessly at Ayato.
"A-Ayato! Don't just decide things by yourself..."
"The fact is, we really do need someone to help us, and if it's these two, it shouldn't be a problem, right?"
As a participant in the incident a few days prior, Lester already had some notion of Ayato's true strength. Saya, of course, had always known.
"T-that is true..."
After Julis reluctantly voiced her agreement, Ayato turned to the other two. Saya nodded.
"I don't mind."
All eyes turned to Lester.
Left without much of a choice, he finally gave in.
"...I-it can't be helped, I guess."
- ψ -
"I see, so Haru-nee sealed your powers..." Saya, wearing her usual pokerface, sighed.
As they started to warm up, Ayato explained their circumstances.
"So you've finally grown up. Instead of throwing a tantrum like a little child, here you are, taking things seriously. No wonder."
"...I wasn't like that before."
"That said, I don't think that Haru-nee, wherever she is, is the kind of person to have done this without reason. Are you sure you're right about this?" Saya spoke seriously.
This made Ayato quite happy. "Thank you, Saya."
"Well, this way you can keep up with things. It'll be fine. Don't worry."
"Haha... thanks for that."
The feeling of Saya's hand on his wrist was terribly nostalgic, although noticing the difference in their heights now, Ayato felt a little restless.
"A~hem!"
Julis suddenly interrupted.
"It's about time to get started, so if you wouldn't mind..."
"Ah, right. My bad."
Julis seemed rather unhappy for some reason.
"For them to form a team out of nowhere is asking too much. Instead, since we're clearly divided into forward and rear guard roles, let's do that instead. You two forward guards practice close-combat, and we rear guards will practice providing support from behind. Sound good?"
"...Got it."
Sparks flew between Saya and Julis.
"Those two sure are enthusiastic about this."
Feeling their pressure, Lester activated Bardiche Leo, and spoke. "Worrying about the girls is fine and all, but you might want to worry about yourself first."
"Huh?"
"From the explanation just now, you can't use your full strength right now, am I correct?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"Let me just warn you in advance. I don't ever go easy on my opponent." Lester laughed ominously, and the words that went unsaid had Ayato in a cold sweat.
"...Please show mercy."
Unable to think of anything else to say, Ayato also activated his weapon.
As the starting bell chimed, Lester charged Ayato. Although he knew this to be Lester's standard MO, encountering it firsthand was decidedly more intimidating.
"Bring it!"
As the Axe swung at him, Ayato blocked with his swordー and was flung backward a good distance.
What nightmarish strength.
Even if he unleashed Meteor Arts, he wasn't certain he could block such an attack. In any case, he was incapable of doing so in the first place.
"It's not over!"
Ayato had planned to shift his weight into order to correct his posture, but he wasn't given the opportunity as a second attack came flying in.
As the axehead came soaring downward... Ayato dodged by a hair's width and taking advantage of the gap to charge into his opponent's space. In order to deal with the extended reach granted by Bardiche Leo's long haft, closing the distance was the best option. This was, however, within Lester's expectations, and as Ayato closed, he charged him with his shoulder, stopping any movement.
"Ku!"
The difference between Ayato and Lester's physiques was too much, and as the distance between them opened once more, the third attack came.
"C'mon, c'mon! Don't tell me this is all you've got!"
If this continued, this fight would be pretty one-sidedー
Just as Ayato and Lester were thinking the same thought, balls of flame appeared between them.
"Tch. Well placed!"
That technique of Julis' was the PrimroseDancing Nine-ring Firebloom.
The fiery spheres, dancing in midair as if fireflies, quickly found their target and laid down suppressing fire on Lester.
"Fuu... You really saved me there, Julis."
Viewing the scene before him, Ayato began to understand why it was so difficult for Lester to face Julis.
Julis' abilities allowed her to attack regardless of the distance between her and her opponent. For Lester, who wielded Bardiche Leo, this was difficult to deal with.
"Ugh! Annoying as always... Oi! Shortstuff. Stop slacking, would you?"
Lester shouted insultingly as he turned to look behind... only to freeze on the spot.
It wasn't just Lester who stood unmoving, either.
Julis and Ayato both stood motionless, their mouths flapping open and closed wordlessly.
"...I'm just about to get started."
The gun in Saya's hands ーactually, it was infinitely closer to a cannonー was simply too large to be believed.
Its barrel exceeded two meters in length.
Countless space-windows appeared around it, emitting light beams as if engaged in Meteor Arts.
"Thirty-ninth form, Lux-type laser cannon, Wulfdora ー Strafing Fire."
As Saya unconcernedly shouted aloud, a deep rumble followed an eruption of light.
"W-Wait just a moment!"
Hearing Lester's desperate cry, Ayato hit the deck.
Passing just over his head, an enormous beam of light strafed the area.
Catching Ayato's reaction, Julis and Lester similarly leapt for the ground. They made it. Barely.
As the beam strafed past their location, it faded away without a trace.
Trembling, he glanced up. The wall which had borne the brunt of the attack had been eaten clear through as if an enormous caterpillar had wormed its way through it. The walls of the buildings in Asterisk had all undergone a strengthening process identical to those employed by the match arena. This level of destructive power was simply too frightening.
"Th... That was way overdoing it! Moron! You almost killed us!"
The first to recover their wits was Lester. He rose and stormed over to Saya, the veins in his forehead throbbing wildly.
"If someone gets hit, it's their own fault for not dodging. If that was the old Ayato... It'd be trivial to deal with."
Saya didn't feel she was the least bit wrong for doing what she did.
Seeing that completely unruffled expression made one wonder what the point of getting upset was.
"Sasamiya, you..."
Julis as well felt like getting angry was pointless.
She could only hold her head in her hands.
"ーOh my, this is quite the scene of devastation."
A leisurely voice floated over from the direction of the new hole.
- ψ -
Sticking her head in through the newly formed hole-in-the-wall was the student council president of Seidoukan Academyー Claudia.
"While we do give the members of the Top Twelve these training rooms to practice with, please try and refrain from haphazardly laying waste to school property, OK?"
"...I know. This was just a training accident. It's not like this was vandalism or something."
"That's good to hear."
Claudia laughed and nodded.
At that moment.
"But man, my heart just about jumped out of my chest there, Camilla. I never would have guessed there'd be a hole in the wall. If you want to talk about strange, then this certainly counts. I guess it's just different strokes for different folks."
"Honestly, would you mind restraining that mouth of yours a little, Ernesta? The last thing I need is another incident on my hands."
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From through the hole, two girls Ayato had never seen before could be seen standing behind Claudia.
Moreover, it wasn't just that he'd never seen them before. Even for Ayato, who'd only transferred in a month earlier, this was a new sight.
The uniform the girls' wore was not that of their school's.
"ーWhat's going on here, Claudia?" Julis asked in a tone as cold as winter.
It wasn't just Julis either. Lester had also taken a stance and was glaring threateningly at the newcomers. Only Claudia remained undisturbed as she clapped her hands.
"Let me introduce you guys. These two are from Allekant: Camilla Pareto-san and Ernesta Kühne-san."
"Allekant...?"
That made the reason for Julis and Lester's poor attitudes clear.
Allekant was the school responsible for the events a few days ago. For the principal victims of the incident, it was asking too much to expect these two to view them as anything but the enemy.
Taking the long way around, Claudia and the two others made their way to the front entrance, and entered normally.
"We've decided to engage in a joint Lux research effort with Allekant. These two are in charge of planning. They've made their way here in person to finalize the terms of the agreement."
"ーGood day, everyone."
The chestnut-haired girl bowed her head as deeply as if apologizing.
She seemed slightly older than Ayato. Her proportions were on par with Claudia's although she cut a tighter figure. She had almond-shaped eyes and wore a tight-lipped, frigid expression.
"Joint effort... is it? I see, so that's how it is."
Julis seemed to accept the given answer even though she was clearly still dissatisfied. Ayato was confused as to what was currently happening.
As Ayato began to ask for an explanation, Lester spoke first.
Let me introduce you guys. These two are from Allekant: Camilla Pareto-san (right) and Ernesta Kühne-san. (left)
"Hey, Julis. 'That's how it is'? What do you mean?"
"You're as dense as ever, I see. In other words, this is how they're compensating us for the Cyrus incident. I imagine that in return for covering up what they did behind the scenes, they're going to be providing us with technical assistance."
"What...!"
Lester was shocked.
"Well, that's more or less how things stand."
Claudia continued to smile as sweetly as before.
Although she had technically avoided answering the question, she might as well have.
"Whatever. I did leave things in your hands. This kind of thing is your specialty, after all. But aside from that, why did these people from Allekant decide to visit?"
"Oh, that would be becauseー"
"Ooh, ooh. That would be because I wanted to see for myself!"
Energetically throwing her arm into the air was the other girl from Allekant. Her name seemed to be Ernesta, and compared to Camilla, her expressions were far more lively. Also in contrast to Camilla, she had a white coat draped over her uniform, though from the sloppy way it wasn't closed, one could get a feel for her unrestrained personality.
She seemed to be roughly the same age as Ayato and the others, or a year or two older at most.
"No matter what, I wanted to see with my own eyes the swordsman who chopped my puppets into pieces." She said, laughing.
Ooh, ooh. That would be because I wanted to see for myself!
"Huh?"
"Eh?"
An awkward silence filled the room.
Lester and Julis' jaws had just about hit the floor, the silent Camilla seemed to be thinking "Not again...", and even Claudia hid her expression of surprise behind her hand.
Of course, Ayato was no exception.
This girl had just openly admitted that she'd been the cause of the previous incident. It was impossible not to feel astonishment.
"So that would make you the rumored swordsman. Hmm. I see, I see."
Ernesta completely disregarded the atmosphere in the room and approached Ayato, sizing him up before nodding several times with great feeling.
"Not bad at all, I think. I like him!"
Afterwards, she beckoned the utterly floored Ayato over with a cute wave of her hand.
She shushed him with a single hand as she said in a small voice, "Come boy, come."
Ayato approached her, half guarded, half confused. Ernesta narrowed her eyes, cat-like, and whispered into his ear.
"Howeverー I wonder if things won't be different next time?"
(Next...?)
As Ayato lifted his head, Ernesta suddenly gave him a peck on the cheek.
"Uwa!?"
"Wha...!?"
"...Nn!"
"Sigh..."
Ayato frantically backed away as the expression on the faces of the three Seidoukan girls underwent a dramatic change.
"Th-This girl! What do you think you're doing...!?"
"...You vixen. Die already."
Julis pulled out her weapon, and Saya aimed her laser cannon ーwhich she had never stowedー at Ernesta.